The Chronicles: Notomol Ch. 09

- "What do you want?" asked the Duchess.

- "Pardon?"

- "It's obvious that you want something, and this is your way of getting it. Well?"

I could only shake my head. I turned to look at Giedra. She was shaking her head, too.

- "You just can't help some people." she said.

- "Whatever our reasons," I said, "the advice we just gave you is good. Don't try to hide the truth. It will come out."

Prosquetel folded his arms.

- "You heard the Duchess. What is it you want?"

- "Fine. You keep trying to replace me, or dismiss me, even though you've seen - repeatedly -what I can do."

- "You are not the only tactician here." said Prosquetel. There are others who can plan a battle - and a campaign."

- "You, for instance? So far, Prosquetel, your only achievement that we're aware of is escaping from a castle under siege - with a pregnant woman. Then you kept her out of the enemy's clutches until you reached the Uplands. It's impressive. But it doesn't make you a tactician."             

The Duchess had regained some colour; she was almost purple with rage. Prosquetel was much calmer. He might well have been bloodless.

- "What do you want?" he repeated.

- "Stop shutting us out of discussions. When the leaders meet, Giedra and I should be there. You didn't even invite us to the last council."

- "We ... we sent someone to notify you."

- "You didn't. Stop lying to us. You also shouldn't immediately oppose whatever I suggest - especially if other members of your council agree with me. If you're going to object, give me a solid reason."

- "Very well." said Prosquetel. "What do you suggest?"

- "We move at first light. East, then south."

- "What happened to moving after dark?"

- "The Izumyrians know roughly where we are. Hopefully, they think that we're headed for Yeseriya. That only gives us a head start. We have to move."

- "Why not go west? We could gather support there."

I tried not sigh out loud. "We have to make the Izumyrians come to us. Keep them in front of us. The farther they are from Izumyr, the more difficult it gets for them. They have to leave men in Adarion, and in Yelsa. The same goes for Yeseriya and Pitve. But if we move west, those men can be used against us - and the Izumyrians can come at us from any direction. I don't want them behind us, cutting off our retreat - if it comes to that."

With that, our little discussion was over. We backed away from the Duchess' fire.

Giedra and I would have to watch our backs. But Prosquetel and his Duchess hadn't bothered to look very closely at our companions - they were only Uplanders, after all.

Except that the hooded woman beside Liesma was actually Mailis, the wife of a Hospodar from Yeseriya. Nor did they bother to look behind Liesma, or they might have seen Thuruar, the guslar ... and Lemek, Ban of Mahuc.

- "Was this wise?" he asked me.

- "I'm not sure. Would you rather not know?"

He didn't answer right away. I hadn't known the weaselly little Ban very long, but we both understood that knowledge is power - and I'd just shared it with the three of them.

- "We should go southeast, rather than directly east." he said.

- "Why?"

- "Because that's the way to my steading."

***

There was no obvious, major change in the atmosphere the next morning. We moved out in good order, with scouts ahead and on both flanks, and a rearguard.

Only one thing was different: Gerimir came to march beside me, instead of riding his Izumyrian horse behind the Duchess.

He looked sad.

- "You knew all along." I said.

- "Yes."

- "I don't understand, Gerimir. How can you support her when you know that she's lying?"

- "I swore an oath, Guenna."

- "Before? Or after?"

He made a pained face. I'd hurt his feelings.

- "Before."

- "So you found afterwards that she'd lied - and that she intended to continue lying - but you still hold to your oath. Doesn't that cancel your obligation?"

- "That's not how oaths work."

- "You asked me to marry you, Gerimir. Which oath would have taken precedence? Never mind - I already know the answer."

- "I'm sorry." he said.

The morning grew more interesting as Giedra and I watched Seva stagger into the woods and throw up most of meagre breakfast. We were on short commons, with more fighters than we had food to supply them.

She came out of the trees a few moments later, and glared at the two of us. It was her habitual expression, so we thought nothing of it.

- "Pregnant again?" said Giedra.

- "I ... I think so." The red-headed archer probably didn't want to trust us, but since her brother's death, she had precious few people to confide in.

- "Iduallon?" I said.

She bristled at that. "I'm not a slut, Guenna."

- "I never suggested that you were." I said.

- "He is, though." said Giedra.

- "What are you talking about?" snapped Seva.

- "Well ... the fact that he got several girls in Nareven pregnant. Or that he grabbed my tit."

- "You wish he had." said Seva.

- "I broke his nose, Seva."

- "And his wrist." I reminded her.

- "Right. How do you think that happened, Seva?"

- "Well, he fell - obviously."

Giedra looked at me. "No point talking to the wilfully dense, is there?"

***

The Izumyrians had rounded up hundreds of Hvadi ponies, which they considered too small for 'proper' riding. They sometimes used them as packhorses. But a number were being kept, corralled under guard, in southeast Mahuc, right next to the Ban's steading.

Lemek and his men had told me this little nugget of information. The Ban's steading was close to the lake. It could be dangerous for us, if the enemy were there in force; we wouldn't be able to retreat to the west, or to the south. My main hope was that we would catch them by surprise - and if they thought we were headed for Yeseriya, then that was all to the good.

Lemek and many of his men had grown up there; they knew the land around it like the backs of their hands. We travelled by night, and spent the days in the woods. None of our fighters disappeared, late at night. I had to hope that there were no more spies or informers among us.

We lay up in a shallow ravine, in the forest, some two leagues from the steading that should have belonged to Lemek. He, in particular, was very conscious of what we were attempting to achieve. It might cement his claim to the province, and win over the waverers - or brand him as a hopeless pretender.

There was a large corral, where the horses were penned in, right on the edge of the lake. It was next to - but separate from - the steading, where 75 Izumyrians were garrisoned. That was what dictated my plan.

We waited until nightfall, and then moved into position as quietly as we could. Lemek's men were invaluable, as they were able to guide our separate parties to their starting points, even in the dark.

Of course, Heras Koymil almost scotched the whole enterprise before everyone had reached their positions. I thought I'd been clever to persuade Iduallon to remain with the Duchess, when I knew that he thirsted to lead a cavalry charge. That left Koymil as the most logical choice, since his friends were all mounted.

But he couldn't follow my simple instructions, and remain patient. Or perhaps he heard the hoot of a real owl, and mistook it for the signal we'd agreed upon. He and the mounted men rode to the corral, making plenty of noise.

We could hear them, even though we were a full league away. Then came the sounds of combat as our horsemen engaged the guards around the corral. The Izumyrians inside the steading couldn't possibly miss the uproar.

Giedra and I, leading the Uplanders, had to hurry. It's not wise to run in the dark, but we increased our pace nonetheless. There were a few twisted ankles on the way.

Even from where we were, we could see more light inside the steading, as multiple torches were lit. And the noise around the corral intensified. That had to be Mailis and her Yeseriyans. If Koymil had waited, he would have had her support from the outset.

The Izumyrian commander inside the steading couldn't afford to lose the horses outside. How could he face his superiors, if he did? And from the level of the noise out there, it didn't sound like an army was attacking. Vastly superior numbers would have overwhelmed his guards very quickly.

The Izumyrians did what I'd hoped they would: they sortied. The commander wasn't a complete fool, either; he didn't let his men rush out piecemeal. They came out of the main gate in good order - and a second force marched out of the postern gate. Whoever was attacking their corral was about to be caught between them.

I could only pray that Ban Lemek and his men were in position. We were not. Rather than have all of us moving at once, we'd staggered our departure times so as to minimize the noise. That meant that Giedra and I hadn't reached the postern gate that we were supposed to cover when Heras Koymil launched his attack.

I cursed under my breath. Perhaps my plan was too complicated. Heras Koymil and Mailis were to attack the corral, and continue making noise even if they had eliminated the guards. When the Izumyrians came out, Lemek would be waiting outside the main gate, while we Uplanders did the same for the postern. By that time, Mailis should be free to support either group - whichever needed it most.

The Izumyrians that we were supposed to attack had no idea that we were coming. They circled the steading, headed for the corral. We could see their progress by following the torches as they bobbed along.

Now the volume of noise outside the corral rose in intensity. Giedra pushed on even faster. She was drawing ahead of the rest of us. I hissed at her, but either she didn't hear me, or she simply ignored me.

We reached the edge of the steading. We could now hear the clash of weapons directly ahead. Giedra didn't wait; she went straight into the fight, with Rion and Eliv struggling to catch up to her. Liesma Horseface was right behind them. Our archers couldn't fire, for fear of hitting our own people, or Mailis' folk.

It was a confused affair. I didn't participate directly; I'm not a good archer, and even worse at close combat. Giedra had forbidden me to join the front line. All I could do was watch the torches, and listen.

It sounded awful, because I couldn't tell what was going on. Then it became apparent that there were fewer torches. I could hear Giedra shouting her own name, so that our people would know where she was. Rion and Eliv took up the same cry.

The noise level began to decline - only a little, at first, and then quite noticeably.

- "They're running!" shouted Liesma Horseface (I really needed to help that woman win a better name - yes, it's sometimes odd, what you think about in the middle of a fight).

She was right.

We won, and captured the steading.

There was good news: the Ban's steading wash chock full of supplies. The Izumyrians had clearly been using this place to store a portion of the food they'd extorted from the people of Mahuc. There was also a moderate sum in coin - the soldiers' wages?

It wasn't until the light of dawn that I learned more. There were 17 Izumyrian dead, and a dozen more taken prisoner. But we had lost 9 killed - three of them Uplanders - and 8 more wounded, 5 of those seriously. Rion was wounded, but she would be able to stay with us.

We'd captured some horses - but only about 23. That was less than a third of the number held in the corral.

It was a victory, but I was disappointed that my plan had gone so badly awry.

- "This is what can happen when a neophyte plans an attack." said Prosquetel.

- "There was nothing wrong with the plan." said Mailis. "The fault lies with Koymil. He moved too early."

- "How dare you! My men fought bravely!"

- "I'm not questioning your courage, Koymil. Only your timing."

- "Let's not bicker." said Ban Lemek. "We won a victory. It wasn't perfect, but it worked." He inclined his head in my direction.

In fact, we only learned later that it had turned out quite well, in many respects.

The capture of a Ban's steading from its Izumyrian garrison wasn't an everyday occurrence. The people of Mahuc were emboldened by the news of our success. Word of the event spread even further, into other provinces. In Mahuc, it was known as Lemek's revenge, or the Ban's Homecoming. Elsewhere in Hvad, it was called the Duchess' horse raid. Guslars picked it up, and composed songs - most of them quite fanciful, and entirely removed from the actual facts.

- "What about 'Guenna's Horse Raid'?" said Giedra. She was annoyed.

- "You're only upset because Thuruar hasn't called it 'Giedra's Raid'."

- "Well ... there's that, too."

- "You'll just have to ride him harder." said Rion, whose wound had done nothing to impair her wit.

There were local people nearby, who had been forced to work for the invaders. Now free, many of them attached themselves to us. Most were non-combatants, of course, but we could use the help, especially when it came to carrying the supplies we'd captured.

But there were fighters, too. Seven good men joined us the very next day - and twenty-four more over the next few days, when we were already on the move.

***

"It's last year all over again." said Giedra.

She was referring to our flight from Prospal Hill to the Vale of Nareven, with two pregnant women (one of those being the Duchess) and a gaggle of children and elderly people, pursued all the way by Izumyrian cavalrymen.

She was right. I was becoming more and more frustrated, trying to herd our fighters towards the east. Prosquetel and the Duchess saw no need for haste; in their view, we'd just won a great victory. Ban Lemek was in no hurry, either. He seemed to think that the longer we lingered in the area, the more men would flock to join him. Heras Koymil and his friends just wanted to ride up and down our line, acting important.

I asked them, several times, to scout for us, or to act as a rearguard. They would reluctantly ride away, and travel a league or two before returning to report that they had seen nothing.

Mailis was better, but her influence with the other leaders was very limited. Liesma helped, especially with the non-combatants, and Giedra kept the Uplanders together. But it was up to me to be the voice of reason, and to push everyone.

By the end of the second day, my patience had evaporated. My sister Tanguiste was the diplomat in our family. Even my father had endless reserves of patience, compared to me. Well, I'd tried reasoning with them, encouraging and cajoling. None of that had worked, so I called a council of the leaders and simply vented my anger.

- "It's been three days since we took the Ban's steading." I shouted (the more people who heard me, the better). "Where do you think the Izumyrians are? By now, they know that we're not headed for Yeseriya. There were already over 200 lying in wait for us. And what if they sent for reinforcements from Hvad town?"

- "There's no need to shout." said Prosquetel.

- "Yes, there is! You're all dawdling. The Izumyrians are coming! Don't you understand? We have a river to cross, and you're dawdling!"

- "There's a ford at Pleven." said Ban Lemek.

- "There you go." said Prosquetel.

- "And what if it's held against us?"

- "We'll find a way across." said Iduallon.

- "Aaargh!" I threw up my hands in despair.

Giedra and Liesma walked back to our fire with me.

- "I can't believe that you just yelled at the Duchess." said Giedra. Liesma nodded her agreement.

- "Do you think it worked?" I asked them.

- "Wait - you weren't angry?" said Giedra. "You were faking it?"

- "Of course I'm angry. But I wouldn't just yell at them because I'm angry. I shouted because I've tried everything else, and nothing has worked."

- "Why didn't you tell us?" she said. "Damn it, Guenna! You're just like your father - always tricking and manipulating me. I hated when he did that!"

Liesma was much more reasonable. "She couldn't have told us in advance, Giedra. The others would have seen it on our faces."

Giedra stormed off, cursing under her breath.

"She'll get over it." said Liesma.

The next day was better. The improvements weren't earth-shattering, but they were noticeable. Everyone moved just a little faster, and Prosquetel made certain that the Duchess was closer to the front of our column. Koymil and the mounted men scouted a little longer, and Giedra got over her snit.

On the following day, we reached the ford at Pleven. Of course, it was held against us.

***

"There are only 60 of them!" said Iduallon. "We can beat them!"

Prosquetel knew better. Our fighters would have to cross waist-deep water, and then try to climb a short but fairly steep riverbank. We outnumbered the Izumyrians two to one, but they were heavy infantry, with shields and spears. The river was just wide enough that our archers couldn't quite reach them. If we tried to force our way across, we might suffer heavy losses - and still fail.

We were stuck.

So, naturally, Prosquetel, Lemek and the others turned to me.

- "What do we do?"

I was tempted to say 'Now you're asking me?'. But I held it in, just as my father would have done.

- "We have two options: one is to gather all the men and women we have who can swim, and send them across under cover of darkness. Then we attack the ford. We'll lose quite a few fighters, but it might be doable. The second option is to follow the river east and look for another place to cross."

- "There is no other ford." said Ban Lemek.

We asked for volunteers who could swim. fourteen men and two women raised their hands. There were a few stalwart fighters there, but not one of them was what I would call a leader, or even a champion. It didn't help that Iduallon was among their number. He would immediately claim the leadership - and that could only lead to disaster.

If Giedra had known how to swim, I might have considered it. If Liesma could have gone with her, I would have felt even better. But swimming a powerful, wide, and deep river in the dark is not for the faint-hearted - or for non-swimmers.

- "A raft?" suggested Gerimir.

We didn't have many axes, and there were relatively few trees about. The land was also fairly flat, so it would be difficult to conceal what we were doing from the Izumyrians at the ford. But if the swimmers could help to drag or push a raft ... perhaps the thing was possible.

By the next morning, we had cut down two trees, and were still planning our night crossing. I let the others believe that I was confident, but this was something well beyond my limited experience.

That's when two of Koymil's friends returned from a scouting ride. They'd gone a little further east, up the river.

- "There are quite a few boats there." one of them said.

- "How many is quite a few?"

- "Umm ... twenty? Maybe more?"

- "It must be the Hvad town boatmen." said Ban Lemek.

This was all new to me. Hvad town was built on the shore of the lake, and men with boats had quickly discovered several ways to earn a living. There were fishermen, of course, and then ferrymen, who could transport paying passengers across the lake, to Mahuc.

But many more began carrying resources from further upriver, and then finished goods from the workshops in town on the return trip. The boatmen would do almost anything for a price; they'd also earned an unrivalled reputation for drinking, fighting, and foul language.

They were a tough, independent lot. But patriots they were not: if the Izumyrians were willing to pay, the boatmen were happy to work for the invaders.

Prosquetel seized on the idea right away.

- "They can carry us across the river!" he exclaimed. He was no more keen on the raft (and the plan to attack the ford) than I was.