Horror, consternation, anger, concern.
‘You will fight?’
‘YES!’
‘Then, as we march onwards to Fort Logale, march with us! Those without swords will be given swords! Those without armour will be given armour! But no one can give you what you must earn for yourselves …’ He lowered his gaze, meeting as many sets of eyes as he could. ‘Pride.’
A moment passed, then uproar. Excellent. It was better that these folk came willingly. He nodded to them, then stepped down from the stage to where another goblin, Commander Turen, stood waiting.
‘Have your soldiers sweep the town,’ said Tyrellan. ‘We’ll recruit them more easily while their hackles are raised.’
‘Yes, my lord,’ said Turen, then paused uncertainly.
‘What is it?’
‘If I may ask, I wonder why the First Slave concerns himself with these speeches? There are plenty of criers gone throughout the land to do the very same job.’
‘Their use does not void me of mine,’ said Tyrellan. ‘I will do all I can to ensure our supremacy. It will strengthen the resolve of the people to see their leaders speaking strong words.’
‘I do not doubt it, sir. And yet conscripters dog our heels, as they accompany the other criers, to ensure no able-bodied scraps are left behind.’
‘Yes,’ said Tyrellan. ‘Of course, while there are plenty who will feel passionate in a crowd, away from that fervour they may decide not to join us after all. Those, then, are fodder for the conscripters. But willingness is best. Most of these folk have never seen battle, and certainly not on the scale that will no doubt soon occur. Thankfully, the same goes for Kainordas, but we must use any edge we can. The compliant fight better than the forced. And now,’ he turned his gaze directly on Turen, ‘enough spoon-feeding you basic wisdom, lest I force the spoon down your gullet and make you choke on it.’
Turen bowed stoically and departed without another word.
Tyrellan watched as soldiers moved around speaking to groups of villagers, beginning to lead them off to where the army lay just out of town. His forces grew by the day, and reports from elsewhere stated that many more were on the way.
Personally he did not care for conscription – not because it violated the rights of the individual or any such nonsense. The people of Fenvarrow were united against this threat whether they wished it or not, and with their collective neck on the line, there was no place for an individual’s concerns. No, what annoyed him was the fact that conscription was even necessary at all. Didn’t these fools realise there was simply no other option than to fight? By pretending he was allowing them to join of their own volition, he was babying them, providing them with an illusion that should never have entered their tiny little minds – that they had a choice.
Idiots, everywhere.
As he moved away, the shadowmander appeared from where it had been hiding under the stage. He still hated having such a thing attached to him, even if it was less horrible than a butterfly. Relief at the transformation had made him calmer, but still the creature was a blight on his existence. Scowling, he almost kicked dust at it, but knew it would not care. The act would be futile, and a waste of his energy. The Dark Gods had told Losara there was only one way to be rid of it – by reuniting it with the soul whence it came. Tyrellan bared his fangs. What hope of raising Elessa from the dead? About as much as of being kissed on the arse by Arkus.
Well, there was Losara’s scheme, at least. Perhaps the mander would do some good in the end. And as he had said to those gathered simpletons, sacrifices must be made. The rights of the individual were void, and Tyrellan was one of those rare leaders whose rules applied also to himself.
The Ruined Village
‘No game here.’ M’Meska scowled around at the open fields they travelled through. ‘Nowhere for them think they can hide from M’Meska.’
‘Don’t worry, my friend,’ said Bel. ‘Look there, you see those woods?’ He pointed to a dark smudge on the horizon.
‘Yes?’
‘Fazel says there’s a village there. We’ll eat properly tonight.’
‘What about lunch?’
‘Lunch,’ said Bel, ‘will have to be bread and apples.’
‘Bah,’ said M’Meska.
Over the course of the day they moved towards the wood, which spread out from the base of the mountains in a great circle. By afternoon they began to make out individual trees, and the buildings of Valdurn.
‘You see, M’Meska?’ said Bel. ‘You’ll get roast rabbits tonight after all.’
‘Not rabbits,’ said M’Meska. ‘Too many rabbits already. I want beef. ’
‘I doubt you’ll have much luck with that,’ said Fazel. ‘Folk living this close to a dragon know better than to keep cows wandering nearby. Or anything of real value, for that matter. It’s likely they live off what the woods afford them.’
‘ Rabbits! ’ growled M’Meska.
Bel thought he heard a muffled chirp from his pack. A message from Fahren?
‘Hold up,’ he said, then surreptitiously glanced around at the group. Did he still feel the need to move out of earshot when listening to a message? His eyes fell on Fazel and decided it was prudent. He nodded to Jaya, and the pair of them moved away. Some distance from the group, he retrieved the bird from his pack and touched his finger to its scroll. Steam hissed from its mouth.
‘I pray you are safe,’ came Fahren’s voice. ‘Here at the Halls we’ve had a rather interesting morning. The once Shadowdreamer lord Battu has arrived here and surrendered to us.’
Bel’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Jaya frowned.
‘He has declared himself an enemy of Fenvarrow,’ continued Fahren, ‘for harms done to him by Losara and the Dark Gods. I am still uncertain about how far we can trust him, but questioning indicates he’s telling the truth. It may be that he is just what we need, in which case we do not have to fear losing Fazel to the Shadowdreamer.
‘In addition, word has arrived that shadow forces are marshalling at Fort Logale, their closest major settlement to our border, some fifty leagues south of the Mines. Our own efforts continue at Kahlay, and Gerent Brahl is now on his way to oversee preparations. We think Losara may intend to strike first at the Shining Mines, which, as I’m sure you remember from your lessons, is due north across the border from Logale. However, Losara would hardly underestimate the likelihood of us noticing an enormous force amassing near the border, so he may be seeking to misdirect our attentions. Nonetheless the threat cannot be ignored, and reinforcements are being sent to the Mines. It could be that war is coming sooner than we wished it, so I urge you to hurry.’
‘We do not dawdle,’ muttered Bel.
‘I am eager to hear of your progress,’ came the last words, and the flow of steam ceased.
Bel stared off across the fields, his mind ticking over this new information.
‘It’s all really beginning,’ he said. ‘Yet here I am stuck at the edge of the world.’
‘You have your reasons,’ said Jaya.
‘Why are they in such a rush to start this war without me?’
Jaya laughed humourlessly. ‘I do enjoy your arrogant side, my love.’
He shot a glare at her.
‘It’s only preparations,’ she added hastily. ‘Fahren would be foolish to stand idle while Losara collects his troops.’
‘As long as they remember they can’t win without me. It’s my war. Don’t they know the prophecy? How do they expect victory if I’m not there?’