Verdan passed on the information he’d got from Val to both Vaijon and Silver that evening, making sure to use his magic to ensure the conversations were private.
The last thing they needed was for Kurgane to somehow realise they were on to him and force a confrontation. That would defeat the whole point of this.
Both of the other men agreed that it was a threat and that they would take steps to deal with it, but Verdan had his doubts. They were on the outside of the Sects, even Vaijon was distanced from them.
If Kurgane was going to focus on gaining the support of the rank and file Sorcerer, there was little they could do to combat that, and definitely not while on the road.
Fortunately, a distraction came on the morning of the fourth day when the Unbound Gale messenger they’d sent ahead returned. They couldn’t afford to stop, so a key few gathered at Silver’s wagon to learn what they were walking into.
It was an awkward way to hold a meeting, but they managed as best they could. Whatever news the scout brought would shape their approach to the coming fight.
Unfortunately, the news was far from good. The walls of Gerann had been breached.
The Cyth had broken through the city’s defences and had been in the process of destroying everything within when the scout arrived. They could only hope that the Elder had managed to evacuate as many people as possible before the inevitable.
Anyone left alive after the initial conquest of the city would be captured and transformed into Cyth. Even the dead wouldn’t be spared the corrupting touch of Malfease, their bodies used as raw materials to construct fresh horrors out of the innocent captives.
“We must assume that the city, and all within it, are lost,” Silver said heavily, his words silencing the mutters the scout’s report had brought.
“If I may, Commander,” the scout said before Silver could continue. “That might not be entirely true.”
Silver arched a brow and motioned for the man to continue. “Explain.”
“The walls had fallen and there was fighting in the city, but the Host itself withdrew. As an estimate, I’d say that maybe a fifth of its strength was left to pacify the city while the rest left.”
“Left?” Vaijon echoed with a frown. “Where did they go?”
“They were heading north,” the scout said. “Retracing their path to the city.”
“How many were left?” Verdan asked loudly as he tried to keep them on course.
“Eight to nine thousand, with another two to three left in the city. The fields outside the city are drenched in ichor and blood, but even so, the Elder was only able to kill half of the Host.”
“Even with the right position, we would struggle to hold against those numbers,” Vaijon said, turning to Silver. “We defeated more than that the first time, but we lost a third of our people doing it. Even with ideal terrain and time to prepare, we would be in danger of being overrun.”
“Agreed,” Silver said, raising a hand for silence. “We’ll proceed to the city as fast as we can. We will deal with whatever Cyth remain there and take stock of the situation. That is our priority.”
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“What of the Host?” Kurgane asked with a hint of challenge.
“Pathfinder Galstar, Sylvie, could you push your people out into a wider net around us and send a detachment to find the Host’s trail?”
“We’ll track them down,” Sylvie said with a nod that the Pathfinder echoed.
“Good. Once we know where they’re heading, we can move accordingly.”
Kurgane frowned, seemingly unhappy with that, but had nothing else to say, so the meeting came to an end and they all quickly dispersed. There wasn’t much they could do right now, but word had to be spread, just in case.
The Host might have started heading north, but it could easily have changed direction, and that meant they all needed to be ready to act at a moment’s notice.
-**-
Thankfully, there was no sign of any Cyth nearby by the time they camped for the evening, and their scouts reported no activity in the area at all.
Despite that, Silver made sure that the night watch was double, and that the camp was set in as defensible a location as they could find. The area was thick with old woodlands, but anything larger than a raiding party would be easily spotted.
From what Verdan had heard, the area around Gerann was known for its rolling hills and plentiful woodlands, so they could expect more of the same right up to the city.
As best they could tell, they were a mere four hours away from the city now, which meant some hard decisions were needed for the morning.
A detached force could cover that ground in half the time, but that would also leave the caravan exposed. They’d been quite fortunate to avoid any issues beyond the brief encounter with the Brotherhood, but the danger would only rise as they drew closer.
Verdan had worked with Silver enough now to know that the Commander would likely send a small but powerful group forward. They would be small enough to evade if necessary, but pack enough magical power to hold their own.
That meant him, and probably Cullan. Maybe Gwen depending on who else he was considering. In the end, though, it would be Silver’s decision.
-**-
It was just after dawn when Verdan was woken by one of the guards and directed to get his things and head over to the central pavilion. Just as he’d expected, they were sending a detachment forward to gather information and test the waters.
As he’d expected, Silver had also brought in Vaijon, Gwen, Kai and Ciaran to discuss what he had planned.
“The aim is to determine how much of a presence the Cyth have in the area,” Silver said as they gathered around a map that was spread out on the table. It was hand drawn and somewhat suspect, but it was the best they could get for the moment. “If there is fighting ongoing within the city, engage as you see fit, but send a rider back to us with estimates once you do so. We will be several hours behind you, so you’ll be on your own if anything goes wrong, understood?”
Verdan nodded as he looked over the map and inspected the terrain. It looked like the land in the city’s immediate vicinity was flat, which would make them easy to spot. Then again, it would also make it easy to see what they were getting into.
“Who will be leading the detachment?” Vaijon asked, bringing Verdan’s attention away from the map.
“You were my first pick,” Silver said, arching a brow at the Elder. “If that isn’t a problem?”
“Not at all,” Vaijon said, flashing the commander a grin. “I can keep this lot in line.”
“Good, I’ve had twenty of our horses brought forward. Select the rest of your number and set off as soon as you can. We have no idea what the battle within the city looks like, and time may well be of the essence.”
“Agreed,” Vaijon said, his expression turning serious as he shared a nod with Silver before turning to the rest of them. “Alright, we have limited space, so who are we bringing?”
“Hedda and Macha should come, between the three of us we can cover almost everything,” Gwen said firmly, the determined look in her eyes daring anyone to say different.
Magical healing had let Gwen heal from her injuries in comparatively no time at all. She still bore the scars of what Kurgane had done, but she was more than that, and Verdan was confident that she could handle this.
“A few of my people should come as well,” Vaijon said, frowning in thought. “We could fill the rest of the slots with your warriors, Chosen Macstan, if that suits you?”
Ciaran quickly did a headcount and nodded. “I’ll have Padraig bring our best riders. We’ll be ready to go shortly.”
Padraig was Ciaran’s Blade, an honorary position given to the most well-respected of the Chosen’s Thearns. Considering the standard of bravery and skill that Verdan had seen among those Kranjir, that said a lot about Padraig’s exploits.
“Alright then, let’s get everyone together. It’s time to see what we’re dealing with.” Vaijon called out, clapping his hands together before heading back towards the section of the camp that held the rest of the Disciples of Adamar.