"If I wait for the others, it could take at least ten days after we finish with Torrian. But I can get there in two if I have to."

" Two? How?"

"Sorcery," he replied. "Trust me. If I need to get there, I could be there two days after you call for me." He looked at them. "I'll stay with the army until we either get there or you tell me to come quickly. I get the feeling that they want me here."

"We all want you near, dear one," Dolanna smiled.

"You see, this is why I've always liked you, Dolanna," Tarrin smiled at her. "We have a Druid with us, but they may need my magic to take Torrian."

"A Druid? Who, and why is he there?"

"Not just a Druid, but also a bloody army of Woodkin," Tarrin told them evenly. "Centaurs, mostly, but with a large number of Were-kin to provide some additional power."

"How did they end up-"

"Haley and Sarraya," he interrupted. "They must have pled quite a case, because Fae-da'Nar decided that it can't turn its back on what's happening. So they've assembled an army of sorts, and that army is on the way to Suld. They've agreed to take Torrian because it's important to the defense of Suld, but after that, they're all going to race to Suld as fast as possible."

"And now we have Centaurs and Were-kin," Shiika laughed. "This is starting to turn into a world-wide affair."

"It is a matter that concerns the world, Empress," Dolanna said calmly. "If the Tower falls, the whole world will be changed because of it."

"True enough," Shiika agreed.

"Where is the enemy?"

"That's one of the reasons I needed to see you," Keritanima told him. "Three Ungardt clans attacked the army just outside of the Petal Mountains. They attacked them literally as they came out of the mountain pass, and from what the Aeradalla have reported so far, the Ungardt have the ki'zadun pinned in at the pass mouth. I don't have any reliable reports on what's going on right now, but I can tell you that the battle won't last long, and the Ungardt probably won't survive it. But what it will do is delay that army by at least two days. I'll take those two days, even if I don't like what it costs us to get them."

That was grim news. Every Ungardt army was a clan, and if the army was destroyed, then that meant that an entire Ungardt clan was going to be devastated. Ungardt didn't take orders well, every clan-chief more or less commanding his own people. Some Ungardt clans decided to come to Suld, but some of them obviously decided to attack the ki'zadun before they could get out of Draconia. He didn't agree with that decision, but he had to agree that every day the enemy was delayed was another day they had to prepare for their coming.

"We knew that was going to happen," Tarrin sighed. "Sometimes my mother's people can be very stubborn."

"I'm not too worried about the army now," Shiika told him. "My daughters have been busy getting ready for our cousins to arrive. We'll have all sorts of nasty surprises waiting for them."

"Like what?"

"Like making weapons that can harm Demons," Keritanima replied. "Mainly arrows. We intend to kill as many as possible as far away from the city as we can."

That's part of it, one of the Cambisi sent her thoughts. He looked at her, and realized that it was Anayi. And he was surprised that he could hear her thoughts, since he was actually in Watch Hill. We also made sure that no Demon can teleport itself within a hundred spans of the city walls. That will keep them from appearing inside the city and wreaking havoc, which is what I'll guarantee they'll try to do first.

"My daughters arrived with a very extensive list of preparations to make," Shiika added. "They've nearly finished the list. I'm very proud of them."

We understand how serious this is, mother, the other sent her thoughts. Our own lives and well being depend on holding Suld. It was very effective motivation.

"Yes, facing a total destruction of your life can really spur you," Shiika chuckled. "We're going to be ready for them."

"Any word on if they know we know they're coming?" Tarrin asked.

"Nothing solid yet," Keritanima grunted. "The spy is still hiding too deeply for Jula to find her, but I do think that Jula's keeping her pinned down. I'd rather her be dead, but she's just as neutralized if she can't send any warnings."

"We can help with that, your Majesty," Shiika offered. "Now that my daughters are almost done with the preparations, I can spare one or two of them to scour the Tower for this traitor."

"How will they find her?"

The same way we do this, Anayi sent with a smile. We can hear as well as send thoughts. All we have to do is wander around and listen to the surface thoughts of those around us, and we'll come across your traitor eventually. Thoughts are usually much less constrained than words or body language.

"That is a clever idea," Dolanna said appreciatively. "Would it hamper the work they have yet to do?"

"Not if I only spare one or two," Shiika replied. "Now that I'm here, I'll wander around and see if I can find her myself. My own gifts are much stronger than my daughters'. I can hear much more than they can, even dig a little without giving myself away."

Few can hide secrets from our mother, Anayi said proudly.

"You can hear thoughts?" Keritanima said nervously.

"We're very discreet, your Majesty," Shiika grinned. "Unless, of course, what we hear impacts our negotiations, of course. I'm sure you'll find that out the next time we sit down to work out a trade treaty."

Keritanima glared at the Demoness.

"It's only polite to warn you, after all," Shiika said grandly, leaning back in her chair.

Keritanima's cheek fur ruffled, her version of a blush. "We digress," Dolanna said delicately. "I think that the aid of you and your daughters would be welcome, Empress."

"I'll send Anayi out as soon as we finish up here," Shiika said. "We'll probably have your spy in the bag in three days, depending on how disciplined her mind is."

"Is everyone going to get here before the ki'zadun?" Tarrin asked pointedly, changing the subject.

"I think they will," Keritanima replied. "My furthest troop ship is six days out, so all the Legions will be in place. I have a solid report that the Selani are inside Sulasia, and they'll probably hit the Dals in Jerinhold in about six days, then be here three days afterward. Ungardt longships have been arriving one after another for nearly a ride, and we have a pretty formidable number of Ungardt here. They keep getting drunk and trashing the waterfront," Keritanima laughed. "We need that army to get here just so they stop trashing Suld and start trashing something else." She grinned at him, then got back to business. "If the Ungardt do delay the ki'zadun by two days, that means that it's going to take them about fifteen days to march down from Draconia after reorganizing themselves after the attack. Alot of what they had to do was get out of the mountains. They'll move very fast once they hit open country, because Golblinoids can move fast without mounts, and from what I've seen, most of the humans in the army are mounted. It's a huge army, my brother," Keritanima said soberly. "I never dreamed there were that many Goblinoids in the world, let alone just here in the West."

"How big?"

"I don't have a solid figure, but tens of thousands would be a conservative estimate," she frowned. "It's going to take every fighting man we've got to repel that kind of a force, but we can do it," she said confidently. "We have the advantage, because we'll be defending, and we know what's coming at us. They'll give it a fury of a run, but they're going to come up short."

"May the Goddess make it be so," Dolanna said fervently under her breath.

"Well, add Fae-da'Nar to your list, Kerri," Tarrin told her. "If things go right, they'll march into Suld a couple of days before the army gets there."