Things were going more smoothly than Thane could have hoped for. Much of the army must have been lost, in need of direction and had come to him because he was the only one providing it. And then the girl proved that she not only had the desire to be useful but the will to make herself so, stepping into the role of his aide so smoothly that Thane wondered if keeping her after she had served her purpose was an option. But that was after the uncertain outcome of the battle, and Thane now had more important things on his mind as he stepped into his tent to prepare for the line that was forming outside.<br/><br/>The shadow was close when Thane noticed it and he froze in place. There was an unknown visitor in his tent. It was close enough when Thane noticed it that he would have been dead or very near had his visitor wished to assail him, but with no attack forthcoming after a dozen heartbeats Thane recovered his composure and went about his business. “What do you want?” he asked aloud. His voice was measured and controlled, he didn’t want the unknown visitor to see him sweat any more than he already had.