Wartorn: Resurrection Read Online Free PDF Page B

and limb were actually about to be put on the line, however, it was time to focus on self-preservation.
    The lieutenant paused at the entrance to a large command pavilion.
    "Wait here," he said, and disappeared inside.
    Aquint ran his fingers through his hair again and tried to dust the twigs and blades of grass from his uniform. It looked as if his case was to be reviewed by the company commander, and trying to put on a presentable front couldn't hurt. Perhaps he could get off with a reprimand and a warning.
    The lieutenant reappeared, holding the tent flap open and beckoning Aquint to enter. As he did, the lieutenant pointed to a spot at the center of the tent, then left, letting the tent flap close behind him.
    Aquint moved to the indicated point and stood, forcing down an impulse to fidget. Looking exceptionally nervous or overly innocent would only label him as guilty even before the conversation
    began. Instead, he worked on appearing patient and curious.
    The commander was seated behind a low table, scribbling on one of several pieces of vellum scattered across the table's surface. He did not look up or otherwise acknowledge Aquint's presence.
    The only other person in the tent was a thin, pale woman in dark robes who sat in the tent's corner. Wizard, Aquint thought. He didn't often see them up close like this. It was incredible to think that this creature and her fellows had opened those portals, that any beings could have such power. It was rumored that they could also communicate directly with the city-state of Felk through magical means and often relayed orders from Matokin himself.
    People, in Aquint's experience, generally feared magic. It was an ancient practice. But the Felk had embraced the art apparently, absorbing it into their own army, a tactic that had never been used in the history of the Isthmus. These wizards—wherever they were coming from—were formidable.
    Aquint did his best to ignore the one in the corner. Looking at her only reminded him of how frightened he'd been to step through that portal.
    "You are Aquint?" the commander said at last, looking up from his writing.
    "Yes, sir."
    "The same Aquint who came up with the idea for the quick march?"
    Caught off guard by this line of questioning, Aquint hesitated a beat before answering.
    "Yes, sir."
    "Could you explain to me how that idea occurred to you?"
    Aquint decided there was nothing to be lost by telling the truth.
    "Well, sir," he said, "before I joined the army, I ran a small hauling and freight business in Callah. We charged different rates, depending on the size of the load and the urgency of the delivery. It just seemed to me that if I had run things the way the army has been moving troops, I would be out of business."
    "How so?"
    "Everything would have to be delivered at the same time, and by definition, that time would be dictated by the heaviest, hardest to move item." Aquint continued to resist the urge to fidget.
    "Go on," the commander said.
    "It occurred to me that if we expedited certain units of the army like I used to expedite certain cargos, those units could move farther and faster than the army as a whole."
    "Interesting," the commander said. "A good business, was it?"
    Was.
He had the tense right, Aquint thought with wry bitterness. "Actually, the army commandeered most of my stock and wagons, so I didn't have much of a business left," he said. "I didn't have anything in the way of other marketable skills, so I, uh, enlisted."
    The truth was of course that he had been conscripted as well. Few able-bodied individuals in Callah had escaped being impressed into the army. Luckily, no one had discovered the false-bottomed wagons and mislabeled shipments that marked him as a smuggler as much as a legitimate businessman.
    "My point," the commander was saying, "is that you're new to the army, not a career man. That's good. One of the problems the army has is clinging to old procedures because they've always worked before."
    Aquint