Chapter 11
The Raven, or at least Ilkar and Thraun, heard a faint sound from the Wesmen encampment long before they could hear water lapping on the western shore of Triverne Inlet.
It was night, six days after their parting from Darrick and Styliann. The Raven, under Thraun’s guidance and drawing on The Unknown’s experience, had travelled quickly over increasingly hostile terrain in the foothills of Sunara’s Teeth, the dominant northern range. Forced to take little-used trails away from villages and Wesmen staging posts, they had picked their way over sheer cliffs, through dense forest valleys, across great shale slopes, collapsed rock formations and cold hard plateaux.
They had been six days of growing worry in Hirad as he watched Denser withdraw further and further inside himself. The initial euphoria of his success and subsequent recovery had given way quickly to a sullen self-contemplation and finally a surly unwillingness to interact. Even Erienne had suffered from his moods and her gentle touch led all too often to harsh words and an angry brush-off.
‘It’s like he feels he’s done what he was born to do,’ she had said on the fourth evening after he had, as usual, taken to his bedroll early. ‘I’m sure, deep down, he cares for me and our child but it doesn’t seem enough and he’s certainly hiding it. He was chasing after Dawnthief and the perfection it represented for so long I think he’s lost now it’s gone.’
‘And imminent invasion by dragons doesn’t fire him at all,’ Ilkar had said. ‘Excuse the pun.’
‘No,’ she had replied. ‘The urgency and energy have gone from him these last few days and that’s more than a little strange, given what we learned last night.’ Erienne had been referring to her Communion which had revealed the first meaningful results of measurements on the noon shade. Parve would be completely covered in a little over thirty days unless The Raven could find a way to close the rip. Thirty days until dragons ruled Balaia.
But that was still in the distant future for Hirad. Right now, they had to get past the Wesmen and into Julatsa. The Raven had stopped in a hollow, sheltered from the sharp wind that blew off the Inlet. Above them, trees swayed and rustled, grass blew flat against the earth and tough shrubs grappled with neighbouring bracken. They had scrambled down a long muddy slope between sheer crags, the product of a past landslide, and the hollow was filled with lichen-covered tumbledown rock.
The opposite slope was blanketed in purple-flowered heather and strewn with loose stone, only held in place by the grasp of thin earth. Here and there, stunted trees grew in the lee of the prevailing wind. Thraun and Ilkar had scaled the bank to report on the scene at the Inlet.
Hirad rubbed his gloved hands together and accepted the warm mug of coffee, happy at the decision to keep hold of Will’s stove. Earlier that day, with the horses more of a hindrance than a help, they had set them free in a wooded valley, destroying saddle, bit and stirrup and anything they couldn’t easily carry. After a short debate, Thraun had shouldered Will’s flat-packed stove, the weight not even hastening his breath. They were all happy for its lightless warmth now.
The little wood-burner sat on a flat rock, its thin column of smoke invisible against the overcast sky, the light it cast not enough to illuminate their faces, let alone betray their position. It was five hours before dawn.
‘How far away are we?’ asked Hirad.
‘Perhaps half an hour at a brisk trot but to enter from a sensible angle will take double that. We’ll have to head a little further north or we’ll be seen,’ said Thraun.
‘What have we got?’ asked The Unknown.
‘You’ll be able to see for yourself, the light off the water isn’t too bad,’ said Ilkar. ‘But basically, we estimate an encampment of around three hundred, all billeted in tents set in classic tribal semicircles around standards and fires.
‘There are three watch-towers looking landward and a group of marquees in the centre of the camp that no doubt contain stores for onward transport across the Inlet. The main route is from the south. We need to take northern entry beyond the furthest watch-tower but even then, it’s a little tricky.’
Hirad nodded. ‘Boats?’
‘Plenty. From small sails to mid-sized oceanworthy galleons, although the Gods know where they got them from. We should be able to find something we can take very easily.’
‘What’s on the opposite bank?’ asked Will.
‘Something more heavily fortified, I expect,’ said Thraun. ‘But we couldn’t see that far. We’ll be sailing right into the mouth of the Goran Falls to avoid whatever it is, anyway.’
‘It’ll marginally shorten our journey time, too,’ added The Unknown.
‘What about horses, the other side?’ asked Will.
‘We’ve two options,’ said Ilkar. ‘Either steal some from the Wesmen or hope that the Triverne Lake Guard are still alive. And that’s not too unlikely given that the Wesmen effort seems to have reached only Julatsa so far.’
Hirad rubbed a hand over his mouth. ‘All right, the theory’s fine. Now to the practice. How do we get a boat without waking the camp?’
‘Finish your coffee and come and look,’ said Ilkar. ‘Thraun and I have got an idea.’
Shortly afterwards, The Raven lay in a line, looking down a long bracken-covered slope that ended in the meadows and beach at the edge of Triverne Inlet. To the south, the slope trailed away to a steep escarpment and thence to the Blackthorne Mountains themselves, while to the north, the mountains and hills flattened as they approached the northern coastline a further day’s ride away.
In front of them was the Wesmen staging post. It was quiet, though a large fire burned in the centre of a hexagon of marquees and around it sat a number of Wesmen. Other fires burned along the shore, illuminating the ranks of boats drawn up on the sand, but elsewhere, the camp was in darkness but for the moon’s cloud-filtered reflection off the water.
The natural light gave a muddied blue tinge to Hirad’s vision but he could still make out the three watch-towers, each, he had been reliably informed, holding two guards and a bell. The southernmost commanded a view along the main trail which meandered out of sight south-west and stood in front of a corral containing horses and cattle. Coops for chickens and pens for pigs sat nearby, but the animals were quiet. A quick scan of the camp gave no indication of any Destranas, but he had no doubt the wardogs would be there somewhere, probably on guard in or near the marquees to deter any Wesmen looking to boost their rations.
The other two towers, set equidistant along the perimeter of the camp, partially obscured stands of Wes tents pitched around dead fires, the standards flapping and snapping in the wind. Thraun had been right; the only sensible way in was further north where they would be overlooked by just one tower.
‘All right,’ said Thraun. ‘You can see our access point. The route we need to take will be across the top of the camp, skirting the main fire and dropping down on to the beach. We have to take out the tower guards or we’ll be seen. Ilkar is suggesting two people under CloakedWalks can surprise the guards and bleed them quietly. That will be the first obstacle out of the way.’
‘By which he means two mages,’ said Denser. ‘Which two did he have in mind?’
‘You can address me directly if you want, Denser. I can understand you.’
Hirad sighed. ‘We have to work together or we’ll all be killed,’ he said shortly, staring at Denser. ‘I know things are hard for you right now, but we still have work to do and we need you. There are three hundred Wesmen down there. How long do you think we’ll last if they catch wind we’re on their beach, stealing their boats?’
‘I am well aware of our situation. I merely wanted to know who Ilkar had in mind for his little suicide mission.’
‘Me and you, that’s who,’ said Ilkar. ‘It might take your mind off your inner pain or whatever it is.’
‘You have no idea what I am feeling.’ Denser was dismissive. Ilkar was earnest.
‘I know. But right now, you are doing your damnedest
to make sure we all suffer with you. Try participating again, you might even like it. I know I will.’
‘Try completing your life’s work and seeing it damn you,’ growled Denser.
‘Enough,’ said The Unknown. ‘We haven’t much time.’ His voice stilled hasty tongues. ‘Thraun, you were saying.’
‘It all hinges on the watch-tower. As you can see, we can’t enter from the north because the cliff is too steep to climb down and we’ll be seen. We have to edge around towards the camp, scrambling down and keeping to the shadows in the lee of the cliffs.’ Thraun pointed out the areas he was speaking about but Hirad couldn’t make them out clearly.
‘Is this watch-tower thing your whole plan?’ asked Will. Thraun shook his head.
‘In terms of getting us into the camp safely, yes, pretty much. But our idea focused on two other things. First, a back-up in case we are seen and second, we were debating a little sabotage while we were here.’
‘Oh God,’ muttered Denser.
Hirad smiled. ‘It would be rude not to,’ he said. ‘Let’s hear it.’
Styliann did not travel to the Bay of Gyernath. Nor did he have any intention of so doing from the moment he left Darrick’s pitiful band of horsemen. He had been approached by the Xeteskians in the cavalry but they could not offer him anything and he was not in the frame of mind to lead any but the very best in fighting speed, skill and stamina.
So he approached the fortifications at the eastern end of Understone Pass with only ninety Protectors around him. He faced perhaps fifteen hundred Wesmen warriors but wasn’t unduly worried. In a straight fight, he suspected he could force surrender or outright rout but he hadn’t come to fight. He had come to organise a swift passage back to the east and to promise something he had no intention of giving. Help.
His arrival caused a great deal of consternation on the platform that ran around the inside of the partially built stockade. Shouts filled the air, bows were bent and dogs barked. He was ordered to halt and did so, the fading light of late afternoon glinting off the masks of his Protectors, their quiet stillness clearly unsettling the Wesmen.
Styliann sat on his horse in the centre of the protective echelon, his hands on the pommel of his saddle, watching the Wesmen come to some semblance of order. An initial urge to run to the attack was halted, and out of the angry and threatening gathering came one man flanked by four others. He strode purposefully across the space between them until he stood only a few yards from the front rank of Protectors. Two dozen masked heads moved fractionally to watch him and his guard, their weapons held at rest but their bodies tensed for action.
The Wesman spoke in tribal Wes dialect, his accent clipped and harsh, his speech quick but confident.
‘You are trespassing on lands that belong to the unified tribes. State your reason for approaching.’
‘I am sorry for my sudden arrival,’ replied Styliann, his Wes rusty but serviceable so long as he kept to the basics. ‘Before I speak, I ask who I am speaking to.’
The Wesman inclined his head slightly.
‘Your use of my language earns you some small respect,’ he said. ‘My name is Riasu. I would have yours.’
‘I am Styliann, Lord of Xetesk.’ He saw no reason to correct the slight inaccuracy. ‘You are in charge here?’ Riasu nodded.
‘I have a force of more than two thousand tribal warriors who have closed the pass to our enemies. You have the look of one such.’
Styliann was sure his use of language was far more colourful but it was the best translation he could make in the time he had.
‘The skill of your warriors is known to me,’ said Styliann, struggling for the right words. ‘But you have no magic. I bring you that.’
Riasu laughed. ‘We have no need of your magic. It is evil and must die. As must you.’ Styliann remained impassive despite the threat.
‘I know your fear—’ he began.
‘I have no fear,’ snapped Riasu, his tone hardening. Styliann raised his hands in a gesture of calm.
‘Your - ah - belief. But know the truth of it. Your arrows cannot harm me or my men. Try.’ Styliann’s HardShield was raised in seconds but Riasu merely shook his head.
‘I know your magic,’ he said. ‘What do you want that would stop me wanting your head.’
‘Who is the leader of your armies in the East?’
‘The Lord Tessaya.’
‘I will speak to him,’ said Styliann.
‘If I allow your travel,’ said Riasu. ‘Something I have no wish to do. What do you want?’
Styliann nodded, unwilling to make a show of force. The very fact that Riasu had not ordered an attack on him demonstrated the Wesman’s caution and fear of the force of magic, not to mention the obvious power of the Protectors. But he was concerned that this lesser Lord would misunderstand him and he could not afford to lose any Protectors this side of the pass.
‘Let us sit, talk and eat by a fire,’ said the former Lord of the Mount. ‘Out here on neutral ground.’
‘Very well.’ Riasu shouted orders back to his men at the gate of the stockade. A flurry of activity resulted in firewood, a cooking pot, food and an increased guard arriving in the space between Styliann and the tribal Lord. Soon, the fire was blazing and water heating up over the flames. Declining any pleasantries, Riasu and Styliann took up positions on opposite sides of the fire, a dozen guards behind each of them. The remainder of Styliann’s Protectors were ordered back as far from their master as the Wesmen were from theirs.
Styliann smiled inwardly at the arrangement set out by Riasu. He had no conception of the communication the Protectors enjoyed. If the meeting broke down, Riasu would be dead, his guard overrun and Styliann reinforced long before any help could arrive from the stockade. Still, it made him happy and that was all Styliann really wanted.
With wine and meat in hand, Riasu began.
‘I will not say this is a pleasure. But I will not toss my warriors’ lives away in needless fight. This is one thing Tessaya has taught us.’
‘But it has not halted large loss of life in Julatsa,’ said Styliann, preferring to keep his mind clear with a hot rough leaf tea that a quick divining spell had revealed as harmless, if a little bitter.
‘I know nothing of that.’
‘I do.’ Styliann looked at the reaction of Riasu, his augmented eyesight piercing both fire glare and gathering gloom to see a flicker of doubt in the Wesman’s face. ‘Your feelings about magic do you no help,’ he continued. ‘You hate magic because you do not understand it. If you did, you would see that it could help you.’
Riasu snorted. ‘I think not. We are a warrior race. Your tricks may kill and maim and see things far away but we will triumph over you one day.’
Styliann sighed. He could see this discussion going round in circles.
‘Yet you said you would not toss away the lives of your men. If you do not listen to me, you will be doing that.’ Styliann cursed his lack of vocabulary in tribal Wes. It was difficult to make any emphasis and Riasu needed his eyes opened very crudely if he was to see sense and give Styliann access to the pass.
‘Tell me of your bargain.’ Riasu moved subject without any evidence he had heard, let alone comprehended, anything Styliann had said so far.
‘It is simple,’ said Styliann. ‘I would regain access to my College quickly. You wish to destroy magic. You can help me do the one and I will help you do the other if you let my magic live.’
‘We are sworn to end all magic.’ Riasu shrugged. ‘Why should we bargain with you?’
‘You will never end all magic,’ said Styliann shortly. ‘If one mage lives, there is magic. If there is magic, it can be learned by others. And you will never take Xetesk.’
‘You are so sure. But if you were to die here, what then?’
Styliann kneaded his temples with the thumb and middle finger of his right hand. He should have expected this rather blinkered and aggressive pig-headedness but that knowledge didn’t help his frustration
.
‘You won’t kill me here. You haven’t the strength,’ he said, looking Riasu directly in the eye. The Wesman stiffened.
‘You dare to threaten me in my own lands?’
‘No.’ Styliann permitted himself to relax and chuckle. ‘I just speak the truth.’
‘Two thousand men,’ said Riasu, jerking a thumb in the direction of the stockade.
‘I know. But your beliefs—’ (oh, to know the word for ignorance)
‘—about magic stop your eyes from seeing the truth. My men here are nearly one hundred in number and if I thought I had to fight you, I would not fear the outcome. They are magical. If you saw them fight, you would see.’
‘We would cut you down.’
‘You are skilled but you are not strong with magic. I do not wish to fight. Let me talk with Tessaya.’
Riasu raised a forefinger. ‘Very well. A test. One of your masked men against two of my warriors.’
‘It will be an uneven fight,’ said Styliann. ‘I have no wish to spill the blood of your men.’
‘State the odds, then,’ said Riasu.
‘One of my men will take four of yours, armed or unarmed. But this is not what I want to see.’
Riasu raised his eyebrows. ‘Four? This I must see. And armed, I think. Let us see a real fight.’ He leaned to his left and spoke to one of his guard. The man nodded and ran back towards the stockade. ‘Choose who you will.’
‘Do you want this? It is wasted death.’ Styliann pursed his lips.
‘For you, maybe.’
‘As you wish.’ Styliann rose from the fire, his food forgotten. Perhaps this was inevitable. It really depended whether Riasu took it as insult or with respect. He summoned the nearest Protector with a crook of his right index finger.
‘Choose one who is willing to fight. It isn’t to protect me but to prove a point so I want it to be quick and bloody, do you understand?’ he asked of the masked warrior.
The Raven Collection Page 68