by N. C. Reed
Trees were uprooted, roofs were damaged or even blown off, lighting strikes split trees and destroyed buildings. Numerous cattle were killed in a pair of lightning strikes in the Soulan Army Quartermaster's herd and the same thing happened to the Imperial herd minutes later. Flash flooding became a problem as hard rain turned small creeks and streams into raging torrents of water in a matter of minutes. Pleasant campsites became deadly in minutes and many soldiers lost all of their belongings and no few lost their lives trying to save what they could. Soulan's Royal Army was familiar with the ground and with the possibility of such troubles and their actions mitigated such suffering but there were still losses, though the Imperials clearly suffered worse.
For many, it seemed as if the storm would never pass as they huddled inside their tents, trying to stay at least some semblance of dry. It was truly a miserable night for most of the nearly half-million men camped along both sides of the line.
Parno McLeod's escort spent the evening under a roof of tin and wood, lulled to sleep by the rain hitting the roof as they bedded down in comfortable piles of clean hay. Their only downside was switching out for guard duty every two hours, but even that was a break of sorts as they were able to cluster around the fire inside the tavern and warm up and dry out.
Harrel Sprigs and Cho Feng shared a room upstairs not far from Jaelle's room, where Parno was spending the evening. Lightning flashes filled the windows even with the shutters closed and latched, but both men slept soundly with the rain battering the roof to help them drift off to sleep.
Parno himself bathed while Jaelle did the same, he removing the dust and grime and smell of being on horseback most of the day and her removing the scents of smoke, beer and food. Parno was looking out the window at the storm when he felt warm arms encircle him. He turned to see his hostess standing behind him, hair wet from her shower and dressed in a sheer gown that left almost nothing to the imagination. He had seen it before, but the sight of her took his breath away as he drank in her beauty.
“Come away from the window, milord,” she told him softly, opening it enough to close and latch the shutters. “It is unlikely that it would be struck, but if you were injured then Tinker would be cross with me.”
“Nah, he'd just assume I did something stupid,” Parno grinned. “Like standing in the window during a storm,” he added. Jaelle laughed at that, a light sound that Parno found almost mesmerizing. He allowed her to pull him toward her bed and the comfort that awaited him there.
“Let us weather the storm together, milord,” she whispered in the dim light of a single oil lamp and a number of scented candles.
That sounded fine to him.
-
“Well this is certainly some storm,” Edema commented as she watched the window of their suite. Even with the shutters securely fastened the wind driven rain battered at the window as well as the roof above them, the din forcing each woman to speak louder to be heard.
“Perhaps the worst I've seen in some time,” Stephanie admitted. “I doubt we will be able to proceed tomorrow, Edema. Not after this.”
As if her statement were prophecy there was just then a slight knock on their door. Stephanie answered it to find Captain Winters standing there, hat in hand.
“My ladies, I wanted to tell you that we will not be traveling tomorrow,” he sounded apologetic. “Movement will be difficult for the horses and all but impossible for the carriage. Assuming any kind of good weather tomorrow, we should be able to resume our journey by the day after. And the extra day of rest will do the horses good as they are extremely skittish tonight due to the storm.”
“Very well, Captain,” Stephanie nodded. “Thank you.”
“Evening milady,” Winters nodded and departed as Stephanie closed their door.
“Well, it could be worse,” Edema said philosophically. “This is a comfortable inn with good food and service, and with enough room for all of us. We should be able to spend a day here without too much strain. Not to mention this will give you an extra day to decide what to do about Parno when you arrive at his camp,” she added slyly.
“Lucky me,” was the acidic reply.
CHAPTER THREE
-
The morning broke with gray cloud cover hovering over most of the valley along with cooler temperatures and mud everywhere. Cursing and thrashing by man and beast alike was the order of the day as movement was severely impeded by the mud left from the heavy downpours that had ended not long before dawn.
Nowhere was that cursing and bellowing more prevalent than the camp of the 16th Imperial Infantry. Given orders to move out with the light of day, officers and men alike had worked through the stormy night to prepare for the move. A rare bright spot in their preparations was the fact that they were to establish the start of a permanent camp in the village of Unity, or at least as permanent as the Imperial lines would be. As a result, wagons already loaded with tents and camp ware were presented to the divisional quartermaster, along with a small herd of cattle for slaughter and several wagons of grains and legumes suitable for both man and beast.
“What a cluster fuck,” General Brandon Taylor shook his head again as his boot sank up past his ankle in mud. “We’ll never make it there in three days in this mire,” he told his senior brigade commander, Harlan Matthews.
“Unlikely,” Matthews nodded grimly. “Still, it's not a bad exercise,” he added. Taylor's look of incredulity didn't surprise him.
“You're kidding, right?” Taylor demanded.
“No sir,” Matthews shook his head. “Sudden orders, move out at dawn, regardless of conditions, forced march of some twenty-five miles in a three-day period. All of this is designed to get the best out of us and our men. And I'm willing to bet that another division gets the same orders before we've been gone a week. Their orders will come at the same time ours did and have them marching to relieve us, and our orders will be to return to camp.”
“Ten sovereigns says you're wrong,” Taylor said at once.
“Done,” Matthews shook his commander's hand. “And with that, I better get over and make sure my lads are getting in line. Thank the Emperor we don't have to break camp here before getting on the road.”
“Yeah,” Taylor sighed. “Thank the Emperor.”
-
Despite the horrid weather the night before, the men of Doak Parsons' Scout Company were still out, screening the Royal Army from any flanking maneuvers or sudden enemy movements. On this particular morning a young archer known as Dagger Earl was sitting in the upper reaches of an abandoned corn crib, his horse resting comfortable down below and making breakfast from the grain left behind. Earl and his horse had weathered the storm together in the protection offered by the small but sturdy building and Earl was even now considering remaining there another day to allow at least some of the mud to dry up rather than force his steed through that kind of mire.
Slowly eating his own breakfast of smoked beef and hardtack, Earl began to hear the faint, distant sounds that could only indicate men on the move. It began with the sound of metal occasionally striking metal. Then came the indistinct sound of men talking, the distance too great to understand what was being said but the sound unmistakable nevertheless. Finally, came the sound of wagons creaking and their drivers cursing as they urged their draft animals on through the muck and the mire left by the rain.
His breakfast forgotten, Earl grabbed his glass and scrambled out of sight of the doorway he had been sitting in. There he got to his feet and cautiously ran his glass out the door, surveying the area in front of him. It took more than a minute for the movement to catch his eye, concealed as it was by the fog. At first, he thought it was a simple patrol or maybe a foraging party, a waste of effort this time of year he thought idly. But the movement continued and the soldiers kept coming, his subconscious automatically keeping count.
He had already seen a full brigade of pennants when the wagons appeared. Counting the wagons, he realized after hitting thirty that this was a
major movement of the Imperial Army. This was the kind of thing he was out here for! The urge to jump on his horse and race for his own lines was almost overpowering. Several deep breaths had his thinking clearly once more as he continued to observe, taking the small notebook that all scouts we issued and using it to keep a tally of what he was seeing.
For nearly an hour, Earl watched as marching men struggled to get through the mud. While the minor trade route they were following had some gravel coating to help with dust and mud, the previous night's rain had washed much of it away, leaving ruts full of water and areas where there was nothing but mud.
Still the Imperials kept going, walking on even as they cursed everyone from General someone or other on down. A knot of mounted men came into view mixed in with the wagons and Earl decided based on how they were dressed they must be officers. Probably the commander of this group and his subordinates, Earl decided. Based on everything he had seen so far, Earl was satisfied that this was a full division of Imperial infantry, on the move west for some unknown reason. And it must be some reason indeed to be moving in this muck.
As the last brigade began moving past his position, Earl faced a dilemma. As far as he knew there wasn't another scout out as far as he was at that moment, which meant it was possible he was the only one who knew of this movement. So, did he follow and try to see what the Nor were up to? Or did he race back to the Army's Headquarters and report in what he had seen?
He had until the final Nor soldiers in line were gone from sight to decide.
-
For the second morning in a row, Parno McLeod awoke in the arms of a beautiful woman. But this morning he woke first and she was wrapped in his embrace, a somewhat reversal of the previous morning. He looked at her for a long time, sleeping comfortably with her hair slightly askew, a peaceful look on her face that he immediately hoped he was responsible for.
What am I thinking? he asked himself suddenly. What can I offer her? Nothing but sorrow, he sighed to himself as realization came to him. No matter how attracted he was to her, no matter what might be able to develop between them, he could never be more to her than he was right now. And she deserved far better than to be known as a camp follower or a mistress. Even to the Lord Marshal.
I'm going to make sure she's taken care of, though, he promised himself. I don't know how just yet, but she deserves something better than any of that. I'll figure it out.
He realized with a start that Jaelle was awake and looking at him. She laughed ever so softly at his surprise.
“What are you thinking, my Prince?” she asked quietly, lifting her head to kiss him lightly. “You seem deep in reflection this morning.”
“I was thinking of you,” Parno admitted. “How I wanted you to be taken care of. What I could do to make that happen. Make life better for you.”
“My life is fine the way it is, milord,” she sat up next to him. “I do well here and Tinker takes good care of us all. We are safe and have all the necessities of life. Compared to others we are very well off. We are a family of sorts, and we treat each other that way.”
“See, for me, being treated like family would not be a good thing,” Parno snorted. “My family spends most of their time killing each other or trying to get others to do it for them. I'm glad to hear that you are well cared for,” he added. “I would worry about you otherwise.”
The look on her face was one of mingled surprise and suspicion, and he wasn't sure which was more important or was more dominant.
“My Prince,” she said finally after a very long minute of silence. “My Prince, what are you thinking about Jaelle?” she spoke of herself in third person.
“I'm thinking you deserve better than something like this,” he sighed, sinking back down onto the mattress. “Something better than a man sneaking over to see you whenever he can find the time.”
“You are a sweet man, my Prince,” Jaelle smiled softly. “But I have need of nothing, I assure you. And do not think that you somehow 'owe' me, for what has passed between us. Do not sully that with the taint of money or other favors. Let it remain what it is; an act of love and nothing more.”
She was right, he realized. What was he thinking about a woman he'd known literally for two nights? What the hell was wrong with him? Since when did he start acting like this?
“What is wrong, my Prince?” Jaelle's voice broke him from his own recrimination.
“Just thinking that you're a lot smarter than I am,” he told her. “I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me, thinking you needed me to somehow save you from a life you already enjoy.”
“The fact that you would if I needed it is more than enough,” she promised with a smile and a kiss. “Let me make you breakfast once again and then you must say goodbye, no? You are much too busy to spend so much time here with me.”
“Time spent with you is time well spent, but I suppose I do need to get back,” he nodded. “It's already light out, and there's no telling what damage the storm did.”
“Then I will go and prepare your meal while you shower and dress,” she stood and threw on a dressing gown. “I will see you downstairs.”
–
“Are you growing too attached to that young woman, my Prince?”
Cho Feng's words almost didn't penetrate the fog of Parno's mind. It took several seconds before it registered.
“What?” he turned to look at his adviser. “What did you say?”
“I asked if you were becoming too attached to this Jaelle,” Cho repeated. “Is she becoming a distraction?”
“Any woman who looks like her is definitely a distraction,” Parno snorted. “But if you're asking is she addling my thoughts, then the answer is no. I had a nasty surprise last night when I realized she wasn't one of Rosa's girls as I had thought before, but otherwise she is still just a girl I met in a tavern.”
“Lying to me in this instance is acceptable, my Lord,” Cho said easily. “Lying to her is less so, but not unforgivable. Lying to yourself, however, is dangerous. Remember that.”
Parno nodded absently at Cho's warning, acknowledging the truth of them without admitting he had done any such thing. He had been on the cusp of trying to make room in his life for Jaelle somehow, rather than simply leaving things between them as they already were. Why would he have thought of that, even for an instant? He chewed that over mentally as he rode toward his own collection of tents that made up not only living quarters but also his command structure.
Damage from the storm was evident everywhere as they rode. Early reports made to him through Harrel indicated that no loss of life had been reported, though the Army had lost several animals due to lightning strikes. There was no way to figure the cost in Crowns as of yet, but Parno was sure it would be high. He shrugged mentally at that, knowing of no way to change it. Even had the damage not been caused by the storms it could just as easily been caused by enemy action. Losses of that nature had to be expected, that was all.
He arrived to find that his own tent had survived and that troopers from the Black Sheep were busy pulling the canvas back tight to eliminate water being held by drooping and water-saturated tent roofs. He found staff members already returning things to normal as maps were set back up and desks covered with reports.
There was one other thing waiting as well.
“Milord,” Doak Parsons saluted. “Something you may should hear,” he added, motioning the young man behind him forward.
“Dag, put it on the map for the Prince,” Parsons ordered.
“Yes sir,” Earl nodded. “Milord, I spent the night- me and Rolf- that's my horse, sir,” he explained. “Anyway, we weathered that storm last night in an abandoned corn crib about... here, sir,” his finger traced along the map until he pinpointed a spot near a minor trade route. “Weather turned the way to mud in most places, milord, and while I was decidin' what I'd do, I heard 'em.” He ran his pointing finger back up to that small trade route.
“At least a full division of Nor infantry, si
r, moving down the road, west. They wasn't happy being out in that soup, either, milord, nor was they trying to be quiet. Made more noise than... well, they was loud, sir. Wagons full of baggage in the middle of the column, too, sir. Officers mounted, some of them anyways, but no scouts, flankers or pickets around 'em I could see.”
“How long ago was this?” Parno asked, examining the map.
“Not more'n two, two-and-a-half hours, sir,” the young man promised. “I... I couldn't decide whether to follow or to report, sir,” he explained. “I decided to report in case no one else had seen 'em, sir. Trouble is there was no one further out than me, which means by doin' so I lost 'em.”
“That's fine,” Parno assured him. “You should try and get some rest. I'm sure Mister Parsons can make sure you and Rolf get a good meal and a dry place to bunk down, assuming there is one. Well done, Mister...”
“Earl, sir,” the young man snapped to a salute. “Dagger Earl, sir.”
“Well done, then, Dagger Earl,” Parno patted the man on the shoulder. “Well done, indeed.” He turned to Harrel Sprigs.
“Find General Allen.”
-
“Well, that was quite the storm, wasn't it?” Edema said over breakfast. Milton the proprietor nodded vigorously.
“Worst we have had in some time, my lady,” he agreed. “We've had word of trees blown down, blocking the trail north. Locals are already out clearing the way, but you were wise to delay your travel, it seems. All should be cleared by tomorrow, and if this wind continues it will help dry the ground as well.”
“It will be worth the delay not to be caught up in such a mess,” Edema agreed. “How did your place of business fare in last night’s tempest?”