Through the Gate: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 1

by L J Dalton Jr

  The land sloped down from the Sud mountains to the south. It was forested to the east and to the west, where the Crystal River ran down from the mountains. But to the north and the south of Vinfarm, the land opened up into grasslands that provided good grazing for their sheep. Vinfarm, itself, was located on a gentle ridge that ran east to west in the middle of those grasslands. It was wide and the slopes were gentle. On the southern slope there were the vineyards that gave the village its name. There was a microclimate there that encouraged the growing of grapes. The sun warmed the southern slope and the weather was not overly hot. The wines that they produced were eagerly purchased by many of the wealthier people in Landia.

  To the east and south east were the pens where they kept the merino sheep that produced the fine wool that they were known for. They sheared the sheep in the spring and then put them out to pasture to the north. The shepherds and their families lived in small groups out in the plains while they grazed the sheep. The wool was spun into thread, much of the thread was sold on. Some was used to produce woolens for the village. They used the best wool to produce fine woolens that sold well in the north of Landia. It was just a bit early for the shearing and the sheep would be kept close to the village. That was good because it meant that the shepherds would all be in the village and Bart’s men could contain them.

  The village itself was surrounded by a twelve foot high stone wall. It was stout enough for its purpose, which was to keep out predators and discourage small bands of brigands. It was never meant to withstand a siege. Nor did the villagers live in fear of raids. The garrison at Nordia Pass along with the garrisons at Midport and Great Falls kept any bands of brigands in check. The village was shaped like a rounded rectangle, with the long ends facing north and south, and the shorter facing east and west. There were gates in the wall to the east, west, north and south. During the night these were kept closed but were open and unguarded during the day.

  The houses were in two rows along the walls. There was a base of stone with wood over it to keep the floors dry from rain. The stone went up some eight feet. Then the high thatched roof came down to meet the stone. The houses were divided into two rooms, with a clay chimney in the middle. The open fire pits had given way to small stoves for heat in the winter. In the middle of the village sat the communal dining hall, two bath houses with latrines and all of the shops. There were also ten guest houses. The houses were warm in winter and cool enough during the hot part of the winter.

  Samual and his group came up to the north gate. There they were met by men who would take their horses to the corral and store the carriage. As they entered the village, Mordt, the head of the village came to meet them. He escorted Samual and his wife to their guest house and showed his guards and drivers where theirs were. Samual agreed to meet him after he got settled. The house was comfortable. The second room contained a large bed and storage for Samual and his wife. The other room was an area to sit and read, as well as meet people. Samual left his wife to get settled and walked to Mordt’s house.

  Mordt’s house was in the middle of the village and a bigger than the other’s, it had three rooms and two doors. Two of the rooms were for the family and the other was where Mordt had his office. When Samual got there, he found Mordt along with the head vintner a man named, Haladan and the head cheesemaker Joran. They knew Samual’s business and were interested in selling some of their wares as well as to trade knowledge and news with him.

  The first hour of their conversation was an exchange of information. Samual had news of the south and some information on the general trade throughout Landia. The villagers had information on Nordia and the conditions. The big news was the upcoming wedding of Princess Christiana to Prince Roddrick. Samual already knew of this but played ignorant. He gathered that everybody seemed to hold the royal family in high regard. He wasn’t surprised, they had done a good job with the kingdom. Then they got down to business. Joran had some samples of cheese for Samual to try. They had both sheep’s milk cheeses and cow’s milk cheeses. The Guernsey cows produced an abundance of milk that was made into good cheese. He agreed to take a number of wheels of cheese from them.

  Then it was Haladan’s turn. The vintner had several wines he wanted Samual to look at. There were three reds and two whites. The reds were very good as were the whites. Samual agreed to take six barrels of each. They then arranged for delivery and payment. Mordt wrote out the agreement with the quantities and the prices. Once Samual looked it over, Mordt gave it to one of his wives to make copies. While they waited, they talked some more.

  When the copies were made, Samual and Mordt both signed all three of the copies. Samual took one with him and would give it his office in Midport. Mordt agreed to have the wine and cheese delivered to Midport in two months. The village had ten wagons, five of them would be dedicated to Samual’s order and other orders from Midport. The rest would be going to Nordport to deliver wine for the wedding. Mordt was very happy as the wedding raised the prices on their wines and cheeses, so there was more money for them all. They were also looking forward to the next daughter, Catrina, getting married. Samual wondered if the wine could be used for morning.

  He’d agreed to leave word, if either the guards at the pass or Vinfarm had birds. Since they didn’t, he continued on until they reached the River Road. There he sent one of the ‘guards’ to wait at the inn before River Bend for the royal family to arrive. He was then to ride and let Bart know that they would be there soon. Once that was done, they would meet up at the Resting Lion. In the meantime, Samual would continue on to Midport. There he would conduct business as normal. He’d wait until he was fairly sure the royal family was near the Resting Lion, then he would travel travel to Nordport to leave the kingdom. The assassins would escape to the south.

  Bart.

  Bart received the notice from Samual on when the royal family was expected at the ambush site and when he needed to be in position. The man he’d sent to scout the valley and the exit towards Nordia had come back with the report. There was plenty of grazing and water for the horses, they’d be fine. The trail out of the valley that they had to take to Vinfarm was narrow and rocky. It would be a difficult few miles. The supplies had all been gathered and the men picked out and briefed. Bart was going to be taking sixty-five men. Five would stay with the horses, twenty under Kornin would hold Vinfarm, and he’d take the rest to ambush the royal family.

  He felt that the size of the ambush party was sufficient. He knew that he might lose a dozen or more men in taking the family. He hoped to take down at least half of the guards in the first volley, then it would be a fight. The guards wouldn’t go down easy and he’d lose men to them. Given the size of his force, he felt that he could overwhelm the guards. He’d planned it down to the smallest detail. He and Kornin had gone over it and briefed the men. When they arrived at the ambush site, he’d drill the men in what they needed to do.

  Over the next two weeks Bart sent small groups of men to the valley. Sixty-five men riding two and half days east often on well traveled roads would be too noticeable. Instead it was five at a time spread over the two weeks. Bart was in the last group of five to leave. He carried fifty gold sovereigns in a money belt. This was for emergencies. If all went badly that would give him enough money to make an escape. The last night was spent with the two women he’d bought. It would be a long time before he slept with another woman, but he planned to have the royal daughter soon.

  When he arrived at the valley, he wasn’t surprised that Kornin had everything organized. All the exits had been blocked so that the horses couldn’t wander off. There were latrines dug and shelters for the men set up. Once Bart had rested the two men meet to go over their plans. “Kornin, what’s your plan for taking and holding Vinfarm?”

  “To take it we need to put men at the at the walls near gates and then rush in as soon as they open them. We should cover all of them, we’ve got enough men. People will just be starting out, so they won’t be that alert. We hold t
he gates, then head for the middle of the village where the dining hall is and the headman’s house. I remember that from that fucking raid, where Edwin almost got us.”

  “That sounds fine to take it; what about holding it. I doubt they have birds, too damn difficult to get them there. But check for them anyway.”

  “Well, we’ve got to keep them under control. It would get bloody if things got out of hand. So, we don’t do any heavy drinking and stay away from their women. We’ll have them for more than week. Can’t not let them work their fields and take care of the animals. That would upset them and also may be noticed. I’ll post guards on the vineyards, that will take the most guards. Then the fields and the animal pens. Also, guards at the gates. It will stretch us thin, but it will need to be done.”

  “Do you think you can keep them in for that amount of time?”

  “It won’t be easy, but with twenty men I can do it.”

  “Good, let’s talk about the timing here. Here’s what I think. We leave here and take a little less than three days to get to Vinfarm. We’ll split up part way there. I’ll take half the men and go along the crystal river; you keep the rest and go down the east side of the road from the pass. We’ll put the men in position before dawn and then follow your plan. We’ll get some supplies from them and then hopefully be off well before the end of the day. We should be at the ambush site inside another three days. Hopefully that will give us a few days to get ready. Would rather be early than late. What suggestions do you have about the site?”

  “I’d camp on the east side of the meadow, well back from the road. The road from the pass runs through meadows right up to where it hits the River Road. There it goes through about two hundred yards of woods, if I remember correctly. I’d set the camp up behind the woods and on the east side. You can keep most of the men pretty well out of sight there. There won’t be many people coming down from the pass just yet. Make sure you block the road before and after the royal family. That’s thing that got me in trouble and I’ve been thinking about it for a bit. What I would do once I got word they’d be on their way. I’d secure two big trees with ropes a good distance apart. Then chop almost all the way through them. When they arrived, cut the first one down and then the second. Wouldn’t hurt if the second once caught some of the guards. At least one volley from cover, two is better. Then it’s swords and pistols.”

  “I like the idea about the trees, that’s a good one Kornin. I've done that a couple of times. We’ll do that. I’m going to have to have people watching. Samual thinks they’ll try and send the young prince into the woods. I’ll have people positioned to stop him. If he gets into the woods; it will be the devil to find him and get the rest of them.”

  Kornin nodded. “Yeah a kid in the woods, who will probably have a pistol and some sort of short sword that he probably can use, would be the devil to track down.”

  The two men then went to rest up and get ready to move out. Two days later they left. As they were working their way down the trail leading out of the valley towards Nordia, Bart thought rough isn’t the word for this. It was hard going and slow. The men weren’t used to this type of hiking and when they finally were out of the woods, they had to take a break. That night they had a cold camp. Luckily it wasn’t too cold, although there had been some snow further up the mountains. When they left camp, they split up. Kornin took half the men and continued down the east side towards Vinfarm. Bart took the other half and headed northwest toward the road from the pass and the Crystal River.

  When he got to the road, he had men scout up and down the road to make sure that nobody was coming. Then he had the men cross quickly in small groups. What he didn’t realize was the Mike Mulvaney, was watching them through binoculars and recognized them for what they were. Some sort of irregular band bent on no good. They continued to angle northwest, following a game trail that eventually joined the one that ran down the east side of the Crystal River. They joined it about two miles further north from where Mike had crossed over to the west side. That night they camped less than two miles from where Mike had camped for the evening. Bart thought that they would reach the village, late the next afternoon.

  They were in the woods opposite the village and set up about 600 yards from the west gate. Bart and the men spent rough night sleeping where they could. Well before dawn Bart had the men up and moving out. He stayed behind with four men. His people where to take the west and the south gate and Kornin would take the other gates. Before dawn they were all positioned.

  Eriken was one of the village hunters, along with his father Ert. They were to ride out to some the shepherd’s cottages and check for any predators. They’d be back the next day. This would be a pretty consistent routine for spring and summer. As he was getting ready to leave his wife, Alivina came up and hugged him. “Remember, I’m going to be fertile in a couple of days. You need to be back here to help make a child. I don’t want to find a substitute.”

  Laughing Eriken said. “No need I’ll be back for that you can be sure of that.”

  Eriken met his father Ert just outside his house. The older man asked. “You ready”. His son nodded and the two set out towards the west gate. They each had two rifles, modeled on the long rifle that had come through the gate centuries before. One was loaded and the other carried over their back. As they approached the gate, Jerzy, the gatekeeper opened the gate. As soon as he did, armed men poured through. Both Ert and Eriken raised their rifles and fired. They killed one of the attackers and severely wounded another. They were immediately cut down and killed as several of the intruders fired at them. The intruders than sent men to the south gate and east gate. They opened those and more men poured in. In minutes, Bart’s men had secured the village, closed the gates and posted guards.

  Bart heard the shots and for a moment was very worried. When he didn’t hear any more and saw his men rush through the west gate, he was relieved. He knew that the village was secure. Now to get the supplies and then start out for the ambush site.

  Through the Gate

  In the late afternoon of the third day, Mike saw what could only be the notch that Ken had talked about. He decided to follow his suggestion and veered off the trail to the left and went through the notch. Part way through he felt a momentary light headiness and a tiny bit nauseous. Luckily, the feeling was only for a moment. Then it started to snow. An early snow was not unheard of in the Adirondacks and he was prepared. He stopped and took out his down coat and replaced his boonie with the watch cap he carried and pulled up the hood on the coat. By the time he had traversed the notch, the snow fall had picked up. He kept his head somewhat down to keep the snow out of his eyes. He concentrated on his immediate surroundings. To his right was a rock face, just like Ken had told him, and he followed it hoping to find something that would provide some shelter from the wind. A few minutes later he came upon what might be termed a split from the rock face. A wedge of stone about three feet tall and ten feet long, stood out about five feet from the rock face. Perfect, Mike thought.

  He went into the split and took out his bivy sack, sleeping back, sleeping pad and pillow out of his backpack. He also took out one MRE, a ration bar and a couple of hot hands. He then went about setting up for the night. He blew up both the pad and the pillow, put the bivy sack on the pad and the sleeping bag and pillow in the bivy sack. His pack was placed by the open end of the split. He draped his jacket and vest over it and then put the poncho over the whole thing. The poncho was a cameo military type poncho so there were grommets at the corners and the poncho was secured with metal tent pegs through the grommets. Mike took care of his ‘business’ and then removed his boots and sweater. Those were put in the waterproof stuff bag which was tied to the bivy sack. Mike got in the sleeping bag and sat up to eat his MRE. This was the reason he bought a couple along. It was beef ravioli and all he needed to do was add water and it heated up. A hot meal felt good in the snow. When he was finished eating, he lay down and zipped up both the sleeping bag and bivy s
ack. Mike found it comforting to be warm and wrapped up during the storm. He knew other people didn't feel the same, but that's the way he felt. Time then for his nightly mediation. Shortly afterwards he fell into a restful sleep.

  The shelter of the rock along with the bivy bag, sleeping bag and his clothes kept him comfortable during the night. He didn’t need to use the sweater or the hot hands. The day broke bright and sunny, with little wind. Mike woke up as the sun illuminated the split, he was in. He unzipped his sleeping bag and bivy sack, put his boots and sweater on and started to get ready for the day. He stood up and looked over the rock split and froze. Something was terribly wrong; this wasn’t the Adirondacks. He was around six thousand feet up and nothing was that high in Adirondacks. As he looked down, he could see a deciduous forest go down the mountain to where it seemed to meet forested lowlands and plains. To either side of him were peaks that went up and other three thousand feet or so. It looked like the Rockies or the Alps. He slowly took it all in and then sat back down stunned.

  Mike had no idea how long he sat there just totally at a loss. His mind was running a mile a minute just trying to make sense of the whole thing. The thing that scared him most was that he had slipped into some sort of psychotic state and had lost his grip on reality. A psychosis brought about as an after effect of combat stress. Maybe he had some sort of accident and this was what he was imagining while he was in a coma. These and other thoughts swirled around in his mind, all the time accompanied by a tightening in his stomach that made him feel ill. The blind panic, and it was panic was consuming him. Mike tried to get into a meditative state. He couldn’t, his mind was going a mile a minute. Then he had the thought that this was a scene from a bad science fiction novel and that he would meet and save a gorgeous princess from some evil fate at the hands of Orcs or some such. Afterwards, he’d marry her and fuck her brains out regularly. Mike found that to be ironically funny and used that as a hook to start to put the panic at rest. Dark humor was often used by troops in combat to ease stress, and that’s what it did. He was able to quiet his mind. The thoughts and panic flew past, they were thoughts, they weren’t him. Slowly, the little voice in his head became less and less insistent until it became an occasional irritation. Mike sat in mediation for long time. When he finally came out, he looked at his watch and saw that over an hour had passed. That was twice as long as he normally meditated.