‘I’m not going to insist on a direct meeting between you and the Mimbrate King,’ I told him. ‘That might be pushing things a bit.’
‘He’s not the king,’ Eldallan corrected me almost absently.
‘He thinks he is, but that’s beside the point. My daughter and I’ll go to Vo Mimbre and talk with him. We’ll hammer out the details of a truce between the two of you, and I’ll arrange for some Sendars to act as messengers. Sendars are neutral, and they’re honorable people, so there won’t be any danger of trickery. Tell your archers to quit wasting arrows on Mimbrates. You’re going to need every arrow you can lay your hands on when the Angaraks come.’
‘It shall be as you say, Ancient One.’ He was suddenly a very agreeable fellow. He definitely didn’t want Polgara to show him anything else.
Pol and I went on to the yellow-walled city of Vo Mimbre. Mimbrate poets have written all sorts of nonsense about their ‘city of gold,’ but the plain truth of the matter is the fact that the quarries of the region produce yellow building stones. There wasn’t anything mystic or even significant about it at all.
After the destruction of Vo Astur in 3822, the Mimbrate dukes had taken to calling themselves ‘The Kings of all Arendia,’ but that was a fiction. The authority of that throne in Vo Mimbre stopped at the edge of the Arendish forest.
Arends aren’t quite as stubborn as Tolnedrans are about certain peculiar things, so when Pol and I reached Vo Mimbre and identified ourselves, we were immediately escorted to the throne room of ‘King’ Aldorigen XII. Aldorigen was a bit older than Duke Eldallan, and quite a bit bulkier. Mimbrates start wearing full armor when they’re still children, and the sheer dead weight of all that steel puts muscle on them. It doesn’t noticeably add brain-capacity, however.
Once again, I’ll resist using the word ‘coincidence.’ It just ‘happened’ that Aldorigen also had a child of about eight years - a son named Korodullin.
Isn’t that interesting?
Aldorigen was no less stubborn than Eldallan had been, so Polgara was obliged to repeat her performance. The king came around as quickly as his Asturian counterpart had. The Asturians and Mimbrates have always claimed that they’re completely different from each other. To be honest with you, though, I’ve never been able to really tell them apart, even though Mimbrates still use archaic speech and Asturians don’t.
After Polgara’d brought Aldorigen to his senses, I spoke with the Sendarian ambassador and arranged for several go-betweens to carry information back and forth between Mimbre and Asturia, and then Pol and I proceeded - damply - to Tol Honeth.
Ran Borune’s skepticism about Torak’s intentions had been evaporated by what had happened in Drasnia, and he was at least willing to listen to us. ‘I assume the Alorns have a plan,’ he said after we’d explained the situation to him.
‘A tentative one,’ I replied. ‘Kal Torak’s invasion of Drasnia taught us not to lock our thinking in stone. We do know that this is going to be settled one way or another someplace in Arendia, but we can’t be certain which route Torak’s going to take to get there. What he did in Drasnia suggests that he wants to obliterate the Alorns before he gets to Arendia. Eldrig expects him to invade Cherek, but I’m not so sure. We do know that he’s going to lay siege to the Algarian Stronghold, but we’re not sure what he’ll do before that. He might even try to attack the Isle of the Winds. That’s his ultimate goal, and he might try to go there and retake the Orb of Aldur before he goes to Arendia.’
‘I thought you could see the future, Belgarath.’
‘Sort of,’ I replied, making a sour face. ‘There are a couple of prophecies, but they’re very obscure.’
‘Are your Alorns going to want help in the north?’
‘I think they can manage. If Torak does decide to go directly to the Isle, he’ll run head-on into the Cherek fleet, and the entire war could be settled in the Sea of the Winds. If it happens that way, I know who’s going to win. No navy on earth is a match for Eldrig’s war-boats.’
‘Are you and Lady Polgara planning to stay here for long?’
‘As long as it takes.’
‘I want to talk with my generals, but we’ll need to coordinate our strategy. Can I offer you the hospitality of the palace here?’
‘We appreciate the thought, Ran Borune,’ Polgara declined, ‘but it might cause you some problems. The Honethites and Vorduvians would probably make a very big issue of the fact that you’re consorting with “heathen sorcerers”.’
‘I’m the emperor here, Lady Polgara, and I’ll consort with whomever I bloody well please.’
‘Isn’t he a dear man?’ Pol said to me.
‘She’s right, Ran Borune,’ I told the emperor. ‘We’ve got enough trouble with Kal Torak. Let’s not go out of our way to pick fights with the other great families. We’ll stay at the Cherek embassy. The ambassador’s got a war-boat at his disposal, and I need to send the Alorn Kings a report about what we accomplished in Arendia. Who’s the current Nyissan ambassador?’
‘A reptilian sort of fellow named Podiss,’ Ran Borune replied with obvious distaste.
‘I’ll need to talk with him as well,’ I said. ‘I want to let Salmissra know that we’re coming.’
‘Why bring her into it at all?’
‘She has certain resources I might need later on. If something comes up, I’ll get word to you.’
He smiled faintly. ‘My door’s always open to you, Belgarath.’
Polgara and I went to the Cherek embassy, and I composed a dispatch for the ambassador’s courier ship to take to Riva. Then I went across town to the Nyissan embassy.
After I returned, Pol and I had a quiet supper and retired for the night. I was just getting ready for bed when Beltira’s voice came at me from out of nowhere. ‘Belgarath!’ He sounded excited.
‘Yes, I’m here. What’s happening?’
‘Torak’s made his move! He’s invading Algaria!’
‘Has he committed all his forces?’
‘Evidently so. There’s a small occupation army holding the ground in Drasnia - mostly to guard his rear, we think, but the rest of his troops are marching south.’
I breathed a very large sigh of relief. The possibility of Torak selecting one of his other options had been worrying me more than a little. ‘How far has he penetrated?’
‘As far as Lake Atun. It’s slow going for him. The Algar cavalry’s been slicing large pieces out of his flanks.’
‘Good. Keep an eye on him and let me know if he changes direction. I don’t want to commit any troops until I’m sure this isn’t a feint.’
‘I don’t think so, Belgarath. We’ve heard from Beldin, and he says that the army that invaded Drasnia’s only about half of Torak’s force. He’s gathered a huge fleet at Dal Zerba on the west coast of the Dalasian protectorates. Urvon’s in charge there, and Beldin’s positive that he’s going to ferry that army across the Sea of the East to march across southern Cthol Murgos to attack us from that direction. We’ve got two armies coming at us.’
I started to swear. Torak had divided his forces after all, but he’d done it before he even left Mallorea. ‘I’ll get back to you,’ I told Beltira. ‘Pol and I’d better go to the palace and let Ran Borune know what’s afoot.’
I went down the hall to Pol’s room and knocked on her door. ‘It’s me, Pol,’ I said. ‘Let me in.’
‘I’m bathing, father. Go away.’
‘You can do that later. Torak just invaded Algaria.’
I heard some splashing and a moment or two later, Pol opened the door. She’d thrown on a robe, but her hair was still dripping. ‘He what?’ she demanded.
‘I just told you. Torak’s on the move, and he’s coming south.’
‘Garel’s at the Stronghold, father. I’d better move him.’
‘He’s safe there, Pol. We know that the Stronghold won’t fall, and Torak can’t stay there forever. He’s got an appointment he has to keep in Arendia. There’s some other bad news, t
hough. Beldin told the twins that Urvon’s commanding a second Mallorean army. They’re crossing the Sea of the East. They’ll be coming at us from southern Cthol Murgos. Torak’s going to try to put us in a vise. We’d better go back to the palace and alert Ran Borune.’
‘I’ll get dressed.’
It was almost midnight when we reached the palace, and it took us a while to persuade the servants to wake the emperor. He was sleepy-eyed and tousled when we were finally admitted to his private quarters. ‘Don’t you people ever sleep?’ he asked in a grouchy tone of voice.
‘Only when there’s nothing better to do, your Majesty,’ I told him. ‘Torak’s invaded Algaria.’
That woke him up. ‘I’ll start the legions north immediately,’ he said.
‘I’d hold off on that, Ran Borune,’ Pol suggested. ‘I think you’re going to need them someplace else.’
I told him about the second army gathering at Dal Zerba, and it was one of the few times I’ve ever heard a Borune swear. ‘How many people does that madman have?’ he demanded.
‘They don’t call it “Boundless Mallorea” for nothing,’ I replied.
‘What are we going to do?’
‘We still have some time, I think,’ I said. ‘Urvon’s not going to be able to ferry his army across the Sea of the East in a single day, and it’s a long way across southern Cthol Murgos.’
‘What about Kal Torak? He could be on my eastern frontier in a week.’
‘Not very likely, Ran Borune. He has to get past the Algars first.’
‘Drasnia didn’t slow him down very much.’
‘There’s a world of difference between Drasnia and Algaria,’ Pol told him. ‘The Algars don’t have towns to defend, for one thing, and they’ve got the finest horses in the world, for another. Kal Torak’s going to find a trip into Algaria very expensive.’
‘You do realize that the second Mallorean army means that I won’t be able to lend you a hand in Arendia, don’t you?’ he said. ‘I’m going to have to put my legions on my southern border.’
‘We were fairly certain you’d feel that way about it,’ Pol murmured.
I scratched at my beard. ‘It’s still not a disaster,’ I told them. ‘We could probably use the help of the legions in Arendia, but I’d much rather they concentrated on keeping that second Mallorean column away from the battlefield. As I said before, we’ve still got time. Urvon won’t get here overnight, and Kal Torak’s going to have his own problems in Algaria. I think Pol and I’d better go to Sthiss Tor and have a talk with the snake-woman. We don’t want her to just open her borders to that piebald Urvon and stand aside while he marches through. I want to do everything I possibly can to upset Kal Torak’s timetable.’
‘Good luck,’ the emperor said. ‘I’d better summon my generals. We’ve got a lot of planning to do.’
‘And Pol and I’d better leave for Nyissa. We’ll see how things stand when we get back.’
My daughter and I reached Sthiss Tor two days later, long before the Nyissan ambassador’s message did, so there was a bit of delay before we were escorted into Salmissra’s throne room. The snake-woman’s response to our information was profoundly unenthusiastic. ‘Why should I involve myself in your war with the Angaraks?’ she said, hardly bothering to take her eyes off her mirror.
‘It’s not just our war, Salmissra,’ Pol told her. ‘It concerns all of us.’
‘Not me, it doesn’t. One of my predecessors discovered the folly of becoming involved in this private feud between the Alorns and the Angaraks. I’m not going to make the same mistake. Nyissa will remain neutral.’
‘That option isn’t open to you, Salmissra,’ I told her. ‘Urvon’s army’s going to show up on your southern border before very long, and Nyissa stands between him and Tolnedra.’
‘So?’
‘He’ll march right straight through your country.’
She shrugged. ‘Let him. I won’t do anything to hinder him, so he won’t have any reason to do to Nyissa what Kal Torak did to Drasnia.’
‘Oh, yes he will,’ Pol disagreed. ‘Issa participated in the War of the Gods, remember? Torak has a very long memory, and he holds grudges. Urvon’s army won’t just march through. They’ll destroy Nyissa as they go along. You’re Issa’s handmaiden, so I’d imagine Urvon’s going to take special pains to find you so that the Grolims can cut out your heart.’
Salmissra’s colorless eyes grew worried. ‘He wouldn’t do that - not if I don’t offer any resistance.’
‘It’s your heart, snake-woman,’ Pol replied with a chilling kind of indifference.
‘What you do is your affair, Salmissra,’ I told her then. ‘We’ve told you what’s coming. Deal with it in any way you see fit. If you do decide to fight, you might get in touch with Ran Borune. It’s to his advantage to keep Urvon away from his southern border, so he might just lend you a few legions.’
‘Would he do that?’
‘It wouldn’t hurt to ask. Now, if you’ll excuse us, my daughter and I have some business in Maragor.’
That turned out to be a complete waste of time. Pol and I flew to Mar Amon, hoping that the news of Torak’s invasion would shake Mara out of his grief to some small degree, but I don’t think the weeping God even heard us. He refused to listen, and his wails continued to echo from the mountains surrounding haunted Maragor.
Finally we gave up and went on to Prolgu to talk with the Gorim. ‘He’ll almost have to cross Ulgoland to reach Arendia, Holy One,’ I told the ancient man after Pol and I had explained the situation. ‘I know that your people are very religious, and they might be opposed to shedding blood, but this is an unusual situation.’
‘I shall consult with Holy UL,’ he promised. ‘The circumstances might prompt him to set aside his distaste for violence.’
‘That’s entirely up to him, Gorim,’ I said with a faint smile. ‘I’m definitely not going to try to tell UL what to do. We’ll keep you advised of what’s happening. If you do decide to stay out of it, we’ll give you enough warning so that you can seal up the mouths of your caves.’
‘I appreciate that, Ancient One.’
Then Pol and I went back up through the caves to the ruins of Prolgu. ‘Now what?’ she asked me.
I considered it. ‘Since we’re this close anyway, why don’t we fly over and see how far Torak’s managed to penetrate before we go back to Riva? And I’d also like to get some idea of just how big this army of his really is.’
‘Whatever you say, father.’ It always makes me a little nervous when Pol agrees with me without any arguments.
It was cloudy over Algaria, but at least it wasn’t raining. You have no idea of how difficult it is trying to fly with wet feathers, and I’ve never really been comfortable as a duck. Ducks are probably no sillier than other birds, but they look so ridiculous.
Beltira had told me that Torak had penetrated as far as Lake Atun in northern Algaria. That had been almost a week ago, however, and he’d come quite a bit farther south. He’d crossed the Aldur River upstream from Aldurford, and his army was spread out on the grasslands of central Algaria now. They weren’t very hard to find, since there were quite a lot of them.
They weren’t moving very fast, however. Pol and I saw a number of engagements down there. As Beltira had said, Algar cavalry units were slashing at the flanks of that huge army, and their attacks went quite a bit farther than simple harassment. Algars are the finest horsemen in the world, and their long centuries of patient breeding had produced superb horses. In addition to the Malloreans, Torak’s army also included Murgos, Nadraks and Thulls, and those were the units that were bearing the brunt of the Algar attacks.
They weren’t very good at it, from what I saw. The Algars were simply too fast for them. Central Algaria is rolling country, and there are a lot of hills and grassy ravines that provide cover for the cavalry units. In most cases, the Angaraks didn’t see the Algars coming until it was too late. Torak’s army was moving slowly south, and the trail b
ehind them was littered with their dead. That didn’t mean anything to Kal Torak, of course, but it did seem to concern his generals. They weren’t moving very fast, and they had whole platoons of scouts ranging out ahead and along the flanks. From what I was able to see, those scouts weren’t getting very much information back to the generals. Like all cavalry units the world over, the Algars carried short bows in addition to their lances and sabers. A cavalry bow doesn’t have the range that the longbows of the Asturian Arends have, but a man on a fast horse doesn’t need range. He can get close enough to do the job. Not very many Angarak scouts returned.
In effect, what was happening down there was a running battle, and it was very one-sided. Torak was taking appalling casualties, but he firmly pressed on. In addition to the scouts, the army had foragers out, looking for cows to feed that horde. The foragers were having an even worse time of it than the scouts were, since every herd of cattle they came across had dozens of Algar bowmen concealed in it. The Algars also amused themselves by stampeding cattle-herds through the Mallorean ranks, and that slowed the advance even more.
It was going to take Kal Torak a long time to reach the Stronghold.
Those stampedes were effective, I’ll grant you, but they goaded Torak’s generals into an action that ultimately caused an economic disaster in the west. At first, the foragers had gone out to round up the cows, intending to drive them along as a moving food source. After a few of those stampedes, though, they started to kill every cow they came across. It was a long time after the war was over before the Algarian herds even reached a fraction of their former numbers. Beef was very scarce in the west for years.
After we’d seen enough of that slow-moving battle, Pol and I turned and flew west toward Sendaria and the coast. I wanted to get back to Riva so that I could have a talk with Cho-Ram. The Mrin clearly stated that the Stronghold wouldn’t fall, but it never hurts to be careful. Garel was inside that fortress, after all.
It was raining in Riva when we got there. Isn’t that a surprise? The foul weather triggered by that eclipse had been very unusual elsewhere, but it’s always raining in Riva.
Belgarath the Sorcerer Page 57