Free Fallen Ward (Deepwoods Saga Book 3) by Honor Raconteur

was setting, slowly and steadily over the horizon. Siobhan and Tran had discussed it ahead of time and decided to leave at this time to avoid having to go the whole distance in pitch darkness. By the time they were within sight of Goldschmidt’s walls, they’d be traveling by moonlight, and that was good enough.
    Her group was already here. Beirly and Chris Knesek—or Knesek, as he preferred to be called—had come out of the gate together. Knesek had that boy next door feel to him, with a blocky build, short brown hair, and a goatee. In fact, he could have been Beirly’s darker, taller brother, the two men resembled each other that strongly. He had a cheerful attitude about running all night carrying tools and a sand bag, and Siobhan prayed his cheerfulness lasted until sunrise.
    Holly Sadler stood talking to Tran, spear resting casually in the crook of her arm and pointing toward the sky. When Beirly had first mentioned the woman, Siobhan had pictured a tall, muscular brunette for some reason. The only part her imagination had gotten right was the dark hair. Holly kept hers cut short, at jaw-length, framing fair skin and dark eyes. Far from tall, she was a little on the short side, with a padded figure. But the way she casually moved the spear around (a spear that Siobhan knew weighed a good amount) said that she was far stronger than she looked. Beirly was right. This was a good woman to have as an ally.
    Turning, Siobhan did a headcount. Fifty-three. Good, she had all of her people here. Siobhan maneuvered around Holly to stand at Tran’s side. “Sorry, I’m going to interrupt for a moment.”
    “Go ahead,” Holly responded easily. “We’re just chatting.”
    “Are we ready?” Tran asked her, apparently realizing what she wanted to talk about.
    “My group is all here. Yours?”
    “I was waiting on you.”
    And this was why Siobhan always took the initiative to ask questions. Men never thought to do so and it turned into this endless game of one person waiting on the other. “Then let’s go.”
    Tran raised his voice to a near deafening pitch. “We’re ready to move out! Before we do, check your bags! You need water, food for two meals, bandages, and at least one sandbag in your packs.”
    Carrying anything more than that was strongly discouraged. They would not only be crossing sixty-two spans that night, after all, but expected to fight the next day with that on their backs. They needed to keep as much weight off of them as possible. Even the sand bags would be dropped off near the canal quickly to avoid burdening people.
    When he got a wave of assents, Tran grunted in satisfaction. “Good. We’re going to move out now. Do I have any questions I need to answer before we go?”
    “Tran!” Beirly called out from nearby.
    “What is it?”
    “I have a dying request. Don’t run the whole distance?”
    Tran let out a booming laugh, slapping one leg in mirth. Tran could run the whole distance without a problem. In fact, he probably even wouldn’t be winded when he arrived. But he was the only one that could do so. Siobhan and Hyun Woo had both impressed this idea into him. He had to go slowly.
    “I won’t go above a quick walk,” he promised.
    There was a collective breath of relief from the group. After all, they had seen this man run for three days, over and over the same distance, without tiring. Siobhan was sure that more than a few of them were concerned about being able to keep up.
    Seeing that there was nothing else, Tran waved his hand above his head in a tight circle and then gestured forward, leaving out as he did so. Siobhan was right next to him and realized to her dismay that his version of a ‘quick walk’ forced her to almost do a slow jog to keep up. Curse those long legs of his. When people started flagging, surely he’d realize, and drop his pace. Or at least, she hoped he would.
    No one was foolish enough to try and talk while they moved. But hearing that many people moving at