Mercedes Lackey - Oathbreaker

But the gulley stayed dry, the track eased a bit -- and then, like a gift from the gods, just before Tarma would have signaled a turnaround point, they came upon a possible campsite.

Sometime in the not-too-recent past, part of the hill above them had come sliding down. creating a horseshoe of boulders the size of a house. There would be shelter from the wind there, their fire would be out of sight of prying eyes -- and it would be easy to defend from predators.

Garth eyed the site with the same interest Tarma was feeling. "No place to get out of the rain, if it decided to come down again," he observed, "and nothing much to burn but that scrub up there on the wall. We'd have us a pot of hot tea, but a cold camp."

"Huh. The choice is this or the flat back there," Tarma told them. "Me, I'd take this. Kyra? This is your land."

"Aye, I'd take this; we've slept wet afore," Kyra agreed. "This 'un isn't a runoff, an' don't look like any more of the hill is gonna slip while we're here. I'd say 'tis safe enough."

The others nodded.

"Let's get ourselves settled then, while there's light."

The rain began again before dawn and they were glad enough to be on the move and getting chilled muscles stretched and warmed. They lost the track once more, this time spending a frustrating hour searching for it -- but that was the last of their hardships, for noon saw them emerging from the hills and onto the plains on the other side.

Tarma allowed herself a broad grin, as the rest whooped and pounded each other's backs.

"Send up that damned bird. Beaker; we just earned ourselves one fat bonus from Lord Leamount."

Returning was easier, though it was plain that nothing but a goat, a donkey, a mountain pony or a Shin'a'in-bred beast was ever going to make it up or down that trail without breaking a leg. Tarma reckoned it would take the full Company about one day to traverse the trail; that, plus half a day to get to their end and half to get into striking distance of Kelcrag's forces meant two days' traveling time, in total. Not bad, really; they'd had a setup that had taken almost a week, once. Knowing Idra as she did, Tarma had a pretty good idea of what the Captain's suggested strategy was going to be. And it would involve the Hawks and no one else. No bad thing, that; the Hawks could count on their own to know what to do.

The rain had finally let up as they broke back out into the border's country; they were dead tired and ready to drop, but at least they weren't wet anymore. Tarma saw an outrider a few furlongs beyond the camp; he, she or it was waving a scarf in the Hawks' colors of brown and golden yellow. She waved back, and the outrider vanished below the line of a hill. They all relaxed at that; they were watched for, they need not guard their path -- and there would almost certainly be food and drink waiting for them in the camp. That was exactly what they'd needed and hoped for.

They hadn't expected Idra and Sewen to be waiting for them at the entrance to the camp.

"Good work, children. Things are heating up. Maps," Idra said curtly, and Jodi handed over the waterproof case with a half-salute and a tired grin. They were all achingly weary at this point; horses and humans alike were wobbly at the knees. Only Tarma and Ironheart were in any kind of shape, and Tarma wasn't too certain how much of Ironheart's apparent energy was bluff. Battlemares had a certain stubborn pride that sometimes made them as pigheaded about showing strain as --

:Certain Kal'enedral,: Warrl said in her head. Shut up, she thought back at him, you should talk about being pigheaded --

"Good work. Damned fine work," Idra said, lookng up from the maps and interrupting Tarma's train of thought. "Tarma, if you're up to a little more -- "

"Captain." Tarma nodded, and sketched a salute. "The rest of you -- there's hot wine and hot food waiting in my tent, and a handful of Hawks to give your mounts the good rubdown and treat they deserve. Tarma, give Ironheart to Sewen and come with me. Warrl, too, if he wants. The rest of you get under shelter. We'll be seeing you all later -- with news, I hope."

Tarma had been too fatigue-fogged to note where they were going, except that they were working their way deeply into the heart of the encampments. But after a while the size of the tents and the splendor of the banners outside of them began to penetrate her weariness.

What in the name --

:On your best behavior, mindmate,: Warrl said. For once his mindvoice sounded dead serious. :This is the camp of the Lord Commander.:

Before Tarma had a chance to react, Idra was ushering her past a pair of massive sentries and into the interior of a tent big enough to hold a half dozen of the Hawks' little two-man bivouacs.

Tarma blinked in the light and warmth, and felt her muscles going to jelly in the pleasant heat. Mage-lights everywhere, and a jesto-vath that made Kethry's look like a simple shieldspell.

Other than that, though, the tent was as plain as Idra's, divided, as hers was, into a front and back half. In the front half was a table, some chairs and document-boxes, a rack of wine bottles. The curtain dividing it was half open; on the other side Tarma could see what looked like a chest, some weapons and armor -- and a plain camp cot, piled high with thick furs and equally thick blankets.

What I wouldn't give to climb into that right now, she was thinking, when her attention was pulled away by something more important.

"Leamount, you old warhorse, here's our miracle-maker," Idra was saying to a lean, grizzled man in half-armor standing by the map-table, but in the shadows, so that Tarma hadn't really noticed him at first. Tarma had seen Lord Leamount once or twice at a distance; she recognized him by his stance and his scarlet surcote with Sursha's rampant grasscat more than anything else. although once he turned in her direction she saw the two signature braids he wore in front of each ear, an affectation he'd picked up among his hitlclans. "Lord Leamount, may I present Tarma shena Tale'sedrin -- "

"Lo'teros, shas tella, Kal'enedral" he replied, much to Tarma's surprise; bowing, making a fist and placing it over his heart as he bowed.

"lie seth, Yatakar" she replied, returning his salute with intense curiosity and sharpened interest. "Ge vede sa'kela Shin'a'in."

"Only a smattering, I fear. I learned it mostly in self-defense -- " He grinned, and Tarma found her-self grinning back. "-to keep from getting culls pushed off on me by your fellow clansmen."

"Ah, well-come to me, and you'll get the kind of horses the Hawks mount."

"I'll do that. Idra has high praise for you, the kyree, and your she'enedra, Swordsworn," he said, meeting her intensely ice-blue eyes as few others had been able. "I could only wish I had a few more of your kind with us. So -- the bird returned; that told us there was a path through. But what's the track like?"

Somehow Tarma wasn't overly surprised that he came directly to the point. "Bad," she said shortly; as Idra spread out Jodi's maps over the ones al-ready on the table. "It'll be brutal. The only mounts that are going to be able to negotiate that terrain are the Hawks'. Maybe some of the ponies your mountain-clan scouts have could make it, but they'd be fair useless on the other side of those hills. No running ability, and on Kelcrag's side of the pass, that's what they'll need. Anything else would break a leg on that track, or break the path down past using."

"Terrain?"

"Big hills, baby mountains, doesn't much matter. Shale most of the way through, and sandstone. Bad footing."

"Huh." He chewed a comer of his mustache and brooded over Jodi's tracings. "That lets out plan one, then. Idra -- seems it's going to be up to you."

"Hah -- up to me, my rump! If you can't get old Shoveral to move his big fat arse in time, you'll get us slaughtered -- "