I was afraid that we might be rushing things but at the same time I felt the urge to move fast. No matter how things would develop, we didn't have time to waste. We drew another crowd as we left the capital. There was cheering once more but it wasn't the same kind of crowd our arrival had drawn. Us leaving in such a rush might have confused more than a few of the onlookers. Well, let them be confused. It didn't matter much to me if they understood what we were doing or why we were in such a hurry. I had moved at the head of our column at first but stopped at the city gate to let all of my men and women, warriors and animal handlers as well as the pack animals past me. I tried to keep an eye on everything but that was impossible in the long run.

Right now, everything seemed to be well enough but problems might crop up sooner or later anyway. As Zul'gar and Kaele, the last of our column left the city, I started moving ahead again. The experienced animal handler had orders to not let any stragglers drop behind. In a way he and my sister were on problem solving duty. Maybe I should make the old man a sergeant? That is if he decided to stay with me. His experience would certainly serve me well. I moved past animals and soldiers, wearing my armor and with my glaive resting on my shoulder. I broke into a light sweat soon. The marching column was moving at a brisk pace, as I had ordered, and I had to move faster yet again to get back to the front. I slowed down only briefly once I reached the center of the formation. Several of my captains converged here. Among them Yath'zur, who stood tall enough to be a landmark of sorts, and Tora'pheer, who's complement of mounted lancers followed behind the trolls and giants.

I moved to march besides them. “Keep an eye out for any trouble. We will keep up this pace and march around Caer'zha to make camp on the far side of it where caravans usually set up for the night.” I would have liked to move further still but negotiations and purchases of supplies had taken some time and rushing either any more probably would have been a bad idea. They both nodded in agreement. “Caer'zha will be probably be the last chance to make any major purchases and repairs. Especially for the next two or three days. We will not be following the road around the hills. We will be cutting straight through them after meeting up with a few more acquaintances of mine.”

The fiery haired giant nodded again, shifting the weight of the shield and the spears he carried a little as he replied. “The harpies you mentioned, yes?” His voice was deep and rather pleasant. For the briefest of moments I wondered how he could maintain such a conversational tone during a forced march but then I realized that to him, with his long legs, it probably was more like a pleasant stroll. Unlike me he probably wouldn't be breaking into a sweat anytime soon, despite carrying gear that might weight about as much as me.

“Exactly.” I didn't know how many of her people Quu'za could win over but I was hoping for at least two handful. More would be better though. “I was thinking about integrating them with Tortho's scouts. They will have to start screening our column once we leave the road for the hills, to make sure we don't run into any unpleasant surprises. The harpies are pretty fleet of foot themselves after all.”

The captain of the lancers laughed at that. “They usually sure are. I have had to deal with some harpy bandits a few years back. Even for us running them down was near impossible. In the end we had to settle for scaring them off. They are a true terror at night as well.” She shuddered at that, probably because she had first hand experience. “If we have to do any night raids, they might be the best suited for the task.” I nodded in agreement. I had seen them fight at night under the worst of conditions after all.

“Mhm.” The giant seemed to be of the same mind as us. “In the meantime we might use them as messengers, like the royal couriers do. That way we can pass messages from the scouts to the rest of the army faster than we could if we just left it to the scouts themselves. Should keep them from running themselves ragged as well. I mean the scouts.”

I flashed him a grin. He wasn't wrong. The scouts would have to move a lot already to keep the surroundings of the marching army under a tight watch. It would take a load of their shoulder if they didn't have to report on any findings by themselves as well. “I'll mention it to Tortho.” He probably would accept the suggestion but I didn't want to actually tell him how to do his job. I didn't even want to sound like anything of the likes was on my mind. The man knew how to do his job and the same was true for the other company leaders.

I waved goodbye and sped up again. I was sweating again before long but I didn't mind. Sure, running in full armor was strenuous but at the same time it felt exhilarating. I hadn't felt good like that in a while. Since we went on our little camping trip before the whole mess started in fact. I blushed a little at the thought but hopefully no one would be able to notice. I felt a little guilty at the exhilaration as I was probably leading at least a few of the people following me to an early grave. Sure, sweat and tears could save you some blood but I had no illusions about bringing everyone back home safe and sound. That just was not going to happen.

By the time I reached the head of the marching column Caer'zha was already in sight and I could already tell that the gate guards were eyeing us wearily. Tortho who coordinated his scouts and rangers from here greeted me with a nod as I approached. I returned the gesture and slowed down as I caught up to him. “Any trouble yet? No? Keep an eye out anyway.” I pointed at a spot ahead of us where a small path diverged from the main road. It lead around the town. “We march around the town and set up camp on the other side where the larger caravans usually stop for the night.”

He nodded and one of his men moved ahead to the intersection to divert the army onto the smaller path. It probably wasn't the first time they did that. He probably knew the roads around the capital pretty well if they regularly deployed from here. “About the harpies you mentioned, Keza? Do you have any plans for them?” He wasn't a friend of formalities. Still my eyebrow went up a little as he addressed me so casually.

So he had given the matter some though already. Good. “I just talked with Yath'zur and Tora'pheer about that same matter.” I looked him in the face to judge his reaction. “How would you feel about integrating them with your scouts as messengers?”

He brightened up a little. “My thoughts exactly. That way my girls and boys can keep a closer eye on anything they come across. Passing messages back and forth without loosing our prey is often one of our greatest hassles.”

“I will introduce you to Quu'za then as soon as we make contact. I'll leave the details to you.” He seemed to like that. It was a little curious how he tended to wear his heart on his sleeve. Most scouts and rangers weren't so outgoing. Eld'tide certainly wasn't. Not with anyone she hadn't known all her life anyway. “Keep your eyes and ears or rather those of the sergeants open for any problems among the soldiers. If someone needs their pack fixed or their shoes, this is the stop to get it done. Tomorrow we will cut through the hills. I doubt we will find many tailors or shoemakers there.”

Now this surprised him a little and unlike the others he didn't hold back and spoke what was on his mind. “You want to lead the army through the hills? Are you sure? I mean, we certainly can do it. I don't expect too much trouble but some of the people might not like it very much. Especially if we keep up the speed.”

I could see what he meant. I wouldn't relent and change my mind though. “See it as a test of our abilities. We will probably move through some real mountains after reaching Caer'zoth. If there is any trouble with rough terrain we better find out here then there.” As he grunted in agreement another thought struck me. “Maybe we should pick a path with some obstacles on purpose to get everyone used to it? That should give us a chance to find out who has experience with mountainous terrain and who is good at impromptu problem solving. Yes?”

For a moment I imagined I could see some mischief in his expression but he quickly got himself under control again. He seemed to like the idea anyway. “It will allow the units to grow together. Nothing like solving a few small problems to build some corps spirit.” He nodded enthusiastically. “I'll see to it.”