The Chronicles of Hvad Ch. 15

HVAD CHAPTER 15

The Grey River, in mid-autumn, was much calmer than it had been in the spring. I understood now why Barsam wouldn't launch his invasion until late spring or early summer of next year. It simply wasn't practicable when the river was in full spate.

I rode across the open fields of Adarion with mixed feelings. This still felt like enemy territory, to me - yet it was Hvad. And these people would be the first to feel the full weight of the Izumyrian invasion. Even if Barsam intended to restore Dagnis as Ban, he would be no more than a puppet.

And would Izumyrian soldiers - especially the mercenaries - refrain from looting and rape, just because this land would eventually be given to an ally?

The vision of Hvad town in flames, with bodies strewn everywhere, and women screaming, still haunted me. Those horrors, I knew, would be repeated across Hvad, on a smaller scale - but what does scale matter, when your family is being slaughtered, or you are being raped?

Yet I was looking forward to seeing my friends. It seemed like a selfish pleasure, but I couldn't help it. Borna would be there. Lovro, and so many others.

And Payl ...

I was a father, by now. Was the babe a son, or a daughter?

It came as a surprise when a patrol intercepted me, only a few leagues from the river. I was even more surprised to find myself surrounded by a dozen riders - led by the young redhead, Aare.

- "Ljudevit!" he exclaimed. Then he promptly rode up alongside me, and awkwardly tried to embrace me - not an easy thing to do, when we were both on horseback.

- "Look at you!" I said. "A Captain, now?"

- "It's so good to have you back." he said. "Borna will want to see you right away - he and Ahli are at Hravar's steading."

It took me a moment to remember that Hravar's steading was formerly Manahir's. I also wondered at the idea of Ahli travelling with her future husband.

Aare insisted on escorting me there. I knew several of the members of his party, so we had plenty to talk about on the way. But Aare was not shy about taking me aside, so that we could converse in private.

I already liked and respected this young man. But I was even more impressed when he resisted the urge to pump me for information. Instead, he told me a number of things that he believed I should know.

The Ban of Mahuc had yielded to Borna's diplomatic skill, or had felt intimidated - no one knew for certain. But Mahuc was now allied with us.

That left two provinces - Pitve and Stonje - uncommitted. And, of course, Hvad town. The town was wealthier and more populous than any two Hvadi provinces, including Adarion. But they were balking at an alliance with Borna, fearful of his ambition.

Ahli and Borna had turned into an ideal partnership. People admired Borna, but they adored her. Neither dominated the relationship - it would be a marriage of equals.

I was pleased to hear it. But I had to steer Aare to the topic I most wanted to hear about.

- "Have you heard anything of Payl?"

- "She is well." said Aare, with a grin. "And you are a father."

- "A boy? Or a girl?"

- "I am sworn to secrecy."

- "Horseshit!"

- "Honestly, Ljudevit - I think it best that you see for yourself." And from that position I couldn't move him.

We rode into Hravar's steading together. I ran another dozen people that I knew, or that knew me. The news of our arrival sped ahead of us.

When we arrived at the Ban's hall, it was to find a reception already awaiting us. Hravar was there, with his wife and son. Beside them was Lovro, that ugly old coot - and perhaps the best warrior in all of Hvad.

Borna was there, with his impish red-haired bride to be, grinning at me most impudently. I saw Modri, and several more familiar faces.

And then, for some reason, my composure failed me. I felt tears sting my eyes, and my nose filled with fluid.

- "Welcome home." said Hravar. Somehow, That only made it worse.

Borna didn't say anything. He simply stepped forward, and took me in his arms.

***

Borna had grown in wisdom. He knew that I had much to tell. But he also knew that it would be difficult for me to repeat my tale, over and over and again.

He believed - or perhaps this was Ahli's influence - that the impact of what I had to say could only be diluted by multiple repetitions. He would only ask me to relate what I had learned twice: once for his ears alone, and once more for his closest advisors.

- "Can we go home, first, Ljudevit?" he asked. "To our steading? Nanaidh's, now ..."

- "If you wish." I said. "But why?"

- "It's important to Ahli." he said. "But it may be ... important to others, too. You and I among them." He sent messengers ahead, calling his chief supporters to meet us there.

Then we set out, at a leisurely pace. Lovro rode with me, most of the way.

- "You're a lucky bastard." he said.

- "Am I?"

- "You're alive, for one." said Lovro. He wasn't wrong, there - so many of our friends and companions were dead.

- "And a father. But no one will tell me whether it's a boy or a girl."

Lovro laughed aloud. "You think I'd risk Payl's displeasure? You'll hear it from the horse's mouth - but not from me."

- "Chicken shit."

- "Not so bad as sheep shit." he said. "Or have you forgotten your glorious advance on Manahir's steading?"

He had me there: I'd been up to the elbow in a pile of sheep dip, just before our climactic battle for Yeseriya - and Lovro had giggled like a little girl.

- "How is he?" I asked. I meant Borna, and Lovro knew it.

- "Bigger. Greater."

- "For the better?"

- "He's changed, Ljudevit. You'll have to decide for yourself."

- "How do you like being his Hand?"

- "I'm just a bodyguard." said Lovro. "I watch his back. He gets advice from Ahli, mostly - or Hravar, or Nanaidh. There's no single person who could do what you did for him."

It felt good to hear that, of course, especially coming from Lovro.

That night, we camped in the open. Borna set up pickets, with a roving guard to check on them. This was more than mere force of habit; Borna always said that the one day he forgot to set guards would be the one day he needed them most.

When everyone had eaten, Borna called me to join him. Ahli was there, too.

- "Tell us about Izumyr." he said.

I heard the word 'us' clearly; rather than having to repeat whatever I said to her, she could hear it firsthand. It also made it plain to Ahli, I suppose, that he wasn't keeping secrets from her.

I'd been marshalling my thoughts ever since the day I'd left Dulo's inn. What I knew came pouring out of me, in a steady stream. The size of the city - which they referred to as a town. Those enormous horses. The differences between Izumyrian soldiers and Hvadi warriors. Their numbers, arms and equipment.

Barsam's character, and his inexperience. The relationship I'd forged with him. Barons Kaim and Voss. The adventurers flocking to join them, and the mercenaries they were awaiting.

- "When are they expected?" asked Borna.

- "Next year. Late spring, or early summer, when the river crossing will be easier. But I didn't see any sign of a large number of boats."

- "You've done incredibly well, Ljudevit, to find out so much." said Ahli.

- "There's more." I told them about the plan to attack Hvad town - and then to let their soldiers loose to sack it.

Borna closed his eyes, but didn't say a word. His own mother had been raped, and his sisters murdered - he knew, as I did, what that felt like.

- "They would do that?" said Ahli.

- "That's what they intend. They spoke of it openly."

Borna changed the subject. "Any sign of Dagnis?"

- "He's there." I related my run-ins with his followers, and their attempts to kill me.

- "No wonder the Duke is impressed with you." said Borna. "It seems I made a good decision, to send you."

***

We rode into the ruins of Gosdan's steading the following day - and I was astonished.

Nanaidh had rebuilt the little settlement where I'd grown up - and made it significantly better. I shouldn't have been surprised; when Nanaidh took on a task, she didn't waste time.

Then I forgot all about the improvements and repairs.

Payl was there.

Her long hair was still a tangled mass of knots, stiff with lime and dried clay. She wore her leather armour, her wolf pelt, and her necklace of teeth. For this occasion, she'd refrained from painting her face.

She didn't say a word. She simply looked at me. Payl, my Shining One. I stepped towards her. Payl closed the distance between us with three quick steps, and hurled herself into my arms.

I never got a chance to say anything, because she almost knocked the breath out of me - and then covered my lips with her own. She kissed me passionately, and then bit my lip, to remind me who I belonged to.

Finally, she released me, and grinned.

- "Would you like to see what I was up to while you were gone?"

- "Our child?"

- "Come!" She seized my hand and took off at a run.

She led me to a little house which she shared with Irija (thankfully, I hadn't seen Meeli Deadeyes about).

- "Welcome back, Ljudevit." said Irija.

And there was the answer to my question - which no one would tell me for fear of spoiling Payl's surprise: twins. A boy and a girl.

***

She'd named the boy Veran, and the girl Marit.

- "Why those names?" I asked.

- "Because you weren't here, and because I like them."

Irija excused herself, to give us some privacy - which Payl immediately took advantage of to begin stripping off my clothes. She was passionate, determined ... and left me battered and bruised.

Afterwards, I spent a long time just looking at my infant daughter and son. I got to hold Veran while Payl fed his sister, and then we traded.

People often say things like 'She looks just like you', or 'He has your eyes', but I couldn't see any resemblance. My first feeling, at that moment, was how light and insubstantial they were - like little birds, delicate and fragile.

And yet I was conscious of an overpowering burden: these little creatures were my responsibility now, to shelter and protect.

Later that evening, Payl made love to me gently - and tenderly.

- "Do you remember the pool," she asked, "where you washed my hair?"

I did. It was one of my fondest memories. "Have you forgiven me for that yet?"

- "Of course. I was even thinking that we might ... go there again ..."

***

Borna had gathered most of his advisors and top warriors. In addition to Lovro, Hravar, and Nanaidh, Mutimir LongRider had come over from his steading. Kawehka had come out of the forest, and brought Tsoline and Kanni with him.

Aare and Modri were there, and so were Eero and Reego RedFingers, representing the Uplanders, along with Payl.

Ban Indrek of Yelsa, Ahli's father, was also present.

We gathered in Nanaidh's new hall. Everyone present already knew where I'd been for the past months, so Borna gave me the briefest of introductions.

- "Ljudevit is here to tell us what he saw, in Izumyr."

I told them. I left out my relationship with Barsam, and my fights with Dagnis' men. I'd told Payl those stories, but the others didn't need to be distracted from the essentials.

You might think it unwise, to share so much information with so many people. But they'd all shed blood for Borna, and now would probably have to again. They would likely be risking their lives again in the coming year; it was only fair to let them know what they were up against.

No one quailed, when I told them the Izumyrian numbers. But there was a strong reaction when I explained Barsam's plan to sack Hvad town - and what a sack meant.

- "And we're the savages?" snarled Lovro.

When I'd finished, there was complete silence in Nanaidh's hall. Looting, murder and rape happen in wartime. They happen in peacetime. But for a commander to deliberately unleash thousands of men - to incite them to commit atrocities - this was beyond our experience.

- "I'd like to hear what you think." said Borna.

Hravar wasn't shy. "These horses - they have hundreds of them?"

I nodded. Most of us had seen Izumyrian chargers - Leho and Dagnis had owned a few, in Adarion. The thought of hundreds of these monstrous beasts was certainly daunting.

- "We can't fight them in the open." said Nanaidh. "Which means that we can't stop them in Adarion, either."

Everyone understood what that meant: before the invasion even began, we would be surrendering Hvad's richest, most populous province. Why would anyone from Adarion stand with us if we did that?

- "You didn't mention archers, Ljudevit." said Tsoline.

- "That's a good observation." I said. "They don't have very many."

- "Neither do we." grumbled Lovro.

- "Could we - possibly - stop them at the river?" suggested Aare. "It can't be all that easy to disembark from a boat while you're being attacked."

- "You're right." I said, just as Borna had coached me to say. He preferred to remain aloof, while his councillors discussed matters, but he'd expected this question to arise.

"We could make it difficult for them to cross the river. But we don't have enough fighters to cover the entire length of the Grey. We also can't expect our warriors to spend the entire year on guard."

"Even if we were successful, that might only delay the invasion. They could wait, and come across when we were no longer there."

Payl didn't speak, as she probably would have, if I hadn't already listened to her questions and suggestions in private. She'd been helping Nanaidh train female fighters, but she knew that most of these women - just like most of our male warriors - couldn't possibly face a charge of heavy cavalry in the open.

- "They have to sleep." said Reego RedFingers.

I understood what he meant. We all did. But to wear down 5,000 men by ambushes and night attacks ... we would have to kill 3 or 4 - or maybe 7 or 8 - Izumyrians for every fighter that we lost.

Borna wanted his friends to know what I'd learned. But it wasn't a heartening tale. Everyone left the hall quietly, that night.

Payl was especially gentle when she made love with me, afterwards.

***

When I awoke, it was to see Payl feeding Veran again. For such a fierce warrior, she was an attentive mother. What would our children think, when they were old enough to understand who their mother was? And what would they think of their father?

I was assuming that they would live long enough. Could I possibly persuade Payl to take them to the Uplands, and to remain there?

Payl sensed that I was watching her. She smiled, and cooed at little Veran as he fed.

Later that day, I met with Borna - alone. I had half expected that Ahli would be present. He was looking at map of Adarion, where the Grey river was featured in great detail.

- "I'm told there are only three or four decent spots to cross." he said.

- "We still don't have enough men to cover four locations. Not for long, at any rate."

- "Not without a permanent army."

- "Which we don't have." I said.

- "No. And that's more of a blessing than a curse. It would be beneficial, of course, to have a permanent watch on the river. But who would pay them? And who would protect us from our own army, if it ever entered their minds to seize power for themselves?"

- "You've been thinking about this?"

Borna nodded. "I have."

That was the Borna I knew. Most people's thoughts ran to what they would eat, later in the day. Borna, though, considered the future, the repercussions of whatever we were going to do this year. He'd known, the moment we took up arms against Manahir and Asrava, that one day he would have to become Ban of Yeseriya just to survive.

Even at his lowest ebb, when Adarion and Yelsa had invaded to prevent Borna's election as Ban, I believe he realized - even before we went to the Uplands - that in order to win he would have to become the greatest power in all Hvad.

Now he was on the way to that. But would it be enough, to defeat an Izumyrian invasion? I couldn't see it. Perhaps I'd been too thoroughly intimidated by all of Barsam's soldiers, outside Lacine - and by the news that thousands more were on their way.

"What about a permanent force, though?" mused Borna.

- "What's the difference?"

- "Not an army." he said. "Imagine, instead, that each province provided five young men, for a year. They could patrol the river, and warn of any preparations for invasion."

- "In the distant future, you mean - assuming we can stop this invasion."

- "Of course." Borna paused, to refill his cup, and mine. Then her returned to his idea. "We could attach some prestige to this service ... make it an honour ... and then, after a year, they all return home."

- "It would be a pretty small force." I said.

- "45 - say, 50."

- "Fifty? Even if you count the Uplands, there would only be eight provinces."

- "Hvad town could provide 10. Perhaps even 15." said Borna. "And then, in future, we'd have a nucleus of these ... guardsmen, to call upon. Partly trained, already accustomed to serving beside people from other provinces ..."

"We could have them exercise with bows ... build up a strong force of archers ..."

Lovro had been right: Borna was bigger. Greater, in terms of his vision for Hvad. Was he ambitious, for himself? Of course he was - no one knew that better than I did.

But he also had more to offer our land than anyone I'd ever met, or heard of. Barsam was pursuing invasion plans for his own gratification. Thousands would suffer and die - and for what? Vanity.

Borna was driven to improve and to build. If he had his way, the Hvadi would eventually accept Uplanders, and women warriors. He might be selfish, but he was fair, and generous. He never sent his friends and supporters into danger which he was unwilling to face himself.

Yes, there was something different about Borna already. Maybe it was me who had changed, during my months as a spy in Izumyr. Was I more observant, or simply more suspicious?

Gosdan's steading was now Nanaidh's; it stood in exactly the same place - yet it felt different to me. So many of the friends I'd grown up with, including my family, were gone. I saw folk walking about inside the steading, but they were people who didn't seem to belong.

Of course, I was the one who no longer belonged. I hadn't lived here, really, since that fateful journey to Asrava's steading. You can't expect your childhood memories to remain completely undisturbed - especially after all of the upheaval we'd lived through.

And now my childhood friend was different, as well. He'd outgrown me, in a sense. He had Lovro to watch his back, and others to advise him, Ahli first and foremost among them. No, I didn't resent her. She'd never been anything but kind to me, and I believe that she was a good influence on him.

Borna might have been prescient when he offered to make me a Hospodar. Had he seen, somehow, that the ruler of Hvad didn't need a Hand? Not in the old, traditional sense, at least. Perhaps I should have accepted his offer.

At the time, I couldn't picture Payl as the wife of a Hospodar. Now I indulged myself in a little daydream, imagining us dispensing justice, resolving petty quarrels, and raising our children together.

But the Izumyrians were still coming, and that idyllic little vision was a mirage.

I finally noticed that Borna was standing still, looking at me.

- "Welcome back." he said.

- "Sorry. I was ... wandering ..."

- "Don't be sorry. I've been doing the same. Ahli used to call my name several times to get my attention; now she just kicks me in the ankle."

- "Payl wouldn't be so gentle." I said.

Borna smiled, briefly. "I've reached agreement with the leaders of Hvad town." he said.

- "You have? That's good news, at least. How did that happen?"