At last the twins reached a district previously given over to cattle yards and storehouses. Now a contingent of Acurial’s newly-created regular militia were stationed there. In addition to an armed populace, a standing army was thought desirable, and former resistance fighters made up its nucleus. It was early days for the force; their uniforms were makeshift and their weapons ill-assorted. Their quarters were at a rudimentary stage too, and in common with the rest of Taress the area was a building site.
Waved through the compound’s gates by saluting guards, Chillder and Brelan made their way to a recently erected barracks block. They were met outside by an officer, a comrade from the resistance days, who unlocked the barracks’ door and ushered them in.
“Not that there’s much to see,” he said.
There were only minor signs of disorder in the deserted interior. A couple of the cots were askew, a chair was upended and a few items of kit were scattered across the floor.
“This has been left exactly as it was?” Brelan asked.
The officer nodded. “Just as you see it.”
“How many?”
“Eleven.”
“When?”
“Some time during the night. We only knew when they didn’t show up at reveille.”
“You’ve searched the camp?”
“Of course.”
“Were any of them… dissatisfied in any way?” Chillder said.
“These weren’t troublemakers. They were as solid and as loyal as any we’ve got.”
“Their arms went too?” She pointed at an empty weapons rack.
“Yes.”
“You’ve told no one about this?” Brelan said.
“No,” the officer replied.
“Good. Keep it that way. You can leave us now. And thanks.”
When the officer had gone, Chillder turned to her brother. “How many times does this make?”
“Seven, I think. Possibly eight. That’s just from Taress, mind. There are a few unconfirmed reports from outside the city. With this new lot I reckon we’re talking upwards of seventy militia having gone missing, that we’re aware of.”
“So what are we dealing with? Desertion? Hostage taking?”
“As far as we know there’s no reason for any of them to have deserted. And I can’t see abducting armed bands of warriors being that easy a task, particularly from inside a compound like this.”
“Did all the others go in similar ways?”
“Some did. From their quarters, just like whatever happened here. One group went out on a patrol and never came back. There were a couple of cases of disappearances on guard duty, and one where four, I think it was, vanished from a weapons dump. There’s no real pattern. Except nobody saw anything.”
“Could Peczan be behind this? Might they have got agents in and-”
“Humans trying to hide among a nation of orcs? I don’t think so, Chillder.”
“Or could it be our own kind? Traitors doing the humans’ bidding.”
“It’d take a lot of them, not to mention a pretty big conspiracy. I don’t want to think there could be that many traitors. I don’t believe there are. There might be one or two turncoats, for some twisted reason, but not on this scale.”
“There’s another possibility. Have you noticed the smell in here?”
A faint sulphurous aroma hung in the air, mingled with the scent of the barracks’ new wood.
“I’m not sure.”
“Oh, come on, Brelan; you know what it is.”
“Magic?”
“ Yes. Couldn’t that be it?”
“I can’t see how. Humans have mastery of magic, not orcs, and like I said; where would humans hide in Acurial?”
“Jennesta’s not human. This could be her doing.”
“The same thing applies. I mean, she’d stick out, wouldn’t she? Anyway, I don’t believe she’s still hanging around. The mob would tear her to pieces, never mind her sorcery. That’s not a risk she’d take.”
“ What then? Who’s doing this?”
“Whoever or whatever’s responsible, we’re going to have to brace ourselves for more of the same.”
“You reckon?”
“We’ve no reason to think it might stop. Whatever it is.”
“How do we protect ourselves?”
“Short of gathering the entire army together and watching each other’s backs, I’ve no idea. And who can say if even that would work?”
“There must be something we can do, Brelan.”
“We don’t know what we’re trying to protect ourselves against. All we do know-”
“Is that our comrades have disappeared as surely as the Wolverines,” she finished for him.
He nodded, looking grim.
17
Long after the sun disappeared, and the crisp night sky was speckled with stars, the Wolverines’ ship ploughed on.
They used hooded lamps for such light as they needed and conversed in hushed tones. Dynahla was the only real guide to their destination, and as they were uncertain about how close they were, or whether there might be other craft abroad, they ran dark and silent.
Stryke gathered his officers in what had been the master’s cabin, or whatever the ship’s former, goblin owners called it. Its windows were kept firmly shuttered.
“What do we do when we get there?” Haskeer demanded before they all finished seating themselves.
“That’s what we’re here to figure out,” Stryke told him. “Now sit down and shut up.”
Sullenly, his sergeant did as he was told.
“We don’t know what we’ll be up against,” Stryke said. “So we need a plan. You’re our strategist, Coilla; talk to me.”
“We do know what we’ll be up against: Jennesta. Question is how best to overcome her and pull off our mission. And not get killed doing it.”
“Isn’t that always the way it is when we tangle with her?” Jup asked.
“Yeah,” Haskeer chimed in, “since when did we worry about odds when it comes to a fight? I say we go in with blades out and give no quarter, Stryke, like we usually do.”
“This is different. I want Thirzarr out of there and safe. That’s what Coilla meant by the mission. This isn’t just about killing Jennesta.”
“You don’t want to fight?” Haskeer looked incredulous.
“ Course I do. But I want to fight smart.”
“Could be we’ll run straight into opposition,” Coilla said, “in which case it’ll be an all-out scrap. But if we can get ashore unseen, maybe a snatch squad’s the best option to bring out Thirzarr.”
“What about Jennesta?” Jup wanted to know.
“Once we get Thirzarr clear we can tackle her force head-on.”
“Only trouble with that,” Stryke judged, “is that it spreads us thin.”
“Yeah,” Coilla agreed. “Three groups. Snatch squad, main body holding back ’til they get the word to attack, and a group defending the ship.”
“That could be us,” Dallog suggested. “Me and the rest of the Ceragans. We could guard the ship.”
Haskeer sneered. “Quick getting in with that bid, ain’t you? Frightened of a fight?”
“ No. It’s just that we work well together. We’ve proved that.”
“You did a good job holding it last time,” Stryke conceded. “That’s your detail then.”
“We’re better off without ’em,” Haskeer muttered.
“But I can’t spare all of you,” Stryke added. “Take Chuss, Pirrak and Keick. Wheam can come with us.”
Haskeer loudly groaned. “As if we didn’t have enough trouble.”
Stryke showed him a clenched fist. “I won’t be telling you again. We need all the bodies we can get. He’s included.”
“Not in the snatch squad?” Jup said, faintly alarmed.
“No. He’ll be part of the main force.”
“Who is in the snatch squad?” Coilla wondered.
“Me, you, Jup and a couple of the grunts. I’m thinking Eldo and Reafdaw. Dynahla should be in it, too.”