The Vitalis Chronicles: Steps of Krakador (33 page)

“
Who knows?” His driver said as he pulled in and parked the truck. “Things get chaotic when war's about to break out.”

“
Except no one should know that war is about to break out, at least not yet.” Cram shook the thoughts free. “No matter, it's best that as few people know that Merodach is with us as possible. Best not to have random passers-by spreading the word to the troops before he's ready to reveal himself.”

“
Speaking of which, sir.” His driver jumped out of the truck. “I'd best go let him out of the back before he starts complainin'.”

T
WENTY-
T
WO

R
AIN RODE AMONG AN ARMY MARCHING TOWARDS AN ENEMY THAT HAD PLAGUED HER PEOPLE FOR CENTURIES
, an enemy who now needed to be destroyed. And while they were already understrength to meet the challenge before them, their rearguard was now made up of and led by men she felt they couldn't trust.

Worst of all, Ardin had made no appearance since the destruction of the nameless mountain. She found herself thinking of him at night, lying in the royal tent and pretending to sleep. But she didn't want to sleep, not really. It was here in the dark confines of solitude that Ardin's memory was the strongest. That his presence felt the most real.
He has to be alive,
she would hope under her blankets.
He has to come back... or we're lost.

During the day, she hoped she was wrong, not that he would come back, but that they were lost without him. Somewhere deep inside herself, she knew it to be true, and the cold assertion in her subconscious only made her waking life more grim. If they truly needed Ardin so desperately, as they plunged ahead into battle without him, then only death would be there to greet them at the end of their march.

The pace of their movements was consistent, too slow for Rain's liking. Far slower than raiding parties, to be sure. So to pass the time, she took up scouting with the outriders on patrol. There wasn't a lot to see on the plains as they turned to rocky desert, but she took it upon herself to hunt down fresh sources of water and to be the first over every new hill. The column of dust behind the army grew larger and darker in the sky the deeper into the dry territory they drew, and soon the flat-topped desert mountains loomed on the horizon.

There had been no signs of resistance, not even of enemy scouts as they made their way towards the greatest stronghold he had ever built. None of them had ever seen it, and none, she feared, might live to. But so far there had been no manifestation of the Relequim or his forces. It left her to wonder if they hadn't made some mistake in their plans and left their home unguarded in the process. She shuddered to think that they could be playing straight into the Relequim's hands.

But Rendin was convinced that the Relequim was in the north, guarding his precious fortress, Krakador, wherein lay his greatest treasure. The weapon he would use to destroy the world. None of his advisers had any certainty regarding its purpose, though many had conjectures. Some said it was akin to an explosive, one with which he could level entire cities in a single blast. Others said it was a tool that formed monsters the likes of which the world had never seen. One said it was a sword, with which he could rend the soul from the body with the slightest of cuts. Another said it was a river of fire that would flow wherever he beckoned.

Rain didn't know what to believe about the Relequim's weapons or plans, but she did know that for him to dedicate himself so fully to its completion could spell nothing but their doom should he succeed. If it truly were the reason they had yet to encounter him, it meant he was taking an exorbitant risk to complete his task. And as with any great tactical mind, where the acceptable level of risk was high, so too was the expected reward.

They set camp half a day's march from the desert mountains, the bare, craggy platforms ominous in the fading light of dusk. Some still had peaks, but most were flat on top as if some ancient giant had severed them with a massive sword.

Her brother convened his counselors as usual in his war tent, where the broad mahogany table of their fathers stood covered in maps and ledgers. The table was a grand inconvenience to carry into battle, but she knew that it spoke confidence and strength to carry such luxuries this far afield. Her brother was too pragmatic for such things, but with the kingship, he had assumed some of the less practical practices of his forefathers in recognition of their greater purpose and wisdom.

Soon everyone had arrived save Sir Hembrody, for whom they were now forced to wait. Her brother, for his part, stared intently at the different maps of the region they were about to enter. No two maps agreed on every detail, and most differed greatly from the rest.

“
Have you ever seen the desert mountains before, Highness?” Sir Bramblethorn leaned closer to whisper to Rain.

“
No, Olley.” She shook her head. Having her father's oldest friend and tribune with them gave her at least some small sense of security. “Not from any closer than I have today. This is the farthest north I've ever traveled; your home was my boundary until now.”

“
Hmmm...” Sir Olley Bramblethorn rested his forearm on his belly and took his beard in his hand as he nodded solemnly. “Well actually my home is farther north than this, if you can believe it. The desert mountains bow south in their spread across the east. They only bend north again to accommodate the Black Table and Trua herself.”

“
Have you been here before?” She asked quietly.

“
No, Highness. I've ventured near this far east, but in my lifetime it has never been a peaceful nor safe journey to make.” He looked around the grand tent before continuing. “Not that having Hembrody on our rear gives me that great of confidence in the peacefulness of our journey, mind you.”

She nodded carefully. Speaking openly of her distaste for Hembrody could fall too easily on the wrong ears, but most of the nobles and soldiers around them were busy in conversation or at the table piled with food in the corner. “I don't sleep so well at night as I once did,” she conceded finally.

“
Bastard's been a cause of trouble since the day his mother whelped him,” Bramblethorn huffed. “He has a view of himself that's far too high to be considered healthy.”

“
Such talk hardly seems befitting a peer and counselor to the king.” Rain's stomach churned nervously to hear such open disrespect for Hembrody, even if it was from Bramblethorn. Even if she agreed. He was powerful, and Bramblethorn's disregard for social nuances was already dangerous enough for her brother.

“
Such talk is merely honest, Highness.” Bramblethorn tugged on his beard anew. “You've had the opportunity to see enough of his family's ideas of their place in the world, I'm sure. Breaking your betrothal was evidence of the fact.”

He rested his hand gently on her arm. “Don't look so offended that I bring it up. I was one to counsel your father against the marriage in the first place. That filthy weasel, thought he was worthy of our princess,” Bramblethorn scoffed. “I was only relieved to see you end it.”

“
Branston was... an unfit match.”

Bramblethorn laughed. “Branston was many things, but 'unfit' is the greatest understatement of summary I may have ever heard.” The old warrior grew more serious as he looked down at Rain again. “But treason, that's one thing I never expected from the boy. I'll give him that much. His father on the other hand...”

Bramblethorn silenced himself as one of Hembrody's men entered the tent. All eyes turned resentfully to see if Hembrody would finally make his appearance, but no one followed the soldier that now stood before them.

“
Where is Sir Hembrody?” Rendin looked up from his maps. “We have been waiting on him for nearly an hour.”

“
Sir Hembrody is indisposed, sir.”

“
Indisposed?” Rendin's eyebrow raised with the incredulity in the tent. “What, pray tell, does Sir Hembrody find of a more pressing nature than to treat with his king?”

“
The supply line was caught in a landslide, sir. Not all of it, but the front quarter.” The soldier's pride wavered in the hostility of the tent, his gaze shifting from the king with uncertainty as he continued. “He refused to appear before you until he had righted the situation and restored the King's supply.”

“
A landslide?” Rendin rose with a mix of concern and suspicion. “The highest thing we've crossed in the last two days could best be described as a hill. Where on earth could a landslide have struck our supply line?”

“
Not struck, sir, but undercut. The troops have worked the ground loose, and the road that encircled one such hill gave way when the ox carts came around.” The soldier swallowed hard. He had never been in the presence of the King, Rain realized. “The first five carts slid and rolled down the hill, Majesty. Two of the ox teams were injured; three of the oxen were severely injured and had to be put down. Sir Hembrody is rebuilding the road as we speak.”

The silence that followed was only punctuated by the steepened incline of Rendin's brow. “Tell sir Hembrody that the next time there is a road to be built, I expect him to delegate it to an engineer and to make his way to me regardless of my supply.”

“
Majesty.” The soldier touched his forehead with his first two fingers and bowed.

Rendin exhaled gruffly, then brushed his anger aside. “Tomorrow we're taking the army into the pass before us.” He thrust his finger at a map on the table. “Outriders sent to inspect the foothills have reported that it is the best ground for troops on the march, and will take us towards where we believe Krakador to be. Multiple columns of smoke have been spotted deep within the mountains, leading me to believe that the foundries of Krakador are alive and well. However, the distance between the columns tells me that the chimneys from the enemy's fortress have been distributed broadly to disguise their origin.”

Rain stepped forward to the map her brother was pointing at. “Based on what little we've been able to gather visually, this map is as accurate an example as we have,” she said as she grabbed seven wooden tiles from an assortment in the corner. “According to reports from our outriders and my own observations, we believe the seven chimneys release their fumes from these locations.”

She placed each tile on a different mountain before stepping back. “The distance covered looks to be well over a thousand square miles.”

The men in the room reacted to that, disbelief mixing with frustration.

“
How can we hope to cover that much territory on the supplies we're carting in? Assuming that our supply line is even intact.” Sir Theddalt shot an accusing look at Hembrody's messenger. “Every scout we send has been lucky to find no resistance, but every step closer to Krakador leads us to a battle, if not an ambush in the mountains. We cannot wander blindly into territory we do not know and hope to offer battle with any sort of advantage.”

“
We will take the fight to them,” Bramblethorn spoke up. “Wherever they take root.”

“
To let the enemy choose the ground is to guarantee failure!” Theddalt shouted, his eternal optimism suddenly nowhere to be found. “No one has ventured into these mountains in living memory. Few who have have ever returned. Why do you think our maps are comprised of such nonsense?”

“
The enemy will be weak,” Bramblethorn responded. “It is unlike him to refuse to take the field when opposed. He has sent his forces east and is locked within his walls; it is there the danger will be found. Anything else we encounter along the way will be inconsequential to our success or failure.”

Rendin raised his hand to beckon silence and was rewarded with it immediately. “We will not enter blind, but neither can we afford to wait. Whether there is an army to encounter or not will be determined in time, but there is certainly no advantage in waiting. Now is the time for ruthless advance, and that will only be achieved through action.”

“
I believe the source of the smoke lies here.” Rain pointed to an area closer to the western tiles on the map. “And thus the location of Krakador should be the same.”

“
How can you guess at something like this?” Theddalt demanded. “This is no time to be making wild stabs in the dark.”

“
The center of this spot is farther from smoke than any single location between the chimneys,” she said. “It would give ample time to observe any scouts sent to investigate the chimneys and mobilize a response.”

“
Simple guesses, and though it sounds nice, we can't afford to send scouting parties off to locations that show no evidence of being inhabited.”

“
I'm afraid I must agree with my tribunes.” Rendin turned to Rain. “Divide your outriders into seven squads, and send them to discover the source of the smoke.”

“
Brother,” Rain protested quietly. “Please, trust me. That is where it will be.”

“
I've made my decision.” The king turned to face his counselors. “The scouting parties will leave at daybreak. We will mobilize the army to be ready to follow on their heels. The van will secure the pass, and when the location of the fortress is discovered we will move the rest of the army into the mountains and strike.”