The companies had already begun forming their ranks by the time the dust of the vanguard settled enough to reveal shadows worth counting.
Beorn climbed back onto the shelf of rock he had used that morning. From there he could see over the mouth of the pass and down the full length of the eastern road, giving himself the same vantage point he had relied on before. If the enemy intended anything unusual, this was where he would notice it first.
The riders advanced in a loose column. Ash-gray surcoats, dulled by the road, covered their armor, and their banners hung so still that he couldn't make out the devices from this distance. More riders kept emerging from the haze behind the front ranks, spreading across open ground that could easily have held twice their number.
They showed no urgency. Whoever commanded them wanted time to study the terrain before deciding how to enter the pass.
