“Why?” Darius stared at him.
“Because Velutio’s commander has sent a letter of terms to you, which is only a day or so behind us being carried by a Pelasian escorted by a few of Velutio’s men, but he’s also turned the army and is marching it towards Munda. Time’s running out, Emperor. You know his terms will be unacceptable and so does he, so he’s manoeuvring his army already. Whatever you were planning to do with your forces, you need to get it ready to march straight away if you want to keep any initiative. A battle’s coming and it’s coming fast.”
Darius looked across at Tythias, who nodded, a sour look crossing his face.
“Very well,” the young Emperor growled. “If war’s on its way, let’s get ready to meet it head on. Prefect… have the men fall out in the courtyard. We ride for the camp tonight.”
Tythias nodded and made for the door, leaving the others alone. Darius left the Wolves and Sathina with their reunion and strode across to Silvas, who sat drumming his fingers on the table. The lord looked less than happy.
“I presume I’ve no need to hammer home anything the young lord said just now?”
Silvas shook his head sadly. “I remember Gaius Pelianus. He was one of the old school. If you’re marshalling your army to march now, bring them past here. Velutio must be nearly two weeks away if he’s moving an army the size of his from Pelian’s estate. Bring your army to my lands and I’ll bend my knee before you, young Emperor.”
Brendan was still staring at Balo and Athas smiled sadly. “Before we reach the camp, there’s something you need to know about the rest of them, Balo.”
Chapter XXIX
The gate at Hadrus rattled open as Darius and his extended entourage rode up the dusty path from the foothills. On either side of the Emperor rode the young lord Pelian and Tythias, the Imperial ‘courtiers’ behind them, surrounded by Darius’ guard, with the worn and weary men of Pelian’s estate bringing up the rear.
Tythias looked up at the sergeant in charge of the gatehouse as he reined in his horse just inside. “Treble the gate guard and be alert for a party perhaps an hour behind us. They are not to be fired upon or admitted until the Emperor, the general and myself have been summoned.” Turning his attention to one of the soldiers gathering in the dusty square to help with the horses, he continued as he dismounted. “Go and find all the senior commanders and staff officers and have them go to the meeting hall in the headquarters building.”
As the rest of the party rattled in behind him, he grasped another passing soldier by the shoulder. “These are Lord Pelian’s men. Have them quarters assigned and take them to draw uniforms and equipment from the stores.”
The men inside the gate burst into life, running the various errands Tythias had assigned as Darius and the others dismounted and strode toward the headquarters building. The young lord Pelian looked around himself in awe. “What is this place and where are we going?” he enquired of Athas as they walked.
“To the headquarters,” replied the dark-skinned captain. “We need to gather the whole command group and explain the situation before Velutio’s party arrives. This is Hadrus. It used to be a city once; then a prison. Now it’s a training camp.”
There was a shout as they strode across the open ground as Kiva and Sithis appeared around a corner in full armour.
“What’s happened? You’re not due back for a week and more!”
Darius spoke without breaking his stride as Kiva and Sithis fell in alongside them. “There’s been a change of plan, general. Let’s wait until we’re all together or we’ll just be repeating ourselves.” Balo lowered his head, a curious smile playing across his face, and kept his features hidden by his long hair.
As they reached the door to the headquarters building, others appeared from side streets or other structures. Mercurias and Marco were already inside, along with Filus and Sarios. Darius nodded at them as they strode into the large meeting hall and took seats around the edge. As he leaned back and stretched his arms, he performed a quick head count. Clicking his tongue in irritation, he watched the door for a few moments as other officers and lords poured in and made their way to their places. Another quick glance confirmed that everyone was there. He stood.
“I know we weren’t expected back for a week yet, but circumstances have changed. I assume Lord Cirpi and his men arrived a day or two ago?” A number of nods and a murmur in the room confirmed the fact. “Very well, we’ve visited lord Sala and lord Silvas and both have agreed to pledge their armies to our cause, but only when we reach their estates. However,” he added, taking a deep breath, “the arrival of lord Pelian and his men at the Silvas estate has forced a change in plans.”
He gestured to the young lord and a rumble of greeting, mixed with some surprise at his age, rippled around the room. Darius tried not to smile as he noticed Kiva peering intently at the long-haired man seated next to the young lord, his face hidden in shadow. He had to get the important messages out before any further interruptions.
“A small party of Velutio’s men was perhaps an hour behind us in the foothills. They certainly didn’t follow us, and were making directly for Hadrus led by a Pelasian, so they know where we are. They carry a letter of terms from Velutio.”
Kiva grunted loudly, tearing his eyes away from the mysterious man. “’ Terms !’ I suppose they’ll be real favourable too. Perhaps he expects us to surrender before we even begin.”
Darius nodded. “Perhaps so, but terms have been sent and they will arrive under a truce, I presume. We’ll treat this as a parlay but unless he’s offering a surrender, which I find hard to imagine, we’re not accepting his terms. You see, our latest intelligence is that Velutio’s finished in the west and has turned his army this way. He believes we’re at Munda and, while we aren’t, it’s close enough that a conflict is now inevitable and getting close. If his army is on the march then he has no intention of honouring any terms, even if they are favourable. So,” he concluded, drawing another deep breath, “what I need to know is how soon we’ll be ready to march.”
Kiva leaned on the arm of his chair, glancing across at his Emperor.
“We’re as close as we’re going to get, I suppose. Unless we have a massive influx of recruits, we might as well make preparations.” He looked across at Sithis, who took up the thread.
“We’ve made progress with the training. I’d have liked another month before I’d confidently take them onto the field, but even the lowest man at Hadrus is stronger, better trained and in better spirits than any number of the untrained and conscripted men-at-arms in Velutio’s army will be. I’d happily accept odds of two to one given the respective qualities of the men.”
Athas rumbled deep in his throat. “It’ll take at least a couple of days if not more to have everything loaded and made ready for transport. There’s a lot of logistical problems regardless of how quickly the troops can be made ready. You can’t forget the train of support staff that’s going to have to travel with us.” He sighed. “And then there’s the siege engines. The engineers will have to start making ready straight away.”
“So,” Darius said with some satisfaction, “if we say four days for a safe margin, we should be ready to move?”
There was a murmur of assent. Mercurias, deep in thought, was muttering to himself.
“Something up, captain?” the Emperor queried.
The grizzled medic looked up. “No. I’ve just been working it out. If we can put together some protective cavalry squads we can move the support and engineer units out as they become ready and muster them in the valley below. That way they won’t block up the narrow mountain road and when the full army’s ready to march we should be able to make it down to the plain in reasonable order.” He looked across at Athas and Tythias questioningly.
“I worry about the safety of the wagons and engines if they move before the rest of us,” Athas grumbled. “I don’t like exposing our supply column to danger. If they should be attacked and destroyed then our campaign’s over before it begins.”