I hadn't given the matter a second's thought, we were inside a fort, patrolled, but now I knew that there were threats within. "My men patrol the area," I said, hoping it was true. Where had Luk and Gobin been last night while I pa.s.sed time with Kerral and Pakat? I had not seen them at their tent but I had not been looking. I had reason to trust them, their experience, knowledge, competence. I'd check discreetly as soon as I could. "And if you are concerned, you are, as you have reminded me, battle mages. Can you do nothing to enhance our security?"

Larner snorted, half derision, half humor. "We will take such measures as seem discreet and appropriate."

"Do that, please. But keep me informed."

He glowered for a moment, but acquiesced. He or one of his would have to come and report to me. It was a mistake I had been making and now it was corrected. I was in command. They would obey my orders. I didn't think for a second that this was the end of it, but it was a start.

When they left I settled back to enjoy the rest of the ride. And planning. Always planning.

The region adjacent to the road was far more densely populated than the previous provinces. The fertility of the terrain saw to that. As a consequence the road was busier, or would be if we were not using it. Common people did not get in the way of an army and they could hear us coming. We pa.s.sed them in groups; wagons, flocks, on foot and on horseback. They waited at the side of the road and watched us pa.s.s. No one seemed unhappy to see us but no one seemed overjoyed either. We were a friendly force, no doubt of that, but where there is a friendly force there is an enemy force and the people suffer. Actually that is a lie. A friendly force will consume two tenths of the total produce of their own people in the area of conflict. They knew it even if the n.o.bility chose to ignore the fact. We paid, yes, but you can't buy what is no longer there. Imagine two men with their surplus stocks gone, each with some new money in his pocket. Neither can buy from the other. It isn't quite that bad but the lie is a useful one. That is why it is advantageous to take enemy supplies. The rule of thumb is an enemy wagon of supplies is worth twenty of your own. It hurts them that badly.

Of course most people don't think these things through to that extent. The people we pa.s.sed were more glum than happy because they knew that war is a bad thing for them. The young were excited, of course. An army on the march is a spectacle, an event to be enjoyed. So there were mixed feelings on the faces of the people we pa.s.sed. They knew there was war in the north and hoped it stayed there. In the north it was a topic of gossip and speculation and excitement. On their own fields it would be a nightmare. A h.e.l.l. Maybe the end. Some knew that and feared it. Can't say I blame them. Of course, there are some who see profit in war, and there is money to be made. Our baggage train increased in size as merchants tagged on the back. They were kept at a distance. When we camped they would be interrogated by a commander and accepted into the baggage train depending on what they had and who they were.

At one point I pa.s.sed a large group of men and horses a good way off the road and was surprised to see our banner there, and others that I did not immediately recognize. I glimpsed Tulian, and a couple of other commanders. Then Orthand himself. Interested, I pulled off the road and watched for a bit. I started picking out banners and trying to identify them from memory. I just never put the time into studying them, so if I recognized one it would be luck. Finally I figured it out, more by the intricacy of one of the largest banner than anything else. Here was the King of Wherrel, a client and put on his throne by a patron - but still a king. He was in company of his most notable barons, plus some key local citizens. Come to meet with the army and discus transit, supply and other issues. Doubtless there would also be an agreement of aid, local forces to a.s.sist us in the coming conflict, as the north was rising, according to all rumor and intelligence. Satisfied, I turned away and tacked on to the end of my troop, then moved forward to join Rastrian. We seemed to have settled back into a friendly relationship after our clash. My innocence in the death of his man had helped, I think.

"When do you think they will join us, and how many?"

"Depends on how serious they take the threat. If the Ensibi fall completely it isn't far through Geduri territory to the north of Wherrel. I guess that we will join them, in fact. Somewhere near the northern border. If it happens."

"Then you will fall to squabbling over command."

I laughed, lightly. "Probably." It was true. The patrons did a great deal of maneuvering and in-fighting to gain command of any force in the field. Orthand, Tulian, the King of Wherrel's patron, or chosen general should he not take the field himself, all would want Command. Tul didn't control enough men or have enough status to be a contender and had already aligned with Orthand. But the other two would fight tooth and nail for overall command. There had been cases where two and three patrons had split their forces and acted independently rather than share command. Sometimes with disastrous results. A divided army rarely prevails. It had happened that such armies refused to acknowledge each other's existence, messages and intelligence, even stark warnings being ignored through the a.s.sumption that they were misinformation. Slaughters had resulted, yet we are still the same. Despite our faults and flaws we are still a dominant power. None greater in all the world. The stones that feed the magic of battle mages and healers have a part in that, agreed. But even without them I believe we would have done well, internal compet.i.tion and rivalry breeds both results and compet.i.tive men. Even I was p.r.o.ne to it; pride and compet.i.tion, the desire to shine, and I am the least like my fellows of any of us that I know.

"Maybe the king has already sent an army ahead of us to attack the Alendi? Maybe the war is already over?"

I was looking at him and the shock must have been obvious because he trailed off and fell silent, puzzled. He really didn't understand us at all. The Ensibi were Orthand's problem. Why would anyone put his own power base, money, efforts, forces, anything on the line at all? Least of all first!

Okay, if the Alendi or a general rising in the north looked like it might be a threat to the city, the city would act. Some might be acting now, just in case, making preparations, but little more. Latandin Keshil Herrap was the patron of the client Kingdom of Wherrel, and his concern would be his clients, nothing more. If it looked like the only way to safeguard his own property was to strike north he might consider allowing Orthand to join his army and help. That's the way he would look at it. Orthand would be thinking in terms of not having to share the profit of war if he could help it but if he needed some more troops then allowing Latandin to supply them would not be out of the question. I tried to explain this to Rastrian, a foreign captain of mercenaries, but he just didn't understand it.

"Even if there were no consideration other than an overwhelming enemy approaching the city there might be arguments about who lead the armies, and there would be armies, dozens if the city looked like it might be threatened."

"No offense but I think you people are crazy."

I laughed again. "Yet here we are, the greatest nation on earth."

"Not the largest."

I shrugged. "The city is only three miles square."

Now it was he who looked at me with a profoundly shocked expression on his face.

I chose to ignore it. There was no explaining some things to foreigners.

As I predicted, Latandin Keshil Herrap had ordered the King to give no aid apart from purchased material comfort. Not a man, not a bag, not a barrel.

"If you are overwhelmed and lost we will still be here to protect our own against the enemy, and reap the reward when we have won." Tul mimicked another man, I a.s.sume the King.

We were in the private quarters of his pavilion. For reasons best known to himself he had requested that I join him for a meal, and it turned out he had meant alone. Just the two of us. Cozy. I had become instantly suspicious. Two chairs at an angle, two small tables, a brazier as a focal point.

"Those were his words?"

"The King? No no, he made it very clear with great groveling apologies and a.s.surances that if he alone were to choose he would aid us with every man, every ear of corn, every wagon, his loyalty to the city and its a.s.sembly of patrons unwavering."

"If he alone were to choose?"

Tul snorted in derision. "Like he has a choice. His throne belongs to Latandin and he sits his b.u.m on the throne as long as Latandin says he can and not a second longer."

"a.s.sembly of patrons." I sighed. "At the moment the a.s.sembly probably hasn't even discussed the matter except in pa.s.sing."

"They'll never understand us, cousin. No point in trying to teach pigs to sing."

"Annoys the pig," I agreed.

"Are you in control of things?"

If I hadn't been expecting it I would have spat my wine on the floor. It was well watered and might not have left a stain on his expensive rug. "Yes."

"Sheo? A murder in your area of the camp? Another in the baggage train close by to your wagons?"

"Sheo is on schedule. And grudges get settled in camp sometimes. These aren't the first, are they?"

"You don't know?"

"I don't spend time in camp gossip, Tul."

"Hmmm." He frowned into his own goblet of wine, golden goblet no less! "One other killing since we marched."

"It happens." I put some food in my mouth and chewed it. Tul kept a simple table as befit an army on the move. There were commanders who had luxuries sent after them from the city on a daily basis. Extravagant and not good for the morale of the men.

"Three killings and no idea who killed them is a bit excessive, Sum. I want to know who is responsible, be it one or three men. Find out."

"Me? Why me? And how?"

"Why not you?"

I had no real answer to that and felt a little paranoid, so best not to protest too much. I shrugged and said, "I'll put as much time into it as I can."

"Good! That's settled then. How are you finding command."

I didn't have to think about it. "It is what we are bred and trained for."

"True." He raised his wine in salute and we drank. "But the details, any problems?"

"Not really. Had to discipline a man the other day and I would rather not command mercenaries; their loyalty and motivation are suspect. Sorry, that could be taken as a criticism."

He had nodded at what I had been saying. "It could. I decided we needed missile troops and we don't raise them. There are auxiliaries from the client kingdoms but I have no client kingdoms so I had to hire them. You're right. Don't trust them. Use them."

"You are not giving me much in direction." That had been the first piece of advice given unless I misremembered.

He shrugged. "I'm a.s.sessing everyone. When we hit the border I will camp for a couple of days while I wait for reports and we will talk strategy and tactics. You are up on battlefield signals? Drums, flags and so forth?"

"I've studied them, but it's not instinctive."

"It's one of the things I'll cover later."

I nodded, accepting the rea.s.surance. We fell silent and just ate for a few moments, me picking at the new plate a slave had placed on my table. "Is there any news from the Ensibi?"

He frowned, suddenly thoughtful. "Conflicting. We have lost a couple of people we were getting reports from, at least I a.s.sume they are lost to us and not just on the run south. But it's pretty clear the Ensibi aren't holding their own."

"And the other tribes?" I promoted him when he fell silent.

"There was a battle in Orduli territory. Border fort commander, lesser n.o.ble, took his troops in and lost them. There will be no career advancement for him. Orthand will prosecute."

"What about Hadrin Ichal Merindis? The Geduri are his clients, aren't they?"

"No word. Not expecting anything yet. He'll only get involved if the whole thing blows up, but I guess he's making preparations to protect his own interests."

"And the Prashuli?"

He shrugged. "Not sure. It looks like they are raiding but nothing much out of the ordinary. No news that other citizens have been killed but there has been an exodus of the few hundred who were there anyway. Same from Orduli territory. Merchants and their families getting out, trading posts abandoned, that sort of thing."

I nodded, pretty normal. Peacetime trade with a people outside our control was all very well; private agreements between merchants and local chiefs held up well enough, usually. Maybe a few acres under the plow, a mine rented, a trading post, whatever. When the natives got restless a threat or two from our people on the spot would usually do the trick. It's not the first time we have pa.s.sed through the north and made a mess before leaving. You'd think they would learn to behave themselves but another generation, another crop of hotheads and idiots.

He was still frowning, thoughtful, and I left him to it. He had something else on his mind and prompting him wouldn't make him share it. "What?" I ran out of patience.

He shook his head. "Nothing."

Told you so.

The next day was much like any other until the letters arrived. Two from the south with the same courier and one from the north. It was going to take me a while before I decided how I felt about the first two, the third sent me into an incandescent rage.

That morning the thin mage, Ferrian, had been waiting for me to return from the morning briefing (Orchids). He had been formal and dignified, but even he could not quite hide his irritation at being in a position where he had to make a report about the doings of his fellows. If the battle mages and healers had complained to Tul he had not mentioned it. They were under my command. Though initially it had been meant as a sinecure it was still a fact, and they had begun to learn it. As long as they did their job I wasn't interested in how they felt, though for personal reasons I would rather be on good terms with them. If they didn't invite me to eat I would eat elsewhere, tonight I had asked to join Rastrian, phrasing it carefully so that he knew I would accept no refusal but also so that it didn't sound like an order.

"Yes?"

Ferrian's features had pinched up a bit. "My superiors have required me to report on our activities regarding security."

"Sir."

His eyes nearly popped out of his head as he colored up.

"The correct form of address when making a report to your commanding officer is, Sir." I explained it patiently and slowly so that he could understand.

He struggled with it for a bit. The colleges were powerful. Personally, the individuals were dangerous in a way that transcended politics, but in this circ.u.mstance I was making a point. Later, I might relax a bit toward the friendly cooperation that was more normal. There was a whole chapter on dealing with mages in almost every volume of warfare, and I was ignoring all of it. The arrogance of my cla.s.s, I suppose.

"Yes, sir," he relented but his voice was not much above a furious whisper.

"Your report?"

"My superiors asked me to create this for your use around the area, sir." He held up a wooden stake split with precision into four and bound together by a ribbon.

I took it and looked it over. One stake split into four. "And this will...?"

He sighed in exasperation, back on top due to my ignorance. "You stick them into the ground in a rough square and when anyone pa.s.ses he will receive a debilitating shock and there is an alarm."

"What kind of alarm."

"The sound made when a block of wood is split. Twice."

"How loud?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

I just stared at him for a long, long moment until he realized what I was thinking and became embarra.s.sed. No one likes their work to be treated with contempt.

"Perhaps we should test it, sir."

"Thought hadn't occurred to me. Do it." I tossed the stake back to him and he left.

I checked on my people and saw everything going smoothly. As I was doing this I heard two loud cracks, just like the sound of an ax hitting a tree but in quick succession. So. Loud enough then.

I mounted up and moved away. I didn't want to take charge of the stake device. I wanted him to do it if I decided to use them. I mean, people come and go in our area in the morning (me!) and at other times. I didn't want the d.a.m.n thing going off all the time, so I had to give the matter a bit of thought.

"Your command, Kerral. I'll meet you on the road!"

"Yes, sir!" He snapped back and carried on about his business.

There were no gates for the temporary forts. We took craftsman in various fields with us on campaign. Some soldiers had come from the crafts and were used as labor in those areas where they knew what they were doing. Gates would be made for a more permanent fort, but for now we used a wagon at each of the four gaps where there would normally be gates. I headed for the southern gap as the east and north gates were in use.

I was just in time to meet the messenger, a fellow who had obviously pa.s.sed back and forth between the city and the army more than once as he recognized me and called my name. His horse was lathered in sweat even though he must have changed it as little as eight miles back. He had two letters for me and didn't see why I should wait for them to pa.s.s through the command tent. I accepted the letters and then reprimanded him for doing it.

"All communications through the command tent."

"Yes sir!" He saluted smartly and held out his hands for the letters.

"From now on," I said darkly.

"Yes sir."

I sat my mount in the open gateway and cracked the seal on the first, larger letter and scanned the contents. It was from Orelia.

My dearest Sumto, How glad I was to see you again. It grieves me that my family chose against you. I always felt we would be a perfect match but I cannot go against the will of my family.