The Autumn Republic

The doubt began to work its way deep and to spread. There were too many of them. Even after the damage Bo did to their party-it was doubtless a surprise for them to find a Privileged in the Adran camp-they still had at least three Privileged and fifty men. One Privileged and a squad or two, Taniel could handle. Pit, he could take two Privileged. But three was too many.

It was made all the worse by the knowledge that he’d left his best friend to die alone. No one could survive that kind of damage, not even a powder mage. Bo may be hardier than most Privileged, but he would be dead within a day or two, and Taniel hadn’t even said good-bye. He had left in a panic to try to retrieve Ka-poel and he knew he’d regret it for the rest of his life.

He forced the thought out of his mind. There was nothing he could do about it now. He had to save Ka-poel.

Tamas said he would send help, but Taniel knew whoever Tamas sent would move too slowly.

Taniel rode across the farmlands of Adro for another hour before the sun finally rose over the Adsea behind him, illuminating the Charwood Pile Mountains ahead and the Black Tar Forest, which spread out at the mountains’ base. At the top of a particularly high rise, he sniffed a pinch of powder and squinted across the fields.

Something moved in the distance.

He took another sniff to sharpen his eyes, increasing the strength of the trance. He could make out a trail of dust from a large group of riders off in the distance. They were at least fifteen miles away and they would be inside the forest within an hour.

He was curious why they had not tried to cut across the plains, but decided that his initial suspicion was correct. Once within the forest, they would turn south at the Counter’s Road, taking them to Surkov’s Alley and the protection of the Kez army. They would be inside of Kez-held lands within two days, even taking this roundabout way.

Taniel considered cutting across the farmlands to the southwest himself. But there was no good way to do it. Trying to navigate the forest would slow him down and he might miss them entirely. Far better to come up from behind and pick them off one by one from a distance. But even then, could he do it quickly enough before they reached the main army?

He felt the weight of despair in his stomach like lead shot. He wasn’t going to be able to get her back. They would kill her and free Kresimir, and then Adro would fall. Mihali-Adom-wasn’t here to protect them anymore.

A movement a few miles off caught his eye. He blinked several times to let his eyes refocus, and scanned the horizon. He saw just an old farmstead. Short, with stone walls and a thatched roof. He likely saw the farmer making his morning rounds. Nothing to get excited about.

Taniel was just about to dismiss the farmstead entirely when something new caught his eye. Near the edge of the farmhouse, he made out a uniform of green-on-tan, with a tall black cap with red accents. The man was crouched by the side of the building, staring straight toward Taniel. Without a powder trance, it was unlikely he could even see Taniel.

An ambush. How many men, Taniel couldn’t say. He would guess at least a dozen. He opened his third eye and looked again, but was unable to see any sign of a Privileged anywhere near the farmstead. Did they have air rifles? He wished he had asked about that before he left the Adran camp.

Taniel would need to get closer to find out.

He threw his bedroll down and caught an hour of sleep before he continued on, knowing it was his last chance at rest in the near future. Back in the saddle, he crossed the distance of a little over three miles at a trot so that the sun would be just over his shoulder as he approached.

When he was a half mile away, he checked with his third eye again. No Privileged and no Knacked. But these men would be grenadiers-as with Adran grenadiers, they would be bigger, stronger, and better trained than the average soldier.

At a quarter mile, Taniel slid from his saddle and staked out his horse so he could approach on foot. He put two pistols into his belt, fixing the bayonet onto his rifle and holding it across his chest.

He reached out with his senses, looking for powder, and he found it quickly. Powder horns, charges, loaded weapons. He sorted the information in his mind, assessing the arsenal of each man, and guessed there were six grenadiers.

A piss-poor ambush. Likely just meant to slow down pursuers, not stop them entirely.

Either way, these six were not ready for a powder mage. They were in for a damned big surprise… unless one of them had an air rifle. Then Taniel was in for a surprise. But nothing he could do for that.

He could sense the first grenadier behind a haystack a hundred and fifty yards away. Taniel took a deep breath, set his rifle to his shoulder, and pulled the trigger. He burned a little powder behind the bullet to make sure it went through the haystack. The crack of his rifle was quickly followed by a scream.