Princeps ip-5

by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

  “Please sit down.” Speaking in Tellan, Bhayar turned to Myskyl. “You have the maps?”

  “Yes, sir.” Myskyl moved to the end of the table that held the single chair and unrolled the maps, placing one on top of the other and placing a square metal weight on each corner. Then he straightened and stepped back.

  Bhayar moved the chair away and stepped up before the map, waiting until the other three flanked him. “This shows Ferravyl and the surrounding area. With the fortifications on the bridge and our cabling here”-he pointed to the lines depicting the bridge across the Aluse from the middle of Ferravyl to the far side-“we can prevent the Bovarians from coming downstream, unless they wish to incur terrible losses.” He smiled tightly. “They do not. So they will attempt to flank us to the north and south, with enough men so that we will be forced to move men from the city and weaken our defenses here to the point that they can destroy the bridge and use the Aluse to land forces behind us.”

  Quaeryt nodded slightly, waiting to see what else Bhayar had to say.

  “Commander Skarpa, it is most likely that the first threat will be across the Ferrean somewhere between two and ten milles from the post here.”

  “Because the river is quieter there, sir?”

  “That is part of the reason. The other part is that the farther north one goes, the more and more rugged the hills on the east side become. The terrain favors us, because, to take Ferravyl, which is Rex Kharst’s objective, those troopers will have to march and ride back south. The longer that march, the more men they will lose before reaching the city.”

  “You want Third Regiment to hold the east side of the river for a distance of ten milles?” Skarpa raised his eyebrows.

  “I’m optimistic, Commander. I’m not an idiot. I want you to keep small groups from crossing and to delay and cause great casualties if larger groups manage to cross. I believe they will try a north crossing first, but I do not want to commit forces there because they will see that and attack in the south. By leaving forces at the main post, ready to move, we have the best chance of repulsing their attacks with the least loss of men. While you are holding and delaying, we will be moving to reinforce you. Subcommander Quaeryt and his men may also be of some help in slowing or stopping their advance.”

  Quaeryt noticed that Myskyl did not even blink at that announcement.

  “The subcommander will be in charge of a special group, which includes imagers and a company of troopers. While his command is independent of Third Regiment, he will report to you operationally. Is that clear?”

  A wry smile flitted across Skarpa’s face. “Yes, sir.”

  “Good.” Bhayar gestured to the map again. “At present, from what we have learned and observed, Kharst’s main force is located across the Ferrean and about two milles north in the town of Cleblois. There is no suitable ford or crossing there, but the piers were built to allow barges coming downstream to make their way across the main channel to the east side to dock at the old piers just north of the post here. He has four to five regiments in Cleblois, roughly half of foot and half cavalry. There are archers, but how many is uncertain He has a second, if smaller force, comprising three regiments, on the south side of the Aluse and west of the Vyl…” From there, Bhayar, with occasional additions by Myskyl, pointed out the possible routes of attack, and then went on to note the placement of the Telaryn troops, with three regiments south of Ferravyl, three more in Ferravyl, another deployed in companies to the south along the Vyl, and another to the north along the Ferrean, leaving Third Regiment to hold North Post, a position roughly across the river from Cleblois.

  “That should give you a view of what we face.” Bhayar rose. “I’ll need a few moments with Subcommander Quaeryt. Commander, you can discuss any courier or dispatch schedules or other matters with Submarshal Myskyl in his study. Then you and Subcommander Quaeryt can rejoin Third Regiment.”

  Bhayar waited for Skarpa and Myskyl to leave the conference room before clearing his throat and continuing, switching to court-Bovarian, the language used in the palace and among intimates. “There are a few other matters we need to discuss.”

  Quaeryt couldn’t help but be amused at the circumstances surrounding a war with Bovaria that had Bhayar speaking Bovarian to an imager with whom he had studied, and who’d been a loyal Telaryn governor, princeps, and scholar assistant. But then, that somehow fit in the chaos that seemed to surround and infuse all conflicts, at least all those with which Quaeryt had been familiar, either through study or experience.

  “There are a pair of uniforms waiting for you at the front duty desk. They’re tailored to fit you. They’re a brownish green, rather than the lighter green of regular officers, but they’re close enough that you shouldn’t stand out too much. You’re going to take command of a special company-five squads of troopers and as many imagers as I’ve been able to have rounded up.”

  “But…”

  “They’ve been told that you’re familiar with imagers and that I don’t want a known imager in charge of imagers. I’ve also conscripted your friend Voltyr … as well as others from across Telaryn. None of them will be happy, but we’re going to need imagers, and it’s your job to make them understand that. You also need to make them effective.”

  “Does Kharst have imagers?” asked Quaeryt.

  “It’s likely, but we don’t know how many. He can’t have more than a few, because he’s killed off most of them. Most came from Khel or the parts of Bovaria bordering Khel before he conquered it. They’d be little more than slaves.”

  Quaeryt wondered about that, but he wasn’t about to question Bhayar. “What exactly am I supposed to do with this group?”

  “Whatever you can to support Third Regiment and create disruption and chaos among the Bovarians.”

  “You seem to have close to equal forces, and at least half of yours are experienced in battle and well trained. Why do you need more?”

  “I’ll answer that in a moment. Why do you think I relieved you as governor?”

  “Begging your pardon, Lord Bhayar, but that’s what I’d like to know,” said Quaeryt quietly.

  “Oh … I’ll tell you why. You’d have turned Montagne into a wonderfully well-governed province, and every governor and High Holder in Telaryn would have been demanding your head … or your replacement. Governing isn’t just doing it well; it’s doing it in a way where no one is truly satisfied, but no one with power is fiercely dissatisfied.”

  Quaeryt did not reply for several moments, thinking about the implications of what Bhayar had said.… no one with power is fiercely dissatisfied … but that also means that those who are or will be greatly dissatisfied must not be allowed great power …

  “Quaeryt…?” prompted Bhayar.

  “I was thinking, deeply, about what you said.” Quaeryt smiled tightly. “I take it that wasn’t the only reason.”

  “No … Vaelora had to be checked in a way you could not. I hadn’t anticipated how much you’ve come to love her…”

  I was supposed to check Vaelora’s desires for villas and a lifestyle you provided … when you insisted that I “respect” her? Quaeryt managed not to react as Bhayar continued.

  “… Besides, this way Markyl will be far more bounded than if he had succeeded Scythn directly. He was the one all the High Holders wanted to follow Scythn, you know.”

  “I might have guessed.”

  “My placing you as governor also served notice, in an indirect way, that any of them could be replaced immediately if they become too greedy. You proved you could be an effective governor, and you’re far more valuable as a governor in waiting, so to speak, than an actual governor.”

  “Thank you,” replied Quaeryt dryly. He extracted a folded sheet of paper and extended it.

  “This is?” asked Bhayar as he took it.

  “A copy of what I left behind for Governor Markyl, with a note that you had a copy.”

  Bhayar laughed. “Excellent! Excellent … you’ve just proved you make a
wonderful governor in waiting.” He paused. “That leads us to why you’re really here. That’s the problem of Bovaria itself.”

  “Bovaria itself?”

  “Bear with me,” said Bhayar. “The only port that can handle Bovarian sea trade that is even remotely close to Variana is Ephra, and it’s on the north side of the River Laar, opposite Kephria, which belongs to Antiago. The Autarch has enough ships to shut down trade there anytime he’d like. In addition, all the trade that would come down the Aluse can’t so long as we hold Ferravyl. That’s because Kharst doesn’t want his merchants to pay tariffs, and I’m not about to let them use the Aluse to strengthen Bovaria without getting a healthy stream of golds to build up our defenses. So his traders have to use barges from the Aluse south of Variana along the Great Canal to the Laar and then go down the Laar to Ephra. That takes longer, and it costs more.”

  Quaeryt understood the higher costs of trading, but Bhayar had more than that in mind. “What you’re saying is that Kharst wants Ferravyl so that he can eventually take Solis. Why doesn’t he just take Antiago instead?”

  “He’d take heavy losses, especially with all that Antiagon Fire, and he still wouldn’t have direct access to a good port. The great canal is long and very narrow. It costs thousands of golds a year to maintain.”

  “But he can’t possibly conquer Telaryn, even if he takes Ferravyl.”

  “Not this year or next. Perhaps not in ten years. He’s thinking for the long term. If he can gain control of Ferravyl, he’ll control the Aluse. Once he has that, it won’t take him long to build up forces to take the grain lands from Solis to Piedryn. And then there’s the iron.”

  “Iron?”

  “Iron ore. Why do you think my predecessors fought to keep Ferravyl? The largest amounts of high grade iron ore in all Lydar lie to the northeast of Ferravyl. With control of that iron and the grain lands, it would only be a matter of time before…” Bhayar shrugged. “So … it’s best we act…”

  “You have something else in mind?”

  “I have thoughts. Whether they become more than thoughts depends on how much damage we can inflict on Kharst’s forces. According to Submarshal Myskyl, your very presence multiplied the losses suffered by the rebels and reduced regimental casualties comparatively. I expect you to do the same here once the Bovarians attack.”

  “How long do we have?”

  “They could attack tomorrow … or next week. I wager it’s sooner rather than later.”

  “Why did you pick me for this?”

  “You’re the only one that might be able to wield the imagers into a coherent force. That’s always been a problem in using imagers.”

  Quaeryt wasn’t satisfied with that answer, knowing that there had to be more. “What else?”

  “There’s a price for everything, Subcommander. If you don’t pay it, what you get will eat you away until you’re a shadow of yourself.”

  Quaeryt managed a smile and a nod. “There is indeed a price, one way or another.” And there’s one you’ll pay as well when this is all over.

  “Is there anything else you need to know from me, Quaeryt?”

  “There doubtless is, but at the moment, I have no idea what it might be.”

  “Then I will let you and Commander Skarpa be on your way to North Post.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Bhayar walked to the door of the conference room and opened it, waiting for Quaeryt.

  They walked out almost together.

  64

  While walking into and out of the headquarters building at the main post had loosened up some of Quaeryt’s muscles, he still felt stiff and sore as he and Skarpa rode northward to try to return to Third Regiment as quickly as possible without straining their mounts.

  For a time, Quaeryt said nothing at all, while he rode and mulled over what Bhayar had told him. He couldn’t help but wonder if the causes of wars were as simple as the Lord of Telaryn thought. As he and Skarpa rode past a building that might have been either inn or tavern, a fragment of song drifted toward him on the acrid air, a song sung in a clear soprano to the accompaniment of a lutelin.

  West of the lowlands, and near to the sea,

  my true love did sing out his song to me …

  He sang and he wept and his words sounded true,

  that never the night did I think I would rue …

  Quaeryt frowned. He’d heard that song before … although the words didn’t seem quite the same. Then he nodded-at Jardyna in Tilbor, where the singer had also sung another song, the one clearly about the war in Tilbor … blaming it all on how a man and his daughter and a cousin fought, and how the singer ended up with a daughter with no father, all for naught.

  He shook his head. Is it ever that simple? Certainly, being governor in Extela had been far more complicated than he’d thought, and he’d never thought it would be easy.

  After they had ridden a bit farther, Skarpa cleared his throat. “Myskyl said your command has imagers in it.” The commander’s voice was neutral. “All those that Lord Bhayar could find.”

  “That’s what Bhayar told me. I asked him why he was putting me in charge. He said they would more likely take orders from a scholar. He also hinted that I’d best find a way, if they weren’t so inclined.” Bhayar hadn’t even hinted that, but it was true, all the same, Quaeryt felt.

  “Aren’t you the fortunate one.”

  “No more so than you,” replied Quaeryt ironically.

  Skarpa laughed. “I told you that you’d make a good officer.”

  “Apparently, someone told Bhayar, and it wasn’t Myskyl.”

  “No. He’s scared shitless of you. I don’t blame him.”

  “Oh? What have I ever done?”

  “Besides survive wounds that no one should? Besides lead troopers through ambushes and melees where most junior officers die? Besides killing close to a score with that half-staff? Besides somehow always being around when things happened that shouldn’t? Besides having enough balls to face down angry High Holders and survive? And you never seem to raise your voice. You, my friend, are the kind of subcommander every marshal loves and dreads … and every ruler will use to his advantage. Without counting the cost to you.”

  Of that, Quaeryt was well aware. Bhayar would use any tool he could-Quaeryt, even his sisters-and he had. Quaeryt also suspected that Bhayar had a dual motive behind creating the imager force. He either wanted the imagers to be useful or to be expended so that he didn’t have to deal with them later, and he wanted Quaeryt to use them to inflict horrendous casualties on the Bovarians. He hadn’t said that, but it made perfect sense, given what Bhayar really had in mind. Not that Bhayar had ever said. He didn’t have to. Quaeryt knew, and it made sense, except for the fact it was totally impossible.

  Because he didn’t want to address Skarpa’s words, Quaeryt said, “I just hope we have some time before the Bovarians attack.”

  “We might. Myskyl thinks that won’t happen as soon as Lord Bhayar believes.”

  “Why? Because they don’t outnumber us sufficiently?”

  Skarpa laughed. “Because there aren’t that many barges available. He says there never were that many, and they haven’t seen any for weeks because the factors are hiding them.”

  Or because Kharst gathered them together even earlier. “The rivers are too deep to ford anywhere near Ferravyl right now?”

  Skarpa nodded.

  “What about building a bridge to the north where it’s narrow, across a gap or something in rough terrain? If we don’t think it can be done there…”

  “Once we get settled, I’ll have some scouts head north and look. They can check with the regiment to the north as well. We’ll need continuing patrols.”

  Quaeryt wondered what else they’d need that he or Skarpa hadn’t even considered.

  Third Regiment had just begun to stable mounts and offload wagons when Quaeryt and Skarpa rode through the gates in the stone walls of North Post. Quaeryt had barely dismounted outside the
stables when a hard-faced captain hurried toward him. From the lines in his face, and the few streaks of gray in his black hair, Quaeryt suspected he had worked his way up through the ranks … and not that quickly.

  “Subcommander, Captain Zhelan, at your service, sir.” The captain’s eyes took in the scholar browns.

  “My uniform was a casualty of the rebellion in Tilbor,” said Quaeryt, exaggerating somewhat more than slightly, since his “uniform” had consisted of a single overlarge green Telaryn tunic. “I didn’t think I needed new ones when I was made princeps and then governor of Montagne. Lord Bhayar was kind enough to provide some, but I haven’t had a chance to change.”

  “It might be…”

  “Yes, it might, Captain. Do we have quarters where I can change?”

  “Yes, sir. If you would follow me…”

  Quaeryt found that, on his own, he now rated senior officers’ quarters, even not being a governor, although senior officers’ quarters effectively meant a slightly larger room and bed, a full writing desk, and a leather armchair, and an attached washroom, which he used to wash up before stripping off his travel-worn scholar’s browns and beginning to don one of the uniforms Bhayar had provided.

  Quaeryt looked at the insignia, already fastened to the collars of the greenish brown undress uniform shirt-a silver crescent moon. Commanders wore a gold crescent. He shook his head and continued donning the well-tailored uniform.

  Captain Zhelan was waiting, pacing almost, when Quaeryt left his quarters. “Sir?”

  “Where are the imagers?”

  “I had them gather in the officers’ mess. They’re all provisional undercaptains. They wear officers’ greens, but without insignia. They’re not command officers.”

  Quaeryt understood the unsaid “like you.” He also understood the question behind the unspoken words, but did not address it. He’d see if Skarpa would quietly take Zhelan aside.

  “Have they had any training in arms?”