Railroad Rising: The Blackpowder Rebellion

by J. P. Wagner

  She was still grinning. “Oh, but if I made that sort of promise, what could I do for amusement? Well, I suppose I could promise not to overdo it, or do it too often. Would that do?”

  He wrapped his arms around her. “No,” he said. “I certainly wouldn’t want to make life too difficult for you. Yes, I suppose I can put up with it from time to time. Now if our first child is a girl and she grows up capable of copying her mother, her poor father will certainly be in dire straits!”

  #

  Princess Ellevar had invited Carrtog and Adengler to join her for dinner. It had been a small and intimate affair, just the three of them along with one lady-in-waiting, and when it was done, the princess asked Carrtog and Adengler to stay for a glass of wine.

  The wine was poured, the first few sips drunk, and some casual conversation undertaken, then the princess took a deep breath and spoke.

  “You will most certainly have seen and heard the proclamation regarding seditious talk?”

  “Yes, indeed.” Carrtog wondered where this was leading.

  The princess nodded. “My Da— my father has his faults, among them a too-serious fear for his reputation, which leads him to take strong measures to protect that reputation. He often fails to understand that those same strong measures can do the opposite to what he wishes.”

  She paused. “You may think he has deluded himself as to what happened on the flight from Tenerack. He knows altogether too well what happened, but knows that the truth will harm his reputation, so he insists that the truth is otherwise than what it really is. He also knows that you two, and Yakor, know what really happened as well. In his letters to me he wonders if you might have confirmed the present rumors, even if you weren’t the original author of those stories.”

  She paused again. “I have written to him, assuring him that you had nothing to do with these tales, and I hope he will believe me. My greatest concern, though, is that he will begin to feel that I am merely protecting you because you saved my life. Ironic, isn’t it, that the very reason why you have the position you’ve gained is the same reason that might convince him that I’m misleading him in order to protect you from his anger?”

  “I suppose it does no good at all to assure you that I have no interest at all in gossiping?”

  “None whatsoever. The one you have to assure is my father, and even mentioning it reminds him that you were indeed there and could, if you wished, do serious harm to his reputation. For him, that means that you probably would do so, out of jealousy or mere annoyance, which could well lead him to take action, hoping to prevent you from doing so.

  “When next I write to him I will tell him I have had a talk with you, with both of you, Addy, about the danger of rumors. I can hope he will read that as me warning you seriously against spreading rumors.” She held up a finger, smiling, “Not that I really feel you need to be warned, but if he hears me say so, and if his spies in the household tell him that we had dinner, followed by a private talk, without the presence of servants, it may well ease his mind on the subject.”

  Carrtog smiled, “Thank you, Highness.”

  “Carrtog, you saved my life. The least I can do is try very hard to protect you from my father’s ill-founded suspicions. And now, Addy, how are you doing?”

  For the next short time, which seemed an eternity to Carrtog, he sat there uneasily while Princess Ellevar and Addy discussed the symptoms of his wife’s pregnancy. The only redeeming fact of the conversation, so far as he could understand, was that everything seemed to be going well with her.

  When they had covered everything they knew for a fact and all the (sometimes contradictory) notions the midwives proclaimed, the princess turned to Carrtog and smiled. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I’m sure you didn’t want to know all that, Carrtog, but it was important to Addy, and thus to me as a friend of hers. I hope you weren’t too disturbed by it.”

  “Not at all, Highness,” lied Carrtog, valiantly. “If it’s important to my wife, it must be important to me.”

  Shortly thereafter, they took their leave of the princess and went back to their quarters. On their way, Carrtog heard Addy snicker. “Share the humor, please, my dear Lady.”

  She snickered again. “’If it’s important to my wife, it must be important to me.’ How nicely you lie to the princess, Lord Carrtog.”

  He found himself capable of chuckling. “I should have told the truth and had two ladies angry with me? In particular, one lady who separates me by one short annoyed note to her father from serious trouble? No, you need not look around with that worried look; I was sure no-one was within hearing before I said that.”

  #

  Yakor was very interested to hear of the night’s conversation (less the discussion of the pregnancy).

  “Her Highness is perhaps a little overconfident of her ability to sway her father if he should begin to suspect the previously so heroic Lord Carrtog of spreading sedition.”

  Adengler frowned. “She makes no promises, save that she’ll try her best. And truly, Yakor, the princess can sway the king, sometimes beyond what one might expect.”

  Yakor sat still for a moment looking at her, and Carrtog hoped he wasn’t about to tell her that ‘loyalty to a friend was fine, but it wouldn’t help much when the noose went around her husband’s neck.’

  When he spoke, though, it was only to say, “Well. We’ll all hope it turns out for the good, but in the meantime, we’ll all keep our eyes open.”

  #

  The next day Yakor came in with news. “The railway line has been cut at several places south of Kilgarhai. They say the irregular rebel forces are running free up there, while General Hartovan flails around wildly, accomplishing little or nothing.”

  “What of the main Army?” Carrtog asked.

  “So far as anyone can discover, the king is still marching northward, skirmishing at every river-crossing, but still pushing on. Most recently, the commander of the capital garrison has stopped sending up troops in anything less than regimental size, and when they go, they carry weapons and ammunition. Does that suggest anything to you?”

  “That those same irregular forces of rebels that are playing hob with General Hartovan’s railway line are doing much the same with His Majesty’s even longer supply-lines.”

  Yakor grinned fiercely. “He’s been paying attention to more things than building steam engines and other sorts of strange mechanisms!” He glanced around to make sure that no one was near enough to hear, before continuing. “Yes, indeed. And we can only hope that His Majesty is paying attention as well and paying heed to his officers’ advice. If he’s not careful, he might end up in the same situation as Malgwyn did. And if that happens, I doubt Cragmor would be able to get another army together. And that would be the end of the expanded kingdom.”

  “Likely worse than that,” Carrtog said. “Some of our larger lords might just think it was time they promoted themselves, and we’d be seeing a civil war until some one of them ended up on top. One might even see whoever’s the head of the rebels up there coming down to take over a few parts of Cragmor. And that would be a fine irony, wouldn’t it?”

  Yakor spat on the ground. “A fine irony indeed.”

  #

  Days went by.

  Suddenly the city was abuzz with a new report. The king, it was said, was withdrawing his army southward, without having fought any major battle. The explanation given was that it would be difficult to feed the Royal Army so far in the north, especially with the northern winter coming on.

  “They say that the Army’s going to be foraging as it comes, partly to build up the supplies at whatever place they decide to winter, and partly to punish the rebels by leaving them hungry this winter.” Yakor paused. “I’d say it’s the kind of plan the king would come up with, or at least give his wholehearted blessing to. Those people not only endangered him at Tenerack, they led him way
up there, hoping to spring some kind of trap on him. So let them starve!”

  Carrtog nodded. Rumour said that the king had given orders to have any captured railway engineers executed out of hand. Apparently he was making good on his threat made on the trip south from Tenerack.

  After a moment, he spoke aloud. “I wonder if he’ll winter in the north, or come all the way down to the capital.”

  Yakor shrugged. “Myself, I’d wager on him coming all the way down. I have a feeling the events of Tenerack left him ill-disposed toward the notion of winter in the North.”

  Chapter 17

  A week later, a messenger came from the princess asking Carrtog and Adengler to join her for dinner once more. There were only the three of them and the meal was a simple one. Conversation over dinner was light, mostly involving the work that Carrtog and Gryff were engaged in. The princess was greatly interested in the small gliders they were planning during the times when they were, as Carrtog put it, “resting from working on steam engines.”

  “It’s only a small thing,” the princess said. “When you do get it flying, what will you use it for?”

  “I’m hoping,” Carrtog said, “that we can control it by magic and use it for sending messages, and perhaps even small packages, over considerable distances.”

  “And how close are you to success at present?”

  “We have a number of drawings on paper right now. We’re fairly confident that any one of them could fly; we’ll try one of them as soon as we’ve got a way to launch them into the air. My hope is that our work with the steam engines will provide our answer to that problem.”

  “That’s fascinating. Only — I almost feel I should be apologizing to you, because my father’s magicians seem to have made your small glider out of date before it’s built. My father’s magicians have been working at a process of magically sending messages over great distances.”

  Carrtog smiled. “No apology is needed, Highness. My glider will not only carry written messages, but small packages, depending on the size of the glider. Indeed, it is even possible that I will never get the glider to be more than a nice idea on several pieces of paper. It would be better for the kingdom if long distance messaging would be set into motion long before that.”

  The princess smiled, “Set into motion indeed. They have had sufficient success that they have just yesterday evening sent a message to the garrison commander here to inform him that the king intends to winter here in Waliauchel. We are to make ready for his arrival.”

  “Are we to spread the word ourselves, Your Highness?” asked Carrtog.

  “No, I think that would not be for the best if you were to spread abroad word that I gave you in private, particularly in light of the difficulty we have had of rumors running round the capital. The garrison commander will make the announcement when he sees fit. In the meantime, you may tell the immediate members of your household, insomuch as you can trust them not to spread the word further. I believe, for instance, that your man Yakor can be counted on to keep his own council.”

  “Agreed, Your Highness. Nothing will be said until the garrison commander makes his announcement.”

  “Thank you, Carrtog. Now,” The princess wore a grim expression, “Perhaps we should retire to the drawing room, there is other more concerning news.”

  When they moved to the drawing room and settled with their wine, she spoke seriously, almost angrily. “It would seem that someone is determined to cause trouble in the kingdom. The town-tales continue to be more and more provoking, to the point that my father is not going to be able to ignore them, even though that would really be the best thing. What I fear, Carrtog, is that he will blame you for this latest, even though it is hard to see what you might gain from it. The tale speculates that there were five surviving Gentlemen from the original men my father took to Tenerack with him and that they were discharged quietly and without cause only to disappear shortly after. The rumor claims that these men must have known something about the flight from Tenerack, something that reflected badly on my father to the point that he desired them not only removed, but dealt with after their dismissal. The first fact, that there were five of the King’s Gentlemen who survived the flight from Tenerack, is true, as is the second fact, that they were discharged without cause. I will even admit, here, to you, that if they had told their stories, they might well have cast the king’s behavior in a bad light. Neither my father nor I know where those men have gone, and I suppose, for their own safety — if they are indeed innocent — it is best if that remains as such. My concern is that this information has come to light now.”

  She looked at the two of them. “It is just the kind of thing that the rebels, were they aware of it, might pass around to ruin the morale of the nation’s army.”

  “You’re right,” Carrtog agreed. “I wonder if Rhadfel Llorsan up there is shrewd enough to have looked at matters down here and come up with just this notion. For my part, I feel somewhat uneasy.”

  He stopped there, abruptly, and the princess looked at him suddenly, her expression softening. “Yes, I know. He’s my father, and I love him, but I know his faults. And indeed, some of his actions coming down from Tenerack do not reflect highly on him. And he will know, just as well as we all know, that you are aware of those actions, and even though confirming those same things would be counter to your own interests, he might fear that you would not be able to deny them sufficiently firmly. But Carrtog, I do remember that it was you who flung me onto the back of your horse and sent us rushing off to safety, staying behind to hamper the pursuit. I believe that, even if my father does decide to punish you, I can remind him of that sufficiently strongly to make him ameliorate whatever punishment he has settled on.”

  Carrtog bowed, a seated bow, toward the princess. “Thank you, Your Highness. We can hope, however, that matters will not come to that point.”

  #

  “So,” Yakor said, “His Majesty prefers to spend the winter in the comfort of his capital?”

  “So it would seem. Personally, I wonder if part of his plan is to come back and step down hard on all the rumors.”

  Yakor looked up at him sharply. “You think so?”

  Carrtog shrugged. “I make no claim to be able to know what is in the king’s mind. It just seems, knowing the little I do about him, that this might not be the furthest thing from his mind.”

  Yakor thought a while, then said, “Yes, it seems to me that he might well have some sort of notion that his presence alone might make the rumor-mongers beware.”

  #

  A week later there was a sudden clear chime in the drawing room where Carrtog and Addy sat reading. They looked over to the side-table where a small crystal circlet sat, giving off a soft flashing green light, then Carrtog looked at Addy. “Aha!” He said. “Apparently it works.”

  “Apparently so,” she answered as he got up and went over to touch it.

  He had not said anything to the princess about it, because they were still testing it, but he had built, under Enemantwin’s instruction, a small device to be used for communicating over moderate distances.

  “What does he have to say?” Addy asked.

  Carrtog did not answer, but instead spoke toward the circlet. “Yakor?”

  “Lord Carrtog?”

  “What is it?”

  “A courier has just passed through the gates. It seems the king will be arriving in three days time. I suggest you determine how you plan to meet him.”

  #

  The king came in through the main gate of Waliauchel at the head of four regiments of his army, more than sufficient to keep him safe on the journey from Kilgarhai to the capital.

  The citizens turned out in force to welcome the king back from the field. Lord Carrtog and Lady Adengler came out in their coach, seated among those of the nobility who decided to make their presence known. Some nobles, though they were i
n the capital at the time, felt safe enough in their status that they did not bother. These were the ones who were sufficiently powerful that they were quite sure that any move of the king against them would set the others of their class up in arms against him, on the ground that they might be next.

  Carrtog, with his allocation of seventy-five men under arms, was definitely not in that class. There was, however, one reason why he perhaps ought not to have come; if King Bornival had heard the latest round of town-tales, the sight of Carrtog might just enrage him. Carrtog had taken the precaution of sending Yakor into hiding, with sufficient preparations to be able get his lord free, either by paying fines or bribes or other means.

  The king’s entrance, however, passed off uneventfully, the king not even seeming to notice Carrtog. When the monarch had gone by, Carrtog turned to Addy and said, “Some might consider themselves snubbed by this; I hope you don’t mind if I feel relieved.”

  “I agree,” she said, smiling. “But remember, there is still a good deal of time yet for him to decide he’s offended. In fact, he may not yet have heard the latest story.”

  “Unfortunately, you’re right. Well, the other coaches are beginning to move; we’d best be getting out of here ourselves.”

  #

  Two weeks after the king had marched in through the front gate of the city, he sent a message summoning Carrtog to meet him. “Well,” he said to Addy, “At least he just asked me to come, he didn’t send a group of guards to make sure I did. I’d say that was a good sign.”

  “If you’re not back by tonight, I’ll call Yakor.”

  He kissed her lightly. “Try not to fret too much while I’m gone, dearest.”

  #

  The king seemed to be in a good mood when he met Carrtog.

  “Good afternoon to you, Lord Carrtog. My daughter is a very profuse correspondent, and from her writings, I understand that affairs here in Waliauchel have been mostly quiet during my absence.”