Liberator

by Jones, Loren K.

  “But, Captain, I don’t… I can’t take your place!” Klamath was near tears as she stood to join her captain.

  “Not yet, perhaps, but soon. I’ll be staying on through the end of this war, so long as it doesn’t last too long.” She paused to smile at Samantha. “But the time is rapidly approaching when I must, for the sake of the company, turn the reins over to a younger woman. Shair, I want you to know that the decision was between you and Klamath. I chose her because she’s used to handling more people than you are.”

  Shair nodded, smiling slightly at the honor of being considered. “I understand, Captain. For the good of the company.”

  Klamath was still looking slightly panicky and unsure as she faced her colleagues. “Captain, Marta, are you sure?” she asked softly and received Marta’s smile in reply.

  “Yes, Klamath, I’m sure. You’re young enough, and you have the experience necessary to lead a company of this size. You’ve been leading more than half the company since you were promoted to lieutenant eight years ago. There’s a real need for you to begin training now, while we’re still able to divide our attention. Soon, if the war progresses as it has been, we’ll be too busy to do more than share a word or two over meals.”

  Marta reached back to the table behind her and briefly displayed the captain’s rank insignia before pinning it onto Klamath’s blouse. Klamath had tears in her eyes as she accepted the responsibility that Marta was placing on her shoulders.

  Klamath’s promotion necessitated another round of promotions, this time with a wide-eyed Sharese Terington being promoted to lieutenant and an equally surprised Corporal Leann Herricks being made sergeant.

  The Army of Lender’s Dale, with support from all the mercenary companies, began its slow advance across Lender’s Dale. Word had gotten out to Frander’s Magi and troopers in the towns that they should be alert for any attacks, though few believed the warnings to be anything serious. They fell, and their towns with them, with surprising ease. Other towns were not so easy.

  *

  Elbridge, a town that spanned the river El around a series of bridges, became the proving ground for Caitlin’s Cavalry. Frander’s generals had finally awoken from their stupor and moved reinforcements into Lender’s Dale. Elbridge was to be the starting point of their counterattack, and ten thousand men had turned the town into a fortress.

  Merrit looked at the defensive bulwark of the town and shook her head. “There’s no easy way to crack this nut, and no way around it. Bring me the triplets,” she ordered.

  Maylee led her sister into General Marston’s tent and saluted. “You sent for us, sir?”

  Merrit nodded. “We have a problem. Frander has reinforced Elbridge to the point that there’s no chance of our simply punching through. I need a hole in their defenses that we can drive a wedge into. A big hole. Can you do it?”

  The three sisters looked at each other, then at their general. “Yes, sir,” they snapped in unison, coming back to attention.

  “Prepare yourselves then. I want as big a hole as you can make and maintain at the center bridge. Don’t get too ambitious. I just want to hurt them.” Merrit stared at the triples and received nods of agreement from each of them. “Dismissed.”

  The three young women went to the tent they shared and began their preparations. Mayrie was to lead, with her sisters combining their power to hers. When they were ready, Mayrie blasted the center of the bulwark with a magebolt that sent trees and dirt flying hundreds of feet into the air. In other towns, the simple demonstration of the triplets’ power had been enough to make the defenders run, but not here.

  Men poured from the breach, attacking the Army of Lender’s Dale with a ferocity that had been lacking in all the earlier battles. Magi, Masters and Adepts, surged out with the foot soldiers, fighting magic with magic. Marian and Caroline fought alongside the triplets, but for each mage they defeated, two more took his place. Finally, the Lender’s Dale troops were being swamped by the tide of bodies in Frander’s uniform. Then the Lender’s Dale Cavalry joined the fight.

  Caitlin led her troops in a swift, raking pass that peeled a layer off Frander’s force like the skin from a potato. Lance and javelin found flesh among the attacking troops, distracting them while the Lender’s Dale troops fell back and regrouped. Archers took advantage of the respite and sent volleys of arrows into the packed troops, but they kept coming. Over and over the cavalry swept in, braving arrows and spears to give the foot troops a chance. And over and over again men and women died to save others.

  The actions of the cavalry gave Merrit and the other officers time to counterattack, pressing any advantage they saw. The triplets concentrated on the Adepts, passing up the easy targets that the Masters presented to challenge the more dangerous foe. As the tide turned against Frander’s forces, Marian and Caroline managed to combine their talents into a workable strategy.

  Marian attacked with flash and noise, distracting the enemy, while Caroline attacked with stealth and finesse, sliding through the tiniest crack in the other Mage’s shields to kill him with one of the dozens of techniques they had learned from Sherefin.

  Merrit ordered the advance, pushing Frander’s troops back into Elbridge and across the bridges until not one of Frander’s men survived. But the cost had been high. Of the five hundred cavalry who had joined the attack, only two hundred survived. The greatest loss, to Java’s mind, was Caitlin herself.

  Omalaha stumbled, bleeding and weak, back to the stables. Caitlin hung lifeless in his saddle, an arrow through each of her legs holding her in Omalaha’s saddle against the pull of gravity. A long gash, from sword or pike, had opened her throat, spilling her life down her armor and across Omalaha’s back. Java had been watching for her return and didn’t realize she was dead until she looked into the unseeing eyes of her friend.

  “No,” she whimpered. “Oh, Cait, no.” She shook her head against the sight of her friend and companion staring lifelessly from Omalaha’s back. Omalaha shouldered his way past Java to the stable, stumbling and staggering to bring his mistress home one last time. Falling to his knees, the great horse heaved one last sigh, then was still. The arrows that held Caitlin to his back had pierced his lungs.

  Merrit ordered the bulwark that Frander’s men had built torn down to provide the wood for the cavalry’s pyre. Caitlin and Omalaha, together in death as in life, joined their followers in the final fire as the anguished Army of Lender’s Dale sang to their glory. Java sang, tears in her eyes and her heart in her throat, as the flames carried her friend away.

  CHAPTER 21: STALEMATE

  No matter how big the reward, sometimes the price is too high.

  Master Scholar Prince Stavin Zel’Andral, “Errant Thoughts”

  THE BATTLE OF ELBRIDGE MARKED THE beginning to the end for Frander’s occupation of Lender’s Dale. The success of the campaign heartened the troops and news of their victories encouraged more and more men and women to join them. New recruits flooded Lender’s Dale as people who had fled to Hiddendell and Greencastle returned to reclaim what had been theirs. Frander’s army finally withdrew from Lender’s Dale, defeated for the first time, but not without a final strike at the hearts of its people.

  After months of continuous fighting, Samantha found it strange to be riding through her duchy without constantly being on the alert. Java was, as always, at her side, as were Robin and the triplets. General Marston had sent word that they were needed at the front, a message that had struck Java as strange.

  Samantha was in high spirits, telling her friends about the wonders of her home in Lender’s Dale, the capital city of the Duchy of Lender’s Dale. She told them of the magnificent artworks in its museums. She all but sang of the parks that made the city a garden. Unlike Whitehall, Lender’s Dale had been a major city of the old kingdom, and had retained its majesty through the long years after the revolution.

  Samantha was obliged to stop and hold court in each town they passed through. It also gave her a chance to meet pe
ople she would never meet in other circumstances. Innkeepers bowed and greeted her the way she remembered her mother being greeted.

  Mayors, some newly invested with their titles, greeted their duchess like a savior. People came from throughout the countryside to see the last Lender. Java, in her capacity as Samantha’s servant, worked to keep her safe, with the aid of Robin and the triplets. Remarks were made in some instances that the duchess’s servants were a bit uppity. Those remarks fell away when Samantha introduced her friends.

  Samantha sat in the common room of a most uncommon inn. Her companions joined her in looking around the magnificent room, gazing with awe at the massive chandelier that lit the room with two hundred candles.

  “Sam, this is incredible,” Mayrie whispered.

  Samantha was equally impressed. “I heard about it when I was little. The story is that it started out as a manor house for a rich merchant, long before the revolution. He had it built to exact specifications, and it’s a replica of the Great House of Carrindon in Glimmerrey.” She was interrupted by the arrival of the innkeeper.

  “Lady Duchess, I am Alvin Demillen. Welcome to my house. And I thank you for returning my house and all I hold dear to me. What is your wish?” Alvin bowed low, all but sweeping the floor with his well-kept, but very long, beard.

  Samantha smiled brightly, then looked at her friends. “Princess Java, would you start please?”

  Java bowed from her seat, her eyes dancing at the innkeeper’s reaction to her name. “I will have roast pork, carrots, black bread, and your finest ale. Master Mage Robin?”

  Robin bowed to both Sam and Java, grinning at the look of discomfort on the innkeeper’s face. “Roast chicken, rye bread and butter, whatever vegetables you have that are fresh, and white wine. Master Mage Mayrie?”

  The innkeeper was looking distinctly nervous now. “Fried chicken, wheat bread, butter and honey, and white wine. Master Mage Maygren?”

  At the mention of yet another master Mage, the innkeeper’s hands began to shake. “Roast beef, medium rare, peas and carrots, black bread, and a good burgundy. Master Mage Maylee?”

  Maylee grinned at the innkeeper. “Roast mutton, rye bread, white cheese, and red wine. My Lady Duchess?”

  Samantha smiled sweetly at the innkeeper before giving her simple order. “I’ll have the same as Princess Java.”

  “A-a-as you wish, my Lady Duchess. As you wish,” Alvin murmured as he withdrew, watching every move the four magi made.

  “That wasn’t nice, Sam,” Java said as she chuckled softly. “Fun, yes. Nice, no.”

  Samantha’s giggle was all the reply she could make. It was so good to be able to laugh again. Supper was as good as anything that was served in the duchy capitals, and Samantha was careful to tell Alvin exactly how much she liked it. Then she scandalized him by insisting that the triplets share her room.

  “But, Duchess Samantha, that’s not proper,” he said as he wrung his hands.

  “Proper or not, my magi stay close to me. Now, do I have to repeat myself?” Samantha looked at the innkeeper and he saw her mother, not the young woman before him.

  “As you wish, Lady Duchess. As you wish.”

  *

  It took Samantha and her party six days to reach General Marston’s camp in the hills overlooking Lender’s Dale. “My Lady Duchess, I have grave news,” Merrit said as soon as Samantha dismounted.

  “What happened, Merrit?” Samantha asked softly, and Merrit simply led her to a walkway leading out of camp.

  Before her, filling the great river valley that was the original Lender’s Dale, was a lake. Somewhere down-stream Frander had dammed the Lender River, flooding the city of Lender’s Dale, drowning the graves of Samantha’s mother and siblings. Drowning the magnificent city of Lender’s Dale under hundreds of tons of water. No one knew how long ago the river had been dammed, but the water was deep enough that not even the tallest buildings broke the surface. It was as if it had never existed.

  Samantha felt her knees begin to shake and she reached out to Java for support. “Java, he drowned it,” she whispered, her tears shimmering down her cheeks. “He drowned my home.”

  Java held Sam and let her cry. All her hopes, all her dreams, had been shattered by the act of a madman.

  *

  The lake that filled the Lender’s Dale Valley did more than drown Lender’s Dale and its fields. It was an all but impassable barrier for the Army of Lender’s Dale to cross. The lake was easily a mile across already, and hadn’t filled even half of the valley. No bridge could hope to span it. The only way to cross was by boat, and boats were in short supply this deep into the continent.

  “We have no way across, Samantha. He’s stopped us.” Merrit looked out at the lake, her unfocused eyes seeing through the water to the ruined pile of stone that was all that remained of Duchess Neldan’s palace. Now, drowned under tons of water, she would never again raise those stones as she had promised the shade of her friend she would do.

  Samantha cried for a day, then savagely wiped away the last tear. “I will not lie down and die. I will not let him destroy my spirit. I will survive and prevail!” She stood and shouted at the sky for all the Gods to hear. “I am not afraid!”

  The Army of Lender’s Dale camped on the shores of Lake Lender, as Samantha had dubbed it. After two weeks, Samantha approached Merrit. “General Marston, we must have a discussion.”

  “As you wish, Duchess Samantha. What’s troubling you?” Merrit asked, wondering why Sammy was being so formal.

  “General, we need to move the army away from here. Winter is returning, and there’s nothing in the way of shelter for them. I spent two winters in Java’s tent, and I don’t want to experience another. My city, the city of my birth, is gone forever. Even if we could drain this damned lake, the city would never be home again. I am about to make a decision that will affect the entire duchy.” Samantha stood and straightened her blouse before continuing. “General Marston, after lengthy discussion with my advisors, I have decided to make Morrisdale the new capital of Lender’s Dale.”

  Merrit looked at Samantha with wide, disbelieving eyes. Morrisdale, her home, the new capital? “But, Sammy, Morrisdale is so small.”

  “Merrit, we don’t exactly have a surplus of people to fill it with. There’s good access to the headwaters of the El, good farmland, good grazing, and most importantly, good people. Are you ready to go home?” Samantha smiled at the expression of joy on Merrit’s face.

  CHAPTER 22: CHANGING OF THE GUARD

  I didn’t see that coming.

  Marydyth Shalina Forlan Ne’Karyn Zel’Fordan

  JAVA TRAVELED TO MORRISDALE WITH SAM and Merrit. Her relationship with both women, as well as Anness, made the trip a sort of homecoming for her, though she’d never seen Morrisdale before. Merrit and Samantha led the straggling Army of Lender’s Dale into the mountain valley that held Morrisdale after three weeks of travel. Most of the troops had gone home after the discovery of Lake Lender, and there were less than seven hundred of them left. To Java’s surprise, Morrisdale was located in the northern foothills of the mountains that formed Mountainstand County.

  “Why didn’t you tell me your home was so close, Anness?”

  “Because my home is in Firedale, Java,” Anness answered fondly. “Same as yours.”

  Java grinned sheepishly, but didn’t reply. Anness was right. Firedale was her home. The first sight of the small village that had produced two of the women who had shaped her life was not inspiring. Morrisdale was tiny. There had only been about two hundred people living there before the war, and less than one hundred had returned. The Sheridan family was among those who had.

  An old man limped out to the gate of his farm as the procession halted. Seeing the flags and standards, he made an educated guess and knelt.

  “Lady Duchess, you honor us with your presence,” he said sonorously, surprising Samantha and Java with his deep, resonant voice.

  Samantha dismounted and walked forw
ard while Merrit sat her horse, a slight smile curving her lips. “We thank you for your welcome, Savvin,” she said, grinning at his surprise when she used his name.

  “Lady Duchess, how…” he asked, confused. Then he noticed the two older women who sat their horses side by side, grinning at him. “Merrit? Anness?” he whispered, his awe of the duchess giving way to joy as he recognized his daughters.

  Merrit and Anness dismounted and rushed to hug their father. It had been years since they had been home, and they hadn’t received any word of their family since the invasion. “Hello, Papa,” Merrit whispered while Anness simply hugged him.

  “But how..? Why..? Merrit, what’s happening?” Savvin Sheridan asked, looking at his disobedient daughters closely.

  “Duchess Samantha has decided to move the capital to Morrisdale, Papa. Frander left the city of Lender’s Dale under a new lake, so she decided to come here.” She held her arm out to Samantha, who came forward shyly. “My Lady Duchess, I wish to present my father.”

  Savvin couldn’t kneel again with Merrit and Anness holding him up, and he looked frightened at Samantha’s proximity.

  Sam grinned and reached up to kiss his cheek. “I am very pleased to meet you at last. Merrit has been telling me stories about you for years.”

  Java and Robin had dismounted and stood patiently waiting for their turn. Java was especially interested in meeting her mentors’ father. Anness and Merrit had been in large part responsible for how she had turned out, and meeting the man who had raised them was a longtime wish.

  Anness saw her waiting and motioned her over. “Papa, this is our favorite child, Princess Java Mountainstand.”

  Savvin’s eyes bulged at the mention of Java’s name. He had been living in one of the refugee towns in Mountainstand County, and seeing the tiny woman before him was as surprising as seeing the duchess. He couldn’t kneel to her any more than he could kneel to his duchess, and he blushed from the embarrassment that his daughters were causing by holding him up. “Princess, I…”