Silver had them push on for as long as the light held out, before eventually bringing them to a stop for a hasty camp.

  Without light to work by, they didn’t set up properly, instead simply making do for the evening.

  Verdan doubted that anyone would be particularly comfortable, but it helped them claw back some of their lost time.

  They couldn’t do this too many times without wearing people down, but it was a useful tool for the Commander.

  Of course, Verdan did cheat somewhat. His light spells meant that they could set up a little better than the rest, even without the advantage of a wagon to just the two of them.

  He made sure to leave a globe of light stuck to the roof of the interior when he clambered out, giving Natalia the light she needed as she set up her travelling kit.

  A hefty portion of their healing supplies had been used up when they got to Gerann, but the scouts were still foraging for Natalia and the other alchemists.

  A Cyth Host had passed through this area, so there wasn’t much to be gathered and harvested, but what they did have would be used to its utmost.

  Making his way through the camp, Verdan wound his way over to where the closest of his constructs were standing.

  Unlike the rest of the horses, his creations were still wearing their harnesses and had simply stopped moving when he’d given the order.

  Checking over the first, Verdan looked for any sign that it wasn’t performing to the degree he’d anticipated. Thankfully, though, everything looked good.

  Moving on, Verdan checked the whole group, being careful not to skip over anything. These constructs were simply too important to leave anything to chance.

  Once he was satisfied, he got to work adding to the Sigils of the last one he’d worked on.

  A small globe of light hovered over Verdan’s shoulder as he shaped the side of the next horse, forming Aether-gathering Sigils one after the other.

  Eventually, the minimum threshold for activation was hit and the whole suite of Sigils began to draw in Aether.

  Casting an eye over his own magic, Verdan saw a small dip in the Aether being drawn from his core.

  It wasn’t much now, but when they started moving tomorrow, it would make a lot more of a difference.

  Dusting his hands off, Verdan moved on to the next construct.

  -**-

  They broke camp early the next day, hurrying onward as soon as possible.

  Verdan had inscribed two more of the horses the night before, the benefits of which he now enjoyed.

  He’d do the same tonight, though hopefully with some assistance, and in no time, all eighteen would be finished.

  Lost in his thoughts and absorbed in mental calculations of Aether expenditure, Verdan didn’t hear the messenger that Silver had sent until Natalia gave him a nudge.

  Sitting upright and blinking blearily, Verdan apologised to the guard and asked them to repeat the message.

  “The Commander has asked that you ride ahead to join him,” the guard said, patting the horse he’d rode over on. “The scouts have news of the direction the Cyth have taken.”

  Nodding, Verdan grabbed his staff before dropping down from the wagon. The guard dismounted at the same time, letting them change over so Verdan could ride on ahead.

  Several other riders were heading forward as well, and Verdan spotted a few familiar faces. It seemed this was going to be an official meeting.

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  No wonder the guard had had to give Verdan his mount. To have this many people riding on ahead would be all the spare mounts they had.

  Following the trail of people, Verdan rode on for several minutes before coming to a large, flat rock on the side of the trail.

  The trail itself was a mass of churned dirt from the passage of thousands of creatures, mixed in with blackened, dead trees and rotting vegetation.

  The corruption of so much Malfease passing through the area had spread beyond the physical trail itself, leaving a widespread impact on the land around them.

  Turning back to the stone, Verdan eyed the gathering of people clustered around it, noting that they represented most of the groups within the alliance.

  A few guards were nearby, helping to both keep a watch on the area and help with the horses of the new arrivals.

  Passing the reins of his steed over, Verdan dropped down and approached the rock, which had one of the ever-present maps of the area stretched out over it.

  “Verdan, thank you for coming so quickly,” Silver said from where he stood next to the rock. “We’ve ridden ahead so we could spend a few minutes discussing this while the rest of the caravan catches up. Everyone else should be here in a few moments.”

  Verdan nodded, repeating the gesture to Vaijon, Ada and Morag, who were stood close by Silver.

  Ciaran, Tim and Sylvie were present as well, alongside Cullan, Branwen and Bastian.

  Kai, Gwen, Hedda and a few others arrived next, with Augur and Val being among the last to make an appearance.

  Last, and most certainly least in Verdan’s opinion, Kurgane joined them. The Defiant Flame Sorcerer seemed to almost be taking his time, making them all wait for him.

  Despite that, he had a cheerful smile and a pleasant demeanour as he walked over to stand opposite Silver.

  Auger, who’d been standing there already, was forced to step aside for the other Sorcerer, and Verdan saw a flicker of a frown cross Silver’s face.

  “Alright, that’s everyone,” Silver called out, cutting through the noise of the little conversations that were happening. “I’ve gathered all of the leaders of our combat groups together, as you can see. The reason why, is that Disciple Bessem has found an opportunity for us.”

  Silver gestured to Ada, who cleared her throat and stepped forward to tap a part of the map. “This is where we are, and this is the path the Cyth have been taking. It follows a somewhat disused path that leads from Gerann up to Ramoria.”

  Ada moved her finger along a slightly curved path to the north-east, skirting by what looked like two small lakes with a long strip of land in between.

  “If the Cyth continue along this path, then they will pass by these lake, which happen to house an old watchtower and some ruined fortifications. If we were to divert from the path we are following and go this way instead.”

  Ada returned to the starting point and instead went due east before sharply to the north.

  “Then we can cut off two days of travel with ease. Perhaps even more if we push ourselves. As it stands, we are perhaps two days behind the Cyth, depending on their speed. This gives us an opportunity.”

  Murmuring broke out among the group as they all realised just what this meant. If they could get ahead of the Cyth, then they could stop all of this before another city was destroyed.

  “How sure are you that they have gone this way?” Kurgane asked in what seemed to be a reasonable tone. “And this shortcut, have you travelled that way with wagons before?”

  Both were reasonable questions, but Verdan was certain that they were an attempt to cut Ada down, rather than help the alliance.

  After all, if Ada’s plan led to a dramatic victory, where was Kurgane’s glory?

  Verdan frowned slightly, wondering if he was being perhaps a little too critical of the other man.

  Glancing over at Gwen, Verdan’s eyes traced the horrific burns she’d taken, and he had to work to suppress his anger.

  No, he knew better. Kurgane was a snake, just one who was very good at appearing harmless.

  Kai shifted, his eyes meeting Verdan’s, and the Wizard knew full well that a similar thought was going through his friend’s mind.

  They hadn’t had the talk with Gwen yet about what had happened to her, but that needed to happen soon.

  “Pathfinder Galstar and Sylvie have been working with their people to track the Host,” Ada said, her reply drawing Verdan back to the conversation. “So far, they’ve traced them to here, and the Cyth seem to be sticking entirely to their previous path.”

  Ada tapped a point on the map that was halfway between them and the two lakes.

  “As to the shortcut, I’ve not travelled that way with heavy loads, but there shouldn’t be anything that would pose a problem.”

  “Shouldn’t,” Kurgane echoed flatly. “How reassuring.”

  Ada bristled but didn’t respond directly, instead speaking to them as a group. “The only problem we face is that if we turn away, and the Cyth aren’t retracing their steps, we lose any chance of catching them.”

  “How likely is that?” Kai asked with a slight frown. “I thought the Pathfinder was tracking them quite easily?”

  “That’s true, but we have some concerns,” Ada said, somewhat hesitantly.

  “Concerns?” Kai echoed, his frown deepening.

  “This isn’t normal behaviour for Cyth,” Verdan said before Ada could respond. “They don’t retrace their steps like this. They live to despoil and ravage, but look around us.”

  “Despoiled and ravaged greenery,” Kurgane said, scoffing slightly. “Exactly as you said, so what exactly is your point?”

  “My point is that this would have been in this state to begin with, so why come back this way? Why not go somewhere new which they could turn into this?”

  “That is exactly our concern,” Ada said, nodding in Verdan’s direction. “And if we can’t answer that question, then we risk losing either the chance to cut them off, or the chance to catch them at all.”