“Memwin couldn’t stand the sound of that toy trumpet,” Blan shouted. “Someone is attacking her!”
They all ran up the stairs, the super fit Zeep and Neep soon leaving Blan well behind.
*
Memwin felt as though she had been punched in the face or, as she once had done, walked into a lamp pole when she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going. In fact, she had been punched in the face by her toy trumpet which had taken the full force of Craskren’s arrow.
Just before she jumped off the labyrinth, Memwin had put the trumpet to her mouth. She blew one short burst and was about to blow another when the arrow entered the bell of the instrument and forced it back into her mouth, taking three teeth with it.
Memwin’s last thought as consciousness left her was that the teeth she had just lost were only baby teeth. She hoped she would live to see adult teeth one day replace them. Meanwhile, Craskren drew his sword and marched across to despatch his quarry. He never reached her. Two silver spears were thrown in unison by powerful and practiced professionals. They struck Craskren with such force that he was transfixed, nailed to the top of the labyrinth like an effigy used for practice.
“Ooh, yuk!” Blan exclaimed as she reached the door and saw the Herald twins’ handiwork. Craskren was not a pretty sight with one spear through his heart and another through his head.
Blan ran straight to Memwin who, already awake, had spat out the remains of the toy trumpet along with her three dislodged teeth. Memwin did not cry but held tightly to Blan.
“I knew you would come,” Memwin whispered after a while. “Is that what they mean when they talk about the Great Plan? Is that the same as religion?”
“That is not itself part of the Great Plan,” Blan said, sounding a little pompous to her own ears, “but it could be said that our friendship accords with the Great Plan. The Great Plan concerns the covenant and code of ethics for the survival of humans in an often hostile world. It is not a force derived from outside of ourselves; it comes from within us all as individuals and collectively as a family of beings. It is taught to us or we learn it as we progress through life, and it is bound to our empathy for each other and for the other living things of this world. By contrast, religion is the manner in which people express their belief or faith in the hidden creative force of the universe. They do that in accordance with their customs and culture, so you will notice that most people adhere to the form of religion into which they are born. One day I will explain it all to you.”
“Thank you, Blan, I would like that,” Memwin affirmed.
*
Zeep and Neep were commended for protecting Memwin that day and for foiling the enemy. Blan dismissed any praise for herself. She felt that she had received enough praise for a lifetime after the Battle of Western Point. She did, however, persuade Tor that the matter should be kept secret. There was no good reason to let Black Knight know that his spy had been foiled or killed. The longer he believed that Craskren was still at work, the longer he might hesitate to send someone else on the same mission. Even if the next spy only wanted to kidnap Memwin, there was no need to invite it by advertising Craskren’s failure.
The labyrinth was cleaned up and restored. This time, however, a secret exit was excavated through the wall behind it. If necessary, Memwin could now escape via the labyrinth into a corridor on the other side.
At last Blan explained to Memwin that Borckren had been killed. Then she learned from Memwin that Craskren had claimed to be Borckren’s twin. Blan hoped there were just twins and not triplets.
5
The morning after Craskren’s attack word reached Proequa that Port Fandabbin had been blockaded by Black Knight’s navy. The message had taken all night to pass from beacon to beacon, first from Port Fandabbin eastward to Quolow, then south to the upper Proequa River and then along the river to the shipyard beacon, which could be seen from the citadel. There were many more beacons between Dabbin and Proequa than were strictly necessary, in case one route or other was disrupted. On this occasion, since the message was brief, the fastest transmission took less than eighteen hours.
Count Tor immediately called for the War Council to meet. In addition to Azimath, Nargin, Arnapa and Blan, Nightsight was now recruited to the Council as a full member.
Praalis no longer wished to participate directly in the meetings. He was content that Blan was now ready to take over his role. He was, however, regularly consulted by the others. He had been given a room high in Citadel Tower from which he could look across the country from Nantport to Proequa River. He would spend his days moving his wheeled chair around the books, scrolls and charts he had brought from the library, and discussing all kinds of strategies with those who sought his advice. Nevertheless, he needed all the patience acquired over his many years of hardship to suppress the frustration of being confined by a broken leg when the war was now at such a critical stage.
Blan again found herself in the quiet ambience of the Council Chamber. She was alone. The deep carpets and heavy tapestries muffled all sounds. One of the grand tapestries depicted a young woman on a horse. The woman, strikingly beautiful and not much older than Blan, appeared to be wearing a cloak of purple silk pushed back to reveal a gold plaited cuirass over similar chained mail. She carried no weapons and she held one hand out as if beckoning. She had a kind and intelligent face which looked out knowingly at the viewer as if to ask a question. Words appeared at the bottom of the tapestry, in an ancient script of which Blan now had some knowledge. “Fenfenwin of the House of Tant, Ruling Duchess of Proequa,” she read aloud.
“Memwin’s mother,” Count Tor explained as he entered the chamber. “She was a beautiful person in all respects. Everyone loved her. She would have been the greatest ever ruler of this land had she lived. We never talk about her in Memwin’s presence for fear of upsetting her.”
“Does Memwin know that this is her mother?” Blan asked. “She might have overheard more than you think.”
“I really don’t know,” Tor replied. “Clearly we will tell her when she is older. Memwin has never been in here except for the few times she came with you. I don’t think she would be able to read the ancient script used for the names of her ancestors in the tapestries.”
Blan was shocked. Nobody had ever thought to show Memwin the tapestry of her own lost mother! Blan knew that Tor and the others were well-meaning, yet they had little idea of how to treat an intellectually gifted child. Nor did they suspect the great extent of Memwin’s gift.
Blan had come to understand that her own mental powers were rare and that it was unfair to judge others by the same standard, but she had received guidance from her brilliant family. How tragic it would be if Memwin, deprived of suitable guidance, grew up in resentment and contempt for an unsympathetic and misunderstanding world and perhaps reacted to it in the same way as Black Knight. However, Blan felt that it would not be tactful to express these thoughts too directly. She was, after all, just seventeen and very far from expert in the matter of raising children. She would choose a more subtle approach.
“I think Memwin would love to see this picture of her mother; it would be a great comfort to her,” Blan said tactfully. “May I bring her here and show her?”
Blan intended to do so anyway, one way or another. However, she felt that she could achieve more through gentle encouragement than by seeming to poke her nose into what was, strictly speaking, none of her business.
“Of course,” Tor agreed. He was aware of Blan’s tact and it pleased him. He did not wish to be reminded of the inadequacy he felt in the matter of Memwin’s care and he was grateful that Blan was prepared to help without casting or implying blame on others.
Azimath and Nargin were the next to arrive. Soon after, Arnapa and Nightsight came into the chamber together. After brief greetings they all took their seats and got down to business without further ado.
“Now, more than ever, we need to strike at the enemy to give relief to Port Fandabbin,” Ar
napa proposed.
“And yet we still have little more we can give from here without jeopardizing our own defence,” Tor replied. “Most of our troops are in the north fighting a guerrilla war alongside our allies. Others are tied up guarding the prisoners at Western Point. The few warships we have are not yet ready to attempt to break out from the blockade. Besides, we do not yet have enough trained crew members to man them. Fishermen are sneaking back through the blockade every night, whenever they can get behind the reefs and enter the harbour via Eastern Passage, but there are still too few to man the warships we are assembling at the Proequa River docks, let alone all the smaller craft.”
“Then, if anything, we must bring forward our planned attack on Austra Castle,” Arnapa insisted. “If we can exclude the enemy from using Austra Great Harbour for repairs and replacements, he will have to take his quimals far to the north, to Port Cankrar.”
“Could he not use the ports he has already taken to the north of Port Fandabbin?” Azimath asked.
“Not easily,” Nargin replied. “Carl will have most of his ships out in the Archipelago, beyond the enemy’s blockade. From there they can harry the coasts. Quimals will be at risk if they are alone or just a few together. The enemy can only move safely in full squadrons. Some of the ports north of Port Fandabbin are large enough to accommodate many quimals at anchor, but they do not have docking facilities for more than one or two such ships at any one time. The only safe places in Arctequa for Black Knight to service his navy or build new ones are Austra Great Harbour and Port Cankrar. That is, unless he captures Nantport or Port Fandabbin.”
“Why does he not use smaller vessels?” Blan wondered aloud.
“He is constantly short of capable mariners so he must use as few ships as possible to carry his army and supplies,” Nargin explained. “Krar is rich in land resources but not much of a maritime nation. As for his colonies in Arctequa, his call to arms appealed to many land-hungry farmers around Port Cankrar, yet less so to the mariners. Many of the mariners migrated to other shores or hid in the marshes to avoid conscription; some joined the Free Alliance and a few of those went back as our spies and saboteurs.”
“There must be some mariners among the prisoners,” Blan speculated. “Can we persuade them to join us?”
“They will be from the far eastern lands across the sea. Why would they join us?” Tor asked rhetorically. He shrugged his shoulders and splayed his hands, adding, “Besides, what could we offer them? How could we convince them that we can overcome Black Knight?”
There was a long pause during which everyone was silent.
Blan remembered the medallion of the Grand Vizier that Praalis had bestowed on her. Keeping her thoughts to herself for the time being, she gazed around the table and found that Arnapa was looking at her intently. Arnapa nodded and smiled. Was Arnapa thinking the same thing that Blan was thinking?
Tor broke the silence. “When do you propose mounting your expedition to Austra Castle, Arnapa, and who will be going?”
“We had hoped to make more preparations. However, seeing that Port Fandabbin is already subject to a blockade, and enemy troops may soon be able to land and besiege the city, I propose that we set out under the new moon in just two days’ time. Mariners tell me that they expect the sea to be calmer then. Nightsight has arranged for one hundred two-person canoes to be assembled and refitted. Azimath and Nargin have kindly spared him the crews, including Camb and Pyran as his lieutenants. The canoe team will gather in Unnamed Fjord or, if that is held against us, one of the smaller inlets below Mount Equa. From there they will send a small party to spy on Austra Great Harbour. When they receive my signal, we will meet and coordinate our attack.”
“How will your landward team get there?” Tor asked.
“I will lead them over the mountain pass to Sirsette Manor and then down Panners Stream. We have parts for another fifty canoes which we will have to assemble at Sirsette Manor. Each canoe will be large enough for two people with plenty of supplies, weaponry, fire bombs and the essential parts for three large catapults.”
“How will you fit parts for large catapults in canoes?” Tor questioned. “I assume the catapults have to be large enough to attack the castle or to discourage quimals from entering the harbour should your initial attack succeed.”
“All the heavy beams will be found or cut anew when we get there,” Arnapa explained. “We only need take with us the essential tools, cables and other parts which we might not find there if, say, Black Knight has taken all his own catapults to Port Fandabbin with him. Clearly, with a force of only four hundred, that is two hundred in each team, we will be relying on momentum and surprise to take the castle. Gardolinya believes that we might also be able to raise support from disgruntled townsfolk living along Equa River.”
“Do you have your landward team ready?” Tor asked doubtfully.
“That we are yet to do. Believe me, I have tried to find suitable people but those willing to go with me lack the necessary skills. Can you help us? We need two hundred mountaineers who are also familiar with jungle. We also need a trained pigeon handler to send messages back here.” It was the first time that Blan had seen the pink of embarrassment come to Arnapa’s cheeks.
Tor laughed sourly. “I have already stationed a garrison near the ruined fort leading to the mountain pass. However, they are ordinary militia, quite capable of defending the pass, even going to reinforce you when you have taken the castle, but they do not have the skills, experience or the numbers to march through mountains and jungle into enemy territory. You must find another source and, if you leave in two days, you must be quick.”
“Oh!” Arnapa was clearly very disappointed.
“Zeep Herald is a trained pigeon handler,” Tor relented. “If she and her sister are agreeable, we can make do here with Neep and send Zeep with you. Other than that, it will be difficult to find the two hundred followers you require for your landward team. I will think on it. Nonetheless, even if you recruit your team and capture Austra Castle as planned, how will you defend it? Black Knight is sure to send a powerful force to retake it.”
“Of course it’s a risky venture,” Arnapa conceded. “At worst we may be able to retreat back via Sirsette Manor, satisfied that we have drawn some enemy resources away from the blockades here or at Port Fandabbin or, for that matter, Slave Island. At best we might have time to acquire enough reinforcement to block entry to the harbour for a long time.”
“That is where Nargin and I can benefit from Arnapa’s plan,” Azimath said. “At some point we must break out from the blockade here and sail to Carl’s assistance. When we launch our warships down the fierce current of Proequa River we will be able to further stretch the enemy’s navy and make it more risky for him to send his quimals along the coast.”
“If all goes according to plan, the blockades will be weakened,” Nargin added. “Before long, Fork Pass will be closed by the winter snow. Black Knight will have to bring all his new supplies by sea for many leagues; he has already stolen most of the produce of the lands he has occupied. Cutting off his supplies is where we can do most damage to his cause. The loyalty of his followers will soon start to wilt if they see long, hungry delays ahead of them.”
Blan could see the sense in this. Many of Black Knight’s followers would only be loyal to him for as long as he was succeeding and brought them personal advantage.
“Then proceed with my blessing,” Tor pronounced as he concluded the meeting. “I wish I could help more, but my prime duty is to defend Proequa and, in particular, not to leave it insufficiently defended.”
Blan had the feeling that all the plans made so far, including her own, depended too much on the absence of unexpected mishap or interference. It was all very well to rely on the bravery and motivation of those defending their freedom, but would that be enough to overcome the odds stacked against them? Blan wanted an edge, a tangible advantage, and she was determined to acquire it, not with a sword; by using her mind.
She was also determined that she would go with Arnapa’s party. She was sure that the sky ship in the cavern where Pitpet Brook joined Panners Stream would offer some advantage in the war and, beyond that, the future of mankind.
*
The look of wonder on Memwin’s face, and the tears that gently rolled down her cheeks when Blan showed her the tapestry of Fenfenwin, was Blan’s reward for the day. Blan placed a small table and chair in front of the tapestry and set Memwin up there with drawing equipment and a set of paints and brushes. Memwin demonstrated an early talent as she started to copy the image of her mother onto paper for herself. She tried again and again, getting better at it each time.
When Blan was satisfied that Memwin intended to continue to draw and paint for a long time yet, she arranged for one of the nurses to watch over the girl. She then slipped away to follow Arnapa and Nightsight back to Nantport.
Almost everything to prepare the mission to Austra Castle had been done, except the recruitment of two hundred suitable personnel for the landward team. Arnapa and Nightsight had been considering whether they might reduce the expedition by half and send half of Nightsight’s team with Arnapa. They decided that this would be too risky. They were just about to cancel the mission when Blan explained her plan to them. As tenuous as the plan seemed, both Arnapa and Nightsight quickly became enthusiastic about it. After all, it was the only way they could see their venture proceeding in the foreseeable future.
6
Western Point – 24th September
Telkooay had tied a cloth over his head and down his neck to keep the sun off. He wished he could roll up his sleeves in the oppressive heat but feared his arms would burn badly if he did. Although his homeland had a sub-tropical climate, it was on a promontory where the mountains met the sea. Whether at home or at sea Telkooay lived his life comforted by cooling breezes. Treaty-bound to follow Black Knight to Arctequa, Telkooay and his compatriots were now in the unenviable position of being forced into labour as prisoners of the Proequans, building the foundations for a fort.
Grand Vizier of Krar Page 3