The Hordes of Chanakra (Knights of Aerioch)

by David L Burkhead

  "I think you have found our best chance," Shillond said. "Aye, we've been letting the Schahi dictate our actions for far too long."

  A frown carved furrows into Kaila's brow at Shillond's words. "That brings a thought." She stared down at her folded legs for a long moment, then looked up. "The Schahi in the army that held me prisoner, their leaders spoke of returning, not to Schah, but to Chanakra. Could it be that Chanakra is not ally to Schah, but master?"

  Shillond considered that. "If that's so, we've been going about this campaign entirely wrong."

  "What do you mean?" Kreg asked.

  "We searched for answers in Schah, when Schah may very well have been a trap, meant purely to hide the true source of danger--Chanakra. Early on, we could have sent a force to Chanakra by sea. Perhaps the commandos you recommended, Kreg. With their own shores attacked maybe..." He shook his head. "And maybe not. I do not know. Deception within deception within deception. It has the feel of one of Baaltor’s games."

  “Still," Kreg said. "I think Chanakra is where we'll have to go after all." He grinned ruefully, remembering the last time they had made that decision. They had awaked the next morning in a dungeon. "So do we work our way down to a port city and take passage?"

  Shillond considered for a long moment. "I think we dare not. The only ships sailing will be under Chanakran control. We will have to go overland." He shuddered. "It will be a long journey, and a difficult one, especially in winter."

  #

  "Keltac agrinthor rajeman." Shillond spoke to the innkeeper in the Chanakran language. They all spoke it. In the months they had journeyed, Shillond had cast a learning spell on all of them and they had spent every safe opportunity talking to those who spoke Chanakran. Of the three, only Shillond had mastered accent. Kaila still sounded like a knight of Aerioch while Kreg's speech was that of no land on that world.

  Kreg, watching Shillond haggle for their room, did not want to remember that trip. Crossing mountains in mid-winter had been particularly harrowing. Kaila, Shillond, Kreg himself, they had all suffered frostbite more than once. Only Shillond's magic had kept them from losing fingers and toes.

  As they had come closer to Chanakra, nervousness had taken over for physical hardship. Kreg remembered all too clearly the fiasco of their mission to Schah.

  "It is robbery!" Shillond shouted with vigor, still speaking Chanakran. "You seek to beggar me so that my daughter and her husband will starve 'ere they set up household!"

  "Nevertheless, that is the price," the innkeeper said. "Seven silver seridi."

  Shillond's grumbles discussed the innkeeper's ancestry in amazing, and physically impossible, detail as he counted out the coins.

  "Seven?" Kreg asked Shillond as they climbed the stairs to their rooms. "That's a lot better than you got in Melkor."

  "That it is," Shillond said. "They must be desperate for custom."

  "Shillond," Kaila said. "Certain are you of this tale you tell of Kreg and I being husband and wife?"

  "Why, yes," Shillond said with a sly smile. "I think it's the best possible pretense, for more reasons than one."

  Kreg glanced sideways at Shillond. "You're up to something," he whispered.

  Shillond did not answer.

  They found their quarters, two adjoining rooms. Shillond had one room and Kreg and Kaila, posing as husband and wife, shared the other.

  "I think we'd better stay here for a few days," Shillond said. "The journey has been hard and we could use the time to heal."

  Kreg sighed, partly with frustration at the delay, but mostly with relief. "I think you're right. I'm not sure I could draw my sword, let alone fight with it."

  "Truly," Kaila said. "I find myself in like case."

  In their room, Kaila looked with surprise at a pitcher of wine sitting on a small table." She poured herself a cup and tossed it back. "Ah. Long has it been since wine has touched my throat."

  "Kaila," Kreg asked worriedly, "are you sure that's safe to drink? You seemed surprised to see it."

  "Oh, aye, it should be safe enough." Kaila glanced at the pitcher once more, then turned her back on it and sat on one of the room's stools. She began to pull off the boots they had stolen from a Schahi soldier. "Like as not, it is another attempt of the innkeeper to draw custom. I surmise times are lean as wars interrupt trade."

  Kreg nodded. He fidgeted for a long moment. "Um. Kaila?"

  "Aye, Kreg?"

  "Look, I'll make up a pallet on the floor like that first night."

  Kaila stared at her boots, lying on the floor, for a moment. "Kreg, there is something I must know. I charge you to tell me truthfully."

  "Of course."

  "What are your feelings for me? I know we are friends, but I would know if you feel more or no."

  Kreg decided it was his turn to stare at the floor. "I think I've been in love with you for a long time. Since the battle of Griselde at least."

  Only silence met his confession. When at last he looked up his eyes met Kaila's. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I had not hoped... Kreg, you need not make pallet on the floor."

  Kreg considered her words. "What about Keven? As far as we know, he's still alive and we're on our way to rescue him and the King."

  "Keven released me from my vow to marry him long since. He saw that I loved you before even I did. Keven and I have never loved one another, no more than as friends."

  "So Shillond told me."

  "So," Kaila said. "This is why he has chosen for us to play the roles we play."

  Kreg stared at her for a moment, then laughed. "So it is."

  #

  Kreg and Kaila napped through the early part of the afternoon. On rising, they descended to the common room. Shillond had saved places for them although it had not been necessary. The room was nearly empty.

  The minstrel by the fireplace sang off-key. At least it was a different ballad this time.

  "Did you rest well?" Shillond asked.

  Kreg thought for a moment, then decided that Shillond meant no more than he said. "Well enough. Kaila?"

  "Aye. Well enough."

  "I have been about the town," Shillond said, leaving Kreg to wonder where he got his energy. After events that left Kreg and Kaila exhausted, Shillond always seemed full of vigor. "I've kept my ears open and my mouth shut. Unfortunately, I learned nothing that we did not already know, perhaps when we cross into Chanakra itself."

  "Just listening may never tell us what we need to know," Kreg said.

  "I know," Shillond said. "But I think it better to try that approach for a time. We are far less likely to reveal ourselves than if we went around asking questions. I want to avoid drawing attention for as long as possible."

  "What are our funds like?" Kreg asked.

  "Good enough for another two or three weeks," Shillond said. "We'll stay here long enough to recuperate, then collect a little more and move on."

  Kreg caught Kaila's eye and winked. The two of them had been providing their meager funds. Whenever they were short of cash, they would find a Chanakran or Schahi soldier in the nearest town. The soldier would wake some time later a little poorer, but perhaps a little wiser. This same source had provided Kaila, piecemeal, with clothes to replace the modified blankets, although finding targets large enough to fit her had often been a challenge.

  They had always moved on after robbing a soldier and had been careful not to overdo. They did not want to leave an impression of anything unusual happening.

  #

  Kreg's eyes snapped open wide for a moment before he hung a mask of studied indifference on his face. The voice behind him had just said something that Kreg found interesting.

  "Aye, I saw that pretender of Aerioch and his bastard." Kreg caught his breath. The "pretender of Aerioch and his bastard" could only be Marek and Keven, and the owner of the voice's next words confirmed that idea. "The High Mage parades them before the people once each tenday. The time I was there, he said they will be executed as part of the Midsummer festivi
ties."

  "Ah, Kajak, you are always bragging about the things you've seen, whether you've actually seen them or not."

  "Nevertheless, it is true," Kreg heard a gurgle as Kajak took a long drink. "I hear we seek to bring down Tanak next. They have many wizards, but not so many as we."

  After that, Kajak and his companions turned to more innocuous topics. Kreg ordered another drink and sipped it slowly before leaving the tavern. He returned to the inn and spotted Kaila and Shillond in the common room. With a jerk of his head, he indicated that they should return to their rooms.

  "I've got something," Kreg said once they door shut behind them. "Do you know anything about a 'High Mage'?"

  Shillond nodded. "A council of wizards rules in Chanakra. Their chief, their King if you will, is the High Mage. He is always the most powerful of their number."

  Kreg nodded. "I suspected something of the kind. I overheard someone say that the High Mage will be executing Marek and Keven at the Midsummer Festival."

  Kaila scowled. "He will not if I have ought to say in the matter."

  "Midsummer," Shillond said. "That leaves us about two months. Did your informant say where?"

  "I'm afraid not," Kreg said. "His companions didn't believe that he really knew, but the way he sounded, and the way he didn't make a big deal out of it, make me think he saw and heard what he claimed."

  "Perhaps we should speak with this Chanakranon," Kaila suggested.

  Shillond shook his head. "I don't think so. We don't want anyone to know that someone interested in the fate of the King and Prince is near."

  "Besides," Kreg said. "I didn't get a look at him. He went on before Kaila could speak. "He was behind me and I didn't want to turn around and maybe let him know I was interested. Sorry, Kaila." Kreg did not say that he knew the man's name. He agreed wholeheartedly with Shillond and did not want an argument.

  "How then," Kaila asked, "should we proceed?"

  "As we planned, I think," Shillond said. "We'll finish our rest here than move on. Our eventual goal is the capital of Chanakra. Wherever they are holding the King and Prince, it will not be far from there."

  "But we cannot delay!" Kaila visibly fought to keep her voice from rising and attracting attention from outside their rooms. "We must haste lest we arrive too late."

  "We must complete our recovery," Shillond said. "If we are to accomplish anything, we will have to be at our best."

  Kreg shook his head. "Sorry, Shillond. I'm with Kaila on this one. We'll need to move and soon. We'll take it easy on the road, rest while traveling." He thought for a moment. "Do we have enough to purchase three horses? Cheap ones, just for riding?"

  Shillond shook his head. "Not by a dozen seridi."

  "Then we take the money we need here," Kaila said, "and buy the horses in the next town we pass. I like not the thought of waiting idle while my King and Liege lies under sentence of death."

  Shillond nodded. "All right. I don't like it, but there's merit to your views too. Tonight then?"

  Kreg shook his head. "Tomorrow. One extra day of rest won't delay us enough to matter but will make a major difference in our conditions."

  Kaila opened her mouth to protest, then stopped and nodded. "Tomorrow."

  "Agreed." Shillond made it unanimous.

  #

  Kaila lounged on a corner, her tunic hitched shorter than usual. She wore no breeches and had exchanged her boots for soft sandals. She had also removed her weapons.

  Passersby leered at the amount of leg showing, at the way her belt pulled the tunic tight over her breasts. She returned their stares with indifference, an indifference that encouraged them to move on without stopping.

  Finally, the street was empty except for a lone Chanakran soldier. As he leered at her, Kaila let her lips pull into a slow, inviting smile.

  "Payday, soldier?" she asked.

  "No," he said.

  Kaila pouted.

  The soldier grinned. "But I have had wonderful good fortune at knucklebones."

  "Is that so?" Kaila tugged at her tunic, causing it reveal even more closely the shape of her breasts.

  "Is so." The soldier reached for her shoulder.

  Kreg dropped from the overhanging rooftop where he had been waiting. He and the soldier sprawled to the street together but Kreg was on top. His arm clamped around the soldier's throat.

  As the soldier started to struggle, Kreg shifted his grip slightly so that his arm pressed against the carotid arteries on either side of the neck. In a few seconds, the soldier went limp.

  As usual, Kaila grumbled as they searched the soldier's unconscious form for coin. "I like this not. It is not proper for a knight of Aerioch to skulk in alleys like a thief."

  Kreg grinned and prodded the body. "We are thieves."

  "He is an enemy of Aerioch and as such his life is forfeit. He is fortunate indeed that we take only his coin." Kaila kept her voice stern, but the corners of her mouth twitched with humor.

  Kreg nodded. "Absolutely." He held up the soldier's belt. "Count it here or wait until we reach Shillond?"

  Kaila took the pouch and spilled its contents into her palm. Among the sprinkling of copper and silver the gleam of gold glinted in the light of the twin moons, both near full.

  Kreg suppressed a low whistle as Kaila dug three gold coins out of her handful. "He spoke sooth about his fortune."

  Kreg grinned at her. "Too bad we had to come along and change it for him."

  Her grin mirrored his as they slipped into the shadows of the alleys. "With this," she said as they hastened through the streets, "we will be able to purchase mounts for all of us and, I think, we need not worry about funds 'ere we rescue the King or die in the attempt."

  Kreg nodded and touched fingertips to his mouth for silence. They were entering a more populous section of town.

  They met Shillond at the edge of town. He accepted their prize without comment. At the gate, he cast a spell that put the guards to sleep, then used another spell to unlock the gates. Once they had passed a few hundred yards into the countryside, he cast a third and final spell, waking the guards. They would think that they had merely dozed for a few minutes and would not notice anything amiss unless they confessed their falling asleep to their compatriots and learned that all had fallen asleep at once. Since flogging was the penalty for sleeping while on watch, that was an unlikely prospect.

  "We have not enough to purchase battle-trained destriers," Kaila said sadly. "But methinks good quality palfreys are within our reach."

  Shillond shook his head. "We're poor travelers. Buying anything more than a peasant cobb would attract the attention we want to avoid."

  Kaila frowned a long moment, then sighed. "Aye. You speak truly."

  #

  Kreg, Kaila, and Shillond rode into the capital of Chanakra three days shy of six weeks later. Kreg's horse walked with a noticeable limp, spavined. It could not travel more than fifteen miles a day but was much less tiring than walking. Further delays had come from the need to purchase provisions. Only Shillond could do that, for only he had learned the Chanakran language well enough so as to not cause suspicions. Kreg could assist in smaller villages since no one would recognize his accent. Kaila, however, had to remain either mute or hidden, usually the latter. An Aeriochnon accent would be damning.

  "State your purpose for entering Bonaka," the bored guard at the gate regarded them idly.

  "We come for the Midsummer Festival," Shillond said.

  "Who are these with you?"

  "Ah," Shillond affected an air of sadness. Obviously affected. "The girl is my daughter. There is drought in my lands and we cannot afford any more to keep her. I hoped to sell her at the festival where I might get a good price. The other is a hired guard. He is not much, but he is willing to work for a share of what she brings."

  "Your daughter, huh?" The guard seemed frankly skeptical.

  "I speak nothing but the truth."

  The guard's eyes flicked from Shillond, to Kai
la, and back, "She looks nothing like you."

  "Takes after her mother, she does. A charming lass, if a bit tall. Still, she's quite strong and useful on the farm. I refer to the mother, of course. The girl has no head for keeping to chores." Shillond winked. "Comely though, is she not?"

  Kaila started to redden, whether with anger or embarrassment Kreg did not know. He poked her sharply in the ribs and the angry red of her cheeks faded.

  "Comely enough, if you like them tall," the guard said, "and I do. I may buy her myself. I'll give you five gold for her."

  Kreg felt a moment of panic before Shillond said, "Would that I could, good sir, if only to be quit of this surly guard, but I pledged to the Wizard Lord of my village to sell her only at the festival. I believe he made a sending to his cousin on the High Council, recommending that he have a look at her. I would hate to disappoint him."

  The guard blanched. "Yes...I see.” He regained his composure. "Entry fee is one silver per person, one copper per beast."

  Shillond nodded and paid for the three of them.

  Once in the city they found an inn and again Shillond dickered for a room. They returned to their old story: old man, his daughter and her husband. In a city the size of Bonaka the chance of meeting the gate guard again was vanishingly remote until they left. And if they left at all, it would be with Marek and Keven.

  They had proposed various plans for the rescue of Keven and Marek during the ride to Bonaka. Proposed, and discarded. Eventually, they had settled on one desperate gamble, a variant of the ploy that had successfully recovered Kaila's sword. Even if the plan succeeded, how they would escape the city and return to Aerioch was still undetermined.

  "As before," Shillond said when they were alone in their rooms. "Eyes and ears. Anything we can learn about the execution beforehand will help."

  #

  Two weeks passed with unbridled haste. In that time all they had learned about the coming execution was time and place.

  Kreg and Kaila sat on a low rooftop overlooking the site of the planned execution. At their sides were bows, hand-carved from ash staves and strung with sinew cords. While Kreg had not been quite up to constructing a full composite bow, he had suggested they back the bows with sinew, which would increase their power and accuracy. The arrows, instead of having chisel-like bodkin points to pierce armor, carried broad bladed hunting arrowheads. They did not need to pierce armor, just to kill mages; kill them quickly.