The second shock was that the device had deduced that she was pregnant, something that Blan had not guessed, although she had feared it after her ordeal with the gladiator Carnus.
She took a deep breath and looked up. This reminded her that the air in the chamber had not only been dust-free but also remarkably preserved for the last twenty thousand years. She did not believe in magical outcomes, so she wondered if the Control Processor kept it so.
At that moment she saw Pel run across the floor above. He came down the stair-ladder in a hurry. He had not been in the lower chamber before. He took a moment to look around in awe, but only a moment. He had urgent news.
“They’ll break through the main entrance in half an hour,” he reported. “We must carry out the next part of our escape plan now.” Before he went back up the stairs, he looked around again and remarked, “If this is a sky ship as you say, I think I know why it had to land.”
Blan came down from the Control Processor and ran across to him, Memwin following.
Pel continued, “As a Master Shipwright I have a quick eye for shapes and I tell you that some force has distorted this lower chamber, unlike the upper chamber which is perfectly regular. I reckon that some force has squeezed the ship from beneath on what is now its east side. If the engine that drove this thing is below us then it would have been seriously damaged.”
Blan’s eyesight was not sharp enough to make out the distortion, even though the daylight from above now illuminated the rim of the chamber better than before. However, she did remember from her circuit of the chamber’s rim that the east side had seemed slightly flattened or truncated.
“Thank you, Pel. We’ll look into it later. But you must go now. Take care and may the Great Plan guide you.” She embraced him tightly to herself and kissed him on the forehead. He drew her down to kiss her on the cheek.
“I love you as though you were my own daughter, Blan. Now that you can see the chamber above, you won’t have to keep going up to see if I have returned. If all goes well I will come back for you in seven days.”
After that Pel hugged Memwin and climbed back to the upper chamber. He closed the door in the way that Blan had previously shown him, and covered its upper face with soot and ash, then with some lighter pieces of burnt and broken furniture to further conceal it. He checked that he had left no other tracks during his earlier patrols. Then, carefully backing away to the side door, covering his tracks as he went, he entered the cavity between the inner and outer shells, closed the side door, and settled down to wait until nightfall.
Pel had carefully prepared for his mission. This was necessary because it would be difficult and very dangerous. The enemy was now on high alert and controlled the land for many leagues in all directions. Even if Blan had now been able to escape Belspire through some secret tunnel, she would soon be confronted by enemy patrols sent specifically to recapture her. In the face of this, Pel’s mission amounted to no less than the creation of an ingenious and unique escape route for Blan and Memwin and, if possible, himself.
94
Outside Port Fandabbin – 18th November
It took Black Knight seven days and eight nights to reach his armada blockading Port Fandabbin. The blockade had been in place for nearly two months but had been growing in strength as the bulk of his navy had gathered there.
His red and swollen arm was now in a sling. He wanted to cry out against his frustration at its nagging ache. He restrained himself lest his minions think he was losing his grip. Instead he forced himself to study the deployment of his forces. He was sitting on a large throne on the poop deck of his flagship, an arrangement he had set up to affect dignity whilst concealing the fact that he felt giddy whenever he stood.
“What is the exact position with the navy, Taksak?” he demanded. He already knew it, but wanted to reinforce his authority as well as check that Taksak was up to the job.
“Great One, we have an outer cordon of two hundred quimals covering an arc of about fourteen leagues from the mouth of Southport River to the coast north of the port. That does not include the hundred quimals that arrived with you from the south today. We also have five concentrations of thirty quimals each blocking entrances to the port between its surrounding islands. You can see two of those entrances from here.” He pointed to what looked like the opening of fjords on either side of Bangar Island. “Another thirty quimals block the mouth of Southport River, just over there. Another hundred are deployed around the Archipelago to counter Fandabbin’s elusive navy hiding out there. Two hundred quimals are blockading Slave Island, Proequa and Austra Castle. It had been three hundred, but your Greatness has just brought a hundred of them here with you.”
Black Knight wondered if this was an implied criticism. There was no good military reason to bring so many ships away from the southern blockades. He had his own reason, though. He now cared more about capturing Blancapaw and Memwin than about his secondary targets in the south. He decided to let Taksak’s comment pass. His arm was throbbing and his head aching too much to trust his temper. He did not want to have to replace his top admiral at this critical time.
Taksak continued, “Another hundred quimals are stretched along the coasts of Arctequa, on their way to deliver soldiers and supplies to the north, returning to Port Cankrar to collect more supplies, or chasing the ten Akrinan ships which slipped away into the labyrinthine waterways amongst the mangrove swamps north of Proequa River. When I ordered the Akrinans to hand over their ships they deserted and headed for the coast.
“More than a hundred quimals of the original fleet have been wrecked by storms or by incompetent captains, destroyed by the enemy, or have disappeared without trace, presumed to have fallen victim to roaming pirates or to have turned to piracy themselves. However, that is normal and to be expected in such a campaign as this.”
Black Knight was silent for a long while. He thought about the Geodes. He had always worried about them falling into enemy hands. In the last war one of them did just that and the episode led to his defeat. He was now more careful about them, although that reduced their flexibility and usefulness. To his annoyance he realised that avoidable errors had been critical to his defeat in the last war, although he would never admit culpability for anything, even to himself. In the last war he had all the Geodes chattering away to each other like a swarm of bees. As soon as the enemy managed to hijack one of them, their mysterious Earth Wizard had been able to locate all the others and disable them remotely. Black Knight now insisted that the devices be used more sparingly and only when adequately guarded. Another error had been his minions’ failure to recognise that the enemy’s mysterious Earth Wizard had been none other than Grand Vizier Praalis.
Frustrated that he recently had Praalis in his power without realising the true importance of the man, Black Knight thumped the arm of his throne so hard that it snapped. Pain shot through his injured arm and the throbbing increased. To stifle a cry of pain, he yelled, “Taksak! Prepare two hundred of my quimals for a full-scale attack on Southport River Docks and Township Farms.”
Port Fandabbin consisted of the island citadel on Silver Island which faced the landward city, Dabbinisca, across a causeway. Dabbinisca stretched along the coast for about seven miles and reached as far as a league inland. On its northern and eastern sides it was bounded by a strong wall, called the Outer Wall, which continued past the city for another eight miles until it met Southport River. The southern boundary of the city was Inner Wall which marked the northern boundary of Township Farms. The latter comprised an area of forty-five to fifty square miles and was bounded on the south by Southport River, on the west by the sea, and on the east by the southern extension of Outer Wall. River Docks stretched for about three leagues along the north bank of Southport River and was defended by a number of forts and, most of all, by the Dabbinan river fleet which was also now preventing Black Knight’s forces from taking control of Southport River.
The Township Farms coast was fortified, but not nearl
y as well as the city. The city, though, was not as well defended as the three islands, Silver Island, Nargar Island and Bangar Island. In the last war, Black Knight had succeeded in overrunning Township Farms and Dabbinisca, but not the citadel or the other two islands. He now intended to turn the whole area into a wasteland and build a new outpost of his power at Lake Glorz further up Southport River. This would take time and he was willing to be patient regarding the final outcome. For the present, Township Farms was the weakest point to attack. From there he could attack the city. He had no doubt that the defenders knew all this and were prepared to withdraw from Township Farms and make him pay a heavy price for attacking the city, as in the last war.
However, Black Knight was in no hurry to attack the city. Of course, it was vital for him to capture both the city and the citadel to win the war, but he had never thought that Port Fandabbin would fall easily. He could wait until next year to launch his final assault on the citadel. As for the city, it could wait until his armies arrived in the coming weeks. What he really wanted to do now was to take the River Docks and control Southport River. Then he could sail upstream to Belspire and mount a full campaign to capture Blancapaw and Memwin.
He knew they were there, at Belspire or not far away. General Utukin’s Geode had moved down to Quolow and another had been brought up to Belspire. It was this Belspire Geode that had informed him the day before yesterday about the escape of a Prize Girl matching the description of Blancapaw. Since then he had insisted on receiving comprehensive hourly reports from both Belspire and Quolow.
The reports suggested that the girl had escaped with a deserter named Pretsan and a child. It was suspected that they were also connected with a Master Shipwright called Pelembras and various other spies. Black Knight knew who Pelembras was and guessed his connection with Blancapaw through Prince Telkooay. He also remembered Pretsan from the Port Cankrar Games, as indeed he remembered the names and faces of all finalists in all games over which he had presided. He required no further evidence to convince himself that the child referred to was Memwin.
He had already issued orders for the circus owner to be put to death along with anyone else implicated in allowing Blancapaw to be raped by a common gladiator. In each case the execution was to be by slow torture after intensive questioning. The general who presided over the offending spectacle, one of Utukin’s lieutenants, had many friends in the army, including Utukin, and Black Knight did not want to cause too much dissension at this critical time. The fact that the general had ordered the execution of the perpetrator would be used as the excuse to deal with him more leniently. He would be sent back to Krar on compulsory leave where he would meet with an unfortunate ‘accident’. If Black Knight could not have an unsullied Blancapaw, then the fewer people who knew about it the better. He did not really care if she had been with other men, but that must not be allowed to affect his image as the ultimate victor and master.
Despite his pain, Black Knight suddenly smiled. It was his first genuine smile since he had been a small child, since before his sister reinstated the Order of Chains and charged them with his education and training. It was clear to him that Memwin had a hand in the fate of the gladiator who had raped Blancapaw, and that the supposedly discredited rumours about the Queen Memwin Prophecy were not so lacking in credit at all. It showed that Memwin was a force to be reckoned with. What a pity she was against him. And yet, maybe there was hope that he already had a worthy dynasty to follow him. However, he wanted Blancapaw anyway; he would make her submit to him and know that he was the centre of her world and, yes, why not, force her to love him.
95
Port Fandabbin – 19th November
The attack was launched at dawn. It was sudden yet not secret. All the enemy movements could be seen through the night from the fort atop Bangar Island. Carlcan Fandabbin took personal command of the defence. He sent scouts to monitor the attack over the five miles of coast north of Southport River; any further north and attacking quimals could be destroyed by the massive batteries of catapults hidden on Bangar Island. Shore catapults, however, might have done significant damage to the enemy during the landing, but they would not stop seventy thousand marines from coming ashore from two hundred fully crewed quimals, so Carl ordered that the shore catapults be withdrawn to more secure locations.
The reason that the enemy had not staged an assault like this before was simple. The taking of Township Farms would have been of little advantage unless its surrounding fortifications were also taken. Otherwise the enemy would be occupying land already evacuated and almost surrounded by defenders: on the south by the fortified docks reinforced by much of the Dabbinan navy; on the east by Outer Wall, a fortified highway between the city and River Docks; on the north by Inner Wall; and on the northwest by Bangar Island. Without capturing one or other of those fortifications, holding the open spaces of Township Farms would just be a drain on Black Knight’s resources.
Another consideration was that neither side could afford to weaken its position anywhere around the port. If the besiegers weakened their blockade at some point, Carl would take advantage of that to attack the weak point and maybe breach the blockade. Similarly, if the Dabbinans weakened their defences at some point, the enemy might break in that way.
In result, Black Knight could only spare one hundred ships from the blockade and the other hundred that he had brought with him the day before. To defend Township Farms Carl could spare just twenty thousand soldiers, all cavalry from allies in the hinterland, to be deployed as shock troops.
Arranged against Black Knight’s blockade, Carl had three hundred warships. All his ships were smaller than the average quimal and carried fewer, less powerful catapults. However, they were all manned by experienced mariners, most of them hardened by the last war. A third of the fleet was on permanent patrol in the Archipelago or stalking enemy supply ships along the coast. Another third was in the main port by the citadel, of which fifty were necessary for minimal defence and fifty were ready to strike wherever the enemy might attack in force or, indeed, display weakness. Another hundred ships were at various places up and down Southport River, mostly at River Docks or servicing the upstream defences on land and preventing the enemy armies from coming down the river in barges.
In short, the Dabbinans were heavily outnumbered on all fronts, yet still formidable opponents in well defended positions. Black Knight well knew this and was aware of the relative inexperience of most of his naval commanders, so he was prepared to play a waiting game as far as Port Fandabbin was concerned. However, he would not delay his personal desire to subdue Blancapaw and reform Memwin. There would be time enough to deal with the city when his terrestrial armies converged on Outer Wall. Then he would have more than half a million soldiers available on site to launch the final assault that would destroy Port Fandabbin once and for all.
*
Just as the sun touched the broad beach at the edge of Township Farms, an avalanche of fiery discharge was launched from two hundred quimals and rained down on the beach defences. The spectacle was repeated nine more times before a flotilla of dragon boats appeared from behind the warships and headed for the beach.
Unlike the high, rocky outcrop of Bangar Island and the hilly city further north, the land here had originally consisted of sand dunes, just like the desert to the south of Southport River. It had been fertilized, cultivated for vegetables and called ‘Township Farms’, but it retained the profile of rolling sand dunes. Its beach was broad and its coastal waters shallow. Only the deep channel of the river was navigable. Ships could not come close to the beach. Even the enemy dragon boats had to be hauled a long way through shallow water before their crews could stand on dry land.
The enemy troops assembled on the beach, all seventy thousand of them. Their landing had been unopposed. What remained of the beach defences had been abandoned. The bombardment had wrecked whatever defences had been there, yet there was no sign of any ruined catapults or of dead or injured defenders.
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Black Knight had underestimated Carlcan Fandabbin, though not for the first time. He had hoped to wear down Carl’s defences. Black Knight could afford to lose many troops whereas Carl could not. Instead, Carl had withdrawn all his troops and all his working catapults and other movable equipment to River Docks and had allowed the enemy to land on the beach unopposed. Whilst the quimals still had some remaining catapult shot, they had wasted much of what could otherwise have been used against Dabbinan ships.
To Black Knight’s mind the battle would be won by storming the port from the land. To Carl’s mind the battle would be won or lost at sea.
*
By midday the enemy troops had assembled into three armies. The southern army was ordered to attack River Docks. After their marines had disembarked, many of the quimals in the attack force were sent toward the mouth of Southport River to support the southern army. Even so, it was necessary for the quimals to spread out over the available navigable space because so many large ships had created almost impossible congestion along the available coastline.
The central army was ordered to move east to attack Outer Wall. They would try to capture a section of wall or, failing that, deter defending reinforcements from reaching River Docks from the city. The northern army, the largest, was ordered to attack Inner Wall, but to do so slowly and then turn back to support the central army. By attacking Inner Wall, Black Knight hoped to convince the defenders, at least for a time, that the city was under serious attack and that reinforcements should be concentrated there.
Grand Vizier of Krar Page 34