"How fresh were the signs of the camp? Had it just been abandoned, or had it been deserted for a long time?" Ian asked.
"It had only been abandoned recently. When our cavalry arrived, the campfires inside were still smoking."
"That shouldn't be possible, should it? According to you, after Taman Village's patrol reported to you, you immediately dispatched light cavalry to investigate, yet they found only an empty camp. Even if the other side had a spy among you who tipped them off, they couldn't have withdrawn so quickly and in such an orderly fashion."
"My apologies," Ser Veld said with an awkward smile. "When I said 'immediately' earlier, that was only a generalization. In truth, it took us some time after receiving the news to send out the cavalry."
"How much time? I want an exact answer."
"One hour. Approximately—yes, one hour." Facing the stern "Ser Lucian," Veld inexplicably felt as though he were the man's subordinate.
"That is still too short." Ian shook his head. "After receiving the news, the spy would have needed to send word. Then the other side would have had to pack everything up, withdraw, and vanish from sight before your cavalry arrived."
"Ravens," Ser Veld explained. "We held a war council to discuss it at the time. Ser Simon believed they had used ravens to send messages."
"Ravens?" Ian understood what Veld meant. If the spy and the Ghost of White Wall City communicated by raven, that really could have created such a time difference.
And if the Ghost of White Wall City truly were people searching for the Blackfyre treasure, it would hardly be surprising for them to find someone who could raise ravens and read.
"Since then, you haven't discovered another one of their temporary camps?" Ian continued.
"No." Ser