Great choice. I suddenly realized how bright it was.
“Hey!” I blinked. “How late is it?”
“Figure we’ve got about a minute before things start popping,” Aahz said casually.
“How long?” I gasped.
Aahz’s brow furrowed for a moment as he reflected on his words. Klahdish units of time still gave him a bit of trouble.
“An hour!” he smiled triumphantly. “That’s it. An hour.”
“That’s better,” I sighed, sinking back to a horizontal position.
“On your feet, kid!” Aahz ordered. “We let you sleep as late as we could, but now you’re needed to review the troops.”
“Have you briefed everybody?” I yawned, sitting up. “Is the plan clear?”
“As clear as it’s going to be, all things considered ,” Aahz shrugged.
“Okay,” I responded, rolling to my feet. “Let’s go. You can fill me in on any new developments along the way.”
Aahz and I had been up most of the night formulating today’s plan, and I found I was actually eager to see it implemented.
“You should be thankful you aren’t on the other side,” Aahz chortled as we moved to join the others. “Old Claude’s been making the most of the time we gave him.”
“Keeping them busy, is he?” I smiled.
“Since sunup,” Aahz confirmed smugly. “Drilling, sharpening swords, never a dull moment in the Empire’s army, that’s for sure.”
I wasn’t sure I shared Aahz’s enthusiasm for the enemy’s spending lots of time sharpening their swords. Fortunately, I was spared the discomfort of replying as Gus lumbered up to us.
“You just missed Brockhurst’s report,” he informed us. “Still nothing on the left flank.”