Imager’s Battalion (46 page)

“You’re not going to raise this with Bhayar?” asked Skarpa.

“Not now, and never as such. If he hasn’t seen what Deucalon—Myskyl, really—is doing, and I bring it up, I seem petty. If he does see, and I suspect he does—he’s very good at seeing that sort of thing—then I don’t have to, and I don’t place him in a difficult position. Rulers don’t like being placed in difficult positions. So don’t you bring it up, either.”

“But…” Meinyt broke off what he might have said.

“It doesn’t matter right now. Bhayar needs us. He knows he needs us, and Deucalon knows he needs us. Bhayar will need us for a long time.”
Longer than either Deucalon and Myskyl have any idea.

Skarpa shook his head. “Are they that stupid?”

“No. They just don’t know. Bhayar is willing to put up with this sort of petty scheming in Solis when the land is at peace because there’s no cost to it. Or not too much cost. Both he and his father never let scheming cost them golds or men. I doubt if Bhayar will now.”
You
hope
he won’t, and that he sees what you think he does.
“Also, I doubt that either Deucalon or Myskyl has seen what the imagers have learned to do. It’s one thing to get reports; it’s another to see. Frankly, right now, I’d just as soon they didn’t see.”

“But they saw the catapults…” said Meinyt.

“What did they really see? Just that the catapults ended up in flames. Sheer good fortune, that’s all. The imagers took credit for it.” At that moment, Quaeryt recalled what he had been trying to remember about catapults, except it was why the Bovarians were using catapults and muskets, but not cannon. “There’s another matter. We’ve seen musketeers and catapults, but no cannon. I can see why Kharst wouldn’t want to try to get cannon to smaller towns, but Villerive isn’t tiny.”

“Would you want to drag those monsters along these roads?” asked Skarpa. “How long would it take to get cannon from Variana?”

“Likely they couldn’t have gotten them this far, anyway,” added Meinyt.

Quaeryt nodded. He’d been thinking of the roads in Telaryn. “Now … what else should I know?”

“Our reinforcements are still two days away, and Deucalon carefully avoided mentioning any ‘special’ officers or reinforcements for Fifth Battalion. In fact, he didn’t mention Fifth Battalion at all. It will be at least a day and probably two after their arrival before we move out. If we have heavy rains…” Skarpa shrugged.

“What kind of regiments … mounted, foot, mixed?”

“Foot and mounted. We’ll be assigned one of the mounted regiments. He did make that clear. Wouldn’t make any sense to give us a foot regiment.”

“Did he say how many regiments would be arriving?” asked Quaeryt.

“He said he hadn’t had word as to how many had been sent.”

“He’s marshal, and he doesn’t know?”

“He didn’t say, and if you’ll pardon me, I didn’t feel like questioning him in front of everyone. I asked Pulaskyr afterward, but he hadn’t heard, either.”

That lack of information gave Quaeryt a most uneasy feeling, but he understood why Skarpa hadn’t pressed.

“Myskyl isn’t happy that we don’t have more archers,” volunteered Meinyt. “There are only six companies in the entire force.”

More than a regiment of archers, and he’s unhappy?
But then, Quaeryt recalled that Myskyl had never appeared to be cheerful about much of anything.

“And he’s asked quietly why we don’t have musketeers,” Meinyt continued, looking to Quaeryt.

“I know Bhayar was looking into forging muskets some time ago, but I don’t know what he decided or why.”

“Would have helped if he’d done more.”

There were always hindsights like that, Quaeryt knew, but forbore pointing it out.

Skarpa had little else new to offer, and that confirmed to Quaeryt that the real purpose of the meeting had been to inform him about the scheming of the marshal and submarshal.

After Skarpa and Meinyt departed, Quaeryt sought out Zhelan and informed him of what the commander had reported about reinforcements and the possible departure westward. Once he finished with Zhelan, Quaeryt then sent word for the imagers to meet in the study. They all arrived together a quint later.

Quaeryt did not sit, but stood before the desk and addressed them. “Commander Skarpa has informed me that Fifth Battalion will be receiving reinforcements, most likely in two days. We are to receive some new imager undercaptains. How many and what their abilities are, I do not know. Once I have assessed those abilities, if they are not up to yours, and I doubt that they are, in one way or another all of you will assist me in training them, because we will have very little time before we will be heading toward Nordeau and then to Variana. If Rex Kharst has any imagers, we are likely to encounter them before long. Likewise, we are likely no longer to be ignored and will probably encounter greater efforts aimed at us. I can’t say what those will be, because, so far as I am aware, never before has any army used more than one or two imagers.” What he was not about to point out was that almost none of those imagers employed in past battles had survived the conflicts in which they had been engaged.

“Sir,” asked Desyrk, “do you know how many others will be coming?”

“I don’t. From what I can gather, Lord Bhayar gave instructions that imagers of the proper age in good health were to be conscripted and dispatched here.” Again, Quaeryt was guessing, but since that was what had been done with the undercaptains before him, it was more than likely that the same process had been used. “Are there any other questions?”

After several moments of silence, Quaeryt went on. “While we are waiting, you are to practice your skills, especially strengthening your personal shields. I expect you to work with each other, using staffs or poles to test your shields. At the same time, I’d prefer that you do not maim each other. At third glass, you’re all to meet on the terrace outside the study here, with staffs, and I’ll be going over shielding with you.” He paused. “That’s all.”

As they filed out of the study, Quaeryt could only hope that their working with less skilled imagers would also lead them to improve their own imaging skills. In the meantime, he needed to think about what other imaging skills might be useful—and unexpected by the Bovarians.

49

Even into Jeudi, drizzle oozed from the low gray clouds, but in not enough volume to prevent the imagers from working on various skills and for Quaeryt to test them. Threkhyl had become more and more proficient in creating almost-instant heavy shields and moving them around. So long as he alternated shields, he could maintain that form of shielding for a good quint. Yet, for some reason, he seemed unable to find a way to create and hold a continuous shield for more than a tenth of a quint, and doing that left him totally exhausted.

On the other hand, Voltyr and Shaelyt could hold and maintain light to moderate shields for more than a quint, and heavier shields for up to a third of a quint. Quaeryt took them aside and tried to explain the idea of “triggering” heavier shields. Both understood the idea, but neither seemed able to do so … no matter how Quaeryt tried to explain or demonstrate. In the end, he told them both to just build up their shields and keep the idea in mind.

Desyrk could hold moderate shields for a few moments, but not a lighter shield, and a heavier shield exhausted him in moments … but Quaeryt could sense that his abilities were improving. Baelthm was unable to master shields, but surprisingly, Quaeryt discovered, he had become able to image much larger iron and metal darts up to a hundred yards.

Late on Jeudi, Quaeryt received a brief message from Skarpa that the reinforcements would arrive on Vendrei around midday, and that the southern army would be riding out on Solayi morning. Since the roads on the south side of the Aluse were poorer, the marshal was allowing additional time for them to reach Nordeau to be in position to fully support an attack there, should it be necessary.

As he stood alone in the absent factor’s study, Quaeryt shook his head.
Is Deucalon that unaware, or is he fully aware and playing along with Myskyl until he can undercut him in a way that will totally discredit him?

Quaeryt knew that, at the moment, he had no way of determining which, if either, might be the case. He also knew that he was seeing only the beginning of political maneuvering that would get deadlier as the battles against Kharst’s forces intensified.

He set down Skarpa’s message, then looked at his notes, scattered fragments and thoughts about better ways to employ the talents of the imagers. Finally, he reached for the slim leather-bound volume, opening it and paging through it. Reading about Rholan wouldn’t solve his problems, but it might take his thoughts out of the ruts he’d worn in his mind by going back and forth over the problems he faced.

Rholan stated on more than one occasion that many faiths declared that man was made in the image of his deity. He went further than that, declaring that this was false, because, in fact, man created the deities he worshipped in his own image, or at least in the images in his mind, and that was why it was all-important that the Nameless not only not ever be named, but never described or depicted, because to do so would prove that the Nameless was merely a creation of men …

That angered few because those who declared such largely lived far from Lydar. Such observations would not have, in themselves, led to the events that likely forced his death or disappearance. Nor would the observations that followed, when he declared that those who rule best are those who accept each man or woman for who each is, and that seldom are such rulers remembered in the chronicles of the great, for it seems that little has happened during their reigns. Even when they are successful at conquest, that success is attributed to others, to their marshals, to the times, to the weakness of the enemy. What angered many was his observation that those who are remembered are those least worthy of such veneration, because they were the rulers who have attempted to mold others in their image, either through fear or flattery, because they had not the strength to recognize different strengths in others …

Quaeryt set down the small book, turning it over on the plaques table to keep his place.
Is that the difference between Kharst and Bhayar?
He frowned.
Or are you creating that difference in your own mind?

50

Immediately after the morning muster of Fifth Battalion on Vendrei, Quaeryt met with Voltyr and Shaelyt. The three of them decided on a sheltered courtyard behind the stable to test the arriving undercaptains, then gathered the necessary materials. Although Quaeryt had not yet received word as to when the reinforcements would arrive, he knew he would need every moment he had to assess them and to begin instructing them in the basic imaging in combat. He left Voltyr in charge of setting up the barrels and stands for testing.

While the imagers were so occupied, Quaeryt and Zhelan reviewed the supply situation in turn with each of the company officers. Quaeryt was relieved to learn that Zhelan had been successful in dealing with the local factors and Skarpa’s supply major and that enough provisions had been obtained to fill all the wagons.

After he and Zhelan left Major Arion, Quaeryt looked at Zhelan. “I didn’t wish to ask around the company officers how you managed all that. But you’ve worked wonders. How?”

Zhelan tried to smother a grin, then shook his head. “I was most polite, sir. I just kept asking the factors and the supply types in the other regiments for what we needed. If they weren’t as helpful as they might have been, I just said that you’d be disappointed if you couldn’t support the battalion and the imagers after all the work Lord Bhayar had done to create the battalion. I didn’t ask for too much from any of them.”

“You’re a rogue, Zhelan.” Quaeryt shook his head.

“The locals are scared to death of imagers, more so than in Telaryn. Don’t know why, sir, but they are, and the supply types in the other regiments know that Fifth Battalion has saved a lot of their men. The ones who are smart want to help. Those who aren’t don’t want you upset.”

That
worried Quaeryt, after a fashion, because it suggested that someone, most likely Myskyl, was depicting Quaeryt as vengeful and possibly petty.

Once he and Zhelan finished, Quaeryt returned to the study to go over the maps he had, trying to learn as much as he could from them about what the battalion might expect on the ride to Nordeau. He wasn’t certain, but he thought he saw what might have been a part of another old Naedaran canal branching off from the River Aluse just east of Nordeau. At least there was something that looked like a too-straight section of river that paralleled the River Aluse in a general way and ran almost to Nordeau. He couldn’t help but wonder how many other canals there had been running to the Aluse or from the lake on which Chelaes was located.

At slightly past first glass, one of the troopers acting as guards rapped on the study door. “Sir … there’s close to two companies riding up here.”

“Summon Major Zhelan and have him join me on the front portico.”

“Yes, sir.” The trooper hurried off.

Quaeryt made his way out to the front portico. There, as he waited for the riders—and Zhelan—to reach him, he stood and looked out to the west at the scattered clouds that were slowly breaking up. Despite there only having been partial sunlight that morning, the day was warm and humid, and he had to take off his visor cap and blot away sweat before replacing it. The oncoming riders were still some fifty yards away when Zhelan hurried around from the south porch to stand beside Quaeryt.

“Has to be our replacements and reinforcements,” offered the major.

Quaeryt looked to Zhelan.

“Uniforms have more color.”

Quaeryt smiled.
Something else you hadn’t thought of.

Leading the riders was a captain Quaeryt didn’t recognize, scarcely surprising since there were at least fifty captains and undercaptains in Deucalon’s forces, most of whom he’d never even seen, let alone met. The captain called the column to a halt, then rode forward, his eyes taking in the two on the portico.