“Yeah,” she answered, her spirits not improved at all.
“There’s another issue to deal with, too.” Maelgyn shifted uncomfortably. “I’m royalty. I may even become king one day, although it isn’t exactly very likely. You... aren’t even a noble. While that’s at least legal in Svieda, and while it has happened a very few times in the past, it’s generally frowned upon. Those few exceptions are usually with the very popular civilians, or the very wealthy, or with some civil leader of great renown. You are not any of those, and that could be a big stress on our marriage.”
“Of course,” she said stoically. It was hard to tell how she was really feeling, but the slight hitch in her voice was a clue that Maelgyn could easily read. “So, I made a big mistake in thinking that I could be your wife. How are we going to dissolve it?”
Maelgyn grinned. Now that he knew just what he wanted, he was pretty sure she’d be encouraged by this. “Now hold on a minute. Any ‘mistake’ made was mine, but it isn’t necessarily that bad an idea. Like I said, I can’t say I love you yet. I didn’t say I would never do so. Besides, it’ll take a lot of effort to get a marriage dissolved. I’d either have to report to the mayor or local lord, which would ruin the whole point of this fiasco, or I’d have to report to Wybert himself as the Sword of Largo. Now, I expect to make contact with Wybert, again, but not for a few months.”
Euleilla was still distressed, but there was a hint of confused hope in her question. “So... we’re going to dissolve it, but not yet?”
“Now, I didn’t say that, either, did I?” Maelgyn replied gently. “Regardless of what else you’ll be to me, Euleilla, you will become an important part of my court. And, while I don’t think I know you well enough to want you as my wife just yet... maybe we should consider each other suitors. I don’t have any others, right now – to be honest, with the war I didn’t think there would be time for me to worry about courtship and marriage and all of that. But, until I see Wybert again, let’s just get to know each other better as a courting couple normally would.”
Euleilla smiled hesitantly. “Okay.”
“And if, at the end of that time, we decide to have the marriage dissolved after all, don’t think that means you’ll never be married,” Maelgyn said. “You are a great catch, Euleilla. I can’t promise anything, but I want you to understand that I know you’re a great catch.”
“Thank you,” she said, apparently shrugging off all of her concerns and once more becoming the confident woman Maelgyn usually thought of her as. “Now, how about that bath?”
“Bath?” Maelgyn echoed, startled by the sudden change of subject.
“Hot springs? I’d like to see what they’re like, and I know you want to bathe as well. We have to sign up for a time slot, and I told you to sign up for one. So, when do we have that bath?” she asked.
“Just how are we going to manage that? I mean, I don’t think it would be appropriate, considering-”
“You’ll wear a blindfold.”
“...what?”
A cloth belt of hers floated up and flew over to him. He’d learned, over the course of their journey, that her clothing, her tent canvas, and any other cloth gear had at least some metal sewed into them so that she could find and magically manipulate them. The belt wrapped itself around his eyes, making it impossible for him to see.
“Blindfold. Equal footing and all.”
“Um, right.” Maelgyn shrugged. It looked like they were taking a bath, after all. Well... it wasn’t the best of solutions, but he would accept it. Removing the blindfold for the moment, he said, “Well, I guess I’d better go sign us up for that time slot after all, then, shouldn’t I?”
The bath had been very pleasant, but also somewhat awkward. Euleilla had called it “equal footing,” but Maelgyn had quickly discovered that it wasn’t quite so equal after all. She had been learning ways to deal with her blindness for years, while he had only had, well, seconds to get used to it.
They’d entered the room fully clothed, together, and with him in full possession of his sight. The moment the door was closed and locked behind them, however, a strip of cloth wrapped itself around his head. Getting undressed wasn’t too much of a problem -- he’d had to undress in the dark, before -- but then he stumbled over a bucket and fell face-first into the water.
Euleilla rescued him from his predicament without a word (though he could swear he heard a slight giggle as she did). He settled down into the water, struggling with the soaps and other bathing supplies until he judged himself clean. Once all the necessary scrubbing was accomplished, he relaxed into the water refusing to move any more.
He’d been able to hear her moving around, and could have sworn he heard her laugh at his struggles on occasion, but beyond that he had no idea what Euleilla was doing or where she was in relation to him. She got out first, and then removed his blindfold and beckoned him out.
It was very awkward, being naked around her as he got dressed. Yes, in his mind he knew she couldn’t see him... but it was still rather embarrassing, and he found himself trying to cover up certain areas as he dressed, despite knowing the futility of it. It didn’t help that he knew she was quietly laughing at him about the whole thing.
He just shook his head at the memory. It was the “morning after,” as it were, and things were still quite civil between them at breakfast. Sleeping had posed a bit of a problem, as there was only one small bed. Still, they had managed a decent night... after Maelgyn had agreed to be the one to sleep on the floor. He winced, rubbing the knot which had developed on his back.
“What now?” Euleilla asked, finishing up her tea.
“Now,” Maelgyn said. “You should tell me whatever it was El’Athras thought you’d need to explain to me.”
“All he said was that he wanted to open negotiations with you,” Euleilla explained. “And that these negotiations might not be popular among his fellow Dwarves. He seemed to feel it would help you in your war effort, however.”
“Did he, now?” Maelgyn said, frowning. “He said he was a Merchant Prince. That means he’s on their leadership council, and probably one of the wealthier Dwarves in Mar’Tok, but I still have to wonder what he could do for me. Especially if the other Dwarves are against him.”
Euleilla said nothing, and merely took a bite of her pastry while waiting for him to continue. He didn’t say anything, either, until an odd bell started ringing outside the inn. Suddenly, many of the employees of the inn started looking quite nervous, while the guests merely looked confused.
Maelgyn stood up, Euleilla coming with him, and made his way over to someone he recognized -- Cora, the maid from the previous night.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“That’s the bell to muster the militia,” the maid said, her voice wavering slightly. “But that’s not the ring for the weekly training session. A constant ringing like that is only supposed to be used if we’re under attack. This is only the second time I’ve ever heard it.”
Maelgyn nodded. “My... wife and I could probably be of some service -- we’re both mages. Where does the militia typically assemble?”
“Right in front of the library,” the maid answered automatically. “We don’t have a large militia, though -- under a hundred men, and we have no fortifications to speak of.”
Maelgyn just nodded grimly. “Well, I’ll see what I can do. I doubt anyone would expect a village like this to have any mages. In addition to being rather effective warriors on our own, we mages can make an army several times more effective with our talents. My old tutor called us ‘force multipliers.’”
“Please hurry, then. Our village militia can muster in minutes, and you need to get there before they march out. Good luck,” Cora whispered.
Maelgyn turned to Euleilla as they left the inn. He could see the furious pace at which many of the villagers were locking their doors and windows. It was a futile gesture on their parts, but he supposed it gave the people something to do. “Well, as Sword Prin
ce it’s my duty to help fight this battle. I’m assuming you want to come along?”
“Gladly,” she answered him.
“Lesson one about being my wife,” Maelgyn explained, as he marched through the streets. “There may be times when I go off to battle, and you won’t be able to come with me. Also, there could be times when I leave for a battle and you’ll have no choice but to come with me. Can you handle that?”
“Yes.”
There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation in that answer. Maelgyn nodded. “Then let’s go. Someone has to keep this village from being wiped out.”
Chapter 8
The first thing Maelgyn noticed upon arriving in front of the library was that the militia forces of Elm Knoll were not the best trained soldiers he had ever seen. They were well equipped – one of the benefits of a wealthy town – but beyond that, there wasn’t much to recommend them to him. Their captain, however, looked vaguely competent.
“Captain?” he inquired of the only man wearing a proper uniform and rank insignia.
“Yes?” he said, not even looking.
“I’m a traveler, passing through town with my wife, and I thought we might be of assistance.”
“Oh, really?” the captain said. “Just who are you? My boys may not be the best soldiers out there, but they work together reasonably well. A new person, though, may disrupt what little sharpness they have.”
“My wife and I are both mages,” Maelgyn replied, anticipating the question. “Powerful ones. She is a First Rate Mage and I... have yet to be truly tested.” He didn’t know if Euleilla had actually been tested, either, but he knew she was that powerful nonetheless. The formal test was only needed for certain jobs, and there were plenty of informal ways to determine a mage’s rate.
That caused the captain to look up at him. “Is that so? Well, sir, my name is Rykeifer, Captain of the Elm Knoll Militia. I... well, I was going to ask for a demonstration, but I can already pretty much tell there’s something about your wife, at least.”
Maelgyn turned to see Euleilla, not realizing what the man was getting at until he realized that he was probably referring to the whirlwind around her. He’d gotten so used to seeing her with it he’d completely forgotten how odd that was.
“So, how about letting me know what it is I’m volunteering to fight?”
“Sho’Curlas raiding party,” Rykeifer said. “Apparently, a small force of Sho’Curlas’ soldiers positioned itself north of Rubick and is sending raiding parties down from the north. We believe that they took over the tiny nation of Squire’s Knot as a staging area. It doesn’t appear to be a permanent take-over – the runner bringing me this information said that only two thousand soldiers were in Squire’s Knot, which wouldn’t hold even that small of a country. They aren’t even trying. Those two thousand soldiers have been divided into ten raiding parties that have been sweeping through the more undefended villages along our northern border. The runner passed through a town one of those raiding parties hit – they burned out the entire village before the militia bell could be sounded. That detachment is heading straight for us, and the messenger figures they could be here within two or three hours. I intend to be ready for them.”
Maelgyn nodded, glancing over the militia. It wasn’t the best drilled army unit in the world, but now that he considered it some more he realized it was probably a typical militia force. It wouldn’t be able to handle two hundred well-trained raiders, though. Not without some help.
“I can wield a sword, but Euleilla can’t,” he explained, nodding to her. Not the truth – he was pretty sure Ruznak would have taught her – but she wouldn’t be able to contradict him without blowing their cover. He wanted her out of the thick of the fight. “Where’s the best place for her to be? She needs to be near enough to use magic, but still out of harm’s way.”
Rykeifer considered things for a moment. “What’s her range?”
“Long,” was all she said.
The militia officer raised an eyebrow, which he turned on Maelgyn. The young Sword Prince just shrugged with a helpless smile.
“Right. Do you need a line of sight to the enemy?”
“No.”
“Then probably she could manage from the roof of the library, here.”
“Good,” Maelgyn replied. Euleilla, apparently able to make her own way, left... again wrapping part of her whirlwind around Maelgyn. “Now, where do you want me?”
“Right by my side,” Rykeifer said. “And I’d like to know your name before we go into battle.”
“Well,” Maelgyn hesitated. “I’m traveling incognito, so before I give you my name you must swear to not tell anyone else, got it?”
“And just why would I agree to that?” the militia captain asked. “Just who are you?”
Maelgyn showed his sword – not the one he was planning to fight with, but rather the symbol of his office. “Sword Prince Maelgyn, Duke of Sopan Province.”
Rykeifer’s eyes widened. “My Lord, I’m sorry I asked, but-”
“Forget it,” Maelgyn said, waving off his apology. “It was your job to ask. Just don’t let anyone else know. I’m heading to Sopan Province, and the best chance I have of getting there alive is to not let it be known who I am.”
“Understood, My Lord,” he acknowledged, stiffening to attention.
“And relax. Euleilla’s an incredibly powerful mage, and I’m not half bad if I do say so myself,” Maelgyn noted. “We took out a small force of Largo separatists on our way here. That was sixty men assaulting a Dwarven caravan, and there were only six Dwarven archers and six unarmed Dwarves to help us. Here, we may have two hundred enemies to fight, but we’ve got, what, about eighty people on our side?”
“Something like that – eighty six, if everyone shows.”
“See? We’ve got better odds, this time. And those separatists actually had equipment for fighting mages with them. I don’t know if a raiding party formed for attacking small villages will come to the fight similarly equipped.”
“If they’re smart, they would have brought the necessary equipment, at least,” Rykeifer snorted. “Mages aren’t exactly common, but there are enough of you around that you could be anywhere.”
“Well, Euleilla was able to deal with everything the separatists could throw at me,” Maelgyn noted wistfully. “She was just blasting through lodestones like they weren’t even there, and she saved my life from some stone-tipped arrows.”
Rykeifer regarded him for a moment. “I didn’t know you were married, My Lord,” he commented knowingly. “Even during events like this war, that sort of news should have reached here by now.”
Maelgyn coughed slightly. “Um... it was kind of an accident.”
The militia captain raised a single eyebrow. “An accident?”
“I said I was traveling in disguise,” Maelgyn explained. “Well, she became part of it. My story was that we were a couple of newlyweds traveling to tell my parents that we had gotten married. Which meant, when I signed into the inn, yesterday, I signed us into a single hotel room....”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Rykeifer laughed. “Oh, my. Well, now, that’ll put you into a fix, now, won’t it? So, what are you going to do about it? A peasant marriage isn’t exactly going to make you popular, you know.”
“Treat her as a suitor, for the moment,” Maelgyn explained. “She has enough of a civilian pedigree that she might actually be respected as a candidate. If we decide not to stay married or are still unsure about it by the time I meet up with Wybert again, it won’t be too difficult to get it dissolved. If we decide to accept each other’s suits by then, however, we’ll stay married.”
“Well, I don’t have any problems with her. I suppose she could be an asset, given her obvious abilities as a mage, and she is nice on the eyes... although that hair is a bit off. Makes me want to move it out of her face.”
“No-one touches that hair,” Maelgyn growled, hand going to the longsword Euleilla had made for him. �
��She grows it that way for a reason, and I happen to know why. It... isn’t something I want to discuss, however.”
Rykeifer looked a bit startled, holding his hands up placatingly. “If you say so, my lord. It does appear you are at least somewhat attached to her, though, so might I say congratulations?”
Maelgyn relaxed, smiling slightly. “Well, it’s probably a bit premature, but thank you, anyway. Now, is there anything you want done prior to the battle that I could help you with?”
“As a matter of fact....”
As predicted, it was just over two hours before the raiding party of Sho’Curlas soldiers arrived. It was a light cavalry unit, which is what they had been hoping and preparing for.
“It’s not likely there are many archers in a force like that, is it?” Maelgyn asked, watching their approach.
“There may be a few. The standard ratio for our own light cavalry is one horse archer out of every three riders,” Rykeifer noted. “How many battles have you fought in?”
“Not many,” the Sword Prince acknowledged wryly. “I studied swordplay and magic both from the time I was four until I was fifteen, but I never saw any battles. Then, my father demanded I spend the next three years studying protocol, history, and etiquette, and dismissed my swordplay and magic tutors. While I was still studying swordplay, my tutor took me to witness some of the wargames and training practices of our soldiers in Rubick, and I often witnessed the drills performed by the Royal Guard. I continue to practice whenever I can, just to stay in shape, though my father disapproves... or rather, disapproved.” He winced. “As far as real battles, however? Well, I’ve fought a few gangs of thieves and bandits, and I already told you about that band of separatists Euleilla and I dealt with on our way here. That’s about it.”
In Treachery Forged (The Law of Swords) Page 9