Railroad Rising: The Blackpowder Rebellion

by J. P. Wagner

  “Yes, Your Majesty, that seems true.” If one sets aside what almost seems like a campaign of sedition carried out by alehouse and wine-shop rumor.

  The king frowned. “I am less than happy about what seems to be a concentrated campaign of vicious rumors aimed at myself.”

  Uh-oh! Here it comes!

  “Be assured,” the king continued, “I shall bend all efforts towards tracking down the authors of these stories and having them punished severely.”

  Carrtog sat silent, wondering why the king was telling him all this.

  “That aside, I have another task for you, Lord Carrtog. First of all, how far have your magical studies advanced?”

  “Quite well, Your Majesty.” He smiled. “I have discovered, however, that no matter how far I advance, there seems much more to learn.”

  “But your abilities are better than when you started?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty, I can definitely say that.”

  “Good. In that case, I will set you in charge of the munitions depot at Kilgarhai.”

  “Your Majesty has great faith in my ability.”

  The monarch dismissed that with a wave of his hand. “You have already demonstrated your ability during the journey from Tenerack, and you have spent several months studying to be better. Take a week or so to decide what you will wish to take along with you and what preparations you wish to make, and I shall talk to you again to decide when you shall leave.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

  #

  “You understand what His Majesty is doing, of course?” inquired Yakor.

  “I believe so. His thoughts might follow along the line of: ‘General Hartovan was unable to keep the railroad to Kilgarhai open. We’re not sure if Lord Carrtog was responsible for the latest round of town-tales, but we worry about what he might say if someone asks him about the truth of those stories. So if we put Lord Carrtog in charge of Kilgarhai, we can expect that he will have as little success as General Hartovan, and then we can retire him in disgrace, and be rid of him.’”

  Yakor smiled grimly. “And if the stories continue, we can accuse the embittered Lord Carrtog of spreading such tales to revenge himself on the king who gave him an impossible task to do.”

  Carrtog nodded. “My best course of action, then, is to succeed where General Hartovan could not. One of the first things I ought to do is to read as many reports as I can gather from General Hartovan regarding his methods. And if I am able, I’d like to find some lower officers to give me some notion as to what the situation was like out amongst the people.”

  #

  Ffilivar was a very minor lord, having just come into his inheritance. He was a year or two short of Carrtog’s age, short, stocky, and with a muscular build. He had a large round face, with large features to go with it, though his nose was short and upturned. His hair, including the beard that was beginning to dominate the lower part of his face, was a dark red.

  “You ask how matters went among the citizens of Kilgarhai and the region, Lord Carrtog? They went badly, that’s how they went. The people up there hate the king, and they hate the king’s soldiers. There wasn’t much outright hostile action, save now and again when too much wine was involved, but any time they did what we required of them, it was done grudgingly, and often as not, poorly done. All too often, anything the general ordered done had to be redone later by soldiers, which was not the best use of soldiers.

  “We knew, Lord Carrtog, that they surreptitiously aided the irregular bands of rebels, though we could seldom prove it; they were usually too careful for that. There was even a case or two of irregulars living in the town itself, but seldom were they that brazen.

  “The merchants were quite willing to sell to us, and though the prices were higher, the goods were mostly of good quality. That was the limit of their cooperation with us, Lord Carrtog.”

  He paused to take a sip of the wine Carrtog had provided for him. “You needn’t address me by title all the time, Ffilivar; I know that the tables of precedence have me somewhere above you, but that is only because my title is the result of one particular action. Other than that, we are near enough the same age. So what of the irregular actions? What sort of things did those irregulars do, and how were they supplied?”

  “They were supplied by the town, and by the local farmstead-holders, though of course there was seldom any proof. After we burned the first two or three farmsteads, they stopped coming in numbers to any one farmstead, but would send one or two to collect whatever any selected farmstead could afford. They never came in numbers to the town, nor were the people who came ever obviously fighters. They didn’t take any great amounts of anything, either, but a time or three we found stocks of the sorts of things a fighting band might need, concealed in the woods on the edge of town. Several times we were able to take the men who came to collect the provisions, but mostly they had some method of telling that we were watching.”

  “Did anyone try magic to watch the supply-sites?”

  “It was tried. Somehow, they seemed able to detect the magic, and they never approached those positions. On the other hand, several times they attempted to hide the supply-sites by magic, but our own military magicians were able to detect them by the presence of the magic itself.” He looked at Carrtog. “You being something of a magician yourself, you probably understand that one better than I, but it seemed strange to me that a spell intended to hide something gave away the presence of the thing it was hiding.”

  Carrtog smiled. “That is one of the constant contests going on between opposing magicians, to hide the presence of a spell versus to reveal the existence of that spell. Of course, you wouldn’t have known of the times when their magical hiding of the sites was successful.”

  Ffilivar’s eyes widened as he realized what Carrtog was telling him.

  “Of course!” an expression of chagrin came over his face. “I wonder how many we missed?”

  Carrtog smiled. “Let me assure you, General Hartovan’s magicians were undoubtedly aware of the fact that the rebels had accomplished magicians and were doing their very best to track down all traces of hidden spells, just as the rebels were working at disguising their spells of concealment. For certain, they missed some, but they found some as well.”

  Ffilivar’s expression took on a little more ease. “Too much complexity for a soldier used only to handling sword and pistol. May you have better luck with the matter, Lord Carrtog.”

  “Inasmuch as it is a matter of luck, I thank you, Ffilivar. I hope to arrange things so that luck is no longer so large a part of the affair.”

  #

  “Well, my dearest love, I so dislike the thought of going all the way up there and leaving you behind.” Carrtog embraced Addy, who was by now very much of an armful.

  “Then why do you?”

  Carrtog pulled back and looked at her. “I’ve been ordered to go, and I can hardly refuse—” he began.

  “No!” she interrupted. “I know you have no choice, but why do you leave me behind? It is not as if you were marching off to be at the front of battle, but you are marching off to command the garrison of what is probably a town of some size. For certain there must be some place up there where you can rent us a house for the duration of our stay. For all of that, you might well build us a small house for the time, and then sell it when we leave.”

  He held still a moment, looking at her. “Addy, my love, this is not a nice friendly little town, this is a place where the people either dislike us, or downright hate us.”

  “On the other hand, Carrtog, my love, while you are not marching away to battle, you will, if I know you at all, be leading your troops out on occasion, and quite possibly to battle, and deaths happen in a skirmish of two-score just as likely as in battles of two hundred thousand.” She patted her abdomen. “And this child of mine will be born this winter. It would be sad if he we
re to be born and never have the chance to see his father.”

  “And it would be sad indeed for his mother to be killed by some overzealous northern scoundrel simply because she happened to be married to the commander of the royalist enemies.”

  Now she stiffened and pushed herself back from him. “So you say, and so I say, and I will tell you, my most dear husband and father of our child, that if you somehow keep me locked away so that I cannot come with you, I will escape and follow you. I make this suggestion to you, that you take me and our child along with us, to save the three of us all this added fuss and bother.”

  Carrtog put his palms softly on her shoulders and said, “Addy, my dear, I am sure you are telling me no less than the truth, so be easy. I will take you along, and I will set Yakor to watch over you, and I pity that supposed northern scoundrel who dares to give serious thought to harming either you or our child. Will that make your mind easier?”

  She smiled in return and replied, “Yes, indeed. It will until the next time you think of another such ridiculous notion.”

  #

  “Perhaps in time you will come to see the futility of arguing with Lady Adengler,” Yakor commented.

  Carrtog grinned ruefully. “Perhaps I will. After all, I’ve stopped knocking my head against trees, haven’t I?”

  “Have you, then? I hadn’t noticed.”

  #

  At last, Carrtog and his party were ready to leave. Since the party included only a few troops, Carrtog decided to take the train as far as the border. He took his leave of the king in the palace.

  The king was dressed in some of his more colorful clothing, his royal kilt, of course, with matching stockings, a red vest, trimmed with black, and a dark blue cloak, trimmed with ermine. The king raised his right hand.

  “Go forth in my name, Lord Carrtog, and may the Gods go with you. May they grant you success in all your ventures, and may you return victorious.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty, and may the Gods grant our requests, and may they show favor to you all your days.”

  “Go, then, Lord Carrtog.”

  Carrtog and the small party with him bowed, then turned and went out the palace gates.

  Chapter 18

  Winter was setting in, which made the trip to the frontier a tedious journey. The carriages were provided with small stoves in an attempt to render the cold a little more tolerable. Even so, those who understood the nature of steam locomotion envied the crew who had their station next to the great boiler. The passengers dressed in layers of the warmest clothing they had and huddled in groups as near to the stoves as they could manage.

  Carrtog could tell that Addy was suffering badly, but she gave no sign of it, undoubtedly keeping in mind how determined she had been to accompany him on this journey. He cast a small spell to increase the warmth of her clothing. He didn’t want to do anything too obvious, since even he could not keep all the passengers in this car warm all the way without wearing himself down and leaving him unable to do any magic at all should the necessity arise. It was entirely possible that the rebels might make an attempt on him and his people even before they reached the border, if only to embarrass him at the very beginning of his campaign.

  If the rebels had any success at all, he might find that difficult to overcome.

  In the event, Carrtog’s party reached the little border town of Gwarasai with no attacks, not even any attempt at blocking or tearing up the tracks. Carrtog had decided to march from there to Kilgarhai, on the grounds that the train was a very large target and might be attacked simply by removing or cutting one rail on the track.

  However, when they arrived at Gwarasai, they found there a small party of horsemen from Kilgarhai, under the command of a long lean man who introduced himself as Boroddai.

  “We’re patrolling the track between here and Kilgarhai, Lord Carrtog,” he said. “The general has a small troop come out three times a day, and rest for a bit here, then ride back. It means a lot of men out riding, but it makes it nigh impossible for the Northies to come out and make a hole in the track unseen.”

  “Good work, Captain Boroddai. Of course, I have not yet arrived at Kilgarhai, let alone taken up the command. Tell me, this train that has just arrived and is preparing to continue on to Kilgarhai, is it likely to arrive safely?”

  “Well, Lord Carrtog, that depends. The party that preceded us along the way, it has already started back an hour or so ago. If the train manages to keep its schedule, it should catch up that party about halfway along. Somewhat past that point, the train should meet the next party coming down. If the general and his aides have planned matters carefully enough, the Northies won’t’ve had time to do anything to the track.”

  “Captain, I have no right to command you, not even to ask a favor, but would you object if I rode back with you, just to see how things go? If you would prefer not to be burdened with me, I will understand, nor will I make an issue of it when I take over the command.”

  “Are you equipped to ride in the cold weather, Lord? If so, I see no reason why you should not accompany us. I ask only that you should refrain from giving orders to me or my men and that you should not argue if I suggest something to you. For my part, I assure you that I will make no suggestions save for matters of your own safety.”

  “I agree. As I have already mentioned, I know that I have no right to command you until such time as I take over the command from General Hartovan.”

  “Then welcome to our noble band, Lord Carrtog. We will be leaving an hour or so after the train.”

  “Thank you, Captain. I will go arrange for my wife to continue on the train and will join you shortly.”

  “Your wife, Lord Carrtog? Does she understand anything about the kind of circumstances she will be living in here?”

  “I believe she has some idea. She was a lady-in-waiting to the Princess Ellevar when the rising opened in Tenerack.”

  Captain Boroddai’s eyebrows rose. “Indeed? Well, I hope that neither of you will regret coming back to the North, Lord Carrtog.”

  “So do I, Captain Boroddai, so do I.”

  Addy was annoyed that Carrtog would not ride the whole way to Kilgarhai with them, but she restrained her annoyance, in particular after Carrtog presented her with a smooth rounded stone. “I’ve put a small charm on this; it will retain its heat for several hours, and if you hold it in your hands, it will help keep the cold away for some time, I hope until you reach Kilgarhai itself.”

  “Beware the kind of magic you give me, my most dear, for I may start to prefer this magical warmth to the magical warmth that comes from your embrace, and then you may find yourself out in the cold.”

  She was smiling when she said it, though; a smile that held its own particular warmth.

  “My dear, if it should come to that, I might give up all the magic I have been taught for that one little bit of magic of which you speak. And though ‘little bit’ is not the appropriate description, still I fear that this magic would not serve me well when it comes to armed combat. So I beg you not to force me to make that decision so suddenly.”

  Her smile broadened. “My dearest love, please use every least scrap of magic you’ve been taught, if it will make it more likely that I see you safe and sound in Kilgarhai.”

  She embraced him then, and he felt a determination to do whatever he need do in order to feel that embrace at least one more time.

  “For that,” he said, “I will most certainly do everything in my power to be sure to see you in Kilgarhai.” With some reluctance, he let her go, took two steps back, smiled at her, and forced himself to turn and go.

  #

  As the sun began to set, the temperature fell, and Carrtog felt glad that he had taken the time to repeat the spell he had given Addy and put it on a shot, once for himself and once for Yakor. He had put that enspelled shot into a separate pocket; it would do him lit
tle good if he were to shoot it into some enemy in the heat of combat tonight, he told himself with a smile.

  He’d also made the offer to Captain Boroddai to do the same for him and his men. The captain had thought over the offer, then said, “I think not, thank you, Lord Carrtog. Not unless you can teach that spell to every captain in your command. You see, my men, Gods bless every one of them, would brag to their friends when they get home. The story would pass to the rest of the garrison by tomorrow evening, which would cause dissension among those whose commanders could not provide the same advantage.”

  “Of course. I ought not to interfere with General Hartovan’s garrison, at least not until it becomes mine. Would you prefer, then, that neither I nor my man should have that advantage?”

  “Neither you nor your man are under my command, nor anywhere in General Hartovan’s line of command, and I think I can depend on the two of you not to boast to my men, which is the only way they would ever find out. Otherwise, why should either of you suffer needlessly?”

  “Thank you, Captain.”

  “It’s nothing, Lord Carrtog.”

  #

  The royal forces had produced a pathway paralleling the railway line in order that the garrison at Kilgarhai could send out patrols to check on the condition of the line. Most recently, each patrol had been issued a magical communicator so that they could call either back to Kilgarhai or forward to Gwarasai, whichever was closer, when they found a break in the line.

  It was not unusual for the rebels to attempt to ambush a patrol, so it was almost certain that the patrol-commander would be wearing a danger-sensing ring, or some other device.

  There were spells that could mask the presence of danger and therefore conflict with such a device’s effectiveness, but if the danger-sensing device had been recently refreshed it might well sense the presence of that covering magic. Much depended on the comparative strengths of the caster of the masking spell and the one who produced — or most recently renewed — the ring. Carrtog had renewed his trouble-sensing ring as a part of the most recent lesson Gwaitorr had taught on the subject. A good deal depended first on if there were an ambush at all, and second, if there were an ambush, how strong the man concealing it might be. Or alternatively, how recently Captain Boroddai’s own ring had been renewed.