by Helen Gosney
But the Commandant will not send the troops to relieve those still alive at Messton. He cannot do this, but he has. We have begged him to help our injured men, but he simply refuses and no amount of pleading or argument can sway him. And he’s burned Rowan’s requests for aid in front of us.
He is in command of the garrison in Rowan’s absence & won’t allow me to take command of the troops now, though I’m 2i/c of Den Siddon, citing my injury as sufficient reason. It is a nightmare, a bloody nightmare.
***
For all of the Commandant’s attempts to keep his actions from the men, they know what he’s done. They don’t understand his desertion of our wounded troops any more than I do, but they know of it & they are furious. If it weren’t for the discipline that Rowan himself has instilled into many of them, there would be riots or worse.
Like them, I desperately want to help the men at Messton, but I can’t condone mutiny, no matter how tempting it is. Rowan himself wouldn’t want more men to die now & the Commandant has ordered an absolute ban on leaving the garrison for any reason, the penalty for doing so is to be hanged. The man must be insane.
***
A further request for aid has come from Lt. Idris Cholli, in command at Messton in Rowan’s absence. The situation there is desperate, but again the Commandant has refused to act. I must do something, but there is no higher-ranking officer in Wirran than the Commandant.
I can’t allow the men to take matters into their own hands and for now discipline is holding, but I wish I knew what Rowan would do if he were here. Whatever it might be, I fear it would take more courage than I possess.
***
A small band of volunteers has left the garrison in spite of the commandant’s ban on doing so.
I won’t name them here, but these brave men have left to gather as many supplies, particularly medical supplies, as they can & then they go to Messton.
Rowan said he no longer believed in the Gods & I’m not sure that I do either, but all the same I pray that they might help them & speed them on their journey.
***
I care not if it’s insubordinate, I’ve sent word to Capt. Telli of Den Sorl of the extremely volatile situation here. His little garrison wasn’t part of the Commandant’s muster of men for Messton & he’s the nearest man of Captain’s rank still alive, with so many good men having died at bloody Messton. I hope that he can somehow help us to a return to sanity here. I cannot bear to think of the suffering of the men at Messton.
***
Later… the Sgt. & his little troop have returned safely. The Commandant is none the wiser & will stay that way. They report that the few survivors from Messton are bravely struggling home & they should be here tomorrow. Somehow they’d managed to get themselves started on the long trek home without assistance, except for the loan of some farm carts so the worst injured men can be transported and not left behind to die. And as soon as I heard that I knew that Rowan was still alive somehow, against all odds. I knew he was the only one of all those men who could possibly do it, with all respect to them.
It’s unbelievable, but it’s true! My brave friend is still alive. It seems he’s sustained a further injury after pursuing Rollo & his murderers to Trill, but he leads his men home.
The Sgt. is in awe of the determination & bravery of all the troopers. He believes it’s only through sheer courage and stubbornness that Rowan’s able to continue at times, but I know that he will keep going & somehow he’ll keep his men going too. Their loyalty & belief in him despite their dire situation is simply inspiring. He is a truly great leader, unstoppable both on the battlefield and in his present circumstances and he’ll never let his men down. I doubt we will see his like again for a very long time, if indeed we ever do. I’m proud & humbled to be his friend.
***
The lookouts have seen Rowan’s little convoy coming & the Commandant has hastily arranged a medal ceremony to welcome them home. I cannot believe it. The man truly must be insane. He has no idea that Rowan has survived & is leading his men still, believing that he was killed pursuing Rollo. Let the bastard believe what he likes. None of us will tell him otherwise.
***
I can’t bear to go to this travesty of a ceremony & I can’t bear to think of the suffering of these poor brave men on their trek home. I can’t bear to think that I failed them so badly. I know that Rowan won’t blame me, but still, I failed him & I failed the men too.
And I know that if Rowan is still able to draw breath, he will confront the bloody Commandant. I must be there to see it.
***
Confront him he has. Rowan led his filthy ragtag troops into the Parade Ground, riding brave Mica, who carried him so gallantly at Messton & indeed saved his life there. He looked exhausted & in pain & was probably only keeping going on sheer courage & stubbornness, but he sat as straight as he could on Mica. He seemed calm, but I know that he was very, very angry. His eyes burned with fury. Who could blame him? I’m sure my own are too.
The Commandant sat smugly on his fine bay stallion as the little convoy came in, in amazingly good order given their circumstances. And when he realised who their battered, ragged leader was, his jaw dropped. He’d obviously had no idea that Rowan had survived.
As Rowan halted in front of him, the Commandant drew his sabre. I can’t imagine why he’d dream of doing such a thing, but it was another of his terrible decisions, I suppose. Rowan stared at him in amazement and indeed the whole garrison did the same. For a terrible moment I thought the men would riot at this outrage, but their discipline held.
Before he could do anything, Rowan had Mica close to his bay & the poor horse was nearly knocked off its feet by a shoulder block from Mica. The Commandant and his sabre went flying & wounded or not Rowan was there beside him before he could get to his feet. He still hadn’t drawn a weapon, but a couple of good solid kicks in an unmentionable place got the Commandant’s & the men’s attention & when Rowan finally drew it, a g’Hakken sabre at the bastard’s throat stopped most of his noise too.
Then Rowan simply spoke his mind, quietly, calmly, clearly and damningly. He’s always been able to express himself well, but this time he outdid himself. And with only a single word that was incomprehensible to most and quite a surprise to the few of us who’ve got a smattering of Dwar. Nobody was left in any doubt about what had happened, nor that Rowan truly didn’t appreciate the Commandant’s using his personal dislike of Rowan himself to ignore the needs of his injured troops, if indeed that was his reason. And of course the Commandant’s insult with his cursed sabre was the final straw. And then Rowan relieved him of command & ordered he be arrested & placed in chains in the dungeon pending courtmartial. We were too stunned to do more than stand there with our mouths open.
Rowan looked at the cursed medals the Commandant had dropped in his fall and for a moment he looked ill, but he is still strong in spite of everything. So strong. He commended his ragged survivors & all who’d fought so bravely, then he relinquished command of the garrison to me as Captain. Captain? Me? This was shocking enough, but then he tore the insignia of rank from his sleeves, tattered bloodied rags that they were, & dropped them & the medals on top of the Commandant. One last kick for good measure & Rowan turned & walked away.
The troopers & survivors saluted him as one as he went past them & they cheered & shouted his name, the name they’d always called him. “Red Rowan”. He turned & asked them not to call him that now, it reminds him of all the blood on his hands. And he asked us to see that the men who died at Messton & on the way home are buried with respect & honour, and then he left us.
Surely he doesn’t blame himself for not getting more of the men home? No, surely he doesn’t. But I fear that he does. It’s a miracle that he got anyone home at all, let alone 127 men who can return to their families. It shames me that I failed him & the men & I can’t get to him now, but I know he’ll be in the stables, seeing to his horses. I’ll see him there.
***
&n
bsp; Rowan has asked me to see that the Commandant is courtmartialled & I’ll certainly do that. He’s made me feel a bit better about my failure to convince the bastard to send the relief troops & certainly he doesn’t blame me & he says the men don’t either. None of those I’ve spoken to have condemned me so maybe he’s right.
He’s got his men home to Den Siddon, but he won’t… no, he can’t stay here himself. I wish he’d at least stay until his wounds have healed & he’s regained his strength, but no. He’s simply taken his horses & gone. He’s my friend, but he is such a stubborn bugger.
Still, I truly can’t blame him for going. His memories of his own recent tragedy here, coupled with all that he’s been through since, overwhelm him. He believes he can make it home to Sian in spite of his injuries & truly, I have no right to try to stop him. He’s given everything he had for his men… saved my life & the lives of so many others…
But when Capt. Telli arrives to take command of the garrison I’ll go after Rowan & hope that I might somehow catch him up, so I can at least help him to get home himself. If he weren’t injured I’d have no hope at all of catching him, but maybe I’ll be able to. I’m at least rested now & he’s exhausted & far more badly hurt than me. Maybe I can catch him.
***
Capt. Telli has taken command of the garrison & the Commandant is in chains in the dungeon, where he should be. I’m taking a small troop of men including a Pathfinder to get us over the damned Dogleg Pass. I know Rowan will have gone that way, no matter how badly hurt he might be. Daft bugger. I pray he’s all right.
Fess Aaronson Den Siddon
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Thank you for reading this book and I hope you’ve enjoyed it.
Rowan’s story continues in Red Rowan Book 3: tentatively titled “Hero’s return”. Hopefully it should be published later this year.
Helen Gosney September 2014
Contact me at [email protected]
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