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Tarkyn’s small rescue party caught up with the bulk of the home guard at noon and by late afternoon, tired and hungry, the last of Tarkyn’s home guard reached their new location, less than a mile from the eastern edge of the Dry Mile. Several had ridden Orolan’s horses to arrive ahead of time so that they could prepare shelters and hunt for the evening’s meal. Time was short, energy was limited and everyone knew they would have to spend many hours of the night making preparations.
By Stormaway’s calculations, neither army would arrive until sometime in the morning of the following day, but the home guard needed time, under cover of darkness, to implement the first phases of their plan, without hindrance from scouts or vanguards.
The woodfolk used the cooking fire to burn branches fro
