Interregnum

by S. J. A. Turney

  Moreover, gone were the whiskers and the long hair, replaced with a short and severe cut of iron grey hair after the old style. Though he still wore his comfortable and familiar armour, it was now worn over a green tunic and breeches that matched those worn by every other figure in Hadrus that bore arms. He wore the traditional ribbon of service, knotted around his ribs, denoting his rank and status and the grey cloak had gone, replaced by a wolf-pelt shoulder cloak. The banners that fluttered above his headquarters, once the chief warden’s quarters, bore the Imperial raven and crown, supported by a wolf and a lion.

  And the lions, or Lion Riders, were now as much a part of the army as the Wolves, even outnumbering them considerably. Kiva smiled as he strode past hastily erected workshops where smiths and armourers hammered and rang, pumped bellows and dropped hot steel into buckets of water. Beyond them, an old building of unknown origin had been converted into more workshops for the weavers who worked like devils to churn out green uniforms, cloaks, flags and horse blankets. The whole place was alive with industry and activity and, while Kiva was the driving force now behind it all, much of the credit had to go to Minister Sarios, whose considerable skills in administration and organisation had turned a stream of refugees into a fully working town.

  Reaching the other side of the square, just inside the heavily protected and defended gatehouse, he grinned as he reached out and clasped arms with the commander of the Lion Riders. Their captain now went by his old title of Prefect and held the position of Kiva’s second in command. Due to the disparity in strength between the two units that had become the backbone of the rebel army, Tythias had suggested months ago that his best men be taken into the sadly depleted Wolves, but Kiva had refused blindly. The Lion Riders, he’d said, were as important as the Wolves and had an equal stake in what they’d planned, hence the flag denoting both units supporting the raven.

  Tythias returned the grin as he looked his general up and down appraisingly.

  “Kiva? You look ten years younger! I’ve only been gone a month.”

  The general shook his head. “A month and a half, Tythias. It was time to start thinking like a soldier again and, I’m afraid, you really ought to go see the barber yourself while you’re back. No use wearing the Imperial green if we still look like vagrants, eh?”

  Tythias made a grumbling noise deep in his throat, but his smile stayed firmly riveted on his face. “I suppose you’re right. Sathina keeps making veiled threats anyway.”

  With a laugh, the general caught his second in command by the shoulder and, turning, walked with him toward the headquarters building. Behind them, the party of twenty Lion Riders slipped gratefully from their saddles and went about the business of stabling their horses. Kiva stretched as he walked. “Darius is looking forward to seeing you again, on a purely personal level of course, but like the rest of us, he’s anxious for news too.”

  “I’ve plenty of that, but I must find Sathina first and bring her with me.”

  Kiva smiled. “She’s in there already. Our scouts saw you a couple of hours ago down in the valley, so she’s had plenty of time to get ready.”

  A moment later they were across the open space and entering the heavy stone building adorned with flags. Two men wearing chain mail over green tunics snapped to attention on either side of the door, their spears bearing the raven flag. Caerdin gave them a nod as the two entered.

  Inside would’ve seemed chaos to anyone else, but this was a chaos that had been organised by Sarios and every person moving in the building had a purpose and a destination. No goods, personnel or space was wasted in Hadrus. The crowd of clerks moved around like a human sea, parting respectfully as they reached the General and the Prefect. A looming figure appeared from the flow and slapped his hands heavily down on Tythias’ shoulders.

  “Tythias, you old goat. You made it then?”

  The bulky figure of Athas presented a cataract around which the stream of life flowed. Tythias grinned at him. “A few minor scrapes… nothing else.”

  Kiva ushered them both through a door on the left and into a large room with a huge wooden table in the centre, upon which were spread maps, diagrams, lists and books. The mercenaries who’d escaped from Isera with the prisoners had since become the command party of the army at Hadrus and Mercurias and Brendan stood in their full paraphernalia with wolf-pelt cloaks and bearing the insignia of captains. Waiting for the new arrival alongside them was Sathina in a new, stunning blue dress and behind her stood Marco, still pale and thin, but alive and smiling. And of course Darius. If the change in Kiva had been gradual during the time they’d been in Hadrus, the change in the young prisoner from Isera had been almost instant. Even en route, before they’d reached their haven, Athas had been at work with the island’s blacksmiths every time the column had stopped for the night. The result had been armour of the old Imperial style, with a decorative breastplate etched with images of heroic deeds and mythical figures, greaves and vambraces of embossed bronze and protective edged leather straps on the shoulders and thighs. He looked every inch the living embodiment of the ancient glorious statues of victorious Emperors and, despite his new status, he wore the pelt shoulder cloak of the Wolves to honour those men who’d given their lives for his. There had been no physical change in the young man. He’d not changed his hair or shaved off his beard and yet, despite this he seemed every inch the Emperor to the men at Hadrus. He had only to walk out into the square and people would fall to their knees – a trait, as Darius had confided in the general, that was beginning to annoy him. Strangely there had been no need for ceremony; Kiva had discussed it with Sarios and on the second morning of the journey they had gathered everyone together and announced their intention to defy Velutio and put a new Emperor on the throne. Darius had stepped forward with them, dressed in his old hunting leathers and the islanders and mercenaries had uniformly bowed without comment. Perhaps Sarios had primed them, but more likely their faith and trust in their leaders left them in no doubt that this was the right course. There would certainly be no love lost for Velutio. Every man present had either fought him or been imprisoned by him.

  And there he stood, the Emperor in waiting with his commanders. Kiva smiled once more at the sight as he walked around the table and took his place beside his new lord.

  Without the prompting he’d needed from Kiva only a month before, Darius leaned forward and placed his hands firmly on the edge of the table as he addressed Tythias.

  “What news, Prefect?”

  The one armed, one eyed ex mercenary, though every bit the proper soldier, was in company with whom he was tremendously close and grinned widely at the Emperor to be.

  “Kiva’s been teaching you to be far too formal, highness.”

  Darius smiled. “Got to practice, Tythias. I keep forgetting when I’m outside. One of the weavers saw me beheading weeds with a stick yesterday and the general here grilled me for hours over it.”

  Ignoring the scowl that crossed Caerdin’s face, Tythias leaned back against the wall.

  “There’s good news and there’s bad news, gentlemen. On the good side, I found Filus and Sithis and their units. They were already heading back toward Velutio; apparently things are getting a little hairy out west. Alongside the other units we were looking for, we hooked up with a couple of the lords who still favour you, so there should be six or seven thousand men arriving in the next few days, and about three hundred of them are veteran units we know well. The rest are just guards and men at arms for the lords, but they’re at least partially trained, if not tested. Some of them are cavalry and we’ve got a couple of units of archers.” He sighed. “Other Lords we saw were non-committal though. They’re no great lovers of Velutio, but they’re not about to stand up against him while our army remains up here, hidden in the mountains. I think a show of arms down on the plains would bring a number of other lords flocking to the banner, but I can’t say I blame them for wanting to protect their land where they are now.”

  Kiva no
dded thoughtfully. “And the bad news?”

  “The bad news,” Tythias replied, drawing a deep breath, “is that Velutio’s heard about you now. He knows Caerdin and the Wolves are supporting what he calls a ‘pretender-Emperor’ and he’s offering a rather large reward for news of the army’s location. A number of the lords that might have swung our way are remaining resolutely his. He’s threatening people you see?”

  Kiva growled. “That man is nothing but bad news.”

  “Worse than that to some” Tythias said sadly. “We’d been to see Lord Palio and he was busy marshalling his men to march to Hadrus when Velutio turned up on his doorstep. He crucified every fifth man and, when Palio wouldn’t give him our location, had him quartered and then burned in his own courtyard. We were there at the time. That Sabian may be Velutio’s but damn I wish he was working for us. We’d left them involved in a battle out to the west when we went to Palio, but still they almost beat us there. How he managed that I’ll never know.”

  “Sabian crucified and burned people?” Darius’ voice quavered. “I can’t believe that.”

  Tythias shook his head sadly. “He didn’t give the orders, but he didn’t walk away from it either. He’s Velutio’s chief officer and he’s deep in his job now. Just be grateful he’s out west and not over here.”

  The table fell silent for a moment until Kiva cleared his throat. “Well, if we get seven thousand in a few days, we’ve got just less than two here already. We’ve got a small unit at Munda watching the place and every now and then a unit looking for us appears there. With those odd stragglers we should number around ten thousand in a few weeks when we’re ready to start moving. It’s not too bad, but it could be better. Velutio’s got twice that without calling up all his various allies, so I reckon he can count on outnumbering us around three to one at least. The only thing we’ve got going for us is the fact that all our people are fighting for a cause, while theirs are fighting because they have to. I need more information on the makeup of their forces and their plans before I can come up with any kind of coherent strategy.”

  He leaned forward and focused on Tythias. “Are any of the allies coming to join us the sort we can send in amongst them to spy for us?”

  Tythias shook his head. “We avoided anyone of dubious loyalty and all the various independents are waiting to see what happens. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait on Prince Ashar and his men for any more info. It’s a bit of a bastard. We’ve watched his army in several engagements, but we’ve always had to stay a bit out of the way. The moment we’re noticed, we’re screwed.”

  Kiva nodded and turned to Darius. “I think we need to make a point. I need to be here to oversee things with Sarios and, to be honest, being in the saddle at the moment is incredibly uncomfortable to me. I think, though, that we need you and a colour party to go out and visit a few of these fence-sitters. Next time the Prefect rides out, you need to take Athas and Brendan and a hundred of the best men and go with them.”

  Darius blinked and Tythias started making opposing motions with his hands, but Kiva leaned further forward and pointed. “You’re going to have to go out again. Have a day or two’s respite; in fact, wait until your recruits get here, but then you need to head out again. Just to the lowlands; to the lords nearby who could be swayed with the right moves. With the Emperor and an honour guard and captains of the Wolves with you, you might be able to almost double our force. I really can’t pass up that chance.”

  He turned to Sathina. “I’m sorry, and I know you’ve been looking forward to seeing Tythias again, but this is too important and at least he’s not going to be heading into disputed areas this time.”

  Sathina nodded placidly. ”General, I’m as much a part of this now as any of your men. I’d be stupid to let my personal feelings get in the way.”

  The general and the innkeeper’s girl watched each other for the moment and then both nodded, but Tythias leaned across the table from his side, a wide grin splitting his face.

  “I’ve a better idea. A military Emperor is what these people need, but what they want is pomp and grandeur. If Darius comes out with us, he needs to be an Emperor. He needs a retinue. Let Sarios and Sathina pick out a court to go with him. It’ll make the lords feel more important if an entire Imperial court visits and they can be part of it. Sathina can go with me.”

  He turned his smile on the pretty girl. “That is, if you can cope with living in pampered luxury for a week or two…”

  Kiva snorted. “Ok. I don’t disagree. Once you two have got your lovey reunion over, go and see Sarios and sort it out. You leave the day after the new recruits arrive.” He turned to Darius and grinned. “Sorry to lumber you with the lovebirds for a fortnight, but I daresay you can talk to Brendan and Athas and ignore these two.”

  Darius returned the smile and straightened. “That everything then? I…”

  His sentence remained unfinished, as a breathless and dusty figure arrived in the doorway and saluted unsteadily.

  “Sir… Highness, there’s a small unit just coming up the hill t’ward the gate! No one we’re expecting, sir.”

  Kiva slammed his fist on the table. “No-one knows where we are expect the people we’re expecting. Tythias, you must have been followed.”

  Tythias bridled. “We were well clear of any of Velutio’s army or allies. If someone followed us they must have been near here anyway or very well hidden.”

  The Emperor in waiting pushed past his general, grumbling. “If you two are just going to argue, I’ll go and see who it is.”

  Darius strode out into the square, across the packed earth and stone, and up to the gate with his command group around him. The sentries on the gate had turned the massive bolt throwers down toward the path leading up the mountainside. The officers climbed the wooden stairs to the top and spread out along the battlements.

  “Can you identify them? They’ve no flag” the young man muttered to his companions.

  Kiva, next to him growled unpleasantly. “Oh, I can identify them alright. That’s Phythian and his archers.”

  “Phythian?” the young man stepped back. “The man who gave you to Velutio?”

  “The very bastard. Wonder what he’s doing here.” He gestured to one of the guards manning the huge bolt throwers. “Point that thing at the pompous ass down there and if he so much as blinks, let loose.”

  The unit of crossbowmen, almost a score strong, reigned in their horses not far from the gate and their commander, his fetching grey silk clothing stained brown with the dust.

  “General Caerdin!” he called from the path. “We need to talk.”

  Kiva laughed derisively. “So talk! This gate’s not opening until I know why you’re here and make it fast. Convince me not to have you shot here and now.”

  Phythian laughed mirthlessly and swung sideways in his saddle, crossing his legs. “I’ve run out of time for Velutio. He’s not a good employer and, to be honest, a little impatient and bloodthirsty even for me and my boys. Funny thing is: I’ve been hearing a lot of rumours recently that General Caerdin had resurfaced with a claimant to the throne. This I really had to see, since I’d last seen the good general being crucified and his claimant to the throne had gone the way of all flesh.”

  Darius nudged Kiva and the general realised his growling had been growing rather loud. He glared down at Phythian as the man continued.

  “You’re a very hard man to find, Caerdin. But I’d had my doubts about the Wolves that day in Serfium. I couldn’t see your old ally Tythias butchering your men, so I just asked around until I found the Lion Riders and then followed them. You see, I think I’d rather throw in my lot with you and whatever potential Emperor you’ve got than help Velutio get to a point where he’s the only employer there is. What d’you say?”

  Kiva growled again in frustration and muttered among the others at the gate top “I don’t trust him or like him, but we could really do with some good trained crossbowmen. They’re few and far between.” He reached
into a pocket and removed a small copper coin, tossing it into the air where it tinkled to the floor of the gatehouse. He looked down. “Heads,” he declared as he straightened and looked over to the soldier at the siege engine. “Kill him.”

  Phythian slipped from the saddle smoothly and dropped behind the horse. “He’s a good horse. It’d be a shame to pierce him. Besides, Caerdin; I know you hate me, but I can be very useful to you. Can you afford to put the good of your new Emperor aside just for the pleasure of doing away with me?”

  Kiva grunted and smacked his fist into his palm. “The bastard’s right. I can’t afford to turn them away.” He leaned over the parapet.

  “You’d have to swear the old oath to the Emperor, the People and the Gods, and take another oath to me and mine as your commanders if I even consider this.”

  Whatever Phythian said in reply was lost entirely as Kiva was hauled bodily around by his young Emperor. Darius, a hand on the general’s shoulder, shook him. An angry glint flashed in his eyes. “You can’t seriously be considering taking this fucking traitor in, general? I won’t have him in the army.”

  Kiva stared back at him. “We can’t turn down good trained men. We’re not strong enough for that.”

  “Then take his men if they’ll join,” Darius growled, “but not him!”

  “What about him then? I’d like to put a four foot iron bolt through him, but that’s not going to inspire his men to join us. Velutio works on fear, not us. Our force grows and stays together because of loyalty.”

  Darius nodded. “You’re right, but treachery needs to be dealt with too.” The young Emperor leaned over the parapet in his full paraphernalia and glared down at the assembled folk below. “Captain Phythian? You’re accused of treason, the unlawful confinement of innocent men and the murder of five of the Wolves, loyal servants of the Empire. I can either have you executed right now, or you can try and prove your innocence against your accuser?”