Caldren didn't send it at Sun Harvest.
He sent it at Frument.
The message arrived before dawn through a runner, a boy maybe fourteen, breathing hard, his clothes dirty from running through the Oasis of Grain's back trails in the dark.
He found Alistair at the base and said three words before his legs gave out.
"Frument is surrounded."
Alistair caught him before he hit the ground. The boy was shaking, and it wasn't from the cold.
"How many?" Alistair asked.
"I don't know, a lot. Therasia banners, all over the field. They were there when the sun wasn't even up yet."
Due was already moving. He had been awake since before Alistair, because he was always awake before Alistair these days, and was pulling his cloak over his shoulders while the boy was still talking.
"Tavin got a message out before the perimeter closed," the boy continued, steadying himself against the table. "One line, only one. He said the walls are holding."
Alistair looked at Due, and Due looked back.
