by Roger Taylor
Loman just managed to stop his mouth dropping open. ‘Yes, Lady,’ he said awkwardly.
'Good,’ Sylvriss said. ‘Now, where's Gulda?'
A messenger entered. His eyes flickered from Loman to the Queen and back again. Loman nodded.
'The horse has wandered off from the stables, Majesty,’ the man said.
Unexpectedly, Sylvriss turned away quickly and began putting her baby into its carrying sling. Loman watched her. It came to him suddenly that she did not want her face to be seen.
'See that my orders are clearly understood,’ she said, her hands toying busily but ineffectually with the straps to the sling. ‘The horse is to be allowed to wander as it wishes, unhindered. If it seeks to leave then the gates are to be opened. Is that clear?'
'Yes, Majesty,’ the messenger said, and with a bow, he left.
Sylvriss turned round, her eyes shining wet in the torchlight. Loman looked at her helplessly, taken aback by this unexpected display of distress.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small stone disc. ‘Your brother carved this for me when we were in Eldric's stronghold,’ she said. Loman looked at it. It was Hawklan riding Serian and it was unmistakably Isloman's handiwork. Sylvriss's hand was trembling. ‘Crude, he called it. But tell me, Loman,’ she said. ‘How does an Orthlundyn carver know more about the true nature of a horse than the Riddinvolk do?'
She wanted no answer, however, and waited for none. She took back the small carving. ‘Where's Gulda?’ she asked again, before Loman could speak. ‘Why isn't she here, keeping you all in order?'
Loman floundered slightly then cleared his throat. ‘She'll be in her tent,’ he said. ‘She's become ... strange ... lately. Withdrawn. As if she wasn't needed anymore. I've been so busy, I haven't had time...'
'I'll go and see her,’ Sylvriss said, carefully positioning the baby's sling around her neck. ‘Just show me the way, I need no escort.'
Following Loman's directions, Sylvriss made her way through the hectic, darkening camp. Despite the lights about her and the familiar Fyordyn and Riddin accents that she could hear, it was an oddly unpleasant place. There was an unhealthy dampness in the air which made her hold her baby tightly to her, and even the ground she walked on seemed to cling lingeringly to her feet.
After a few minutes she came to a small tent, standing slightly apart from the others. As she approached it, the entrance opened and the characteristic silhouette of Gulda stood back against the torchlight.
'Come in, my dear,’ she said.
It seemed to Sylvriss that as she entered the tent the aura of Narsindal fell away, and was replaced by one which she realized after a moment was like that she had felt around the sleeping Hawklan.
She took in the neat, simple quarters, with a single glance and sat down on the offered chair. Gulda sat opposite her and immediately reached out to take the baby. Sylvriss smiled and carefully handed the infant to her.
Gulda's arms enfolded it protectively and Sylvriss felt a strange, reassuring peace as she looked at the tiny form swaddled in its white sheets against the deep blackness of Gulda's robe.
Its eyes opened and it looked up at Gulda curiously. Then its mouth wrinkled into a smile and it released an indelicate belch. Sylvriss moued guiltily and Gulda laughed softly. She lifted her hand to chuck the child's chin gently.
Sylvriss looked at Gulda's hands. They were quite large, but very feminine—more like the hands of a young woman than an old one, Sylvriss thought. And yet despite their gentleness they seemed also to be muscular and powerful.
'So the line of the Lords of the Iron Ring runs still,’ Gulda said, significantly.
Sylvriss raised a wry eyebrow. ‘This is Rgoric's son, without a doubt,’ she said. ‘But before him, who can say who got in amongst the mares.'
The two women chuckled conspiratorially.
'Why are you here, and not helping guide this army, Memsa?’ Sylvriss asked.
Gulda did not look up from the child. ‘My help isn't needed for that any more,’ she said. ‘The Lords and your father are more than capable of doing what's necessary with Loman's Orthlundyn sight to guide them. I just potter about the hospital tent helping Tirilen and lusting after the young men.'
Sylvriss burst out laughing and for a moment could not reply. ‘You've obviously got too little to do,’ she said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. ‘But you don't deceive me, Memsa Gulda, you're hiding from me and I can see you, whoever you are.'
The tears were suddenly a mixture of laughter and bewildered sadness.
'Why are you here, Queen?’ Gulda asked blandly, ignoring the comment. ‘In this awful land, and with Fyorlund's heir?'
'I don't know,’ Sylvriss answered. ‘Hawklan's horse needed to be here. Why I brought...'
Gulda looked up. ‘Serian brought you?’ she said without waiting for Sylvriss to finish.
Sylvriss nodded and briefly volunteered the story of the horse's mysterious appearance at the Palace and their subsequent journey into Narsindal.
'Well, well,’ Gulda said incuriously when she had finished. ‘How odd.'
She handed the baby back to Sylvriss with a smile. ‘He's a fine child,’ she said. ‘I'm truly happy for you.’ Then, abruptly, she began ushering Sylvriss gently towards the entrance of the tent. ‘I'll have to ask you to excuse me now, my dear, I'm afraid all this marching has made me rather tired, and I'll need to catch some sleep. We'll be breaking camp early tomorrow as usual.'
As she held open the entrance, she looked intently at Sylvriss. ‘You did well to trust the horse, girl!’ she said. ‘But have the armourer fit mail around this.’ She fingered the sling. ‘And sleep in your boots and riding clothes, and with your sword by your side, until this is over. We're nearly there, but we've all got harsh and dangerous times ahead.'
Closing the entrance behind the Queen, Gulda turned round pensively. Then she moved towards a long chest by her bed and producing a key from her gown, unlocked it.
* * * *
As Sylvriss walked away from the tent, four large men emerged discreetly from the shadows. ‘Majesty, Loman has asked us to protect you,’ one of them said. For an instant Sylvriss considered protesting, but apart from the fact that she had the child to protect she knew that if she had no bodyguard then a far greater number of her subjects and countrymen than four would be distracted from their duties by fulfilling the role secretly.
She smiled. ‘Thank you, Captain,’ she said. ‘That would be most reassuring.'
The Mandroc attack that night was worse than usual, and Sylvriss was glad of the four silent figures about her tent as the air began to fill with the relentless chanting of the Mandrocs and the shouted commands of the defenders. Eventually, though the baby seemed undisturbed by the noise, she took it from its crib and lay with it in her arms, staring up at the roof of the tent lit by the soft torchlight, and listening to the furore outside until it merged into her dreams like the sound of a distant, pounding, ocean. Somewhere in them floated the faint memory of an awed remark she had once heard: ‘The Memsa never sleeps.'
* * * *
Aelang dismounted and looked around at the deserted slave camp. He needed no trackers to tell him there had been a battle here. The area had been cleared, but the dark skeins criss-crossing the stone streets were unmistakably bloodstains. Besides, it stank of it in some way.
'Find the bodies,’ he said. ‘Let's see how good these people really are.'
Within minutes the bodies of the ill-fated Mandroc patrol had been discovered in a windowless room in one of the buildings. Aelang showed a little surprise at the number but then examined them dispassionately. ‘Slave gatherers from the mines,’ he said. ‘Out-shot and out-fought by the look of it. Skilled hunters indeed, our quarry—we must be careful of ambush.'
As he turned to leave, the Mandroc standing next to him let out a piercing yell. Mindful of his last remark, Aelang spun round, drawing his sword as he did, and bracing himself for an attack.
But there was no attack. The Mandroc was pointing at the pile of bodies. Aelang frowned; what was it howling about? They'd all seen and done worse than this to their own kind themselves.
Then he saw the bodies of the two priests killed by Byroc, their heads crushed in. He swore to himself. That was a heretic Mandroc killing and it could drive even his elite troops here into an uncontrollable frenzy if he didn't act quickly.
The Mandroc was beginning to roll its eyes and stamp its feet. Without hesitation, Aelang killed it with a single thrust of his sword. As he withdrew the blade he pushed the body so that it fell on top of the dead priests, then he turned round furiously on the other Mandrocs.
'Get out and form up!’ he thundered offering them the smoking blade menacingly.
There was no debate. Aelang's savage and arbitrary discipline was as legendary amongst the Mandrocs as it was amongst the Mathidrin. No explanation would be given for his conduct; the Mandroc had offended in some way and been duly punished. To question the Commander's action would be to incur the same punishment.
Aelang slammed the doors behind him and set off towards the edge of the camp. He signalled to the trackers to move ahead.
Within a few minutes, however, they returned to him. ‘They continue north, towards His Citadel, Great is His name, His will be done.'
Aelang finished wiping his sword. He cast away the small bruised sheaf of harsh grass then looked north and smiled, his canine teeth sharp in the grey daylight. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Then we need only go to the west.'
* * * *
Sylvriss surveyed the destruction the next day as the camp was being broken. Outside the rudimentary palisade lay scores of dead Mandrocs, and fatigue details were hauling them away and recovering arrows and spears. Occasionally a knife was drawn to dispatch some badly wounded individual. Sylvriss started forward the first time she saw this, but Loman laid a hand on her arm.
'We can't tend them,’ he said sadly. ‘We tried at first, but once they gain the least strength, they'll try to kill anything that comes near.'
Sylvriss grimaced but made no comment. It was an unpleasant enough task for those involved without her displeasure adding to it.
She mounted her hitherto favourite horse. The animal had galloped faithfully behind with the remounts while she had ridden from Vakloss on Serian and now it reacted with pleasure as she settled into the saddle. Sylvriss felt like a faithless lover as she stroked its neck affectionately, for though the affection was genuine, her mind was full of the mystery of riding Hawklan's now vanished black horse.
Initially, with well-disguised reluctance, she took her place with the baggage train, Hylland and her four bodyguards riding escort. After a while however, she was trotting up and down the huge column, talking, laughing, encouraging.
Loman turned and smiled as she approached. ‘Lady,’ he said. ‘You're the only thing so far that's managed to bring some lightness into this weary land. Just look at it.'
Sylvriss looked around. As ever, the mist obscured the horizons, but it held none of the mellowing haziness that might be expected. Sometimes it would be sparse, grey, and chill, fading coldly into the dull sky; at others it would be dense and white or, worse, yellow and clinging to the ground as if trying to suffocate it or obscure some approaching menace. And it seemed to shift and change to some eerie law of its own, tendrils seeping forward and then retreating, or reaching up into the sky like eyeless spies.
The terrain itself was harsh and uneven, littered with rocks and boulders, stagnant lakes and sluggish rivers, and here and there pocked by ragged areas of discolouration as if something had lain there that had slain the ground for ever.
Trees and shrubs grew in watchful malevolent clusters as though fearful of attack, and even the grass seemed to cower.
'It's an ill land these creatures possess,’ Sylvriss said. ‘Perhaps if we'd looked to them more...'
She left the sentence unfinished. Oslang looked at her. ‘Our whole journey here is littered with “ifs", lady,’ he said. ‘Perhaps in the future we might pay more heed to them.'
'Concern yourself with the present, Cadwanwr,’ Loman said gently. ‘Or there'll be no future for us.'
It started to rain. Cold, vertical, rain. Loman wiped his hand across his mouth. Even the rain seemed to be oily and tainted. He pulled up his hood.
Ahead, the large scattered groups of infantry who were acting as scouts started to disappear from view as the rain formed its own mist. Loman turned and looked back down the main column. That too was disappearing.
'Go back to the baggage train, Lady,’ he said to Sylvriss. ‘This is ambush weather.'
Sylvriss nodded and turned about.
When she had gone, Loman motioned to Oslang, and the two of them rode over to Eldric.
'Will we reach the central plain before nightfall?’ Loman asked.
Eldric nodded tentatively. ‘I think so,’ he said. ‘It must be generations since anyone rode the Watch this far north, but our old maps have been quite reasonable so far...'
Loman allowed himself a wry smile. ‘Except for a few rivers and forests,’ he said.
'I was about to say, with regard to the major features,’ Eldric added defensively. ‘If that remains the case then we should reach the edges of the plain well before dark. After that, I must admit, the maps become too vague to be of real value.'
Before Loman could reply, a rider drew up beside him. It was Fyndal, one of the Helyadin who had been sent out to assess the threat to the supply route following Sylvriss's observations. Despite the cold rain, both he and his horse were sweating.
'There are large groups of Mandrocs to our rear,’ he said to Loman immediately. ‘It'll take a substantial force to get through them. We're cut off from Narsindalvak unless we want to head back and make a fight of it.'
'I understand,’ Loman said, then he cocked his head on one side as a faint whistling reached him. It was a relayed message from up ahead.
'It's the Goraidin coming back,’ he said, urging his horse forward. ‘Let's see what lies ahead of us now that we know what lies behind.'
Yengar, Olvric and Tel-Mindor looked substantially worse than Fyndal. They were tired and dishevelled, and their horses too were steaming in the steady rain. They had been riding hard for some time and it needed no subtle eye to see they brought ill news.
'Speak then rest, Goraidin,’ Loman said simply, by way of greeting.
'There's an army camped on the plain two days’ march away,’ Yengar said.
'Mandrocs led by Mathidrin?’ Loman asked.
Yengar nodded.
'How big is it?’ Loman went on.
Yengar glanced briefly at his companions. ‘Bigger than we are by far,’ he said. Then, hesitantly, ‘Three, perhaps four times our number.'
* * *
Chapter 31
Hawklan looked down at the piece of meat on Dacu's knife. He pulled it off and began chewing it, trying to look appreciative.
'You're not hungry enough yet,’ Dacu said, chuckling a little.
Gavor was less discreet. ‘Eat it up, or you'll get it for your breakfast,’ he said, mimicking Gulda, and laughing raucously.
Hawklan glowered at him. ‘Thank you, Dacu,’ he said graciously. ‘And you Byroc, for your hunting.’ Gavor continued to laugh.
'Indeed, Byroc,’ Dacu seconded Hawklan's remark. ‘I've never seen such wary game. We'd have been waiting a lot longer for food if you hadn't helped.'
Byroc grunted. ‘No,’ he said. ‘You are a good hunter. Very quiet. You will soon learn.'
'Aren't there any herbs and roots we can eat round here?’ Hawklan asked almost plaintively.
'If you wish to die, yes,’ Byroc said. ‘This is a bad place.’ He waved a half-chewed bone at Hawklan. ‘Full of His poisons. Nothing wholesome grows. Even this. We eat this now because we must, but we must not eat too often.'
Hawklan looked at the remnant he was holding, then began chewing it again. He was no great meat eater, but he k
new that the Mandroc was speaking no more than the truth. He had examined some of the vegetation that surrounded them and it had a distinctly unpleasant aura. He looked at Byroc. The Mandroc had been an invaluable ally and his knowledge of the country had enabled them to make far more progress than they would have been able to make alone.
'How much further to Lake Kedrieth?’ Hawklan asked.
Byroc looked at him. ‘We cannot go further this way,’ he said. ‘We must move to the road now.'
He became the focus of attention for everyone in the shelter. ‘North are marshes,’ he said. ‘They move. There is no way through them.'
The road, however, seemed a bleak defenceless proposition.
'Can't we make a raft of some kind?’ Tirke offered.
Byroc crunched a bone noisily. ‘Everything sinks in the mud,’ he said. ‘Everything. Byroc knows. Black ones, stinking Dowynai Vraen.’ He made an ominous slurping sound. ‘They all sink. And the water flames, and the air burns and chokes. If you want to enter His place, you must use His road.'
There was a long silence. On their journey they had passed several deserted slave camps and on the occasions that they had seen the road it had apparently been deserted. It was as if the whole of Narsindal had been emptied of everyone save themselves. But still, they had encountered one patrol, and there must surely be others. The road was too exposed. The risk of discovery while using it was far too high.
But now Byroc left them no choice.
Hawklan looked around at the group. They were none of them in the best condition. Andawyr, being the oldest and least fit, was suffering the most, not least because he seemed to be bearing some kind of increasing burden as they moved nearer to Derras Ustramel. The others were suffering mainly from fatigue brought on by a combination of reduced, and dubious, rations, their long journeying, and the grim, depressing terrain. Time was against them.