Didi checked the civilian return road with her rapier lowered while families fled toward the southern relief redoubts, counting the last civilian cart past the stone marker before she turned toward the unguarded span.
Shadows clung to the rocky slopes, hiding the distant lantern lights of the southern relief redoubts behind a jagged crest of broken stone.
Didi stood upon the gravel verge, watching the steady stream of weavers, elderly farmers, and wounded teamsters hurry along the narrow withdrawal corridor.
Six radiant Shards hovered in a gentle crescent behind her shoulders, their sapphire light glinting softly against her silver braid.
In her right hand rested a slender rapier fashioned from condensed frost, the pale tip pointed calmly toward the valley floor.
A sudden rumble echoed through the culvert ahead, scattering gravel across the ditch as three carts lurched to a sudden halt.
