"Up and down, round and round we went, and nothing to show for it, until the men were tired out and began to lose heart and confidence. And Elvair-he didn't really give any leadership: he didn't even set the men an example of courage and endurance. He didn't see enough of them, for a start. And he didn't seem to have a plan. I've known him for years, of course, and I could tell he was jittery- he was bothered by the solitude and the casualties.
"And then at last, one night, we got what we'd really been needing all along: a bit of reliable information from a deserter-a Beklan. Kapparah actually recognized him- a fellow who'd been enslaved five years ago. This man came and told us where Erketlis was-about five miles away-and said he'd lead us there. He was perfectly genuine-there wasn't any doubt about that at all.
" 'Well,' I said to Elvair, 'my men'll be ready in twenty minutes-less, if I've got anything to do with it. I'll get straight back to them now.' And do you know, Maia, he looked up at me-he was sitting at a trestle table in his tent-and he said 'I think this needs careful planning, don't you? We'll have an officers' meeting first thing in the morning.'
" 'For holy Cran's sake!' I said. 'How long d'you think it's going to take Erketlis to realize his man's missing, and where he must have gone? Every blasted minute's precious!' I said. 'Why, he may be off already!'
" 'Oh, no, I don't think so,' says Elvair. 'We'll sleep on it, that'll be best.'
"I knew then, Maia: I realized-well, I don't know any other way of putting it-I realized he was no good. He'd been offered Erketlis's head on a plate and he'd convinced himself-he really had, as far as I could see-that he was acting responsibly and doing the right thing. I tried to reason with him: I tried all I knew and at last he said, 'I'm sorry, Shenda, this is my decision, not yours, and I'm afraid I'll have to give you an order. Don't discuss it any more.'
"The next day we went after Erketlis and of course he'd gone: and I'm as good as certain that in his own mind Elvair was relieved.
"Well, you've heard-at least, I suppose you have, haven't you? In the end we fell back on to the Thettit-Ikat
road, after losing something like a hundred and eighty men. And then at last we found that Erketlis was doing what we'd been praying for all along. He was offering a battle-yes, after a forced march through country which had worn
"It must have been about a couple of hours after noon, I suppose. We weren't harassed at all as we approached. We deployed about half a mile away and came forward in line. They had their center right across the highway. There was a bit of a slope in their favor and they obviously had a few more men, but that was all. You could see Erketlis- there was no mistaking him-talking to his men and giving encouragement, and they were all shouting back and banging on their shields.
"Kapparah was in command on our right and there was no holding him. He went straight into them without waiting for orders, even. I was in the center, with Elvair, and we must have been about two hundred-well,' say three hundreds-yards from the enemy when I saw that we were being attacked from behind on the left. It was Elleroth of Sarkid, with his band of home-made freebooters-volunteers-whatever he calls them. They'd lain down in a hollow, behind some bales of straw, until we'd passed them. Well, they took us a bit by surprise and drove in our left more than I really cared about, but it wasn't a patch on Kapparah. He'd beaten his lot all to blazes-you could see them actually running away-almost the whole of the enemy's left wing.
"Elvair had halted the center and was just standing there, watching. I said 'Go on, Elvair! Go on! We've got them!'
" 'Oh,' he said, 'our left-our left's not secure. I think it's a bit risky, don't you?'
" 'For basting Shakkarn's sake!' I said (sorry, Maia). 'If we don't pile in now we'll lose our best chance!
"So then he went out in front of the men and gave the order to charge. We were running towards them side by side, he and I, with everyone yelling behind us, keen as knives. And we must have been about-oh-thirty yards from the enemy, I suppose, when suddenly Elvair stopped dead in his tracks. And then-well, Maia, I'm afraid I
can't put it any other way-he simply turned round and ran back through our own front rank.
