Chapter Thirty Two
It took another week to get to the border of Skandia, Gilan following behind the invading force as silently as he could. He still hadn't been able to determine more about why they had come so far only to turn around, but he couldn't exactly follow them into the Eastern Steppes to find out. He would be caught almost instantly. There was only so much that even a Ranger could do and with every single Rider hyper aware of their surroundings, there was little to no chance that he could sneak into the country successfully, let alone back out.
Gilan hated that, but he was smart enough to realize what a stupid idea it was. Still, he tracked them as long as he could, desperate for any sort of information he could get.
When they finally reached the border a week later, he had all but given up hope. At least he could confirm that they had in fact, left the country.
The Ranger perched in another tree as the war party filed back into their lands, the border patrol checking every wagon in case of things like stowaways. Gilan smirked to himself at the irony. A few words drifted up to him on the breeze, but he still didn't know what they meant. He desperately wished that Halt was there with him, or George. Halt was mostly fluent in the Temujai language and George was passable. Either of them would be able to figure out what the border patrol was saying, unlike him who was horrible at languages.
When almost all of the wagons had been pushed through, Gilan heard more, but one word stuck out to him like beacon. Partially because he understood it, but mostly because of what it meant, his eyes going wide as the implications sunk in.
'Nihon-Ja.'
The Temujai were moving towards Nihon-Ja next. That's why they were leaving Skandia. And, as divided as Shigeru's country was, they didn't stand a chance, not unless Will and Horace were able to find the Hasanu by some miracle.
But that left too much to chance. Gilan never counted on ifs, maybes, or possiblys. If something could go wrong, then it would. It was one of the mottos that had saved his life on more than one occasion.
He had to get this news to Skandia, inform everyone else. If he left now he could get to Hallasholm in just under a week, maybe less if he left early in the morning and traveled late into the night.
He waited until the party was fully past the border so there were less people around to see him as he moved from shadow to shadow. He couldn't take any chances of being caught. As he moved away from the border and towards Hallasholm, Gilan's mind ran through all of the possibilities, what they could do to counter the Riders in Nihon-Ja.
The southern border of the Eastern Steppes was the northern border of Nihon-Ja, where the Hasanu lived. Even if they weren't part of Shigeru's kingdom, they weren't likely to just roll over and let the Temujai have an easy time invading their land. According to Shigeru, there were thousands of Hasanu warriors, maybe even as many 15,000 total. The Temujai would need an incredible raiding force to take them on. The sad thing was, they had it.
To Gilan it just didn't make sense. Why would they attempt to invade Nihon-Ja now? Moving the target from Toscana to Skandia he could understand. Toscana had their forces more than doubled because of the treaty and the constant training they did and the Temujai vastly outnumbered the Skandians. Plus, by taking control of Skandia, they could begin building a proper navy, thus launching an attack on Sonderland and Araluen, maybe even bypassing Toscana to get to Arrida.
So why focus on Nihon-Ja? What was there to gain by doing so?
Gilan had fought in plenty of battles, in a war even, and knew more than his fair share of strategy. Yet he couldn't figure out why they were going to Nihon-Ja. You didn't do anything during a war without a reason, so what had prompted this change in tactics?
Yes, the Senshi issue in Nihon-Ja had made it more vulnerable, but with the Hasanu they still had impressive defenses.
Gilan pressed his lips into a thin line and began moving a bit quicker. He was farther from the border now and eager to finish the journey.
But the question still gnawed at him.
Why?
Unknown to Gilan, Halt was having very similar thoughts far to the south.
The grizzled Ranger was sitting in his room, nursing a cup of coffee and rereading Selethen's message for the dozenth time.
Despite his warnings, the Toscan Senate was refusing to act without more proof. Just because Nellie and Selethen had some good points and it pointed to the Temujai moving towards Nihon-Ja, it was still just speculation right now.
Halt was inclined to believe them though. He'd traveled to the very edge of Gallica and seen the lack of Riders there. Even the scouts that had been spotted before weren't there anymore. The Sha'shan was moving his army and Nihon-Ja was a logical target. Skandia was as well, but with only one way into the country that was guarded by a minimum of 500 archers, plus who knew how many Skandians, at all times, it wasn't likely.
Very possible, but very costly, which was the exact opposite of how Temujai typically fought.
Then again, they didn't know about the archers, so they may still go after Skandia. Eventually they would.
But they did know about the Hasanu, so why attack Nihon-Ja? Halt didn't doubt that they were going to come spring, but he couldn't see why the Temujai would do so. It would take more soldiers than attacking Toscana or Skandia. It made more sense for them to wait until they had conquered more countries, and therefore more soldiers, before going after a place as large as Nihon-Ja.
Halt had been trying to convince the Senate to move towards Nihon-Ja, offer support for the battle in the spring, but they were incredibly stubborn. Only Fausto was even willing to discuss it, but in the end even he voted the idea down.
And that was the problem with politics, Halt grumbled, so little got done. Winter would be there in a few weeks and with most of the Temujai being called home to prepare for a new attack in the spring, this was their best chance to fight back. They had left behind just enough soldiers to make sure that the captured soldiers they were forcing to fight for them stayed in line. It was mostly these soldiers who secured the conquered countries for them now.
…Wait a second, it was mostly those soldiers who secured the conquered countries for them now!
Most of the Temujai had gone, leaving the country to prepare for their next invasion!
If they attempted to take back Gallica now, securing a few key locations, the Temujai wouldn't have the forces to counter them! By the time they brought the soldiers back, winter would be here, blocking all of the passes until the spring. Even better, it might divide their army between here and Nihon-Ja, giving Shigeru enough of a chance to hold onto his country.
Halt rushed to the table in his room, grabbing the most detailed map of Gallica and Iberion he could find, circling the key places they would need to reach to be able to secure the two countries. They were the most recently captured, which meant that the Riders hadn't settled into their defenses as well as some of the other countries.
Latest intelligence reports said that there were no more than 10,000 Temujai left in the area, but they had almost 25,000 captured soldiers. Even though they vastly outnumbered the Riders, the threat of losing their families stopped them from fighting back.
Toscana had had almost 15,000 soldiers by itself when he had arrived, constantly training more. With the addition of 2,000 Araluen archers and 5,000 cavalry from Arrida, they outnumbered the Temujai 2 to 1. The problem would be those captured soldiers. Halt couldn't predict what they would do. The best thing for them to do would be-there!
The main pass in the mountains along the Gallican border. The mountains to the west of that were practically impassible and while there were other ways through to the east, that pass would be the main way out of the country. If they could preemptively cut off their retreat, draw the Temujai out so that the archers could hit them, it would even out the numbers. If they sent a force up the river in Iberion after capturing the castle in southern Gallica, they could surround the Temujai, pushing them towards the pass. They'd be stuck between the Toscan soldiers on one side and the Arridi cavalry on the other.
Halt made notes furiously, desperate to get as many details of the plan fleshed out before the Senate meeting that afternoon. This kind of opportunity might not come again, they had to take it. The hardest part would be getting the Senate to agree to attacking now instead of holding to the first plan of attacking in the spring.
He dared not think about what might happen if they couldn't start beating back the Temujai soon.
Erak sighed to himself as he finished reading the note from the Wakir. He couldn't believe that they had been so stupid, having forgotten about so many Temujai soldiers like that. And now they were going after Nihon-Ja? They hadn't ever considered that in all their planning.
The Herons had been back in Hallasholm for more than a week, bringing news of the river, lake, and 20,000 Temujai that had made their way into Skandia, news that had Erak seeing red with anger. He'd immediately dispatched people to hold down the fort at the river. He wasn't about to give up his country without a fight.
But, their news, combined with this message from Arrida, all but confirmed the Temujai's next move. He would wait for the Ranger to return to see if he had found out any more while tracking the Riders. Then he would send a response to the other countries and work out the next step. Sadly, Erak didn't see what else he could do. Even sailing, normally much faster than traveling over land, it would be next to impossible for them to make it to Nihon-Ja in time. The winter winds had already started in the Stormwhite. Attempting to cross in those storms was suicide. It got easier after you left the Stormwhite (after all, that particular sea got its name from somewhere), but winter sailing was still among one of the most dangerous ways to travel throughout the rest of the world for a reason. Only the best made ships and most stubborn crews could handle it.
Obviously traveling over land was out. Every country between here and Nihon-Ja was occupied by the Riders.
"Oberjarl?" Hal called out as he entered the Great Hall. It served as a meeting place as well as where they ate.
"What is it?" Erak responded, gesturing to the seat across from him.
Hal sat down gratefully, his muscles practically groaning as he did so, "I've finished building the crossbows for Fort Ragnak. It's a smaller version of the Mangler, but not as complicated. We'll be ready to install them when you say so."
"Better get started then." Erak huffed, "The sooner we get that pass secured, the better. It's a couple days ride."
Hal nodded, "Understood. We'll head out in a couple hours. What's that?" he asked, gesturing to the message on the table that Erak was still looking at.
"It's from Selethen. He believes that Nihon-Ja is the next target." Erak sighed, "That the Riders are calling their soldiers back to get ready to attack in the spring."
Hal winced in sympathy, "Poor Shigeru. Will he be able to stop them without reinforcements?"
"Who knows? If the Temujai are calling every available soldier, they could have tens of thousands marching into Nihon-Ja. Is there any word from the Ranger yet?"
Hal shook his head sadly, "Lydia's really worried, keeps saying she shouldn't have left him."
"It's not her fault, he knew the risks." Erak reassured him, "Besides, that man can become a ghost when he wants to. I don't think he would've gotten caught that easily."
"I still think he should've been back by now." Hal said, "It's been over two weeks since he left to follow them."
"I don't like it either, but we can't do anything about it now." Erak said.
Hal sighed before shaking his head, changing the subject, "What should we do about Nihon-Ja?"
"Nothing we can do," Erak said truthfully, if regretfully, "the winter winds have already started and the snows will be here any day now. Best we can do is fortify Skandia and keep in contact with the others in the alliance. We'll offer aid in the spring."
"Can't say I like it, but I guess it's the best we can do."
Erak nodded sadly, "It's not like we could really attack, as much as I may want to."
"Hmm," Hal hummed thoughtfully.
Erak watched as the young skirl became lost in his thoughts. It was an expression he had seen multiple times on the boy's face whenever there was an idea just beyond his reach. It would come to him eventually Erak knew, just like the sail plan had. But, until then-
"Better get going to the pass. Who knows, maybe you'll see that blasted Ranger on the way."
Hal chuckled, "Knowing him, he'll beat us back."
Professor: Hi everyone! Thank you so much for the birthday wishes! They made me smile so much!
Ok, so, I have a lot of little bits of info about Nellie and Selethen, little headcanons and such, that I really wanted to put in the story, but couldn't find a way to include without completely messing up the tone in the chapters. Because I want to share them and because I thought some of you might enjoy them, every now and then, I'll put them here in the author's notes. I'll call them Random Arasel Tidbits!
Anyway, Random Arasel Tidbit:
Nellie's favorite color is red. Like a deep, dark, blood red. She also really loves pink, but not the hot glaring pink. More like the gentle tones and hues. However, she doesn't broadcast this as she doesn't want to be seen as THAT girl.
Selethen's favorite color is yellow. This is because he finds yellow to be very cheerful, maybe the most cheerful color in the world. He likes being cheerful. It is also the same color as the sun, which he also loves.