Sovereign Stone (16 page)

Abigail broke the silence. “Don’t you ever charge off into a bunch of enemy soldiers like that ever again! You could have been killed. You almost were. If Anatoly hadn’t been crazy enough to follow you and watch your back, you would have died a dozen times.”

Alexander could see the anger and worry and relief all tangled up within his sister.

Isabel went next. She held him with her eyes as she approached and hugged him fiercely. “Please don’t get killed. I love you and I need you. You don’t need to take risks like that. We’re here to help you and protect you. Let us!” She stepped back and brushed a tear from her cheek.

Alexander turned to Anatoly, expecting a long lecture from his old mentor. But he didn’t get one. Anatoly took a deep breath. Blood was crusted on his breastplate and his bracers. “Watch the battle in your mind, Alexander. There are many lessons for you to learn from. The first of which is that you gave the enemy far too many opportunities to kill you today. Don’t be so careless. Your sword is a fearsome weapon, but it will not save you from a well-placed arrow.”

Alexander nodded. He remembered the battle. He was so sure of himself and his sword. The men he faced didn’t have a chance. They fell before him like wheat before the scythe, but that didn’t stop others from closing in behind him. His advance had been reckless, mostly because he was trying to cut his way to Truss. He allowed his desire to kill the petty little rat blind him to the bigger picture.

He nodded somberly. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I got caught up in the battle and let myself become distracted.”

They washed up and changed into clean clothes before eating a cold meal and going to sleep. The head count came to Alexander just before bed: four hundred and eighty-nine. The battle had cost one hundred and eleven Rangers their lives. Alexander wrestled with the cost versus the value of destroying the enemy supplies. He fervently hoped their sacrifice would save a great many more lives by depriving Headwater’s army of vital food and equipment.

Chapter 13

The next morning the camp was abuzz with stories of the battle and of Alexander’s charge into the enemy. Many of the Rangers thought he’d been heroic, but he realized after a night’s sleep that he’d been reckless, needlessly risking his life—and with it, the future. This was just one battle. There was much more fighting to come and he understood in the clarity of the new dawn that he was the only one who could stop Phane from getting to the Sovereign Stone. That was the real fight.

Alexander and his companions sat around a breakfast fire with Duane and his Second. After the meal, it was time to part company with the Rangers.

“Duane, your Rangers fought well yesterday,” Alexander said. “We hurt the enemy badly and now they’ll be looking for any supplies they can get their hands on. I want you to make sure that they don’t get them. Split back up into company-sized units and resume the original mission. Conduct raids and harass the enemy. Prevent them from moving supplies to the front. They’ll be sending infantry to the supply depot. Avoid them. The real threat is the legion of cavalry Headwater still has at their main assembly area. They may come looking for you.”

“We’re faster than they are,” Duane said. “We’ll be like ghosts in the night. They won’t even be certain we exist until we come out of the shadows and attack. By the time they’re sure we do exist, we’ll already be gone.”

“Good man. Send word to my father of our success yesterday. Knowing the enemy will be running short of supplies will help him formulate his strategy.”

“I’ll send riders this morning. Safe journey, Alexander.”

Jack cleared his throat. “Duane, please send these pages to Owen with your riders. As terrifying as it was for some of us to watch Alexander’s attack yesterday, I’m quite sure it was far more frightening for those who faced him on the battlefield. Word of his deeds in that battle will go a long way toward bolstering the confidence of our soldiers, while at the same time striking fear into the hearts of the enemy. Owen will see to it that the events of yesterday are known to all.”

Duane chuckled. “It will be done, Master Colton.”

Isabel hugged her brother before she mounted up and then they were on their way. Duane offered to send a guard force with them, but Alexander declined, preferring the company of his five companions. They could move faster and draw less attention with a smaller number. Alexander needed speed, especially after discovering that Phane had a new plan to recover the Sovereign Stone.

Unfortunately, the fastest path to the Pinnacles was along the road to the east coast of Ruatha through Buckwold and Warrenton. They could go south through the forest, but that way was wild and dangerous and they would have to travel on foot. The road was much faster, but it would also take them through enemy territory.

They gave Headwater a wide berth, preferring to avoid the city altogether. With the assistance of Slyder, they were able to stay clear of the small squads patrolling the area as they made their way through the lands controlled by Rake and his trade guilds.

They encountered a company of Rangers operating on the eastern edge of the territory and were able to replenish their provisions and trade a few stories. The Rangers told of the poverty and general despair of the outlying communities. Work was scarce and what work that could be had was only permitted to members of the trade guilds. Those who couldn’t get membership in a guild were left to fend for themselves.

It was heartbreaking to Alexander. Headwater was at the center of the Ruathan trade routes. It could be a fabulously wealthy territory with more than enough bounty for everyone to share if people were just allowed the freedom to work. Rake wanted power and clearly didn’t care how much suffering he had to cause to get it. No wonder he sided with Phane. They were cut from the same cloth.

***

Things changed once they passed into Buckwold. The people were free to be productive. The few they encountered along the way were busy tending to their work and didn’t give the travelers more than a passing glance. It didn’t look like a territory girding for war so much as for the coming spring planting season. The farmlands were rich and fertile and the range land was well kept. The biggest difference Alexander could see between his own home on the Valentine family estates and the estates of Buckwold was the livestock. Instead of cattle, these people raised sheep and goats.

They still moved cautiously, using Slyder to scout ahead so they could avoid anything that even resembled a patrol. Buckwold was on friendly terms with Headwater, and Alexander didn’t know the degree of that friendship. On the surface, it appeared to be an economic arrangement but it could very easily go deeper, and Alexander wanted to avoid any confrontations that might slow him down.

After learning about Phane’s plans to go to the Temple of Fire on Tyr, he had felt the urgency to get to the Pinnacles build with each passing day. He hadn’t spoken of the results of his spying, mostly because they’d been traveling from dawn to dusk and it wasn’t pressing that his friends know about Phane’s plans just yet.

A day inside Buckwold, they came to a small village just off the main road leading from the city of Buckwold to Headwater. Alexander decided it was worth the risk to gain some insight into the people and politics of Buckwold, so he headed into town. It was a medium-sized village that served as a trade hub for the wool, farm produce, goat meat and cheese that the western communities of Buckwold brought to market every year. Nearly a dozen small roads fed into the village so people could bring goods for shipment to the other territories of Ruatha.

Near the center of town they found a reputable-looking inn with a stable and they inquired about a room for the night. It had been nearly a week of travel across the open range since the battle at the supply depot, and they were all tired of sleeping on the ground and eating travel rations.

The inn was a well-built structure with a large, two-story central building and three wings leading off the sides and back, all lined with rooms for rent. Off to one side was a big barn with an ample paddock. The people in town were friendly enough but kept to themselves, and there was no sign of soldiers or evidence of any interest in war.

Alexander and Isabel went into the inn while the rest waited outside. The main room was big with a high ceiling and a second-level loft over the kitchen in the back half. The room was filled with tables and there was a smattering of patrons here and there. Alexander was careful to keep his sword concealed under his cloak. He and Isabel didn’t draw much more than passing notice from those eating lunch.

The bartender was a big man with broad shoulders, a round belly, and a balding head. His apron was slightly stained and he was busy cleaning a glass mug when Alexander and Isabel stepped up to the bar.

“Good afternoon, can I help you?” he said with the simple hospitality of a shopkeeper who understands that courtesy is the first part of good business.

“Yes, thank you,” Alexander said. “My friends and I have need of lodging for the night and boarding for our horses. There are six of us.”

“I’d be happy to accommodate you. The price is a silver sovereign for each—that includes dinner and breakfast plus boarding, hay and oats for your animals.”

“Fair enough,” Alexander said as he produced half a dozen silver coins from his money purse.

The innkeeper smiled and eagerly took the money. The place didn’t look like it was even close to capacity; Alexander suspected this was a slow season. The inn had probably been built to house the farmers and herders during the summer months when the trade routes were the busiest.

“Right this way,” he said as he gathered a handful of brass keys from a lock box behind the bar. He led them through the main room and into a long hall of the back wing and showed them the first six rooms, three to a side. Each room was small but clean. They each had a bed, desk and chair, oil lamp and a washbasin.

“More generous accommodations can be arranged if you like—for a higher price, of course,” he offered.

“No, thank you,” Alexander said with a smile. “I’ll just be happy to sleep in a bed for the night.”

The innkeeper handed Alexander the six keys. “Just show your key to the stable master and he’ll take care of your horses. Same with the wait staff, just show ’em your key and they’ll get you a meal.”

They had a quiet night; the inn was less than a quarter full. The other guests were mostly travelers just passing through from other parts of Buckwold. Alexander was able to overhear a bit of gossip about the war here and there, but the people seemed to believe that it was very far away and wouldn’t affect them directly. They were far more concerned with the disruption of the trade routes through Headwater.

Alexander woke the next morning to the noise of people in the main room of the inn. He carefully looked out his door and saw that the central hall was over half full with soldiers, all eating breakfast and telling stories. They wore the crest of Buckwold. Their presence here had Alexander curious as well as concerned. He gathered his friends in his room.

“Looks like we have some company. I’d love to know what they’re doing here.”

“We could just have a bite to eat and keep our ears open,” Lucky suggested. “We might learn something.”

“Do you think it’s safe?” Abigail asked. “They might have orders to look for us. It’s a good bet they’re on their way to help Headwater.”

Isabel opened her eyes with a sharp breath. “There’s a legion camped on the outskirts of town. My guess is they arrived last night.”

“That changes things,” Anatoly said. “We might do well to slip out the back and be on our way.”

Alexander shook his head. “I really want to know more. If Buckwold is a willing participant in this war, then they might be able to supply Rake with food. If they’re in it just to protect their trade routes, then we might be able to persuade the Baron of Buckwold to change sides.”

Anatoly mulled it over for a moment. “I suppose it would be useful to know where they stand, but let’s try to avoid a bar brawl.”

Alexander nodded his agreement with a humorless smile but still checked his sword in its scabbard.

They found an empty table near a cluster of officers and ordered breakfast from the overworked serving staff. They kept quiet while listening to the conversations all around. A number of things quickly became apparent. These were the officers of the legion camped outside the village and they didn’t really want to be involved in a war that Headwater had started. More importantly, they spoke of war in terms of glory and heroics. It was apparent that these men had never fought in a real battle before. They thought this would be a great adventure to tell stories about over a drink at the ale house.

Jack leaned across the table to speak quietly to Alexander. “Perhaps a song would educate these men about the foe they face,” he said with a wink.

“What did you have in mind?”

“I thought I might regale them with the tale of Lord Alexander and the battle of Headwater’s supply depot. I’ve been working on it for several days now and I believe it’s quite good,” Jack said with a smile.