Two Heirs (The Marmoros Trilogy Book 1)

by Peter Kenson

  “Hey, good job. You caught one of the smugglers. What was he carrying?”

  “Unfortunately, we caught him on his return trip and the cargo bay was empty. The pilot would not co-operate and so I was forced to mind probe him. The cargo he delivered was four Belsian space marines with full equipment and supplies. The drop-off point was just outside the city of Paelis.”

  “So the Belsi are upping the stakes. Does Khan know about this?”

  “He does and he’s furious. He went straight to the Emperor who summoned the Belsian ambassador but they missed him by a matter of hours. Apparently the ambassador has been recalled to Belsi for urgent consultations. If Khan is furious, the Emperor is incandescent. He’s sent a fast pursuit ship after the ambassador to bring him back and he’s sending a squad of the Imperial Guard to join us on the Cleopatra in case of need.”

  “Do we know where that smuggler came from? That type of ship doesn’t usually have an extended range.”

  “Twenty light-years, we estimate. Enough to reach at least ten of the nearby star systems. He was flying from a mother ship in one of those systems. I dragged the location out of him but the mother ship was long gone.”

  “Are there any other ships in the neighbourhood?”

  “Well the Ystrad are here as you’d expect, with what they’re calling a diplomatic mission. We’ve scanned the ship and it’s unarmed. Mikael asked them to stay in high orbit and not approach the planet and they appear to be complying.”

  “Okay, what does Khan want me to do?”

  “You’re to sit tight where you are. Khan still thinks that you’re closest to tracking down the Ystrad heir. But you remember Roseanne?”

  “Of course. She’s a good agent. One of the best.”

  “She was doing the same job as you, in one of the other regions. But after your encounter with Alcanzar, Khan moved her to Paelis to keep an eye on him. Only I’ve lost her. I can’t find her anywhere.”

  “Maybe she’s gone deep, with all her shields up.”

  “David! She can’t keep me out. Even with her shields up, I should still be able to find her mental signature. There’s nothing there. She’s gone.”

  “Do we have any other assets planetside?”

  “There were three of you sent in; yourself, Roseanne and Johannsen. Johannsen is way over on the far side of the continent but I can ask Khan to move him nearer, if you want.”

  “No, don’t do that. If they can take out Roseanne that easily, they’ll chew Johannsen up for breakfast. Leave him where he is but alert him to the situation. If I need him, he’s going to have to come fast. But, if the Belsi are starting to cut up rough, you might suggest to Mikael that he moves the Ystrad ambassadors a little closer. When we do eventually find their missing heir, they are going to become a prime target.”

  “Okay. There’s one other piece of information that I have for you. And this one is good news.”

  “You and Mikael are getting married?”

  “He hasn’t asked me yet… David! Behave yourself.”

  David felt his cheek redden under the mental equivalent of a slap.

  “No, that gem stone you sent up to have analysed. It’s unique. Chemically it’s a potassium feldspar compound related to a cat’s-eye moonstone and with similar telepathic enhancing properties but a hundred times more powerful. The science lab I sent it to, want to keep it and have offered you ten thousand credits for it, uncut. I spoke to some contacts in the gem trade and they said that, if the reports from the lab are accurate, a cut gemstone of that size would be worth upwards of half a million credits. What do you want me to do about it?”

  “What exactly do they mean by ‘unique’?”

  “Precisely that. There is no recorded occurrence of anything with the same internal structure as this gemstone anywhere in the known galaxy. Apparently it contains a significant proportion of a rare polymorph of rutile, called anastase which accounts for the extraordinary magnifying effect.”

  “All right. Let the lab buy the gemstone on condition that I get a copy of their research on it. I have another stone here and it might be interesting to see if I can find where they come from. Do you have anything else for me?”

  “No that’s it, my lord.”

  “Then wish Mikael luck with the salvage rights on that little ship. Could be worth a tidy sum. Probably enough to cover the costs of a wedding. Ow!”

  He felt his other cheek redden from a mental slap as Suzanne broke the contact.

  ***

  David released Yuris and the captain at first light and sent them off to report to Marmoros. He kept Yanus as a hostage, locked securely in the same cell under the residence where they had found Anders and Ruth Meissen the night before. Word of the Meissen’s treatment had already spread and feelings were running high, so he sent a substantial escort to get Yuris safely past the ford where the early risers among the families were already starting to cross. He also instructed the escort to allow the captain a good view of the number of wagons on the far side to ensure that Kraxis would bring his full strength back with him.

  Once Yuris and the escort were safely out of sight, David rode down to the ford and tried unsuccessfully to persuade the families who were crossing, to turn back. In the end he ordered Jorgen’s men to block the far side of the ford to prevent any more families from crossing and summoned the full council into session.

  The council assembled in the large dining room where they had found Yanus the night before. The table had been cleared of food and Ash had spread out every map he could find of High Falls, Marmoros and the surrounding territory but the scene that greeted David as he walked in, resembled something out of Bedlam. The councillors were all on their feet, leaning over the table and shouting each other down, each trying to make their point by force of volume and ignoring all attempts by Falaise to restore order.

  As soon as they saw David in the doorway, the councillors redirected their verbal onslaught in his direction with much finger pointing and arm waving. He held up his hands for silence and when that was not forthcoming, turned his back on them and walked out of the room, closing the double doors behind him. Outside on the landing, he could hear the volume of shouting start to waver as uncertainty crept in and then, gradually reduce to the point where he could hear Falaise calling for order.

  He gave them another twenty seconds before opening the doors to go back in. Falaise was standing at the head of the table, glaring at the councillors on both sides.

  “I believe the council is ready to hear you now, Lord Held.”

  “Thank you, my lady.”

  He walked over to stand between her and Jeren. “You want to know why I have stopped the families from crossing the river.”

  A level of muttering sprang up again with much nodding of heads. He held up a hand for silence which this time, he was granted.

  “It’s very simple. I cannot protect them on this side of the river. You now number over eight hundred wagons. We cannot physically fit that many wagons inside the town walls and I cannot defend them outside the walls. Your combined herds are spread over a huge area of the grasslands across the river. You have more than one hundred children around the herds trying to keep them together. If we bring them across, I cannot protect the herds and more importantly, I cannot protect the children.

  “On the other hand, Kraxis has to come down this bank of the river; there are no crossing points further upstream. If your people are on the other side of the river, the only way he can get at them is across the ford. And the ford is something I can defend; I’ve already proved that on a smaller scale.”

  “But surely we could bring the people into the town?” Bardsley asked.

  “We could. And that would allow me to concentrate my men on defending the walls. But it does mean that your wagons would be undefended. Kraxis would only have to send a dozen riders with torches across the ford and he could reduce your entire caravan to ashes; wagons, possessions, wealth.”
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  The level of muttering around the table was a little louder at that until Grekan stood up to speak.

  “If we accept your plan, Lord Held, how can you defend the town and the ford? I assume you don’t intend to simply surrender High Falls again.”

  “I calculate that we have seven days. Three days for Yuris to get to Marmoros, a day for Kraxis to gather his forces and three days back. Unless he brings siege equipment with him, he cannot attack the walls with any chance of success. If he does bring siege equipment, it will take him longer than three days to get here.

  “The soft target is the column of wagons with non-combatants, women and children. If he can destroy that, he will rip the heart out of your people, the whole venture will collapse and he can simply starve out the remaining fighters in High Falls. He will go for the wagons; he has no choice. But in seven days, making use of all the manpower we have available, we can defend the ford with earthen ramparts and ditches, stakes, wicker screens to protect the archers. And if we keep our horsemen here in the town, we have a mobile force to attack his rear, once he is engaged at the ford.”

  “And you think this plan will work?”

  “There was a very famous general back in my… country, who said ‘No plan survives the first contact with the enemy’ but we have to have a plan and yes, I think it has a good chance of success.”

  The background level of murmuring rose again as councillors formed themselves into small groups. He glanced at Falaise and was rewarded with a weak smile.

  “Can we really do this, David?” she whispered.

  “This is what we came to do, Falaise. It was never going to be easy but there is no way we can retake Marmoros with Kraxis and all his men inside. We have to entice them out.”

  “Lord Held.” The room fell silent as Grekan spoke. “Do we know how many men Kraxis will bring with him?”

  David smiled as he looked down and shook his head. “No, my lord, we do not. Estimates vary between three and five hundred. I’m hoping it will be towards the lower end of that range but we have no accurate information.”

  “And how many men do you have under arms?”

  “Two hundred and seven, my lord.”

  “So even if Kraxis has only three hundred men, you will be outnumbered one and a half times.”

  David spread his hands wide. “That was always going to be probable. But numbers are not everything. Kraxis has not had to fight anyone for a long time now, but I have a core of men who are veterans of several skirmishes on the way out of Paelis. And we have weapons and tactics that the enemy is not going to be expecting. I believe we can even the odds.”

  “Hm.” Grekan turned back into a consultation with the other councillors. David waited patiently until the huddle reached a decision and Grekan turned back to face the head of the table.

  “Lord Jeren… Prince Jeren. We have followed you thus far out of belief in your vision and a burning desire to avenge the wrong that was done to our people. We are not warriors but, if you ask us to do so, we will fight for you in this battle even though we know that some of us will die. We have only two requests to make of you.”

  Jeren stood forward to the edge of the table and drew himself up to his full height as he faced his war council. “Name them, my lords.”

  “The men, women and the older children who can fight, will fight but we ask that the elderly and the very young be moved into the safety of the town.”

  “Agreed. And your second request?”

  “If we are victorious in this battle, we ask that the bodies of those who die in this cause, be taken with you and buried in the Neverwinter valley.”

  “To come home,” Jeren nodded. “My lords, I thank you for your belief in my vision and I promise you that everybody who has followed me on this journey, will come with us on the final stage to Marmoros.”

  “Then, Lord Held. What is it you want us to do?”

  ***

  Ash’s scouts reported late in the afternoon of the sixth day, one full day earlier than expected but bringing two prisoners with them. Kraxis would arrive the next morning with just over three hundred men. According to the prisoners, Yuris and the captain had run into a patrol, two days out of Marmoros. The officer leading the patrol had sent fast riders back to report and Kraxis had left that same day, bringing with him every man who could ride. The prisoners also said that there were other patrols out on the plains. Riders had been despatched to find them but Kraxis was in such a fury that he had not waited for them to return.

  David had the prisoners brought into the council chamber for questioning. “How many men are in these other patrols?”

  Neither man replied, their faces already showing evidence of a reluctance to answer previous questions.

  “Look,” David said. “It’s really very simple. Talk and you’ll live. We’ll lock you in one of the cells overnight. If we win tomorrow, you have my word that you’ll be released. If we lose tomorrow, I’m sure Kraxis will release you. But if you don’t tell me what I want to know, you will most certainly die tonight.”

  The men looked at David and then quickly glanced at each other before one of them replied. “A patrol is normally twelve men if it’s just scouting but those patrols are foraging. They’ll have between twenty and twenty five men, taking wagons to the outlying farms to collect supplies for the winter.”

  “I thought Marmoros was supposed to be self-sufficient for food?”

  “We’re not farmers,” the other man spat. “There are peasants to do that sort of work.”

  “And how many men has Kraxis left behind?”

  “None who can still ride to battle. Only the old-timers were left to open the gates when we return victorious.”

  “Okay, take these two below and secure them,” David ordered. “And no mis-treatment. I’ve given my word.”

  When they had gone, he spoke to the officers. “Well there’s two pieces of good news; first Kraxis is furious which may affect his judgment tomorrow and second, he’s short of forty to fifty men. On the other hand, we have to consider what those patrols will do. Will they drop everything and follow Kraxis down here or will they pull back into Marmoros?

  “It’s that second option we have to prevent. If they head down this way, they’ll be too late to join the action tomorrow but if they return to Marmoros, they will have enough men to defend the gates. Ash, Feynor, I want you to take fifty men and leave tonight down the trail towards Aryx. Tomorrow you can circle round behind Kraxis to attack his rear. Most importantly you have to prevent any of his men from retreating back towards Marmoros. Take a spare horse for every rider and three days rations. When the battle is over, take every man who can still ride and head for Marmoros. You must prevent those patrols from re-entering the city.”

  The rest of the night passed in a rush of activity. The wagons had already been drawn up into a double walled circle with the wagons in the inner wall, blocking the gaps between the wagons in the outer wall. The herds were left unattended and all the children brought back into the safety of either the town or the circle of wagons. Men, women and children armed themselves with the weapons and tools they had prepared and tried to snatch a few moments of sleep.

  The dawn when it came, was mired in a mist that rose from the river and flowed out across the land on either side. From his vantage point on top of one of the gatehouse towers, David could hear the approaching horsemen for several long minutes before the first of them came into view. They paused when they saw the walls and then spread out to form a line, four deep, facing the gates and just out of range of the short bows that many of the horsemen carried and with which they were obviously familiar.

  “First mistake,” David thought. He had placed all of his own short bows at the ford, mixed in with Jorgen’s spearmen but every man who could handle a longbow, with its greater range, was crouched out of sight on the wall below him, with a small brazier between every two archers. The gatehouse with its twin towers, was the main
defensive fortification but the whole length of the wall was crenelated with stone merlons to provide cover for the defenders and open embrasures for them to fire through.

  As well as the archers, there was a mixture of families and townsfolk on the walls under the command of the innkeeper, Grimes. The townspeople had erected a tall scaffold on the battlements and now marched the hated Yanus out to balance precariously in one of the embrasures with a noose around his neck. The sight of Yanus wobbling there caused some excitement among the horsemen and orders were passed up and down the line before three riders edged their mounts forward.

  The three men passed through the entrance to the caravanserai and were about half way across when David stepped into view and called them to halt. The officer in the centre was wearing a decent suit of chain mail and a tall helm with a red plume. He was clearly somebody of importance but David doubted that he was Kraxis. The two men flanking him were archers, sitting there impassively with arrows nocked and guiding their horses with their knees.

  “What do you want?” David called down.

  “You have our cousin,” the officer replied. “We want him back.”

  “Well I can’t just give him to you. He’s too valuable as a hostage. What do you offer in exchange?”

  “We offer you mercy. If you release our cousin and surrender the town, you will be permitted to ride out of here. You have our word.”

  “I’m sorry but I don’t think your word is worth as much as our hostage. I think we’ll keep him.”

  “So you think our cousin is valuable to you?” The officer barked an order and the two archers raised their bows and fired as one. Both arrows took Yanus in the chest, causing him to stagger back a step before pitching forward over the edge of the wall. He was dead before he reached the end of the rope. The three men wheeled their horses and started to canter back towards the entrance as David gave a signal to Bern.