"Well, first of all, I have questions about the accu- racy of the Queen's figures, but that aside, I suspect that the rest have either gone to ground in an effort to con- fuse us, or are on their way south to join the main rebel band."

"Could they have done that without your friend be- ing aware of it?"

"It's possible, though I should not like to think so.

It is also possible that they were sent south some months ago to train with the other forces."

"I thought your informants were reliable," Darius said irritably.

"Well, they're not professionals, if that's what you mean," Otorin returned urbanely. "The government of Arundel has no reason to plant spies in the household of a Paladinian n.o.bleman. The people I recruited are motivated by grievance and greed-a fairly reliable combination in my experience. Let us not forget, though, that Duke Paramin has been laying his plans for a very long time and that he is a very rich man.

There is no law that says that a man's declared retainers have to be kept on his own estates."

"What I have to know to be able to formulate a strat- egy," Darius said with studied resonableness, "is if I must detach forces to protect against an attack from the south, or if I have to defend my back from Aber- corn."

"If I were a wagering man, I would bet on the south."

"So would I, but I can't just lift the siege and march away."

"No, but you can appear to do it." Otorin drew up a chair and looked at the maps. "Bring down three hun-

80 dred men from the garrison at Gapguard," he advised.

"Keep them hidden in the woods north of Upper Walt- ham, a.s.semble your men with panoply and march them away. If you're lucky, Bardolph will be tempted out and then your new rear guard can fall on him."

Darius nodded. "I'll send a cloudsteed to Gapguard with the orders. I think you should stay here and take charge of this end of the operation. That'll allow you to keep your lines of communication to Oxeter open.

I'll leave you two squadrons ofcloudsteeds."

"I rather doubt that Queen Arabella would approve of that," Otorin said.

Darius produced a rather wolfish grin. "I have no intention of telling her. Have you? Besides, for all your theoretical knowledge, you've never actually had a field command, have you?"

"You are an exploitive, old b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you know that?"

"Yes, I do," Darius said comfortably.

"I wish to go on record as officially protesting this high-handed action on the part of the General of the Paladinian Forces," Otorin said formally, and then smiled.

"Your protest is noted and overruled," Darius re- plied.

"In that case, I have no recourse but to accept. Now, I think you should leave the sappers here and you'll need a token force in front of both gates or he'll become suspicious."

"Stop trying to teach your grandmother how to can- dle eggs," Darius replied with high good humor. "The orders have already been given."

"You were that sure of me, were you?"

"Yes, 1 was," Darius replied smugly.

"I'm losing my touch," Otorin said in a mock grum- ble. "Have you picked a spot for the battle?"

Darius stabbed a finger at the main map. "They 81.

probably crossed the Salvant at Astly Bridge. From the description of their arrival at Aldersgrove, they must have spread out to forage. Not too much coordination between the commanders, I suspect, and scant discipline among the men.''

"The Duke's men are well trained, I'll vouch for that," Otorin commented.

"Same informant who missed their departure?" Da- rius asked.

Otorin shrugged. "Try to remember that 1 have to depend on Paladinians." The two Arundelians ex- changed a smile. "So, when do you expect to engage them?"

"Can't tell. I'll want them to move north of Alders- grove. There's a range of hills running south-southeast."

His finger traced a line on the parchment. "If I could coax them out onto the plain with my troops waiting behind the hills, I could attack them from the flank."

The finger flicked across the map.

"Nice plan," Otorin said approvingly. "Seems to me that I saw something like it in Umbria."

"Bite your tongue," Darius replied. "That engagement was a disaster."

"It's always best to learn from other people's mis- takes," Otorin said sardonically.

A sennight later, Darius marched south, banners fly- ing. Otorin watched them go. He had great faith in Darius' capabilities; he'd seen them put to the test out- side Angorn, but that had been eighteen years ago.

Other than the recapture of Fort Bandor, an altogether different kind of operation, and a couple of skirmishes early in Naxania's reign, he'd had no battle experience since. Skills, like suits of armor, rusted when they were not used. Otorin was fond of the General, more fond than he would readily admit, and Darius was no longer

82 young. It worried him. He turned his horse and headed back toward Upper Waltham.

Now that he was on his own again, Otorin allowed his natural pessimism to surface. Not that he thought of it as pessimism; being realistic was a phrase more to his liking. It was true, however, that he normally ex- pected the worst. If it happened, he was ready for it. If it didn't, he was grateful. In this present pa.s.s, he gave Darius no better than an even chance of winning. The recapture of Spa.r.s.edale. at this point, would be rela- tively simple, but the real fight would be won, or lost, by Darius. In either case, he himself would soon be free to continue his real calling.

He tossed his reins to a groom and strode into the inn. Darius had thought that he was doing him a favor by leaving him behind and putting him in charge of the siege. The man had, with his usual shrewdness, ac- knowledged the uses of information, a trait not com- monly found in generals. The problem was that Darius had only been thinking of the present situation. Back in Stronta messages would be acc.u.mulating, always dangerous, and going unanswered, which was worse.

Stronta, for the moment, was the center and he was away from it. Otorin of Lissen was a worried man.

chapteR 9.

ie Paladinian capital basked somnolently in the summer sun. There was little sign of crisis, though the barracks wore a hollow air. Cats prowled languidly and dogs lay panting in the shade of buildings. The Court continued, cool behind the thickness of the ancient walls, but most of the courtiers, following a tradition that had grown up since the war and doubtless spurred by the political uncertainty, had returned to their es- tates and would remain there through the harvest. Sheep and kina now grazed the land between the Great Maze and the Upper Causeway. The Outpost drowsed peace- ably.

Most of the members of the Commission for the Out- tand had returned home, pending developments, but the Elector of Estragoth, using his advanced age as an ex- cuse, had remained at Stronta. Malum of Quern, his chief deputy, had returned home for a visit, but was expected back any day. There were Isphardi traders to be seen, as usual, but, commerce apart, the Umbrians were the only foreign presence in the city. It was a sit- uation that pleased Estragoth.

He had been surprised and somewhat nattered when Varodias had chosen him as the Empire's representative to the Commission. The part.i.tion of the Outland was a major concern, and that took the sting out of the in- voluntary exile that went with the post. It was, he thought, a fitting conclusion to his service to the Crown.

84 He had helped to steer the Empire's course for more than forty years, always trying to look to the future with eyes unblinkered by factionalism. The part.i.tion was the future and the signing of the treaty would allow him to retire on a triumphant note. He had never dreamed that it would take this long. The wretched Isphardis . . .

He shifted in his padded chair and winced as the gout that plagued his joints twinged. He had been less happy when the Emperor had charged him with the task of developing a network of informers in the Magical King- doms. He had had his sources in Umbria, no politician could survive without them, but he had never consid- ered himself a spymaster. Now he was and he had come to enjoy it.

The Paladinian landowners had but a rudimentary feel for intrigue, though their Queen saw plots every- where. Even the Duke of Oxeter, by far the craftiest of his clients, had handled this uprising clumsily. It was doubtful now that the Umbrian treasury would recover its investment. Still, he had relished his dealings with Paramin and the entree they had provided to the other disaffected n.o.bles. He had a good grasp of what was going on in Paladine and a fair understanding of Arun- del.

His major weakness, ironically, was that he no longer knew, with any certainty, what was going on back home.

He was too old, he reflected, to protect his own interests at Angorn when he was out of the Emperor's sight.

Varodias' support had always been his best defense, but the Emperor was notoriously fickle. The Emperor's constant suspicions of foreign intrigue were his safe- guard, and he had taken pains to see that Varodias was kept well informed. It had cost a great deal of money, some of it his own, to obtain the information, and he wasn't entirely convinced of the veracity of some of it.

85.