Two Heirs (The Marmoros Trilogy Book 1)

by Peter Kenson

  “But he is a mercenary. He fights for money not for our people.”

  Jeren raised an enquiring eyebrow in David’s direction. “Lord Held?”

  “It is true that I am a mercenary. I fight for money. I fight for money to pay my men, to feed them, to train and equip them to fight. If you had your own army, you would have to pay them. You would have to feed them, equip them and appoint officers to train and command them. If you are questioning my loyalty, Lord Bardsley, then I would say this. If I accept a contract, any contract, I will not break that contract for money or for any other inducement. And if Lord Jeren asks for my advice as part of this contract, he will get my honest advice that best serves the Lyenar people.”

  “I would support the appointment of Lord Held as military advisor,” Falaise cut in before any of the others could speak.

  “That’s settled then,” Jeren said. “Unless there are any other objections.”

  There were none as Jeren looked from one councillor to the next.

  “Good. Now, Lord Held, you say we need to plan for tomorrow?”

  “Yes. We cannot afford to wait for the last wagon to be ready before we move out. If some families are ready first thing in the morning I want to move them straight out. So we need to know in which direction to lead them.”

  “But won’t that make us more vulnerable?” Perborn objected. “Wouldn’t we be safer if we kept together in a group?”

  “No more so than if you remained here in the village. I will have riders out wide on all sides of the column. We will learn of the approach of Duke Henry’s forces well before they come close enough to find us. Besides, let me ask you this; how many wagons do the families have here in the village?”

  “There are over a thousand people in the village, my lord,” Falaise replied. “And nearly three hundred different families including grown up children. Some of those families have more than one wagon so I can’t give you an exact figure but it must be about three hundred and fifty in total.”

  “Well there you have the problem, my lords. I cannot wait for the last man to be ready and then signal all three hundred and fifty of them to move out in line abreast. I have to stagger the start times to create a column. How many herds do you have?”

  “We have three herds of cattle, three flocks of sheep and two of goats.”

  “When the herds have been culled, I want the remaining animals brought together; one herd of cattle, one mixed flock of sheep and goats and enough children to keep them together. The herds will move out at first light with two of my men to lead them. That will give them a head start on the wagons.

  “Now the big question is in which direction do we point them? Ash, perhaps you could show us the map again.”

  They clustered round the map spread out on the big table. “We’re about here,” he said, indicating a spot on the map. “We’re about two thirds of the way between Stadenbridge and Highport and roughly a day and a half south of the river. It’s difficult to be exact because this little trail that we’re on, is not actually marked on the map but the main track between the two towns, follows the course of the river and we ambushed Duke Henry’s party with the children, just short of them reaching the river.”

  “You said earlier that the foot troops would take nine to ten days to get here with the supply wagons. How long for horsemen travelling fast and light?”

  “Half that, milord. Probably five days because they’ll be expecting to have to fight when they get here and they won’t want the horses blowing too hard.”

  David studied the map for a minute. “The quickest way to get to Highport would be to follow this trail to the river and then turn northwest along the main track. However, a small group of horse, travelling light could have left barracks in Stadenbridge yesterday morning. That means by the time we’re ready to move they’ll be two days down that track towards us. It would take us the best part of two days to reach the river ourselves and then they’d be on us as soon as we turned towards Highport. So what’s the alternative?”

  “This line on the map, milord, is the highroad from Paelis to Highport. It lies due west of our position and is a good road to travel. We would have to cut across country to reach it, which would slow us down a little but, once we’re on the highroad, we can make good time into Highport.”

  “But?” David said. “I can hear a ‘but’ in your voice.”

  “The land immediately to the west of us is fairly flat and open. A few small hills and a couple of clumps of trees to steer round but nothing to worry about. But, if I remember correctly, the highroad follows the base of a wooded escarpment. I would have to send scouts on ahead to find a track that wagons could use to safely descend from the top of the escarpment to the road. That might slow us up or even divert us some way off a straight line course.”

  “That still sounds the better option to me. What do you say, my lady, Lord Jeren?”

  “Will we be able to reach the highroad before these riders catch up with us?” Falaise asked.

  “No, not a chance,” David said. “We may be able to keep ahead of a body of foot and some supply wagons but those horsemen are a threat that I shall have to deal with.”

  “Uh, there is potentially another complication, milord,” Ash added. “The main body of Duke Henry’s men is based at Paelis. We’re fairly certain he will have despatched the garrison from Stadenbridge but he might also have sent another troop down the highroad from Paelis. They have a lot further to go, of course, but they can travel faster.”

  “How far is it from here to the highroad as the crow flies?”

  “About twenty five leagues, milord. Three or four days, depending on finding a cart track down to the road.”

  “And how long would it take horsemen from Paelis to reach that point?”

  “I would say, seven to eight days, milord.”

  “Doesn’t Duke Henry have staging points along the highroad where they can change horses?”

  “There are inns which stable horses for fast couriers, milord but nowhere that would keep a quantity of war horses.”

  “Okay, so we have a few days in hand there. The horsemen from Stadenbridge are still the primary threat. Ash, I want you to split your men. I want two men back on high ground overlooking the track from Stadenbridge, at the site where we laid that ambush. I need to know as soon as they catch sight of the Stadenbridge horse. The other scouts I want out in front of us, on top of that escarpment. Find us a cart track or a path that we can use to get wagons down to that road.”

  Ash saluted smartly and ducked out through the tent flap only to return immediately with Jaks at his heels. “I think you’d better hear this, milord.”

  David looked at Jaks standing there shuffling nervously from one foot to another. “What is it Jaks? You know better than to interrupt a meeting like this.”

  “Sorry milord but … ‘e’s dead, milord,” Jaks blurted out. “I thought you’d want to know.”

  “Jaks, stand still and make your report properly. Who’s dead?”

  “The captain, milord. We was just marching ‘im back across camp to where the other prisoners are, when ‘e stopped in mid-stride an’ fell flat on ‘is face. We checked ‘im over. There’s no sign of any injury but ‘e’s dead alright.”

  “Ah! It seems I really upset our friend back in Paelis if he’s doing that to his own people.”

  “You’re talking about the magician who caused those flames?” Falaise asked. “You’re saying he killed the captain from the ducal palace in Paelis?”

  “Yes. I’m afraid he’s quite a dangerous little man.”

  “But how? The captain wasn’t even wearing that amulet. It’s here on the table.”

  “The amulet is like a… a tracker, if you like. It helps him to find people. But once he’s used it a few times, he can find that person again whenever he wants and the amulet isn’t really necessary anymore.”

  Falaise felt a sudden tremor of fear run through her
. “So he could kill any one of us standing here, without ever leaving Paelis?”

  “No, no. He’s not that powerful. He can listen to people’s thoughts but unless knows who to listen to, it’s like a crowd of people all talking at the same time. He could kill the captain because he knew him. He could pick him out in the crowd. But he can’t kill you precisely because he doesn’t know you. He can’t find you in the crowd. The only other person he knows here is me.”

  “So he could kill you then?”

  “He can try but he won’t,” he smiled. “He knows I beat him before so he won’t try that trick on me.

  “Okay Jaks, where’s the body now?”

  “Marta ‘as it, milord. In case you wanted to see it.”

  David nodded. “Go back and help Marta keep an eye on the body. I’ll be along as soon as I’ve finished here.”

  “Yes, milord. But why do I ‘ave to watch the body? Nothing’s going to ‘appen to it, is it?”

  “Well I don’t know,” David said doubtfully. “Who said he was dead? Was it Marta or you?”

  “It were Marta, milord.”

  “In that case I think we can be fairly certain he’s going to stay dead,” he said with a chuckle. “But you get back and help Marta anyway. And grab a shovel on your way. Ash, you already have your orders.”

  “Now, where were we?” David continued, turning back to the table. “Feynor and Bern, I want you to backtrack down this trail a little way. Not as far as the site of the previous ambush but I want somewhere we can tackle these horsemen before they reach the column. Somewhere with a lot of high ground so that we can keep the hunters and archers out of harm’s way. If you can’t find anywhere suitable, then we’ll have to look for somewhere tomorrow on the route of march. Jorgen, set your men to making stakes. Wherever we eventually fight, I want to plant stakes in front of the archers to keep the horsemen off them.”

  As the officers departed, David spoke to the councillors. “Now my lords, Lady Falaise, it is time for you to play your part. Lord Jeren, I want you to go out there and tell the people about your vision. Stress the victory that we have already won, tell them about reunion with the other villages, other families and most of all, talk to them about ‘home’. Inspire them and give them hope for the future. And you, my lords, my lady, I want standing right behind Lord Jeren as he makes his speech to show the people that he has the full support of the council. I trust that will not be a problem, Lord Bardsley.”

  “I resent being placed in this position, Lord Held. But in the light of what we have learned today, it appears that I have little choice.”

  Jeren walked across and stood in front of Bardsley. “My lord, I understand something of what you are going through at this time. Lord Gaelan was your friend, a close friend but he was also my uncle and treachery from a blood relation is in many ways harder to bear than from a friend. He did try to kill my mother and for that I can never forgive him. He did sell the three sons of Aron Golder in order to gain the release of his own son and for that, the people will never forgive him.

  “I hope that you will keep your seat on the council and that you will continue to advise me, even if that advice is not always what I might wish to hear. And I hope that, as we work together in the future, we might come to think differently of each other. But for now, I need you to stand behind me. Will you do that for me, my lord?”

  Bardsley made a stiff bow. “I will stand behind you on this, Lord Jeren.”

  ***

  The dismantling of the village had gone smoothly, much more so than David had imagined. The people had cheered Jeren to the echo, until their throats were so hoarse that they could not raise another cheer. Then they had set to work with a will and the village structures came tumbling down to be packed away in the wagons. The herds had been moved to the west side of the village, ready to set out at first light and Ash’s scouts had long disappeared in different directions.

  David made his way back to his own camp where preparations for the evening meal were well underway. He spoke to Marta and examined the captain’s body. It was exactly as Jaks had described. Not a mark on it but most decidedly dead. He gave orders for it to be buried and Marta assured him that the camp would be ready to move whenever he ordered in the morning. Then he called Jorgen over.

  “I have a task for you in the morning. At first light, I want you to take the prisoners, all of the prisoners in one of the open wagons. Take sufficient men with you to act as escort and ride for, say, four hours in a generally easterly direction, away from the direction the village is moving. After four hours, dump them out of the wagon, turn round and come back. That’s Gaelan, his son Raslo, the manservant and the two thugs who were waiting for Lady Falaise. Is that all the prisoners?”

  “There’s the two men who were attacking the Golder family, milord.”

  “Ah, yes. I’m tempted to say that I don’t want men who behave like that but I know that soldiers can get carried away in the heat of action. I’ll talk to them this evening. If they’re worth having, I’ll try to get them to change sides. Otherwise you can take them as well. Don’t take any nonsense from any of them tomorrow. Just dump them a long way away and get back here.”

  “As you command, milord.”

  The next stop was his own tent where Leyla and Mo were waiting for him. “We have your food waiting for you, David,” Leyla said.

  “Leyla, I’ve told you before. I eat what the men eat, nothing special.”

  “No, no. This is from the camp stew pot. We just got you an early serving.”

  “Oh, well where’s yours?”

  “We will eat later, David,” Mo said.

  “No, you will eat now. Or I do not eat now.” David sat down and folded his arms in front of him. “So go and fill your bowls and come back and eat with me. Unless you don’t want to eat with me,” he added slyly.

  “Oh no, David.” There was a flurry of activity as the two girls grabbed bowls and disappeared out of the tent. They were back in moments and hastily sat down on either side of him.

  “Good,” he said, “now tell me about your day.”

  “Our day? Why would you want to know about our day?”

  “Because I am sitting down to my evening meal in the company of two very attractive ladies who I am very fond of, and I would like to talk about something other than the problems of keeping an entire tribe of people out of the way of an advancing army of soldiers.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, David,” Leyla said. “We never thought…”

  “We helped Marta with the wounded this morning,” Mo chipped in.

  “Good. So tell me, how are they doing?”

  “”They’re mostly fine, David. The cuts that were sewn up in the field are all healing nicely. Some of them won’t be fit to fight for a few more days but they’ll all survive. Even Smitty.”

  “And how is Smitty?”

  “He makes me laugh,” Leyla said. “He’s so funny.”

  “He lost an arm and he makes you laugh? David queried.

  “He says they cut the wrong arm off, David. Everyone was so concerned that he had lost his right arm but the blow that took him down, shattered his shield and cut his arm to the bone just below the shoulder, which was why they had to take it off. But it was his shield arm. Smitty’s a left hander. He pretends to be dying when Marta’s around, I think he’s sweet on her, but as soon as her back’s turned, he’s out of his cot, waving his sword around and practising his swordplay.”

  “Hm, I think I had better go and have a word with Smitty after we’ve finished here.”

  “You won’t tell him what I said,” Leyla asked anxiously.

  “No of course not. So, what else did you do today?”

  “Well, this afternoon, we crept into the village,” Mo said. “We stood at the back of the crowd and watched the trial. We were very scared when we saw you burst into flames.”

  “Oh no, not you two as well. I didn’t burst into flames, girls, a
s you can see by the fact that I’m sitting here in front of you. It was all a magic trick.”

  “It looked very dangerous, David. And Will got burnt by the flames, didn’t he?”

  David looked from one to the other, at the worry on their faces. “Alright, come here.” He put his arms around them as the girls snuggled in against him.

  “There is a…. magician is the only way I can describe him to you and he works for Duke Henry. He was reading the captain’s mind to discover what we were doing. And so I had to stop him, fight him if you like and that’s what all the pretend flames were about. I am not hurt in any way and you don’t need to worry about me.”

  “So you fought a magician?” Leyla said. “Does that mean you’re a magician too?”

  “If you repeat one word of this conversation to anybody, including Marta, I will be extremely upset but yes, in the terms we are talking about here, I am a magician too.”

  “Oh.” And both girls fell silent as they considered the implications of that. So David hastily changed the subject.

  “Now, there’s something I want to talk to you two about. I will have to keep most of the company at the back of the column because that’s where Duke Henry will attack if we don’t stop him first. But there’s no reason for you and the other camp women to stay back with us. You will be much safer in the main body of the column, mixed in with the villagers.”

  “Noooo,” they chorused. “The camp stays close to the men. If they have to fight, they need us nearby to feed them, look after them and tend to the wounded. Marta would never agree to this and neither will we. We will stay close to you, David.”

  “And if we lose? Or the Duke’s men break through? What then?”

  “Then they will be sorry. We can defend ourselves,” Leyla said and she hitched up her skirts to show an indecorous length of leg. Strapped to the outside of her thigh was a wicked looking dagger.

  “Where did you get that from?” David spluttered.

  “Marta gave it to me.”

  “I have one too, David,” Mo added. “Would you like to see it?”