“Not the Cassinni, you can be sure,” na Gall said. The very thought appalled her.
Gwaynn gave her a little smile, aware that his General was now squeezing her hand in support. He was about to make some small reassurance when the Speaker Zebo Sorbello came lumbering to the wall, clearly excited.
“M’lord…M’lord,” he yelled up at them from his position on the ground below.
“What is it?” Gwaynn asked loudly, a feeling of dread pouring over him.
“I’ve news from Speaker Tearrio,” Zebo shouted, making no attempt to climb the ladder to the ramparts.
“Tearrio?”
“The Speaker with Captain Wicks...the Admiral…the Captain…the leader of the Toranado Fleet.”
Gwaynn’s temper flared and he frowned down at the fat man below, fearing the worst. He hoped they were not abandoning Cape. It would be bad news indeed. “Well out with it,” he snapped impatiently.
Zebo gulped. “It’s the Cassinni!” He shouted quickly. “They’ve come to the aid of the Massi.”
“The Cassinni army?” na Gall exclaimed with disbelief.
“No, the navy…hundreds of warships,” Zebo explained as Prince Phillip, Tabernas and Tarina N’dori joined Gwaynn and his group. Tar Kostek and Monde were not far behind and moving quickly. “The High King will not be allowed to land reinforcements on your land.”
“A blockade?” Kostek yelled down and Zebo nodded his head. Gwaynn stood silent for a moment as Lonogan and na Gall embraced one another, all smiles.
“Phillip,” Gwaynn said turning to the Toranado Prince. “How would you and your mother like to return to Eno?”
“Eno?”
“When Weldon arrives in Manse he’ll order his army out of your country,” Gwaynn stated confidently.
“And if they refuse to leave?”
“Then the Palmerrio King dies,” Gwaynn answered and Tar Kostek gasped, but N’dori chuckled softly at the bold announcement once more.
Phillip frowned, thinking for several moments. “Mother of course would be happy to return to Toranado. Losing Eno has been hard on her…she’s not the same, but I will not leave until all of our enemies are defeated.”
“We may still need the Toranado heavy troops,” Bock said alarmed by the thought of losing such a well trained and powerful force. The Temple Knights were still there, just across the plain, and Lonogan did not relish facing such vaunted warriors without the Toranado.
“I’m aware of that,” Gwaynn said with just a touch of impatience. “But I need to close the Gap.”
“Gaston could…”
“We’ll need our cavalry to deal with the Knights,” Gwaynn interrupted. “The Toranado could effectively seal the Gap from any but the most determined attack. And,” he continued looking pointedly at Phillip. “Eno will need to be secured…especially now, if the Cassinni are truly guarding our shores. If the High King is denied landing in Massi, he’ll turn to Eno. Sailing around the finger and landing in Deutzani would leave them with an extended march to reinforce the Knights. It would not be a practical or timely move.”
Samantha moved close to Gwaynn and slipped her half arm through his. “We would not control the Plateau without the Toranado,” she said with care, also worried about losing the very heart of their force.
Gwaynn glanced down at her and smiled, then took a deep breath.
“Jess,” he began simply, “can you confirm the presence of the Cassinni. I’m sure Zebo is correct, and if he is, then Eno may be the key to victory. If Mastoc is allowed to reinforce the Temple Knights with another army, we may well lose Massi, but the Knights alone cannot hold the land…there just aren’t enough of them.”
Everyone waited silently, thoughtful. N’dori studied Gwaynn, a smile on her face and nodded for him to continue.
“We may not be able to defeat the Knights as a force, but if we can seal Massi for long enough, we may be able to wear them down…especially with the help of our friends from Noble,” Gwaynn finished.
Now Tabernas and Kostek were smiling, but Prince Phillip was still deep in thought. Gwaynn waited and watched as Vio, Tam and Bethany approached along the ramparts. Finally Phillip looked up and frowned at Gwaynn.
“The Toranado will hold the Gap. Two thousand heavy infantry should be able to block the way for several weeks, certainly long enough to call for reinforcements if necessary. Eno will have to wait, but if the Palmerrio truly abandon the city, my people will quickly reestablish control.” Phillip said finally, “and I’ll send Captain Wicks to Eno Harbor. That should effectively seal the city off from the High King. I’ll stay with Tabernas and five thousand troops. I’d not miss the pleasure of facing and defeating the Knights myself,” he added and for the first time Albas Tabernas heard the King to be in the voice of his Prince and felt a swell of pride. War destroyed nearly everything it touched, but in some men it also created; not just the ability to lead men in battle, but lead men in any environment. Phillip was beginning to display such leadership; the horrors of battle had strengthened and tempered his youthful, immature personality.
Gwaynn reached out and took the Toranado Prince’s hand and they shook enthusiastically, Phillip gratified and pleased by the respect he saw reflected in the younger man’s eyes.
“Now we just have to hope the Knights stay put until we can seal off the exit,” Tabernas said, and the entire group turned in unison and gazed out at the enemy army.
XIV
Captain Wicks was surprised by the order to abandon the harbor at Cape and sail home to Eno, though she had full confidence in the Cassinni Admiral to take up the cause of guarding the Massi port city. Wicks was excited and happy to be going home; she relished the idea of having one more chance at the enemy who’d driven her and the fleet away. But the thought of leaving the Massi coastline was also causing a degree of disquiet in her belly. Something was coming; something was going to happen…and soon. Fatima had learned to respect any such feelings that settled over her. Today was no different, and as she led her small fleet of ships away from Cape she set a heading far out into the Inland Sea.
“It will take many days to reach Eno on this heading,” her first mate Armitage said as he walked across the gently pitching deck to her side.
Captain Wicks stood at the bow of the ship and continued to stare out to sea for a moment, but then turned to her long time friend and comrade.
“We’ll take a circuitous route to Eno…have a look about,” she explained, though Armitage did not require one. If his Captain wanted to push out to sea on the way to Eno, no sailor under her command would question her. And so they moved out to sea, heading almost due north. Three hours later, under full sails and quarter oars, they’d made nearly thirty miles. Wicks was about to order a more westerly heading when Raskin shouted from above.