The Invisible Hands - Part 1: Gambit (51 page)

“Fascinating. About seven hundred archers, and more than fourteen thousand men to protect them.” Seph rubbed his hands together.

“What could be easier?”

43
“To be fair, the soldiers are only expected to drive the main force,

which by then will hopefully be panicking and in complete disarray, towards his Glorious Majesty who will be preparing them a warm reception,” Wendo added.

“Precisely,” Tenaxos said. “Except, we won’t be driving the enemy into the hands of Father. We will annihilate them ourselves. And then, little brother, you won’t be the only warrior prince of the dynasty anymore. You won’t be the only Tanahkos war leader anymore about whom ballads are sung all over Ximerion. You have taken care of Ehandar, I will do the same with Portonas. After that, it will just be the two of us. Us and the Devil’s Crown.”

He drank deeply from his beaker of undiluted wine. A warm feeling rippled all through his body. He smiled at his companions.

“With all due respect,” Tomar said in an acerbic tone, “the last thing I need is another prince-builder.”

“Just because my brother wants a little quay to moor his ship?”

Ehandar asked innocently.

“Little? Just a quay?” Tomar exploded. “He wants a full fledged harbor. One that can cater to merchant vessels and service a war fleet.”

43
“War fleet?”

“Yes, war fleet. Wasn’t I speaking standard Palton, perhaps? I know him. Oh, yes, I know him and his devious ways all too well. It begins with a wharf here and a quay there, but before you know it, he will be demanding widening and deepening of the harbor, extensive defense works, breakwaters, multiple access roads, warehouses, arms de-pots and what have you not. There will be no end to what he will undoubtedly call minor improvements. That’s not even taking into account the bulwarks at both passes, or his pet project, Stonebridge.”

“You have to admit that being able to cross the Mirax is good for trade,” Ehandar said, trying not to chuckle.

“It started as a small wooden construction. But no, that wasn’t grand enough for His Highness. And why not, I ask you? Because meanwhile His Spendthriftness had decided that the extension of the Northern Highway — ha, I even forgot to mention that particular money pit, didn’t I? — should be twice as wide as the highway it is extending.

It

will

prevent

traffic

jams,

according

to

His

Irresponsibleness.”

“Easy, Tomar, you’re talking yourself into a heart attack,” Ehandar warned. “Far be it from me to add to your many troubles, but you’ll have to agree I need some base of operations. Preferably somewhere near where the Northern Highway crosses the Amirathan border.”

Tomar sighed and shoved aside a stack of parchments that had been lying between them.

“I suppose so,” he conceded with ill grace. “What takes your fancy, then? A marble castle of, let’s say, a square mile in circumference?”

“Nothing as ostentatious as that.” Ehandar laughed out loud.

“Oh, goody. As it happens, there is some property for sale. Not out of marble. Not even a castle. More of a heavily fortified farm. It’s large 43
though. Plenty of stables too, and they can easily be converted into

lodgings for soldiers, storage rooms—”

“And stables?”

Tomar glared at the prince.

“And stables, if you insist. The main point is that it is about five miles to the west of the Northern Highway and that the property borders the River Ranghy.”

“Which is the Amirathan border at that location,” Ehandar added.

“Exactly. It’s ideal. And cheap. Which doesn’t mean we can afford to tear down and rebuild the whole place.”

“That won’t be necessary, I’m sure. I’ll make do with whatever I find.”

“How very unusual for a Tanahkos,” Tomar scoffed. “The place is rather run down they tell me, so of course, we’ll have the necessary work done as per your instructions,” he added, relenting a bit. “The demesne — let’s call it that — goes by the name of Marna-Dryff.”

“That seems excellent. Go ahead. Buy it.”

“Buy it. I suppose those are the first words they teach newborns in your family?”

“Eh, no. That would be ‘Gimme, gimme’ or something like that.”

Tomar couldn’t help joining the prince in his merriment.

“You should know best,” he said, smiling for the first time. “Anyway, just look the place over. I’ll send a scribe to accompany you and to take note of all the things that need to be changed and repaired.

After all, we can’t have a lord governor living in a decaying slum, can we?”

“The encampments?” Ehandar inquired.

43
“Marna-Dryff has extensive grounds. Once the Provincial Council

has voted the new tribute, and when we have collected at least part of it, we’ll buy additional land. You might want to think where you want them constructed. I have no idea how Anaxantis is planning to distribute the additional forces, but I think most of the twenty thousand will go to guard the border. If so, you might want to distribute them more or less evenly over the entire length of the vulnerable part of it.”

“Good thinking. Hm. It will give my squires something to do. Something worthwhile and important too.”

“I’ll make the arrangements to buy the property then?”

“Yes, please, go ahead,” Ehandar said.

Tomar looked at the stack of parchments, lying at one side of the table.

“We already bought the place,” he thought. “No need for you to know, though, Anaxantis said.”

“Guys, that will do for today. Come sit here with me,” Ehandar said. “I’ve got something to discuss with you.”

43
The young men had been exercising in five pairs. They stopped,

panting and sweating.

“Anguor, Boduwald, Yothan, don’t stick your swords into the ground. It makes them dull and liable to rust. Damn it. Those things can save your life. Treat them with care and respect,” Ehandar shouted, trying to sound stern.

“Sorry, Ehandar,” Anguor of Curtham said, pulling his sword out of the ground and wiping it on his tunic.

“Yeah, won’t happen again, Ehandar,” Yothan of Birchland concurred.

Boduwald of Semlar shot a shifty look at the prince.

“It’s not a hanging matter, Boduwald, just common sense, isn’t it?”

Ehandar said, trying to put the boy at ease.

The squires sat down on the logs that they had put in more or less of a circle weeks ago.

“What is it you wanted to tell us?” Brand of Gisswing inquired.

“You all must have heard the rumors by now. We’re going to man the southern border of Amiratha—”

Seven of the ten squires began excitedly asking questions at the same time. Ehandar held up both his hands.

“Guys, guys, let me explain what—”

“The warlord is seceding from Ximerion?” Grenn of Wirringhall asked, interrupting the prince.

Ehandar sighed and then smiled.

“Give me a chance to put in a word, will you? Nothing as dramatic as that. In fact, we’re manning the border at the express request of the high king himself.”

43
“Why, Ehandar, why? Will we be marching against Lorsanthia?”

Boduwald asked. He was clearly nervous. “Are we joining the royal army?”

“First of all, ‘we’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘you.’ Second, we have no indication whatsoever that we will be doing anything more than guarding our border. Your guess is as good as mine about what will happen in the long run.”

The squires calmed down a bit and started talking among themselves. Ehandar scraped his throat ostentatiously. They turned their faces as one toward him.

“My brother has asked me to take command of the operations—”

“You’re going away?” Anguor protested. “What about us? What about our lessons? It’s not fair.”

“Calm down, calm down. Anaxantis has said I could take whomever I want with me.”

Loud cries of surprise and joy erupted out of ten throats.

“Before you get all excited, let me point out that this is not, I repeat, not a pleasure trip. Those of you who come with me will have to work hard for their keep. Not only will we continue the lessons, but I’ll also need you for various jobs. My brother needs most of the experienced officers in the Plains. The pitiful few I’ll be getting, I will need to command border posts and to train the new recruits. Twenty thousand of them.”

“What would we be doing?” Orrigar of Stennwick asked. The squires looked expectantly at the prince.

“I will need dependable messengers to relay confidential information. Some things are too sensitive to write them down. Since I can’t be everywhere at the same time, I’ll also need people to go see how things 44
are going along various parts of the border.” Ehandar paused. “Hm.

Maybe it is asking too much of you—”

Ten young men protested simultaneously in a plethora of very indignant tones.

“You know you can ask us anything, Ehandar,” Anguor said.

The prince looked at them, one by one.

“I know, guys, but seriously, I don’t want to put you in an awkward situation. Some of you hail from the midlands, and even though we’re just manning the border and are planning no aggression whatsoever, it could look strange. I don’t want your loyalty to your Houses to be in dispute.”

He was again interrupted by a wave of loud protestations.

“Which of us are you taking, Ehandar?” Grenn asked, almost afraid of what the answer would be.

The prince was deliberately slow in responding.

“What would you think of all of you?”

Ehandar grinned at the sounds of exuberant rejoicing.

“I wasn’t going to break up such a fine group of young men, was I?

Besides, the ones I left behind would forget how to hold a sword in a matter of weeks, and all my hard work in training you would have been for naught.”

This was greeted by boisterous laughter and jeering alike.

“We’re also taking forty of the oldest pages with us. There are too many of them as it is, here in Lorseth. I expect you to keep them — and yourselves — out of trouble. You’re squires after all.”

“Who?” Brand asked.

44
“I haven’t decided yet. Frankly, I don’t know how to choose

between the lot of them. You guys make me a list to look over.”

Immediately they began talking among themselves again, and a lot of names Ehandar had never heard before were bandied around.

“Let me remind you again that this will not be a pleasure trip. In fact, you will be working harder than ever. Most days you will be going to bed dog-tired, I promise you.”

Even this dire, though lightheartedly delivered warning couldn’t dampen the boys’ enthusiasm. Ehandar understood. He felt happy and invigorated himself. Finally he would be doing something really useful, and he would have command over thousands of men and a border stretching for over two hundred miles.

What a pity Anaxantis wouldn’t be there to share it with him.

The boys were still talking excitedly among themselves. Ehandar’s attention to his surroundings fazed out. Enthusiastic as he was, he would have preferred to go with his love. They had deserved it. Anaxantis had said once that he wished he could build a wall all around Great Renuvia, a wall that would only let those through that wanted to come and live there in peace. Not far from Stonebridge there was a patch of land his brother had reserved for his personal use. Soft glowing hills, rich pasture grounds and forests teeming with wildlife and game, and a beautiful open space near the river Mirax where they could build a home.

There had been a time, not so long ago, that Ehandar would have thanked all the Gods in Mirnidiry for a command like this. Now, he actually longed for peace and quiet. Long walks through the forests, lazy afternoons on the banks of the river, just the two of them. They could go for rides on horseback. Visit the emerging villages together. Go visit Timishi and Lorcko.

44
He knew how Anaxantis loved to show his older brother off. How

he rode beside Ehandar, perfectly at ease, totally relaxed, taking a glimpse every so often in his direction with that special look. That look that proclaimed both pride and love. That look that so many interpreted as that of a younger brother gazing up fondly at his older sibling. That look that for so many meant that they worked together for the well-being of the country. That look that only a few knew meant all that and so much more.