73 Perhaps," complimented The Lady Hawk, "that's
why you're so good at what you do!" She put out her lamp and they went
to sleep.
74 A few days later an exhausted rider rode into Northern. He staggered
into The First Speaker's Hall and came directly to The Hawk. "Zo is
under attack!" he announced, "I bring an urgent message from Bright
Star."
75 The Hawk took the message. "Go get some rest," he ordered.
76 He looked at the message and began to read. "To my gracious friend
The Hawk. Without cause or reason the Litoans and The Epians have
attacked us. They poured over the bridges from Lim and took our city of
Ze. Zorn is under siege, so is Zm. We are holding in the north, but I
am taking what forces I can muster and hurrying south to block the
coastal pass below Zi. But the enemy is coming in tremendous numbers,
and unless you can reach me with help, our cause is hopeless. If you
can come, come quickly! Our hour is desperate."
77 The Hawk summoned pages. "Send word to the garrison," he ordered,
"here at Northern. I want all the fighting people ready to march before
nightfall. Send word to Eastern. I want half their garrison and all
their dog riders. They are to meet me on the road to Zo.
78 Call for volunteers from all the cities. They are to be prepared and
follow after us as soon as they can. We can take no more than a fourth
of our fighting people. We cannot weaken our own defenses more than
that.
79 I will leave Gray Boar in command here. I will take Wandering Fox
and
Shining Serpent with me. Tell everyone we must make haste. Every hour
is precious. We must be on the march quickly, if we are to do any good."