Then the two senior officers held a meeting with the battalion commanders. In the end, Alastar wasn’t able to gain a moment with Wilkorn until after the imagers and troopers had been fed. Even then Alastar had to hurry to catch up with the marshal, who was walking up the road and had almost reached its crest. Maurek was nowhere to be seen. “Thought I’d see how the road looked in low light,” offered Wilkorn. “You don’t think they’ll attack at dawn or dusk?” “You can’t ever tell.” Wilkorn stopped at the edge of the road’s crest, looking southward across the fifty yards stretch immediately before him, a section with an incline almost imperceptible, one so gradual that the paving stones looked almost level. Alastar waited. “Understand you’ve been looking for me,” Wilkorn finally said. “How did your scouting mission go?” “Fairly well. I’ve located several places where we could conceal a company, and they could open fire on the rebels, but where the rebels wouldn’t be able to get to our company before we could withdraw.”
