'Quick Ben says it's the condors and nothing else, Lieutenant, and they only take to the sky during the day. So long as we keep under cover when the sun's out, we should be able to pull this off.'
Picker slowly nodded in the darkness. 'Spindle agrees. So do Bluepearl and Shank and Toes. Captain, with us and just us Bridgeburners frog-hopping with the Black Moranth, I'd have little concern. But since we're flying point on-'
'Shh — there, down below. Saw something.'
Blend was her usual admirable self, moving like a shadow, vanishing entirely for one, two, three heartbeats, then reappearing ten paces closer, zigzagging her way to where Picker and Paran waited.
Though neither officer had moved nor made a sound, Blend had somehow found them. Her teeth flashed white as she squatted down in front of them.
'Very impressive,' Paran muttered. 'Are you here to report or will you leave that to the man who's supposed to be doing that? Unless, of course, you've left Antsy and the rest stumbling lost half a league in your wake.'
The smile disappeared. 'Uh, no sir, they're about thirty paces back — can't you hear 'em? There, that was Spindle — his hairshirt snagging on a branch. And those steps out front — that's Antsy, he's bandy-legged, walks like an ape. Those clunks? Hedge. The quietest one of the lot is Detoran, oddly enough.'
'You making this up, soldier?' Paran asked. 'Because I don't hear a thing.'
'No, sir,' Blend said innocently.
Picker wanted to reach out and cuff the woman. 'Go down and find them, Blend,' she growled. If they're that loud they've lost the trail, you idiot. Not that they are. Not that they have. Paran stuck you right sharp and you don't like it. Fine. 'Now.'
'Aye, Lieutenant.' Blend sighed.
They watched her slither and slide her way back down to the path, then vanish.
Paran grunted. 'She almost had me there.'
Picker glanced over. 'She thinks she's done just that.'
'That's right, she does.'
She said nothing, then grinned. Damn, I think you're our captain now. Finally, we found a good one.
'Here they come,' Paran observed.
They were a match to Blend, or close enough to make little difference. Flowing silent, weapons bound, armour muffled. They watched Antsy raise a hand, halt those following with a gesture, then inscribe a circle in the air with his index finger. The squads dispersed to the sides, each one seeking a place of cover. The patrol was done.
The sergeant made his way up to where Paran and Picker waited.
Before he arrived, Quick Ben slipped down to join the two officers. 'Captain,' he said under his breath, 'I've been talking with Twist's second.'
'And?'
'And the Moranth is worried, sir. About his commander — that killer infection's moved up past the shoulder. Twist only has a few weeks left, and he's living with a lot of pain right now — Hood knows how he stays in control.'
'All right,' Paran sighed. 'We'll resume conversation on that subject later. Let's hear Antsy now.'
'Right.'
The sergeant arrived, settled down in front of them. Picker handed him a flask and he took it, swallowed a half-dozen mouthfuls of wine, handed it back. Antsy cleared both nostrils with explosive snorts, then wiped his moustache and spent another few moments grooming and patting it down.
'If you start washing your armpits next,' Paran warned, 'I'll kill you. Once I get over the nausea, that is. So you've visited Setta — what did you see, Sergeant?'
'Uh, yes, sir, Captain. Setta. A ghost city, damned eerie. All those empty streets, empty buildings, feast-piles-'
'Feast what?'
'Feast-piles. In the squares. Big mounds of burnt bone and ash. Human. Feast-piles. Oh, and huge birds' nests on the city's four towers — Blend climbed close to one.'
'She did?'
'Well, closer, anyway. We'd noticed the guano on the tower sides when the sun's light was still clinging up high. Anyway, there's those mountain vultures bedded down in them.'
Quick Ben cursed. 'And Blend's sure she wasn't seen?'
'Absolutely, Wizard. You know Blend. We kept to blocking lines of sight just in case, which wasn't easy — those towers were well placed. But those birds had bedded down for real.'
'See any Great Ravens?' Quick Ben enquired.
The sergeant blinked. 'No. Why?'
'Nothing. But the rule holds — trust nothing in the sky, Antsy. Be sure everyone knows and remembers that, right?'