The Spirit Stone. Katharine Kerr

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СКАЧАТЬ far north had turned themselves civilized – they’d become Gel da’ Thae, as settled Horsekin called themselves – but living in cities hadn’t slaked their thirst for war. They were building a fortress, Zakh Gral, on the edge of the grassy plains that belonged to the Westfolk.

      ‘How did you find it?’ Kov said. ‘Or was it the Westfolk?’

      ‘Not us nor them,’ Blethry said. ‘But a gerthddyn name of Salamander. He –’

      ‘Never mind that now,’ Brel cut in. ‘What matters is that they found it. Details later.’

      ‘We figure that it’s only the point of a salient,’ Blethry went on. ‘Other fortifications will follow, I’ll wager. Apparently they want to take over the western grasslands. They need pasturage for those heavy horses of theirs. And of course, they claim that their wretched fake goddess wants them to have it.’

      ‘Alshandra yet again?’ Brel said.

      ‘The very one. They refuse to believe she’s dead.’

      ‘How convenient for them,’ Garin muttered. ‘It’s amazing how these gods and goddesses always appear when someone wants someone else’s land.’

      ‘My thought exactly.’ Blethry nodded Garin’s way.

      ‘They won’t stop at the Westlands,’ Brel said. ‘But no doubt you realize that, or you wouldn’t be here. What’s this fortress like?’

      In as much detail as Blethry could remember, he repeated Salamander’s description of the place.

      ‘It sits on the edge of a cliff over a river gorge,’ Blethry finished up. ‘Clever scum, the Horsekin.’

      ‘Wooden walls, did you say?’ Brel shot a significant glance Garin’s way.

      ‘For now,’ Blethry said. ‘They’re working hard at replacing them with stone.’

      ‘Huh,’ Brel said. ‘We’ll see how far they get. I take it that your lords have worked out some sort of plan to bring this fortress down.’

      ‘They have. Gwerbret Ridvar’s calling in all his allies, and what’s more, Voran, one of the princes of the blood royal, is on hand with fifty of his men.’

      ‘Only fifty?’ Garin said.

      ‘At the moment. He’s sure his father will send reinforcements. The messages may have reached Dun Deverry by now, for all I know. I left Cengarn weeks ago. As for the Westfolk, Prince Daralanteriel’s keen to join the hunt.’

      ‘He should be,’ Brel said drily. ‘He stands to lose everything if the Horsekin move east.’

      ‘True spoken, of course. He’s promised us five hundred archers. Ridvar can muster at least that many riders.’

      Brel winced. ‘Is that the biggest army you can put together?’

      ‘Until we hear from the high king.’

      ‘And how long will it take to get a full army up here from Dun Deverry?’ Brel went on and answered his own question. ‘Too long. With what you have, you’ll never take the place. You’ll have to lay siege and hope you can hold it.’

      ‘I know,’ Blethry said. ‘Till those reinforcements arrive from Dun Deverry.’

      ‘The Horsekin are likely to see a relieving force before you do. All it’ll take is one messenger to slip through your lines when you’re investing the fortress. If they’ve got a town up in the mountains, they doubtless keep a reserve force there. I hate the filthy murderers, but I’d never say they were stupid.’ Brel paused to pick a fragment of fried bat out of his grey-streaked beard. ‘So I wouldn’t plan on a siege. With us along, you won’t have to.’

      ‘Sir?’ Kov spoke up from his place on the floor. ‘What can we –’

      ‘Think, lad!’ Brel snapped. ‘This fort’s perched on the edge of a cliff.’

      Kov suddenly grinned. ‘Tunnels,’ he said. ‘We’ve got sappers.’

      ‘They’re our main hope,’ Blethry said. ‘If the High Council allows you to join us.’

      Brel snorted profoundly. ‘They will. There’s not a family in Lin Serr that didn’t lose someone in the last Horsekin war.’

      ‘Kov.’ Garin turned to his apprentice. ‘What do we owe Cengarn by treaty?’

      ‘Five hundred axemen, sir,’ Kov said, ‘and a hundred and fifty pikemen, along with provisions for all for forty days.’

      ‘Very good.’ Garin nodded at him, then glanced at Blethry. ‘Do you think the gwerbret will be offended if we replace those pikemen with sappers and miners?’

      ‘Huh! If he is, and I doubt that with all my heart, then Lord Oth and I will talk some sense into him.’

      ‘Good,’ Garin smiled briefly. ‘The council meets tomorrow morn. We should know by noon.’

      On the morrow, Blethry woke at first light and spent an anxious hour or so pacing back and forth in his quarters. Every now and then he stuck his head out of the window and tried to judge how long he had to wait till noon came around. Well before then he heard a knock on the door. He flung it back to find Garin, stick raised to strike again, with young Kov behind him.

      ‘Ah, you’re awake!’ Garin said. ‘I thought you might be asleep still.’

      ‘Not likely, is it?’ Blethry said. ‘Well?’

      ‘The Council saw reason quickly, for a change,’ Garin said. ‘They’re organizing the muster now, and the army will march at dawn on the morrow. Five hundred axemen and a full contingent of sappers and miners with all their gear and the like. Oh, and provisions for twice forty days.’

      ‘Splendid!’ Blethry said, grinning. ‘And my thanks. I’ll go down and tell my men the good news.’

      Kov slept little the night before the march out of Lin Serr. He packed up his gear, worried about what he might have left out, unpacked the lot, added things, took things away, then packed it all up again. Although he’d visited Cengarn several times, he’d never gone farther west than that city. He’d never seen a war, either. When he finally did fall asleep, he had troubled dreams of shouting and bloodshed.

      Just before dawn, Garin woke him when he arrived to give him some final instructions. As well as his walking stick, the elder dwarf carried some long thing wrapped in cloth.

      ‘You’re not the apprentice any longer,’ Garin said. ‘You’re the envoy now. Remember your dignity, lad. Speak slowly, listen when you’re spoken to, and think before you answer. Follow those simple precepts, and you’ll do well.’

      ‘I hope so.’ Kov caught his breath with a gulp. ‘I’ll do my best.’

      ‘I know you will. Now, you’ve got your father’s sword, I see, so here’s something to go with it.’

      The long bundle turned out to be a staff, blackened and hard with age, carved with runes. Kov took СКАЧАТЬ