I didn’t have to explain further. They got the message. No one wanted a hemp necklace to dangle from.
I threw the rope to Dekar who stood near Ira.
“That’s all. Everyone get ready for morning drills.”
Platoon and company leaders echoed my thoughts and ordered men to get ready. With punishment handed out, it was time to get back to the business at hand. Getting ready for battle and doing our best not to die.
* * *
Balak summoned me after morning drills. It was rare because we spoke on the road rather than around his dimly-lit table inside his tent. His guards ensured no one came within a hundred feet of us as we rode on horseback, offering us privacy to speak freely.
He rode with us every day, obviously. But he didn’t say a word to anyone except his guards, and even then it’d be very little. He would just ride, back straight, chin up, bushy eyebrows furrowed so they met, like a disapproving father looking down on his children.
I worried early on that many of the men might falter in their loyalty to Balak as he distanced himself so much from everyone else. According to Dekar, that was true for some. Several looked to me as the face of the army. I didn’t mind, so long as they fought the Geneshans.
For others, Balak’s hands off approach actually did him more good than harm. The distance made him appear like some stoic figure with an aura that no one could breach. For those, I think they believed I was nothing more than a figurehead or mouthpiece who simply acted on the decisions of Balak, the true mastermind.
That angered several in my unit who knew better, especially Ira. Hamath too voiced his disapproval. “The old mule did it again,” he had said. “Managed to take credit for all your strategies, only this time he did it openly.”
As during the Geneshan War, I didn’t really care who took the credit, so long as we won and I could quit this life and get back to my family.
“How are the men holding up, Tyrus?” asked Balak finally.
“They’re doing well. Better than expected.”
“And incorporating Urion’s men?”
“Seemed all right during morning drills, but it’s not even been a full day. Won’t really be able to determine any problems and how to address them until we put more time in. But they’re going to be a huge asset. They drill with some of the cleanest lines I’ve ever seen. It pushes the others to do better.”
“Good, because I’m afraid we’re not going to have very much time for them to train together.”
I cursed.
“Keep your voice down, Tyrus. You aren’t in my tent.”
I understood. No reason to draw attention and have people see me flustered. Still, it didn’t take a genius to understand that he meant we’d be facing the enemy again soon.
“How much time?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
I cursed again, but lower.
He acted as though he didn’t notice, continuing with barely a pause for breath. “Three thousand men, including four dozen sorcerers of various strength. One being a Master Sorcerer. And these sorcerers have managed to regain a great deal of connection to their power.”
“Molak-be damned!” I hissed. “A thousand more than last time.”
“With Urion’s men, our odds are still much better than before.”
“We didn’t really have much in the way of sorcery to contend with the first time though. Just a couple of low-level sorcerers. Certainly nothing like a Master Sorcerer.” I paused. “I assume that means your High Mages will enter the battle.”
“No.”
“But sir—”
“You have my answer, Tyrus.”
I did. I hated it and was also confused by it.
He continued, “I have confidence that you’ll win.”
“It’s not just about winning. It’s about not taking heavy losses as well. We still have Hol in front of us.”
“We have much more than Hol in front of us, Tyrus. This will be the first of many battles and skirmishes over the next couple of weeks.”
I grit my teeth. “Then my point is even more relevant. Unless there’s another large body of Turine soldiers you have up your sleeve you haven’t told me about.”
“No. That’s it. However, you have to keep in mind that the Geneshans are not alone in their movement north. They have prisoners with them. The host we face tomorrow has an estimated five hundred prisoners among them. That should help alleviate some of our losses.”
“So you want to press more men into service against their will?”
“I’ll do whatever I think is necessary to win.”
That’s what worried me.
* * *
Hamath nodded toward Balak as I rode up to him. “That didn’t look good.”
“It wasn’t. Tomorrow morning we’ll face over three thousand Geneshans. They’re supported with a decent bit of sorcery, including a Master Sorcerer.”
“How does he know all that?” asked Hamath.
I knew it had to do with the three High Mages, but once again I had to remain tight-lipped.
He grunted in obvious frustration at my silence, but thankfully didn’t pry. “So, what are you thinking?”
“That we need to take out their Master Sorcerer as soon as possible. Their other, lesser sorcerers I’m not as worried about. I think our mages could keep them on their heels until we take them the old-fashioned way with a sword through the heart. But the Master Sorcerer is too much of a wild card and too powerful to wait to address.”
“I doubt he’s going to come out in the open so that we can target him with our mages and a few hundred arrows.”
“Having our entire battle plan centered around one Master Sorcerer wouldn’t be a good idea anyway. It would make us too easy to exploit.”
He sounded patient when he asked, “So what do you want me to do, then?”
“I need you to grab three of our lower level mages. Have them work on a good signal that can be seen from a great distance when activated, but easy to conceal otherwise, a pillar of green light or something. Have them rig it into something similar to a destruction globe so that anyone could use it. It’s just for a signal though, no need for them to kill themselves trying to make something like the High Mages did. I need at least two, but ideally the more the better. You and Dekar’s units will have them.”
“Dekar’s unit, eh?”
I could tell from the look what he was getting at. “Time to just accept the way things are. It’s no longer mine.” Maybe that was a good thing. “Anyway, you two are going behind enemy lines tonight. I want you to figure out where the Master Sorcerer is located. Then just lay low and stay out of sight until the battle starts. After the battle begins and we’re engaged with the enemy, have those signals go off around the Master Sorcerer to mark him.”
“And then?”
“And then high tail it out of there.”
“You don’t want us to take him down?”
“No. Neither of you will have enough power to take him out without getting yourselves killed in the process.”
“Seems like a waste for us to be back there and just mark a man.”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t create havoc. Just that you couldn’t stick around near the Master Sorcerer.”
Hamath grinned. “Understood.”
It was good to see that grin again. Sadly, it didn’t hold quite the weight as before. At one point, it was almost Hamath’s way of saying, “We’ve got this, Tyrus. You and me.” It would usually follow some order that sent us together on a separate side mission while the rest of the unit carried out other orders.
Now, it was more or less saying “I got this.”
And that left me with a twinge of regret as I rode away.
I pushed aside those melancholy thoughts as I found Urion. He gave me a hard salute from his saddle
that I waved off. “Enough of that, Captain. I need you to listen up.”
“Sir?”
“We need to do some last-minute reorganization of the men that were under your command.”
He frowned. “Were you not happy with their performance during morning drills? I thought everyone worked well together with the way we integrated them amongst your veterans.”
“They did. And I was happy. But circumstances call for a change. I need you to go through and pull out one hundred men with a resistance to sorcery from among your ranks. Make sure it’s a good mix. I don’t want all of your weakest or all of your strongest. I need the others to stay with their companies.”
“Yes, sir. May I ask why?”
“I don’t have time to explain it all now. But we’re facing a good-sized Geneshan force tomorrow morning. They’ve got a Master Sorcerer with them and a special group of soldiers with a resistance will factor into how I handle him.”
He saluted. “I understand, sir. I’ll get right on it.”
And he did, kicking his mount into motion.
I ran down a mental checklist of who I needed to see and what information I needed to convey. First and foremost would be to visit the army’s blacksmith as well as a couple of our lower-level mages. Having our mages place runes on the light armor of our cavalry would help protect our mounts, especially if I could manage to round up some silver.
I clicked my reins as well. There was a lot to do.
CHAPTER 22
After a quickly eaten meal of wild potatoes and sickly walnuts that tasted like dried twigs, Ava leaned back against a dead oak. Her short hair caught in the rough bark, which made her wince briefly until she readjusted her position. She closed her eyes and relaxed, hoping to grab a few minutes of sleep while everyone finished their food.
She walked around half-asleep most days it seemed. Besides each day’s physical exertions, the continued practice and use of sorcery drained her.
She was almost under, when footsteps approached.
Ao’s teats.
“You know we’re going west?” asked Myra.
Ava opened an eye, raising her eyebrow high to indicate her annoyance. “I am aware of that.”
“And that our overall path has taken a more westerly approach as of late. Though we did backtrack east for almost two days earlier in the week.”
“Yes.”
“And that the Southern Kingdoms are, well, south.”
“Huh? The Southern Kingdoms are actually located in the south. Gods, all this time I’ve been leading everyone with my thumb up my rear, hoping and praying I would stumble upon a sign that said, ‘head this way to the safety of the Southern Kingdoms’ when really all I needed to do was pay attention to the blasted name.”
They stared at each other for a moment.
“That was really uncalled for, Aunt Ava,” Myra finally said.
“Probably, but I feel better.”
They waited a moment longer in silence. Ava knew that Myra wanted her to explain their current course, but she wouldn’t volunteer anything. She’d make her ask.
Myra had finally begun to crawl out of her hole of self-pity and doubt. She had begun asking general questions, but offering no comment. Then it was small noises that Ava took for agreement, disagreement, or confusion.
Today was the first day that she seemed ready to question a decision for its effectiveness. Therefore, Ava would make her work for the answer, make her realize she wanted to be involved.
“That’s it. No explanation?” Myra asked.
Ava smiled inwardly. “I don’t recall you asking for an explanation. And I also don’t know if I see the point in giving you one.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, are you just going to ask a bunch of questions with no follow up like you mostly have, or like today, point out the obvious with no alternative solution?”
Myra scowled. “I know what you’re doing. You want me to contribute.”
“You’ve got a sharp mind, and I could use your opinion.”
Myra bit her lip. “All right. Tell me.”
Ava held back a smile as she sat up and unrolled the map from her shirt. It was the one they had picked up in Uman. With the land having changed so much after each eruption, Tyrus and Dekar had begun to make notes on it, even changing the locations of certain roads that had once existed but were no longer there. They had left the map behind to help the group journey south. Ava started making her own notes. There were some changes to the terrain and landscape, but most of that she didn’t bother with. She figured the moment she made a mark about a few trees, another eruption would come along and change everything all over again.
Besides, it’s not like I’m coming back this way again. Once I’m out of Turine, I’m done.
She instead spent time marking what she felt was more useful.
“What are all these little symbols?” asked Myra.
“The various armies we’ve come across. These are their last known locations, basically where they were when we scouted them, along with their projected path at the time we passed. I’ve got estimates in size on the back. The triangles represent the Malduks. The sideways ovals are Geneshans.”
Myra studied the map. She flipped it over after a few moments, tallying the numbers.
“Over five thousand,” she whispered. “I hadn’t realized it was that many.” She turned it over once more, studied it again while tracing the map with her finger. “Do you think they’re heading toward Hol?”
“That was my guess.”
“The artifact?”
“What else?”
“Why? Surely the Geneshans know what’s caused all this damage. And they know better than most what it can do.”
Ava shrugged. “Maybe in some strange way they’re going to embrace the end of the world and fulfill a part of the prophecy we don’t know about. The Geneshans are crazy when it comes to their religion.”
“That wouldn’t explain the Malduks following them.”
“Well, the Malduks are gullible, and for some reason or another, believe most of what the Geneshans tell them.”
Myra rubbed her chin. “The only people heading north are soldiers. If this was some embracing of the end of the world, why wouldn’t all Geneshans, women and children included, follow?”
“Could be that the Geneshans killed them. They do like their sacrifices. It doesn’t happen often, but they killed their own too.”
“I think they’re heading off to war.”
“The war’s over,” said Ava.
“That war is, but Pa said Balak mentioned another was starting, remember?”
Ava knew it was true. She hadn’t wanted to think about it though.
Myra’s voice shook. “The troops coming up behind Pa alone are twice what Balak fielded at the outpost. No telling how many they’re going to meet when all is said and done.”
Yeah. Things don’t look good.
“So what do you think about the path I’ve been taking?” asked Ava, changing the subject.
Myra gave her a look. “You’re not going to even address what I just said?”
“What do you want me to say? There’s nothing we can do about it.”
“I know. Still, I wish . . .” She paused, lips pressing together in frustration. “Don’t tell Zadok about this.”
“Why?”
“Because he won’t handle it well.”
“I don’t think you’re giving your brother enough credit. He’s one of the more stable people I know.”
“You don’t know him like I do.”
“Meaning?”
“He’s still very much a boy. When no one else is around and he’s curled up in his bedroll beside me at night, I can hear him crying in his sleep. Just like Ma used to do at the Soiled Dove. She was a positive
person, but she felt pain, confusion, and doubt like everyone else. She just did a better job of hiding it than most. Just like Zadok.”
I should have known that. But how could I?
“I had no idea. Thanks for telling me.”
Myra studied the map more. “We need to go north.”
“Uh, didn’t you just make a comment to me about the Southern Kingdoms being located in the south?”
“I hadn’t seen this. I know you were trying to go around where you thought the armies would be, but I think all we’re going to do is keep trekking back and forth across the same area.”
“And your plan is to go north? The opposite of where we need to go?”
“Only for a little while. To here,” she said pointing. “The map says there’s a small river here with a bend just inside of the Turine borders. We could make some rafts, hop on, and then let the currents take us south to the kingdoms.”
“The river would take us farther west than we want to go.”
“I know, but it also will take us south. What other choice do we have? We’ll at least be heading more in the right direction, and riding the currents will give everyone a chance to rest and give easy access to water.”
“But an army heading north might follow that river too because of the water supply. We’re trying to stay hidden, not sit in the middle of an open space where we can be plucked off by arrows and spears.”
“We’re also trying to get to the Southern Kingdoms before the next eruption.”
I’m also trying to keep you and your brother alive.
But she’s right. We’re getting nowhere with what we’ve been doing. The farther away from Hol we go, the better chance we’ll survive the next eruption.
Resurrected Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Three Page 22