Galenos shook his head at the rude behavior, but inside he was worried. What was Varranor doing moving troops? If his meeting in Petropouli hadn’t gone well, Lord Seivon could have decided to attack Kyratia and found the borders thinly defended. It was not like his brother to leave one fort so vulnerable—but it was like him to make a rash decision.
He walked up to the front gate and found the captain, a gray-haired woman, just coming out to meet him. She stopped and saluted.
“Captain Thixia, Fifth Division,” she introduced herself. “I apologize for the informality of our reception, sir, but we didn’t know to expect you. It’s been three days since Commander Weylios left me in charge. We haven’t had communication from you in some time.”
“I would have arrived faster than any communication I sent,” Galenos said stiffly. He looked around at the empty fort. “Where has your commander gone?”
Captain Thixia looked at the private. “You mean he doesn’t know what’s happened?”
The young man shook his head.
The captain sighed. “Apologies again, sir. Mercenaries from Sympaia, the Blue Sun Company, were spotted approaching our southern border just days ago. Every spare soldier left to support those forts in the attack, since the main forces from the capital won’t arrive in time to drive them back. The last report said the enemy forces would strike today.”
Galenos’s stomach dropped. “What could have happened in just a few weeks that would cause Sympaia to attack us?”
The captain looked down at the ground. “We believe, sir, that is, the scouts reported that the enemy was informed of your absence, and they took the opportunity to strike.”
“I see.” He took a shaky breath. “So they were already planning an attack, and we gave them the opening.”
He thought about Nightshade resting out in the field. By the time she had rested enough to fly again, it would be almost sundown at the earliest. He would have to fly through the night to reach the nearest fort on the southern border and find out the status of the fighting.
He set his jaw. “I’ll need a meal and a bed. My mount will take hours to rest before I can leave, so I might as well do the same. At two hours past noon, I will expect a full report of everything you know about the situation, and then I will prepare to leave again.”
“Of course, sir.” The captain saluted again and then turned to make the necessary preparations.
Galenos arrived on the southern border in the gray light of predawn. From the air, he could see the watch fires of the enemy spread out before him: less than he had expected. The Blue Sun Company, by the last report, should have been able to field over three thousand soldiers. That was more than the whole of the Storm Petrels. He wondered how Sympaia, a smaller, poorer region, had been able to afford a mercenary company of that size. They would not be able to pay for them for long.
There were two main passes through the mountains that the Blue Sun could use to enter Kyratia. Trovaelos Pass on the southeastern border, where the troops from Fort Inazelas had gone to defend, was smaller and more dangerous, prone to mud slides during the winter and brushfires during the summer. In the dim light, Galenos could see black scars on the ground where the defending forces had set the forest on fire as a natural deterrent. But now that the fires had died down, the burnt swathes of ground would be wide open for the invading army.
And yet, the enemy encampment that he could see numbered maybe a thousand at most. The troops from Inazelas, five hundred strong, could hold back a force several times their own size for an indefinite period of time in the bottleneck of the pass.
The bigger, safer pass was Aelyzoai, which was why he kept troops in the fort there. The forces there were small, but prepared: in addition to the main tower, there were a number of smaller outposts ranged around the pass that could be used to defend against attacking forces, with stockpiled incendiary weapons and dead falls. The roosts above the tower was large enough to hold two flights of marewings, and with the candidates in training there, he knew it would be full.
If Galenos was the enemy commander, he would have suspected stronger defenses at Aelyzoai and sent his main forces here to Trovaelos, hoping to push through with lesser resistance. Yet it seemed that the Blue Suns had done the opposite.
He circled the pass once to make sure that he wasn’t missing anything. He thought about stopping to ask the status from the commander, but he decided that he couldn’t waste the time. He had to be sure that the fort and his people were unharmed, especially the candidates. If they didn’t have anyone to capture new marewings this year, his company would fail to grow. Of course, that was his only concern.
At his touch, Nightshade turned west.
The sun was halfway up the sky when he saw the second pass. By then the fighting had begun. As he expected, archers attacked from several of the outposts, and some of the dead falls had already been deployed, blocking off areas of the pass. The infantry stayed up in the woods, avoiding a direct confrontation with the enemy.
But the enemy was hanging back, too. He saw the two thousand soldiers he expected, but only a few hundred of them were actually attacking, and their flights were only putting up enough effort to keep the defending marewings busy. The rest of the army sat in camp with banners waving, looking intimidating for their numbers, but basically doing nothing.
Galenos landed at the marewing roost on the peak of the mountain above the fort and tended to Nightshade. “We’re almost done here, girl, I promise.” He gave her a generous helping of oats and fresh water before he left her in one of the empty stables.
Nightshade’s ears flicked back to express her displeasure, but one ear twitched forward again when she saw the oats. She accepted them but didn’t look at Galenos.
He smiled and patted her on the shoulder. “I understand if you don’t want to talk to me right now. I’ve given you some rough use this month. I owe you a good, long vacation when this is over.”
He left the stables and went inside to the main supply tunnel. He put aside his pride for the moment and rode down to the main fort in the basket: he was just as exhausted as his mount for all the riding they’d done, and he had to preserve what strength he had left.
His arrival caused a flurry of surprise and activity. The commander, a stiff man named Zhiaboun, came down from the walls at the summons. His report confirmed what Galenos had seen from the air.
“It’s almost as if they’re just here to taunt us,” Zhiaboun said. He spoke angrily, as if his honor as a warrior was being mocked. “They send in just enough troops to keep us busy without really committing to the fight. There have only been minor losses on either side. It feels more like a silly training exercise than a real war.”
Galenos clenched his jaw. “It could be that they are testing us before they launch their full campaign. Let’s see if we can talk to them. Call a retreat of all your soldiers back to the fort. Then we’ll hang out a banner for a truce and I’ll go to their camp to speak with their commander directly.”
Zhiaboun looked at him sidelong. Like many of the company’s founding officers, he was older and more experienced in battle than Galenos, so he didn’t hesitate to question the warlord’s orders. “Are you sure that risk to your person is wise? It would take nearly all of my forces to send a rescue party in after you if you get yourself captured.”
Galenos smiled. “I know that it’s a gamble, but I think this enemy commander is a gambling man. He came here on the promise that I was not here. When he finds that the circumstances have changed, he may reconsider his position.” He shrugged. “And if there’s no honor among mercenaries, then what do we have?”
Zhiaboun cracked a small smile in response but still shook his head. “Well, it’s your hide, not mine. I will give the order for retreat.”
The horns rang out through the valley, calling back the troops. They trickled back from the outposts in small groups. The commander also had white banners hung on the walls of the fort, signaling a truce.
Ga
lenos watched from the walls, his hands clasped behind his back. He saw what he hoped for: the enemy forces acknowledged the truce, retreating to their own camp.
He went inside and rode the basket up to the roost again.
Nightshade stood with her head down and one hind leg slack, appearing fast asleep, but Galenos saw one red eye roll toward him.
He approached the stall slowly and held out his hand with a small piece of preserved cloudfruit. “C’mon, girl, one more ride before your break,” he said in a low, soothing tone. He clucked his tongue. “Here’s something to give you a little boost.”
Her nostrils flared when she smelled the fruit and her head snapped up. She took it very gently from his hand and then sniffed him all over, just to be sure that he wasn’t hiding more treats somewhere.
Galenos took her face in both of his hands. “I’m sorry, girl, but that’s the last of my treasure hoard.” Preserving cloudfruit was a difficult magical process, and it only captured a fraction of their original potency. Each year the company harvested as many as they could and the results of the crop were divided evenly between all of the riders for use in emergencies, so they doled out the treats sparingly—but no one had any left after sixteen months. “It’s only a month until you can have fresh ones. Savor that taste for now, and find the strength to carry me one more time.”
Nightshade snorted to express her disappointment, but her ears pointed forward eagerly and she came out of the stall with an extra spring in her step. She would take him to the enemy camp.
For now, he didn’t worry about what he had to do. He just smiled with pleasure at seeing the enthusiasm return to his beloved marewing. She was his closest companion, who had carried him through years of his most difficult trials, and as long as he treated her well, he knew that she would never question his motivations or abandon him. He would never admit it, but something about the beautiful monster was easier to trust than any human.
He put on her tack gently, mindful of the tender spots where it had rubbed over the past week of hard flying, and led her outside. There were runways by the edge of the mountain for marewings to launch themselves from. He chose the one that pointed south to the enemy.
Nightwing’s head shot up higher and her nostrils flared, scenting the battle from earlier that day. She stamped her feet in anticipation: she had been too tired to complain earlier, but now she was disappointed to be left out of the fun.
Galenos mounted, but didn’t rein her in from her happy bouncing. He nudged her with his heels toward the edge of the cliff and let her have her head.
She sprang forward at an eager pace, straight to the sheer drop before them. At the last moment, she gathered her haunches under her and launched them off the mountain into the open air.
Galenos let Nightshade circle dramatically over the enemy camp one time before he brought her down to land at the head. She showed off by tucking her wings and dropping out of the sky, as if she were going to swoop down in a direct attack. Galenos’s heart was in his throat as he prayed that the Blue Suns wouldn’t see the move as a threat, but no enemy archers tried to take a lucky shot.
She flared her wings out again and pulled herself up at the last moment, setting down gently in the empty field.
He looked around and saw the other force’s banners ranged around the clearing where they had landed, showing impassive faces. A small group of officers stood with them. When Galenos dismounted, one young woman stepped forward and bowed.
“Warlord Vedonos would like to extend an invitation for you to join him in his tent. May we offer accommodations for your beast?” Her gaze flicked to Nightshade.
Galenos shook his head. “No, she can take care of herself.” On a signal from him, Nightshade sprang up into the air again and glided away. She would perch on a mountainside nearby and come when he called—his small insurance policy, to prevent the enemy from capturing her to use as leverage against him.
The woman bowed again. “I must ask you to surrender any weapons you are carrying before you enter the camp.”
He spread his arms wide. The close cut of his leather uniform showed few places where he could conceal a weapon. “I am unarmed, but you may search me if you do not trust my word.”
She looked him over with a cold eye. “As entertaining as that might be for you, I will take your word. The Blue Sun Company does not fear a single man, no matter how famous his name might be.” She turned around and walked away without warning.
He took a moment to realize that she meant for him to follow, and lengthened his stride to catch up. As they entered the camp, he scanned quickly back and forth, taking in the details of their forces up close. Everywhere were signs of them being heavily regimented: equipment kept in good condition, personnel going about their business with trained efficiency, tents arranged in even lines with some sort of color-coded marking system to organize the different areas. Each soldier that he saw wore the same neat uniform, the same shaven hairstyle, and the same grim expression. The Blue Suns lived up to their reputation.
He did not see signs of any wounded or other disruptions caused by the recent fighting. If his Storm Petrels had had any effect on the Blue Suns, they did not show it on the surface. They could have been on a routine march for all their cool attitudes.
The leader of the Blue Suns, Warlord Vedonos, waited for him in an impressively large tent. The inside was lavishly decorated with thick embroidered rugs, artfully shaped gas lamps, and a heavy wooden desk that must have taken up its own cart in the supply train. Galenos, seeing the contrast between the utilitarian appointments outside and the extravagant decorations within, put down his estimation of the other warlord by several pegs.
Warlord Vedonos rose from his seat behind the desk and gestured to the empty chair. “Greetings, Warlord Mrokin. Won’t you please sit down?”
Galenos nodded and sat down in the chair. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I felt that it would be more productive for us to discuss matters before we continue hostilities.”
“I hope you are right.” Vedonos sat down with a smile. “May I offer you some refreshment? I can offer you ale, or I have heard that Kyratia prefers wine. I have both white and red varieties.”
Galenos shrugged. “I’ll have some of whatever you’re drinking.”
The female officer, who had followed him inside, went to a nearby table and began pouring drinks. Galenos looked away from her before he could betray his disgust: he never expected those ranked below him to act as his servants.
They spent some time on small talk: discussing the weather, tasting and complimenting the ale, and exchanging other useless pleasantries. Then at last Vedonos put down his glass and leaned back in his chair. “I must say that I hadn’t expected to see you here.”
Galenos set down his glass as well, barely touched, and folded his hands behind his head. “Yes, I had heard a rumor that you may have been informed I wasn’t around. Some people think that’s the reason for your—” He looked up, as if searching for the right word. “Visit.”
Vedonos tapped the arm of his chair with one finger. “That might have had something to do with our motivation, yes.”
“This is purely all gossip, I assure you.” Galenos smirked. “But I’ve also been told that maybe you expected some help from the inside if you were to reach the capital of Kyratia.”
Vedonos’s eyes narrowed. “I would not know the basis of such allegations, since they are categorically not true.”
He shrugged. “It’s a shame, then, if the Council exiled one of their own members for false accusations. Or perhaps you are unfortunate enough to just be operating on incomplete information from the Duke who hired you.” He scratched his head. “What really gets me, though, is that I can’t figure out what you’re doing here at all, trying to come through the mountain passes. Wouldn’t it be so much easier to put your soldiers on a few ships and sail them straight to the capital? It is a port city, after all. Going around the coast would barely add any distance to the jo
urney.”
The other warlord shook his head. “The Blue Suns are more familiar with land than naval combat, which I’m sure you already knew.”
“Which makes your company an odd choice for hiring, unless you’re just here to harass my borders while I’m gone.”
Vedonos shrugged and leaned forward. “I think that your people have kept you remarkably well-informed. So let me pose a similar question to you: why did you agree to take such a heavy cut in pay just to continue defending a city that’s suddenly a very big target for every other mercenary company in the north? Kyratia helped to build your reputation as a conqueror, but you’re not beholden to them. You could take your forces to any other city and make so much more.” He pulled out a letter from his desk, heavy with seals, and set it down in front of Galenos. “Some cities might even fund your revenge against the Council that scorned you and grant you a share of the land you conquer.”
Galenos didn’t even glance at the terms that Vedonos was offering. “I’m not interested. And since I’m guessing that was your back-up plan, we don’t have much more to discuss.” He dropped his arms and sat up straight, suddenly serious. “Here’s the deal: you have a slight advantage on me in numbers, but I have the terrain. You’ve had the opportunity now to see just how prepared the defenses are, and you know you haven’t caught us by surprise. You lost your woman on the inside. I can’t predict who will win this battle if it continues, but I can guarantee that it will be costly for both of us, and I don’t think you were that committed anyways.”
Vedonos frowned. “So what are you proposing, that I simply leave and renege on my contract? That wouldn’t do very well for my reputation.”
“Tell your duke—” He said the word around gritted teeth. “Tell him that he hired you under false pretenses, because he gave you incorrect information about my whereabouts, the preparation of my troops, and the existence of a sympathetic Councilor. Then you return most of his fee, but keep part in penalty for wasting your time to come all the way out here and risk your soldiers. Create a reputation that the Blue Suns aren’t to be hired on a whim or a lie.”
A Flight of Marewings Page 24