Now that Lord Montover had joined their side, he no longer had any duty to keep watch over the Noldor Elves. Instead, he led most of the garrison out to join the force outside the castle.
Allen's army now numbered two thousand, and its next target was the relatively lightly defended Long River Town. According to reports from his spies, its garrison numbered only a little over a thousand.
A devoted supporter of Ulric, Duke Arama, the lord of Long River Town, had levied a great many soldiers in answer to the king's summons. Before leaving, he had also taken his finest troops, the Horn-Call Horse Archers, with him.
This was, without question, the best time to attack Long River Town.
Lord Montover had originally suggested heading north first to persuade the lord of Brave Shield Castle to surrender, lest something unexpected happen during the siege. Allen, however, told him not to worry too much about that. He would handle it himself.
The two sides had faced off for several hours that night. The Elves thought little of it, but the human soldiers were somewhat tired, so the army rested outside the castle for half a day.
That afternoon, they would march southeast under Israndir's command, while Allen took Risadilan to Brave Shield Castle.
Though this was a barony, it lay on the edge of the grasslands, with forest immediately to the west. Stone was scarce, so most of its walls were wooden and not particularly high. The castle's defenses were primarily intended to guard against the Khergit.
Its chief purpose was to provide warning and deterrence. The nobles of the Lion Kingdom had never imagined that a single castle could stop those mounted raiders.
To achieve that, they would probably have to build a great wall.
When the bright,