About half a month earlier, Klethi had set out from the Lonely Mountain with fifty cavalrymen, carrying Allen's orders to Alayen at Mirkwood Road and telling him to prepare for an enemy attack.
After several days of travel, Klethi and her party finally reached Alayen's camp and completed everything Allen had entrusted to her.
At the time, however, the Easterlings were still repairing the bridge. They had not even approached Red River Town, let alone Allen's territory, so the surrounding area remained peaceful and quiet, with no sign that war was looming.
After spending a few days in the camp, an idle Klethi took Grim across the Running River and headed east. She wanted to see just what sort of enemy had made her boss so nervous.
Before long, the birds nearby brought Klethi a wealth of news, telling her that an enormous group of humans was driving livestock and migrating in their direction.
Unable to sit still after learning this, Klethi took the fifty cavalrymen Allen had assigned to her straight out of camp and rode in the direction the birds had indicated.
Alayen, who was trying to reinforce the camp, had intended to send those cavalrymen out as scouting parties. But before Firentis's reply even arrived, Klethi had taken every last one of them away.
Helpless, Alayen could only watch her leave. Those fifty cavalrymen were not officially under his command, after all, and before leaving, Klethi had even wheedled a considerable quantity of supplies out of him.
Had Firentis been there, either his personal prestige or the authority Allen had granted him would have been enough to order Klethi to stop running wild.
However, Allen's Minister of War was still in Wilderness Town, preparing to muster the entire army. With Ymira and Allen still on their way