in her had been set free as well. She could feel the way the
Elves looked at her. She could sense their respect. She be-
longed to them now. She was one of them.
Within an hour, all was ready. In stealth and silence, the
Elves of Morrowindl’s past melted away into the night.
XVIII
W fter an hour’s steady march, the Elves spent the remain-
f^\ der of that night in a forest just north of the Pykon that
• Awas backed up against the larger mass of Drey Wood
and faced south toward the plains on which the Federation
camp was settled. All night they could see the fires from the
burning siege machines and supply wagons lighting the hori-
zon in a bright glow, and in the still of their forest concealment
they could hear faint shouts and cries.
They slept fitfully and rose again at dawn to wash, eat, and
be dispatched to their duties. Desidio sent riders north to
Arborlon with news of the attack and Wren’s personal request
to Barsimmon Oridio that the balance of the army proceed
south as soon as possible. Cavalry patrols were dispatched in
all directions with orders to make certain that no other South-
land force was in the field besides the one they knew about.
Special attention was to be given to the garrisons within the
cities of Callahom. Wing Riders flew south to assess the extent
of the damage inflicted in last night’s strike, with a particular
eye toward determining how soon the column would be able to
move again. The day was clouded and gray, and the Rocs
would fly unseen against the dark backdrop of the Westland
mountains and forest. The remainder of the Elves, after seeing
to the care and feeding of their animals and the cleaning and
repair of their battle gear, were sent back to sleep until midday.
Wren spent the morning with her commanders—Desidio,
Triss, and Erring Rift. Tiger Ty had flown south, determined
that any assessment made of the condition of the Federation
army should be subject to his personal verification. Wren was
204
The Talismans of Shannam 205
both tired and excited, flushed with energy and taut with fa-
tieue and she knew that she needed a few hours’ sleep herself
before she would be clear-headed again. Nevertheless, she
wanted her commanders—and especially Desidio, now that she
had won him over—to start considering what their small force
should do next. To a great extent, that depended on what the
Federation did. Still, there were only so many possibilities, and
Wren wanted to steer the thinking regarding those possibilities
in the right direction. With luck the Southlanders would be un-
able to start moving again for several days, and that would
give the main body of the Elven army time to reach the Rhenn.
But if they did begin to move, it would be up to Wren and the
vanguard to find a way to slow them once more. Under no cir-
cumstances did she intend that they should do nothing. Stand-
ing fast was out of the question. They had won an important
victory over their larger foe with last night’s strike, and she did
not intend to lose the advantage that victory had established.
The Federation would be looking over its collective shoulder
now; she wanted to keep it looking for as long as possible. It
was important that her commanders think the same way she
did.
She was satisfied she had accomplished this when they were
done conferring, and she went off to sleep. She slept until it
was nearing midday and woke to find Tiger Ty and the Wing
Rider patrol returned. The news they carried was good. The
Federation army was making no attempt to advance. All of its
siege equipment and most of its supplies had been reduced to
ashes. The camp was sitting exactly where they had left it last
night, and all of the army’s efforts seemed to be directed to-
ward caring for the injured, burying the dead, and culling
through what remained of their stores. Scouts were patrolling
the perimeter and foraging parties were canvassing the coun-
tryside, but the main body of the army was still picking itself