by H. A. Harvey
Malor stared at Autumn for a moment before nodding. “Very well.”
“What of the smaller fire I saw between here and the keep?” Autumn continued, feeling suddenly very important to be included with the commander’s quiet conference. “Might that be them, the ones who struck the keep?”
“It seemed too small to be the full force.” Captain Kaiden shook his head, “Less than two score, most are unarmed. Perhaps scouts or a decoy.”
“Neither.” Malor injected, “I recognized the fighters. It’s a boy that came to Deepwood hunting slavers. It seems their errand was successful, though they obviously had to chase further than expected.”
“Nian?” Autumn was more than a little dismayed that her voice leapt an octave, “He’s alright then?”
“I did not see the boy, or his Sattal companion. I would have noted the garish hat.” Malor answered, “Of the three that arrived in Deepwood, I only saw the Desaid lad. I had feared they were ill-prepared for such an undertaking. Did you know the farm boy?”
“He was an innkeeper, but yes.” Autumn wasn’t sure why the distinction was important, but she felt the wizard was too casual with lumping folk together who he felt beneath him, mercenaries and common folk. Her spirits fell to hear he wasn’t among the cubs, though she had known well that he was no soldier, she had found herself hoping he would surprise her. Autumn silently chastised herself for letting sentiment distract from the task at hand. “The men with him are cubs from the packs here. My pack brother is watching over them. If they’ve finished their run, they’ll come here next to reinforce us.”
“No.” Kaiden replied flatly, rubbing his short-cropped, brown hair, “A handful of men won’t make a difference here, and the refugees would add mouths to feed in a siege. We did well taking the city without a siege or any civil folk caught in the fighting. Unfortunately, it seems we will have a harder time waiting for Highkeep’s reinforcements than we anticipated.”
“We could send a scouting party to warn them off.” Malor suggested, “And the scouts could continue toward Tyre and locate the force behind us.”
“More than that, we need to send men out each direction to gauge the extent of our opponent’s strength.” Kaiden replied, and seeing the other two stare doubtfully at him, decided to elaborate. “If I were commanding a force on the Baeden side and new about this attack, I wouldn’t have let us reach the city without more in place. We need to know what they have prepared for us.” He motioned for one of the soldiers nearby to approach. “We’ll have Roderick gather some scouts out of the wolves. Njords have no use for subterfuge, so I’m sure he can be trusted.”
“I’ll go Wheelward to meet the cubs.” Autumn volunteered.
“No,” Adair said as he walked up, “You are nearly dead on your feet. We have others that can head out tonight. Captain, have Roderick pick who he will to accompany him to scout the way back Wheelward. Bjorn will take the Spire road and my Longstriders will look Gateward. The Bright Fangs will run the mountain road Clockward.”
“That sounds good,” Kaiden nodded, “Malor and I will begin looking for the rat in our cellar. It may have been someone at the keep, but we need to be certain before more damage is done.”
The captain and his wizard nodded before turning to confer with their officers. Autumn wanted desperately to beg to go and meet with the cubs and learn what had happened to Nian, but her mouth wouldn’t let her argue against Adair. Her Alpha, and surrogate father, had spoken. More than that, she knew he was right. Even if she managed to keep awake, she would slow down any others sent on the scouting party. Instead, Autumn leaned into Adair’s chest, resting her head on his wolf-fur mantle, not really caring if the other Alphas saw her wilt.
“Bjorn told me about you,” Adair murmured and Autumn stiffened slightly. “He said the guard was heavier than expected at the gate, but you held it alone until the wolves were through. Seven killed and more wounded by yourself, and they hardly had any fight left for the packs. I’m proud of you, Little Leaf.”
“The run is over,” She whispered back, “Nian, the boy from Longmyst, didn’t make it.”
“I’m sorry,” Adair wrapped his arms around her tightly, “I know you liked him.”
“You did?” Autumn suddenly wished he instead had figured out she stripped naked in the gatehouse, “How?”
“Little Leaf,” He murmured back, “It’s been over twelve years you’ve been bouncing along at my heels, and two things have never happened. You’ve never been caught off-guard, and you never asked me for anything before that day in the tavern.”
Autumn rested quietly for a moment, a thin trail of tears wetting the fur beneath her cheek. “I don’t bounce.” She finally stated quietly.
“Fair enough,” Adair chuckled deeply, “But you do push too hard sometimes. Get some sleep, we’ll return by dawn with news.”
. . .
Malor sank wearily into one of the large, fur-cushioned chairs at the high end of the banquet table. Captain Kaiden pulled the former Baron’s chair back and sat, drumming his fingers on the table. He looked over at Malor. He remembered being more than a little disenchanted when he met his first wizard. He’d expected an ancient being with a long, gnarled grey beard and whose staff and eyes crackled with dangerous energy. Instead, he’d gotten this slight man who had to be at least two years his junior, carried no staff, and seemed to have nothing crackling with energy more than his rather effete and abrasive tongue.
Where Kaiden had expected great gouts of fire and quakes, he had seen little that could be called real magic until tonight. The Crescent Ledge seemed to have suffered a recent landslide from one of its flanking mountains, and an earthen ramp of loose dirt let them descend the treacherous cliff with their cavalry. Convenient coincidence, but hardly magic. When they met Malor at the rally point, which Kaiden would never have selected himself, the wizard had pointed out a broad ring of small black stones and instructed the army to wait with the stones between them and the city and move as little as possible until the charge was sounded. And so they had sat in the broad field of broken ground in clear view of the gates of Broadstone from before dawn to after dusk, but no alarm was raised or troops sent to investigate their presence. The first real magic had been watching his reflection vanish in the bowl of water and be replaced by an image of the countryside zipping along far beneath in the darkness. Kaiden had been relatively impressed, but the effort of the simple spell seemed to have drained Malor immeasurably.
“That seemed to take a good deal out of you, wizard.” Kaiden ventured at length.
“Indeed,” Malor nodded, “More than expected, I’m afraid. I have been trying to ascertain why a scrying sapped my strength so deeply since we left the parapets. The only conclusion I can reach that makes sense is that our traitor is magically Talented, and well trained.”
“That sounds bad at first,” Kaiden agreed, “But wizards are the most powerful of the Talented. Now that you are aware of him, it should be easy to track him down.”
“Or her.” Malor added, “However, you oversimplify the situation. Wizards are the most versatile of the Talented, and unquestionably hold the greatest potential. However, underestimating any Talent in trained or determined hands is folly. More narrowly focused casters are able to grow in power faster, and often are difficult or impossible for broader Talents to oppose in their forte. An old wizard is a force to be feared even by circles of the Talented, but there are few wizards that ever become old. My mentor in Avis was fond of saying that the trick to growing old was perfecting the art of blending subtlety, conservation, and innovation. The wizard’s key advantage is none of the other Talents can hope to match the number of angles from which we can approach a problem.”
“So, are you saying you can track the traitor,” Kaiden asked, “Or that you’re outmatched here?”
“I should be able to hunt the traitor down, eventually.” Malor replied, �
��However, he or she has won the first move. Tapping my reserves of strength was an excellent opening. I won’t be able to confront much of anything until I rest, and then I have to balance how much I invest in hunting the rat versus how much I hold back for the fight that follows. What?”
“You make it sound like a game of stones.” Kaiden laughed, “And I think this is the first time I’ve heard you speak without a sour tone.”
“Well, until now, I haven’t had a peer nearby. All my labors to date have been fulfilling requests by talentless folk who have little to no idea how magic actually works. At last I have a reasonable opponent.” Malor nodded as he stood, “As for the game, it is very much a game. However, rather than stones, I’d compare it more to your tactical maps during a campaign. The pieces are more varied and combine in any number of ways to become stronger or weaker forces, but the stakes are about the same. What concerns me is, being a wizard, I am used to having more pieces to work with than most I encounter. Whatever our foe used to siphon my strength was altogether unfamiliar. This means we are dealing with a powerful opponent, an extremely clever one, or something entirely new. For now, my best move is to rest.”
“Ah,” Kaiden objected quickly, clearing his throat to keep his voice from sounding as nervous as he felt. “With an enemy magic user in our midst, is that wise? If he . . . or she drained you, then won’t, I’m just going to say he, expect you to rest next?”
“Most certainly,” Malor nodded as he rose, “But until I can restore some reserves, it is my only move. Attacking a Talented person with any skill as they sleep, especially a wizard, is utter foolishness. One of the earliest lessons any master teaches is how to take precautions while you rest. Pray our foe is naïve enough to come on me while I sleep, but be prepared for other actions. It is more likely the spy wanted me out of the way for whatever comes next. As I am all but useless without power to bring to bear, I can only hope that our foe counted on me wasting time searching before recuperating and endeavor to rejoin the contest sooner than expected. In the meantime, be on your guard for other acts of sabotage, and keep Axios near you. He’s the one member of your officers I am certain is not our spy. Subtlety is not his strong suit, and an Ogre of his age would have revealed any magical Talent by now. Best not to tell him exactly what is afoot. I wouldn’t wager on his ability to hide suspicion. However, I doubt there is a Talented soul of any sort that would willingly risk overt conflict with a battle-hardened Ogre.”
Kaiden nodded absently in agreement as Malor staggered his way out of the banquet hall. The idea of keeping Axios as a bodyguard did not appeal to him, but with Deepwood Keep destroyed, he would be the next target if they wished to destabilize the force holding Broadstone. However, comparing Malor’s mental fencing with the spy to a game had given him an idea. Kaiden drew a small bundle of waxed burlap from his shirt. Unrolling the fabric case, he drew pieces of the stones game from their pouches one at a time.
“Sergeant!” Kaiden called out as he tumbled a footman over his fingers and the watch sergeant posted outside the door poked his head in quickly, “Have Axios report here immediately.”
“Right away, sir.” The sergeant started to pull the door closed but heasitated, “Ah, I just thought sir, he may be sleeping.”
“Then wake him.” Kaiden answered in a level tone. He respected the sergeant’s position, nobody wanted to roust an Ogre, much less one with Axios’ reputation. “This won’t wait.”
He drew four white footmen for the four centuries of Tyrian soldiers, and two more to represent the mercenaries and the wolf packs separately. He then set out the white general for himself, the castle for Axios, and vizier for Malor. Placing the white pieces in the center of the space before him, he then drew two black footmen. One, he placed at arm’s length to his right, the other in the midst of the white pieces. He then set out one black figure for each centurion. He decided the castle would be Adam, the seasoned veteran commander of the first century. The archer would be Verrite, centurion of the second century and foster daughter to Earl Cirrus. Finally the king’s nephew, Covin of Whitebay would be the lancer.
The young captain rested his head on his fists as he stared at the pieces. Adam was a veteran of the last war against Baeden, as well as two minor skirmishes since. He was a tried and true soldier . . . but then, he was also feeling his years, and had failed to advance very high in the ranks. His veteran status would likely earn him a small pension, but he could be tempted to make alternate plans for retirement. He sighed and slid the black castle next to the white general.
Verrite was young, but loyal. Her family had been killed during a border raid and the Earl had taken her in as Ourei’s playmate when his men brought her back. She was new to the military, but tactically brilliant. She made no secret of her hatred for Baedites, but she had been the one to suggest the maneuver to make the unexpected strike beyond the Crescent Ledge. Kaiden thought for a moment, then slid the black archer onto the field.
Last was Covin, the king’s nephew. A good fighter, but more arrogant and effete than Malor. Kaiden doubted the young noble had much contact with Baeden, nor would he have the mettle to betray his uncle. Still, he wouldn’t put it past higher nobles to sacrifice a small keep like Deepwood and a foreign Earl for some larger play down the road. The lancer joined the black castle, flanking the white general.
The thought of long games and arrogance made Kaiden frown. After a moment, he swapped the white vizier for black as the main doors to the banquet hall swung wide to make way for Axios’ massive frame. The ogre crossed over and eyed the game pieces on the table.
“Youz roust’d me fer an urgent game o’ stonez?” Axios rumbled, a bit annoyed.
“No,” Kaiden replied. “I need you to keep close at hand. You remember I promised the fighting would get more serious once we held the city? Well, it may come harder, faster, and nearer than I thought.”
“Good.” Axios grinned, a lustful gleam in his good eye, “Cause I hatez stonez. Stopped playin’ yearz ago. Ev’rbody let me winz, soz I nevah gotz no bettah, an’ sidez, da piezez kept breakin’.”
“Right now, it looks like we may be caught in a siege.” Kaiden continued, “Until the Highkeep reinforcements arrive with additional stocks of food, things are liable to get ugly. I want you to stay close at my flank, keep people settled until we can get to fight the enemy.”
“Bah,” Axios waved dismissively, “Let um getz ugly. I’ll pretty tingz up quick enuff. But if ya wantz me tah tag alongz, sure.”
“What did you say?” Kaiden sat forward, looking at the game pieces in front of him.
“Said I’ll stickz close t’ ya.”
“No, before that.”
“Wut? Let tingz get ugly?” Axios asked puzzled, “I’z mostly jokin’ ‘bout dat . . . mostly.”
“No, it’s brilliant.” Kaiden swept the pieces back into their slots. “Change of plan, Axios. Get some rest, then you are in charge of rationing food. Let’s start out at half rations while we’re waiting. Then we will still have food for a good meal before the fighting starts. Oh, and no one but officers allowed in the keep, save crews under your supervision to clean out the store-rooms.”
“Ya humanz change yar mind too much.” Axios growled, “So Iz ken get back t’ tha stablez an’ sleep?”
At Kaiden’s nod, the big Ogre stalked from the room, nearly bowling the sergeant and his two footmen over on his way. Kaiden barely noticed as he finished packing away his game of stones and rushed through the door himself. He wound through the narrow stone hallways until he mounted the stair up to the keep’s second floor, where he had given instructions for the Silvermane packs to garrison themselves.
. . .
Perhaps an hour later, Kaiden sat back at the head of the table in the banquet hall. Before the captain lay a collection of maps, taken from the Baron’s library upstairs. On the largest map, a collection of stones pieces stood on the map, four
black footmen holding it open at the corners, while two white footmen stood with their general, vizier, archer, lancer, and rook at the map’s center. One black footman stood off in the forests, beyond what looked like a black hole between the white camp and the wood. Captain Kaiden sat in silence for several minutes until a knock came at the door.
“Enter.” Kaiden called out and Lancer Adam strode in briskly, pulling the door shut behind him.
“Odds seem to favor us, Captain.” Adam said as he neared the end of the table.
“Only because we haven’t heard back from our scouts yet.” Kaiden replied. “I’m certain there are more forces out there. I’m not certain it is wise to wait inside the city walls for reinforcements. Tyrians are cavalry men. Our troops would be better out in the open where they could maneuver.”
“But we would be drawing attention before our real forces arrive.” The Lancer replied, placing a white footman out beyond the Wheelward edge of the map and another Gateward from that. “We can’t send out raiders much less ride in force and still hope to keep the city secured until the forces of Highkeep and Clocktower arrive. But tell me, why send scouts when we have a wizard? Couldn’t he divine what’s lying in wait?”
“Malor is recuperating.” Kaiden replied simply, “Cloaking the main force, breaching the gate, and then the water trick on the roof seemed to have drained him more than he expected. He asked not to be disturbed until morning.”
“Good,” Adam replied. He turned suddenly and a sinister red light exploded from the man’s hand, casting a web of light tendrils around Kaiden’s limbs and throat. “He won’t be.”