The youth had certainly come a long way in a very short time. It did not seem all that long ago that Sardec had ordered him whipped for insubordination. Now he was forced to treat him as an equal when they met in Lord Azaar's tent.

Sardec shrugged. Such matters were of little moment now. His business was to get through the next few hours and see that as many of his men survived as possible. Rena thought the shrug was meant for her, and turned her gaze away. A small sliver of misery entered Sardec's heart, but he let no sign of it show on his face. He would make it up to her, somehow, some way – if he survived today.

A horn sounded. Troops retreated through the gap in the wall. It looked like the Talorean infantry might have been thrown back but it was hard to tell. Drums beat around him. That was the signal for his own lads to enter the fray. The killing time was upon them. He strode over to tiny monkey-faced Sergeant Hef.

"It's time to move out," he said.

"Yes, sir," said the Sergeant. He gave the signal to the men around him. They raised their weapons and began to head towards the walls. Nobody looked particularly keen, but that was only to be expected. Sieges were the roughest sort of warfare known to man or Terrarch. There was only one compensation and now seemed the right time to mention it.

"Come on, lads," said Sardec. "Time to get our share of the loot!"

The Foragers cheered. How many of them would be live to spend their ill-gotten gains, Sardec wondered.

 

 

Rik watched the lines of soldiers advance into the gaps in the walls. Oily smoke obscured the clear early autumn sky. More dragons approached. At this distance it was not possible to tell to which side they belonged. Since they were coming from the city and heading directly for this hill, it seemed likely they were the enemy. There were only three of them and they seemed quite small, although that was a relative term when it came to such creatures. All of the approaching monsters were capable of taking a man down at a gulp.

"It's fair to say that our concealment spells have been penetrated," said Asea. She has the sorcerer's trick of making her voice carry without seeming to speak any louder than in conversation. She did not sound particularly bothered for a woman who might soon come under attack by dragons. He envied her that calm and the two thousand years she had taken to develop it.

The position of the mages had been hidden by powerful weaves of illusion.