Suleiman watched the handwriting on the letter. His smile gradually faded, then he returned to his usual calm. He folded the letter and put it away.
He raised his head and looked over the exhausted soldiers before ordering Toman, "Toman, take your men into the city!"
"Go to Willow Town and get some rest!"
Suleiman's voice rang out clearly and powerfully. His next words lifted the spirits of the weary soldiers.
"I've had roast meat prepared. There's plenty, so eat your fill! You deserve the best treatment!"
Toman's face flushed with emotion, and the soldiers rose to their feet and cheered.
Suleiman patted Toman on the shoulder and continued, "Once your men have rested,"
"take over the defenses of Willow Town and the siege of the inner keep. I need to relieve my own troops."
Toman instantly understood the significance of the order. It meant that Suleiman's troops, who had been besieging and defending the city, could be freed up to form a powerful mobile force capable of taking the initiative.
In the makeshift command hall in Willow Town, Suleiman's finger moved across the map on the Leger family's table.
Toman's four hundred reinforcements had brought Suleiman's total strength to more than nine hundred. Including Roslyn's forces, he now had over a thousand men.
This was a force that could defeat any of the Leger family's vassals who resisted alone, so long as the family's army had not yet assembled.
For now, his greatest advantage was that they had unequal access to information. He could defeat them one by one and sow division among them.
Lushen, Bryn, Hek, and Toman stood before him, waiting for orders.
Suleiman's gaze settled on Bryn. He pointed to a familiar yet distant spot on the map—the location of Foulkeep—and began issuing his orders in