“Sól. Tal,” Queen Isabelle said, giving them a small nod in greeting. “Thank you for coming. Everyone, please. Take a seat.”
The group sat at a small round table.
“I understand,” the Maharei queen began, “that neither the Angdar nor the Araceans have come within so much as two days’ ride from the city. We’re anticipating an attack but it hasn’t come. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this.”
“May I offer my suggestions?” Sól asked.
“By all means,” Queen Isabelle replied.
Sól addressed the group. “By now, you are all aware of our discovery that Marshal Artaeis, with one hand, openly governs the foreign policies of Cirreone and her allies and, with the other, commands the Angdar and the mages among them. Using the Angdar army, he antagonizes the eastern lands of the Greater Realms, stirring them into the warring states that they’ve now become. He controls both but in this game of his, the left hand cannot be allowed to know what the right is doing. Therefore, we have no reason to fear a combined attack between the two groups.
“The split attack he just attempted, with the Angdar coming from the north through Ensildahir and the Aracean fleet attempting to take Ensari from the sea, was only possible because the Araceans didn’t know about the other attack. So he can’t use that strategy again. If he chooses to attack Kalishar now, he can only use one of his two groups. I’d say the most likely candidates are the Angdar. They’re closer for one thing but for another, they like fighting. They won’t be too disheartened by their recent defeat at Ensildahir and the garrison at the northern end of the mountains. On the contrary, knowing Angdar, Strahd’s lieutenants might have their hands full trying to hold them back until the marshal can decide on the next plan of attack. For the soldiers of the east however, their defeat in the strait was devastating. Friends lost. Widows and orphans back home. Grief. Weariness. They’re not going to be in any mood to fight right now.”
There were a few nods around the table.
“And the Angdar have been seen nearby recently,” Tal added. “As close as Ketchyin. Whereas I haven’t seen or heard anything of eastern soldiers.”
“However,” Sól said, “despite their eagerness to fight, the Angdar may not be in any position to do so now either. They’re stretched too thin. Trying to hold onto Valahir, regrouping after their defeats in Arahir and being frustrated by the Ulak down south. Sooner or later, the mages who command them will want to withdraw and consolidate their strength. Yes, the dragon Dominicon may well shift the balance in their favor when they finally regroup but I don’t believe we have anything to fear for a while at least. This is the lull we have been waiting for and what remains now is to decide how best to use it.”
Lorial shook her head as she looked at the barren countryside around her.
“You weren’t kidding,” she said to Keld.
“No,” he replied. “The Angdar are famed for their love of the scorched earth policy. Although, looking at what they’ve done here, it might work to our advantage.”
“How?”
“I think they’ve overdone it here,” Keld said. “They were so bent on cutting off potential supplies to Arahir refugees and Valahir messengers and scouts that they didn’t stop to think how they would keep their own garrisons along the river supplied.”
A thoughtful expression crossed his features. “They’ve probably compensated for their mistake by running fresh supplies in from the east, along the roads to Wyvern’s Peak and the area to the south. But with the numbers they lost at Ensildahir, the loss of the garrison and the fact that they’re probably busy planning their strike on Kalishar to regain lost ground, those supplies will have likely slowed down a lot. I’d imagine that the siege of Valahir might well be coming to an end of its own accord now.”
Lorial nodded. The reasoning made sense.
“So,” she said, looking around. “This is Valahir then?”
“Well,” Keld said, “this is Valahir after the Angdar have trampled their filthy feet all over it so you’re not really seeing it properly. But yes, this is it. Hopefully, Arvenreign will still be standing proud and as beautiful as I remember it. It’s not Olcenberg but it’s a city close to my heart.”
Lorial smiled. “I guess we’ll find out how it’s fared fairly soon.”
“Yes,” Keld agreed. “Not long now.”
IXX. The Journey East
Karn and Shaala disembarked from their horses and thanked the small escort that Sól had provided them. The group, with the horses that Karn and Shaala had used, then headed back south, while a lone man approached.
“Haledon,” he introduced himself.
Karn and Shaala introduced themselves in turn.
“I know who you are,” Haledon replied. “A messenger falcon was sent before you arrived. Sól says you need a boat.”
“You have one?” Karn asked, looking at the scattering of trees from which the man had emerged and the small stream that he presumed joined the Elendar River a little later. He didn’t see a boat. He didn’t even see a piece of driftwood he and Shaala could use.
Haledon saw where he was looking and grinned. “I have one. In fact, I have several. Come on.”
Haledon led them into the clump of trees and gestured to a hollow in the ground, wedged between the roots of one of those trees.
“You go in first,” he told them. “I have to put the leaf net back in place afterwards. As far as I know, the Angdar never come here but it’s good to be careful.”
“What’s down there?” Shaala asked.
“A cave,” Haledon told her. “And don’t worry. It’s well sealed and dry as a bone.”
Shaala bit her lip in distaste. “Yes, thanks for that analogy.”
Karn clapped her gently on the shoulder and smiled. “Come on. I’ve see these types of hideouts before. They’re more comfortable than you think.”
He climbed into the hollow, finding a short chain ladder, and came to a lighted passage. Shaala joined him and, after pulling a net of dry leaves and pine needles across the entrance, Haledon followed.
Haledon then took the lead again, taking them up to a larger cave. Sunlight filtering through another leaf net told Karn that they were now in a hollowed–out hill above ground and that the place also served as a lookout for Haledon. There was bedding inside for several people, meaning Haledon didn’t always man the post by himself, and there was a short flight of stairs leading to a stream, where several small boats were moored.
“I have a boat already prepared for you,” Haledon said, leading them down the stairs.
And, sure enough, supplies and wet weather clothing had been packed into the middle of one of the boats.
“Hop in,” he told them. “There’s no need to delay.”
Shaala climbed in first, while Karn held it steady. Then as Karn followed her, Haledon handed him an oar and picked up the rope.
“Thank you, Haledon,” Karn said.
Haledon smiled. “I’m just doing my job. I don’t know what you two are up to but if it’s as important as I think it is, then I’m glad to help.”
“Any tricks we should know about?” Karn asked as he sat down and held the oar ready.
Haledon shrugged. “If you don’t want spiders in your hair, then maybe duck when you come to the leaf net.”
“The leaf net?” Shaala asked.
Haledon threw the rope into the boat and grinned. “Safe voyage!”
Karn laughed as the boat drifted away. Then after a few yards, he saw what Haledon had meant and told Shaala to keep her head down for a moment.
Then, without being hindered in the slightest, the boat brushed aside another leaf net and they emerged on the stream outside as though they had drifted through a solid riverbank.
“Sól has good people,” Shaala remarked, glancing back.
“She does,” Karn agreed. “Actually, I met her people before I met her. They found me after I’d robbed a rather unpleasant Carcasian lord and they figured out how I had
managed it, getting past his entourage of guards. Sól’s scouts weren’t mages but they recognized one when they saw one.”
“So that’s how you ended up in the group,” Shaala murmured.
“What about you?” Karn asked. “How did you end up at Bellasaire?”
Shaala shrugged. “You can imagine what it’s like. Calling wild animals and all that. I was a bit different. And when I started outliving my friends and my family, I felt as though I didn’t really belong in the world. I was lonely.”
“I know that feeling,” Karn told her. “Although, I haven’t had the experience of outliving my friends. And my family didn’t die of old age.”
“No,” Shaala murmured.
Karn shook his head. “Sorry. We’re talking about you, not me. So you retreated to Bellasaire. What did you like about it?”
“Well, at first,” Shaala said, “the fact that superstitious fear kept the locals away meant that all the treasure that was piled up in the palace was still there. Changing all those things over the years for more practical forms of currency provided me with enough money to maintain a life of solitude, which is what I wanted. Isolation’s not cheap, you know. Of course, I’ve had to go out into the real world to stock up supplies every so often but I’ve been able to keep myself away from others.”
“How long have you done that?” Karn asked her.
Shaala hesitated. “About ninety years.” Then she smiled. “But now that we’re together, those years will soon be a distant memory. We’ve got all the time in the world now and we’ve got each other.”
Karn swallowed and forced a smile. Hearing about Shaala’s years of isolation had saddened him. However, he could now give her the companionship she needed. She didn’t age. He didn’t age. And now that they were together, there was no reason why either of them should ever be alone again.
Soon they were on the Elendar River proper and they made good speed as the waters carried them downstream. As they journeyed farther down the river, forests that came to the river’s edge replaced the dry countryside they had passed through when they had set out, and night fell soon after.
At one point during the night, they heard the sound of heavy footsteps as a group of Angdar soldiers jogged past close to the riverbank. Karn and Shaala kept their heads down, Karn only using the oar to steer. He didn’t paddle in case the sound of the oar breaking the water’s surface reached the Angdar. However, the danger soon passed.
The next day, they saw large mountains in the distance through gaps in the trees on their right, part of the chain that formed the northern border of Maharei. Beyond them was the desert that most of Maharei had become over the years, though by no fault of its people.
Later in the day, he and Shaala had a short rest and a small meal before setting off once more and then in the late afternoon, heavy rain clouds gathered and a tremendous downpour followed.
Karn brought their boat into a small inlet under the shelter of some low hanging trees and pulled a weather proofed animal hide over the boat, covering Shaala and himself and they rested while they waited for the rain to stop.
Climbing up on a rise in the land, crouched on their hands and knees, Keld and Gandon emerged above the canopy of the forest that hid their companions below. Before them was the west branch of the Avahast River.
A number of crude structures lined the southern bank and better built structures dotted the north, although they were hardly in better condition now. Grey rubble lined both banks. There were blackened marks on the stonework of the northern structures and even from their vantage point, they could make out the ruins of several wooden structures that had been burnt to the ground. They could also discern a little movement around the buildings but, at that distance, not much.
“I wonder how long it’s looked like this,” Gandon murmured.
“Hard to tell,” Keld replied, his eyes fixed on the structures below. “It looks as though the Valahir army and the Angdar have been sitting in this stalemate position for over a year or more. They probably lob some rubble at one another every month or so for the sake of the thing but it looks pretty quiet down there. How far do you make the Angdar compounds? Two miles? Three?”
“About that,” Gandon said. “You want to do some damage before we try to get through the pass?”
Keld looked at the mountains to the north and the pass that the west branch of the river cut through. These were the Ileskande, a less imposing range than the Eles’mae mountains to the south, but still quite large. Snow adorned the crests of the higher mountains in the distance as well. However, Keld’s gaze was on the pass and the Angdar structures there.
He turned back to Gandon. “If we try to do anything about the nearest ones, we’ll give ourselves away too soon and the Angdar will block the pass.” He smiled and nodded in the direction of the pass. “However, we can strike a blow up there.”
Gandon looked at the pass too and nodded. “I see.”
“And in case I forget,” Keld said, “before we do anything, we ought to have a closer look at some of these compounds and see how many Angdar are left.”
Later that evening, the rain falling over the Elendar River stopped and Karn and Shaala resumed their journey.
Not long after they had set off however, the quiet serenity of the evening was disturbed by distant shrieks.
Karn pulled the animal hide back over the boat, just leaving enough space to keep his oar in the water.
“What’s all that?” Shaala asked.
“It sounds as though there are some wyverns around here,” Karn told her. “I wouldn’t worry about them. They’re stupid creatures. If they can’t see us, I doubt they’ll bother us.”
The shrieks soon died away in the distance and Karn pulled the cover off once more. He leaned back in his seat as they drifted downstream.
To the north, Keld and his band crept about in the dark behind the Angdar compounds, shoving dried bits of wood and vegetation under doors, in cracks in the walls and in any other gaps they could find.
They had stolen some oil lamps from an abandoned Angdar structure earlier in the day and now they poured oil on their makeshift kindling as they worked.
Gandon and two more men who were skilled with the bow kept them covered from the shadows, staying twenty yards back from the nearest compounds.
On the occasion that one Angdar soldier left his post to see what had caused some noise below, he was quietly dispatched and two of Keld’s men wedged his corpse between some rows of timber, putting him out of sight.
And in this manner, they moved on, visiting six Angdar compounds along the river as it wound through the pass. Except instead of heading from south to north, they were traveling the other way.
Then they headed a small distance on foot into the nearby wooded hills where the horses were waiting under the watch of two members of the group. Everyone then mounted their steeds once more, headed for the river and rode north again. As they rode, Gandon and the other archers fired burning arrows into the Angdar compounds. Not much appeared to happen at first but after they passed each one, the structures lit up like fireworks and the intense heat caused the walls to crumble, collapsing the buildings in on themselves and the Angdar trapped inside.
XX. Arvenreign
Karn pulled the boat onto the river bank, helped Shaala out and packed away their provisions in a small bag.
“Are they some of mine?” Shaala asked, noticing a small quiver of arrows and a bow among them.
Karn nodded. “I’ve had them with me since we left Bellasaire.”
“Do you think we’re likely to run into Dominicon out here?”
Karn shrugged. “Hard to tell. But if we do, I’d like to ready for him. Shall we?”
They walked away from the river and through the forests until they came onto a large hill. Rolling plains stretched out below, punctuated by scattered woodlands and, in the distance, they saw snow capped mountains. The moon was bright and it illuminated the scene in silvery light.
&nb
sp; “Carris lies that way,” Karn said. “At the foot of one those mountains. I think we can reach it by morning. If Sól’s right, one of his scouts will be there.”
The journey across the plains felt like a hike in the countryside. Only the nature of their errand and the weapons Karn was carrying broke the illusion. And, as he expected, they did indeed reach Carris the next morning.
“Quiet place,” Shaala said.
“True,” Karn agreed as they approached a small door. “It’s no Olcenberg. And it’s certainly no Cirreone.”
He knocked on the door and they waited.
A friendly looking man in his mid–forties opened it.
“Why, if it isn’t young Karn?” he said, smiling.
“Corran,” Karn greeted him, returning the smile. “Well, here’s a pleasant surprise.”
“Come on in,” Corran told them.
They followed Corran inside and he locked the door behind them. Then he led them into an adjoining room where they wouldn’t need to worry about people looking in or eavesdroppers.
“This is Shaala,” Karn said, introducing Corran to his companion. “Shaala, this is Corran. He and I go some way back actually.”
“A pleasure,” Shaala said, shaking Corran’s hand.
Corran grinned. “With a pretty lady like yourself, I’d say the pleasure’s all mine. So, how can I help you?”
Karn then told him what they had learned about Marshal Artaeis.
“If we can prove this to someone highly positioned in the armies of Cirreone and her allies,” Karn said, “then the marshal will soon find himself very much alone.”
Corran nodded. “Lord Falk is the man you want.”
“Lord Falk?”
“He’s a very well respected Aracean commander,” Corran said. “And the regular people like him. I think you’ll like him too.”
Karn smiled. “Any idea where we’ll find him?”
“He and his men have just been fighting Angdar along the great eastern road, the one between their old haunting grounds at Kharadaan and the southern borders of Arahir. Last I heard, they were on the Raeuben River. If they head straight south after they’re done, you might be able to catch them in Orishelm.”
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