Ascendant (11 page)

"You
wrote this, sir?" Koren exclaimed, surprised. Wizards had to write with
their own hands, like everyone else? Koren had imagined pens dancing magically
across the page by themselves, while the wizard cast spells, or whatever they
did.

"A long
time ago, apparently, but now I remember the formula. Which is good, because
you're right, I can't read this either. You're handy with a pen, then?"

"I'm no
scribe, sir, but I can write well enough, if you don't need anything fancy like
prayer books have."

"Fancy is
what I don't need. Plain, legible script is what's required." Then the
wizard had an idea. "One thing you can do for me, when we get to the
castle, is copy some of my old potion books, so they're more readable." By
copying the potions, Koren would be learning them, which would be good
training, without Koren knowing he was being trained. Paedris was pleased with
himself for thinking ahead. "What about mathematics? Do you have any of
that?"

Koren nodded
proudly. "I can cast accounts, sir; count to a thousand, or more, if I
think hard enough on it. Add, subtract, multiply and divide, though I haven't
had much call to do anything with that, other than learning it." Everyone
in Crebbs Ford knew that, if you couldn't figure numbers yourself, you were
sure to get cheated by merchants, or grain millers. Reading may be considered
an impractical luxury for many people in rural areas, but every farmer in
Crebbs Ford knew how to reckon the value of their grain, or their animals.

"Oh, very
good, very good." Koren would certainly be better than most of the
servants Paedris had employed over the years. "For now, your job is to
rest, and recover your strength, which is not full yet, whether you can stand
on one leg, or none, for that matter. You will be leaving in the morning, with
the Regent and the princess, to ride to Linden. When you get to the castle,
wait for me in my tower, I shouldn't be long."

"You're
not coming with us, sir?"

"No,"
Paedris said with a troubled shake of his head, "I fear that bear is only
the tip of the danger we face, and I need to root it out now, rather than
later."

“
Why a bear, Lord Salva?
Why a wild beast, why not a human assassin? That wouldn't have been simpler?
”
Duke Yarron asked
quietly, slightly out of breath from climbing the steep slope. They were
struggling up a ridge, through thick, tangled woods, stumbling and slipping
over moss-covered rocks, banging their knees and shins, pulling themselves up
by hanging onto trees and vines. The sky overhead hung low, gray clouds sodden
with rain. It had rained several times throughout the day, the trees were still
dripping water down onto Yarron
’
s
head, soaking his silver hair and beard. The Thrallren woods, at the eastern
end of Duke Yarron
’
s
LeVanne province, was part of the border with Acedor. Elsewhere along the
border, Yarron maintained troops, reinforced by part of the royal Taradoran
army. But since the Thrallren woods were so thickly tangled, and the land was
nothing but sharp ridges, deep gullies, and impassible dark woods, that Yarron
only posted a few sheriffs there. He could not imagine an enemy invasion force
coming through the Thrallren woods. Until now.

“
Because,
”
Paedris explained,
“
if Ariana had been killed
by an assassin's blade, such an action would likely pull the Dukes together
against our common enemy. But if she was simply killed by a wild beast, an
accident in the wilderness, you and the other six Dukes would be fighting each
other to control the throne. And that would leave us weak and divided, open for
invasion.
”

“
Ah.
”
Yarron said simply. He
had much to think about. The wizard was correct, the seven Dukedoms of Tarador
could not agree on much, other than that they all wanted more power. And,
almost as important, they all wanted to prevent the other six from gaining more
power. Carlana was serving as Regent, not because she was qualified to rule Tarador
in her daughter
’
s
name, but because the Dukes had been unable to agree on anyone else as Regent
after her husband the king had died.
“
Ariana
’
s father was my strongest
ally, and my friend, I care for that girl as if she were my own daughter. For
the enemy to attack her, on my land, while she is under my protection-
”

“
Halt!
”
Paedris called out in a
loud hiss.
“
Halt,
you up there!
”

The three
scouts ahead froze, turning around slowly. They waited for the wizard to make
his way up to their position, offering hands to help him scramble over the last
rock.
“
Thank
you.
”
Paedris
huffed and puffed, catching his breath. He was very glad that he had switched
his official purple robes for plain brown pants and a warm jacket.
“
There is a ward spell up
ahead, between those two boulders.
”
Paedris pointed to a pair of giant rocks, which had tumbled down the ridge long
ago. They blocked the way above, the gap between them was the only way to the
top of the ridge.

One of the
scouts kneeled down, waving his hand over a place where moss had been
flattened.
“
That
is where the trail leads. The enemy
’
s
tracks go in that direction.
”

“
And they knew we would
follow the trail if we were tracking them. Stay here.
”
Paedris approached the
boulders, stopping just short of where the ward lay across the gap like an
invisible spider web. The ward was powerful and somewhat crude, typical of the
enemy
’
s
magics. He could not release the ward without alerting the enemy. What he could
do is fool the ward, so it didn
’
t
react to troops passing through it. It was a simple matter for a master wizard,
he waved to the scouts to him when it was done.
“
What lies beyond the top of this ridge?
”

One of the
scouts spoke.
“
I
’
ve only been here once,
Lord Salva, but what I remember is a shallow gully, then another ridge, a bit
lower than this ridge. Beyond that is a deep, wide gully, almost passes for a
valley in these woods.
”

Duke Yarron
held out a hand for his scouts to pull him up.
“
A valley? I am ashamed to say that, though
these are my lands, I don
’
t
know this area. Is this valley a good spot for a raiding force to gather?
”

The scout
nodded.
“
It
could be. You wish us to follow their tracks?
”

Yarron looked
to the court wizard for guidance. Paedris rubbed his beard while he considered
what to do.
“
No.
A ward here means the enemy must be close, close enough to hear if the ward is
triggered. Go to the top of the next ridge, keep low, so you can see if the
enemy has placed any pickets, but without revealing yourself. Duke, I propose
we turn right just this side of the ridge top, and follow it north half a
league. There, we will see if we can cross to the next ridge east of us, and
see what lies in this valley beyond.
”

“
Agreed.
”
Yarron pointed to the
sky.
“
We must
make haste, the light will be failing us in a few hours.
”

“
These old eyes are, I
fear, not as good as they used to be. But even I can see a substantial force.
”
Yarron whispered. The
light was poor, the setting was almost hidden behind heavy clouds to the west,
just a vaguely less dark part of the sky. It had started to rain again an hour
ago, making everyone miserably cold and wet, if they weren
’
t already. Yarron was
lying in a squishy pool of cold, muddy water under an overhanging rock, peering
down into a valley that was not as deep, or steep-sided, as most of the
Thrallren woods. The enemy had been camped there long enough to have cut down
trees, and build a partial fence along the valley floor. Camped on his land,
treating it as if it were already their own! The enemy had chosen well, the
valley lay less than ten leagues from the western edge of the woods, where some
of the best farmland in LeVanne province lay. And an enemy who controlled that
part of the province could cut the major roads to the south, which would make
it difficult for reinforcement royal army troops to reach LeVanne in case of
war.

“
I count perhaps two
hundred of the enemy, my lord.
”
One of the scouts observed.
“
Men
only, I don
’
t
see any orcs.
”

“
The enemy rarely mixes men
and orcs, they usually end up fighting each other sooner or later.
”
Paedris observed.
“
Two hundred is a good
estimate. And they have a wizard with them.
”

Yarron
frowned. He had less than sixty men; twenty of his own, and forty troops of the
royal army. All were cold, wet, and exhausted from the grueling trek through
the woods. There had been no chance for hot food on the march, and since
horses, and even mules, were unable to walk in the tangled mess of Thrallren,
the men had been forced to carry all their weapons, food and gear on their
backs. To set an example, even Duke Yarron carried a backpack, something he had
not done since he was a young boy. The problem was not that his men were not
walking on fresh legs; the problem was that he had far too few men. Sound
battle tactics usually called for an attacking force to outnumber the defenders
by at least three to one.
“
Lord
Salva?
”

 Paedris
considered what to say, to convince the Duke to attack the enemy force which
had invaded his land.
“
I
know your men are tired, Yarron.
”

Yarron
shrugged, as much as he could in the confined space under the rock.
“
No battle was ever won
except by a tired army. But I won
’
t
throw my men
’
s
lives away in a futile gesture.
”

“
I believe I can even the
odds. The enemy is also cold, wet and tired, they have likely been in these
woods for a fortnight, and they haven
’
t
been allowed any fires for cooking or warmth. Their wizard is weary, keeping a
concealment spell for so long is a terrible strain. Unless I am greatly
mistaken, their wizard is no match for me.
”
Yarron raised an eyebrow at that remark, so Paedris added
“
That is a fact, not a
boast.
”

“
You have a plan? We would
have to cross open ground, I can see at least two sentries facing our
direction. Lepto,
”
Yarron asked his lead scout,
“
could
your men take out those sentries, silently?
”

Lepto shook
his head.
“
No,
my lord. They are behind a screen of brambles, very clever, for that would
deflect any arrows, but they can see through it. They would surely see me and
my men, before we could get to them.
”

“
Lord Salva, unless you can
do something about those sentries, and do so quietly, I think this attack is
impossible. Then, there are barricades on the valley floor both north and
south, blocking our path, and the valley walls east and west are too steep for
my men to attack from there. Anything you do about their wizard will alert
their soldiers.
”

Despite the
cold, and his muddy, soaked clothing, and his empty belly, Paedris smiled. The
Duke underestimated the power of a master wizard.
“
I have a plan. Let
’
s get out from under this
rock, and prepare.
”

The enemy
wizard was well aware that the men under his command were cold, wet, tired and
hungry, which did not make for alert sentries. The sentries were, therefore,
relieved every hour, to keep their eyes, and ears, fresh. And to keep them
awake. It would therefore have surprised the wizard from Acedor to see that the
sentries at the north barricade were yawning, and barely able to keep their
eyes open. The two men were very sleepy, sleepy, sleepy. Unusually, suddenly,
terribly sleepy. Their wizard had placed wards around the area, how could an
enemy approach without being detected? The sentries did not need to watch, they
could sleep. Sleep. And so they did, without their wizard noticing anything
wrong. Soon after, Lepto
’
s
scouts carefully moved the brambles aside, and had the two sleeping enemy
sentries bound and gagged. But the scouts then retreated back to the north,
which also would have surprised the enemy.