And darkness comes from the light and light from the darkness.  A shattered mirror bearing two faces such that all is asunder and undone at the hands of the Fates.

Dwarven prophecy 

Wiping clean her blade, Cassandra returned the now blood-free graysteel saber to its sheath at her side.  "Apology accepted," she said with an unemotional chill.  Spinning on her heel, she removed herself from the presence of the lifeless soldier while the pool of red upon the ground continued to spread out around him.  As she left the scene, the general proceeded with a subsequent order.  "I want my sister found.  Am I clear?

Matching her steps as though he were a well-trained dog, Halond absorbed her request like a sponge, even as he glanced back at the dead soldier.

His failure to respond with any semblance of promptness caused Cassandra to turn her head to find out why.  There was an immediate recognition on her part as to what was distracting his attention.  "Do you have a problem, Major?"  Her demeanor was pure business, never breaking stride as a guard posted at the entrance to her command tent pulled back the flap for the general to enter.

Following her in, there was a distinct dodge in Halond's reply.  "Far be it from me to ever question your success or your methods, General."

Cassandra walked around her table until she stood at the side opposite the entrance and facing the once more closed flap.  Dragging her eyes across the stacks of maps before her, she resumed studying them with the same intensity as she had before the latest distraction. "But you don't entirely agree with them?"  She looked up, recognizing that her subordinate had not come too close.  He'd stopped a significant distance away from her, and the sight of this man keeping his cautious distance drew a smile as biting as any words.

"I'm all for strict discipline, Ma'am." He tugged on the cuffs of his sleeves, stretching them out over his wrists in a nervous twitch. "I don't disagree with your philosophy on that aspect."

"Then on what aspect do you disagree?"

Halond added another pause to the conversation before proceeding to say anything. "Are you giving me permission to speak freely, General?"

Something about his coy attitude amused Cassandra more than it annoyed her. "Do I specifically need to order you to?"

He cleared his throat.  "I am just making sure I am clear as to what is being asked of me.  In order to avoid overstepping my place."

Cassandra shook her head. "You know, Halond, I must say, I am a little disappointed in you."

"How so, Ma'am?"

Standing up straight, she pointed at him from head to feet.  "One of your prowess? One of the late General Kayzar's best soldiers.  An accomplished spy and a very formidable assassin.  Basically groveling like nothing more than a coward? Afraid that you'll be the next to die upon one of my swords for upsetting me?  I suppose I should take it as a sign of respect and deference."

Halond laughed, but only the slightest bit. "I would prefer you think of it as strictly the latter, Ma'am."

Attention once more returned to the map, Cassandra decided to make it as clear as she could what she wanted from him.  "Know this, if I hadn't wanted your opinion, I wouldn't have asked for it."

Halond cleared his throat again.  "If I question anything? It would be the merits of meting out such a harsh punishment to an unranked soldier who had no command authority and no responsibility for the fiasco near Telga.  Yes, his commanding officer failed to execute rebels, although admittedly there were some questions at to whether or not they indeed were.  And yes, he fled the field of battle.  But in so doing, he provided you a report with valuable information."

The advice asked for and received, Cassandra let it pass without further comment. She'd process his solicited advice later.  "Any word from Civn?"

"None since I saw him back in Coritt.  He vanished like a ghost, but hee's good at that.  Might already be on their trail.  Last I saw him, something definitely had him worked up.  All I know is he had this look in his eye—like a man on a mission."

"That's not standard procedure.  To leave one's partner during an operation without giving a reason? And I thought you two were close?"

"Hard to say with him. He does like to work alone, though." Halond shook his head.  "He's got his reasons, I believe, Ma'am."

"I know he has other reasons for agreeing to take the assignment I offered him.  My suspicion is he's abandoned us and turned his back on the Empire and this campaign. Seeing as how this is not the first time he's done so, and despite his pledge, I believe he's turned traitor."

"Civn? Nah, he's loyal as they come.  He said he'd help find this sister of yours, and that's what he'll do."

"I am not as optimistic as you are, Major.  I want you to keep an eye out for him.  If you find he's backed out on his commitment, send a message by eliminating him.  Is that understood?

"Crystal, Ma'am." This time Halond had no hesitation in responding.

Narrowing her eyes at Holand, Cassandra pressed the issue.  "I assume you would have no qualms with that request? Even if it entails taking out an old friend?"

"If I find out he's betrayed the Empire? I'll do what needs to be done.  Like I said, Ma'am, I believe in strict discipline."

"Good."  That settled, Cassandra pointed to her maps as Halond finally closed the divide between them and stood opposite her at the table.  "So, according to what that soldier told us, it looks like my sister is headed east.  Telga is here, and her last known position was here, slightly northeast. Which is what I would suspect, considering her goal will be the Mount of Carnak.  And since he said there were rebel forces that assisted in the assault on our base, I will presume further she's joined up with the Rebellion.  Which is disappointing, but also to be expected."

Halond too studied the map.  "That far north, the Sagon Wall is going to force them either up around near Northway or south towards us.  Northway has a whole garrison and dragon pens.  We can use the forces there to help ensnare them if they go that way.  They come south?  We get them instead."

"Not if they travel through Mours Canyon."  Finger on the map near a large feature showing a tear in the world, Cassandra spelled out her vision for what was about to unfold.

"Mours Canyon?" Halond considered his general's thought. "Lagos Dunn and his followers are zealots, loners, and they are certainly no ally of the Rebellion."

"No, they're not.  None-the-less, I suspect that the canyon will be my sister's attempted route through and to the east.  And, if I had to bet, I would suspect that taking such a route probably serves a secondary purpose."

Stroking his chin, Halond followed her logic. "You think they're going to try to get an alliance between Dunn's forces and the Rebellion?"

"I'm counting on it," Cassandra said.

"Seems unlikely he'd agree." Halond shrugged.  "But what do I know.  I'd think he's more than happy that the Empire has pretty much left Mours Canyon alone all these years. Directly aligning with the Rebellion would put him straight into Lord Hedric's crosshairs."

 "The problem is, they're religious fanatics, as you pointed out."  Cassandra's attention was already back on the map, focused on possible routes east after her sister left Mours Canyon.  "If Lagos Dunn comes to believe there is a way to recover the Tear of Earoni, that could sway his decision in favor of joining the war.  We can't take that chance.  And I see this as the perfect opportunity to bring my sister in.  So, we're going to set up a blockade here, at Mours Gap.  It's the only way through the Sagon Wall for miles.  And if they're in the canyon, the Gap their only choice for heading east.  I want archers all along either side of the gap and up on Mours Bridge.  A full deployment, day and night.  Shoot anyone that comes down the Gap.  Except for my sister, that is.  Any permanent harm comes to her and whoever does so will answer to me."

"What about the elven woman?" Halond asked.  "The one with the silver hair? Lady Noranda has an interest in her."

"I'm not going to order the troops to take any special precautions.  If she can be taken alive? So be it.  If not? Just a casualty of war. Lady Noranda says this woman knows the way to the shrine.  But, if she doesn't happen to survive, we'll find another way."

Halond added his finger to the spot known as Mours Gap, a clear break in the Sagon Wall upon the parchment. "If they see that we've sealed off the canyon, they're not going to want to go down it."

"That's why, once my sister arrives at the Towers of Mours, we're going to hit them with everything we've got available to flush them out into the open.  We'll capture my sister and destroy Lagos Dunn in one fail swoop."

"Those towers have remained standing and unscathed for centuries, General."

"That may be so, but they won't be left standing any longer." Cassandra stood up straight, adding resolution to her decree.  "If my sister is headed there, and I'm positive she is, we need to set up a snare for her.  One that will help us topple those troublesome towers.  I'll be leading part of the forces we will need north tomorrow.  I'll send word to Northway to dispatch the rest, as well as a flight of dragons. What I need you to do is get up there ahead of us and start scouting the area.  We need to find a weakness that we can exploit."

"Aye, General."

"Any initial thoughts," Cassandra asked.

"Well, it's a narrow high-walled canyon.  I've only been in the area once or twice.  The whole region has pretty much been no-go for my entire lifetime. Since no one wants to deal with those lunatics. But— " A plan forming, Halond just allowed it to roll off his tongue.  "If I remember my history, in 5551, the Towers of Mours defeated an assault from the Kingdom of Hourundane, before it was part of the Hitithe Empire, by unleashing tons of boulders they'd dug out from the canyon walls onto the enemy.  They crushed them in the narrowest part of the canyon during their advance.  Probably be a good way to deal with Lagos Dunn once and for all if we could pull it off.  Bury them alive and be done with them.  But, to do something similar, we'd need an army of dwarven miners, and probably several years, to loosen and topple the gorge walls down on them. I think they planned for the assault for nearly a decade as tensions were rising."

Cassandra sighed.  "That's time we don't have."

"Obviously.  Now, I did once witness The Gor erupt down in The Darklands, years ago.  Damn thing blew its entire top off in a massive explosion, sending rocks everywhere."

Cassandra exhaled. "Problem is, we don't have a volcano."

"Pelsan Fire would do the trick. But we'd need a lot for a detonation of that magnitude, though.  Considering the time frame we're looking at and the fact that Pelsa isn't on friendly terms with the Empire?  I'd say that idea is not workable."

Cassandra was silent.  She wasn't focused on anything that he had said beyond one word: explosion.  "You're right, it's not.  But you're still a genius."

"I am, Ma'am?"

"You're right.  We need an explosion.  And you also right Pelsan Fire would be a wonderful option.  But unfortunately, one we don't have.  However, we do have another means to that end."  Cassandra pulled the pistol out of her belt and laid it on the table with a thunk of steel.

Halond regarded the weapon, one he'd only heard of being used and never directly seen.  "I'm not sure I follow, Ma'am."

"I know a guy, a dwarf actually, who I think can help us out with the explosion part."  Cassandra lifted the weapon, opened up the cylinder and removed one of the shells.  She displayed the cartridge between her thumb and forefinger.  "All I just need you to do is figure out where to set the munitions in order to breach those damn towers and the wall between them."