He was so lost in his struggle that he did not notice when Father Bayard had come beside him. The priest could have been there for most of the hour, and Alaric would not have known. It was not until the older man embraced him that he even realized he was not alone in the sanctuary.
He flinched, startled at the unexpected presence, but before he could speak, Bayard did. “We heard about your father’s commands. I have known your father for many years; I’m sure he will come around eventually. He is not as proud a man as some, but it would take someone of Christ’s humility not to have some amount of pride in his position. As you know, when pride is wounded, judgment often fails.”
“I do know, Father, but that actually makes this harder. I do not believe we have the time for him to come around, and I don’t have the words to soothe his wounded pride. Yet I am caught between two duties: one to my father, and one to our people. To honor the one will require that I dishonor the other.”
“So it will. You are young, Alaric Dell, and your life has been much more sheltered than you know. You will find that God often presents us with these kinds of choices. He seeks to help make you a better man. The world is fallen, and we must live in it. Sometimes that means we must disappoint those who love us. If you do so to follow as close to God’s will as possible, then by His Mercy and Grace He will guide you.”
“But how do I know which path He wants me to take?”
“Often you won’t. Sometimes, you have to make a choice, and simply trust Him that it is the correct one.”
“I absolutely believe that the only chance to defend this castle is to find what the Frost Fiends want, and find some way to deny it to them. Yet disobeying my father does not come naturally to me. What would you do?”
“I do not know. The Lord has put me to other tasks, to other tests. This one is yours. It is true that God tells us to ‘Honor thy father and mother,’ and again ‘Children, obey your parents,’ but Christ himself said of his own siblings ‘Who are my brothers and sisters?’ And Peter and John, when speaking to those who had crucified our Lord said and who sought to prevent them from preaching after His resurrection, said, ‘We must obey God, not men.’
“I know that this does not make your decision any easier. I do know you, though, and I know that whatever you decide will be the right choice.”
With that, the priest patted him once more on the back, arose, and went back to his duties. Alaric watched him go for a moment, and then turned back to the altar. Once more he bowed his head, and poured out his heart. As he did so, he began to feel a peace he had lacked for days, if not weeks. After only a few minutes, his mind was clear and his heart steeled for what he had to do. He arose and returned to the castle courtyard.
Now his steps were every bit as determined, but they were somehow lighter. He knew what he was going to do, and he would simply trust that it was the right decision. Now he had only to prepare.
First, he turned his steps to the barracks. Here, his position as the third son would help him, rather than hindering him as it did elsewhere. He might be the baron’s son, but he had received far fewer of the privileges of that station than he might otherwise. Once his eldest brother had become a squire, it had been all but certain that, unless he fell in battle, he would ascend to his father’s barony. With their brother in the priesthood, that made Alaric simply an extra appendage. As such, he had spent much of his time with the men-at-arms and earned their friendship and respect.
The most important of those had been Sergeant Jehan. The Sergeant had taught Alaric much of what he knew about fighting. The castellan, as his Knight-Master, had seen that he learned the basics of the sword and lance, but whether because of his own duties as the castellan or, more likely, because of whatever distaste he held for Alaric, he had not seen fit to teach him more than was minimally necessary. Sergeant Jehan and his men had seen to make up for that lack.
Jehan was an older man, now, nearing sixty. He could not fight on the wall, but his men were still the best trained in the barony. Not one of them had been born of the aristocracy. Many of them had been the sons of farmers, while a few had been the children of someone in a trade such as blacksmithing or, much more rarely, printing. Yet, despite what was seen as a major disadvantage in birth station, these young men were some of the fiercest soldiers the baron had. More important to Alaric, these men all accepted him as one of their own. Rarely did the disparity of station interfere with his relationship with them. So it was with the surety only such comfort can bring that Alaric knew he could count on these men for what needed to be done.
Reaching the barracks, he quickly went inside. He paused inside the door to let his eyes become accustomed to the dimmer light. The barracks was very much a defensive structure, so it ran to high, thick walls, and not much in the way of windows.
Before his eyes had even fully adjusted, though, Jehan had seen him and come to greet him. The old man’s hair was steel grey, now. Crows’ feet lined the corner of his bright, hazel eyes, and a close trimmed, iron grey beard framed his square jaw. He was not yet stooped from age, though he moved more slowly than he had in his youth. His grip was as firm as ever as he greeted Alaric. “My lord, what brings you here?”
“I have a favor to ask.”
“Name it.”
“Please, hear me out before you promise anything. I’m afraid this favor could be quite costly. Were you able to view the battle?”
“I watched from the walls. We were all awestruck by your display.”
“Thank you. What was your impression of the beasts’ retreat?”
“We believe as you do, my lord. That was not a rout, and it was not a retreat of necessity. Either they had achieved their objective already, or they are biding their time.” Jehan raised a hand to forestall Alaric’s reply. “We know of your father’s decree, that you shall stay in the castle until such time as he is certain the threat is ended. Your favor has something to do with that, I’m guessing.”
“It does. My father’s pride has been wounded, and I fear it will take too long for it to heal. I must be out there, finding what these Frost Fiends seek. I said I came for one favor, but I really need three. First, could one of your men ask for a horse to be readied? Second, I’ll need the sally gate opened and closed. Third, I’ll need you to delay any pursuit of me for as long as possible. I know this would be costly. My father would be very angry. I’m hoping that his recognition that you and your men are his best soldiers will help prevent him from punishing you too harshly, but in his current state I cannot promise that.”
Jehan thought for a minute. He loved Alaric like he loved the rest of his men, but he owed a duty to them that he did not owe to the baron’s third son. However, that duty included keeping them alive, and he believed that Alaric was the best one to do that. He gave one firm nod. “Yes, my lord. We can do those things for you. I cannot promise how long I can delay pursuit. If the other sergeants feel the same way we do, we can probably delay for quite a while. If they do not, I may not be able to give you more than a few hours.”
“Good enough. Then it seems I need to go complete my preparations. I cannot thank you enough.”
“End this threat and keep my boys safe, and you’ll have more than repaid me.”
They embraced again as Alaric took his leave. He knew that Jehan would be as good as his word; he simply hoped it would be enough. If his father’s pursuit was too close on his heels, he would not be able to accomplish anything.
Next, he directed his feet to the storehouse. Leaving without making proper preparations would mean this act of rebellion would come to naught just as much as getting caught to quickly would. The storehouse was another long, low building in the courtyard. In actuality, it stood about twenty feet tall, but nearly ten feet of that was underground. Being sunk into the earth provided some insulation from the heat and allowed stored foods and drink to keep longer.
Luckily, the quartermaster was not in when Alaric ducked inside. While he thought he could probably talk hi
s way around the man, it would have caused him additional burden to have to bully or deceive him. Quickly, Alaric began putting together the things he would need. He had to be careful not to take things that would be necessary for the defense of the castle. As tempting as it was to take one of the fusil tempête, if he was wrong and the Frost Fiends returned before he could, he knew the castle would need every one of them.
So he kept his preparations to the basics. He grabbed several days’ worth of hard-tack, a couple of water skins, flint and steel, rope, and the other items he took when adventuring. To these basics, he added one of the water tokens, so he could refill the water skins without fear of disease, and a fire token, for starting fires on wood too wet to burn under normal circumstances, or if he needed to start a fire faster than normal.
All of these things he packed into a bundle he could load quickly onto a horse. He then grabbed a horse bow and a quiver of arrows, an extra dagger, and a sword. These he added to the bundle and wrapped with a canvas. After only a few minutes he had packed everything he thought he would need.
Sticking his head out the door quickly, he saw that everyone in the courtyard was already bent to some task, or running some errand. The chances of his being noticed were as slim as he could hope. Squaring his shoulders, he walked quickly, purposefully, and (he hoped) nonchalantly out of the storehouse, and placed his bundle near the sally gate where he could grab it quickly as he rode out of the castle.
Finally he went to find Kahji. The War Leader spoke before he could. “I heard. What are you going to do?”
“My father is wrong,” Alaric replied, “and we don’t have time for him to come around to being right. Meet me at the sally gate in twenty minutes, and we’ll go find what we can find.”
CHAPTER 15
“Now!” Alaric barked.
With that, he ran from the position he’d taken at the smithy toward the sally gate. The horse he’d requested was waiting there, and he leaped into the saddle. Before he’d landed, Kahji had also begun running. Shouts of alarm were already going up along the walls, and men-at-arms were running to block off access to the small gate.
As promised, Sergeant Jehan’s men opened the gate. Alaric spurred the horse into a run. In the intervening twenty minutes, he had donned hunting leathers and grabbed a stout cloak. As he neared the gate, he swung down to the ground, skipping along beside the horse. In midstride he grabbed the bundle he had left. As he vaulted back into the saddle, he noticed it felt slightly heavier than it had when he’d left it. At a full run, Alaric and Kahji dashed through the gate. Seconds after they cleared it, the gate closed. Even over their own breathing and the horses hooves, Alaric and Kahji could hear the sounds of conflict.
Alaric hoped that the sergeant and his men didn’t suffer too much indignity, and that they could hold off pursuit long enough to be useful. Hoping to make the latter as likely as possible, the two ran all out for many minutes. By the time Alaric allowed his horse to slow, he had to get off and walk it. He chafed at the slower pace, but he would rather walk now than risk laming the horse. He did his best to ignore Kahji’s superior smirk.
The horse was in good condition; it had been able to run for most of an hour. He knew it would take the steed at least as long to regain its strength enough to do more than walk. Walking beside it would let the horse recover more quickly, and after his march with the Igni, he could keep up this pace for hours at a time. More importantly, he wanted to take some of the harder trails to his destination. Few knew this area better than he did, and he wanted to make pursuit as difficult as possible. Walking the horse made it easier to navigate some of the more treacherous trails.
The two travelled in silence for about an hour before the sun began setting. It had been easy for Alaric to forget how long the day had been already. They had arrived at the castle reasonably early in the morning, and fought the battle not long after they had arrived. The battle itself was almost impossibly short, but it had taken several hours for Alaric to clash with his father, and then decide on this course of action.
As the sun sank down below the horizon, it colored the sky with fingers of gold, red, and orange. No clouds hung in the sky this evening, and far above Alaric could already see the brightest of the stars. The terrain here was rough, but fairly level. The same sand and scrub that marked the border was here as well. The grass was perhaps a bit lusher, and the bushes that grew were perhaps a bit bigger.
They travelled for about another hour after full nightfall. The clear sky gave enough visibility, between the stars and the cold circle of the full moon, and Alaric’s familiarity with the region made it possible. Alaric pointed out to Kahji that night was also when most of the animals would be out. If they wanted to eat something other than hard-tack, they would have to catch it, and their chances of that increased enormously after dark.
And so it proved. As they made their small camp that night, two small desert rabbits roasted on an improvised spit over their small campfire. Alaric allowed Kahji to handle the cooking. For one thing, Kahji preferred the warmth of the fire. His native Infierno was a place of pure, elemental fire. Here, he was always somewhat chilly.
While he waited for his supper, Alaric took the opportunity to check the pack. His eyes widened in surprise as he took inventory of the additional contents. In addition to the provisions he had packed, he found an extra dagger and a third water skin. He also found, folded neatly at the bottom of the pack, a shirt marked with enchanter’s symbols. Steel shirts were very difficult to make. They often required a month or more of an enchanter’s time to make. For all that, they were a defense of last resort, they rarely survived more than a single hit from an attacker, but for that single strike they protected at least as well as a good steel breastplate. Obviously someone wished him success.
The other reason Alaric allowed his friend to cook was that he was so good at it. “I can’t believe this is a fresh-caught dessert rabbit. They’re usually so tough when I have to cook them.”
Kahji merely smiled at the compliment as he took the second off the spit and began to eat. After their dinner, Alaric moved to the shelter of a rock. Its presence was one of the reasons he had chosen this location for their camp. Kahji called upon his magic to conceal the fire, but let it continue burning. Then they both went to sleep.
They woke with the sun, quickly broke their fast and their camp, and then began to move again. With a full night behind them, Alaric was fairly certain he had enough of a lead on his father’s men, but he wanted to make sure. He rode swiftly but carefully, and Kahji paced him the whole way. Alaric would never run for more than a few minutes at a time, but he varied his mount’s pace from a walk, to trot, to a canter in order to keep the horse as fresh as possible. Whenever the horse would walk, Alaric would dismount and lead it.
“If you can move faster in a day than the horse, why did you bring it?” Kahji finally asked, when they stopped to let the horse drink and eat.
“Two reasons. First, if I have to fight anyone, I prefer to do so on horseback. If they are also mounted, it will help remove my disadvantage. If they are on foot, it will provide me with an edge. The second reason is that I can’t carry as much as you. The horse can. Close enough, anyway. I’m not sure what, if anything, we’ll find on this little expedition. If it’s big enough, we’ll want the horse to carry it, to keep our own backs and shoulders free in case we have to fight.”
“Still, it delays us.”
“It does, but the delay is almost certainly worth it.”
“We Igni do not ride. Some of the firehounds grow large enough, but we’ve never seen the point.”
“That’s because the Igni can likely already strike nearly as hard as you could if you were riding. You also don’t use weapons which are particularly suited to mounted combat. Your clubs and spears would be effective, but I do not know that they’d be any more effective than they already are. Humans, however, are not that strong. Sitting on a horse lets us wield a lance or spear using the horse’s s
trength instead of our own. For those of us who fight on horseback regularly, even our swords and shields are designed for maximum effectiveness while riding.”
When the horse was done resting, they resumed their march. Alaric had taken a roundabout way to his destination, but he hoped they would arrive there that evening. Then they could begin their search with the dawn’s light. He also wanted to get there as night fell in case his father’s men were already there. If they had somehow guessed his destination, they could have taken a more straightforward course and arrived there before him. He wanted to be able to scout out the area with as little chance of being discovered as possible.
As night began to fall, Alaric realized he had chosen correctly. There, in the old dig site, he saw several men. They were moving around too much for an easy count, but he guessed roughly forty of them. Of those, some seemed to be on sentry duty, while others appeared to be pulling canvas sheets over something on the ground.
These were not his father’s men, but Alaric was unsure who they were. Perhaps Manitoc had come to this site. That would be fortuitous, and might lead to answers even more quickly than he’d hoped. If those were the Monsignor’s men, and he was with them, he might be able to get what he needed first thing in the morning.
“Do we approach them now?” Kahji breathed the question as quietly as he could.
“No,” Alaric responded in kind, “Those sentries look like any surprises would be most unwelcome, and in this light they likely wouldn’t notice us until we were already in range of whatever weapons they have. I’d rather not get shot. We’ll go over in the morning.”
Once again the two set camp. Kahji hid a fire, though they did not use it for cooking. He simply felt more comfortable with the heat. Alaric tended to the horse, and hobbled it nearby. With only a quick dinner of hard-tack, they bedded down for the night.
Fire and Frost (Seven Realms Book 1) Page 10