Chapter XXX
In the end, Kiva had capitulated and let Tythias take the unit down the path form the gatehouse. His second in command had refused to let the army’s senior commander ride into what could still very well be a trap and Kiva had reluctantly had to agree with the logic.
There were almost a score of crossbowmen and a dozen good soldiers from Sithis’ elite unit, as well as Tythias himself, standing on a rock be the side of the trail. At this point the path narrowed before it entered a stretch known as snake canyon. Here the trail was only wide enough for a single cart or three men in safety and the southern side of the path fell away into a steep scree slope that tumbled down to the river far below. Tythias was sure a fall from here would be fatal since, though the fall was sloping rather than vertical, it was long and jagged shards of rock stood proud from the scree in places. A man would be lucky to reach the bottom alive, let alone intact. And of course, the chances of making it back up to the path afterwards were less than good. The other side of the trail was often sheer cliff face, occasionally dropping to low boulders and small fissures that disappeared up from the trail toward the mountains.
The one armed, one eyed prefect pulled from his pocket the spyglass he’d been given by the Pelasian prince and extended it, raising it to his eye and scanning the rocks to the north. Here, one of the wider fissures ran up into the rock. With a cluck of irritation, he compacted the device and sheathed it once more in his pocket.
“Still no sign of life,” he said in a low voice to the sword captain alongside him. “I think we need to move up into the mountains now and work our way around the back.”
The captain nodded. “As you say sir,” he repeated in an equally low voice. They’d been as quiet and unobtrusive as possible during their journey down from the gate, hoping not to disturb the mysterious visitors until they could determine what they were doing.
With a sigh, Tythias dropped down from the rock and the party of soldiers began to pick their slow and difficult way among the boulders and rocks up into the mountains above the trail. It was slow and painful going and the sun was starting to get very low on the horizon. Tythias cursed both Kiva and himself for agreeing to take a group out down the trail this late in the day. It was stupid and dangerous and they should both know better. Still, they were here now and, if necessary, would have to camp among the rocks. At least the army had been trained in the traditional fashion and marched with everything they needed to set up camp strapped to their backs.
He sighed again and made a low whistling noise, a prearranged signal to gather on the prefect and take a rest. He’d not realised how much he missed his left arm until it came to things like climbing among rocks. He took a swig of something sharp Athas had filled his flask with and, wincing, watched the men catching up from behind and crawling back down the slope from ahead. He made a quick head count to check they were all there as he took another pull from his flask and one of Sithis’ swordsmen came jogging energetically down the slope and across to where he sat.
“Signs of life just up ahead, sir” the man whispered. “I can hear voices and sounds like there’s a work camp up there. I don’t think we’re in danger of being heard with the noises going on.”
Tythias frowned. A work camp? What the hell was going on here? He nodded at the swordsman. “Good work. We’ll take a ten minute rest and then we’ll all creep up there and take a look.”
They sat around in virtual silence, taking the occasional swig from a skin or flask and a bit of the emergency rations they carried. Tythias regarded the men around him. While he had no love for the crossbowmen, they had proved to be very good with their weapon of choice and had shown nothing but loyalty to their new commander. The swordsmen Sithis had trained and selected as the best of the recruits were as good as Tythias could hope. With the two groups he should be able to deal with anything short of a small army.
He leaned back for a moment against the rock and relaxed for a few minutes as best he could before standing once more with a stretch and whistling.
“Time to move on gentlemen. Let’s get up to that point.” He gestured at the man who’d informed him of the noises. “You take the lead and get us up to where you were. Everyone else stay behind him and as soon as you sight anyone, get down and into cover.”
As the swordsman moved off at the front, Tythias and the others came up behind him and began once more the tedious and unpleasant crawling between boulders. Time dragged and the sun dipped lower, now touching the peak opposite. Another fifteen minutes or so and there would be only a difficult half-light. He was still grumbling when he noticed the front men up ahead dropping to the ground among the rocks. Picking up speed, he rushed ahead of the men around him and dropped to the rocks at the top with the lead men. Lifting his head, he peered over the rocks.
There were perhaps thirty or forty people around below them in a large depression separated from the gorge by a rock of immense proportions that must reach most of the way back to the gorge. Many of the men were around small camp fires in the depression and wore a black and silver uniform. The rest appeared to be barbarians in their dishevelled furs and leathers who stood guard around the edge end disappeared around the sides of the rock for minutes at a time before returning.
“What the fuck are they doing?” Tythias grumbled as he reached into his pocket and once more removed his spyglass. The swordsman next to him shuffled back from where he too had been scanning the area.
“They’re quarrying, sir.”
Tythias blinked. “They’re what?”
The two poked their heads above the crest once more and the swordsman started to point. “I worked in the quarries at Carira sir. That’s how you quarry; or one of the ways anyway.” He gestured to the sides of the gargantuan rock. “You can just see the glow from the fires if you really strain. It’ll be easier as it gets darker. They set fires all over the cliff face and heat the rock up for days until it almost glows itself and then douse the rock with huge amounts of cold water. The rock just cracks and falls away. Only real way to quarry hard stones like granite. See?” he gestured to another place. “Loads of barrels of water and they’re being hauled up to the top ready to split the rock. They probably won’t do that ‘til the morning, cos it’ll be quite dangerous and they’ll have to be able to see what they’re doing.”
Tythias peered at the swordsman beside him. “You’re an absolute mine of information. And can you tell me why they’re doing that?”
The swordsman tapped his finger against his lip. “Well you’d think they’re trying to block the pass, but there’s no way the stone from the sides of this rock is going to come down on the trail. Unless…”
Tythias blinked in surprise and then frowned in annoyance as the soldier plucked the spyglass from his commander’s hand and scanned the area closely. The man grinned.
“They are going to seal the pass. They’re not trying to use this rock to block it, but if they’ve set their fires where I think they have, they should just get it right to collapse that entire rock against the next one.”
“And?” asked Tythias in annoyance, snatching back his spyglass.
“And this rock is granite, I think; or something like. The ones by the gorge are much softer rock. If they bring this big bastard down against the next one, they’ll both fall across the trail.”
“Shit!” Tythias compacted his spyglass again. That would delay us for weeks and give Velutio the chance to get prime position on the plains and deal with all the other lords before we get there. We’ve got to stop them destroying that rock.”
He turned to the others clustered below and behind him.
“There’s quite a few people down there and we need to get rid of them all. This must be the only way out, cos the next fissure upwards isn’t for a mile or more down the gorge. I want all you crossbowmen to get to high points and find yourself a good position as quietly and unobtrusively as you can. I’ll give you twenty minutes to get in position. Then I’ll give a hawk’s call. That’ll be your signal. You should each mark a man and fire as soon as you hear the signal. Then reload and try to get another shot off. It’s quite likely they’ll get into cover after the first shot, but by then the rest of us will be making our way down there. Try to take down the men in black and silver first. They’re Janus’ spearmen and they’re good. If you spot a man dressed like them but with a red cloak, take every effort to kill him. Captain Janus gets you fifty corona when we get back as a reward. We’ll move round the edge and deal with these barbarian hirelings of Janus’.” He looked around the faces of the dozen swordsmen. “We need to take them out and then we’ll split into two. Half of you will stay with me and we’ll cover this exit so they can’t get away while the crossbowmen still pick off any target that presents itself. The rest of you will go with…” He looked down at the man next to him that had explained the quarrying. “What’s your name?”
“Velitus, sir.”
“The rest of you,” Tythias repeated, “will go with sergeant Velitus and dispatch any men you come across at the quarrying site and tear down the fires and dispose of the water safely. I’m not sure how you’ll go about that, but I’m sure Velitus can figure it out and that’s why he’s just been made a sergeant.”
He glanced around the assembled men. “Any suggestions or comments?”
The captain of the Swordsmen nodded and tapped his fingers on his sword pommel. “I think we need to get someone up to the top of that rock sir. They can cut the rope they’re using to haul the water up and sabotage the barrels so they pour the water back down into the camp rather than the other way.”
“Good,” accepted Tythias. Pick the best man you have for the job. I’d have liked to send back to Hadrus for more men, but we need to stop this as soon as we can. I can’t risk them blocking the gorge.”
He smiled as he drew his sword. “At least I’m getting convinced that sergeant Cialo is on the level now. Ok. Move!”
He watched with interest as the crossbowmen started to climb the rocks and scree slopes around them, struggling to find the best vantage point they could. Further across the ridge, the man chosen to deal with the water barrels sheathed his sword and spat on his hands before rubbing them together. Several men patted him on the shoulders as he moved among them and then disappeared out into the dusk, remarkably light on his feet.
Tythias looked across at the captain. “Seems like a good man for the task.”
The captain nodded. “He’s been in jail at Velutio a couple of times for burglary, but the times they didn’t catch him, he was starting to become quite a wealthy man.”
Tythias laughed quietly. “Thieves, vagabonds, turncoats and mercenaries. Quite an army we’ve got.”
He turned his attention once more to the ex-thief running lightly across the rocks. The man leapt from one to another with fine balance and took a long run across a particular rock, sailing silently through the air above the barbarians that went regularly to check on the fires. Landing with the faintest of thuds, he started to climb very slowly and carefully up the giant rock towards the water cache at the top. Tythias smiled. “Guess we won’t need to worry about that problem then.”
He watched for a while longer as the swordsman reached the peak of the rock and positioned himself near the barrels of water. With a quick glance behind him he noted that the crossbowmen had all vanished from sight. With a satisfied hum he waited, figuring another ten minutes at most would be needed before the signal could be given. With a sigh he turned and watched the sun slowly sinking behind the mountains opposite. In peaceful circumstances the view would have been soothing and relaxing. In their current position, he worried how much light they’d have when he put out the signal. Would half-light be enough for the crossbowmen? They were good; he knew, but how good?
A long time passed. Probably the ten minutes Tythias was hoping for, but it felt like a week. With a deep breath, Tythias put his fingers in his mouth and issued a call at best reminiscent of a hawk. Holding his breath, he gestured to the men.
“At the first shot, we move. You; you; all of you,” he added, gesturing at men, “are with me. Time to go.”
He waited tensely for a few more minutes until he heard the first cry. With a satisfied glance as he climbed over the rock and ran down with his men he noticed three of the black and silver uniforms punched heavily by crossbow bolts and the men disappear to the floor in blood and screams. His grin was positively wolfish as they took their defensive positions on the rocks, cutting off the escape route for Captain Janus, watching the rest of the swordsmen disappear down toward the narrow defile that served as a passage between the camp and the mining operation. On the rock there was a clatter as the barrel held by the rope clattered down into the camp area and the barrels on the top were smashed open with violent force. Gallons of water cascaded harmlessly from the summit into the camp, ruining hours of work the Spears had undertaken.
He watched with further satisfaction as the Spears and the few barbarian hirelings they’d brought as workers charged for whatever cover they could find. Phythian’s crossbowmen did their job with ruthless efficiency. Having spread out almost a third of the way around the depression, their field of fire was impressive and men screamed as they were pinned to rock and to tent frames even in places they believed were safe.
Finally, a number of men had been gathered in a position behind an overhanging rock and their captain was with them. Janus looked around him in some panic and then, with a single wave of his arm, launched his men toward the gap where they could clearly see Tythias and his men waiting.
Tythias grinned. Janus was making straight for him and the man wouldn’t make it an inch further. Janus’ position and opposition had been responsible for the route the Wolves had taken to Serfium, leading them into danger, captivity and death, and the men killing them as they ran were the men who’d captured the Wolves. There was some small satisfaction in that.
The prefect, with only one eye and one arm and scarred so heavily he would be unrecognisable as the youth that had left Rilva thirty-five years ago, seeking a life and glory in the Imperial army, stood at the ridge and watched Janus running toward him, surrounded by his men and barbarian allies. Twenty five years ago, Janus had served with him at a level rank. Even then he’d been a man Tythias wouldn’t have trusted, as many games of dice had attested. His grin widened as he hefted his sword and prepared. Even with only half his faculties, he knew full well how much better he was than Janus. This would be sweet.
And then Janus vanished. Half way through his run, the first crossbow bolt hit him in the shoulder, spinning him round where he stood. The second took him through the leg, causing a fall and, while he floundered on the floor, the third took him through the hip. In unbelievable agony and unable to move, Janus screamed his heart out as he bled onto the dust and gravel. Tythias shrugged. He’d be fifty corona poorer when they got back, but the men had deserved it. He’d make it sixty and split it three ways. With a sigh he prepared himself for the rest of the men running up the hill at the defenders, though a number of them vanished to crossbow fire as they ran. He smiled. And Kiva thought hr had the monopoly on strategy.
Kiva smiled as he looked down at the man on the makeshift stretcher, built out of tent canvas and spears. Janus had looked better. The three crossbow bolts still protruded from him and he was pale, with eyes that rolled wildly. The general looked back up at his second in command.
“You couldn’t capture any of the others?”
Tythias grunted. “Frankly, general, it never crossed my mind. Not a single life made it out of that depression after the captain here. Phythian’s crossbowmen are just too good and Sithis trains men well. You’re not going to tell me you mourn them?”
“No,” Kiva replied, “of course not. It’s just unlike you to not take prisoners. That’s where we’ve differed for years. No, I don’t really care,” he added with a sigh. “I wonder what to do with Janus here though. We could interrogate him, but it seems pretty clear-cut to me. He’s either working for Velutio with orders to cut off our egress and slow us down, or he’s still independent and greedy and thinks if he does it himself, Velutio will cover him with gold. Either way you’ve stopped him and he’s in the shit. Cialo’s saved us a lot of trouble, you know? That man’s a good man to have, I think. Sabian prized him highly.”
Tythias nodded. “So long as this isn’t all some convoluted plan to drop us in the shit.”
“He’s taken the oath and we’ll be very wary around him, but don’t worry about it. I’ve plans for Cialo.”
He turned to one of the soldiers behind him. “Fetch sergeant Cialo at once.”
The man ran off toward the barrack buildings, but Cialo was already out of the door and marching across the square, out of uniform and in his rough clothes for sleeping. The sergeant ignored the mutterings of the soldier and marched past him to where Kiva and his second in command stood over the wounded captain.
“My, my. Captain Janus.”
Kiva nodded. “Yes, the infamous captain Janus. And he’s here because of your warning, Cialo. As such, I feel, since I’m unsure what to do with him, I’m inclined to ask you your opinion…”
Cialo looked down at him and shrugged. “He’s a captain from the old days. That means he’s taken the oath. If he took the oath and is fighting against the Emperor’s army, he’s a traitor. You should probably crucify him for that.”
Tythias and Kiva stared at each other.
“On the other hand,” Cialo continued, “these being the times they are and him having done nothing other than fight on the wrong side, I’d be tempted to despatch him quickly and by the sword. He’s a soldier after all.”
Kiva nodded. “Good. We’re in agreement.” He drew his blade and poised it over the heart of the wounded man, bubbling and gibbering on the stretcher. With a last glance at both Cialo and Tythias, he put all his weight behind the blade and drove it down through the body and the canvas below until it struck the ground below. He stared down at the corpse and watched the last life ebb with a few twitches.
“Cialo… you’re a man in the most peculiar position. I wonder how far you are willing to go for the cause of peace and the Emperor?”
The sergeant straightened. “I’m the Emperor’s man now and I’ll do everything I can. There’s no nobler cause than to strive to repair the imperial peace.”
Kiva smiled. “I’m glad you see it that way, as I’ve a rather unpleasant job I need doing and there’s no one else I can think of that can do it.”
Cialo slumped slightly. “You want me to spy on my former commander?”
“Actually, no.” Kiva smiled and placed a hand on Cialo’s shoulder. “I don’t want you to do anything that brings you into direct conflict with Sabian. However this all goes, he’s a man of honour and I think he’ll come out of this for the best. What I want you to do is to go back and put the first phase of a plan that’s gradually coming together into effect.”
Cialo narrowed his eyes. “Go on, sir.”
“You, I presume, are of the same opinion as the rest of the commanders; that direct conflict between our two forces with do irreparable damage to the Empire. The only way out is a peaceful solution?”
The sergeant nodded. “Commander Sabian, I know, is of the same opinion, but as long as Velutio is the man at the top, there’ll be no peaceful solution.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” replied the general. “But I need a number of things to fall into place for it to work, and I’m still very vague about how it’s going to happen yet. I know that the first step has to be yours. Will you do it?”
“Of course I will, sir,” replied Cialo, coming further to attention.
“Very well,” Kiva breathed out heavily. “What I need you to do is this: get back into your other uniforms and head back to Velutio’s army. You can take the reply to his offer, which is that the Emperor Darius will not share his throne with a treacherous murderer and that the commanders of his army will not submit to his judgement. Feel free to tell him anything you want about the army here; our numbers, makeup of forces, location and so on. He will think it strange if you don’t give him plenty of information. Then you can settle back into your place in the army temporarily.”
Cialo cocked his head to one side. “And then?”
Kiva smiled. “And then I need you to make your way around the other lords. I need you to identify all the lords in the army. I need to know which ones are staunch Velutio, which ones are borderline rebellious. I need to know which ones are strong and which weak. I particularly need to know which ones are the sort that might consider backing out of the conflict if there was any way to do it without retribution. All in all, I need to know everything you can find out about every lord in the army.”
Cialo frowned. “I can do most of that for you now. And here.”
“Yes,” continued the general, “but that’s only the start. Once you find that out I need you to send a messenger you trust to me with the details. Then you and your loyal men need to befriend the smaller lords who would rather go home in peace than fight and you need to start to drive a wedge between them and Velutio. Basically, anyone who’s worthwhile you can work on and I’ll probably persuade to walk away when my plan comes to fruition. Don’t worry about the larger lords that are closer to the borderline. I’ll take care of them once I know who they are.”
He put his arm around Cialo’s shoulders. “I don’t want you to have to bring harm to a single person. I just need information and a little persuasion. And when we finally meet as armies, face to face, I’ll make sure you’re brought into our lines under protection unless you can get to us beforehand. Rest assured, Cialo, that there are a lot of people who have the greatest respect for you, on both sides I believe, including your Emperor. We are going to win this and everything will be fine in the end.”
Cialo nodded, a little unhappily. “I was rather looking forward to being on the good side and all above board, where my mother, Gods bless her, would have been proud of me.”
Tythias smiled. “If the general has a plan and it hinges on you, then we’ll all be proud of you, sergeant. I’ll have uniforms made up for you while you’re gone.” He glanced at Kiva and the general nodded. “Captain, I think.” Men of substance are few and far between.”
Still frowning, Cialo saluted with exaggerated motions and turned toward the barracks. He started to jog as he moved to wake his men.
“Can we trust him?” Tythias asked.
Kiva shrugged. “I think so. If not, then he’s not gone back with any information that Velutio won’t know soon enough. If he falls foul of Velutio there’s little he can tell them that’ll wreck our plans. I’m still not sure of the way it’s going to pan out yet. The Gods stopped talking to me decades ago, but I’m hoping to hell they start again soon. I need a little divine help, I think.”
Darius stood on the balcony of his villa with Athas by his side, gazing past the main gate and down the valley. The night was clear with a sprinkle of stars in the sky but a chill settling in. Summer was clearly over and autumn getting into its stride. The valley was a vague impression of shapes and shadows by moonlight. Within the gate on this side, the first group of wagons, along with a wheeled bolt-thrower and an engineer’s cart stood ready to move at dawn. He sighed.
“Do you think it’s all going to work?”
Athas smiled next to him. “Kiva thinks the Gods abandoned him. He abandoned them. They’ve kept an eye on him for decades and they’ve not stopped yet. He’s got luck and ingenuity and that’s what you need, highness. Luck and ingenuity.”
Darius smiled wanly. “I hope you’re right.”
Sathina lay in the comforting fold of Tythias’ good arm as he stared down at her. The scarred prefect was the archetypical mercenary that looked dishevelled and battered and rough, but had quickly proved to be the most gentle and caring man she’d ever met. She lay for a while wondering if he would marry her. It surprised her that he hadn’t already and she’d worried over it for a long time until she pieced it together. Tythias wouldn’t marry her before he went to war. To marry her now and leave her a widow in a month… She bit her lip. That thought was creeping in all too often now. Tythias didn’t seem to have the best of luck in fights. Oh he’d survived plenty of years and plenty of battles, but his wounds were starting to become severe. If this all went well, he’d have to quit the army if he married her. If it didn’t go well, then there was no issue to worry about.
Brendan and Marco sat in one of the rooms of the officers’ quarters. Their thoughts were dark and often bleak, but neither would speak of it as they played dice over and over again, drinking unwatered wine as though they’d never try it again.
Many leagues away, Sabian stood in the command tent of Velutio’s army. The meeting had finished and the other officers and the independent lords had all gone their separate ways, leaving Sabian standing before the table, opposite his commander.
“You go too far, my Lord.”
Velutio looked up with one eyebrow raised. “I wasn’t aware you were her to dictate policy to me. You are welcome to advice, but you criticise just a little too much, commander.”
Sabian gritted his teeth. “That letter was a genuine offer, albeit an insulting one, under a flag of truce. I would never have allowed Cialo and his men to leave camp if I’d know what you were doing. It’s an insult to the honour of the army and to your own honour.”
Velutio stood sharply, slamming his hands to the table, palms down. “I will do anything in my power to bring this to a quick end. You are too stiff for your own good. If it takes deaths, assassins, treachery and deceit to win a war and to stop a massacre, I will try it every time. Caerdin’s too sharp to fall for any of them anyway, but I must try. And now, this meeting is over. You have talked out of your place for the last time Sabian. You will leave without a word and go about your preparations for tomorrow and the next time you criticise or defy me, you will be stripped of your command and, if I’m particularly peeved, crucified.”
He pointed a finger at Sabian. “Now get out of my sight!”
The commander carried out an extravagant salute and turned on his heel to leave the tent and marched out into the night, growling. Nothing was worth this.