He almost smiled.
He wrote the message to Aldric.
—----------
Vessa found the observers at three in the afternoon.
Two human males. Positioned in a natural hollow in the forest floor approximately two miles northeast — just outside the expanded patrol network's outer edge, which told Satou everything he needed to know about how long they'd been watching and how well they'd mapped what they were watching.
She reported to the command post with the specific economy of someone who had located a target and was now describing the location and current status.
"Two," she said. "Armed. Professional concealment. They've been in that position since last night minimum based on the disturbance pattern." She paused. "They're watching the northern approach. Not the gate. The northern approach."
"They know about the gateway," Satou said.
