Silver held a meeting the following morning, delaying their departure by a short time to gather the various leaders of the individual groups.

  While he was delaying them a little, Silver still had the camp be packed up, meaning that their meeting was a simple loose circle of people next to the leading wagon of the caravan.

  Silver cast his eyes over those present, the bags under his eyes suggesting he hadn’t slept well, if at all. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. We have a quick matter to discuss before we press on. Pathfinder?”

  “Thank you Commander,” the Pathfinder said, giving Silver a respectful nod. “My forward scouts have come across some signs of another large group in the area, over a thousand people at least, with a supply train. Their tracks cross this road a few hours from here and head north. They appear to have passed by a day ago.”

  “So more recently than the Cyth, but still a fair distance ahead of us,” Ada said with a slight frown. “Any chance of them being reinforcements or the like?”

  “Unknown at the moment,” Galstar said. “We’ve not made contact with any scouts from them, so we’re working with little information. The most I can say for certain is that they’re trying to conceal their presence.”

  “In what way?” Morag asked sharply. Dresk was north of them, so if this unknown group had been heading that way, Verdan could understand her concern.

  “The path they took avoids the easiest way to move around,” Galstar said, moving as if to point at a map before remembering there wasn’t one there. “If they’d gone another day’s travel west they would have been able to move along the roads, not just cross them. If it was a smaller group or a mounted one, I could understand it. With a supply train, though, it makes me believe they are trying to avoid being seen.”

  “Do we have a way to confirm any of this or find out more?” Ada asked, tapping out a staccato beat on her armour as she considered the Pathfinder’s words. “The Cyth should remain our priority, but this does concern me.”

  “We can’t afford to deviate from our path,” Silver said firmly. “We’ve managed to lessen the gap between us slightly, no doubt thanks to the unruly nature of the Host. Diverting, even a little, or waiting for scouts would risk things turning the other way. Even something like this meeting is only workable as the rest of the camp is busy preparing.”

  The Pathfinder went to say something else when a Sorcerer in the red robes of the Defiant Flame came rushing over to join them. “My apologies, I was not aware a meeting had been called.”

  Verdan didn’t recognise the Sorcerer, and from the looks the others were giving him, they didn’t either.

  “I will ensure the Defiant Flame and updated after we’ve finished,” Vaijon said quickly, before they were pulled off of the topic at hand. “Pathfinder, I believe you were saying something?”

  “Thank you, Elder,” Galstar said, ducking her head in deference to the Sorcerer. “Between the Airta, my people and volunteers from other groups, we have more scouts than is currently needed. At the moment, those scouts not ranging ahead of us are watching our flanks and searching for survivors. If needed, I could pull draw together a mixed team and send them to follow the trail on a detached assignment.”

  Silver nodded and went to speak, but Sylvie’s voice rang out first. “Before you make your decision, Commander, I have something to report.”

  “Please proceed.” Silver looked a little surprised that Sylvie had spoken up, which wasn’t surprising. Pathfinder Galstar had taken over most of the formal responsibilities involved with their scouting elements.

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  Sylvie nodded and turned to let out a sharp whistle before speaking. “Last night, the Draskir sensed something in the woods to our north. They kept watch throughout the night, but whatever they sensed did not come our way. It may not be linked to this other group, but I would ask to take command of any detachment in order to check.”

  “They sensed something,” Silver echoed, the concern on his face telling Verdan that he was taking the warning seriously. It was easy to dismiss the Airta at first, but despite their oddities, they were rarely wrong.

  “Just so,” Sylvie said, waving forward a pair of Airta that had come in response to her whistle. A large group of assorted wolves, dogs and canine beasts had gathered behind the two newcomers, but only one animal came with each Airta.

  The closer of the two Airta was Blane, with Friga at his side as usual. Seeing Verdan’s gaze, Blane gave him a slight nod before stepping forward to provide Silver the same initial description he’d given Verdan the night before.

  “Do you have anything to go on despite this rage?” Cullan asked, glancing north curiously. “Could it not be a monster that has been disturbed by travellers or the like?”

  Sylvie nodded to one of the Draskir with Blane. “This is Stefan. He went to investigate while the others remained on watch.”

  Stefan was a lean-looking man with short dark hair, pale eyes and a jagged scar that cut from his left cheek to the right side of his jaw. A dark-furred wolf was sitting by his side, her bright blue eyes watching them with surprising intelligence.

  “Sefvan,” Stefan said in a soft voice that was thickly accented, inclining his head to Sylvie before continuing. “Asa and I followed the rage that we could feel, and came across a camp. It had once contained a dozen warriors, along with what we thought at first was a Sorcerer. When we searched them, however, we found this.”

  Stefan pulled out a familiar-looking wand and Verdan let out an involuntary hiss of surprise. “Brotherhood.”

  Murmurs of surprise and concern came from the rest of those gathered, but Silver lift a hand for quiet.

  “You said ‘had’. How did you know?” Silver asked in the voice of someone who already knew the answer, but needed to hear it.

  “All thirteen of the camp’s inhabitants had been run down and their hearts ripped from their chests. The furthest any made it was a few hundred paces from their camp.”

  Stefan’s soft voice somehow drove the horrific imagery of what he was describing home to those listening.

  Verdan could almost picture it, a small band of people bedding down for the night before something arriving and scattering them. The idea of it chasing them down one by one and killing them in such a violent manner sent a shiver down Verdan’s spine.

  There was something about it that seemed vaguely familiar to him, the speed and violence of it, but he couldn’t place it.

  “I see,” Silver said at length, looking decidedly ill at ease after Stefan’s description of what he’d found. “The situation is more complex that I’d thought. The presence of the Brotherhood of Indagnum concerns me.”

  “It occurs to me that the larger force we saw could belong to the Brotherhood,” Ada said grimly. “We know far too little about their capabilities, let alone their goals.”

  “A disturbing thought, but one that I can hardly argue with,” Silver said, his gaze going distant for a moment before he nodded. “Alright. Pathfinder, please work with the Airta and arrange as large a group as can be safely spared. Sylvie, you will have command of this group.”

  “Thank you, Commander,” Sylvie said, dismissing the two Draskir with a wave. “We will organise ourselves and set off as soon as possible.”

  “Very good, I’ll leave it in your hands,” Silver said with a firm nod. “We can’t afford to ignore any potential threats, but don’t forget that the Cyth are the priority.”

  Sylvie bobbed her head in quick nod before moving off with Galstar, already in deep discussion.

  “Wizard Blacke,” Silver said, moving over to Verdan as the rest of those present dispersed back to finish preparing for the day’s travel. “I realise that you are invested in the situation with the Brotherhood, and under normal circumstances, I’d encourage you to go.”

  Verdan held up a hand to forestall the Commander’s request. “It’s alright, I’m not able to go with them. I have to remain with the caravan, otherwise the horses I created will be useless.”

  “Ah, of course,” Silver said, relaxing a little. “I’m still somewhat concerned about splitting our force at all, but the situation does call for it.”

  “I agree,” Verdan said, giving voice to the worry that was building in the back of his mind. “The presence of any other forces in the area concerns me, and the presence of the Brotherhood concerns me even more.”

  “Sylvie and the Pathfinder will find out more for us,” Silver said with confidence. “In the meantime, we need to keep pushing forward.”

  Verdan nodded before heading back to his wagon. He had a long day of work planned and worrying about this would do him no favours. Silver was right, they should leave it to the others.