"There are Grolims with them," he growled, still sizzling the air around him with oaths. "The Grolims could feel me watching, so the troops moved only at night, and the Grolims shielded them."
"Where did they hide in the daytime?"
"In the Thullish villages, apparently. There are dozens of communities out there. It never occurred to me to pay all that much attention to them." He began to swear again, berating himself savagely for having missed the movement of the Murgo army.
"There's no point in swearing about it, Uncle," Polgara told him coolly. "It's done, now."
"Unfortunately there's a bit more, Pol," the sorcerer told her. "There's another army at least as big coming in from the north - Malloreans, Nadraks, and Thulls. We're caught right between them."
"How long have we got before they reach us?" Polgara asked. Beldin shrugged. "Not long. The Murgos have some rough ground to cross - probably about an hour. The Malloreans will be here in quite a bit less."
Polgara began to curse fervently under her breath. "Go to Rhodar," she told the hunchback. "Tell him that we have to release Anheg's fleet immediately - before the Angaraks can bring up catapults and destroy the ships where they're anchored."
The deformed man nodded and stooped slightly, curving his arms out like wings even as he began to waver and change.
"Olban," Polgara called to the young Rivan, "go find Sir Mandorallen and Lord Hettar. Send them to me at once. Hurry."
Olban gave her one startled look, then ran for his horse.
Durnik the smith came sliding down the grassy bank onto their little beach. His face was grave. "You and the ladies must leave at once, Mistress Pol," he told her. "There's going to be fighting here, and the middle of a battle's no place for any of you."
"I'm not going anywhere, Durnik," she replied with a trace of irritation. "I started all this, and I'm going to see it through."
Ariana had gone back into the tent as soon as the situation became clear to her. She now emerged again, carrying the stout canvas bag in which she kept her medical supplies. "Have I thy permission to leave, Lady Polgara?" she asked with a certain cool professionalism. "In battle men are injured, and I must go make preparations for their care. This spot is somewhat too remote and confined to receive the wounded."
Polgara gave her a quick look. "All right," she agreed. "Just be careful not to get too close to the fighting."
Taiba pulled on her cloak. "I'll go with you," she told Ariana. "I don't know that much about it, but you can teach me as we go along."
"Go help them get set up, Durnik," Polgara told the smith. "Then come back here."
Durnik nodded gravely and helped the two women up the steep bank. Mandorallen thundered up on his charger with Hettar at his side. "You know what's happened?" Polgara demanded.
Mandorallen nodded.
"Is there any possibility of withdrawing before the enemy forces arrive?"
"Nay, my Lady Polgara," the great knight replied. "They are too close. Moreover, our purpose has ever been to gain passage for the ships of Cherek into the Sea of the East. We must buy them time to sail beyond the reach of the siege engines of the Angaraks."
"I didn't want this," Polgara said angrily and she began to mutter curses again.
Brand, the gray-cloaked Rivan Warder, accompanied by General Varana, rode up to join Mandorallen and Hettar at the top of the steep bank. The four of them dismounted and slid down the bank to the sand.
"We've begun evacuating the city," the big Rivan said in his deep voice, "and most of the fleet is pulling anchor. We're holding just enough ships to maintain the bridges across the south channel."
"Is there any possibility of putting the entire army on one bank or the other?" Polgara asked him.
He shook his head. "There isn't time, Polgara."
"We're going to be divided by the river," she pointed out, "and neither force is going to be strong enough to meet the Angaraks coming against it."
"A tactical necessity, my dear Lady Polgara," General Varana told her. "We have to hold both banks until the fleet is clear."
"I think Rhodar misjudged the Angarak intentions," Brand said. "He was so sure that Taur Urgas and 'Zakath would both want to avoid taking casualties that he didn't consider this possibility."
General Varana clasped his muscular hands behind his back and limped back and forth along the little beach, his face creased with thought. "I think I begin to understand the meaning of that Murgo column we destroyed in the uplands," he said.
"Your Grace?" Mandorallen asked, puzzled.
"It was a test of our commitment," Varana explained. "The Angaraks needed to know when we were making our major move. One of the basic rules of war is not to become involved in serious conflicts if what you're doing is merely diversionary. That column was bait. Unfortunately, we took it."
"You mean we shouldn't have attacked the column?" Hettar asked him.
Varana made a rueful face. "Apparently not. It gave away our intentions - let them know that this expedition was not a diversion. I underestimated Taur Urgas. He threw away a thousand men just to find out what we were up to."
"What now?" Hettar asked.
"We get ready to fight," Varana said. "I wish we had better terrain for it, but I suppose we'll have to make do with what we have."
Hettar looked out across the river, his hawk-face hungry. "I wonder if I've got time to make it over to the south bank," he mused.
"One side or the other," Brand said, looking puzzled. "What's the difference?"
"The Murgos are over there," Hettar replied. "I don't really have anything against Malloreans."
"This isn't a personal fight, Lord Hettar," Varana pointed out.
"It is with me," Hettar said grimly.
"We must needs see to the safety of Lady Polgara and the princess," Mandorallen said. "Mayhap an escort should be provided to convey them back to the forts atop the escarpment."
Brand shook his head. "The region is likely to be patrolled heavily," he disagreed. "It wouldn't be safe."
"He's right, Mandorallen," Polgara told the knight. "Besides, you need every man you've got right here." She looked off toward the northeast. "Then, too, there's that." She pointed toward a heavy cloudbank that had begun to stain the sky just above the horizon. The clouds were an inky black, seething and rolling and illuminated from within by fitful flickers of lightning.