Grand Vizier of Krar

by W. John Tucker

  “One might as well ask what the chances are that Blan will find Arnapa and Carl in time, let alone help them and their troops find the underground river. Still, I have confidence that Blan will find a way of speaking to me.”

  After the hour had passed without any signal, Pel reluctantly gave the order to submerge the Wedge vessels.

  “Wait, what is that?” one of the team cried from the dock.

  They all turned to where he was pointing and saw an object floating toward them from one of the river exits. Soon, another three appeared and then five more. Before long, fifty objects had floated through the same exit. Some were inflated skins or clothes which had been tied with string to create pockets of air; others were canteens or other small storage containers which had been emptied and sealed so they would float; even wooden boxes had been floated like little boats. As the last objects were floating through that exit, a few similar objects floated through another exit.

  “There is our message!” Pel cried jubilantly. “I knew Blan would find a way. See, the recommended route is the one that brought the greatest number of undamaged buoys in the shortest time. We need not wait for other buoys to arrive through the other exits because that third exit from our left is the clear winner, the shortest and broadest path.”

  “Blan has also told us when she reached the river,” Aransette and Norsnette said together, amazing themselves with their own insight and wondering whether some of Blan’s quick-wittedness had rubbed of on them. Neither of them considered themselves to be geniuses.

  “Yes, I estimate the current of the river to be about three knots and its length about sixteen leagues,” Pel said. “This means that Blan probably set the buoys afloat within an hour or two of dawn this morning. If evacuees escaped to the cavern around dawn, they might possibly have evaded the enemy advance. Let’s hope all is well and that all our friends have been saved and that these buoys are not the flotsam of some terrible accident.”

  Without further delay the men and women, all skilled divers who had been trained to operate the submersibles, entered the vessels and released the pegs which held them on the surface of the water and at the top of their launching frames. The vessels descended to the bottom and started their grinding march across the cavern and into the third river exit. Each vessel drew a cable behind it. These cables would be the lifelines for bringing everyone back to the dock in safety.

  Pel and the twins stayed at the dock with the engineers and shipwrights. The divers were all young and fit and knew their jobs. There was no need for a middle-aged man like Pel to undertake unnecessary diving ventures. He hoped that, in future, he would be diving for pleasure only.

  128

  Glorz Underground River – 4th January

  Blan woke suddenly. She had been taking her turn to sit on the shore. Despite the gnawing discomfort of sitting on rocks, she must have dozed off for a few seconds. A distant sound came to her over the hum of the conversation around her. No one else seemed to hear.

  Next time, the sound was louder and everyone heard it. The hum of conversation stopped.

  “They’ve found something!” Blan cried. The echoing, unidentifiable sound heard by everyone else was to Blan a jubilant call by one of the scouts downstream.

  It soon became clear to everyone that one of the scouts was hauling himself back along the cable and had urgent news.

  “There is a lighted beacon on a pylon in the middle of the river about a mile downstream,” the man gushed as he finally hauled himself onto the narrow rock ledge. A few of his comrades offered him a hand but they were too tired themselves to be of much help.

  “That will be Pel’s doing!” Blan, now fully alert, announced excitedly. The weariness and agony of spending a day and a night treading water to keep warm, interspersed with shore duty, became almost too much to bear as the prospect of relief seemed to be almost in reach. She laughed as much with frustration as with joy.

  Carl, now also showing signs of great weariness, gave the order to move on. Driven by the prospect of safety and relief, everyone did what they had hitherto thought impossible. They all started to go about the methodical procedures, now burnt into their minds forever, of moving a thousand people down an underground river on a raft made of ropes and buoys.

  129

  Silver Dock – 4th January

  The last part of the voyage had been an easier torture to bear. There had been a clear end in sight. Blan’s experiment had demonstrated the existence of a wider and shorter passage to Silver Dock than the one she had first passed through. The narrows, where Blan’s boat had become stuck a month before, were in a side tunnel which would have made the remaining journey nearly a mile longer between the dock and the first beacon set up by Pel’s divers.

  The Wedge vessel crews had set up beacons in the river at each bend they had come to. These provided enough light to guide the evacuees and to enable them to avoid the many wrong side channels they might have otherwise taken. The Wedge vessel lifelines had been joined together to provide one long lifeline for the last half-mile of the journey. There the tunnel narrowed sharply and the evacuees had to abandon their rope raft and follow the lifeline, hand over hand, in single file along one side of the river tunnel.

  By mid-afternoon the evacuees had all been led or carried into the citadel. Those still able to stand were giddy and staggering on aching legs, too tired to notice where they were, and seeking only sleep. Most were taken to the well-equipped siege accommodations below Silver Castle where food, water and medical care were provided to those who needed or wanted it. Most of the evacuees just lay down and slept.

  As soon as she heard of his arrival, Serunipa came to Carl and reported that the retreat across the hinterland and down Southport River had so far been orderly and successful.

  The ships and the last cavalry brigade had escaped respectively to River Docks and Outer Wall. There had been a good deal of fighting with the enemy’s forward patrols, but some of the warships had kept in tandem with the cavalry and provided them with cover from catapults and archers. All cavalry units were now either taking up defensive positions along Outer Wall or mounting sorties to support the retreating infantry.

  The infantry were making two orderly retreats. Those who had been stationed within fifteen leagues of the city were falling back there in stages. They were now all within a league of Outer Wall. The defenders further north were falling back to coastal forts.

  Despite her weariness, Blan immediately unlocked Actio B and set up a conference between Carl, Azimath and Nargin. Carl asked Nargin to send ships to evacuate the defenders from coastal forts and, as appropriate, recruit them as marines or ferry them to defensible places in the Archipelago.

  The last thing that Blan heard as Norsnette and Aransette helped her to her room was Serunipa assuring Carl and Arnapa that she could continue to command the city until they had slept and recovered some of their strength.

  130

  Port Fandabbin – 5th January

  Blan was amazed that she felt able to rise with the sun. Her legs and arms were sore and quite stiff from the last two days’ ordeal, but tolerably so. Pregnant or not, she realised that she had become a lot tougher than she had been back in Prom Village.

  She made her way to Garden Chamber, the castle library, which was now being used to direct the war. She saw many officers there who had been with her in the underground river. They had been exhausted last time she saw them, yet today they were all alert and engaged in a variety of actions, though some of them were walking rather carefully. Some were examining and discussing a variety of charts and manuals. Others were speaking into voice tubes, passing on orders or receiving reports from the signal stations on the walls and elsewhere around the citadel. A very senior looking officer who had not been involved in the escape was speaking into a voice tube which Blan knew was connected to Capital Chamber, now being used as Carl’s headquarters. From there, Carl could look out over the port, city and beyond.

  Deciding against t
he stairs, Blan made her way to the elevator. It required her to use a voice tube to ask a supervisor to coordinate the process: checking if anyone else needed to join the trip up; getting the animals ready to operate the winch; and the release of safety stoppers which prevented the cabin from falling too far at once should one of the cables break. It all took time and Blan found it a little frustrating when she was in a hurry, but she simply could not contemplate using the stairs this morning. She had an idea for a faster, hydraulic elevator powered by a waterwheel in the underground river. Carl had been favourably disposed but pointed out that it would need to wait for the war to be over. Of course, she would need Pel’s help to make a safe design, and many engineers to have it built.

  “One more to come!” The supervisor’s voice echoed along the voice pipe. Blan waited and soon heard the sound of fast footsteps echoing around the stone walls. She knew that sound; it was Serunipa’s quickstep, now sounding a little nervous and, Blan thought, excited.

  “Blan, I’d like to congratulate you for thwarting the surprise attack and for your evacuation plan. It saved us all from almost certain disaster,” Serunipa enthused as the two women embraced. They had not spoken to each other when they briefly met that previous afternoon; Serunipa had been too busy and Blan had been too tired.

  Blan blushed and responded in kind, “I think you deserve more of the credit for organising the retreat so efficiently. Nor could my plan have worked without your speedy interventions.”

  A whistle from the voice pipe signalled that the supervisor wished to speak again. Blan confirmed that Serunipa had arrived and that they were both now safely in the elevator cabin. It started to rise along its well oiled frame. As they ascended, they heard springs snapping strong pegs into place under the cabin floor with every fathome until, after a hundred fathomes, the cabin finally came to a halt. Following another round of safety procedures orchestrated by the supervisor, they emerged into Capital Chamber.

  “Welcome the saviours of Port Fandabbin!” Carl cried out as they entered. Everyone stopped talking, turned and cheered. Blan blushed again. She felt some comfort to see that she was not alone; Serunipa was also blushing. This was not the redness of exertion, but the spontaneous blush of emotion. As an experienced and analytical blusher, Blan could tell the difference.

  Serunipa was a woman of very attractive yet commanding appearance: as tall as Blan and strong from the rigours of a life at sea. Men and women alike would follow Serunipa; she had a down-to-earth, no-nonsense, authoritative manner. Although youthful enough in appearance to fill the dreams of even her novice crew members, at nearly twice Blan’s age and with plenty of experience of commanding others, Serunipa was not the sort Blan would expect to blush easily. Blan blushed all the time for the slightest reason. Dwelling on it was one of her few self-indulgences, so she usually noticed when other people blushed. She had only seen Serunipa blush in the presence of one person. Blan smiled to herself when she saw that Carl was also blushing slightly. Until now, she would have doubted he ever did.

  With Carl were Arnapa, Pel, and half a dozen generals and admirals. Memwin and Nellinar were also there, playing a board game near a window overlooking the causeway and city.

  Carl explained, “We are following up your idea, Blan, about closing down the enemy’s Geodes along his supply line from Fork Pass and Congloot City. That will enable our allies to stage a revolt in the lands nearest the mountains which now supply most of the food for the enemy army. At present, the enemy commanders near Belspire, Congloot City and Quolow can quickly call for reinforcements from each other and from the rest of the invasion force. They can start to suppress a revolt almost as soon as it has started. Our allies who wage guerrilla warfare in the mountains and foothills don’t have the strength to resist a concerted campaign. However, if we can hamper the enemy’s ability to coordinate its forces in the area, we might then facilitate a revolt across the whole region before the enemy has time to react. With our ships harassing their supply ships, our besiegers will suffer from food shortages unless they can hold on to the rich agricultural lands near the mountains. Their least loyal troops will desert, and they will have to send substantial forces back inland to regain control of their food supply. Our allies will harry them all the way, and we will have fewer to contend with here.”

  “What about the coastal lands further north?” Blan asked. “I have read that they are productive. Can the enemy not get food from there?”

  “In those cooler climates much less food is produced in winter. For the next four or five months, the enemy will be very dependent on food from the areas near the mountains on this side of the Northern Tropic.”

  “Then you must take me north, Carl. I must bring Actio B within range of Fork Pass and Congloot City.” Blan was feeling businesslike again.

  He smiled. “Preparations are being made for the voyage even as we speak. First let me show you how things now stand, so you will understand the immediate risks. Follow me to the terrace above.” He handed her a small telescope and took another for himself.

  A chilly eastern breeze was blowing across the terrace.

  “The winter snows must have come to the Arctequa Backbone,” Blan remarked as they reached the top of the stair and she drew her thin cloak around her. “It was quite comfortable up here a few days ago.”

  “The snow has been heavy in the mountains for some time, yet here we have had warm breezes from the sea,” Carl replied.

  A third of their view covered the fortified islands of Nargar and Bangar. Only the distant horizon could be seen beyond their bulbous tops, except for the narrow gap between them. Even through that small opening, just a few degrees wide, they could see enemy quimals, the nearest of them anchored two leagues away and others further off. As for the islands themselves, there was no longer any secrecy as to their purpose. People and transport animals could be seen moving supplies and weapons along many tracks, catapults had been exposed in many places, and groups of soldiers could be seen marching or on guard. Even the sheer cliffs were decorated with many cables as people and supplies were hauled up from ships below.

  “We now have hundreds of thousands of civilians taking refuge in these three islands,” Carl explained. “Those in Bangar Island and Nargar Island are mostly from the hinterland between the coast and Glorz River. At least there are many former soldiers among them, old folk but still capable, who can take over the defence of the islands. That will release the permanent guard for other duties.”

  “How long can the islands hold out?” Blan asked.

  “They stand or fall with Silver Castle,” Carl replied. “While we keep the city, Township Farms, River Docks, our underground water supply and our secret smuggling exits, we can resist a siege indefinitely. However, as each of those is taken from us, we will be increasingly pressed. If Township Farms is taken, we lose the spring crops. If River Docks is taken, we lose one of our best means of counter-attack as well as an escape route across the desert to the south. If the city falls, we will lose most of our stores there and have to accommodate its remaining population in the caves and tunnels here under the citadel, places which are already starting to become crowded. That will put huge pressure on food, water and morale. If the enemy blocks our smuggling route to the north, then our food stocks will eventually run out. Worst of all, if the enemy somehow blocks our water supply, then we will have lost. We can evaporate sea water, but not enough to support the number of people we must care for.”

  Blan took in all these facts but reserved her questions about them for the time being.

  “Are those islands also fortified?” Blan waved her hand vaguely north in the direction of four rocky islands. They were not as large as Nargar or Bangar and they were considerably lower, the nearest three rising no more than thirty fathomes above the sea and the furthest maybe fifty fathomes. The nearest was less than two miles away. A multitude of enemy quimals could be seen on the nearer side of the furthest island and more could be seen in an arc from there acro
ss the north, almost to the coast.

  “They are not fortified but we do post a guard on Shin Island, the furthest,” said Carl. “The three lower islands are called Ankle, Heel and Toe. From here the four islands together look like a boot. At least that is how my father explained it to me. All the islands are very difficult terrain, not suited to habitation or fortification, so we have declared them a reserve for the sea birds. Except for mariners in distress, permits are required for visitors. However, we have a hidden lookout on Shin Island. Black Knight has also posted lookouts there, although he has not yet discovered our position.”

  “Could he not land troops on the further side of Ankle and Toe and occupy them?”

  “Hauling war machines up the cliffs and across the rocky terrain would be near impossible. Even if they managed to do that, we would see everything from here and our navy would bombard them as soon as they started to set up their positions. The enemy troops would become stranded there. Wisely, Black Knight has not yet tried to occupy the boot islands, other than to post his lookouts on Shin.”

  “How does your lookout on Shin get messages to you without alerting the enemy?” Blan had already guessed the answer, but it was just a guess, pure lateral thinking without any logical foundation. She had been taken to Nargar Island via the underground river and it did not stretch her imagination to envisage the river finding its way under Shin Island and then, perhaps, to the northern smuggling route that Carl had mentioned earlier. Something in her tone of voice caused Carl to turn toward her and smile broadly.

  “We believe that the river goes on for many leagues until it issues from a cliff under the sea. We have never traced it so far, but we have mapped it to a cave system deep underneath one of the small islands in the Archipelago, Cave Island. That is as far as we can go without diving underwater to follow the river tunnel further. We have several exits along the river and at Cave Island. We developed them during the last war to smuggle supplies past the blockade. The Cave Island exit is far enough away to be well out of sight of the enemy blockade.”