Grand Vizier of Krar

by W. John Tucker

  “The highway comes close to the river at that point,” the scout reported. “I followed the trail there.” As proof that the man had swum across the river, his arms and legs were covered in fish bites of a type that Blan remembered. She treated his wounds and gave him medicine to repel parasites. He bowed respectfully and gratefully before returning to help his comrades.

  “That confirms what I guessed,” Telko contended. “Arnapa had no time to cover her tracks at the campsite, yet she tried to cover the direction she took, hoping that nobody would follow her tracks back here.”

  “What do we do now?” Blan asked. “Arnapa would not have fled on foot unless she believed that the enemy was likely to come this way. We met no enemies on the way here, so it is likely that they remain downstream, unless Arnapa successfully drew them away.”

  27

  Blan knew she had a talent for innovative strategies but she was lost when it came to the tactics of jungle warfare, or whatever it was now confronting her. Once she had decided that a Geode was near the castle, probably on a quimal, her strategy had been to reveal her presence just as the quimal was being captured, yet leaving enough time for its captain to send the news to Black Knight. Her plan then called for Black Knight to return to Austra Castle with a large contingent of his navy to capture her, thus taking some pressure off Port Fandabbin. Meanwhile, there would be time for more Proequans and Akrinans to come to defend Austra Castle and its harbour, and perhaps time to rally some local support. She now realised that her plan depended on too many things going just right. Arnapa and her team being forced to flee into the jungle on foot was a major setback.

  “I need four volunteers to take two canoes downstream to scout for enemy activity,” Telko announced. “The second crew will stay well behind the first and flee back here if the first crew runs into trouble. The leading crew will be at greatest risk.”

  All the men volunteered.

  “Let me go,” Blan urged. “With due respect to the skills and bravery of these men, I will hear danger long before they see it.”

  “You are wise and right, as usual,” Telko said, “but I will go with you.”

  They set off cautiously, not letting the strong current carry them too quickly. The second canoe followed just within sight. Two minutes after sliding into the main channel they had to negotiate their way around two sunken dragon boats which blocked the way for anything much bigger than a large canoe.

  “There are signs that people have disembarked here, some of them struggling up the bank into the jungle,” Telko whispered. “Arnapa must have ambushed them to draw them away from the camp. She succeeded that far. I hope she managed to get away safely.”

  Blan felt a pang of affection for Arnapa. She tried to envisage how the ambush might have played out. She did not know how thick the jungle was beyond the wall of trees and vines on either side of the river here, but she remembered her own experience of jungle travel before she found the orbears’ hill far upstream. She felt relieved to think that Arnapa would have plenty of cover to assist her escape before the heavily armed soldiers could scramble up the bank.

  Further downstream they saw signs that other boats had been tied up at the bank and had disgorged many more soldiers who had clumsily hacked their way into the jungle. All the boats were now gone. That was a good sign, of course. It suggested that many of the soldiers must have returned to row back to the coast.

  “I’m glad they took the other boats back downstream,” Blan whispered, “but we need to be alert in case some have remained behind.”

  They had not gone much further when Blan thought she heard the sound of distant talking. She put up her hand and pointed to her ear. Telko brought the canoe to the bank and held it there with his paddle pressed against a tree root. The second pair of canoeists followed suit, keeping their distance.

  “The voices have started to move,” Blan whispered. “They are getting closer, coming quickly.”

  “We had better go back just as quickly,” Telko whispered. They both took paddles and turned the canoe around. Telko waved for the following canoeists to do the same.

  “The voices have all stopped, but I think there are boats coming fast,” Blan whispered.

  They strove against the current, pushing their canoes with all the strength they could muster. They were too late.

  When Blan looked briefly behind her she saw two dragon boats come silently into view just two hundred paces downstream. The heavy foliage of the jungle had disguised how close the occupants had been. The crews had not thought that they could be heard at all, but it did not matter.

  Telko and Blan had hardly started to paddle upstream when a group of crossbowmen squeezed out of the jungle ahead of them and scrambled down into the shallow water at the edge of the stream. Meanwhile, the power of twenty strong rowers in each dragon boat quickly brought them level with Blan and Telko.

  The other two canoeists saw what was happening. Their instinct was to attack and try to save their prince and his sweetheart. However, they were trained and disciplined mariners and they had strict instructions from Telko. If he was captured, and there was no realistic chance of freeing him at that moment, they must return to base and inform the next in charge. There were ten crossbowmen in the water, too many to attack. In any case, the two dragon boats were approaching rapidly. With tears in their eyes the two Akrinans pressed on upstream before the enemy became aware of their presence. Blan and Telko were trapped with no chance of escaping or fighting back.

  Telko left his weapons where they were in the bottom of the canoe. He could have made his captors pay a heavy toll. However, there was no chance of escape, and he would not do anything that might risk injury to Blan in the fray.

  They let their captors bind them and push them into one of the boats. Within a few minutes the dragon boat crews had turned in their seats and were rowing back downstream.

  Blan’s hopes rose when she realised that the soldiers did not seem to know who she was. There was chatter about spies and interrogation. That hope died when she and Telko were hauled up onto the main deck of a quimal anchored near the mouth of Panners Stream. The unmistakeable figure of Black Knight turned to face them, and scowled.

  28

  The day after the Battle of Western Point, Black Knight issued his first orders since he had elevated a little known third-level admiral called Taksak to the rank of High Admiral of the entire Kraran fleet.

  “Take the flagship to Port Fandabbin and blockade the port until our armies arrive by land!”

  “But, Great One, your command there will be missed,” Taksak had humbly replied.

  “I will be there in good time,” Black Knight replied evenly. He supposed that he would have to accept some irritating utterances from his new premier admiral until the man settled into the job. “Port Fandabbin will not be taken easily. It might be half a year. You forget that I have tried before. It is hedged around with secret defences and its ruler is as slippery as an eel. All you need to do is contain Fandabbin’s fleet. Make raids when opportunities present, but don’t risk the integrity of the blockade.”

  “Where will you be, Great One, if I may be permitted to ask?” Taksak ventured.

  Black Knight overlooked the man’s insolence. He reminded himself that the mission to capture Blancapaw was too important to be sidetracked by mild irritations.

  “I will keep in touch via the Geode. The ship’s Earth Wizard will explain,” Black Knight said offhandedly.

  Black Knight wondered again about the disappearance of Borckren and the escape of Blancapaw. The first was an inconvenience; the second was an irritation. The girl must still be in the region, he deduced, hiding out in the jungle or harboured by sympathetic locals. He had sent Craskren into Proequa to abduct Memwin and find out if Blancapaw had somehow escaped across the mountains. After the defeat at Western Point there was little else he could do in Proequa for now without holding up his grand scheme.

  Craskren was more ambitious, yet less talented than
his twin. That was why Craskren had remained an ordinary spy while Borckren had advanced to a high rank. Black Knight had heard rumours, which he did not believe since they came from his sister’s spy service, that Craskren had posed as Borckren and murdered Fenfenwin, the late Duchess of Proequa and mother of Memwin. There had been a time when Black Knight believed that Fenfenwin was the Destined Princess. She was perfect for the role; beautiful, intelligent and talented at making her people love her. Then she had offended him by trying to take her own life when he took her as wife. He had sent her back to Proequa under guard. When her daughter was born his agents told him that Fenfenwin seemed to have new enthusiasm and there was no longer any risk of her taking her own life. Then Fandabbin reversed the course of the war and Black Knight’s army and navy were expelled from Western Arctequa, so he sent Borckren and Craskren to abduct Fenfenwin and her daughter before Count Tor had time to return to Proequa and reinstate the power of the Ducal Council. They reported that they had failed because Fenfenwin had died under mysterious circumstances and her daughter had disappeared.

  While musing on this history, Black Knight resolved that Blancapaw must still be somewhere near Austra Castle which, upon reflection, needed more security anyway. Borckren’s quimal was still there, in for repairs, with a Geode aboard. That could be used to control the war without disrupting the present deployment of the other Geodes. He would not be ready to launch the first major attack on Port Fandabbin for some weeks yet. There was plenty of time to go back to Austra Castle and find Blancapaw.

  Black Knight sent for another quimal to come alongside his flagship. He took command of it and set sail for Austra Castle.

  29

  Austra Harbour – 1st October

  The anchors had just been hauled in and most of the sails unfurled. The quimal started to move away from the mouth of Panners Stream. Now that Blan had fallen into his hands so easily, Black Knight intended to make off with her without delay. The defences of Austra Great Harbour could be strengthened later.

  “Traitor!” Black Knight yelled at Telko. His voice boomed across the water. So full of hate and malice was it that not a single crew member failed to pause in fear. Some actually cowered as though they expected something to hit them.

  Telko whispered to Blan, “Escape when you can. Don’t wait for me. If I don’t return, lead my people. Stay strong! I love you.”

  “What was that? You love my betrothed!” Black Knight screamed, having only heard the last part of what Telko had said. He seized a javelin from a soldier nearby and threw it at Telko.

  Telko was still bound up, hands and feet. There was nothing he could do to defend himself except start to fall away to the side. He was too late. Black Knight had attacked with great speed and fury and from no more than five paces away. The javelin struck Telko high in the chest and lodged there, its point having passed right through him.

  Despite the incredible pain, Telko turned his eyes to Blan as the force of the javelin drove him back to the gangway. He yearned for her and for the life they should have had together. Then darkness came over him and he toppled overboard into the sea.

  “Nnnnnnoooooooooooo!” Blan shrieked in the torment of horror and loss, a cry that none aboard would ever be able to drive from their nightmares. She lunged toward the gangway to follow her lover into the sea. The guards seized control of her again but not before she saw Telko strike the water and disappear under it, blood flowing freely from his wound. She had no doubt that, with such a catastrophic wound, he was dead already or soon would be. Sharks were gathering not far away.

  Black Knight strode to the gangway with another javelin ready. The swell momentarily brought Telko’s body to the surface and Black Knight took the opportunity to throw the second javelin. It pieced deep into Telko’s back. The young man’s body sank again and did not return. He had been given no chance.

  “Lock her in my cabin,” Black Knight uttered to the men now struggling to hold on to Blan, even with her hands and feet bound. His voice was now subdued, however. A strange feeling came over him. He could not remember ever feeling guilt or remorse, yet now he experienced the nearest thing to those emotions that was capable of reaching his soul. It manifested itself as a cloud of doubt. Not the sort of doubt he might have about some battle or scheme. His plans sometimes failed and he sometimes lost battles; great irritations but never insurmountable. However, the doubt he felt now was like a deep and threatening shadow that had infected the core of his being. It felt as though previously strong structures within him had been eroded, that he had somehow spoilt the foundation of his life, and that the condition was beyond cure or repair. He did not understand why this had happened. His future had always seemed to him to be a fearless upward climb to greater things. Now, for the first time in his life, he felt his mortality and fear of an uncertain future.

  The door was slammed behind Blan as soon as she was pushed into the cabin. She could not think clearly. She resolved to free herself and join Telko at the bottom of the sea. She felt that she could not live without him. She wanted to honour his life with her own. Through these jumbled thoughts and unstoppable tears, almost choking as she gasped with misery, she found a fine clay pot in the cabin and smashed it to pieces against a bulwark by lying on her back and using her tied feet as a ram. She cut her bonds with the sharp shards, careless of cutting her arms in the process, and searched for a way out. She found none, so she squatted near the door, waiting for a guard to enter, hoping to launch an attack of such ferocity that she could escape overboard. She did not have to wait long.

  After a few minutes of confinement, Blan heard the cabin door being unlocked. Seizing the largest and sharpest shard of the broken pot in both hands, she lunged at the visitor as soon as a forearm came into sight through the gap as the door opened. It was Black Knight’s arm and the shard cut deeply into it. It also cut deeply into Blan’s hands. She did not flinch. She wrenched the door open and ducked past Black Knight before he could react. She ran to the gangway and threw herself into the sea.

  In his normal state of mind Black Knight would have struck like a snake and seized Blan in a flash. However, he was still afflicted by this new sensation of doubt, his shadow as it seemed to him. When he felt the shard cut into his arm and he registered that Blancapaw had caused it, the shadow stung him once more and he was motionless for a second or two. The cut was deep, yet not disabling in an arm as massive as his. It was not the pain or injury but the shadow that made him pause.

  Quickly recovering himself, Black Knight started after Blan. However, at that moment, a loud bell tolled and the alarm was called.

  “Under attack!” a lookout called from the crow’s nest far above.

  Black Knight ran to the poop deck and scanned the horizon. True enough, enemies had somehow avoided his naval blockades and made their way here to attack him. His quimal was already level with the mouth of Equa River but still more than a mile from Austra Castle.

  The most dangerous threat was the pirate ships that had seemingly appeared like ghosts in the strait between Sand Island and Port Island. Two were rapidly approaching, and three were attacking the other quimal that had stayed near Panners Stream.

  To make matters worse, a flotilla of large canoes had raced out of Panners Stream. Most of them had already attached outriggers to manage the waves. They all contained bowmen. That, in itself, was not a threat to his huge warships, but the two dragon boat crews would soon be overwhelmed, and there seemed to be twice as many canoes racing across the harbour from Port Island. Five pirate ships backed up by hundreds of armed canoeists was a serious threat, especially since the guard he had left at Austra Castle consisted of Krarans not good enough for front-line battle and allies whose loyalty he did not trust.

  Black Knight looked toward Austra Castle. Alarmingly, a host of armed militia seemed to be attacking the docks nearby. Thank goodness, he thought, that the captain of Borckren’s ship had just put to sea. It was vital to save the Geode on board. The quimal was undermann
ed for a warship and would not hold off the swarm of attackers that had now appeared around the castle.

  Black Knight cast off the shadow. He turned to his senior officers and coldly ordered, “We must protect Borckren’s quimal and that which it contains; at all cost. We will retreat now to better protect it. The other quimal and the soldiers ashore must hold out until we return in greater force.”

  The two escaping quimals proved to be faster downwind than the pirate ships. They made their way along the length of the harbour and out through the southwestern strait.

  The shadow descended again on Black Knight. His mission had failed. He had failed to recapture Blancapaw and he now had to bring a substantial force away from the war in the west to retake this vital staging post. If only he had not slain the Prince of Akrin, he thought with regret (but not remorse), he might have been able to get Blancapaw’s cooperation. His emotions had betrayed him again. When would he learn to keep to the strategies and tactics he knew so well yet did not seem to have the temperament to follow?

  “When the Akrinans hear what has happened, they will rise against me and I will have to divide my forces yet again,” he muttered miserably. “Meanwhile, Rega will be watching and waiting for an excuse to interfere again.”

  30

  Panners Island – 1st October

  It had taken all night and all the next morning for Arnapa and her team to return to their abandoned camp. They had taken a long detour into the jungle and even then had to evade enemy patrols on three occasions. When they arrived at Panners Island in the early afternoon they found sixteen of Telko’s men there. They were very pleased to see Arnapa, Wayhooay and the others arrive.

  “Where are Telko and Blan?” Arnapa asked anxiously.

  “They set out downstream with two others just ten minutes ago,” was the immediate reply.