taunting the Captain and would certainly have killed him.
After several minutes of silence, Kael rose to his feet and began to move. His decision was simple. He would take the only opportunity presented to him—to help the Captain of the Guard. Perhaps later, Kael’s life would move in another direction, but for now, this was enough. It was something he could do.
He left the estate by the northern gate and skirted the city to the north, staying just off the main road. He retraced the route he had taken earlier in the morning and found the clearing where he had tethered his horse. There was no sign of the animal, but that was to be expected. With the city in chaos, Kael left enough slack in the reigns for the horse to pull free if necessary. Within minutes of a sharp whistle, his horse appeared at the edge of the clearing. Kael quickly mounted and headed off to the west in search of the remaining soldiers.
The rest of Kael’s day was spent riding along the foothills between the mountains to the north and the farmland to the south. As the sun dropped to the west, Kael found signs of movement, disturbed earth along a riverbed. The same river flowed from the mountains through the center of Bastul before emptying into the bay. Kael followed the tracks upriver, deep into the mountain range, until they diverted into the surrounding forest. Less than an hour before sunset, Kael caught his first glimpse of human life since leaving his parents’ estate.
He was aware of the soldier’s presence several minutes before the man jumped out from behind a thick hedge of shrubbery. The terrified soldier held his spear in front of him, ready for an attack.
“Identify yourself,” he commanded.
Kael raised his hands to show that he wasn’t a threat. “I’m looking for Dacien Gallus, Captain of the Guard. He said that he could use my help with the rest of the Syvaku.”
“You look like one of them. What is your name?”
“Caleb.”
The soldier turned and waved his spear. In response to the signal, another man stepped out from the cover of trees, twenty yards away, and headed off through the forest to the east. The first man turned his suspicious gaze back to Kael and held tight to his spear.
Kael waited patiently while his story was checked out and, after a few minutes, he was surprised to see the Captain himself walking through the trees.
“You’re later than I expected,” he called out.
Kael smiled. “I don’t remember making any agreements, but I’ll try to be more punctual in the future.” As the Captain neared, Kael dismounted from his horse and shook his hand.
“I’m glad you’ve decided to join us.” Dacien nodded his head back in the direction from which he had come. “Walk with me; I’ll explain our dilemma.”
“…dilemma?” Kael questioned. “What’s happening?”
“Well,” Dacien breathed. “As far as we know, there are about thirty barbarians left. We chased them into these mountains a few hours ago, but they suddenly stopped running. I lost two men in their counter attack. Now they’re using the cover of the trees to keep the fighting spread out. It’s their strong point and our weakness.”
Kael didn’t have to look around to get his bearings. Though he was never allowed to venture far when he lived in Bastul , he had a firm understanding of the surrounding areas from studying maps with Saba. “They have open fields to their north and the forest thins out to the east. Your horses and archers give you the advantage if they move into open terrain.”
“Exactly,” Dacien replied. “We think they are waiting until nightfall before they begin to make their way northwest, through the forest. If they split up, they will be impossible to contain in the dark.”
“If you put the majority of your men in the trees to the west, is there no way to keep them here and wait them out? Eventually, they’ll have to leave.”
“Unfortunately, I have less than fifty men and I don’t have time