Akuyun felt pleased with Jurna since he’d assumed command of the Narthani forces garrisoning Eywell Province. He also shared Jurna’s comment about wishing none of the Eywellese and the Selfcellese had sought refuge from vengeful clansmen. However, when the Narthani finished subjugating the island, those men might be useful in administering the defeated clans. Assessor Hizer said it never hurt to have options, even if he had doubts about their allies’ utility.
Colonel Nuthrat Metan had similarly withdrawn the Sellmor garrison from Selfcell Province, although in his case it was after the Selfcell Clan revolted and closed Sellmor. Metan’s one attempt to regain the city had been repulsed with moderate losses, and he decided, as did Jurna, to withdraw to Preddi.
Akuyun believed both colonels had acted appropriately. Their actions and a dose of Narth’s grace—or luck, as he would believe it—had prevented major losses of men, except for a fifty-man cavalry unit that had run into an aggressive clan commander who attacked, resulting in over half the cavalry unit’s men being killed.
Once the threat ebbed, Akuyun had to decide how to deploy his existing men. He had ordered Metan to use infantry withdrawn from Selfcell to garrison Swythton, a Preddi coastal town near the Selfcell border. Jurna had reinforced the infantry battalions already at Ponth and had orders to plan to withdraw everyone back to Preddi City on short notice. All other cavalry were concentrated at Preddi City, from where they operated mounted patrols of the border and served as a reaction force, should new major clan incursions occur.
Akuyun Villa, Preddi City
“I know it may sound strange, my dear,” Okan Akuyun said to his wife, “but the lack of follow-up by the clans after the attack through Eywell and the revolt of Selfcell last month has me believing the crisis is over and we’ll be secure enough until Gullar arrives.”
Rabia Akuyun shook her dark head, a few silver strands catching candlelight. “If it were anyone else telling me this, Okan, I’d doubt their grip on reality, especially after everything that’s happened.”
Akuyun laughed and leaned over from his chair at the dining table to peck his wife on the cheek. “Thank you for that evaluation of my sanity,” he said sardonically. “My view is based on what hasn’t happened. If the clans intended a siege of Preddi City or the other defended towns or even wider-scale destruction of the countryside, this was their opportunity. I can’t imagine that having withdrawn, they would return with any of those intentions. They had us in as weak a position as we’re going to be, and they did nothing about it.”
“Maybe they didn’t expect how much success they had,” said Rabia, “and they weren’t prepared for a siege—at least, at this time.”
“Possibly,” Akuyun agreed, “although another explanation is that they might know about Gullar. In that case, removing the Eywellese and the Selfcellese was their objective, followed by retiring before risking being caught between us and the new army also makes sense. Then, the question is, how did they know? We suspect the clans have outside advice, though we hadn’t gotten evidence of it before losing most of our agents in clan territory. Whatever is going on, I believe we’re secure. When Gullar arrives, everything will change.”
Rabia didn’t revisit their uncertainty about Okan Akuyun’s role once Marshal Gullar arrived. Her husband would go from being the senior officer on Caedellium to being subordinate to the marshal and of equal rank to a number of generals on Gullar’s staff. Okan’s role would be clear only once Gullar’s orders and plans are known.
Narthani War Galleon Emperor Hartzik, 2,500 Miles Northeast of Caedellium
“Do you still project we’ll make landfall at Caedellium in about another month, Dimir?” asked Marshal Dursun Gullar, commander of the Twenty-Ninth Corps of Narthon. His 68,000 men were crammed into lumbering troop transports, followed by supply ships. Two lines of sixty- to seventy-gun war galleons flanked the slower ships, with the entire fleet preceded and followed by frigates and sloops ranging out twenty miles in all directions.
Gullar already knew the answer to his question, having asked it every day, as if hoping his crew had detected a change in the contrary wind patterns that slowed their progress. He hated sailing, having spent most of his adult life commanding men in campaigns against the Iraquinik Confederation. He wasn’t subject to seasickness; he’d simply never learned to swim in the high deserts of central Narthon, far from the sea and with few lakes or rivers.
He’d had conflicting feelings when his corps was given the Caedellium assignment. Previous indications were that the Twenty-Ninth Corps would be involved in a new campaign in northern Iraquinik. Only when briefed by a representative of the High Command was he told the supposed campaign was a ruse. After being stymied for ten years, the High Command had decided to jump over Iraquinik and conquer the Landolin continent. Once the Narthani accomplished that, the Iraquiniks would face Narthani threats on all sides and be forced to station troops on their west coast, simultaneously weakening their eastern border with Narthon.
The first step in the new strategy was establishing launch and replenishing bases on Caedellium, instead of using Ezarkin, the only Narthani port on this part of Anyar. Using Caedellium as a base would allow moving five complete corps to the island, then using one corps to establish a foothold on Landolin, followed by three more corps, and leaving one corps as a reserve on the island.
“Nothing changed since the last time you asked, Marshal,” replied Admiral Dimir. The two men had similar facial features, often leading to the assumption they were related, which they weren’t. However, people could differentiate their appearance by Dimir’s black hair and far receding hairline, compared to Gullar’s full head of hair, gray on the sides and frosted on top.
Their attire also distinguished them. Gullar had had a respected and successful career, and he routinely wore a chest of medals to attest to his history. In contrast, although Dimir could have worn a similar display, he preferred the plain, deep-blue uniform of the Narthani navy, with only three stars on each shoulder epaulet and the admiral’s cap he wore habitually—his one concession to vanity, to hide his incipient baldness.
“It could even be longer than a month,” said Dimir. “The westerlies keep blowing more against us than they’re supposed to this time of year at this latitude, but that’s the vagaries of the sea. I’ve experienced much worse in the Throat.” Dimir referenced the sea running west to east below the equator and separating the Ganolar and Drilmar continents from those farther north. “And at least the weather warms as we edge farther south.”
“After this, for both the trips to Landolin and back to Ezarkin, we’ll have more favorable winds,” added the Emperor Hartzik’s captain.
“I suppose that’s encouraging,” said Gullar, “though I’ll think about that later. Right now, it’s Caedellium, and Avan is waiting in my cabin. Admiral, if you’ll accompany me.”
The two men left the aftcastle and went to the marshal’s large cabin in the stern of the ship. Gullar let Dimir lead the way because he preferred not to have a naval officer watch his weaving gait. Although the seas were only moderate this day, he still hadn’t mastered the movement.
General Kamil Avan called the other six officers to attention as Dimir and then Gullar entered the cabin. A map of the western continents lay tacked down on a table. The eight men resumed their seats on benches and chairs. This was only the second time Gullar had gathered his immediate subordinates together during the voyage, because most of the men rode on different ships, and gathering them via launches or bosun’s chairs was tricky enough to limit such gatherings.
The last time they had all met was before sailing from Ezarkin and shortly after Gullar had received the mission orders. That first meeting was used by Gullar to relay the orders to the corps’s top commanders, lay out the expected voyage timetable and order of sail, and task the men to review reports from General Akuyun, the current Caedellium commander, and Sadek Hizer, the assessor assigned to Akuyun. Now, Gullar wanted to hear his commanders’ a
ssessment of the reports and their thoughts about their mission.
“Well, gentlemen,” said Gullar, “this will be the last time most of us are within normal talking distance before we reach Caedellium. Let’s have brief status updates on your divisions and the condition of your men.”
For the next hour, Gullar listened to a litany about seasick men; ration status; various attempts to keep the troops as active as possible, given the conditions; and a fleet status summary by Admiral Dimir. The fleet’s chief medical officer gave the final report.
“I’m afraid I have to project that the men’s condition when we arrive will be at the lower end of what we’d hoped for, Marshal. The trip will have been a month longer than planned and with rougher seas. In retrospect, we didn’t bring along as much palmar root extract as we should have.” The medical officer referenced tuberous roots of several related plants whose extracts were a palliative for motion sickness.
“I’ve had to order all ships’ medical officers to restrict use to the more severe cases. By the time we get to Caedellium, we’re going to have thousands of men barely able to walk. It will take sixdays, even a month, to get most of them back in shape for normal duties.”
Gullar grunted his displeasure at the circumstances. “Not your fault. Just do the best you can. Since there’s nothing we can do about it, it’s up to us to deal with the problem. If it delays our mission on Caedellium, so be it. Let’s move on. We won’t make any final action plans until we reach the island and get a full assessment of the current conditions. However, any thoughts from the reports you’ve all read?”
“We had begun to discuss this before you came in, Marshal,” said Avan. “From the brief exchange we had, the consensus seems to be that the information given to General Akuyun was severely lacking.” Avan’s choice of words was a diplomatic way of saying the Narthani Intelligence Service had screwed up. “The appearance of light cannon, a tactical sense unexpected of independent clans, and an apparently more organized resistance than was anticipated all made the possibility of success problematical, at best, for the original force sent to Caedellium—especially in light of the uncertain chance of success or failure, depending on the intelligence reports.
“While a few of us wonder if Akuyun might have recognized the situation earlier and made adjustments, we weren’t there, and several of us have served with Akuyun before and doubt he missed anything obvious.”
“Good enough,” said Gullar. “Let’s spread out a map of Caedellium and review what we’re supposed to know about the island, its clans and terrain, and go over preliminary options. As said before, no final action plans will be decided until we understand the complete situation. Assuming Akuyun still holds the one clan territory and has the two allied adjacent clans, we’ll go from there.”
Chapter 36: Interlude
Kolsko Household, Orosz City
The rest of the Kolsko household arrived at Orosz City a sixday after Yozef. In the intervening days, he’d hired three women to clean the house from top to bottom. It lacked some furniture, but he’d wait for Maera’s and Anarynd’s input.
“Very satisfactory,” Maera declared after a quick walk-through. From that point on, Yozef was out of the picture, and he retired to the Orosz Clan headquarters for meetings and paperwork. By the third day, the house was in sufficient shape for Maera to spend most days setting up and then working as part of the transplanted MIU, now augmented with twenty new staff members selected from eight different clans.
Anarynd and Gwyned organized shopping and cooking duties, in lieu of hiring a cook, because Serys had remained in Caernford. Dinners became larger regular affairs than in Caernford, by the addition of Ceinwyn, Wyfor and Teena Kales, Carnigan, Braithe and Gowlin Reese, Toowin Kales (Wyfor’s nephew), and Synton Ethlore. Not that they all ate together every meal since scheduiles and duties varied.
Toowin had replaced Wyfor as a bodyguard, but with the move to Orosz City, Wyfor had resumed his previous duties, giving the Kolsko household five permanent bodyguards, in addition to any assigned on specific days, especially when Yozef traveled.
“This is more like an inn than a house,” Yozef commented. That evening’s meal had included the entire current household, plus Balwis, Owill Brell, and two other members of the MIU. One of them, Maera’s distant cousin Riona Klofyn, was one of its brighter members but also the most annoying.
“It’s only temporary,” said Anarynd. “Once we drive the Narthani off Caedellium, we’ll go back to our real home in Caernford.”
Yozef took note of Anarynd’s reference to “our real home.” He saw it as encouraging that she identified more and more as a genuine partner in the threesome. No matter what the protestations, all three members of the expanded marriage had felt awkward at first. Unbeknownst to one another, they all thought they had the most reservations and felt the most uncomfortable.
Yozef, by his own admission, was not always the most astute observer of interpersonal relationships. Nevertheless, by the third sixday after the complete Kolsko household had taken up residence in Orosz City, even he could read the signals.
“Maera, am I imagining things, or are Gwyned and Carnigan making efforts to be around each other?”
Maera laughed and hugged her husband. “I was wondering when the great and intelligent Yozef Kolsko would notice. You can’t tell Carnigan, but Gwyned’s had her eye on him for several months now. I’ll admit I suspect part of her interest is looking for a husband to protect her and Morwena. Considering her history, one can hardly criticize her for wanting the most protective man possible, and certainly Carnigan fits that description. As ferocious as he can appear, and I assume he can be, I finally realized you were right when you told me he was one of the kindest men you knew when he’s around people he likes.”
“What does Carnigan think of all this?” asked Yozef.
“As if anyone ever knows exactly what he’s thinking. Maybe it’s time for you, as his friend, to ask him.”
And Yozef did—the next day when he went to inspect a sandbag sack production and storage facility, and Carnigan and Gowlin had bodyguard duty. He waited until Gowlin was out of earshot.
“Carnigan, what’s going on with you and Gwyned?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You know. Gwyned. Anarynd’s friend. Has a daughter named Morwena. Currently lives in the same building as you. That Gwyned. Maera tells me something is going on.”
“Ah . . . well . . . I think she’s eyeing me as a husband. Why, I don’t know, and I haven’t done anything to encourage it.”
“I know you like Morwena, but what about Gwyned? Do you like her? Find her appealing? What?”
“I haven’t thought about marriage and a family. I’m still on probation, and even when I’m released, I don’t know how I’d support a family. Frankly, I didn’t see any reason why a woman would want to marry me. In Gwyned’s case, I wonder if she sees me as a protector, rather than a potential husband.”
“Okay,” said Yozef, “maybe that’s not ideal, but is it really all that bad? Marriages have worked with less a foundation. As for supporting a family, both of you are members of the Kolsko household for as long as you want. I’ve already been paying you both, and I’d have no hesitation to increase it to ensure that you both stay with us. Hell, from what I’ve learned, you Caedelli are relaxed about men and women, so you might not even decide to be married.”
Carnigan turned even redder than his natural ruddy complexion. “I wouldn’t think of bedding with her, unless we were to be married. Not after what she’s been through. To do otherwise would be disrespectful.”
“Carnigan, I think you need to decide what’s best for both of you. You’ve opened up to people the past year, and this could be another step in that direction. Don’t assume you know exactly what Gwyned wants or what is best for her. You’re both mature, so talk with her about it.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Yozef realized that was the exact advice Filtin Fuller had given him when he
wondered where his relationship with Bronwyn was headed.
Two sixdays later, Gwyned asked to sit and talk with Maera. She looked nervous, which was unusual for the forthright woman.
“Uh . . . Maera . . . since you act as head of the household in everyday matters, I thought I should talk with you about Carnigan. Unless you object, I would like to ask him to move into my room.”
“Can I assume you’ll be staying in the same bed?” Maera asked drolly.
Gwyned cackled. “Yes, though I’m afraid we’re going to need a bigger one!”
Maera laughed. “I think we can arrange that. Take Anarynd and go searching for one tomorrow. I was wondering when I’d hear more of what was happening. Anarynd noticed Morwena was sleeping in the small sitting room attached to your bedroom, and when I went to retrieve Aeneas from Braithe two days ago, I, and anyone nearby, heard suggestive noises from your room.”
It was Gwyned’s turn to laugh, accompanied by a flush. “I tried to keep it quiet, but sometimes . . . you know, you can’t help it.”
“I take it things are going well that way between you two?”
“Good God, yes, although I think the poor man hadn’t been with a woman in years. The morning after the first night I could hardly walk, and after that I had to limit him to twice a day. He’s . . . uh . . . good sized, and I’m only glad I wasn’t a virgin.”
Maera took a turn blushing and rushed to change the subject before her blunt new friend gave more details. “How is Morwena taking the change in sleeping arrangements?”
“I talked to her about having her own room. I think she understands enough and is proud to have her room. She adores Carnigan and he her, so there’s no problem.”
“You didn’t get any hint about this?” Maera asked a bemused Yozef later that evening.
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