“What is wrong?” General Halvor asked.
“The southern members of the resistance have the good sense of a turkey. They are fighting about what to call themselves: Snow Men or Defenders of the Snow Queen. Terrible names, both of them.” Hilda grunted.
Rakel exhaled with relief. “They have not been slaughtered?”
“Good heavens, no. Their biggest trouble is that they cannot decide what your symbol should be—a reindeer or a snowflake. Well, that and the raiders.”
“Raiders?” General Halvor asked, his voice sharp.
“Oh, dear, I was going to ease into that. Yes, raiders. Not all of the Chosen officers control their mercenary forces like our Colonel Graydim. Several officers have sent their soldiers to pillage and plunder the countryside.” The old lady fussed with her shawl.
“How bad is it?” Rakel asked.
“Nothing they can’t survive. There have been few injuries and deaths, but they’ll need a good harvest this summer if the southern villages are to survive next winter.”
“We have to stop them.” Rakel turned to General Halvor and Oskar. “Can we send some of our magic users south?”
General Halvor shook his head. “We have too few of them to do so. Tenebris is here. They must support you and the main battle. However, we might be able to send some troops.”
Oskar winced. “Tenebris finally made it, did he? That’s a shame. I was hoping a wolf might eat him on his travels.”
“Not all of the raiding is as far south as you’d think.” Hilda ruffled her shoulders like a squat wren. “Sirpa said the raiders were on the path to sweep through Lajoki, Rollad, and Begna—and Begna is just a few hours from here.”
“Isaid, Little Wolf, it was snowing heavily!” Phile said.
Rakel ignored her. “We can ride out and stop them.”
“Theothermagic users can ride out,” Oskar said.
“Yes,” General Halvor said. “For you to ride out, Princess, would be a useless risk.”
“It wouldn’t be useless if we could wipe out all those raiders,” Rakel said. “Do they travel with any magic users?”
Hilda shook her head. “No, it’s just the mercenaries. Apparently those in the Chosen who can wield magic don’t like fraternizing with the help.”
“That hardly comes as a surprise,” Oskar said.
“If they have no magic users to defend them, they’ll be a fast, easy target,” Rakel said.
“Pst. Little Wolf. You missed your cue.”
Like everyone else, General Halvor ignored the Robber Maiden. He raised an eyebrow. “You would slay them?”
It was a legitimate question. Thus far Rakel had refused to kill—and planned to continue on with the vow.
“No. Begna is close to our Mullberg border, and there is a trader’s pass between the mountains that divide us. We could run them out of the country,” Rakel said. Verglas was partially boxed in by mountains. With a range to the north that also extended a little to the west before turning into foothills, and a second range stretching along their eastern border, there were only a few paths and passes to enter Mullberg—which was even more mountainous and isolated than Verglas.
Oskar smiled brightly. “You’ve been studying the maps in the royal library, haven’t you?”
“Little Wolf!”
“Thank you for pointing them out to me,” Rakel said.
“It was my honor.”
“What is to keep the mercenaries from reentering after you leave?” General Halvor asked.
“She can build a wall,” Phile said.
