On the morning of the fourth day, six hundred human light cavalry set out first as the vanguard. Two hours later, the mixed force of six hundred human heavy cavalry and six hundred elves began following them.
Daelin personally led the entire combined cavalry force as its supreme commander. The elves sent only a few essential commanders to assist him.
Although they were on a forced march, their actual pace was not particularly fast. Ground forces could hardly match the speed of flying forces, after all. Cavalry always had to keep some strength in reserve. After traveling a certain distance, they had to stop and let their mounts move about freely and rest before resuming the march.
Normally, cavalry marched for eight hours a day: four in the morning, followed by a midday break to let their mounts move about and rest, then another four in the afternoon, with the night reserved for rest. Even on a forced march, they would not travel for more than ten hours a day. The riders might endure it, but their mounts could not. After all, the mounts had to carry the riders!
With all those starts and stops, the combined cavalry force led by Daelin finally reached the outskirts of Grim Batol fourteen days later.
By then, the great fire had long since burned out. The area for dozens of miles around Grim Batol had become a blackened hell of ash. Never mind orcs-they did not see a single living animal. Scorch marks covered everything.
Daelin led the combined cavalry force across the fire-blackened earth, their solitary column trudging through the thick ash underfoot. Before long, every member of the once bright and splendid force was covered in dirt and soot, looking no better than a beggar.
Their march sent clouds of dust