The Union

He gripped the reins of his horse tightly. The leather formed marks on his hand. The horseman closed his eyes. It was horrible. The horror he encountered just to escape was too much for him to bare.

He was lucky. Sulla favored his bones. There have been almost a hundred of them, Dux Corwell made sure to scout. And they did. Their horses were light and they maneuvered fine in the wide gra.s.slands. But the enemies were cunning. They set up traps everywhere. At first they offered mercy in exchange for surrender, a good trade. But not all men valued their lives equally and not all Calgarians were of the same level of loyalty. The scout was born a little too patriotic, his curse.

But he was able to escape. The others have either surrendered or died. He avoided the cold bite of steel against his flesh. Now he rode to the east, bearing dark news to the others.

A day of riding brought him to the wooden walls of Stonerider. It was not long before sundown when he arrived. The sentries demanded his ident.i.ty and he was then permitted entry into the city.

"I need to speak with the Grand Master" The scout said to the knight who opened the gate for him.

The knight eyed him for a time, the judging eyes were peeling his very skin.

"What for? He"s a busy man"

"This is important" The scout insisted "Dux Corwell is trapped"

The knight"s eyes bulged. With a single curt nod, he turned and shouted to his peer, "Escort him to the Grand Master!"

**********

Balian stood at the front of the table. A huge map of Tulosa and the Great Plains was laid before him and his officers.

"We should go here and then here. The enemies are trapped but a week"s march into safety would see many of them survive even if we hara.s.s their backs on their way. We should envelope them" A knight Prefect said as he traced his finger on the parchment.

"No" Balian said "If we do that they could go south and attack Stonerider instead"

"A thousand good men could hold for a few days if needed"

"Marquis Erik has twenty thousand of such good men. Henry has, I heard, five thousand knights. Only Queen Emily"s host is their weak link. Do not underestimate them. It would be bad if we lose Stonerider"

The Prefect nodded in silence. He again pointed at the map. "Then how about we divide our army? Send knights to seal their escape and the Calgarians, mercenaries and the n.o.ble"s men to shield Stonerider while pushing them towards our knights"

"That would work if we have a huge advantage in horses. Unfortunately, Henry commands thousands. And you know him. I have to admit the loyalty he commands in the field is stunning. If we divide our army and send the knights in advance, we risk of losing the knights"

"Sire!" Knocks pounded on the door. Balian and the officers all turned their heads.

"Come in" Balian commanded.

"A scout just arrived" Said the guard posted outside the door after opening it "From Dux Corwell"

A man, not too old, went inside. His face was b.l.o.o.d.y. His thin armor was crumpled on many parts. His eyes were empty.

Balian knew something bad must have happened. He commanded Dux Corwell to cross the Red Bridge in secret after the enemies. But the state of the scouts shouts that a battle happened. Balian hoped that Corwell was at least able to burn the bridge. Even if the enemies spotted them and turned around, it would be a win to just cut the enemies" supply line.

"Did he manage to burn the bridge?" Balian asked, impatient for answer.

"The bridge" The Scout"s voice trailed "It has already been burned when we arrived sire"

"Not by your doing?"

"No sire. The bridge was already destroyed when we got there. It reeks of Vanadian h.e.l.lfire sire"

"Holy Creton"s bottom!" One of the Calgarian officers exclaimed, tapping his palms on the table "This Marquis Erik is insane. I thought we would need to exert effort to cut his supplies but he did it himself"

"Aye, something wrong is inside his head. Something wrong" Said an officer knight in a mocking tone "What a blunder"

"You are all fools!" Balian shouted so loud the room was filled by the echoes of his voice for a while. He shifted towards the map and pointed at the river "Dux Corwell and his host are now trapped between the Red River and the enemies. He is done. We just lost eight thousand of our forces. Eight thousand!"

"But their sacrifices will be put to good use sire. Without supplies from Bivon, our enemies would starve" Resoned one daring knight.

"Are you degenerates? Are you all thinking with your a.r.s.es to imply that Marquis Erik doesn"t know that? He destroyed the bridge on purpose. He knew the repercussions of his actions but still burned the bridge anyway. He has a plan. I knew he has one. He isn"t some amateur who would cut his supplies on purpose"

"What now..." a knight looked up to him "sire?"

"It is too dangerous to proceed to the plan. We must be careful and capitalize on our advantages. We outnumber him, that"s one. He is on the offensive, that"s another. We also need more information" Balian looked at the scout "You are a good man. Take forty scouts with you and gather more information. For the time being, we must postpone our plans"

**********

The Vanadian galleys sailed towards them. Oarsmen heaved the galleys in position. Anchors were dropped and small dinghies finished the job of transporting men into the bank.

"Smart. We don"t have a bridge anymore so you"re going to ferry food and supplies across" Queen Emily said. She opened her mouth and as if deciding that no words were needed, shut it after.

"And prisoners"

Erik wore a proud smile. The eight thousand Calgarians who surrendered will be transported to Bivon as prisoners of war. The morning sun glaring his eyes, Erik squinted but the smile remained.

"When did you send them the order to mobilize?" Henry inquired.

"Two days ago. Don"t worry, they are Admiral Bisham"s excess. This squadron was just sitting with their b.u.t.ts in the port of Hydas. Better be of use to me. Although the taverns of Hydas will miss their bad songs and heavy tips for a while"

Henry did not sever his stare for a while. He led Erik to away and leaned closer.

""And why didn"t you tell us about this? Don"t you trust us?" Henry"s voice was hushed.

"Oh I trust you"

"Then..." Henry paused as if realizing. He looked to the direction of Queen Emily "Why?"

"Because I"m not a fool. She kept secrets from us once and she is filled with hate. Although her heart is kind, I"m not putting the lives of my men in that kindness. I pressume she already knows about my mistrust. I hope she could prove herself loyal to our cause soon"

"She is our ally"

"And so were Inkit, Hadea and Canton until they aren"t. Ally is a weak word Henry- too vague. If we are to trust her, she needs to prove that she"s worthy of such trust"

Henry fell into a silence as deep as the Red River. Erik noticed Henry"s face undergo several change of emotions.

"May the Omniscient guide her into the light" came the knight"s answer after a while.

By afternoon, a fort was erected on the bank of the River. Rising twenty feet high with palisades covered in grease, the forts could accommodate a few thousand men. A moat lined the outside of the wall, eight feet deep and with spikes pitched with h.e.l.lfire. Small ballistae overlooked the plains from the top of the wooden walls, prepared to rain bolts. If the ballistae and crossbowmen are not enough, catapults mounted on the Vanadian galleys would be.

Erik swiveled his eyes towards Queen Emily. She was ordering her men around, helping finish the construction of the defenses. Erik doesn"t want to doubt her and he hoped that she would stay true to the end. She would be a great Queen and a strong ally. But if she dared do something disloyal, Erik would not hesitate to show her Castonian steel.

She looked at him and they met eyes. She avoided his gaze. She knew.

Good, Erik thought as he strode to her direction. Hands tugged behind he said, "Your frown is a terrible thing"

"You didn"t tell me about this" Emily didn"t bother turning to him. Her untied hair danced to the tune of the wind.

"I didn"t tell Henry either"

"Let"s not play with words and evade the main point"

"Which is?"

"You don"t trust me"

"I do trust you" Erik said. He cupped the medallion hung on his neck "It"s just, there is too much at risk to be lenient towards you"

""That"s the same as saying that you don"t trust me at all"

Henry savored the wind. Unlike the salty air of Greenwater, here the air smells like gra.s.s and soil. The flavor rented his nose for a while.

"Come with me. We shall meet with the others" Erik said and started walking away.