The river had numerous side channels hidden or partially hidden from the main channel by marsh or swamp. These were difficult to navigate. Some were dead ends even for canoes. However, both Arnapa and Zeep had some experience of this section of the river; otherwise, they would all have become lost very quickly. Their most rapid progress had been made at night when enemy traffic was less and they could use the main channel for a time. Otherwise, they had done the best they could in the side channels, or by hiding in the marshes bordering the main channel until enemy vessels were out of sight.
“I know this river, yet not as a canoeist,” Arnapa had told them. “Fortunately, I know Southport River much better. Once we get there we should make better speed.”
During the morning they had finally reached the Southport, or at least they could see where the Polnet joined it not far ahead, but they did not wish to risk being seen in the open there. By mid-afternoon they found a narrow waterway about a mile from the confluence of the main channels of the two rivers and on the eastern side of the Polnet. It led them several miles through a swamp to some well-wooded dry land. Zeep looked after the canoes while the others advanced to within sight and sound of a village which appeared to be inhabited.
Bonmar took on the task of crawling nearer the village to see if enemy troops were stationed there. He was not gone for long.
“To our right, there are some old people and children working at the back of the village and, to our left, several soldiers loitering around a jetty into a river, probably a side channel of Southport River since we are now too far from the Polnet. I would guess that all the able-bodied adults have been taken for slave labour and the soldiers have been left to guard the jetty. This must be a place where enemy patrols meet or come ashore.”
“We still need to ask if anyone has heard news of the circus,” Arnapa asserted.
“Norsnette and I should go,” Aransette offered. “The elders and children will be less suspicious of us, especially if we want answers to questions.”
“I agree, but you must keep out of sight of the soldiers,” Arnapa advised. “If they catch you they will not treat you like the children and elders. And if we fight them we could bring terrible trouble down on these poor villagers.”
“Don’t worry, we’ve learnt a lot of things since we left home,” Norsnette said. She winked provocatively at Bonmar, her light blue eyes flashing luminous against her so dark complexion.
The twins moved silently away into the swamp and then into the backwoods of the village. They circled around to the right to keep the village buildings between them and the waterfront where the soldiers were stationed.
As they emerged from the woods they hunched over a bit, pulled their hoods down to shadow their faces and staggered slightly. They gave good impressions of being old. They hoped that this would make them uninteresting to any soldier who might momentarily look out from the village.
Norsnette and Aransette spent about half an hour talking softly to the village folk, old and young. Eventually they found a ten-year-old lad called Nellinu who had made it his business to listen in to what the soldiers were saying. He considered himself to be a spy for the Free Alliance and was delighted to have someone to report to at last, even if they disturbingly resembled his big sisters. Aransette and Norsnette both assured him that they would happily speak up for him should he want to join Duke Fandabbin’s spy service. That brushed away any vestige of reservation he might still have had about them and won his full cooperation.
The twins had almost returned to the cover of the swamp when a loud cry was heard followed by the wailing of a child. They spun around and dropped to the ground in time to see three soldiers entering the yard. The soldiers started running to Nellinu who had caused the commotion. After some loud wailing by Nellinu who was rubbing his shoulder and claiming that another child had hit him, the annoyed soldiers told him not to bother them again. They made a perfunctory inspection of the yard before leaving. When they were gone, Nellinu stopped crying and sent a salute and a smile in the direction of the twins who had by then used his diversion to get back under the cover of the woods.
“Remember the name Nellinu,” Aransette proclaimed. “The lad is a budding spy as well as a fearless actor.”
“What news, then?” Arnapa asked eagerly.
Norsnette replied, “Nellinu overheard one of the soldiers say that he had been to a circus. It had stopped for two nights near a river port some six leagues upstream.”
Aransette took over, “According to Nellinu’s grandmother the port used to be Quolow’s main shipping access until the canal was built to the lake fifty years ago. The port was still much used until the war, and is now the main stopping-off point for enemy troops going to and from the siege of Quolow.”
“The first bad news is that the place is a major port because it is clear of side channels, marshes and swamp, and there are lots of enemy soldiers crawling all over it,” Norsnette interjected.
“The second bad news is that the circus went upstream by barge the day before yesterday; about twenty barges actually,” Aransette added.
“The third bad news is that the main feature of the circus is a fight between gladiators, and the prize is a night with a beautiful woman chosen from six candidates called Prize Girls,” Norsnette reported with a look of disgust on her face.
“And, from the descriptions Nellinu overheard, one of the Prize Girls might be Blan,” Aransette said sombrely, “and there have been some strange goings-on at the circus. Nellinu could not make sense of what he heard: one soldier mentioned a Queen Memwin Prophecy and the others hushed him and started checking around to see if anyone had overheard them. Of course, they didn’t see Nellinu underneath the jetty.”
“That’s enough to give us a good lead,” Arnapa judged. “My instinct tells me that Memwin is still free and has been up to some of her tricks. I should have paid more attention to her over the last five years. It was Blan who opened my eyes to the capabilities of that extraordinary little girl.”
“Should we try to find out more at the port?” Bonmar asked.
“We would be delayed and too exposed,” Arnapa replied. “We had good reason to think that the circus was headed for Belspire and now we have confirmation of a circus heading that way with a person matching Blan’s description and a suggestion that Memwin is involved. We should cross Southport River as soon as we can and keep to the cover of the marshes and swamps on the other side until we catch up with the circus or reach Belspire.
“I know Southport River very well, much better than the Polnet. The side channels and marshes along the Southport do change around gradually, yet not so quickly as to defeat my recollection. I was born and grew up in Belspire. Although it was destroyed in the last war, I will never forget the tall, white towers draped in vines flowering with purple and orange, the avenues of jacaranda, alloxylon and coral trees, the spray of the fountains and waterfalls which filled ponds bedecked with lotus, and the music of lute and pipe and krar backing the singing of fine voices in the halls and along the river banks.” Arnapa looked dreamily into the distance as she recalled her youth and her city.
As though from a single mind, the twins each placed a hand on Arnapa’s shoulder and said quietly, “Let us help you rebuild Belspire after the war.”
“You don’t know how much that offer means to me,” Arnapa spluttered with a tear coming to her eye. “Yes, please help me rebuild Belspire. We might not get much done but we can make a start.” She smiled at them.
After making their way back to the canoes and briefing Zeep on what they had discovered, they set off again. They paddled through marshes to the edge of the main channel of Southport River. It was sheer bad luck for Arnapa that an enemy longboat had stopped there in order that its commanding centurion could catch some waterfowl. The longboat was waiting at the edge of the marsh when Arnapa’s canoe came within a dozen paces of it. That was when the centurion saw her and gave the order to attack.
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nbsp; Arnapa saw the centurion’s head appearing above the reeds in front of her. Normally she would have had time to signal the others to keep down and paddle back into thicker cover. However, at that moment a drake mallard that had been hiding in the reeds nearby discovered an unattached and unwilling female. The centurion spun his head toward the commotion and immediately spotted Arnapa and, behind her, Zeep and Aransette.
Within seconds, five soldiers laid down their oars, stood up in the longboat and aimed their crossbows. Two seconds later Arnapa, now turned sideways into what she hoped was another waterway passage, felt a severe jolt as a bolt struck through her left arm near her shoulder and into the side of her chest. She was saved from further bolts by the swift actions of Bonmar and Zeep.
Bonmar drew in his paddle, shrugged his small, travelling bow from across his back and sent an arrow through the neck of the crossbowman who had shot Arnapa. Meanwhile, Zeep rolled out of her canoe, Aransette quickly adjusting her position to keep the craft from capsizing. As Zeep had guessed and hoped, her feet soon found the bottom. The water was only waist deep at that point. Although the bottom was muddy and trying to suck Zeep’s feet slowly down, she was nonetheless able to assume a strong throwing stance and cast her javelin. It transfixed the centurion almost at the same instant that Bonmar’s arrow found its mark.
The centurion fell backwards into the water and his soldiers wailed in alarm. They lost control of the longboat for a while as some ducked away from the expectation of further missiles and others lurched to the side in an attempt to recover the body of their centurion. Meanwhile, Zeep had time to climb back into her canoe, Aransette again struggling to keep it level, and paddle up to protect Arnapa.
Ashen faced, Arnapa tried to use her paddle with her right hand but any movement proved to be too painful. Zeep brought her canoe level with Arnapa’s. Then she drew in her paddle and embraced Arnapa, her left arm for Arnapa to lean forward upon, and her right arm behind so she could use Arnapa’s paddle on the other side. Aransette paddled on the left. Awkward as this was, they managed to move both canoes side-by-side deeper into the marsh. Meanwhile, Norsnette paddled while Bonmar held his bow ready to shoot any soldier who might show his face above the reeds. Fortunately, the soldiers in the longboat were still too preoccupied fishing their centurion out of the river.
Once they were far enough away to be out of immediate danger, Zeep moaned softly, “Those soldiers will soon be swarming all over us here.” She was standing in the water again, this time up to her chest. “We need medicine for the pain, Arnapa.”
Arnapa clutched at her jacket and produced a pouch of herbs from a pocket. Zeep mixed a measure of the herbs into a cup with water from her canteen and held it up for Arnapa to swallow.
“Do it now, Zeep; it can’t wait until the powder soothes the pain,” Arnapa implored breathlessly.
“Are you ready?” Zeep asked, looking almost as pained about the prospect as Arnapa.
“I’ll never be ready, but it must be done.”
“Bonmar, please hold Arnapa, so she doesn’t fall when she passes out,” Zeep enjoined. “Norsnette and Aransette, you two steady the canoe.”
Zeep inspected the wound. She had to raise Arnapa’s arm very slightly and it was at that point that Arnapa passed out. Zeep then set to work with remarkable speed. She produced a small, flat flask, a vial and a flint lighter from the voluminous jacket which concealed her gold-coated, steel chain mail and splashed some of the contents of the flask all around the wound and under Arnapa’s arm. She produced a finely serrated knife and quickly sawed through the bolt where it had pinned Arnapa’s arm to her side. That allowed Zeep to raise the arm further. She poured more from her flask onto the outer, exposed part of the bolt and then she poured on a gooey, black substance from the vial. She pushed the bolt shaft right through Arnapa’s arm and, in the same movement, dropped it into the canoe, struck the flint and set light to the black concoction around the outer wound. There was a flash of light and the smell of burnt flesh.
“Measure that, Aransette!” Zeep instructed, pointing to the bolt. Aransette did as she was told and reported her result.
“As I thought,” Zeep said with relief, “it’s not very deep. Let’s hope that the bolt was not poisoned.” She had already tightly bound Arnapa’s arm and was tying off the bandage, now stained red yet not soaked. She then set about treating the wound in Arnapa’s side in a similar fashion. The point of the bolt was not barbed and had not penetrated far, so Zeep withdrew it easily.
Arnapa came to just as Zeep had secured the bandages around her chest. She grimaced with the pain. The herbs she had taken were not yet having their full effect. She touched Zeep’s arm in a gesture of thanks.
“Cross here,” Arnapa whispered, or so they thought. She was trying to speak through teeth clenched over.
“What of the enemy longboat?” Bonmar asked and then, as he realised what Arnapa might have in mind, “Is there better cover on the other side?”
Arnapa nodded. Guessing what she intended, Zeep answered for her. “If we stay, there will be more longboats chasing us soon enough. If we cross right now we might only need to fight the one. We better go now and not wait for night.”
Arnapa looked up at Zeep and nodded.
They found an opening into the main channel of the river. The pursuing longboat was the only one in sight, some three hundred paces further upstream. It seemed to be patrolling the edge of the marsh in the direction they had escaped, but it had moved further than they had.
But for Arnapa’s injury they would have been able to cross the half-mile width of the main channel to the marshes on the other side before the longboat could be manoeuvred to intercept them. Now they would be slower and needed to prepare themselves.
They moved back into the marsh and found a place where they could all stand on the bottom. The twins got into one canoe together. Zeep, by far the strongest, took Arnapa in her canoe. Bonmar, next in strength, took a canoe by himself. In that way they hoped to reach cover on the other side of the river before the longboat could catch them. The reeds on the other side were tall and interspersed with islets and swamps, and the secondary watercourses were labyrinthine, all likely to assist their escape. They hoped that the enemy still considered them to be no more than local rebels or poachers and would not deploy major resources to track them down.
“Now!” commanded Zeep. The three canoes slid out of cover and headed for the other side of the main river channel, aiming somewhat upstream to account for the current.
It was harder than they expected. The twins were strong but not experienced canoeists and they fell back. Bonmar had planned on being last so he could discourage pursuers with his arrows. He now fell back to stay with the twins. Zeep pressed on to the other side without waiting. Then she turned and took up Arnapa’s bow while the twins and Bonmar glided toward her.
The longboat had quickly set off in pursuit and was steadily gaining on them. Several crossbow bolts had already been sent in Bonmar’s direction, although none fell very near. Bonmar paused to fit an arrow to his bow.
Suddenly another longboat appeared four hundred paces upstream and was converging on the twins. Zeep shot several arrows at the first longboat, now only a hundred paces behind Bonmar. They were long shots for Zeep but one lucky arrow struck a front oarsman’s hand and briefly caused enough commotion for the boat to swing off course. Seeing that Zeep was now able to shoot, Bonmar laid down his bow and concentrated on shepherding the twins toward the northern marshes. However, when the second boat was a hundred paces away, six of its oarsmen laid down their oars and took up crossbows. Bonmar and the twins seemed doomed.
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Six bolts fired in unison. Bonmar and the twins instinctively ducked.
They need not have worried. The enemy longboat suddenly jolted and all six bolts went astray. A small, empty rowing boat appeared to race out from the marshes of its own volition. It collided with the longboat just as the crossbowmen shot their bolts.
Meanwhile, Bonmar and the twins reached the cover of the marshes.
They all seemed to have escaped for the time being. However, despite her steely nerve, Zeep nearly jumped into the water when two reed covered hands grabbed the side of her canoe. Then a mud and reed covered head appeared in the water beside her.
“You may be able to stand on the bottom here, Zeep, but I can’t,” Pelembras gasped between deep breathes.
“Oh, Pelembras…!” Arnapa exhaled with relief and joy. She felt some of the weight lift from her depressed spirit and, for a fraction of a second, forgot her pain. With Blan, Memwin and Pelembras all missing, the twins inexperienced and herself disabled, Arnapa had been near despair about the chances of their mission succeeding. The timely reappearance of Pelembras made her feel that something could go right; not everything was on a downward slide. It was the spark of hope that brightened the future when least expected.
“In with me, my friend,” Bonmar cried with joy. “The Six reunited at last! Let’s get away from here; there might be more longboats wanting to join our party.”
Arnapa had recovered sufficiently to advise Zeep on where to go. They paddled deeper into the marshes, through tall reeds and eventually into a waterway which meandered through a swamp. Arnapa tried once again to paddle with her right hand but soon gave up. Even moving her right hand seemed to tear at her left arm and side. Anyway, Zeep had the strength of two men, so she easily led the group by herself.
Grand Vizier of Krar Page 27