Pied nodded. «They will regroup, reinforce, and come looking for us again, but not through that draw. There are other trails through these hills, tough to navigate, but usable. They will find one and try to get around behind us.»
« But they won’t underestimate us next time,” Auberen added.
Pied thought about that a moment, then turned to Drumundoon, who was standing off to one side. «Drum, see if we have someone in the command who knows this country well enough to talk to us about its passes and trails.»
Eager to be doing something other than standing around trying not to watch the burial teams, Drumundoon hurried off. Pied would have been happy to go with him.
« What about that airship?» Erris Crewer asked quietly. His blocky form shifted. «The one that destroyed the fleet?»
Pied shook his head. «I don’t know how badly we damaged her. If they can make her fly, we’re in trouble. We have no defense against her from the ground, and little enough from the air. We have to hope they can’t use her yet.»
« They might already be using her against Vaden Wick and our Free–born allies,” Auberen growled. «If I was them, that’s what I would do. Break us where we still hold, chase us back into the hills and then hunt us at leisure.»
Pied considered the possibility. Auberen might be right. It made sense to finish the effort to drive the Free–born completely off the heights, to smash their defenses and claim the Prekkendorran themselves before worrying about the Elves, most of whom were already scattered to the four winds, his command notwithstanding. After all, how much trouble could his little force present in the larger scheme of things? Pied did not fool himself about their chances. They might have won this one battle, driven back one unit of the Federation. But the enemy forces were vast and close to home, where reinforcements were readily available. A sustained Federation effort at finding and engaging his Elves would eventually succeed, and when that happened, they were finished.
He exhaled softly, frustrated. They couldn’t win the war, not with the way things stood. The best they could do was to avoid the forces hunting them long enough to link up with their allies. As their leader, it was up to him to find a way to make that happen. It was a tall order, one he was not sure anyone would be able to carry out, let alone a Captain of the Home Guard whose primary duty until two days ago had been to safeguard one man.
Drumundoon had reappeared with a smallish, nervous–looking Elf with lean features and quick, sharp eyes that darted everywhere.
« Captain,” his aide said, «this is Whyl. He has served on the front for more than a year, working as a scout on both sides of the line, much of the time aboard airships. He has seen more of the terrain than most. I think he can help.»
Pied nodded. «Tell me what you know about the passes that run through the Prekkendorran to these hills. Are there many?»
The Elven Hunter hunched his shoulders and pursed his thin lips. «Dozens.»
« How many that a large force could negotiate, coming south to north?»
« Three, maybe four.» The eyes skipped across Pied’s face to the faces of his companions and back again. «You think they’ll come at us again, Captain?»
« Maybe. Could they, if they wanted to, do you think? How would they come?»
Whyl thought about it. «Other than through the draw they just retreated down, they have only one other good choice. There’s another cut through the hills to the west. It’s wide and flat and open. But it will take them two or three days to reach it and get through, then come up to where we are.»
« To the west,” Pied repeated, thinking. «Nothing east?»
The Elf shrugged. «One trail, through scrub, forests, low country. Pretty dangerous. Lots of bogs and sinkholes. Cuts pretty close at its south end to where the Dwarves and Bordermen hold the east plateau. It would be risky for them to try it.»
For them, but maybe not jor us,Pied thought. The beginnings of a plan were taking shape. He nodded to Whyl. «Your help is appreciated. You may go back to your unit. But keep what we’ve said to yourself for now. Don’t speak of it to anyone.»
The Elven Hunter nodded and hurried off across the grass with several anxious glances back. In spite of his promise, he would tell his friends what had been said. In particular, he would tell them that their commander was anticipating another attack, one that might not turn out as well for the Elves as this one had. Word would spread quickly. Panic, if not squelched, would as well.
Pied turned back to Ti Auberen and Erris Crewer. «Form up the wounded—everyone who can’t fight another battle right away. Detail enough men to carry those who can’t walk. Ilse as few as you can manage, but enough so that they can travel afoot for several days. I want them to make for the Rappahalladran, then for the villages in the Duln. They will find wagons there to complete the rest of the journey home. With luck, they will come across an airship to transport them. Form up everyone else and prepare to march. We’ll move east toward that pass Whyl mentioned, the tougher one that leads to the defensive position of our allies. Our best choice now is to try to link up with Vaden Wick before the enemy finds us again. There’s some cover along the way. It may help shield us from Federation airships.»
« Captain, if they send airships after us, whether it’s the one with that weapon or not, we won’t be able to hide this many men,” Erris Crewer pointed out quietly.
Pied met his gaze. «Get on with it, Lieutenant. I want all burials completed and the wounded dispatched north within the hour. I want the rest of us heading east. Wait, not all of us. Detail two dozen men to stay behind to watch the pass in case the Federation decides to send scouts through to see if we’re still here. We don’t want them to find out too quickly that we’ve gone. All we need is a presence to keep them guessing. The men can use the time to create false trails. 1 want them to hold the pass for one day, then catch up to us. Put a Tracker or two in the mix. And bring up Whyl again, as well. We’ll need what he knows about the country.»
When they were gone, he walked over to Drumundoon. His aide shifted his lanky body from foot to foot. He looked dusty and tired, but he smiled at Pied anyway. «Not much help for some things, is there, Captain?»
« Drum, I need you to do something,” Pied replied, taking the other’s arm and steering him away from everyone else. «Word has to be sent to Arborlon of what’s happened. Maybe it’s already been done, but we can’t know. The Elven High Council has to be told that the King and his sons are dead. More to the point, they have to be told to send reinforcements. More airships, more men to fly them. We don’t stand a chance without their support. I want you to do this. Travel on foot until you can find horses. Then ride until you can find an airship. Take two of the Home Guard with you, just in case. Leave at once.»
Drumundoon looked at him. «Arling will be Queen now,” he said. «It will be her decision.»
He was saying that she might not be favorably disposed toward Pied’s suggestion, no matter what the High Council said. Nor toward Pied, for that matter, once she learned that he had failed to keep her sons safe. But there was nothing Pied could do about it without speaking to her. He had to hope she would allow him the opportunity, that something of what he believed she had once felt for him would persuade her to do what was right.
« Do the best you can, Drum,” he said quietly. He placed his hand on the other’s shoulder. «But do it quickly.»
« I don’t like leaving you, Captain,” his aide replied, shaking his head slowly, looking down at his feet.