The Chronicles: Notomol Ch. 14

- "I have to tell Dubek." said Giedra.

- "Notomol is telling him tonight. But what about you? Does this change anything for you?"

Giedra thought about it. But then she shook her head. "I still have a name to win, Guenna. And I don't think that Dubek is done with the Izumyrians yet either."

I didn't have to ask Rion and Eliv; there was absolutely no chance that they would leave Giedra.

- "Berilde?"

- "I wish that he was staying with the army, for my own selfish reasons. But if he's going to Nareven - even for just a little while - then I'm very happy for you." She embraced me, and squeezed me tight.

That led to a bearhug from Giedra, who wasn't about to be outdone.

I still had a few people to talk to.

Liesma was from Mahuc; she and Giedra had grown close, but on the day Liesma decided to leave the army, she had a home to go to. The same was true of Krissika, and a number of our other female fighters. Tota was homeless, but I knew that she too wasn't finished with fighting.

I sat down with Senderra and Evane. Kolasovets and Inita joined us, at my invitation. Notomol had already talked with them. But I wanted to make sure that they knew how I felt.

- "You would all be welcome in Nareven." I said. "My father is no lord. Nor is Vingoldas, my sister's husband. You could hunt, or farm... or simply rest for a few seasons."

Inita glanced at Kolasovets, then looked back to me.

- "Your pardon, Guenna, but I've heard tales of... wild men, in the Uplands."

- "There are dangerous folk." I told her. "You know the story of my uncle and my cousin. But they're dead. And Nareven is not only free - it's safe. The only real threats to our Vale are from outside the Uplands."

Kolasovets smiled at her, and covered her hand with his. Giedra was right once again: those two were in love. Deeply in love, unless I was mistaken.

- "My grandmother knew many Uplanders," he said, "and she esteemed them more highly than many of the Lowlanders she'd known."

- "It's kind of you to invite us in person." said Senderra.

- "Well, I can only imagine how I would feel if you said 'Come to Stonje with us'."

The moment I said that, I realized that I'd erred. Senderra and Evane had no home to go back to, while Inita had lost her entire family.

"I'm sorry." I said. "That was a very stupid thing to say."

Inita had the grace to smile at me. "That's alright, Guenna. We knew what you meant."

There was one more conversation for me to have the next morning, before I met up again with Notomol to decide how we would proceed.

- "You would have a chance to start over." I began. "No one there would recognize you, or criticize you for the decisions you made when the Izumyrians came."

- "That might be nice." he said.

- "You could collect what you need in Hvad town before we leave."

- "Mmm. I am somewhat low on supplies."

- "You would be free, in Nareven. You could ask as many questions as you want." (though I suspected that my father would limit him to three a day). "You could continue your research. Finish your Chronicle. And resume your career as a guslar."

He looked at me with hopeful eyes.

- "No one would know what I've done?"

- "That you saved the entire army? I would tell them about that, unless you gave me a good reason not to. They wouldn't need to know about your past, Nafni. Nor would they care. You could start fresh. Change your name. Do without a name, if you want." I told him about my adopted sister Nameless. He was more than a little intrigued.

- "Would you not tell anyone about me 'saving the army'?"

- "If you want it that way. May I ask why?"

He hung his head. "The only reason I knew those men was because I was also there cozying up to the Izumyrians. I was just... less successful at it."

- "If that's how you feel about it." I said. "But does that mean you'd consider it? Coming to Nareven?"

- "I would need more paper, and more ink."

***

Notomol and I met just after midday. I told him about the conversations I'd had, and then he related who he'd seen and talked to.

- "Dubek has more fighting to do. I'm not sure how much of that revolves around helping Giedra win herself a name, or if it has anything to do with his feud with the boatmen."

- "It's a feud, now?"

- "Lowlanders have them, too." he said. "They killed two of Dubek's friends, and then went after one of the dead men's younger brothers - still just a boy."

- "I understand."

- "I spoke to Cinna, as well. I don't think he'll stop until there are no Izumyrians alive on this side of the Grey river. I asked him how much vengeance would be enough. He said: 'How much justice is enough?'"

- "Oh. I'm sorry..." I'd hoped that Notomol could bring many, if not all of his old friends. But he and Cinna hadn't been friends before Dusova, and the massacre there had obviously affected them differently. Cinna's brother had died in the war; his home had been obliterated, and he had no family left.

- "But there's someone you need to hear from directly." said Notomol.

He led me to the edge of the town. Marmos and Berilde were with us, as ever, but I didn't want to go in there.

"We're not going into town." he said. "Just this first house, here."

Inside the humble cottage were the two guslars, Adrastas and Obran, along with Nelime and Orsho. The lady immediately came forward to take me in her arms.

- "We've said our farewells to Notomol." she said. "We wanted you to know how grateful we are for what you've done."

- "For what you've done for us." said Orsho.

He shook my hand. I couldn't believe how small my fingers looked, resting in his huge paw. Nelime kissed me on the cheek, and whispered in my ear.

- "Good luck. You deserve it."

They left us alone with the two guslars. Adrastas cleared his throat.

- "We will miss you." he said. "The army will miss you. That said, we can understand your decision. Your decisions." Obran nodded to signal his agreement.

- "Thank you." I said.

- "We thought you deserve to know what Notomol learned only last night. One of our brethren, a guslar, came in from Adarion. The Izumyrians have pulled out of all the provinces except for that one."

- "How many men do they have?" I asked. I couldn't help it. Notomol smiled.

- "Fourteen hundred infantry." said Adrastas. "Less than two hundred cavalry. But that's not the most important news. This is: Izumyr is at war."

It took me a moment to understand what the guslar was saying. Weren't they already at war? With us?

- "They're at war with someone else?"

Adrastas nodded. "The Eastern Empire. The Izumyrians fear them as much as we fear the Izumyrians."

- "More." said Obran.

- "Possibly." said Adrastas. "The last time they fought, the Izumyrians defeated an Eastern army of 30,000 men."

I heard the number. It made little sense to me. I had to repeat it, inside my head. Twice.

- "That's..."

- "Beyond our ken. Agreed. But it means that the Northern Duke will not be receiving any reinforcements. No mercenaries, either - even if he could afford them. He's on his own. In fact, he's under pressure from his King to get back where he belongs, and to send his men against the Easterners. Best of all, Prosquetel and the Bans will not learn of this until tomorrow."

I couldn't help smiling.

- "We - we've won?"

- "Almost." said Notomol.

- "The Duke may hold Adarion to ransom. He also holds two Bans hostage: Yeseriya and Adarion. But we have his son, and many hundreds of prisoners - plus the garrison of the castle. If he could get those men back, Beghel might be willing to leave."

- "The horsemen we captured at Probstheida include many men who could provide a ransom." said Obran. "It looks like the coming months may feature more negotiating than fighting."

- "Or more haggling than fighting." said Adrastas.

I suddenly felt bad for Giedra and Dubek. Their hopes of gaining more glory in battle were fading. But so were their chances of dying in battle. Cinna might not get the continued vengeance he sought. And if Notomol left, Prosequetel and the Duchess could preside over negotiations with the Izumyrian Duke. Or would the Bans simply exclude them, as they had tried to do to us so many times?

Let them, I thought. Let them play their games, as long as no more Hvadi innocents died. Notomol had been watching my reaction. He surprised me by reaching out to touch my arm.

- "It's for the better, Guenna." he said. "More of our friends will survive, this way."

- "You deserve so much more." I said.

- "We agree there." said the old guslar.

- "You would be welcome in the Uplands anytime." I told them. "In the meantime, I'll make sure that everyone learns 'Wind and Water'." Adrastas was particularly touched by that.

***

The very next day, a portion of the army marched west, along the shore of the lake, before turning north, towards Mahuc. Some of them rode: Cinna's scouts, on good Hvadi ponies, made certain that there were no enemies forces anywhere near us.

Nelime and Orsho did not join us. They'd said their farewells. But they took over the blockade of the castle garrison, assisted by Mailis and her Yeseriyans.

Some 100 people marched with us; in the main, they were Uplanders, female fighters, and warriors from Stonje, many of whom had been with Notomol for years. But there were a smattering of others, come to show their appreciation for the man who had led them in so many fights against the invaders.

If Prosequetel or the Bans had discovered that we were leaving, there wasn't much that they could do about it. The Bans, I suspect, would be happy to see Notomol gone, although Lemek might have been still holding out hope that we would support him. I doubt if the others could even remember my name.

As for Prosequetel, even if he had wanted to do us harm, he couldn't muster the manpower - not against the small army that had come to say goodbye.

Dubek brought his following, and embraced Notomol in front of everyone. He did the same for me, and one of his hands strayed rather low down my back.

- "Would Giedra laugh if I kneed you in the balls?" I asked him.

- "You know she would!" he said, starting to laugh on his own.

- "Take care of her." I said.

- "The reverse is more likely. Good luck to you, Guenna."

I said my farewells to Liesma, and to many of the other female fighters. I had a nice moment with Tota.

- "You can always come to Nareven." I'd told her about my sister Nameless, and how similar their personal histories were, not to mention their fighting skills. "You have family, Tota - whenever you want it."

There were a number of Uplanders to say goodbye to as well. Berilde was more emotional, this time, and Rion and Eliv chose to embrace me together, so that we ended up trapped in an awkward-looking three-way hug. It felt fine, though.

I didn't have to say goodbye to Paksyalta, because she was coming with me. So was Tugan. They were two of our best archers. He'd been pursuing her since we had first left Nareven, and Paksyalta had finally slowed down enough to left him catch her.

Seven more Uplanders - five women and two men - had also decided to go home with us. They'd seen enough fighting, and they were beginning to have trouble distinguishing between the Izumyrians and the Niskadi - the Lowlanders. Both groups hated us, and wanted us dead. Let them fight it out. Their attitude might have been different, had the leaders gone out of their way to reward us, or even just to praise us.

Notomol couldn't shower them with coins, because he had a huge army to share with. That, and the fact that spoils were limited, meant that the Uplanders weren't getting rich. Notomol had made much of their contribution, but they weren't blind to how Prosequetel, the Duchess, and many of the Lowlanders looked down on us. They'd had enough of that.

Ten of us were going home. Nafni, the guslar chronicler, made eleven.

Notomol had many more farewells to make. All of the Uplanders and female fighters who were staying with the army wanted to speak to him, to touch his hand or exchange a few words. So did many men and women who had been part of his band in Stonje, long before anyone thought of them as an army. I could understand how they felt.

They'd fought for him, bled for him, suffered privations and hardships for him. Yes, they'd been fighting against the Izumyrians and the mercenaries, but their trust and confidence in Notomol had sustained them through the most difficult periods. He hadn't let them down.

But now he was leaving. Most would wish him well, but many would be wondering why he was going. How could he leave them? What would they do without him?

In time, the leaders among them would be able to explain it to them. Hard as it might be for some to understand, Notomol had never wanted to be a leader - and he certainly didn't want to be one of the led ever again.

Senderra and Evane would be coming with us. They had no home to go back to, and Notomol was their only remaining family. I was very pleased that Kolasovets and Inita would be travelling with us as well. She had no home and no family left; his family had sent him to the Guards at the age of 15, so he was in no hurry to return to Yeseriya. I hoped that they would be happy with us.

Three of Notomol's fighters from Stonje, two men and a woman, were also coming. The habit of following Notomol had grown strong with them, and like Inita, they had little or nothing to go back to.

The last member of Notomol's party was a surprise, though: Marmos, his heavily scarred bodyguard. I wasn't sure why Marmos was coming, and neither was Senderra.

- "I really don't know." she said. "He so rarely says anything. I asked, but all he would say was that it was what he wanted to do."

- "He's been close to Notomol since before Prosequetel and the Duchess arrived." I said. "He's seen how they've treated him. Why would he remain with their army?"

- "Marmos has no family left." said Evane. "They're all dead. We're the closest he has to a family."

I took a closer look at Senderra's closest friend. Unless I was mistaken, it was only the second time I'd ever heard her speak. Evane was awfully plain, and so quiet that it was easy to forget that she was even there. But she had joined Notomol's band at the same time as Senderra, when the number of fighters they mustered could be counted on one hand.

- "He'll be right at home in Nareven." I said.

Notomol could have spent the entire day saying farewell to his friends and companions in arms. They understood, though, that one of our goals was to put some distance between ourselves and the town as quickly as possible, just to lessen the temptation for Prosequetel or the Bans to come after us.

The fighters gathered together, and raised their weapons in a final, silent salute.

With that, the twenty of us headed west, into Mahuc.

***

We travelled light, carrying only our weapons, blanket rolls, food and extra arrows. Notomol's party had never seen Mahuc at all, while the Uplanders and I had only been in the eastern half of the province. It was heavily forested, and reminded Kolasovets of his home in Yeseriya.

We stopped and made camp earlier than usual, because few of us had gotten much sleep the night before. We had a long journey ahead of us in the coming days.

Mahuc was not enemy territory, and the Izumyrians had withdrawn their garrisons. But Notomol saw no need to build a large fire and advertise our presence - just in case. We had no meat that needed roasting. We could make do with a cold meal for one night, at least.

We were up and on our way with the dawn.

Most everyone was quiet, alone with their thoughts - or their memories. Reality was setting in. Or perhaps we were only now confronting the enormity of what we were doing.

Paksyalta and Tugan were up ahead scouting, but just after midday they came trotting back to us.

- "Large party coming." she said. "Forty of fifty. Armed."

- "Not Izumyrians." said Senderra. "Are any of them mounted?"

- "No. Hvadi. All on foot, except for two men on ponies."

- "They must be going to join the army." I said. It had been a rare day, these past few weeks, when new fighters hadn't arrived to join us. This was a rather large contingent, though. Perhaps Ban Lemek had summoned up the support.

- "I think I'd prefer not to encounter them." said Notomol. "We have nothing to gain from a meeting."

He was probably right. We were heading in the opposite direction, which might lead to awkward questions.

- "Too late for that." said Paksyalta. "They saw Tugan and me. It may already seem odd to them that we turned and jogged away."

Notomol took a quick look around our group, as if to assess our strengths and weaknesses. I suddenly wished that we'd had Giedra and Liesma with us. Or, better yet, Dubek.

You might wonder why we were leery about meeting a party of Hvadi. Half of our party were Uplanders. It's not that we look all that different, but the moment we open our mouths to speak, many Lowlanders can tell us apart.

- "I'll do the talking." said Notomol.

There were fifty of them. Two mounted, as Paksyalta had said. Three men on foot wore leather armour, bore shields, and looked like they might have served in a Hospodar's druzhina, or retinue. The rest were young men carrying spears. A handful had swords, or axes.

- "Well met!" called one of the mounted men, a portly fellow with bristling mustaches. "I am Asimir, Hospodar of Mahuc. Are you on your way to join the army?"

- "Good day to you, Hospodar." said Notomol. "Ban Lemek will pleased to see you. As you can see, we are going in the opposite direction, on a scouting mission."

- "There's no need to scout in Mahuc. The Izumyrians have pulled out completely."

- We have our orders, Hospodar."

- "But I tell you that there's no need for it. We haven't seen an Izumyrian in weeks." The fat fellow blinked. "Who gave you these orders?"

- "They came from Notomol himself." said Notomol.

- "Really?" The Hospodar's eyes narrowed. "Scouts on foot? And half of them women? I find that hard to believe."

- "Every one of these women has fought beside Notomol."

The Hospodar chuckled. "Come, now. Let's march to Hvad town together. We'll soon see if there's any truth to your claims. You'll be safe with us. In fact, we can enjoy the journey. Share some stories, share some body heat. I myself will be glad to get closer to that redhead behind you."

Notomol drew an arrow from his quiver and nocked it, all in one smooth, swift motion.

- "That's my sister." he growled. His bow was aimed directly at the Hospodar.

Every single archer among us did the same. Paksyalta and Tugan, Senderra and Evane, Kolasovets and Inita. Of the twenty members of our party, twelve carried bows. Marmos drew his sword, and stepped up beside Notomol.

I knew that Marmos was no match for Dubek or Orsho - or even Giedra or Liesma. But with his horrific scars, he looked terrifying.

The portly Hospodar licked his suddenly dry lips. "You can't be serious. We outnumber you more than two to one. Half of your group are women!"

- "Would you like to see how well they shoot?" said Notomol. "I told you: they've all fought beside Notomol."

- "You're bluffing." guessed Asimir.

- "It won't matter. You can't possibly believe that we'll all miss a target as big as you."

A new voice entered the conversation.

- "Now, now... this won't do."

Nafni strode forward, clutching his gusle and bow in one hand. While the rest of us were nocking arrows, Nafni had unwrapped his musical instrument.

"Hospodar Asimir." he said. "These men and women are my escort. We are on a scouting journey - of sorts. I have been asked to undertake a critical mission: a recruiting mission in the Uplands. Just as Borna found support there, our leaders hope that some hundreds of fighters can be persuaded to join our campaign against the Izumyrians."