The Eaorl (The Casere Book 2) (15 page)

‘Lucky him.’ Conn paused to absorb the information. ‘So the Casere tried to do something, but they resisted and he abdicated. That’s a sudden but significant decision – to avert open warfare. What about 633?’

‘Well, it would seem that the Eaorl of Rakia commenced a war against Silekia and his thousand mercenaries were brought to a standstill only by the combined forces of Moetia, Trokia and Gatina – but the agreement that ended that war created the Aebeling of Rakia – both Silekia and Gatina had to cede land to the new demesne. I mentioned the Silekian Eaorldoms – Lipara, Mylae, Soloes, and Ilissus – except that it appears that the Eaorl of Ilissus refused to pay homage and surrendered his demesne. The Gatinan Eaorldoms were Motya and Hera as well as Rakia,’

‘What about Akarah, Tindara, and Syra?’

‘They were created by the new Aebeling of Rakia after the war – to reward his followers.’

He closed the book but noticed that another pages was uneven and opened to that page. He glanced quickly before reading on. ‘Eaorl, this is interesting I think. In 636, Rakia blamed the Gyden Tabiti and her counsel for the war and as part of the treaty the other Healdends insisted that all Cirice in Gatina be closed down. It seems however that that the Cirice in Gatinak itself had long been abandoned by that time.’

Conn shook his head. ‘Why would you blame your own Gyden for your own actions… unless…’ Conn stopped. ‘Thank you Immin, and if you find out anything more, can you please bring it to my attention.’ Conn knew what he needed to do now.

After sending a few pigeons, Conn farewelled Aisly and her twins, and headed south on a fine day for what should have been an uneventful trip to Gatina. Sadly things didn’t work out that way.

Three days out, at dawn, just after they had passed into Gatinan waters, the lookout yelled out.

‘Ship ahoy! To the west.’

Njil and Conn immediately searched the horizon with their telescopes. Conn presumed that it would be one of his ships or local fishing vessels. The lookout yelled again. ‘Captain, he has seen us and is turning to flee. It is not one of ours. In fact I have not seen the type before. It has a single square sail and high deck at the rear.’

‘I think I know what it is…’

Njil looked at Conn. ‘You do? It certainly isn’t Meshechian.’

‘It’s an Ancuman vessel – curious that it would be this close to the land. I’ve always presumed that they would have sailed well off the coast before heading for Rakia.’

‘So what do we do? Just let it go?’

Conn shook his head. ‘Not, it has seen us – I don’t want this ship to be spoken about too much. Let’s hunt it down.’

Conn had seen such as vessel; and not so long ago – the vessel was just a cog. Njil ordered all hands on deck and the archers to be at the ready. Despite the best efforts of the captain of the cog, its single sail was no match for the topsail schooner, and the schooner was drawing inevitably closer and closer.

‘They have bowmen,’ the lookout cried ‘Beware the fire-arrows’.

Njil ordered buckets of water to be made ready, and then looked at Conn. ‘Do we fire first – our bowmen have longer range?’

‘No – wait… let’s confirm that they don’t intend to surrender.’

The answer was almost immediate and the lookout called ‘Volley!’

They watched most arrows hit the water and the few that hit the deck were quickly extinguished with the buckets of water.

‘I think that was pretty clear’, and with Conn’s agreement, he ordered his bowmen to fire at will.

Instantaneously, a volley of 100 arrows flew and hit the ship, but because the Ancuman didn’t think they were in range, they hadn’t properly prepared for the influx of arrows. Conn watched as many Ancuman bowmen fell in the first and second volleys, until they brought out the shields. They also immediately changed course, trying to get out of range of Conn’s bowmen.

They watched it turn.

‘They do know they can’t get away don’t they?’ Njil pondered. ‘Wait a bit; what are they doing now?’ Conn joined him in observing the Cog.

‘Eaorl, what are they going to do with the people they just brought on deck?’

People were being brought from below up on to deck. Conn could see that they were Gatinans and their hands were tied; and he watched them being untied. Conn had an idea why they were on desk.

‘Njil, prepare the rescue boat for launch…’

‘I’ll have to slow down…’

‘Do it anyway – they are going to throw those people overboard…’

By lowering the sails, and slowing down sufficiently to lower the small boat from the bow, they lost over 500 yards. Consequently it took them some time to get back within bow range again. Despite the hostages, Ancuman continued to die – everyone who stood up got an arrow in exchange so their efforts.

Conn stripped himself of all his outer clothing and boots. ‘Once the hostages hit the water, get me as close as you can and I’ll go into the water. Then chase that boat down; I think it’s time we boarded it; if you can capture any alive; all the better but I do want the boat. Go in hard, make sure they don’t scuttle it.’

Torunn looked at him in bewilderment. ‘You are not going into the water are you? That is crazy? You will die.’

Conn shook his head. ‘I’ll be fine – I’m a trained surf lifesaver. I even did my training Down Under.’

‘What’s a surf lifesaver?’

In the distance, they saw the first prisoner being tossed over the side – and Gatinans were not good swimmers – in fact very few Meshechians could swim at all. It had taken him some time to teach his sailors to be able to even do breaststroke.

The first was followed by other prisoners – they clearly hoped that the ship would stop to rescue the swimmers. They were misguided.

Conn answered the question. ‘Someone who jumps into the ocean when he shouldn’t have to…’

As they drew alongside the first of the floundering swimmers, Conn dived into the ocean, with some bamboo floaters attached to him by a light rope. Other floaters were thrown from the deck to the struggling swimmers.

The water was bitterly cold – no one would survive in here for long. As he rose to the surface, he swam quickly to the nearest; a middle aged man trying valiantly to stay afloat. He was going under as Conn reached him and dragged him to the surface; passed him a float board and told him to hang on.

He swam to the next; a young lady and towed her to the next buoy. He could see that the sloop would soon be there. There must have been about six captives and already two had disappeared. He swam to the last that he could see and it was a young girl. Keeping her afloat, he turned and swam back towards the sloop that was heading his way; they had succeeded in saving the fourth one.

By the time that they were all sitting in the sloop, out of their clothes and under the blankets the Schooner was long gone; it had disappeared over the horizon and they were alone in the ocean. They raised the mainsail and changed course, tracking parallel to the coast. The day had been consumed in the pursuit, and there was no chance that they would be rescued before night. They could also not take a course for land either, as there would be a danger of breaking up on the rocks. It would be a long night. But at least it was not a stormy night, the craft was at capacity.

The sloop was fitted out with emergency supplies of food, blankets and clothing; rudimentary pants and a simple yukata – but at least they were dry. They had supplies of salted fish, beef jerky and hard biscuits – as well as some rum to mix with the water; and it wasn’t long before they started to feel warm, thanks to the rum.

Once they were fed and warm, Conn answered their questions and started asking them his.

The elder girl’s name was the Eaorl of Mazara’s youngest daughter, Granuaile, while the younger girl was her cousin, Wilda, daughter of the Thane of Panua in Mazara. The two others were wiga; entrusted for their safety. They recognized Conn immediately – both had served in the campaign in Trokia.

The Thane of Panus had a donjon quite close to ocean – his was a fishing community. Granuaile was on her way to visit her grandmother when they were attacked by the Ancuman.

‘Were you far off your path – did you get lost?’

Granuaile was the spokesman. ‘No – not at all – it was the same road that we always use. We were just riding along and then we were surrounded by these bowmen – you said that they are Ancuman? I have heard of them but I’d never seen one before.’

‘So they were waiting for someone to capture …’

‘It was very strange – not ten minutes before we were surrounded, we passed a group of merchants heading towards Panua – they must have passed right by the... Ancuman … but they weren’t taken.’

Conn immediately looked to the wiga. ‘Did they ask you any questions?’

‘They did – they wanted to know about the war in … um… Trokia – and if we had been there – and when we surrendered.’

‘Before or after you got on the boat?’

They were surprised at the question, and they looked at each other. ‘Before – before we even left the road.’

‘And you were a Folctoga?’

The men were not young. ‘We both were. Why is that significant?’

‘Because you were the target. Wilda’, Conn turned around and addressed the girl, ‘did they ask how old you are?’

She nodded.

‘And...’

‘I’ve seen fifteen summers…’

‘I suspect that if you had have been any younger both you girls would have died there – but with two of you, the Captain would have had one to play with and the crew the other… they hadn’t touched you yet, had they?’ He suspected not – Ancuman liked their intercourse rough so they would have had some bruises by now.

They both shook their heads.

‘So what did they want?’ Granuaile asked.

‘They wanted to find out what they could about the Trokian war – obviously they couldn’t kidnap any of their Rakian partners – but who is going to miss a few Gatinans? And there would have been much to gain by interviewing two experienced Folctoga for a few months.’

It was now night and the only guidance they had was the night sky – luckily Meshech had a few stars to keep them on course. As soon as the light allowed they scoured the horizon for flares; the Schooner should be signalling its position to them before a very bright sun made the fireworks harder to see.

It was Granuaile who spotted the signal.

‘There – flashes of red and yellow.’

Conn immediately fired one in response and an acknowledgement signal was received; this time in blue. Several hours later, the Schooner sided up to the sloop; which Conn noted happily, escorted the Ancuman Cog.

Finally on board and underway, Fiona hugged him closely for the tenth time..

‘Gyden, you gave us a fright. I thought we would never find you.’

Conn laughed, hugging her back for the tenth time. ‘There was never a doubt; Njil knew what to do; we knew what to do. If, however, you had not found us today, we would have kept our course and made shore by tomorrow. It would have been inconvenient but still safe.’

Fiona was delighted that the girls had been rescued – Granuaile was in fact a cousin – Fiona’s grandmother was of the House of Mazara, and she made extra sure that they were comfortable.

Conn and Njil looked at the Cog as it sailed along behind. They were travelling at half speed to keep it in sight. That being said, it was a large craft – also able to carry over a hundred tonnes of cargo.

‘They had no intention of being taken alive. After we had grappled the vessel for boarding they just rushed us – we had no choice but to fire and our archers don’t miss. They tried to burn the ship but luckily they didn’t have time to get it started properly and we were able to put it out. There is minimal damage. The cargo is interesting – a fair amount of Ryals – chests full in fact – I wonder what cargo they were selling. Mostly, they are carrying food – they have enough to last several weeks – even for the thirty men aboard. It must be a long way to …’

‘Kishdah. The Ancuman live in a group of islands – a very large island I understand, call Kishdah. It is to the north east and the journey takes some months. Getting there and back is quite a feat of navigation.’

Njil was surprised at Conn’s knowledge of such things, but that wasn’t a new occurrence. ‘What I don’t understand why you want the vessel. The ones you have are so much bigger and faster.’

‘But also recognizable. I think we might need to build a few of these – just in case we need them in the future. After you drop me off, you can escort it back to Menia.’

Njil laughed. ‘Just so that no one attacks it on sight.’

‘Indeed. It would also be good if the Rakians didn’t know we had it.’

Njil decided to confirm something. ‘And we are not going to go to Kishdah are we?’

‘Not today – but who know what tomorrow will bring.’

He sighed. ‘I was afraid you were going to say that.’

The arrival of the two boats into Hybla at dawn caused quite a kafuffle. Many of the workers on the docks recognized the emblem on the sails – they probably had nightmares about a charging mass of horses bearing the golden sun symbol.

Hybla was the harbor village to the capital of Gatina and as such was an important trading centre. Most goods went in and out via these docks, as did most sea faring visitors. As a result, there were a large number of vessels in the harbor, including a Ratakian craft. The Harbor Master, Thady, rushed down to the docks on their arrival and was most put out when Conn told him to move some of the smaller vessels so they could tie up. He refused until Conn offered to sink some of them – and Fiona said ‘please’.

Thady had grown up with Fiona, so her presence stopped him from becoming apoplectic; and finally the schooner was tied up at the dock; the Cog remained anchored in the bay, while rowboats were lowered to ferry the crew and wiga to the shore.

Fiona introduced Conn and Njil to Thady – who had yet to regain his temper.

Conn turned to business. ‘I have cargo I need unloaded as soon as possible.’

Thady shook his head. ‘It will not be possible. I have other vessels waiting to be unloaded – it will be next week at the earliest.’

‘Next week is too long. I need you to start today.’

‘My men are too busy...’

‘Harbor Master’, Conn interrupted, ‘I have harbors that load and unload in a month what you do in a year. This can be done. Here…’ Conn handed over a small box. Thady opened it up, and it was full of gold Ryals. ‘Pay yourself twice your annual salary and pay your workers three times the going rate… it can be done – don’t you think?’

Thady looked up and down from the box. More money than he had ever seen was in front of him. He was silent.

‘Harbor Master – can it be done?’

Thady just nodded.

‘Good – and is there a merchant called Jory or something. I heard that he trades with Kania. Does he have warehouses here?’ Conn knew he did – Conn knew everything Jory did – it was part of their agreement.

Thady started to speak again. ‘Yes, yes, he does. They are these behind us here.’ In a sea of mud and decay, a dozen buildings did stand out – dry, clean and watertight. Jory had learnt from his visits to Kania.

‘Good – have everything delivered to him – and before you ask – I’ll send over my captain to arrange this. Perhaps I’ll meet with this Jory person as well. I’ll send a message to ask him to see me because we need to purchase goods for the return voyage. Now, where can I arrange some horses – I didn’t bring any of my own.’

Poor old Thady was overcome – and as per usual, whence he tried to be a gate, he simply became another speed bump.

Torunn was shown the location of the livery and she went off to organize horses, while Conn watched men scurried to commence unloading the schooner. When Torunn turned up with the horses, they were saddled – with Lykian saddles and Lykian packs – and before noon they were on the road. Conn had one of the twins riding in front of him while Fiona had the other.

It was early evening when they arrived in Gatinak but they were expected. Thady had the presence of mind to dispatch a messenger as soon as they arrived in Hybla. The guards at Gatinak were cordial – they knew who Conn was – and as surprised as they were, they were all veterans of the war, and they knew they had been treated very well in defeat. Under escort, Conn went direct to the livery with the horses, while Fiona and the other Gatinans were escorted directly to the donjon. With the horses and luggage stored with the Horse Master – Conn and Torunn headed for the donjon – though still under escort.

Conn knew that Tabiti was not to be found in Gatina – after all she had been banished, but he opened his mind just to make sure. Surprisingly, he felt something else, it was strange, and it just seemed to linger as if in wait. It did seem familiar but was unlike anything he had encountered before.

Ignoring his curiosity, he entered the front door to find Devnet, Aebeling of Gatina, there to meet him; he was pacing the doorway.

Conn greeted him and asked him how his shoulder was.

‘Fine, thank you.’ He breathed out slowly. ‘Eaorl, to say that I was surprised to hear you were in Gatina is an understatement. To turn up here is an act of bravery or foolishness. I have yet to see any indication that you are foolish.’

Conn shook the hand that was offered, somewhat reluctantly. ‘You can’t kill me, Devnet, you owe me your life – and the Healdend can’t have the father of his grandchildren murdered, can he? Especially as his grandchildren are here to pay their respects. Besides, would you really want the combined forces of Moetia, Troakia, Kania and Lykia on your doorstep exacting revenge?’

‘If you put it that way, I guess that you are safe – for now.’

‘And the foreseeable future.’

Devnet escorted Conn into the main hall. As they walked Devnet noticed that the Valkeri was not Halla, and Conn introduced Torunn to him. ‘Has something happened to Halla?’

‘No – nothing bad,’ Conn responded matter of factually, ‘I got Lilith to return her bands, so she is back in Cyme, doing what Aebelings do.’

‘Impossible! That just can’t happen…’ He looked at Torunn.

‘Aebeling, I saw it with my own eyes. I saw Lilith with my own eyes.’

Conn explained about the underwater town and the special Cirice. Devnet didn’t know what to believe, and as they arrived in the main hall to find an older man sitting with two babies on his lap. He didn’t look very comfortable, and with Conn‘s arrival, Fiona and Granuaile took them away.

Devnet made the introductions and Ailbe, Healdend of Gatina, welcomed Conn to his hall. ‘It is true what they say about you then, Eaorl, you are an enigma; and those around you are constantly confused. You crush my Fyrd but save my son when he should have died; you take my daughter but give her and grandchildren back to me when I never expected to see her again, and now you save some of my people from drowning by diving into the ocean to rescue them from … if I am to believe the reports – Ancuman.’

Ailbe continued.

‘On top of that you have captured the vessel that belonged to them – most people would never try such a thing.’

‘My captain used to be a pirate – he is talented in such things.’

‘A pirate you say. And what is this about Ancuman wiga being in Meshech? Why haven’t I heard about such things before? Of course, Ancuman traders have visited Rakia for some time – and they have brought bedda for the house of Rakia over time – but wiga have not been permitted for centuries.’

‘Because you are not supposed to know.’ Conn then proceeded to tell the Healdend and the Aebeling everything he knew about Ancuman activities in Meshech – including the assassination of the Healdend of Silekia and the assassination attempt on his own life.

Ailbe interrupted. ‘Would it be churlish of me to say that I’m disappointed that they were not successful? And you would have me believe that you single handledly defeated four of the legendary Ancuman wiga.’

Conn nodded. ‘Only three died – I sent one back.’

‘You sent one BACK?’ He looked at his son in exasperation, raising his hands into the air. ‘Do you think that they will remember and be nice next time?’

‘Perhaps – it’s an experiment.’

It was soon late and the four of them were alone in the flickering lights of the great hall. Ailbe invited Conn back for breakfast, and offered a servant show him to rooms in the donjon – as well as others to collect his bags. He declined and instead asked if they could guide him to the ‘Boar’s Head’ Inn.

‘You want to stay in an Inn?’

‘I’ve heard good things about the ‘Boar’s Head’.

Devnet laughed. ‘I’ll admit it is the newest and has some of the best food in the town but you will be lucky to get out of there alive. But it’s your neck.’

Two guards escorted Conn and Torunn to the Inn, which, like all the other ‘Boar’s Head’ Inns throughout Meshech, had been built as per Conn’s instructions. This one was owned by Jory, and it had security, a large kitchen, bathrooms and even sewerage.

The guards left him as Conn strode through the door of the Inn. Immediately it went silent, as the news of his arrival filled the room. He headed to the bar and the barkeep was a little shocked but quickly regained his composure. The day arrived that he had been trained for but had never expected.

‘Can I help you, Eoarl?’

‘Your best rooms please – two of them.’

‘Of course – I will have someone show you the way.’ He yelled at some girls and they raced around to flutter their eyes and escort him through the back.

As they followed, a dozen other men stood and walked in front of Conn and Jofrid, blocking their way.

‘Aren’t you that Lykian from Trokia? You have a nerve coming in to Gatinak. I don’t think you are welcome – why don’t we show you the way out?’

Jofrid reached for her sword but Conn laid his hand on top of hers.

More men stood and walked their way. Conn could see that these men were retired wiga.

The moved to Conn’s side, and nodded respectfully. They then stepped forward to confront the thugs, shoving one in the chest.

‘Once you finish throwing him out – if you were even able – you might want to throw us out too. I didn’t notice you fighting in Trokiak – cause if you did you would know that the Eaorl did nothing but treat us right – I have never had better food in my life – and his Medic saved my boy’s life. My own Medic had given him up to the dead. But they saved him. He’s back here taking care of his children.’ He pushed him again. ‘I think the people who aren’t welcome are you lot. I’ll count to twenty.’

It only took five. Conn thanked the wiga, told the barkeep to get them anything they wanted, and retired to the room that was “always” reserved for him alone; up the back steps and on the top floor – the executive suites. The girls carried up buckets of hot water for the tub, and he washed and changed, before returning to the bar for a meal and a drink with Torunn. As he arrived, the manager informed him that he had a guest, indicating a dark corner of the room.

Surprised, Conn headed for the table and as he arrived, he recognized his visitor. Conn wasn’t expecting to see him tonight.

‘Jory, a pleasure. News travels fast.’

‘I hear about your arrival twenty minutes anyone else, Thane – or I should say Eaorl. Nothing with you stays the same does it?’

‘I try to keep things moving. What is so urgent?’

Jory leant forward. ‘I hear you have captured an Ancuman ship. That knowledge will be troublesome to some people – especially to those in Rakia who will know about it a few days. There is a ship leaving for Rakiak in a few days and I happen to know there will be someone on that ship who is the eyes and ears of the Healdend of Rakia. Do you want Fallon to know?’

While Conn expected that Rakia would find out in due course, he didn’t like them knowing this quickly. ‘Probably not – I guess we need to waylay him a little. Where is he now?’

‘It’s a she ... her name is Fainche and she travels under the guise of a cleric, but she is the cousin of both the Healdend of Gatinan and Rakiak so has good access in both demesne. She often visits Gatinak and the library here. Although she is cousin to Ailbe, she is only loyal to the Healdend of Rakiak. She is in the east visiting another cousin but will return tomorrow evening. She stays in Hybla at the ‘Cod Fish’. I like to keep tabs on her. Do you want me to have her killed? It will be a bit of a distraction but we can get away with it.’

Conn considered this for a while. ‘No, that won’t be necessary. But I am thinking that she might like to take a long holiday and do some research in, say, Cyme. The accommodation will be more than adequate. Send someone around in the morning to collect a message from me and I’ll make arrangements.’

Conn then got back on to the subject he was most interested.

‘I have a question. What do you know of the Ancuman in Rakia?’

‘Not very much – they used to be very secretive, and were hardly seen. Lately they are much more obvious. They normally just act as advisors to Fallon and Alric. Many more have arrived recently, however, perhaps there are a hundred wiga in Rakiak. I suspect the vessel that you captured is one that carried a troop of wiga a few weeks ago. I don’t understand why it would be in Gatinan waters. These new arrivals are training the Ratakian wiga quite openly.’

‘Has there been much of an increase in Ancuman ships travelling into Rakiak?’

‘Not that many, but they only arrive at night. They are fast and deadly. Luckily mine are faster.’

‘Do we have any idea what their plans are?’

‘No, suffice to say that taking over the entire island seems to be the overall objective. It does seem that the losses the Rakians have against your wiga just encourages more Ancuman to arrive.’

They talked further into the night and Jory slipped out unseen; Torunn had kept people away from that corner anyway; and it helped that Valkeri had a reputation for never being approachable – and they fact that they preferred women to men eliminated any seduction attempts.

At dawn, Conn handed a satchel to a courier that was to be delivered to Njil. Encrypted, it would takes generations for anyone to break the code as it was written in Latin – a language his Intelligence Corp used for messages. It looked nothing like the script that prevailed in Meshech – visually a combination of what could be Shavian, Korean and Syriac letters all mixed together.