Xerxes wasn’t sure why Dasi’s death shook him so hard. He’d been much closer with Jad and Enusat, and though their loss had hit him, it didn’t unsettle him this deeply. Maybe it was the shocking image of her mutilated corpse, and the way it seared itself into his brain. Or the fact that he’d been forced to watch, unable to do anything.

Back in their tent, Katayoun tried to calm him down, but it didn’t work. He didn’t realize it, but he only answered her with one or two word sentences. Eventually, she got frustrated, though she tried to hide it.

He apologized, and started talking. Once the word came out, they didn’t stop. He talked and talked until his throat hurt. When it was over, he was in Katayoun’s arms sobbing.

Later, he didn’t remember half of what he’d said. Nor did he want to revisit the topic. He fell into a deep sleep that lasted until Katayoun shook him awake in the morning.

“Gandash is calling a meeting,” she said.

He groaned, dressed, and stepped out of the tent into a misty morning. There was no sign of the sun or sky, and he wondered if rain was on the horizon again.

Gandash had the mages and Unsighted officers gather in the conference tent again.

Xerxes was the last to arrive.

“As you’ve all heard,” Gandash said, “we lost Dasi. And we now have to worry about flying Abhorrent. Xerk, can you tell us any more about them?”

“They’re bizarre. And big. Probably human-sized. Lots of tentacles, with hooks on the end. They don’t look like any animal I’ve ever seen.”

“Thank you. And, based on what you said before, there’s no clear path to the Gateway complex. Is that right?”

Xerxes nodded. “At least, that’s my impression. From where we stood on the mountain, it was like everything was full of Abhorrent. But… maybe it would be possible to sneak through carefully.”

“Do we want to risk our lives on a ‘maybe?’” Teucer asked.

“No,” Xerxes replied. “At least, that’s my opinion.”

Gandash sighed. “I agree. But the fact remains we have to get to the Gateway. As you know, I have food supplies in my holding bracelet, but they won’t last forever. Right now, my inclination is to head into the mountains and find a safer place to hole up. Caves. Something like that. Then we take some time to look at the lands on the other side. Maybe even scout them. Get a better idea of what it will take to get to the Gateway complex.

“At this point…” he trailed off for a moment. Then his eyes hardened. “I’m going to issue orders about what to do. But given how everything’s gone to shit, I want to make sure everybody is on board with what we do next. We can’t afford any bad feelings or doubts. So if anybody else has any other suggestions, now’s the time to bring them forward.” He looked around the tent.

Teucer lifted his hand. “Gandy,” he said. “I just want to say… that I trust you. You’ve done everything you thought was right. Maybe in retrospect some of the decisions weren’t perfect, but you tried. And right now… I’ll follow you whatever you do. Are you sure it wouldn’t be smart to just try to disappear? This continent has ice and snow in the north. Maybe we could find a place to hide until the Combined Armed Forces come in full force.”

“First,” Gandash said, “thanks for your words. To answer your question, trying to hide out somewhere is an option. But I don’t think it’s a good one. We have no idea how long it will take Sin-Amuhhu to realize what’s happening here. And once they do, how do we know they won’t just abandon Jehannemid to the Abhorrent? If they do come, how would they find us? The supply issues remain the same regardless of where we go. Feeding this many people is going to be a constant issue.

“Don’t forget that we have a Gateway Key. That means that, as long as we can get to the Gateway, we can use it to go up. We can leave this place.”

He looked around the tent. None of the mages seemed inclined to offer input.

“Captain?” Sergeant Stratos said. “Permission to speak?”

“Granted.”

“I don’t speak for all the Unsighted, but I ‘ave something which ought to be said. Sir, you Sighted mages are a lot faster than us Unsighted. We slow you down. Why not go ahead? We can find a place to ‘ole up on our own. We might not have magic, but we’re tough. Let us take care of ourselves while you go to the Gateway. Best case scenario, you send ‘elp back. Worst case, we ‘unker down until these fucking monsters give up and leave.”

“I second that,” said Sergeant Vasilios, from Jad’s old unit.

“Me too,” another sergeant said.

The other officers all said similar things.

Gandash sighed again, this time more deeply. “That is, of course, a possibility. But for now, we’ll stay together. Does anyone have anything else to add?” No one did. “Meeting adjourned. We’ll break camp and head into the mountains. Once we’re safe, we’ll consider the next step. Go.”

Fifteen minutes later, they made their way across the road, then south. They went past the place Dasi and Xerxes had made their ascent, and climbed into the mountains via a different path. Two hours up the mountain, they found the perfect location. Three caves near each other that were large enough to house everyone.

They fortified each cave mouth, though not with wooden stakes. They shifted earth around and used High Seer strength to move boulders. The result was three caves, each of which could be defended, but weren’t obviously being used as fortifications.

Later, Gandash asked Xerxes, Katayoun, and Kashtiliash to accompany him up the mountain. They brought Sergeants Stratos, Laz, and Arda with them.

Upon finding a narrow plateau that offered a good view, they studied what lay before them.

They had three spyglasses between them. After everyone had a chance to examine the situation, Gandash said, “You were right, Xerxes. This is bad.”

“What about there,” Kashtiliash said. He pointed to a specific area of the terrain, then put the spyglass to his eye. “See? By that river.”

Gandash looked in the same direction. “Hmm. It’s difficult to tell exactly how those hills are situated. But I see what you mean. There’s a lot of empty land there.”

“It’s like I mentioned, Captain,” Stratos said. “I know all the talk among the men about what ‘appened before. The ‘Igh Seers… going off for ‘elp. It didn’t work out. But the plan wasn’t bad to begin with. Lieutenant Ningsummunu’s lame now. Lieutenants Kishar and Teucer are only Seers. The four of you are High Seers. You can cover this land in less than a day. So do it. Get to the Gateway. Bring help if you can. And if you can’t, then we just become cave rats for a time.”

Xerxes thought back to when they voted on Jad’s proposal. Had it really been the right decision? Was it smart to do the same thing right now? He wasn’t sure. Would the Abhorrent ever ‘be done’ with Jehannemid? Or did they plan to stay? If the High Seers left, would they be abandoning the rest of Black Jackal to their deaths?

“I understand your suggestion, Sergeant,” Gandash said. “Would you and the other sergeants please go back to the camp? I need to have words with the High Seers.”

“Yes, sir.”

After the sergeants were gone, Gandash looked at Kashtiliash, Xerxes, and Katayoun.

“What do you think?” he asked.

Xerxes doubted Kashtiliash would be the first to make a speech, so he looked at Katayoun. She was gazing at the horizon, beyond which were the mountains where the Gateway complex was.

“There’s no right choice,” Xerxes said. “We’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t.”

Gandash noticed Katayoun’s expression and followed her gaze to the mountains. “I’m afraid you’re right.”

The three High Seers stood in silence for a time.

“I don’t agree,” Kashtiliash said.

Xerxes looked at the bearded mage. Gandash did the same.

“There is a right choice, it’s just a hard one to make,” Kashtiliash continued. “We don’t want to abandon our friends. Our fellow warriors and mages. So we don’t want to continue alone. But it’s the smartest thing. Before, Jad wanted us to do the same thing because he was afraid. I’m still not sure what his real plan was. Escape? Help his family? I guess we’ll never know.

“Maybe he didn’t know, and maybe that’s why the plan was doomed. Maybe the Pontifarch saw the weakness in his heart. In our hearts. So he withheld his blessing.

“But right here and now, the hard choice is the only choice. The four of us should make a break for it. Run as fast as we fucking can. Get to that Gateway. Ask for help. The only other option is a slow death.”

It was another record for Kashtiliash. Xerxes had never heard him make a longer speech. And Xerxes couldn’t think of anything to say in response. He wanted to argue against the points made, but had to admit that it was logically sound.

Katayoun finally spoke, her voice so soft Xerxes had to strain to hear her words clearly. “What if we make it off of Jehannemid, and they don’t send anyone back? Then we really would be leaving our friends to die.”

“We’d have the key,” Xerxes said. “We could just come back if we wanted.”

Kashtiliash shook his head. “No. Gandash will have to turn the key over. First thing. Kat’s right. But going on our own is still the smart thing.”

A flit of motion caught Xerxes’ eye. He narrowed his eyes as he craned his neck. “Flying Abhorrent,” he said. “There.”

They were so far away it wasn’t possible to make out their anatomical details. But he was fairly sure they were the same type that had killed Dasi. Maybe even the exact same ones.

“Let’s go,” Gandash said. “Keep this discussion between the four of us for now. I won’t make a decision for a few more days.”

They went back to the cave camps.

During the following days, they continued to make observations of the lands between the mountains and the Gateway complex. They made a crude map, identified possible routes, and tried to determine what the Abhorrent were actually doing.

Kishar, the only mage left who had been assigned to light cavalry, helped in scouting the surrounding mountains. They identified locations where food could be foraged, and confirmed that there was game to be found, such as squirrels, rabbits, and deer, or at least the Jehannemid equivalent to those creatures.

The entire time, the question loomed.

What would Gandash order?