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hostile.
    Forty miles from Ghoja and the Main, just inside territory historically Taglian, I ordered a real camp built with a surrounding ditch. I chose a meadow on the north bank of a clean brook. The south bank was forested. The site was pleasant. I planned to stay, rest, train, till my foragers exhausted the countryside.
    For days incoming fugitives had reported enemy light cavalry hunting behind them. An hour after we began making camp I got a report of smoke south of the wood. I walked the mile to the far side, saw a cloud rising from a village six miles down the road. They were that close.
    Trouble? It had to be considered.
    An opportunity? Unlikely at this stage.
    *   *   *
    Narayan came running through the dusk. “Mistress. The Shadowmasters’ men. They’re making camp on the south side of the woods. They’ll catch us tomorrow.” His optimism had deserted him.
    I thought about it. “Do the men know?”
    “The news is spreading.”
    “Damn. All right. Station reliable men along the ditch. Kill anybody who tries to leave. Put Ram in charge, then come back.”
    “Yes, Mistress.” Narayan scampered off. At times he seemed a mouse. He returned. “They’re grumbling.”
    “Let them. As long as they don’t run. Do the Shadowmasters’ men know we’re this close?”
    Narayan shrugged.
    “I want to know. Put out a picket line a quarter mile into the wood. Twenty good men. They’re not to interfere with scouts coming north but they’re to ambush them headed back.” They wouldn’t be expecting trouble going away. “Use men who aren’t good for anything else to raise an embankment along the creek. Drive stakes into its face. Sharpen them. Find vines. Sink them in the water. There’s no room to maneuver on the south bank. They’ll have to come straight at us, hard. Once you’ve got that started, come back.” Best get everybody busy and distract them from their fears. I snapped, “Narayan, wait! Find out if any of the men can handle horses.”
    Other than my mounts there were just a half dozen animals with the band, all strays we’d captured. I’d had to teach Ram to care for mine. Riding amongst Taglians was restricted to high-caste Gunni and rich Shadar. Bullock and buffalo were the native work animals.
    It was the tenth hour when Narayan returned. In the interim I prowled. I was pleased. I saw no panic, no outright terror, just a healthy ration of fear tempered by the certainty that chances of surviving were better here than on the run. They feared my displeasure more than they feared an enemy not yet seen. Perfect.
    I made a suggestion about the angle of the stakes on the face of the embankment, then went to talk with Narayan.
    I told him, “We’ll scout their camp now.”
    “Just us?” His grin was forced.
    “You and me.”
    “Yes, Mistress. Though I’d feel more comfortable if Sindhu accompanied us.”
    “Can he move quietly?” I couldn’t picture that bulk sneaking anywhere.
    “Like a mouse, Mistress.”
    “Get him. Don’t waste time. We’ll need all the darkness we’ve got.”
    Narayan gave me an odd look, took off.
    We left a password, crossed the creek. Narayan and Sindhu stole through the woods as though to stealth born. Quieter than mice. They took our pickets by surprise. Those had seen nothing of the enemy.
    “Awfully sure of themselves,” Sindhu grumbled, the first I’d heard him volunteer an opinion.
    “Maybe they’re plain stupid.” The Shadowmasters’ soldiers hadn’t impressed me with anything but their numbers.
    We spied their campfires before I expected them.
    They’d camped among the trees. I hadn’t foreseen that possibility. Damned inconsiderate of them.
    Narayan touched my arm diffidently. Mouth to ear, he breathed, “Sentries. Wait here.” He stole forward like a ghost, returned like one. “Two of them. Sound asleep. Walk carefully.”
    So we just strolled in to where I could see what I wanted. I studied the layout for several minutes.