Then they were marching again, though not as quickly as before, and more carefully. It was more important now that the column did not spread out too far.
Trudging through the darkness, surrounded by so many companions, Arwain felt suddenly very alone. He had commanded before, but not such a lightly armed, swiftly moving and independent group. True, he had Ryllans beside him and he was more than content to note the Mantynnai’s unobtrusive advice, but he knew that he must bring to the fore everything that he had ever learned about fighting, about tactics, about people, about the terrain, everything, if he was to be anything other than a hindrance, or worse, to the group.
He stared into the darkness around them. There was no moon and the stars appeared only fitfully through a light haze of
