The Chronicles of Hvad Ch. 10

Borna split his forces. This is something you should never do when facing a superior enemy. But we had little choice, if we were going to feed all the non-combatants who were flocking to join us.

Two years of fighting had weighed heavily on the people. Their harvests, flocks and herds were repeatedly stolen, by both sides. Now they had no option but to place their hopes in their Hospodar. Somehow, Borna had to find a way to support them.

So he took the thirty Uplanders, Nanaidh and all twenty of the female warriors, and a handful of others. Aare, Modri, and his two followers were brought along, for their knowledge of the lands around Manahir's steading. The only other males included in the party were Lovro and me.

Hravar and Dirayr would have preferred to go with us, I'm sure. But they were given tasks related to food-gathering, or taking care of the families of non-combatants. Likewise, Kawehka and the foresters, including Tsoline, stayed behind to hunt in neighbouring forests.

Borna meant to carry the fight onto our enemies' lands, and possibly bring back some food. At the very least, it would be sixty fewer mouths to feed at our steading.

It was easy to skirt Manahir's lands, with Aare and Modri to lead us. They questioned a few trustworthy locals, and learned a great deal.

- "Leho and his brother have gone back to Adarion." said Modri. "But they've left 150 men here."

Borna chose to bypass them. He wanted to see Yelsa, the province of Ban Indrek.

We rode on, stealing a sheep or three here and there. Aare spoke to a pair of herders, and discovered something interesting.

- "They think we're from Adarion." he reported. "Hundreds of riders have been passing back and forth, since last fall. To them, we all look the same."

- "Hmm." said Borna, looking thoughtful.

That gave me an idea, too. "Aare, ask them if the 'other' riders from Adarion steal livestock, or if they pay for it."

- "They never pay." was the answer.

- "Hmm." said Borna, again.

- "You think we can pass as a party from Adarion?" I asked.

- "Let's try it and see."

So we rode deeper into Yelsa. We ignored the locals, who scampered to hide their food or livestock when they saw us coming. But when they didn't see us coming, we ate well.

- "It's so ... big." said Payl. "So many people."

- "There are almost twice as many in Adarion." I told her. "And Hvad town has even more folk, in a much smaller space."

- "You've seen it?"

- "Once, as a boy. I couldn't believe how people could live so close together, all piled on top of one another."

- "Have you been everywhere in the Lowlands?" she asked.

- "Hardly. I've never been to Pitve, or Mahuc, or Stonje. And I think that I'm about to see Adarion for the first time."

- "He's very daring, your Borna." she observed.

He certainly was.

When we camped, at night, Borna posted multiple pickets, in no particular pattern. He also liked to conceal many of our horses, or even a portion of our company, when possible. On this particular occasion, half of us were spending the night in a grove of silver birches.

Lovro and Nanaidh were great warriors, but not necessarily suited to command large numbers in the field. Aare was not experienced enough. That meant that command tasks, such as inspecting our camp, and supervising the placement of pickets, fell on Borna's shoulders alone, unless he delegated them to me.

As his Hand, I should have accompanied Borna everywhere he went. But more and more, as his druzhina grew, he had come to rely on me as a lieutenant, one who was capable of completing a task independently. Meanwhile, Lovro and several others shared my duties as bodyguard, so that Borna would not be unprotected.

This arrangement had certainly benefited me, these past few months. It granted me many opportunities to be with Payl, in privacy. Borna never begrudged me the time. In fact, he seemed to approve wholeheartedly. Payl never complained, either, that I was available only at certain times - perhaps she even preferred it that way.

So on this particular night, I was completing a circuit of our camp, satisfied with everything I had seen. As I passed a large birch tree, I heard a throaty chuckle. Instinctively, I glanced in that direction. A couple were seated close together, the man's arm around the woman's shoulder. She had long, flowing red hair.

Durra? I couldn't believe that Durra would be trysting, under the trees. Lovro would be astonished, when I told him. I was curious, of course, to know who the man was, but my sense of propriety suggested that I should respect their privacy.

I couldn't help it. I glanced once more at the woman. That's when I realized my mistake. From this side of the tree, the couple were less concealed by shadows. Her long hair wasn't braided. And it was not dark red, as I had first thought. It was more of an orange red.

The woman wasn't Durra at all. It was Siret.

My heart stopped. I thought instantly of Dirayr. He'd said that he and Siret would marry, one day. Now my curiosity overcame my respect for her privacy. I took a step closer, to see who Siret was with.

I was too close. The couple both looked up, and saw me. To my utter horror, the man with Siret was Borna.

- "Ljudevit?" he said. "What is it?"

Of course, in his mind, the only possible reason that I would interrupt them had to be some kind of emergency. But my mouth was dry, and my mind felt paralyzed. I couldn't form a coherent thought, much less transform it into speech.

- "What's wrong?"

- "You ... you're needed." I somehow got out.

Borna whispered something to Siret, then got to his feet and came to join me.

- "What is it?" he repeated.

I jerked my head, and moved further away. He followed. Out of earshot from Siret, I rounded on him.

- "What are you doing?" I hissed.

- "What are you talking about? What does it look like I'm doing?"

- "That's Siret!"

- "Ljudevit - what's wrong with you?" he asked, his voice rising.

- "What about Tsoline? What about Dirayr?"

- "What about him?" replied Borna. He was growing angry, now.

- "Dirayr is planning to ask Siret to marry him." I said, trying to keep my voice down.

- "She said nothing about that to me. Look - Tsoline doesn't own me, nor I her. And the same goes for Siret. Dirayr doesn't own her. She's a warrior, Ljudevit - not a slave."

- "He's your friend." I insisted.

- "She's my friend, too." he answered.

- "All the more reason."

My wits deserted me, that night. I should have said 'Put yourself in Dirayr's place' - but I didn't. I was too shocked, caught off guard by Borna's response. And then the moment passed.

"End of conversation." said Borna. "Go away, Ljudevit."

***

We crossed into Leho's province, and immediately began to notice small differences. The fields were more orderly, laid out in neat patterns. There were more farms. The hamlets and villages were larger, and more prosperous. When I saw how comparatively wealthy they were, I began to feel like a savage Uplander myself.

Borna's luck manifested itself several times during our ride across Yelsa, but in Adarion, it became freakish. Off in the distance, we saw a pair of hills, with a large village nestled between them. Aare was sent off to investigate.

He returned with his mouth agape. "You're not going to believe this." he said. "That village? It's Solimoj."

He was right. I couldn't believe it. Of all the places in Adarion, we had stumbled upon Leho's salt mine. It was the largest and richest in all of landlocked Hvad. The revenues from Solimoj alone probably accounted for a third of Leho's wealth.

- "I wonder how many guards there are." said Borna.

Aare just grinned. "Already asked. Would you believe thirty?"

- "That's more than I would have expected." I said.

- "It's more than usual," said Aare, "because today is a special occasion. It's the day the miners get paid. In salt, of course. So there are a dozen merchants here, to buy from the miners, and from Ban Leho. The extra guards are here to make sure the Ban's money reaches its destination."

Lovro licked his lips, and spoke for every man and woman in our company. "Damn."

There was no question, from that point. Borna organized us, swiftly and efficiently. We rode straight into the village, and attacked at once. The villagers scattered like chickens. The merchants and their guards tried to protect their money. The miners were unarmed. Many of them took advantage of the confusion to disappear with their salt.

Leho's guards fought very poorly. They weren't together, in any sort of body, but spread around the marketplace, in twos and threes. Perhaps they were shocked by our women warriors, or by the presence of the screaming Uplanders. Several of them ran from the sight of Vepar alone. Or, maybe it was the simple fact that the money in question wasn't theirs to begin with.

We killed a dozen warriors, and another dozen merchants, or their guards, plus a few innocent villagers. We captured the outbuildings at the head of the mine. Nothing was fortified, or built for defence.

Seven of ours were killed, or seriously wounded, probably because of the confusion, and the disjointed nature of the fighting. It was a heavy price to pay. Had we taken more time to prepare, and advanced as a unit, we would have suffered fewer losses. Then again, our foes would have been better prepared, and put up more of a fight. Or many might have fled.

But now we had to hurry. The villagers would spread the word, on foot. And if one of the warriors had escaped on horseback, then our time in Solimoj had to be extremely limited.

There were many wagons in the center of the village, belonging to the merchants, and to the Ban. But Borna wouldn't let us take them.

- "Too slow. We take only what we can carry."

It's surprising how much fifty riders can take, especially when they've captured the mounts of thirty more warriors. It was these animals that caught Lovro's attention. He pointed to three magnificent horses, taller and stronger than our Hvadi ponies.

- "Remember what Hravar was telling us?" he asked. "I'm thinkin' those are Izumyrian."

- "They are." said a voice. "They are mine." The accent was strange, to our ears. Both Lovro and I turned to look.

A richly-dressed young man stood before us. He had long, straight black hair, and was completely clean-shaven. His clothing was unusual, too. It seemed lighter than our linen and wool, the colours brighter. He also wore a necklace and a chain around his neck.

His sword scabbard was empty. Nanaidh had disarmed the man, and his two retainers, who stood behind him.

- "Who are you?" I asked.

- "I am a guest of the Ban of Adarion, and you would be wise to release me, Fadi." he said. His accent was slightly off-putting - the emphasis was on the wrong syllables, and he enunciated several letters much too emphatically.

- "Who's this 'Fadi'?" asked Lovro.

- "We are." I said. "The guslar says that Izumyrians are lazy. They don't bother pronouncing Hvadi - they just call us 'Fadi'."

- "But he speaks our language? That's odd, isn't it?"

- "It is. That's why we'll take them with us. Bundle them up." I said.

I told Borna about the prisoners, but he had only enough time to approve my decision. It felt awkward, talking to him, after our disagreement over Siret. But there simply wasn't enough time to dwell on it. He was occupied with getting our people loaded up, and keeping the Uplanders from wandering off, looking for more loot. Fortunately, most of them were mesmerized by the sheer number of the merchants' coins.

- "I've never seen so much money in all my life." breathed Mutimir.

- "Neither have I." I admitted.

Borna's luck held true. We left Solimoj with all the salt and coins we could carry, and three Izumyrian prisoners. We rode for long stretches, trying to put as much distance as possible between ourselves and the inevitable pursuit. It was just a matter of staying ahead - with one crucial advantage: we knew exactly where we were going.

We tested the limits of our ponies' legendary endurance, and they never let us down. Everyone knew the value of what we were carrying. Oddly enough, there was little danger of theft by one of our own. The Uplanders would never be able to find their way home. Even if they did, there was nowhere in the Uplands to spend such a hoard of coin.

Borna gave me one additional task on the journey back. He made the Izumyrians my responsibility.

- "Find out who they are." he instructed me. "And why they're here."

I was tempted to snap at him. 'Do it yourself!', or something equally stupid. I was still angry with him for lying with Siret. Or perhaps I was simply angry because I knew. I hadn't cared when he lay with Lulalme, Asrava's concubine, even though he was with Kanni.

Nor did I protest when he left Kanni to take up with Tsoline. I was his Hand. His bodyguard. Not the keeper of his conscience. Only ... how could I look Dirayr in the eye, when I saw him again? How could I look at Siret?

I was pledged to Borna. Whatever his failings, I was still convinced that he was the greatest man in Yeseriya, and the best choice to be our Ban. I would do as he asked, without complaint.

It was difficult, though. The Izumyrian nobleman was a tough nut. He had a little vocabulary, in our language, and I knew nothing of his.

- "Who are you?" I asked him.

- "I am a guest of the Ban of Adarion."

- "Why were you at the salt mine?"

- "I am a guest of the Ban of Adarion. He gave me permission."

- "But why were you there?"

- "The Ban of Adarion gave me permission."

- "What's your name?"

- "I am Izumyrian. I am a guest of the Ban of Adarion."

He could keep that up all day long. It wasn't just the repetition. His highbrow, looking-down-his-nose attitude was also wearing on my nerves. After two days, I was tempted to hand him over to Meeli DeadEyes, to see if she could get better answers.

I tried to trick him, or trap him into revealing something, but he was too good for me. He never seemed to get bored of repeating the same answers. Meanwhile, I grew more and more frustrated.

After another completely useless question and answer sequence, Aare took the nobleman away, while I sat down heavily on the grass, and let loose a deep sigh.

- "Fucking asshole." I muttered.

Directly opposite me were the noblemen's two retainers. Or servants, or attendants - I couldn't tell, because neither one spoke our language.

But when I swore, one of them grinned, and nodded his head. He wasn't looking at me, at the time. But I could have sworn that his grin was a reaction to what I'd said. Now he noticed me staring at him, and he went pale.

- "You understand Hvadi." I accused.

He shook his head.

-"You just gave yourself away - again." I said.

The fellow shook his head, a little more emphatically.

- "Lovro!" I called. "I know Borna won't let us torture the Lord, but he never said anything about the other two, did he?"

- "Not that I remember." said Lovro. "Hey - if you think it'll help, knock yourself out."

I stood up, and grinned. "Maybe I'll let Meeli do it. She's batshit crazy."

The Izumyrian held out his hands. "Hey. Hey - there's no need for that."

- "Well, well." said Lovro. "Look who speaks Hvadi."

***

We got out of Adarion and across Yelsa, as quickly as we could. I can't account for it. Maybe Leho didn't realize right away who was responsible for the attack on his salt mine. Whatever the reason, we made it back into Yeseriya without seeing any large force in pursuit. We got as far as the outskirts of Manahir's steading.

Then Borna showed the size of his stones.

- "Lovro, I have a job for you. But only if you think it can be done. And you'll need help, so I'll have to ask for volunteers."

Collective madness being the order of the day, there was no shortage of willing volunteers. Borna chose Lovro, and Mutimir, with his five remaining retainers. He explained what he wanted them do. I was aghast at the sheer audacity of what he was proposing.

- "I can give you a day. Then I have to move." said Borna. "Can you do it?"

- "We can have a go at it." said Lovro.

He and his little group trotted off, while the rest of us laid up just inside a grove of trees, mostly red maples. The leaves were just beginning to turn.

We stayed there, hidden as best we could, for a day. That gave me plenty of time to worry, and to spend in conversation with my new friend. He was short, with a scruffy beard and a twinkle in his eye.

His name was Keptel. He was an Izumyrian man-at-arms; that meant that he could ride, and he could fight. But he had been sent to Hvad, as a combination bodyguard-servant, for the man I had referred to as 'fucking asshole'.

- "He is, you know." said Keptel, in passable Hvadi. "Thinks he's quite the prize."

- "Where did you learn Hvadi?" I asked him.

- "My mother was from Hvad. The town. Don't know exactly where that is, though. My father was a soldier. Mom used to talk to me in her own language all the time. Told me we could keep secrets that way."

- "You speak it well." I said. "Is that why you ended up here? With Lord High Asshole?"

- "Yeah. Sort of. His name's Anfroy. He's no Lord, though."

- "No? What is he, then?"

- "He's a military engineer." said Keptel.

- "A what?" I had never heard these two words together.

- "He builds military fortifications. You know - towers, castles, town walls. And he also figures out ways to attack 'em."

I had to stop for a moment. To think. Then I asked Keptel many more questions. Though he had been born and raised in northern Izumyr, he identified more with his Hvadi mother than with his father's overlords. Keptel also found me more sympathetic than his 'master', Anfroy. That's perhaps why he told me many things that I would never have figured out on my own.

I took what I had learned to Borna.

- "You're not going to believe this." I predicted.

- "Try me." he answered.

- "Anfroy - the nobleman who's not a nobleman. He's a military engineer."

- "A which now?" said Borna.

- "He's an expert in military fortifications. Building them, attacking them ... and finding the best locations for building them."

Borna was no fool. He understood the significance much quicker than I had.

- "They're planning an invasion." he said.

- "I think so." I agreed.

- "Any idea when?"

- "Keptel doesn't know. Can I have Anfroy tortured?"

Borna grinned. "Not yet. Ljudevit -"

- "Yes?"

- "Make friends with Keptel. And learn Izumyrian. As quickly as you can."

***

The true audacity of Borna's plan only became apparent the following day. We saw the first columns of smoke, off to the south, in Yelsa, shortly after dawn. And then there were more. It was hard to tell exactly what was burning, but even a child could see that it was a lot of burning.

Over one hundred riders streamed out of Manahir's steading, headed south.

We gave them time to be on their way. Then, at midday, Borna led us down to the very outskirts of the steading.

With one hundred and fifty warriors to feed, in a war-torn province, Leho - or Indrek of Yelsa - had sent additional foodstuffs to support their garrison. They had built a pen for cattle. I never got a chance to count them. We broke the pen, and made off with as many animals as we could rustle. The rest scattered across the countryside.

I wouldn't have wanted to be the poor bugger left behind, in command of the men still in Manahir's steading. Here was Borna's genius in action. The real commander had already left, to investigate the smoke clouds to the south. He was likely to be the most decisive, most aggressive warrior on the spot, even if he wasn't the overall commander. And it was a safe bet that he had taken the best fighters with him.