Two Heirs (The Marmoros Trilogy Book 1)

by Peter Kenson

  Chapter 18

  Across the remainder of the city, the military clean-up operation went smoothly. As Feynor had suggested, most of the opposition occurred in the palace compound, securing the guardsmen’s barracks. Bruises were plentiful on both sides but there were only a couple of nasty gashes that required to be stitched. The guards at both the Keldis and Westron gates were taken totally by surprise and surrendered without a fight as did the guards at the river inflows. Feynor had all the guardsmen rounded up and brought to the barracks where they could be watched more easily. The head count was short by two until he remembered the pair of unfortunates who had been left tied up in the guardpost on the wharves. There were some ribald comments from the other guardsmen as the two were brought in wearing only their underclothes and he smilingly ordered his men to return their uniforms to them.

  Feynor had left a strong contingent of men at the Paelis gate to keep it secure and posted two men to each of the other gates to replace the city guards as a precaution against nasty surprises. Meanwhile, Ash stayed with the leading wagons as they crossed the city and cheers erupted from the wagons behind him as he led the way out through the Keldis gate into what they hoped was going to be neutral territory.

  Inside the palace, Jeren called for refreshments, ordered a table and chairs to be brought into the audience chamber and settled down for an afternoon’s chat with Maxten. Falaise, who was by now, thoroughly disgusted by the lecherous glances of the High Warden, accompanied David as he went to address the occupants of the antechamber. They found them huddled together in one corner of the room, under the watchful eye of a couple of Jorgen’s red cloaks.

  “My name is Lord Held, military commander of the Lyenar army and this is Lady Falaise, Queen Regent of the Lyenar. Please accept our apology and that of Prince Jeren, for this minor inconvenience and any distress we may have caused. There is, however, no reason for any alarm. We only wish to pass through your city and we have now secured the High Warden’s agreement to do so.”

  There were a few smiles on the faces of the merchants at that and David continued.

  “We very much regret the disruption to your normal business that will be caused by the high volume of traffic passing through your streets but that is only temporary and we will be gone by the end of the day. Unfortunately the High Warden will be occupied for the remainder of the afternoon and there will be no further audience granted today. And so I see no reason to detain you further. You are all free to go.”

  “And our weapons?” one of the merchants asked.

  “Let me ask you this,” David replied. “If I keep these weapons, do you have more stored at your house?”

  Some of the merchants looked at each other before one of them shrugged. “Well yes, of course.”

  “Then there is no point in my retaining them, is there? Please collect them as you leave.”

  The red cloaks stood aside as there was a collective move towards the weapons table and David turned to find Walbend watching him curiously.

  “Military commander, eh. I thought there was more to you than a Herald of Arms. Will you tell me how you took the gate so easily?”

  “If I tell you that, will you do something for me?”

  “That depends on what it is. I am a serving soldier and I am loyal to my lord, whatever his faults. I will perform my duty here.”

  David considered his response for a second and then quickly relayed the details of the night’s operations, leaving out only the involvement of Master Benson.

  “I see,” Walbend said thoughtfully. “It seems I shall have to review the patrol frequency on the walls and I shall definitely have to look at the river inflows again. Thank you. Now, what is it you want from me?”

  “You heard the arguments that Prince Jeren put forward just now. It would be a disaster for everybody and especially for this city, if Duke Henry’s men are allowed through into Keldis. The High Warden has given you orders to prevent that from happening. Unfortunately, the man is a cushion; he takes the shape of whoever sat on him last. If Duke Henry makes enough noise, he may countermand those orders. You, and the members of the city council must persuade him not to do that. Take him through the arguments again and remind him of the consequences. Will you do that?”

  “I will certainly try because I personally find the arguments quite convincing. But if Lord Maxten does change the orders, I shall have to obey.”

  “Fair enough. Now Lady Falaise and I have to go and make the same request to Master Benson.”

  ***

  The scouts arrived at the Paelis gate at mid-afternoon and coincidentally within two minutes of each other. Feynor, who was back at the gate, directed them to the palace where they found David deep in conversation with the merchant, Master Benson. He looked up as they entered the room and hastily excused himself.

  “I was hoping not to see you men until tomorrow,” he said. “Report.”

  The scouts from the Stadenbridge trail reported first. “It’s as you suspected, my lord. The main force from Stadenbridge stayed on the trail with the wagons, rather than follow the horsemen across country. They knew we had to head for Highport and they’ll be here tomorrow morning. Not necessarily first thing but certainly by mid-morning.”

  “How many men?”

  “Close to eighty foot and four supply wagons. Only the officers and two scouts are mounted.”

  “That’s more than we originally thought. They must have picked up the stragglers from that first unit we attacked.

  “Ok, what’s the situation on the Paelis road?”

  “Sixty men coming fast, milord. Seriously fast. They’re pushing their horses to the limit. They won’t be in any state to fight a battle when they get here but they can still do some serious damage to the tail of the column.”

  “And how soon will they get here?”

  “They’re about three hours behind, milord. We had to punish the horses to stay that far ahead of them but they’ll be here before nightfall.”

  “Ok, well done. Grab some food and report to Feynor at the Paelis gate. Tell him exactly what you’ve just told me.”

  “What can I do, David?” Falaise asked. “I really would prefer not to go back in there with that odious little man.”

  “I think Jeren has the situation well under control in there,” David smiled. “You look absolutely radiant today, Falaise and I am truly sorry that you had to stand there and be ogled in such a disgusting manner. There’s nothing more you can do here for now. What I would like you to do is to take the coach and force your way to the head of the column. Take charge there and send Ash and his men back to me.”

  “That I can certainly do. It will be nice to smell some fresh air.”

  They walked out to the coach together and David spotted Jaks and Izzy, lounging on the steps outside.

  “Ok you two. Over here,” he called as he handed Falaise up into the coach.

  “Find Bern and Jorgen for me and tell them I want to see them now. And be sharp about it.”

  Falaise had obviously spoken to the coachmen as the horses were whipped up and the coach headed for the street gates at a fast trot. David went back inside to find Walbend.

  “Captain, if I release, say, four of your men, can you assign them to the Westron and Keldis gates to relieve my own men?”

  This time it was Walbend’s turn to consider a response. “I take it that Duke Henry is arriving somewhat sooner than expected. No matter, let me make you an offer. The High Warden has issued me with new orders as you know; orders that are unlikely to be countermanded for today at least. If you will allow me to address my men, I will inform them of the new orders and we will stand alongside you on the city walls. I will not take my men beyond the city walls but we will defend the gates.”

  David looked Walbend straight in the eye and then extended a hand. Walbend clasped it forearm to forearm; two soldiers from different sides, temporarily united in a common cause. They walked round together
towards the barracks as Bern and Jorgen came running up.

  “I’m releasing Captain Walbend’s men,” David told them. “They are going to help defend the gates. We are going out to find the end of the column and see what we can do to speed them up. The horsemen from Paelis will be here before nightfall. We may have to fight a rearguard action to get everybody in. Get your men together and meet me at the Paelis gate.”

  ***

  They found the herds bringing up the rear of the column, still being marshalled by the children with a couple of Ash’s men to keep an eye on them.

  “Ok, get these herds moving now,” David ordered. “Get them up alongside the wagons and keep them moving. If we lose one or two animals along the way then let them go. I would prefer not to lose any but we can afford to lose animals. We can’t afford to lose any of the children.”

  Behind the herds, they found a spot where the highroad narrowed slightly and the woods came close to the edge on either side. David ordered a couple of trees to be felled across the road to block it. They then placed their remaining supply of caltrops in the woods to either side of the fallen trees at the spots where the horsemen were likely to go around the blockage.

  Inside the city, Walbend had used his authority to close all the shops and businesses along the thoroughfare from the gate to the river and cleared the street of all civilians so that the wagons could come in through the gate at speed and keep going at the same pace all the way to the square. The bridge over the river was still a chokepoint however, and the square was rapidly turning into a large wagon park.

  The whole column was moving faster now and the men at the gates started to divert some of the smaller wagons down the narrower side streets to relieve the pressure on the main thoroughfare. At the increased pace it only took a little over an hour before the end of the column reached the edge of the cleared area around the city and came in sight of the walls.

  The scouts that David had left behind to watch the blockage on the highroad, reported in a few minutes later.

  “They’re about half an hour behind, milord. The trees on the road didn’t really slow them up, they just rode straight into the woods to go around the blockage. But when they lost two horses to the caltrops, they suddenly became a lot more cautious. I think they lost a rider in the woods as well but the rest of them got through and are still pushing on.”

  “Okay listen up,” David shouted. “Slow the wagons down now and get the herds and the children into the city. Scatter the animals down the side streets if you have to; we can round them up later.

  “Jorgen form a spear wall across the road behind the last wagon. Bern put your archers there behind the spearmen. The rest of you chase those herds into the city.”

  They nearly made it. All of the animals and children were safely inside the walls and there were only three wagons still on the road when the horsemen appeared at the tree line. The wagon masters whipped up their horses but there was such a press of animals and wagons ahead of them that they could do little to improve their progress.

  When the horsemen caught sight of the tail of the column still outside the walls, they raised a terrifying shout and threw their horses into a full gallop. Packed together across the width of the highroad, they made a target that Bern and his archers could not miss and the first rank of horsemen went down while they were still fifty paces away. The subsequent ranks of horsemen were forced to either jump the fallen horses or divert off the road into the undergrowth, which inevitably slowed them down.

  The horsemen were less packed together now and although the archers took down a few more, a wave of horses crashed into Jorgen’s spear wall. The men had braced the butt ends of the spears into the ground to better withstand the impact but many of the spears broke and men went down beneath the weight of the onrushing horses. Many of the horses and riders went down as well and the air was filled with the screams of the injured and dying.

  Bern and the archers ran for the gates and scrambled up the internal stairs to the top of the walls as David and Feynor led the counterattack. The fighting was fierce and finely balanced until a shout went up behind them and a phalanx of pikemen charged through the gateway with Captain Walbend at its centre. At the sight of this new formation, the remaining horsemen broke off the fight and headed back to the safety of the trees with Feynor’s men in hot pursuit. David found Jaks standing by the gates with the trumpet in his hand and signalled him to sound the ceasefire.

  The last wagons forced their way inside the bulging city walls as Feynor’s men broke off the pursuit and came trotting back. They gathered up the casualties, both theirs and the enemies and followed the wagons inside, slamming the gates shut behind them. It had been the worst engagement so far with four spearmen dead and a host of other injuries.

  The enemy had suffered heavy casualties as well. From the top of the walls, David could count six dead horses and at least eight men down on the road leading to the gates. Four more of the horsemen had been injured and left behind when their comrades withdrew. They had been brought inside and were being treated along with the other casualties. The remainder of Duke Henry’s horsemen had now regrouped at the edge of the trees but showed no inclination to approach the walls again. Under cover of the archers on the walls, David ordered the postern gate to be opened and small groups of men dashed out to recover weapons and the bodies of Jorgen’s men.

  David spotted Captain Walbend on the walls and went over to thank him for his intervention.

  “I don’t think they’ll be back tonight, Captain. They’re not strong enough to attack the gates and if they know that reinforcements are arriving in the morning, then they’ll wait until then before trying anything. So I’m going to leave you in charge of the gates while I deal with my own people.”

  “Of course. What about the wagons?”

  “I want to get all the Lyenar out of the city and into Keldis tonight; wagons, herds, everything. We will see to the personal protection of the High Warden overnight and we will be here in the morning to see what develops. If they give up the chase and withdraw, then we will follow the wagons into Keldis and be gone. If not, then we will lend you whatever support we can.”

  ***

  Next morning, the dawn did not so much race across the sky as limp into existence, with the sun well hidden behind a bank of dark clouds that threatened rain before the end of the day. Duke Henry’s men had set up camp, just inside the shelter of the woods and continued to watch the gates from there but showed no sign of any further action. There had been no incidents during the night and both David and Walbend had rotated the watches so that all of their men were fresh for the morning.

  David had sent all of the officers on a recruiting drive throughout the city the previous evening, in an attempt to replace some of their losses. Jorgen had taken some of his red cloaks with him and had a particularly successful evening. Between them all, David had taken the oaths of twenty seven new recruits to the company this morning including one of the wounded horsemen. The other three he handed over to Walbend to be released after the company left.

  The previous afternoon, Jeren and Baltur had persuaded the High Warden that the other dukes should be informed of the threat posed by Duke Henry. Messages were sent to both Duke Theron of Keldis and Duke Charles of Westron, advising them of the situation and requesting at least a token show of support. This morning they insisted that Maxten came with them to the Paelis gate to see the situation for himself.

  “They don’t look much of a threat,” he remarked to David.

  “They’re not. Horses can’t climb walls. They’re waiting for the reinforcements from Stadenbridge and then we’ll see what they’re going to do.”

  “Uh, how many reinforcements?” Maxten asked a little more nervously.

  “Scouts have reported eighty foot with officers and supply wagons. Due here sometime this morning.”

  “What happens if they attack? I mean, I know we’ll have to fight them but won’t D
uke Henry be upset if we kill his men?”

  “We already have,” David replied casually. “Killed eight of them yesterday and captured four more. They came out last night to reclaim the bodies and move the carcasses of the horses off the actual roadway. I’m afraid that die has already been cast.”

  “Oh, I see. So if all we’re doing now is waiting around, I think I had better go back to the palace. There must be some urgent matters awaiting my attention by now.”

  “No, I think it would be better if you remained here with us this morning. You’ll be quite safe up here on the walls and I’m sure your administrators can deal with all the routine matters.”

  There was a shout from one of the lookouts then as a couple of horsemen rode into the enemy camp. Ten minutes later the first of the foot soldiers started to appear, followed by the wagons and then a rearguard.

  “I thought your men reported four supply wagons, David remarked to Ash. “I can count five out there.”

  “Maybe they met up with another troop from Paelis,” Ash started to reply, then called over to the lookout. “Can you make out that other wagon?”

  “It’s different to the others, sir. Looks more like one of the Lyenar wagons to me.”

  “Shit,” David said. “How did that happen? We didn’t leave anybody behind, did we?”

  “No my lord. Everybody was counted in through the gates last night. We checked them in here and then again at the Keldis gate. That must be an independent family they picked up somewhere. Maybe taking a short cut across country.”

  “Shit,” David said again. “Izzy, find Lord Jeren and get him up here.”

  There was some sort of heated discussion going on in the enemy camp with much arm waving and fingers pointed towards the city walls. Then something white was produced and tied to the end of a spear and a procession formed up. In the lead was a single rider carrying the spear with the white flag. Behind him were what appeared to be two mounted officers, then the Lyenar wagon surrounded by a troop of twenty foot soldiers. As they approached, David could see two more soldiers on the driving seat of the wagon, sandwiching a man and a woman. The man still had the reins in his hands and was clearly being forced to drive the wagon while the woman was holding a small girl tight in her arms.