Grimmer (Sequel to Kailin)

Chapter 3: Over a Map

About mid-afternoon I was standing there, palms splayed out on a table as I hung over a map of Kail. Zanek was right next to me, speaking to two of his men.

"Latest news tells us there are six consistent camps left that may be able to help slow them, at least, if truly they are all to march directly through. Three have moved and are now stationed here, here, and here," one of the men, Jonathan, pointed out.

Zanek nodded his head. "When I spoke to Commander Jason, he said that the grimmer were avoiding the outer camps and funneling toward the center." He moved his hands across the map to show the movement.

We all stared at it for a long time. I tried connecting the cities and towns to see what route would be best for us, while the others tried to think of what the opposition's strategy could be.

Zanek looked over it again. "Have we heard anything from King Everitt?"

"No," the other replied. I couldn't remember his name, exactly, but he was older than the rest of us.

Zanek bit at his lip unconsciously. "Ian what have you seen?"

He stepped up from the side, looking over Jonathan's shoulder to see the map. "When we were in Dunbirth it seemed that the Grimmer were attacking through here. Two of the camps were destroyed on both the left and the right of this city here, Rozzen, and then a city was attacked just north of it. It looked to me as if their waves were experimenting with how far north they could reach before meeting the next opposition. Jason agreed that they were much closer to his city than they had ever been before; some even at his gates."

"Wait," I said. I traced my finger from the center of the southern mountains up to Dunbirth, then circled widely around the camps below it. "How are they able to skirt around each of these camps to reach Dunbirth? There is a hole somewhere in there, if you say there are six camps left. Even in the numbers that I've seen, the grimmer wouldn't be able to completely avoid the entire southern guard. Posts are stationed everywhere and are suited well enough to alarm a nearby camp."

I felt multiple eyes on me but continued to stare at the markings on the map. I was running through every name of the commanders I had recently heard of, going over news both good and bad, then thinking of the cities and messengers we'd heard from or lost.

"Here," I said, jerking my hand over to a circle that marked a camp. It was between Eritt's and Darin's, so that must mean....

"Seth's camp has fallen," I stated. Even as I said it I cocked my head at the paper. "Do you have something I can mark with?" I asked, nearly crawling on the table with how far I was leaning. I knew what had happened.

Ian placed in my hand a piece of graphite. Instead of leaning so far over the table,I scooted over so that I could stand just over the southern mountains. I quickly marked the little post stations with dots, placing them as accurately as I could from remembering older maps and using what I knew of directions. In the end I had marked about ten.

"These may not be exactly accurate, but I know that this is roughly where, er, sentinels are posted, if you wish to call them that. So," I pointed at the circle that was Seth's camp, "This one was already weak. I know because Eritt was prepared to send some of ours there. If this camp no longer exists, a gap is left wide enough between posts to skip unnoticed; close to no one lives there as it is leagues away from any major trade or city, and my guess is that those left are easy enough to be rid of. Through here you could easily reach cities north of Rozzen, because it's practically open range from here -- this camp in the southwest to this camp far east and much farther north.... See? No one expects to hear from the smaller posts unless there is a group noticed on time.... They could easily take these cities here in the southeast and cut it off from the rest of Kail if they wished; take everything below the river."