There was no time for all twelve riders now in the group to move out of sight with their baggage and sixteen horses. Arnapa, Zeep, Blan and Telko dismounted and walked cautiously forward at the edge of the track, nearest to where they could take cover in the rocks and trees, should that be necessary to repel an attacker.
The other eight also dismounted. Three led all the horses a little way back, while the other five came forward and found defensive positions among the rocks. Soon they could all hear the tinkling of bells up ahead.
“Greetings at last!” cried Gardolinya as he came around the corner. “I felt in my heart that you would overcome all the obstacles and be here on time.”
“My goodness!” laughed Arnapa as she and Blan ran to the old man and helped him dismount the oversized donkey he was riding. Arnapa’s laugh was partly for relief at seeing her old friend again and partly because of his attire. He was dressed as a clown in gaudy colours, with small bells attached to his hat, coat and rather absurd footwear.
Gardolinya had left Proequa three days before Arnapa. He knew nothing of the recruitment of Telko and his followers, so Arnapa introduced him to their new allies. He hugged Blan and even Zeep as though they were dear family. He welcomed Telko kindly, although Gardolinya’s lack of teeth did not make his accent easy for Telko to understand. More or less workable false teeth were available in Nantport but Gardolinya had not yet had the time to have a set measured, made and fitted.
“How did you know we were already here?” Arnapa enquired, yet again amazed at her old friend’s perception.
“I wasn’t sure when to expect you,” he explained. “I was coming to leave messages for you higher up the track where others would be less likely to find them.”
This brought Arnapa quickly back to the business in hand.
“So, old friend, what news do you have?”
“Nobody was at the manor house when I arrived there three days ago. I sought out a farmer who has a small-holding just along the road to Austra Castle. He used to work at the manor. Since his retirement he keeps his eyes open for me when I have business elsewhere. He told me that Borckren left one guard at the manor house. After two oddly burdened pack horses arrived there without any sign of Borckren or his company, the guard waited a few more days before leaving in the direction of Austra Castle. He later returned with a search party. However, apart from getting lost for a while among the mountain tracks, the search party found nothing that made sense to them. They rode off along the road to the castle not long before I arrived. I then disguised myself as a fool, not difficult some might say,” Gardolinya chortled softly, “set off for Austra Castle to see what was happening. I’ve only just returned.”
“You are indeed a master spy,” Arnapa declared, proudly hugging her friend. “What news from Austra Castle?”
“There were only two quimals in the harbour and one in for repairs. Many local people from the ports along Equa River have been conscripted to work on the ship and repair the earthquake damage to the castle. The castle’s defences have already been repaired and a new iron gate installed; it looks exactly like the old gate they installed when they first arrived. One of the locals told me that the castle now has a permanent guard of three hundred soldiers; always one hundred on duty. There are, of course, many more enemy soldiers out and about in the towns and countryside.”
“That is not such good news,” Arnapa judged. “The castle walls can easily be defended by a hundred soldiers. I was hoping that the gate would still be down. How could they replace such a massive gate so quickly?”
“The quimals carry almost everything,” Telko explained. “It doesn’t surprise me that Black Knight has spare gates ready to unload. As for getting through the gates, you forget that the guard will recognise me as one of their own side. I would simply explain that I have escaped from Proequa and they might even welcome me into the castle along with my Akrinans. We would then find an opportunity to disarm the guard and seize control of the castle.”
“That may be the solution to our problem,” Arnapa suggested with renewed optimism.
“No!” Blan quietly insisted, alarm and concern in her voice. “It’s too risky. We can’t be sure that some spy has not become aware that you have joined the Free Alliance; the castle garrison might already have heard. You would walk into a trap.”
“The risk is surely limited,” Telko replied, “and may be worth it if we have no better options.”
Blan was having none of it.
“Even if the enemy is still unaware of your changed position, he can transmit new information within minutes. We know that Black Knight has devices for doing this. Nightsight told us about Borckren’s strangely laden ship at Slave Island, seen again by Azimath at the Battle of Unnamed Fjord. Black Knight has undoubtedly equipped quimals with his communication devices, called Geodes. A Geode might be installed in one of the quimals in the harbour, or the one at dock, or at Austra Castle; we can’t be sure. If a single enemy soldier warns Black Knight about you, then all your other Akrinan ships and crews will be in danger. Surely it will be better for you to stay in the background as long as possible. It will be time enough to show your hand when all your ships are with us. Besides, I’m sure there’s a way to enter the castle without risking you and your followers in what could be a trap.”
“I see the merit in what you say, Blan,” Telko replied thoughtfully. He had no fear of confronting a trap or of fighting his way out of one. However, he would rather his absent quimal commanders have more time to prepare their escape from Black Knight’s control. “It is true that Black Knight’s flagship and several others were often strangely laden and heavily guarded when in port, although I have never heard anybody speak of why this was so or use the term Geode. Only their select crews and key officers were allowed anywhere near those ships. There are rumours about the army generals. It is said that Black Knight and his top Kraran commanders can send and receives messages over hundreds of leagues in a matter of minutes; it matters not whether they pass over land or sea. They have companies of Earth Wizards with each army deployment. The Earth Wizards are accompanied by many beasts of burden with carts full of strange cargo. They camp in secret, away from the other army units, protected by their own elite guards. All this could suggest that a similar system has been deployed at sea.”
“I understand these risks,” said Arnapa, “but how will we break through the castle gate?”
“When I escaped the castle, I went freely through some kitchens on its river side,” Blan said. “Is there no longer any back door like that?”
“You would have gone through a gap caused by the earthquake,” Gardolinya explained. “All those holes are now repaired. The servants’ entrance is a tunnel with three iron doors along the way. When they are opened during the day they are heavily guarded and can be closed and locked at the slightest sign of trouble.”
“Surely they don’t take all their food and supplies in through such a tunnel,” Blan wondered.
“Indeed no; they take carts and other larger consignments up to the front gate where the guards inspect them before letting them through,” Gardolinya informed her. This was what Blan wanted to hear; it would fit her plan. However, she needed more information before she explained her idea.
“Who do the locals support?”
Gardolinya told her what she hoped to hear and needed to know.
“Most of those who were supportive of Black Knight at the beginning have become disillusioned because of his cruelty and disregard of their needs. You will have no trouble finding locals to help. Whilst many have been conscripted and taken away to the war in quimals, there are still many sturdy folk here who can hold a weapon, especially the farmers and craftsmen forced to produce food and other goods for the invasion forces.”
“Then hear my plan,” Blan urged, and she explained the details to them.
11
Mount Equa reefs – 25th and 26th September
As soon as the sunlight faded into a dark nigh
t, Nightsight and his canoe partner led the first group out of Eastern Passage. They made good speed southward. When the cliff turned sharply eastward, they found themselves in open sea amongst dangerous reefs, the full force of the current against them. As predicted, the sea was more subdued than usual, although the water was still choppy. At the risk of making bigger targets for enemy lookouts, they assembled and attached their outriggers and fought the current, all the time keeping as close to the cliff as they dared and avoiding the reefs which separated them from the deep water accessible to quimals.
By dawn all the canoeists had successfully negotiated their way to a small inlet on the southern side of Mount Equa. Instead of battling on to Unnamed Fjord, Nightsight decided that it would be safer to gather his whole team together before venturing out again. Besides, a squadron of quimals was approaching from the east. They would pass just a mile south, too close for a moving flotilla of a hundred outrigger canoes to evade scrutiny in the growing daylight.
The inlet was calm and the canoes could come right alongside the cliff where it would be nearly impossible for anybody aboard the quimals to spot them.
“I remember this place,” Camb exclaimed jovially as he led his group near to Nightsight.
Nightsight smiled. It was the very same inlet that he had visited with Camb, Pyran and Crowmar on his first voyage to Slave Island.
By midday they had all rested enough to move on again. There were no quimals within two leagues. Nightsight climbed as high as he could up the face of the cliff that contained the inlet and saw that an enemy armada was still stationed outside the reefs of Slave Island.
“Black Knight seems to be concentrating on his blockades,” he called to those below. “He’s clearly not expecting a canoe attack through the treacherous waters along these cliffs. Either that or he does not think that such an attack poses a credible threat to him.”
As soon as he was back in the canoe Nightsight ordered his team to move out in groups of five canoes with about two stadia between each group, just as they had done from Eastern Passage that previous night. Nightsight led the first group, Camb led the tenth, and Pyran led the last group.
Again the voyage was arduous, against the current and in choppy water. Nightsight’s group arrived at Unnamed Fjord a few hours after dark and the rest of the team were all gathered there before midnight. The fjord appeared to be empty, as far as they could see. Even Nightsight, with his exceptional vision, could see no sign of danger, so they found a bay a mile into the fjord where they could position their canoes out of sight of passing ships or even vessels coming into the fjord’s entrance for shelter. They detached their outriggers, linked their canoes together, and set about opening their rations. Nightsight planned to rest there for most of the night. Before dawn he planned to leave Camb and Pyran in charge while he set out with just three comrades in two canoes to spy on Austra Castle and make contact with Arnapa’s team.
Tired as he was, Nightsight did not see the dark figure of the man perched high up on the side of the cliff above. The man remained stationary until he was satisfied that the canoeists were all busy eating their rations. Then he edged very slowly along the narrow ledge until he was out of sight of the newcomers. Moving more quickly, he reached the rope ladder that he and his comrades had fixed to the cliff face that morning. He began his careful descent to the ship below.
Had Nightsight and his team not been so tired they would have investigated the whole length of the fjord before setting up for the night. Unnamed Fjord was two leagues long and none of the canoeists had the energy to paddle to the end and back that night.
Just one mile further into the fjord there was another, deeper bay where two well-armed and fully-crewed ships were at anchor. They were out of sight of the canoeists but they had stationed lookouts at strategic points near the fjord’s entrance. They also had direct line of sight to another ship, also out of sight of the canoeists, which had moved into place just one mile southeast of the fjord’s entrance.
Soon after the lookout reported the arrival of the canoe flotilla, a beacon was lit and signals sent to the ship standing outside the fjord. That ship relayed the message to the squadron’s flagship as it too approached the fjord.
12
Unnamed Fjord – 27th September
Some of the canoeists were surprised at how quickly and brightly the dawn light came. Inside the fjord they had expected the cliff walls to shield them from the early sun, as Mount Equa had done in Nantport. Here there was nothing but sea between the fjord entrance and the sun reacquainting itself with the eastern horizon. The direct sunlight above and at the entrance to the fjord reflected its way down into the canoes via the many smooth surfaces of quartz-rich granite in the cliff walls on either side. The cliffs sparkled with light as though they were festooned with mirrors.
“If this fjord is ever given a name, it should be Fjord of Mirrors,” Pyran suggested. He and Camb had come out to bid farewell to Nightsight and the three other canoeists who would be going with him to rendezvous with Arnapa and her team near Austra Castle.
“My eyes adjust quickly from dark to light, yet this glare challenges even my vision,” Nightsight confessed. “Are you both clear about the plan?”
“We are,” Camb confirmed. “Unless one of you returns to report otherwise, we will set off for Port Island in the early hours. We will spread out, so we can adapt to news of any complication before too many of the team are exposed to unnecessary risk.”
Nightsight felt unsettled. He wondered if his confidence was undermined by the effect that the glare in this strange place had on his vision. Perhaps he had come to rely on his vision too much and he should now train his other senses, so he could feel just as confident with his eyes closed as with them open. On top of this, he worried about the almost limitless number of things that could go wrong with the mission. He chastised himself for this as well. He should only think about the mission and how to achieve it, not undermine his resolve by dwelling too much on what could go wrong. To counter his negative thoughts he straightened his back, gave the signal for moving out, and vigorously drove his paddle into the water.
The four men paddled quickly away toward the open sea. However, before they had gone a single stadium, Nightsight saw the bows of three ships appear beyond the entrance to the fjord. The ships started to enter Unnamed Fjord from the sea. They were warships. As he turned around to call a warning across the water, he saw two more warships emerge from behind a cliff one mile further up the fjord. All five ships seemed to be well-crewed, well-armed and ready for battle.
The canoeists were trapped. As skilled as they were, two hundred lightly armed mariners in canoes could not resist or evade a thousand mariners armed to the teeth on five fast ships bedecked with catapults.
Nightsight’s heart sank. He felt the pain of having let down his team, all good people who had followed him into such danger. He thought of Arnapa and Blan and the others. What would they do without his team? He hoped they would realise that he had failed and be able to escape while they could.
13
Austra County – 27th September
That night Gardolinya rode back toward Austra Castle. He was seventy-five years old and had suffered painful torture in the last few weeks, but he was hardy and would do anything for Arnapa whom he loved like a daughter. He took with him two of the older men and two of the older women from Telko’s followers. They had kept within the Akrinan expeditionary force throughout the war and would not be recognised by outsiders, even if caught, and they could make a reasonable effort at disguising their accents.
Gardolinya had cast aside his fool’s disguise and all five were dressed as local farmers. Their quest was to ride first to Austra Castle and then to Austra Town to seek friendly locals. When they reached the town, one would cross to the coast, about a mile from the river, and wait near the western entrance to the harbour for the arrival of Nightsight’s team. The others planned to busy themselves between the castle and the town.
Most of the team were too tired to do much more that day, although Zeep stayed up late into the night with her assistant to make sure that the carrier pigeons settled down. Blan found a room in the manor house and slept for several hours.
Telko went out to meet the guards and scouts. He eventually returned to the house, found Blan’s room and quietly went in. She was awake, as though she had been waiting for him. This was their second chance to be alone together as lovers.
Zeep finished her work and thought about sleeping. This was far from her normal routine as a herald and she felt strange in this new environment. In truth she found it exciting. She was content that her sister Neep had a husband and planned to continue the family tradition with a new generation of the Herald family. The fellow was a large country lad, even larger than Neep, yet admirably submissive and content to change his name to Herald to continue Neep’s family tradition.
Men had never had much allure for Zeep. Whilst some had earned her respect and admiration, she had never been drawn to them as lovers. As soon as she had seen Blan she found herself attracted to her and had eventually made a few innuendos, clumsy ones she later thought. Blan had immediately taken the point and made much of how she loved Zeep as though she were her own sister. Zeep was relieved by Blan’s tact and understanding, and she appreciated that her friendship was secure. Clearly Blan was a strong-minded person who knew exactly what kind of relationship she wanted with someone else. Zeep contented herself with being Blan’s friend rather than her lover.
Grand Vizier of Krar Page 6