by Guy Antibes
Learseans sallied from the border forts and began to hack away at a good portion of Histron’s forces, joined by more of the Red Rose and in less than an hour, at least half of Histron’s army now milled around, totally surrounded by walls they could not scale.
Anchor wondered if the enemy commander would begin to use his battle mages. The ground began to shake between the two border forts and the new wall began to crack. It fell inwards, as designed, killing and maiming some of the soldiers.
Anchor squinted in the twilight as the Red Rose began to seep into the deepening darkness to take care of the battle mages that had exposed themselves. The Red Rose re-sealed the wall that now had become a prison for the enemy.
Leef rode up to Anchor after the rest of Histron’s army retreated. “You’ve done it. They will be crying all the way to Foxhome, now.”
“No. I expect they will merely find a different way in. They’ve taken our measure and will be a bit more cautious.”
“They’ll be slinking around like kicked dogs.”
“Let it rest, Leef. Have food, water and bandages thrown down to our prisoners.”
“But we could eliminate half of the army,” Leef said.
“I am from the Red Kingdom. We are fighting to free them from the Duke. I’d prefer to have a Red Kingdom to return to and you’d rather not have to fight these soldiers’ angry sons in ten or fifteen years.”
Anchor barely made out Leef’s features. “You are right, Anchor. I got caught up in the moment.”
“A good commander doesn’t. Something for you to practice.” Anchor mounted his horse and rode back to his tent. He spent another few hours going over his maps again and again. Shiro interrupted him.
“Should we teleport a messenger to the king?”
“Yes. Someone should let Everwet know what happened. Here’s a note to take. It describes the events well enough.” Anchor rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t eaten since midday and hoped the king would have some morsels for him.
“You can go and be back in time for tomorrow’s battle.”
~
“Admirable, Marshal Anchor. A defeat?”
“We won the first battle, but not the campaign. I think Histron’s commander will move his men over the mountains. There are a few passes that will serve.”
“But that will ruin your fixed fortifications.” King Willom furrowed his brows. “Eat a bit first.”
They sat in candlelight in Willom’s map room. Anchor noted the reflection of the tiny points of brightness in Willom’s majestic windows. He bit into a leg of cold chicken and washed it down with a very fine wine.
“I can build walls wherever I want to funnel them towards the fortifications. They might want to use the Osser River to ferry their supplies. I would. Better than wagons and more impervious to the weather. The army can move faster that way and using the river will bring them right back to our fortifications.”
“What can they do to counteract your walls?”
Anchor grunted. “Bring in better wizards. The fight isn’t over, but we won’t be fighting as many men. Our prison will seal the border better than any stockade fence and gate.”
“Indeed,” Willom said.
Shiro stayed silent as they talked another hour. Anchor bade the king a good night, and then they returned to their tents far to the northwest.
~
Morning broke and Anchor called Leef into his tent. “Make sure the prisoners are guarded by competent men. Now, show me how I would escape from the Red Kingdom into Learsea.” Anchor pointed to the map.
“I could bring in a thousand men along this path overnight,” Anchor continued. He pointed to where Shiro and he had previously penetrated into the Red Kingdom.
“Those are little more than hunter trails, Anchor,” Leef said.
“We are hunted, Leef. Show them all to me or get me someone who can,” Anchor said as evenly as he could.
Leef looked abashed. He had taken some criticism from Anchor and he looked on edge.
“Do you want my resignation?” Leef said. It looked like he had broken a little too soon.
“Can you carry out my order to find a man to help me find where our enemy might be leaking out into Learsea?”
“Yes.” Leef now looked a little perplexed.
“Then if you can carry out my orders, why would you want to resign?”
Leef furrowed his brow.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. We’re all going to get angry and cranky and ill-mannered until after harvest. Just roll with it and do what you’re told. If I ask you for your observations or opinions, give them. I haven’t bit off your head, have I?”
“No, Marshal.” Leef stood straighter.
“Find my man and send Shiro or Tishiaki or both in here.”
Anchor sat down, shaking. He’d never had to deal with a man quite like that before. Command wore good men down, he had always thought. Now he felt the grind while dealing with Leef and the hostilities were less than a day old. Old Unca just wouldn’t be able to handle this. He pulled out the sword he had acquired in Happly. He still hadn’t used it in Learsea and he’d prefer it that way. But his preferences meant nothing. It would be bloodied with his countrymen’s vital fluids soon enough. Its age and condition indicated the blade had already seen a number of battles. Was he truly up to the mental aspects of battle?
Shiro and Tishiaki called from outside his tent.
“Come in. I have a task for your teleporters. Did the Red Rose make it to Everwet?”
Shiro nodded. “The message was received. They would appreciate daily reports.”
“They won’t get them.” Anchor scowled. This quick communication thing could get old quickly. “When something significant happens.”
“And why not?” Sallia walked into his tent.
Anchor stood up. “Princess. We are in a battle area. You shouldn’t have come.”
Chika poked her head into the tent. “Have you got room enough for me?” She looked at Shiro, who stood outside. Anchor closed his eyes waiting for her next comment. “I have room enough for you, Shiro,” she said.
Anchor opened his eyes to see her smirking at Shiro.
Sallia reddened. Tishiaki groaned.
“There is a time and a place for everything,” Shiro said.
“I know,” Chika said. She put her thumb and forefinger to her lips as if to seal her words away.
“Thank you,” Anchor said. He turned to Sallia. “What can I tell you? I think the enemy will pour through passes in the mountains. The slopes near the border forts, they might just climb over. This is an exposed area.”
“I wanted to see what happened and would like to speak to my countrymen who are imprisoned.”
Anchor worked his lips as he thought. “Could you shield the princess? Those men still have their weapons.”
“I can,” Chika said. “I can take her there.”
“Take me as well as soon as Leef returns.” What possessed Sallia to come here? He did not want her exposed to danger and yet, she comes to the most dangerous place in Learsea.
Leef brought two men with him.
“Mark the passes and likely crossing points for twenty or thirty leagues on either side of the plain. Show Shiro, but don’t leave until I get back,” Anchor said.
In a few moments, Anchor stood next to Chika and Sallia on the wall overlooking the prisoners.
“Is this what you wanted to see?” Anchor could already smell the scent of unpleasant things wafting up from within the compound.
Sallia cleared her throat and spoke, “Men of the Red Kingdom!” Only a few of them looked up.
“Try it now,” Chika said.
“Men of the Red Kingdom!” Sallia blinked in surprise. Her voice now filled the air. “I am the rightful heir to the throne of the Red Kingdom. Look here!” She held up the Bloodstone. The morning sun filled it with light. “This Bloodstone has marked the royal line for generations. Duke Histron and his traitorous followers found a way into Foxhome c
astle to kill my father, King Billeas. But he didn’t kill me! We are fighting for our homes. He is fighting for power and for the Dark Lord, Daryaku of Dakkor. Think of your lives before he ruled and think of them now. Look at you throwing them away as he seeks to control all Besseth. And where will that leave you, my fellow countrymen? You and your brothers, fathers, uncles, cousins will lie dead in foreign lands.
“If you wish to follow Marshal Anchor, who could have had you slaughtered where you stand now, then I will give you your freedom. Who wish to fight for me?”
Half of the men raised their hands and shouted. The other half began to fight them.
“Stop! Stop! Don’t throw your lives away!” Sallia said with horror in her voice.
Anchor looked down. “Open a gateway and settle them down. It’s time we cleaned up their messes and took away their weapons.” He looked down at the chaos and nodded to Chika. “Stop immediately if you wish to live. I am Marshal Anchor. Stop right now. I’ll personally fight any man you pick if you will cease this fighting.”
What had gotten into Sallia? There surely would have been a better way than this. He looked at Chika. ”Get us down from here and get Shiro.”
Anchor personally directed armed Red Roses to move into the prison compound. Soldiers began to attack the Red Roses, but stopped as they realize that wizardry protected them. A huge soldier, a head taller than Anchor, walked up and tapped the magical shield with a fancy Dakkoran sword. He wore a foreign uniform.
“Defeat me and we will become your slaves,” his voice growled. Soldiers loyal to Histron laughed.
Anchor could see the factions begin to separate themselves. He pulled his sword. He hadn’t thought he’d be in battle so soon. “Let me through and then put a barrier around us both. I don’t want to be stabbed in the back. It’s an unpleasant feeling.”
A Red Rose nodded. “Don’t take too much time. We can’t hold these shields forever.”
Anchor nodded and pushed on the shield. It disappeared. “Get back!” He waved his sword at the men. He saw the dust swirling against the new barrier.
His opponent might even be noble. He had light hair and a trimmed beard. Anchor took another look at the man’s sword and noticed its shape.
“A Serytaran blade. I carry an old Dakkoran one myself and have seen another like yours.” He thought of Lotto’s sword. This one was a handspan longer.
“I’m from Serytar, yes. I fight for my master, Lord Daryaku.”
Anchor looked out at the men. How many foreign soldiers were on Besseth soil? This man was the first he’d known about. “Let us fight then.”
“To the death!”
“If you wish. If I incapacitate you, will that be acceptable?”
“Nothing is acceptable now that I can kill you,” the Serytar said.
As much as Anchor wanted to wait and spar, this man would not give him the chance. He raised his sword and the man charged. The first blow shook Anchor from wrist to shoulder. He nearly dropped his blade and gripped it tighter as he used superior footwork to avoid another clanging blow like that.
The man’s strategy wasn’t particularly brilliant. One good swing and the fight would be over. Anchor would be wounded, and then there would be a killing blow. He had been responsible for letting Histron invade the castle and perhaps Sallia should witness his death. Why did he have to think of that now?
A massive swing parted Anchor’s hair, but not his scalp. He had seen enough and began to feint and parry, feint and thrust at irregular intervals until he maneuvered to the man’s open side. He thrust in his blade. The Serytar grabbed Anchor’s sword, but the solid blade and honed edge slid right thought the man’s skin and into his side. Anchor ducked under another swing and pushed down as hard as he could and then thrust the sword upward.
There would be no incapacitated Serytar. His opponent’s eyes rolled up and he fell backwards onto the floor of their dueling ground with the head snapping against the barrier. Anchor had let his sword go. He put his hands on his knees and fought for more air. He played a game when sparring, but he hadn’t played a game with this man.
He noticed blood dripping down his fingers onto his pants. The man had cleanly sliced open his shoulder to his elbow on the last swing. That sword must have been as sharp as his. He rubbed his head and felt the stubble of hair left from another swing. Shiro gently helped him up, while Chika retrieved his sword and the sword and scabbard of his enemy.
Sallia had a bandage in her hand trying to daub at the blood while Shiro transported both of them to Anchor’s tent. A Red Rose healer followed quickly.
She ran her hand down the gash and closed the wound. “I can heal the skin, but the muscle is not yet ready. It will take more sessions. Keep it still.” She made a sling and put Anchor’s arm inside. “It will continue to hurt. That is fine.” She kept her speech simple and Anchor understood her through her thick accent. She left a small bag of powder. “Drink with your wine. Use your little finger to mix.” She left.
Chika said, “You don’t stir it with your little finger. Measure no more that the equivalent amount to the volume of your little finger.” She furrowed her brow. “That is hard to describe.”
“I understand. That’s enough,” Anchor held up his free hand. “No sword work for awhile.”
Sallia came up to him and ran her hand along his bare upper arm. “A thin scar, no more.”
“There is more damage deeper. The skin is joined, but the body has to do it’s work,” Shiro said. “Your spoils.” He laid the sword of his opponent on his bed. “It is better than this.” Shiro held up his old sword. “The edge is one of a layer of strange wards on the blade. I can remove them if you like.”
“No. I’ll assume that any enchantment is better than none,” Anchor said. “But that’s an extremely sharp blade.” He rubbed the top of his head. “I’ll have to cut the rest of my hair down to size.”
“More military,” Chika said, distastefully. “I liked it before the man cut it.”
Sallia felt the top of his head. “Think of it as a battle wound. I remember Unca had dyed his hair and had to cut most of it off to get the black out.”
Anchor put his hand on Sallia’s. “I won’t let it grow longer until this war is won.” He nodded sharply that his decision was final.
“Now. What do we do?”
Shiro folded his arms. “You had called for me. Did you need rescuing?”
“Nearly,” Anchor said. “I want you to find out who these men are. Half said they would fight for Sallia, half wouldn’t. I’d like to ask you to use the Sunstone to separate them. Those that are truly loyal can be welcomed into our army. Those that aren’t will remain prisoners.”
“You can kill them.” Chika said.
Anchor shook his head. “I have no desire to become as ruthless as Duke Histron. That’s not to say the prisoners will be treated as guests.”
“Right,” Sallia said, her face red with embarrassment. “Now that I’ve helped you sufficiently, I think I have overstayed my welcome.”
She made to leave the tent, but Anchor grabbed her wrist. “Forgive me for grabbing, but I’d like you to talk to those loyal men. You not only need an army, but you need the Red Kingdom to support you and they are your start. It’s something that you can do, that no other can, in this war.”
~
Shiro labored for three days interviewing all of the men and Sallia had sat in on them all. Fifty of the men, mostly officers of some sort or another were from Dakkor. Shiro had kept the interviewed men separated after he talked to them. Twenty of them pledged fealty to Princess Sallia to escape the horrors of Dakkor. Two thirds of the rest recognized Sallia as their true monarch. Most of the others were from Histron’s duchy or mercenaries, who had probably come from Happly.
Sallia sat back on a camp chair, much more comfortable than the one in her Everwet office. The last prisoner had been talked to. She couldn’t believe the men’s stories of Histron’s rule. She likened his rule to a criminal mad
e king. He didn’t disappoint her. Some of the men admitted to her that Anchor’s defeat of the Serytar surprised them and helped them make up their minds. They would gladly follow such a man into battle.
Anchor’s prowess with a sword astounded her. His throttling of Prince Peeron had been a sparring match, but this was a fight to the death. He still carried her token. She had seen it wrapped around his uninjured arm when the healer removed his blood-stained shirt. Such a champion for the Red Kingdom. He sacrificed his mind and body for her Kingdom.
Her thoughts turned to the soldiers’ stories. Each one told her a little bit about his life. What he did back home. What kind of family he had. What he didn’t like about Histron’s changes. Anchor had given her another gift. Through these interviews, she knew her subjects better than she had ever imagined. Anchor was so angry that she had talked Chika into bringing her to the camp, but Sallia didn’t regret it. He could be angry all he wanted, but even though her visit had been pure impulse, she had learned more about the war than all the time she’s spent in Everwet. Talking about this strategy or that paled to speaking to these abused men.
Her discussions with the Serytarans were likewise illuminating. Shiro would know more about them than she did, but it seemed that Histron used Daryaku’s methods as his guide. Daryaku had directed all of the evil inflicted on Besseth. Somehow they would have to take the fight to him. The big Serytar that Anchor killed had been a high ranking officer who changed clothes with another. Only he carried an enchanted sword.
Chika ducked her head underneath the awning that served to protect her interviews from the sun. “We must leave immediately, Princess. The army headed to Oringia turned around and is crossing the mountains to the north as the other part of the army that stopped at the Gensler border is doing the same in the south. The troops need to redeploy immediately. Anchor sends his regrets.” Chika’s eyes brightened. She didn’t continue to talk and Sallia was glad of it. The Ropponi woman finally learned to curb her tongue when thinking of inappropriate comments, but her eyes still glistened with an undoubtedly perverse glee when she produced them in her mind.
