“A good argument. I am sure Veres learned something today.” Cernat considered that everything was now clear, and stopped any other comment.
“I agree that we have some opportunities,” Mohor repeated himself. “A fast attack is one of them.” He stopped, staring around, keeping his eyes for a few seconds on each of us, like a mute invitation to speak our minds.
Avoiding Mohor’s eyes, I surprised Cernat staring at me with some expectation, but it was too early to push my plan forward, and anyway he had no idea that such a plan existed in my mind. Politically, I was still weak, even after the battle, and my presence in the council was just a temporary thing. Let them talk, and slowly push my ideas when the time is ripe.
“A fast attack has both strength and weakness,” Cernat said, when he realized that I would not answer. “We must gather information before deciding.”
“Mehadin is down and we must surprise Orban,” Big Mouth disagreed.
“Orban can surprise us, too,” Jara said, cautiously. “He cannot use his full army, but don’t forget the five hundred soldiers at our border.”
“That’s why we must attack fast,” Big Mouth underlined his option again, and no one could say that he was wrong, but his view was limited by the scope he had chosen. “Before Orban gathers information and acts stealthily against us again.” Briefly, he glanced at me, to leave the impression that I might leak information to Orban.
“Codrin,” Mohor stared at me, and I could not say if Big Mouth’s glance was the cause of his sudden reaction, but my wait and see strategy failed at that moment.
“What do you want to achieve?” I asked, unsure; neither the number Mohor provided for his new army, nor the mercenaries, were really needed for a fast attack. Two hundred soldiers gathered in a few days would have been the right approach, but a fast attack did not suit my plans.
“What I want to achieve depends on the means we have, and the means are driven by what I want to achieve,” Mohor answered cryptically. Suggestive, his finger moved on the map over the land he had lost a long time ago, sliding further east into Mehadin’s land, but not by much. Suddenly, his hand passed over Arad again, just to remind us that Orban had a word to say, too. And again, his mute eyes invited us to speak our minds.
“Why not take Mehadia?” I asked.
“Orban will not allow us to take it,” Jara stopped me. “The more land we seize the stronger his reaction.”
“Mehadia doesn’t suit you,” I almost smiled, anticipating their reaction. “It’s possible to turn any situation to one’s own advantage, however unpromising it may look at first sight, if one approaches it in the proper perspective.” In the proper frame of mind would have been even more appropriate, but I could not claim that, a ‘proper’ perspective is built in small steps. “The land north of the mountains has no value for you right now. It’s both difficult and expensive to keep the area in such challenging times, and the troubles will not end soon.”
I gave them hope; with all that optimism derived from building an alliance against Orban, they were weak, and even when not consciously aware, in some corners of their minds there was a different evaluation that they were trying to suppress.
As Tudor taught me, hope is a potent tool, habitually used to bend the political landscape to your will. The Assassins were not only the best fighters; they were the best masters of minds too. Killing is not a scope by itself, just another way to shape a certain political situation. Born from the remains of the Imperial Legion, the Assassins carried a thousand years old culture of fighting and subversion, and I was sure that they were behind many political moves in the four kingdoms, but mostly in Arenia and Silvania which were closer to their hidden sanctuary. Were they involved in the coup against my father? The question arrived for the first time in my mind, and I tried to remember all the sparse information about the night attack on our castle.
“You are wasting our time,” Big Mouth snapped at me, killing my thoughts, and I made a mark to follow that trace more.
“But for Orban…” I ignored Big Mouth.
“For Orban?” Mohor asked, intrigued. “Are you suggesting using Mehadia as bait for his consent?”
“Why not? Everybody gets what is most important for them. You acquire two-thirds of Mehadin’s land – the richest parts that are better than yours – and Orban gets a strategic fortress that would be a burden for you. There is also fame to gain by destroying Mehadin, and fame is the best thing to attract more allies against Orban. The new political situation will work in your advantage, and often things take less time than is at first supposed, other favorable circumstances may soon arise.”
“Let’s convene the council again in the evening,” Mohor said abruptly, without answering my proposal but without dismissing it either; he needed some more time to digest my words. In silence, he glanced at Jara and Cernat, and I understood that they would continue without us.
As expected, I was not called to the next council, and no one informed me what happened there, not even Cernat – my plan was probably too heavy for their digestion, and they needed more time to formulate an opinion. I would give a finger to know what Big Mouth said. I ate alone in my room, both that evening and the next morning, before Vlaicu returned with the rest of the army, and I went out to greet them.
A new council gathered, and this time I was invited to join. Going to the council room, I saw Saliné in the long corridor, and I moved faster, trying to reach her. She avoided me, entering one of the rooms on her way, yet I was close enough to see that she looked pale and tired, her eyes sunken in their orbits. What happened to you, Saliné? I must talk with Jara.
In the council, Vlaicu told his part of the story and gave some numbers for the trophies we took in the battle: weapons and horses.
“It seems that you are taking a long-term interest in my army,” Mohor glanced at me, visibly pleased that his soldiers were now better armed, and I just shrugged. “This victory puts us back on the political map. Embassies are on the road to Rares and Devan to announce the news. Bucur and Veliscu are leading them.” He glanced again at me, and I suddenly remembered his reaction when I complained about Bucur receiving too much attention for his wound from Saliné.
Is this genuine interest or just political calculation? He sent Bucur to Rares, not to Devan. Just six days there and back. The road to Deva would have been twice as long. If my plan works, I will go to Arad, just when Bucur comes back.
“Maps are important. Don’t you think?” Mohor stood up and went to the map on the wall behind him. “Three hundred soldiers arrive in ten days, seventy-five of them mercenaries. In total, we will have almost four hundred. “Mehadia,” his finger touched the place on the map, “is smaller than Severin, but still a good fortress. What makes you think we can take Mehadia with less than four hundred soldiers?” he asked me.
“We can’t take Mehadia by siege,” I said, thinking that I understood his question.
“Mehadin will gift it to us,” Big Mouth snorted.
“His people may do it if our stars align well, but no one can guarantee that,” I confronted him. “If we burn some castles, more vassals will leave him, and some will pay allegiance to you. Fear is a potent tool. Then destroy whatever army Mehadin can still gather and the road to Mehadia is free,” I said to Mohor. “It will take a month or two, as he must be crushed, not just defeated.”
“Then we give Mehadia to Orban,” Mohor said in a neutral tone, yet behind his words there was a degree of irritation; no one likes to take a castle just to give it to his worst enemy.
“If we are able to take it, yes.”
“We win the battle, gather the allegiance of some Knights, but we don’t take Mehadia.” Jara pushed further with the second scenario.
“The Seigneury disintegrates, and Orban claims Mehadia. You claim the south, and some negotiations will start, but your position will be weaker,” I shrugged.
“We take Mehadia,” Mohor switched back. “And give it to Orban, in exchange for the s
outhern area. He will place an army in the fortress, controlling another chunk of the road to Deva, and have one more way open to attack us from Mehadia. Another strategic weakness for us, and Devan will not be happy, either. He is our ally.” There was a hidden implication about conflicting interests I had because of Saliné’s marriage.
“An unfortunate proposal that suits Orban and others, but not us. We should think more before upsetting Devan. The marriage and alliance are too important for us,” Big Mouth was fast in tackling me; it was evident what ‘others’ meant. “We…”
“No one said anything about giving Orban a functional fortress,” I interrupted him and then stopped talking, leaving them enough time to understand my words, and there was a sudden silence in the room. They frowned with varying degrees of surprise, but none tried to react. “If we burn the fortress, it will take years to rebuild it. We leave only the city for him. It has some commercial value but not strategic.”
“You are planning a lot of burnings.” Mohor was annoyed, for any Seigneur destroying a castle was against everything they stood for.
“If they save soldiers’ lives, yes.”
“Anything else I should know?” Mohor asked, still annoyed, and I understood that while some things had been clarified, the final decision would not come today.
“For such a long campaign, we need provisions. We must not rely on pillage.”
“Pillage is usual in wars,” Big Mouth shrugged, as if my request was illogical. For weak armies, pillage was indeed the usual way to raise the soldiers’ morale and to fill their pockets without emptying your own too much.
“It will slow us down,” I said dryly. “And keep in mind that you want to seize that land,” I pointed to the map.
“Provisions,” Mohor agreed. “Anything else?” he guessed that I had not finished.
“It would be beneficial to test the waters in Arad,” I said slowly, knowing that my proposal was hard to swallow.
“For Orban?” Big Mouth asked innocently.
“Is it really necessary?” Jara asked, swiftly, to stop me taking a jab at Big Mouth, but there was real concern in her voice, and that jarred me.
“Not as necessary as trust is these days,” I said, slightly acid.
“Testing Arad may be dangerous for everybody,” Cernat channeled things away from an exchange of words that could escalate. “Mostly for you,” he nodded to me, just to placate my bad feelings.
“Living is a dangerous thing these days. We might be able to extract some benefits from my traveling to Arad, information is important, as you said,” I glanced at Cernat, “but I will not go without your approval.”
After Mohor closed the meeting, I asked Jara if she had some time for me, and we stayed alone in the room.
“What happened to Saliné? I saw her and she looked tired.” And she ran from me…
“Luck of sleep, and too many worries.” There was a light reproach in her voice, as if Saliné’s state was related to me.
“Maybe we can read together for an evening or two,” I tried to offer a solution. “It’s what she likes the most.” And me too...
“Codrin, I never sought to tell you directly, hoping that you would understand. You are the cause of her sickness, not the cure. It’s time for you to acknowledge this. If you love Saliné, leave her alone.” Her voice was gentle, yet there was a veiled firmness in it, and I had the sudden impression that in front of me was Grand Seigneur Cernat, not Jara – kindness and steel forged together by the vicissitudes of life.
Appalled by her reaction, my first impulse was to scold Jara with an allusion about Bucur being her choice for Saliné’s cure. The tone of her voice made me reevaluate, and it took me a while to find a proper answer. “You should know me better. I disagree with you, the more you tighten the leash on Saliné, the harder her life will become. And mine. You are playing us in a way that might haunt you later. For the many things that bond our past, I will pretend that this discussion never happened, and time will tell which of us was right.”
Her hand moved slowly, and touched my face. “We both love Saliné, and I hope we can find a common way to help her and … you. Until that time, you have to stay separated. Not because I want it, Codrin. She is troubled now, and needs time to recover from your … kiss.” In silence, Jara retracted her hand and went out.
That evening, they finally made the decision to take Mehadia, and allowed me to go to Arad. My mind was filled with a degree of satisfaction that partially blanketed the hard discussion I had with Jara.
At the end of the council, Mohor pushed a paper across the table to me. “Thank you for your good services,” he said simply.
I took the paper slowly, trying to read it without being too obvious. Twenty-five hectares of land… “Thank you,” I said, bowing slightly, then I left the room in silence. There was no reaction on their faces – only Mohor, Jara and Cernat were there – and I just tried to hide my disappointment.
Chapter 19 - Codrin
When I left for Arad, my wound was not fully healed, but it did not stop me riding, and Vlad came with me, providing a sense of security that had eluded me for a long time in my journeys. Riding alone is always a gamble, and without Fate on your side, life is more dangerous. Mohor was paying this time, so twice we slept in an inn. Traveling is more pleasant when you sleep in a bed at night. We arrived in Arad on the fourth day, in the morning, and I entered the city alone, thinking that Vlad should remain unknown to Cantemir for as long as possible.
“With whom are you traveling?” I joked with Vlad, before leaving him in the inn.
“From the sword,” he glanced at my straight Arenian blade, “I would say Tudor,” he joked back, but he understood my concern.
I wished that Delia and Panait did not know his real name either, just to be sure that my identities remain separated. The moment someone realizes that Codrin and Tudor are the same person, my game ends and many will try to kill me. Delia and Panait were my first stop, then I went to see Cantemir.
“How is work?” Cantemir was sick but in a good mood. A summer cold was keeping him in the house, and at noon, my visit was earlier than usual, a thing that created some issues for me – I feared being seen entering his house in the busiest period of the day; the Spatar who recognized me when I helped the Mounts was proof of my worries.
Your mood will change soon. “As good as possible after bumping into some bands of running soldiers. You know how much I appreciate them.”
“Let me guess. You had no knowledge of the small war in the south,” he said, amused.
“My sources let me down,” I complained that he had told me nothing about his plans to covertly help Mehadin. “You know what was most interesting?” I asked, and he gestured me to continue. “When I went south a defeated army was running west. When I came back north another one was running east.” Eh? Now let’s see you, I stared innocently at him.
“East?”
“I am sure you know who ran west; I saw your fifty soldiers coming back home, but it seems that Mehadin went further and lost. His army was split into small bunches of riders running home, the best signal of a really bad defeat.”
“The idiot!”
“I told you to watch Mehadin closely. It may be that S’Severin will follow his path and move east with his army.”
“He has no real army. Our commander told us they fought badly.”
“His unreal army won the next battle. It may be just because they were cornered, but Mehadin is in bad shape right now, and anything could happen.”
“Do you think Mohor will dare to occupy…?”
“We both agreed that he is a prudent man, but if the opportunity arrives…”
“We have to interfere again,” he sighed, annoyed – too much interference could spread the news to the wrong ears, and create a dangerous situation for Orban.
“You have an army at Severin’s border, but from what I saw in the north I doubt that you can attack now,” I said trying to test him. “And S’Sev
erin must have sent many letters about your soldiers helping Mehadin.”
“I don’t think so,” Cantemir smiled. “Our soldiers fought under Mehadin’s banner.”
“That was clever,” I conceded. “But it suits you better if S’Severin destroys Mehadin.” Cantemir bewilderment was obvious and he stayed silent, allowing me to continue. “You can’t get Severin now, but you can get Mehadin’s northern territories, including Mehadia and the adjacent fortresses, for free.”
“Mohor will just give them to us,” Cantemir said, half-amused.
“If he is clever enough, yes. If not, you can remind him to behave properly. Strategically it’s costly for him to keep land north of the mountains. For you it’s the opposite and you get closer to Devan’s land, controlling more of the road to Deva. But anyway, it’s just a … supposition.”
“Soon, the trap will close on Mohor.” For some unknown reason, Cantemir’s voice was suddenly acerbic. If his voice could kill, Mohor would be dead right there and then.
“Cantemir, since when are you so sour? It’s neither good for your health nor for your plans,” I laughed, trying to change his mind – his obstinacy did not look good for my strategy.
“He tried to kill me, twice,” he reminded me.
And I saved you twice. I have to thank them… “Even so… But I don’t really think it was him.”
“You were there. You saw the letter.”
“His name was not in the letter.”
“Mohor is leading the alliance against us. He ordered my death.” There was not even a trace of doubt in Cantemir’s voice.
“What if someone wants to leave that impression on you? The last five assassins came from the north, their origin was clear from the weapons they carried. You are considered the mastermind behind Orban’s plans; no wonder they wanted you out.” In a planned move, for the first time I decided to mislead Cantemir for the safety of Jara and her family, and I pointed to the ducal area on the map hanging on his wall, yet Cantemir was still not convinced. “Have a look at this,” I gave him the letter I carried with me. Incomplete letter. The part containing Mohor’s and Rares’s names was cut out, the paper was shredded by my sword at home, and some spots of blood were spread on it – chicken blood. “It’s not complete,” I shrugged. “That’s all I could recover at the time.” The moment was the last assassination attempt on Cantemir and me, and the letter belonged to the assassins’ chief, together with the other two, the one I gave to Mohor, and the one from Big Mouth that I was still keeping. And, if I think about it, it was Rares who told the killers where to find Cantemir. I suddenly realized that in the end, I was not really lying to Cantemir, and I felt better. Who told the assassins about me?
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