I tried to get some sleep but my attempts were mostly futile and what little sleep I managed to catch was not terribly restful. My body just didn't agree with such sudden changes of my sleep schedule, especially since I wasn't very tired to begin with. The excitement about a possible nighttime battle in the not so distant future didn't exactly help either. In the end I settled for some light meditation. It wasn't the kind of meditation that a monk or a real priest would do but it allowed me to relax my body. That way at least my body would be somewhat well rested even if my mind was in turmoil. I took some time to practice my new Chameleon Skin spell in concert with the Cat's Grace spell. It might proof useful to be able to make use of both at the same time after all before long.

As the time passed a few more scouts and rangers joined our group in ones or twos. The ones Tortho had recalled. We still were far from a real army but for a surprise attack it might just be better this way. Finally, when the sun disappeared behind the ridge we would follow, we got moving. I stopped my spell practice as we followed the ridge, focusing on every step instead. We moved at a deliberately slow speed to make sure no one would slip and go tumbling down the hillside. We couldn't afford sending any rocks tumbling downhill either. A rock slide like that could very well doom us all if the whole hillside were to start moving. Never mind that something like that could be heard for miles. No, we couldn't afford to hurry right now. Right now moving slow would mean that we moved fast.

In the end I decided to constantly keep Cat's Grace up, just in case. I ended up using my glaive like a hiking stick quite regularly as well, to probe the ground ahead of me, before I took the next step. The slope of the hill looked simple enough to traverse from afar. Up close though it revealed plenty of treacherous spots. That we kept low to the ground most of the time didn't exactly help either. But even at night and shielded from every observer, or at least all those we knew about, by the ridge we didn't want to take any risks. It got even trickier as the sun sank behind the horizon for good and the twinkling stars and the narrowest of all waning moon sickles replaced the darkening blue of the late evening sky. We essentially slowed down to a crawl and at times we literally crawled in between crippled trees that barely grew to hip height if at all.

All of our effort and patience, all the sweat and tears, even the curses we swallowed back down instead of speaking them aloud paid off. Apparently we had gone far enough. Judging by the stars I could see it was well past midnight. It was well past midnight and my heart started to beat faster as Tortho motioned for me and Eld'tide to follow him up to the very edge of the ridge, together with two of his sergeants. We were literally hugging the ground now, crawling to the edge on our bellies. The view that awaited us there was worth it though. We could look down into the pass and a good distance along its length, where it snaked north first before making a sharp bend to the east around the end of the ridge of the mountain we were currently navigating. We could see the watchtower as well. It was the only structure as far as I could tell and it sat almost directly below us.

There was a small watch fire outside the tower, in the direction that lead towards Caer'zoth and the rest of our lands. I could see a pair of sentries there. How foolish. The fire would completely ruin their night vision, especially considering the way they were not facing away from it all the time. One of the sergeants pointed to the top of the tower. There was another big stack of wood there. It wasn't lit though. That wasn't a watch fire, no this was a signal fire. And as I watched the tower's top for a while I could finally make out someone patrolling up there as well. That one was the lookout we had to be wary off. If something was up he probably wouldn't hesitate to light the fire. Before we retreated Tortho pointed further down the pass I had thought empty. Only now, and after having seen the signal fire atop the tower, was I able to make out the contours of another, similar stack of wood and kindling there.

Well, the humans weren't complete fools after all. We retreated from the edge of the ridge until we could sit up and form a small circle for a whispered conference. We didn't dare raise our voices any further, to not give ourselves away by accident. I looked the dark elf captain in the eyes. “We have to strike at both signal fires at once, don't we?”

He nodded, his expression grim. “The slope of the other side isn't too steep. We should be able to get down unnoticed.” He pointed at me and Eld'tide. “I want you two to lead the attack on the signal fire further down the pass. Stay on guard even after you take out any enemies there. If someone gets away from the tower they might try to get there. Anyone who gets away might try to get past you and into the lands beyond the pass to raise an alarm as well. That mustn't happen under any circumstances.” He paused before adding another comment. “And don't use any flashy spells. Those could give us away just like a lit signal fire.” That should go without saying but actually mentioning things like that was always better to make sure no one forgot.

For a moment there was silence. I decided to break it. “I think I saw a halfway decent path leading down and into the direction we have to head. I'll use Chameleon Skin together with Cat's grace to get to the second fire unseen. Eld'tide can go completely invisible. I'll get close and personal while she can snipe at anyone I miss. Think we should take along one or two more of your scouts?”

The mercenaries pondered my words for a moment. It was one of the sergeants who spoke up this time. “Nazara and maybe Gila'ma. These two should match your abilities pretty well and together you should be able to take any opposition pretty quickly. In the dark of the earliest morning hours they probably will never realize that there are only four of you. If they have time to think about it at all before bleeding out on the ground.”

Tortho seemed to agree. He nodded. “Those two will accompany you. I want them to lead the way. Lady Keza, you will follow them with your gorgon friend bringing up the rear. Move slow like on the way here. You are not in a hurry. We will strike at the tower once we can hear you striking at the other fire.” He tapped his ears as he said that. “And when you strike, strike hard and fast. Better you strike hard enough to kill any of them twice over than any of them getting a chance to light the fire.”

I smiled a grim smile. That probably would get messy. I could live with that though. “And you take the rest down to the tower?”

He nodded in unison with the sergeants. “We will strike at the tower from below and above at once. We will strike at the bait at the watch fire as well. I want enough warriors with me to kill everyone quickly, even if there should be a surprising high number of them within the tower.”

That sounded reasonable enough. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. “We better get going then. Even if we are not in a hurry, we don't have time to waste.” As I said that one of the sergeants crawled back down the hill to the waiting scouts and rangers. Soon after two of them started to ascend towards us. They had to be Nazara and Gila'ma, a dark elf and a gorgon respectively. As they arrived I looked up at the waning moon that would probably completely disappear soon. The thought made me shudder. “Maidens with you and don't get yourself killed.” Grim smiles and nods were the only answer I received before turning to leave with the two mercenaries leading the way.