Railroad Rising: The Blackpowder Rebellion

by J. P. Wagner

  The next morning brought fine flakes of snow, not many, but sufficient for Yakor to warn Carrtog, “If this snow gets too heavy, we’ll be slowed even more, not to mention that we may be hard put to see the trail, such as it is.”

  “True, but the balloon didn’t exactly show a trail, it told us so far this way, then so far that way, and so on. If we try to follow those directions, we ought to get there.”

  Yakor scowled. “If we can; but the balloon-controllers are reckoning, best they can, and we have to reckon best we can, and hope that the snow doesn’t confound all our reckoning.”

  Carrtog grinned. “Perhaps I ought to find a spell to make you think more positively.”

  Yakor’s scowl lessened, slightly. “Perhaps you’d be best-advised to find a spell to make yourself think in the first place.”

  Chapter 24

  One thing he could do, though, was put out a spell to detect any spells directed at his force. It could not necessarily say what the spells were, but it would definitely say that there were inimical spells out there. The sort of magic that could hide all such spells from detection was the sort that Enemantwin, or someone better, could accomplish. Such a person would scarcely be willing to live out in the wilds with a small band of rebels; his magic could be best used in other places, which meant Carrtog was reasonably confident his detection spell would find no such challenge.

  The result was sobering; “There’s significant hostile magic out there, Yakor.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Well, either there’re a lot of people out there with minor spells up, or there’s one person with a very large spell up, or some combination of the two. I’d be best off wagering on one or two large spells.”

  He took his findings to the commander, who received them with his usual contrary attitude. “So does this mean you are to be outdone, magically, Lord?”

  “No, I think not. It does mean, though, that I’d be best advised to put up some powerful protective spells. This means that my active spells must be lessened to compensate.”

  Commander Cargiodd did not quite snort, since he was speaking to his own commander, but his air was one of smugness. “Then it must be a matter of our own men and their non-magical abilities.”

  Carrtog let the man have his seeming victory; spending his own magic on defense would still be using his magic to aid in fighting the battle even if it were not outwardly visible on the field.

  One of the scouts returned with a report that the rebels appeared to be preparing to defend themselves, at least temporarily. “There’s a fair lot of them, Sir. They haven’t usually stood to fight us, it’s very likely that they’ll let us come up near to contact, then fire a volley and run off just ahead of us, Sir.”

  Cargiodd glanced at Carrtog. “It is indeed likely that they’ll fire a volley and take off. With the weather the way it’s looking to be, they might well get away from us if we aren’t prepared for that course. We should attack now with a portion of our men, flush them out, and swing around to catch them as they retreat.”

  “No, rather than firing a volley and running they’ll stand fast while their magicians hit us with something of their own. This is likely the magic I was sensing. Give me a moment to prepare, else we’ll be caught where they want us. I’ll spend a lot of power on simple defense, something to counter or quash whatever they try. The way the wind is looking, I doubt it’ll be the Grove of Battle or anything related to that. There’s always a chance they’ll try something I’m not familiar with, and I won’t be quite able to quash it completely, but I’ll try to bring out something of my own they won’t expect to balance things.”

  “That doesn’t seem to bode well for our chances today, Lord. It appears that we will indeed be depending on our non-magical weapons and the courage of our men to face whatever horrors their magicians can bring on.”

  “Don’t worry, Commander, I’m sure I can provide more than just another body on another saddle. Give your orders.”

  #

  The royal troops moved forward in their formation, the snow whirling around them, preventing them from seeing more than a few feet in front of them. The situation, of course, would be the same for the enemy, so the disadvantage was equal.

  Carrtog heard a shot far off in front of them and suspected someone had fired in advance of orders.

  Suddenly, there was a large dark figure in the blowing snow before them. A moment later the dark figure showed itself to be a large human figure, giving off an unearthly glow. It carried an ancient shield in one hand, an equally ancient sword in the other, and wore a metal helm on its head.

  Several of the troopers in front of it fired, but the bullets seemed to have no effect. Carrtog’s first thought was that this was some apparition, and its main purpose was to cause fear and consternation among the troops it approached.

  Even as that thought came to him, the apparition stepped forward, almost into the royal ranks, and swung its sword. Men it touched crumpled to the ground and did not move.

  Obviously, this was more than a mere apparition. Carrtog raised his pistol and fired, repeating an incantation as he aimed. The apparition disappeared in a flash of light.

  “Time for my own magic,” he muttered, and drew another pistol. Speaking an incantation, he fired toward the enemy.

  The smoke of the pistol’s discharge had a sickly greenish glow, which expanded into a large mist of the same hue. Then came the sound of a huntsman’s horn, and the tone of that horn caused men to shiver. Carrtog knew that the effect of that horn, while it was felt by his own men, was directed mostly at the enemy.

  As the sound of the horn died away, there came the sound of horses galloping. Then, sweeping from the rear of the royal force, came a host of galloping riders, all of them glowing, brandishing weapons and whips, and preceded by ferocious, large-eyed hounds, their baying a horrible sound out of the storm.

  Yakor grabbed his arm. “The Hunt! You’ve summoned up the Hunt of Annwn?”

  “Only an illusion, but an illusion that can have its real effects, depending on the reactions of the men against which it’s directed. And if men see others suffering from those real effects, they’ll be even less likely to fight.”

  “You suspected there was strong magic behind the enemy; might their magician, or magicians, dispel this seeming of yours?”

  “Perhaps, if they themselves can hold their own minds steady enough. Even so, by that time, it may be too late for their army.”

  The Hunt of Annwn swept over the royal troopers, ignoring them. Several of them, already shaken by the enemy’s apparition, wavered, all but two brought back into line by harsh-voiced under-officers.

  The Hunt did not ignore the rebels; ghastly weapons struck, and several men fell. Weapons among the rebels fired to no effect. Others fired back behind the rear ranks and Carrtog felt the power being used, and saw the Hunt falter, then carry on again.

  Many of the rebels began to flee, and there was more firing back behind their ranks. The Hunt faltered again, and began to fade, but by now the royal troops were closing with the badly-shaken rebels, whose own under-officers tried to keep them in order.

  For a time they did hold, but when they broke, it was a sudden thing, first twos and threes, then half-dozens at a time.

  From then it was a wild chase, galloping here and there through the wind and blowing snow, sword to sword, trying hard not to strike at your own men. Carrtog knew that twice he had parried and pulled a sword-stroke when he realized he was facing one of his own troopers. Worse still, one of those times he had to parry a second blow before his opponent, a very young man with a desperate expression on his face, realized that Carrtog was not an enemy.

  Yakor and five of Carrtog’s guard had managed to stay together through most of the pursuit, and finally, when there was nobody in sight, and no sound that seemed close enough to ride to, particularly in t
he poor visibility, Carrtog pulled his mount to a stop.

  They all stopped with him.

  “I’d say this is as good a place as any to stop and try to rally. I’m going to load several pistols to be ready for any general spells, and I’ll also send up an illusion to tell people where to gather to. I’d suggest the rest of you load a pistol, more if you have them, but do it in shifts, with two standing guard while the others reload.”

  He went to work with his pistols while Yakor selected one other to keep watch. When he had loaded his three pistols, Carrtog announced, “I’m about to fire off the illusion, so don’t be alarmed when my pistol goes off. Everybody understand?”

  When all the others answered, Carrtog spoke his spell and fired nearly straight up in the air. The pistol flash was bright and white and extended far up into the air, where it rapidly expanded, taking on the shape of a large, pale squarish boulder with a sword lying above it.

  Carrtog’s magic forced the illusion to keep its shape for several heartbeats longer than any firework could normally be expected to, and while it began to fade, Carrtog explained, “That will have been visible for a good distance, and I’ll do it again once or twice so people can gather here, or at least, if the commander has a better place, or a larger group of men with him, he can send a messenger here to call us in.”

  Yakor grinned and said, softly, “As long as a crowd of those Northies don’t rally here as well.”

  Carrtog grinned in reply. “There’s quite a few of them won’t rally much south of Tenerack.”

  #

  As matters worked out, however, Commander Cargiodd and about a half-score troopers joined Carrtog even before he sent up his second rallying-signal. The storm blew itself out shortly before noon, and by that time most of the troops had joined them, with the supply-carts as well, so tents were being set up and preparations made for a hot meal for the men.

  “Yakor,” Carrtog said, “See to having a message sent, in particular to Lady Adengler, telling her that I’ve survived. Best just send it along with the group that our commander sends to generally inform Headquarters of our success.”

  Yakor nodded, smiling. “It’s good as done, sir.”

  They spent another night camped out there, while parties scoured the wood for surviving troopers, particularly those who might have been too badly hurt to come to the summons by themselves. Another part of their task was to gather up the dead of both sides, allied and rebel. Carrtog oversaw proceedings to ensure the rebels were given fair burial. The troops didn’t seem to mind as even the most hard-hearted balked at mistreating the bodies of enemies; the Gods frowned on such behavior — it was not unknown for the spirits of such mistreated enemies to find ways to be revenged. As he looked on over the grisly task, he kept his eyes open for the body of any man who might be considered a magician, looking for traces of magic on clothes and weapons. He found little evidence to suggest they had killed the magician that had given them grief and at this revelation he sighed, knowing the man would be out there to cause them trouble again in the future.

  The next day Cargiodd had a meeting with Carrtog. “Now we must decide what is our next move, Lord. In my own opinion, it is not worth the trouble to try to pursue the beaten enemy. They are badly scattered and we are not supplied for an extended effort. By the time we remedied that lack, we’d have no chance of catching them.”

  “I agree, Commander. What I would suggest is that we set up camp here, for those too badly wounded to travel, and for a sufficient force to guard them against any other band of rebels happening on them. The rest of us should set out back for town and when we get there send back sufficient food and transportation to bring in the rest.”

  Then followed a discussion of just which troops should be left to guard the camp, which should be sent back to town immediately, and all the myriad details that distinguished an organized army from a mere mob.

  Two days later, Carrtog rode back into Kilgarhai at the head of a significant portion of his force. They came with an air of triumph, for all that they were lacking somewhere over a third of the number that had ridden out. He was well aware of the fact that the rumor would have them beaten by the rebels, but when the troopers began to get leave to visit the wine-shops and ale-houses, that rumor would begin to correct itself.

  The people, of course, barely paused to watch them march in, and while nobody had the nerve to mock them, the glances they gave the troops told where their sympathies lay.

  However, once the troops had been dismissed to their barracks, Yakor and Carrtog had arrived at last to their quarters, and their horses had been taken care of, the greetings more than made up for the grim mentality of the townsmen.

  “Here I am in the dirt of three days’ travel and a filthy fight and you hold on to me as if I might disappear if you slackened your grip in the slightest! Let go of me for a moment, only long enough to sluice the greater part of the grime off me, and we can be much more comfortable.”

  She leaned back a bit to look up at him. “It does seem that whenever I let go of you, you go rushing off to do something so dangerous I do seriously fear that you might not come back. Allow me to hold on to you when I can, please.”

  But she did release him then. “Yes, please get rid of your dirt, and let us spend more time holding each other, so I can try to have less fear when I next see you go off.”

  So Carrtog went off for a meeting with warm water, and came back to greet his wife and his daughter, who then went off with her nursemaid (the daughter, not the wife) leaving the pair of them alone.

  #

  In terms of the entire war, Carrtog’s victory over the rebels was only a minor affair, but in local terms, it was a large success. As such, it required a report be sent to the king.

  When a message came from the king, several weeks later, Yakor said, “Well, how delighted will His Majesty be with your success?”

  “I suppose the real question is, ‘Does he think I ought to have done better?’”

  “So will you stand there all day wondering, or actually open it and find out?”

  “Don’t rush me, now. Anticipation is so enjoyable.”

  His statement to the contrary, Carrtog broke the seal on the message and opened it.

  “’To Lord Carrtog, Commander of the Garrison at Kilgarhai. Greetings. I read with gratification the news of your recent victory over the rebels. Such news is in scant supply these days.’

  “Now, is that a dig at me, Yakor, or merely a reflection on how badly my predecessor had done?”

  He went on reading. “’I hope that I may continue to expect such news from your command. It is very difficult to bring the rebels to a fight, save in petty skirmishes, or in situations where it is almost obvious that there is a trap laid. With the situation being thus, it is even more important that the supply-lines be maintained, and therefore that any interruptions to the railway traffic be curtailed, preferably prevented completely.’

  “Now, does that mean that if one of the trains is an hour late due to rebel activity, I’m in trouble? Or is that a foolish question?”

  “My Lord, I don’t think anything like an hour’s delay is likely to be serious, but to have an interruption of rail service that lasts more than one night and a day is going to require grave explanations.”

  Carrtog nodded. “I’m sure you’re right. So I suppose my response is to continue on as I’ve begun, ‘curtailing rebel activity’ as completely as possible.”

  “Does His Majesty have anything further to say in that document?”

  Carrtog looked back at the letter for a moment, then said, “Well, he does say, ‘I repeat, it is extremely necessary that the supply-line be maintained safe, in order to bring this war to a successful conclusion as soon as possible.’”

  He frowned. “I’m afraid I keep seeing hidden threats wherever I look, and perhaps all he’s doing is urging me to continue
doing the same good job I’ve been doing.”

  “And perhaps this is not the same king who had taken to calling me ‘Lord Yakor’ because he was unsatisfied with the way you were leading us out of enemy territory.”

  Carrtog pursed his lips in annoyance. “Sometimes I have a great desire to give up being a Lord and just go to being an ordinary man, building machines.”

  Yakor gave him a stern look. “If I seriously thought you felt that way, I’d give you a severe scold. Now get out there and curtail some more rebels.”

  Carrtog grinned.

  #

  After their successful excursion, there was a period of about six weeks when no rebels were seen. Then slowly, as if in time with the turning spring, they began to take action again.

  “They took a shot at the balloon, Lord,” Hwydach reported. “They used a crossbow, but near as I could tell, they missed by a mile. They went and hid under the trees for a long time, afterward. I would have stayed around to trail them, but the warming-spell needed renewing.”

  “It’s harder than one might think to hit something flying. Still, you might think of flying a bit higher; pass the word to the rest.”

  “Yes, Lord.”

  #

  Addy was dressed in a blouse of white over a tartan skirt, with a sleeveless gold jacket. She was accompanied by a nursemaid, carrying baby Aderyn.

  “So you’re not going out this time?”

  “No. Unless the full garrison is going out, it’s best if the commander doesn’t go out every time. The sub-commanders need to know that he trusts them. And this time it’s only two troops, and there’s a couple of them that know some battle-magic, if necessary.”

  “Then you don’t foresee any difficulty?”

  He grimaced. “Actually, the man in my position foresees all kinds of difficulties, but he hopes that he’s also foreseen solutions to them and that, whatever he might have missed, his commanders in the field will react adequately.”