Guardians of the West

"Fly back and have a look for yourself."
    "We'd better go tell the others, Garion," Aunt Pol said gravely. "Something has gone terribly wrong somewhere."

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
    "What is that man thinking of?" Queen Porenn burst out in a sudden uncharacteristic fury. "I specifically ordered him to catch up with us."
    Silk's face was bleak. "I think we should have checked the inestimable General Haldar's feet for that telltale brand." he said.
    "You're not serious!" Porenn exclaimed.
    "He's deliberately disobeying your orders, Porenn, and he's doing it in such a way as to endanger you and all the rest of us."
    "Believe me, I'll get to the bottom of this as soon as I get back to Boktor."
    "Unfortunately, we're not going in that direction just now."
    "Then I'll go back to the shallows alone," she declared. "If necessary, I'll relieve him of his command."
    "No," he said firmly, "you won't."
    She stared at him incredulously. " Kheldar, do you realize to whom you're speaking?"
    "Perfectly, Porenn, but it's too dangerous."
    "It's my duty."
    "No," he corrected. "Actually, your duty is to stay alive long enough to raise Kheva to be King of Drasnia."
    She bit her lip. "That's unfair, Kheldar."
    "Life is hard, Porenn."
    "He's right, your Majesty," Javelin said. "General Haldar has already committed treason by disobeying you. I don't think he'd hesitate to add your murder to that crime."
    "We're going to need some men," Barak rumbled, "A few anyway. Otherwise we're going to have to stop and wait for Brendig."
    Silk shook his head. "Haldar's camped at the shallows. If what we suspect is true, he can keep Brendig from ever disembarking his troops."
    "Well," Ce'Nedra demanded angrily, "what do we do now?"
    "I don't think we've got much choice," Barak said. "We'll have to turn around and go back to the shallows and arrest Haldar for treason. Then we turn around and come back with the pikemen."
    "That could take almost a week," she protested.
    "What other alternatives do we have? We have to have those pikemen."
    "I think you're overlooking something, Barak," Silk said, "Have you noticed a slight chill in the air the last two days?"
    "A little -in the mornings."
    "We're in northeastern Drasnia. Winter comes very early up here."
    "Winter? But it's only early autumn."
    "We're along way north, my friend. We could get the first snowfall at any time now."
    Barak started to swear.
    Silk motioned Javelin aside, and the two of them spoke together briefly.
    "It's all falling apart, isn't it, Garion?" Ce'Nedra said, her lower lip trembling.
    "We'll fix it, Ce'Nedra," he said, taking her in his arms.
    "But how?"
    "I haven't quite worked that out yet."
    "We're vulnerable, Garion," Barak said seriously. "We're marching directly into cult territory with a vastly inferior force. We're wide open to ambush."
    "You'll need somebody to scout on ahead," Beldin said, looking up from the piece of cold meat he had been tearing with his teeth. He stuffed the rest of the chunk in his mouth and wiped his fingers on the front of his filthy tunic. "I can be fairly unobtrusive if I want to be."
    "I'll take care of that, uncle," Polgara told him. "Hettar's coming north with the Algar clans. Could you go to him and tell him what's happened? We need him as quickly as he can get here."
    He gave her an appraising look, still chewing on the chunk of meat. "Not a bad idea, Pol," he admitted. "I thought that married life might have made your wits soft, but it looks as if it's only your behind that's getting flabby."
    "Do you mind, uncle?" she asked acidly.
    "I'd better get started," he said. He crouched, spread his arms, and shimmered into the form of a hawk.
    "I'll be away for a few days," Silk said, coming back to join them. "We might be able to salvage this yet." Then he turned on his heel and went directly to his horse.
    "Where's he going?" Garion asked Javelin.
    "We need men," Javelin replied. "He's going after some."
    "Porenn," Polgara said, trying to look back down over her shoulder, "does it seem to you that I've been putting on a few extra pounds in the past months ?"
    Porenn smiled gently. "Of course not, Polgara," she said. "He was only teasing you."
    Polgara, however, still had a slightly worried look on her face as she removed her blue cloak. "I'll go on ahead," she told Garion. "Keep your troops moving, but don't run. I don't want you to blunder into something before I have a chance to warn you." Then she blurred, and the great snowy owl drifted away on soft,