As they passed the western border out of Castillon and into Gilhadest, Liran, and many of the others paused and turned for a moment to look back. Only an hour had passed on their slow march, but it seemed much longer. There were wagons and foot soldiers to wait for, and those on horseback found their patience tried by the waiting. Elena noticed a sadness had fallen on the Prince.
"You will miss Castillon, My Lord. I think she has you mightily in her grip."
"Joran will keep her well for me until I return. Still, it isn't often that I leave, and I always feel I've left my heart behind when I do."
Elena smiled. She liked that Liran was so attached to his land. She had never felt quite so strongly about Estallium as that. Dutiful, yes, but attached? Still it was good to be going back toward friends and family. There would be reunions soon, although there would be trouble accompanying them too.
Right away the land changed. The most obvious shift was the road which had gone from a path worn smooth with use to a proper thoroughfare. At first it was only a narrow dirt road, the kind Elena knew were smoothed flat by using a horse or ox drawn machine which lifted up the packed dirt with metal tines, then scraped away the risen patches with a sharp metal edge which left the road level. The tracings looked recent-- within the last month or so. Carts could easily manage here, but very soon, surprisingly for a place at the extreme reach of the Empire, it was fully paved with weather worn stone blocks.
It was one of the Empire's greatest achievements that there were excellent roads all throughout the realm. It allowed for ease of transport of goods from everywhere in the Empire to everywhere else.
The land also changed. Instead of the arid pine forests perched on cliffs overlooking the sea, the forests were of mixed trees whose leaves were yellowing with the change of seasons and beginning to fall. The cliffs were replaced by rolling hills.
Before long they passed a small settlement. The men here gave suspicious glances at them, and hustled their women and children into their homes, shuttering them in despite the early hour. It made Elena sad to think that they feared her army, for they were coming as allies, upon request of their Emperor, in their defence.
According to the last reports they had received, the two armies, the Emperor's loyal Legion, and Argentia's rebel Legion were close to engaging on the border between Argentia and Gildhadest, the two most eastern provinces that lay along the river across from Kalad. Which side of this border they were on was conjecture, but Elena believed they would have to march through most of Gildhadest before they might expect to join up with their allies or engage their enemy in any major way.
This meant that there was no reason to expect to come across soldiers of the enemy much before this, but as she had learned from her father long ago, one must always expect the unexpected on campaign, so Elena sent out scouts every hour to ride ahead. They were to go forward for two hours and then return. This way she had a running stream of information about what was happening on the route ahead of her army.
Up ahead of the column of riders and marching foot soldiers, the first of her scouts was returning. A woman, riding at a comfortable pace, so Elena felt she would not have anything untoward to report when they connected. Renata was the scout's name, and Elena remembered her story when the woman from Madrezza had come to sign up with the army.
"My great great grandmother was a scout for Lord Lorenzo during the war against Kalad," she had said when she came to the tavern where Elena had set up to meet with people from the town. "I want to help like she did--follow in her footsteps."
Elena had wrinkled her nose. In the port town, everywhere smelled like rotten fish.
Elena had asked if she had any skills for fighting.The woman was tall and look lean but strong, similar to Elena.
YOU ARE READING
UNSHEATHED
FantasyExiled from her homeland, Elena found purpose in her work as the Captain of the Guard to the Queen of Kalad--at least, until she was ordered to help a brooding Prince regain his home and release his hostage son. A clever and competent soldier and ex...