"Thanks," she said simply, and he ducked his head awkwardly.
"'Sall right," he mumbled, filling the plate again for himself. "I suppose you were pretty hungry."
"I was," she agreed. "I don't think I've eaten properly in a week."
Gilan hitched himself into a more comfortable position by the small fire they kept burning. "Why not?" he asked. "I would have thought there was plenty of food left in the houses. You could have taken some of that."
She shook her head, her eyes showing the fear that had gripped her for the previous few weeks. "I didn't want to risk it," she said. "I didn't know if there'd be more of Morgarath's patrols around, so I didn't dare go into any of the towns. I found a few vegetables and the odd piece of cheese in some of the farmhouses, but precious little else."
"I think it's time you told us what you know about events here," Gilan told her, and she nodded agreement.
"Not that I know too much. As I said, I was here with my mistress, visiting:friends." Again, there was just the slightest hesitation in her words. Gilan frowned slightly, noticing it.
"Your mistress is a noble lady, I take it? A knight's wife, or perhaps a lord's wife?"
Evanlyn nodded. "She is daughter to:Lord and Lady Caramorn of Greenfield Fief," she said quickly. But again there was that fleeting hesitation. Gilan pursed his lips thoughtfully.
"I've heard the name," he said. "Can't say I know them."
"Anyway, she was here visiting a lady of King Swyddned's court-an old friend-when Morgarath's force attacked."
Gilan frowned once more. "How did they accomplish that?" he wanted to know. "The cliffs and the Fissure are impassable. You couldn't get an army down the cliffs, let alone across the Fissure."
The cliffs rose from the far side of the Fissure to form the boundary between Celtica and the Mountains of Rain and Night. They were sheer granite, several hundred meters in height. There were no passes, no way up or down-certainly not for large numbers of troops.
"Halt says no place is ever really impassable," Will put in. "Particularly if you don't mind losing lives in the attempt."
"We ran into a small party of Celts escaping to the south," the girl said. "They told us how the Wargals managed it. They used ropes and scaling ladders and came down the cliffs by night, in small numbers. They found a few narrow ledges, then used the scaling ladders to cross the Fissure.
"They picked the most remote spot they could find, so they went undetected. During the day, those already across the Fissure hid among the rocks and valleys until they had the entire force assembled. They wouldn't have needed many. King Swyddned didn't keep a large standing army."
Gilan made a disapproving sound and caught Will's eye.
"He should have. The treaty obliged him to. But remember what we said about people growing complacent? Celts would rather dig in their ground than defend it." He gestured for the girl to continue.
"The Wargals overran the townships and mines-the mines in particular. For some reason, they wanted the miners alive. Anyone else, they killed-if they didn't get away in time."
Gilan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Pordellath and Gwyntaleth are both totally deserted," he said. "Any idea where the people have gone?"
"If they're alive, they've gone south," she told him. "The Wargals seem to be driving them that way."
"Makes sense, I suppose," Gilan commented. "Keeping them bottled up in the south would prevent word getting out to Araluen."
"That's what the captain of our escort said," Evanlyn agreed. "King Swyddned and most of his surviving army retreated to the southwest coast to form a defensive line. Any Celts who managed to get away from the Wargals have joined him there."
"And what about you?" Gilan wanted to know.
"We were trying to escape back to the border when we were cut off by a war party," she told them. "Our men held them off while my lady and I escaped. We were almost clear, but her horse stumbled and they caught her. I wanted to go back for her, but she screamed at me to get away. I couldn't:I wanted to help her but:I just:"
Tears began to cascade down her cheeks once more. She didn't seem to notice, making no attempt to wipe them away, just staring silently into the fire as the horror of it all came back to her. When she spoke once more, her voice was almost inaudible.
"I got clear and I turned back to watch. They were:they were:I could see them:" Her voice died away. Gilan reached forward and took her hand.
"Don't think about it," he said gently and she looked up at him, gratitude in her eyes. "I take it that after:that:you got away into the hills?"
She nodded several times, her thoughts still vivid with the terrible scenes she had witnessed. Will and Horace sat in silence. Will glanced at his friend and a look of understanding passed between them. Evanlyn had been lucky to escape.
"I've been hiding ever since," she said quietly. "My horse went lame about ten days back and I turned him loose. Since then, I've kept moving back toward the north by night and hiding by day." She indicated Bart and Carney, sitting trussed like two captive chickens on the far side of the clearing. "I saw those two a few times, and others like them. I didn't make myself known to them. I didn't think I could trust them."
Carney assumed a hurt look. Bart was still too dizzy from the crack Horace had given him with the flat of his sword to be taking any interest in the proceedings.
"Then I saw you three earlier today from across a valley and I recognized you as King's Rangers-well, two of you, anyway," she amended. "All I could think was 'Thank God.'"
Gilan looked up at her at that, a small frown of concentration creasing his forehead. She didn't notice the reaction as she went on.
"It took me most of the day to reach you. It wasn't far as the crow flies, but there was no way across the valley that separated us. I had to go the long way around. Then down and up again. I was terrified that you'd be gone by the time I got here. But luckily, you weren't," she added, unnecessarily.
Will was leaning forward, elbow on his knee and hand propped under his chin, trying to piece together all she'd told them.
"Why would Morgarath want miners?" he asked of nobody in particular. "He doesn't have mines, so it doesn't make sense."
"Maybe he's found some?" Horace suggested. "Maybe he's found gold up there in the Mountains of Rain and Night and he needs slaves to dig it out."
Gilan gnawed thoughtfully at a thumbnail as he considered what Horace had said. "That could be," he said at last. "He's going to need gold to pay off the Skandians. Maybe he's mining his own."
Evanlyn had sat up a little straighter at the mention of the sea wolves.
"Skandians?" she asked. "Are they in league with Morgarath now?"
Gilan nodded. "They've got something cooking," he told her. "The entire kingdom's on alert. We were bringing dispatches to King Swyddned from Duncan."
"You'll have to go southwest to find him," Evanlyn replied. Will noticed that she had started a little at the mention of King Duncan's name. "But I doubt he'll leave his defensive positions there."
Gilan was already shaking his head. "I think this is more important than taking dispatches to Swyddned. After all, the main thrust of them was to tell him that Morgarath was on the move. I guess he knows that by now."
He stood up, stretching and yawning. It was already full dark.
"I suggest we get a good night's sleep," he said, "and start back north in the morning. I'll take first watch, so you can keep my cloak, Evanlyn. I'll take Will's when he relieves me."