Soon after, we arrived at our destination, which was very nearly at the
end of the hall, and entered to find that we were expected and a space
open for my fitting, which was soon accomplished, and my suit promised
to be at my quarters the next morning. That would be just in time for
the departure of the raiding party, which was set to cut out and embark
for Nunami a little after that, in order to be in place in the hidden
treetop posts surrounding the city before nighttime, as the operation
was to begin at midnight. At first I thought that the attack was pushed
forward in haste, but as I came to realize that my coming had been
prophesied and a great amount of time had been spent preparing for this
day, it seemed only natural that they should want to bring the
hostilities to a close after such a long time. There were other
considerations as well. The weather, for one, had to be dry and not at
all windy for the fire to be safely attempted, and also the possibility
of the Zards making the first offensive could not be ignored, for they
had knowledge of my arrival and may have felt forced to act to prevent
the very type of thing that we were about to attempt.






Chapter 7: Down to Nunami



When I awoke the next morning I found Bernibus and Wagner conversing
quietly in the corner of my bed chambers, and as I first opened my eyes
I saw Wagner looking at me with a blank, glazed expression, while