by Simon Brown
A few hours later a large body of Chandran cavalry met up with the knights. Their commander was a tall, thin man with long grey hair who rode a black horse that was one of the most formidable looking stallions Magmed had ever seen. Magmed halted the column and waited for the leader to pull up alongside him.
'You are not Galen Amptra,' the man said, the voice not unfriendly. His eyes seemed as dark as jet. Magmed also noticed his short coat of mail was dented and scraped in good service, and the grip on the sword strapped to his back was well-worn.
'You know Galen?' Magmed inquired.
'I met him once,' the man said, but did not elaborate further. He just waited.
Magmed cleared his throat. 'I am Duke Magmed. I am in command of this column.'
'You weren't earlier today.'
'Galen has returned to Hume.'
The man looked up and down the column. 'Taking your guest with him, I see.'
'My guest?'
The man scratched his chin with one gloved hand. 'Are we going to run around like this all day?'
'Who are you?'
'My name is Barys Malayka.'
Magmed could not hide his surprise. 'The Barys Malayka?'
'If there is another I know nothing about him.'
'You are Tomar's champion! I listened to stories about you when I was only a small—'
Barys's hand shot out and gripped Magmed's arm. 'Please, do not tell me you were only a small boy. I do not want to think about myself being so old that you heard stories about me when you were a small boy."
'But—'
Barys's grip tightened. 'I really, really don't.'
'Ah.'
'Charion was with you.' He made it a statement, not a question.
'She returned to her province in the company of Galen.'
'She was hurt, I believe.'
'Yes, but not seriously. She should fully recover.'
If Barys was disappointed by this he gave no sign of it, 'As long as she and Galen Amptra are not captured or killed by the Chetts.' He released his grip and sat back in his saddle. 'Well, I had best accompany you back to Sparro.'
'Thank you.' Magmed surveyed Barys's force. He estimated it numbered around five hundred riders, about twice the number of knights. 'You certainly brought a large escort with you.'
'Better safe than sorry in these troublesome days. By the way, I see none of you is wearing armour.'
'We had to bury it,' Magmed said, shamefully.
Barys scratched his chin again. 'Well, maybe someday you can go back and get it.'
Despite Charion's protestations, Galen did not head straight for a village or town. He found a deeply wooded area near one of the Barda River's smaller tributaries where they and their horses could easily hide from any casual search. He refused to hear the queen's objections, letting her tire herself out. When she was asleep he risked exploring the immediate area for nuts and berries, and used their helmets to bring fresh water from the stream. She slept for twelve hours, and when she woke just before dawn the next day she did not abuse him as he half expected.
'You should be with your knights,' she sniffed.
'Yes, I should be.'
'Do you think Areava will be angry with you?'
'Probably. If you were in her shoes, would you be angry with me?'
'Absolutely furious.' She sat up with some effort, refusing help. 'I would probably chop off your head.'
'Well, she'll get her chance later.'
She sniffed again. 'I might intercede for you.'
Galen nodded, accepting the compliment, but not sure what to do with it. He handed her a handful of red berries. 'These are very nice.'
'Second baby berries,' she said.
'I'm sorry?'
'Second babies are always early. Most berries ripen in autumn. These ripen in late summer.'
'We don't have them in the south.'
'Too cold there,' she told him.
'It's not cold at all in Kendra,' he said. 'We haven't had snow for over ten years.'
'It is cold,' she said. 'I visited Kendra when I was a child. Some formal gathering of all the provincial rulers during Usharna's reign.'
'I was there. Perhaps we met.'
'Oh, I don't think so. The Twenty Houses weren't keen on us provincials.'
Galen blushed. 'True.'
'Anyway, I can tell you that Kendra is cold. Not only does it almost never snow in Hume, we don't even get frosts.'
They fell silent for a while, then Charion said: 'I think the Twenty Houses will look more kindly on those of us on the borders now.'
'One of their members already does.'
She smiled at him. 'Yes, I know.'
'In fact, I think you and your people have impressed every member of the knights; the Twenty Houses will never look down on Hume again.'
Charion sighed. 'If there is a Hume,' she reminded him.
'You will free your land,' he said matter-of-factly. She smiled at him a second time. He thought that was something of a record. 'Yes,' she said, 'I will.'
'Only a single rider?' King Tomar asked.
The soldier nodded.
'And all he did was give you this?' He held up the letter.
'Yes, your Majesty,' the soldier said.
'Alright, thank you. Make sure you are fed in the kitchen and given a bed for the night. You can return to your garrison tomorrow.'
The soldier bowed and departed, leaving Tomar alone in his chamber. He looked at the letter, a folded piece of paper with his name written on it. He did not recognise the hand writing. Still, he was sure he knew from whom the letter came.
A single rider approaching unarmed, in the dark, one of his border posts with Hume. Oh yes, he knew who this came from.
He put the letter down on a table next to the room's single lit lamp.
I do not want to read this, he thought. It could be counted treasonous.
He went to the west window, looked out over the dark lands between Sparro and Daavis. Somewhere out there lay the future.
Can a king truly commit treason? he asked himself. If a king is devoted to his people and his nation, can that be possible?
Something moved in the middle distance. As he watched it he realised it was Barys returning with the knights, and his oldest and most determined foe,
Charion of Hume. What should he do with her? Was it treason to think of anything but helping her to return to her Kingdom?
In the dark the column looked like a snake sinuously weaving its way through grass.
He did not want these decisions forced on him now. Or at any time. What was wrong with the way things were before?
He looked at the letter. Could he ignore it? Even before he tried to answer the question he had picked it up and was turning it over in his hands.
Such a little thing with such terrible consequences. To read a few lines and set a whole nation on a new course.
He heard the distant clattering of hooves on stone. Barys had reached the outskirts of the city. He and his charges would be at the palace soon. He must make up his mind now. He could not honourably offer Charion sanctuary if later he must desert her.
He was startled by a knock on his door. He immediately thought of his champion, but Barys could not have reached the palace that quickly. 'Who is it?'
A guard entered with another letter.
'Who is this from?' he asked, confused.
'Post rider from Kendra, your Majesty. Just arrived.'
Tomar pocketed the first letter and received the second, viewed with alarm and some distaste the royal seal of the Rosetheme kestrel. He nodded to the guard to leave. He massaged his forehead with one hand and tried to ignore the headache he could feel was coming. He opened the letter from Areava and angled it near the lamp so he could read the cramped writing of her secretary. You'd think when Urshana died Areava would have taken the opportunity to retire her mother's staff.
The thought led to others, and without reading the letter he lowered the hand holding it. Of
course, she did not succeed her mother. I forget sometimes. Poor, bloody Berayma, king for a few days. All Areava could do was pick up the pieces.
He had never liked Areava, she was too aloof and too… well, Kendran… for his liking. Berayma had been equally unbearable. Olio he liked, an affable stutterer. And Lynan. Lynan he liked a great deal. There was much of his late father in Lynan.
He retrieved the letter from his pocket, now holding one in each hand. Each represented a choice he must make, if not in the next few minutes or hours then certainly before too much time had passed.
He heard horses enter the palace courtyard. He had, momentarily, forgotten about Charion. He may have to make a choice sooner than he wanted. When he heard footsteps clumping towards his chambers he placed both letters underneath the lamp. There was another knock and the guard let Barys in, accompanied by a young man Tomar had never seen before.
'Your Majesty, Duke Magmed of the Twenty Houses.'
Magmed bowed his head. 'Your Majesty, thank you for your hospitality. We have ridden long and hard after the fall of—'
'I was expecting Galen Amptra,' Tomar said.
'Galen decided it best to accompany the wounded Queen Charion.'
Tomar's eyes narrowed. 'Accompany her where?'
'Back to Hume, apparently,' Barys said.
'That's right, your Majesty. Queen Charion would not leave her province while it is under the heel of the outlaw Lynan—'
'Yes, yes,' Tomar said, waving down the duke. He was almost overcome with relief. That decision, at least, could be delayed indefinitely. 'Other than your leader are you and your men well?'
Magmed's expression became sorrowful. 'What is left of them. We number under three hundred.'
'Three hundred! But you left Kendra numbering near enough a thousand!'
'Many of us were slain in the first battle against Lynan's army,' Magmed said. 'They are ferocious warriors, and they were led by Lynan himself.'
'Did you see him?' Tomar asked, trying not to sound too interested.
Magmed visibly shuddered. 'I saw him right enough. I saw him plough through my companions as if they were made of nothing but chaff. And I saw his face; he was so pale he looked as if he had come back from the dead And I saw him being struck by broadsword and lance and mace and axe and not take a single injury.'
Tomar and Barys exchanged a glance, one with the same meaning. Magmed caught it and understood what they were thinking. 'This is no fancy on my part, your Majesty!' he said urgently. 'Ask any of the others. I saw a lance enter Lynan's stomach and come out the other side. I saw him pull out the lance and use it to kill a knight. I saw a sword blade sink half a hands-breadth into his thigh, and when the blade was pulled out there was no blood. I saw him kill four knights in as many seconds using nothing but his fist. With my own eyes I saw all of this.'
King and champion looked aghast at Magmed, seeing in his expression that he told the truth.
Lynan, what has happened to you? Tomar wondered silently.
'He was not slain, then?' Barys asked.
'Not by us.'
The room fell quiet. Tomar returned to the window and gazed out into the night, out to the west.
'Your Majesty?' Barys said.
'Hmm?'
'Magmed and his men are our guests…'
'Yes, of course. Please, make sure they are housed and fed.' He turned to face the knight. 'You must stay as long as you think necessary. Tomorrow I will send a post rider to Kendra informing Areava of your arrival. I am sure she will communicate your next orders when she can.'
Magmed bowed slightly. 'Thank you, your Majesty.'
Tomar nodded and Barys led Magmed out. Alone again, he made up his mind. He took out the first letter, carefully unfolded it, and read.
By the time Barys returned he had read it four times. It was in his pocket again when the champion knocked and entered.
'What do you think of the duke's story?' he asked.
Barys shrugged. 'Whatever we think of it, he believes it.'
'There is no doubt about that. Do you think this Magmed is prone to exaggeration?'
'I cannot say for sure, but from what I have seen of him he does not seem prone to excess of any kind.'
'Unusual for a member of the Twenty Houses,' Tomar said, more to himself than Barys.
'Unusual for a Kendran,' Barys said, smiling slightly.
'And no sign of Charion?'
Barys shook his head. 'I made sure Magmed or his people did not see it, but I sent scouts to locate them; they caught up with us before we reached Sparro. She is no longer in Chandra.'
Tomar sighed deeply. 'Well and good.'
'It might have been useful to have the queen of Hume in your hands.'
'Yes, but it is not a responsibility I would cherish. Areava would circumscribe any serious action on my part, anyway.'
'I hear a post rider arrived from the capital tonight. A letter from the palace in Kendra?'
Tomar nodded, pulled out the second letter. Barys noticed the broken seal. 'What does she want from us this time?'
'I don't know yet. You and Magmed interrupted me. Get some sleep. We will talk tomorrow.'
Barys pursed his lips but took the hint and left as asked.
'Now your turn, Areava,' Tomar said softly, and unfolded the letter.
Galen found a small town early in the morning; although not much larger than a village it had its own chapel to the Church of the Righteous God and its own resident priest, a large man called Father Hern. Together with the priest he returned to the woods to collect Charion and the horses. By noon the queen was safely hidden away above the chapel, freshly bandaged and wrapped in a clean blanket to keep her warm. The horses were given to a local farmer to look after and their gear stowed out of sight in the priest's wood shed. Galen himself was given a priest's frock and cloak but warned by Father Hern to stay out of sight.
'You look far too martial in your bearing to fool anyone for long,' the priest told him.
Galen grinned. 'I was taught by priests. Some of them were damn martial.'
'Ah, yes, that will be your city priest for you. Your average country priest is meek and mild and gentle as a newborn.'
Galen looked the big man up and down. 'Gentle like a great bear, maybe.'
'How long will you stay?'
'Eager to see the back of us already?'
'You can stay as long as you wish, Galen Amptra,' Hern replied seriously. 'But I can't keep you secret from the townspeople forever.'
'You think they would betray us?'
'Most of them, no. But every community has one or two that prize coin above loyalty. More to the point, once Charion's presence is common knowledge they will all talk about it. In twenty days a nearby town holds a fair, and the talk will spread there, mark my word. In another twenty days half of Hume will know Charion is in hiding in my chapel. So I ask again, how long will you stay?'
'When Charion is on her feet we will see. I know she had plans to organise resistance to Lynan. Is there a place nearby where we may find both sanctuary and solitude?'
Hern thought about it. 'There are many woods hereabouts, of course, but they fringe the Barda, and it is a well-travelled river, or at least was before the war started.'
'It may be again if Lynan believes he holds Daavis safe. Trade has always been that city's lifeblood. Are there any outposts or forts nearby?'
Hern shook his head. 'There were some watch stations along our borders with Chandra, and I daresay once with Haxus, but the former were stripped to deal with Salokan's invasion, and the latter swept aside by the same. We have some ex-soldiers, but not enough to form a company let alone an army if that is Charion's wish.'
'She may not be thinking of an army,' Galen said, more to himself than Hern.
'There are the Marbles,' Hern said.
'The Marbles?'
'There is a wooded group of hills overlooking the Barda River not far west of here. The hills are covered by giant round boulders. Where
the boulders heap on top of each other they form shallow caves. You could hide a small army there.'
'That sounds as if it might be what we need. Does anyone go there?'
'Not regularly. The boulders stop farmers from using the hills for terracing. Occasionally a stonemason will send cutters to attack one of the boulders if there's a big order on: they provide a good sandstone, yellow and clean, if they're split properly, but they're too heavy to cart any distance.'
'Well, I'll make no decision for Charion. This is her land, and you are all her people. We must wait and see what plans she has.'
'How are Magmed and his knights?' Tomar asked Barys.
'Resting, your Majesty. They have had a hard campaign. Many are wounded, in spirit as well as body.'
They were walking together from the king's private chambers to the throne room. Courtiers bowed to Tomar as they passed and he never neglected to acknowledge them.
'You should know,' the king said, 'that the letter I received last night informed me of Areava's decision to create what she calls a Great Army.'
'Grandiose.'
'But in light of what has happened over the last few months, necessary if she has any hope of defeating Lynan.'
'And what is our contribution to be?'
'She has not specified yet. However, the army will set its standard in Chandra.'
Barys stopped in his tracks. 'They are creating the army in Chandra?'
Tomar stopped, too, and nodded. 'It makes sense really. Kendra is too small for the purpose, and we are closest to the main threat.'
'How great is this Great Army?'
'She says forty thousand.'
'God! We cannot afford to maintain such a large force—'
Tomar looped a hand around Barys's arm and started walking again. 'I know, but let's not talk too loudly about it, eh?'
'You think this is Orkid's work?'
Tomar shrugged. 'Possibly. Now that Sendarus is dead, the Amanites have lost influence in court. Orkid may be trying to take up some of the slack.'
'He had great influence over Usharna. How different will it be for the daughter?'
'You overestimate Orkid, Barys, and that is almost as dangerous as underestimating him. Usharna ruled Orkid, right enough, and he served her well. However, I do not know Areava well enough to tell you whether she is her own woman or not.'
