King's Crown: Chronicles of the Dragon-Bound: Book 3, page 24
“It’s not that you can’t fight . . .” he began.
“You know that as well as any.”
Although it was dark, Dax knew there was fire in Frieanna’s eyes. “I said it badly, but I really can’t stand the thought of you being anywhere near the fighting.” He leaned against the battlements and looked out at the Tharan campfires. “I’ve seen too many people lost just . . .” He sighed. “It’s petty and selfish of me, but I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”
She took his hands again. “No, it’s not petty. It’s sweet.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “However, I will not let my people think I’m cowering in the castle while the Tharans are destroying their homes. I must face the Tharans, and there are no Tharans inside the castle.”
Dax started to reply, but her statement crystallized a nagging itch of doubt that had been troubling him into a flush of fear. He took her hands in his and held them more firmly. “We’re sure there are no Tharans in the castle?”
For a long time Frieanna did not reply. Finally she said, “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
“Ias and Iette were in the castle just last week. Are we confident they left?”
“Certainly. They were staying at the Tharan embassy, and that is down in the city.”
The idea grew in his mind. “Who saw them leave the castle? Are they still at their embassy?”
Frieanna said nothing for a time, then she asked a question of her own. “Even if they did leave, who might they have left behind?” She had caught his thought and extended it. “And whom might they have corrupted within our walls?”
Neither said anything more, but Dax’s mind raced. The castle was practically impregnable to assault, but what if someone were to open the doors and invite the Tharans in? Could that happen?
Finally she squeezed his hand. “Maybe someone should stay within the walls tomorrow.”
Dax nodded in the dark. “Someone with a small force specifically looking for trouble on the inside.” He sighed to himself. “Someone like you and your legion.” He sighed after he said it. “May the Goddess help me, but I’ve added one more thing to worry and fret about.” They stood arm in arm, silently gazing at the Tharan campfires outside the wall, a field of stars that would bloom blood and pain in the morning.
“Actually,” Frieanna nudged him, “I came to see if I could get you to come to bed. Even warrior kings must be rested before battle.”
Rested. It was a nice thought, but his mind was busy with a thousand thoughts. “I doubt I can sleep.”
“Then we will have to find something else to do.” She kissed his cheek and tugged at his hand.
#
The next morning the Tharans were in no hurry to get the battle started. Dax nervously paced the top of the city’s outer wall, watching the enemy troops’ slow progress. He had thought to watch from the top of the city’s main wall where he would have a wider view of the battle, but as the morning wore on and the Tharans slowly broke their camps and prepared for combat, he wanted a closer look at what was going on. Before the attack got underway, he would head back to the main wall where he could better coordinate the defense, but from the outer wall, he could see into the Tharan camps. The closest was no more than four good bow shots from the outer wall.
The scene had puzzled him at first. The Tharans were not lazy—they were up at first light doing morning chores. No, the troops bustled with business, but there was no purposeful action as an army. Gradually Dax sensed a pattern. The Tharan army was actually separate groups, maybe as many as a dozen. Each division was organized and purposeful on its own, but there was little cohesion in the army as a whole.
He scratched his head and decided to voice his thoughts. “Tell me if I’m wrong, but I see a group of separate armies under a loose command structure.” He looked at Scarlet and Tabod Farr, but they did not say anything. “Look there, to the left,” Dax said pointing. “Most of their uniforms have a white tab at the collar. They are all using the same mess area and have their arms stacked together.”
Dax was about to go on when Scarlet spoke up. “Those to their right have plain collars but wear green bands on their left arms.”
Farr nodded. “The weapons are different from one group to the next,” he added. “On the left, they have spears and short swords. To the right, their swords are larger, as are their shields, but they have no spears.”
“Each small army has to organize itself before the entire group is ready to act,” Scarlet looked at Dax. “That explains the delay in getting the festivities started this morning, but how does it help us win the war?”
Dax shrugged. “You can never know too much about the enemy.”
“Let me guess”—Scarlet smiled—“Orin Herne?”
“Heard him say that myself,” Farr stated.
“It almost certainly means we won’t see any complicated, unified tactics from the entire force,” Dax mused.
Scarlet snorted. “How complicated is ‘storm the wall’?”
“True,” Dax admitted ruefully. “Still, it means Emperor Darjazen has not completely consolidated his empire.”
“The way I heard it,” Farr said, “his father started the empire by conquering the two kingdoms next to Nochtengrn where he ruled.”
Dax nodded. “And Darjazen has added at least seven more kingdoms and duchies to Thara since he’s been in power.”
“All this is very interesting,” said Scarlet with some sarcasm, “but from what I see, I’d guess the dragons are over there.” He pointed east toward a wooded hillock. “How soon do we see them?”
“Well, that is the question, isn’t it?” replied Dax.
#
The day progressed, and the Tharans made a series of probing attacks at the outer wall, never with any large numbers. And there was still no sign of the dragons. At dawn there had not been a cloud in the sky, but during the midmorning, clouds rolled in. By late afternoon, drizzle fell from the sky, but still no dragons. They had taken the bulwark bows off their mounts before the Tharans had arrived. Dax did not want them visible unless the dragons were part of the attack. While the bows would be devastating if they hit a soldier, they were slow to reload and were better used against large targets like a siege engine—or a dragon.
Expecting an attack at dawn, Farr had put his troops at the ready early. When the attack did not come, rather than let the men defending the outer wall get stale standing watch for something that was not happening, Farr set a rotating schedule of alert squads. Soldiers not on alert got to stand down and wait at more comfortable ready stations. Twice during the day everyone was called back to the wall when the Tharans feinted a foray at the gates—but they only feinted.
Finally in the late afternoon, the “white tab” troops came at North Gate in force. They swarmed toward the gate, pulling a tortoise, a battering ram under a protective roof. The defenders answered with dragon eggs. These were not real eggs, of course, but clay shells filled with naphtha and a burning fuse. With slings and small catapults, the troops on the wall flung the eggs at the tortoise. Many bounced to the ground, but a few broke on top of the tortoise, and three spots were afire by the time the device reached the gate. A few eggs that broke on the ground started fires alongside the tortoise, burning some of the Tharans pushing the structure.
The flames hindered its advance, but the Tharans finally pushed the tortoise up to the gate where they could use the ram. The barrier reverberated three times from the ram’s stout impacts before soldiers on the wall dumped a vat of viscous naphtha onto the tortoise and set the whole thing ablaze. The Tharans abandoned the burning tortoise with a rush. Fire crews waiting behind the gate used push poles in two small sally ports in the gate to shove the worst of the burning structure back away from the gate itself. The smoldering remains lay there spitting and hissing at the drizzle.
While the tortoise had challenged the gate, more Tharan troops swarmed the outer wall. Farr’s stone slingers behind the wall went into action, but they were best against massed troops. The Tharans were spread out. Still, when they did strike, people died.
The Tharans had the fever of a first battle with them, and many tried to scale the wall directly. Coming out of the newly dug ditch, the steep sides of the earthen wall were slippery in the light rain. The attackers were easily turned aside by defenders on the top of the wall. Archers atop the wall killed many in the first wave, and the survivors were stopped by the West Landly soldiers who were ready for hand-to-hand combat.
More difficult to stop were the scaling ladders. The wall was low enough and the ladders long enough that the ladders became more like ramps up which the soldiers could dash, stepping from rung to rung. Pitched battles broke out at several points along the top of the wall where groups of Tharans fought to establish a foothold.
Dax felt a tug on his sword belt. He turned to see Scarlet with two fingers hooked over the leather strap. Scarlet cocked an inquiring eyebrow. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Going?” Dax answered angrily. “What do you mean? Why are you pulling on my belt?”
“Who’s pulling?” Scarlet said calmly. “I’m just holding on.” He let go of Dax’s sword belt and put both hands on his hips. “So, where did you think you were going?” he repeated.
“I was just . . .” Dax stopped and realized he had been ready to rush to the scene of the battle where the Tharan troops had reached the top of the outer wall. “Going to help,” he finished a little shamefaced.
Scarlet nodded. “I thought so. I promised Frieanna that if you went to the outer wall, I would keep you from doing anything foolish. Besides, as our leader and inspiration, what happens if you get hurt, damaged, or killed on the first day of battle? Do you expect me to rally the fighting men of West Landly?”
A scathing reply tried to form itself on Dax’s lips, but he spluttered it away as he realized how correct his friend was. “You’re right,” he admitted. “Either we hold or we don’t, but I need to lead, and I can’t lead if I’m fighting on the first day.”
“Well said,” replied Scarlet.
“I’m sure if I ask around, someone will tell me I’m paraphrasing Orin Herne,” Dax added as an afterthought. It was hard, but Dax watched from his position at the center of the outer wall, five hundred yards south of the center of the Tharan attack. Farr had anticipated some Tharans would gain the top of the wall, and he had ready reinforcements to send to any spot where they threatened to establish a position. The fighting was fierce at times, but they turned the attackers back.
Gradually the fervor of the Tharan assault spent itself, and their troops pulled back until all were out of range of the stone slingers. The West Landly soldiers at the center of the attack raised their weapons and cheered themselves as they jeered the Tharans. The rest of the troops along the wall raised their weapons and cheered.
“Not too bad,” observed Scarlet, “but the first dance at the ball doesn’t mean you will go home happy.”
Dax looked at Scarlet and raised an eyebrow. “Did you ever go home unhappy?” he asked.
Scarlet grinned. “Well, first impressions are important.”
“Let’s hope we can make an impression on the dragons when they come.” Dax could not let himself give in to the lighthearted feelings of the moment. The first skirmish was theirs, but it was only a skirmish.
#
Evening fell, and there was no sign of organized activities evident among the Tharans. Dax went back up to the castle. Rather than take the somewhat shorter Serpentine Road up the east face, he rode up the great northern ramp and went in through the main gate. Scarlet and the King’s Watch rode escort. Right away he noticed the castle was busier than usual—more people were about the hallways.
Yesterday Frieanna had approached him with the idea of inviting the families of people who worked in the castle to take shelter within its walls while the attack lasted. Many who did the daily manual work of the castle lived outside the city’s main wall, and their grateful response to the offer was evident. Several highborn families with estates in the countryside near Tazzelton had also moved to the castle.
Dax tried to argue against the idea, because it created an ideal way for the Tharans to get more agents inside the castle. Frieanna had insisted that knowing their families were safe inside the castle would improve the workers’ morale. He had finally agreed when she suggested a system where employees would have to vouch for their own family members.
Frieanna joined him that evening for dinner with a group of newcomers staying in the castle. The first-time visitors made light and pleasant conversation over the meal, and Dax could almost forget what was happening out on the plains around the city. The socializing kept him from catching up with Frieanna about her activities within the castle that day, but as soon as the meal was over, they went for a walk around the battlements. The early night air was cool, but they were comfortable beneath their cloaks.
“Twenty-two,” Frieanna replied when Dax asked how many of her Queen’s Legion members had shown up for the day’s patrols though the halls. She sighed. “I was treating it like a hobby. I should have recruited from the city.” A moment later she added, “I’m disappointed in myself.”
“How could you know it would turn out like this?” Dax would have preferred more members himself, but he wanted to be reassuring.
She was holding his hand and brought it to her lips for a little kiss. “You’re sweet, but I don’t feel very heroic.”
He stopped for a moment and looked out over the city to where the Tharan campfires burned beyond the wall. “If the Tharans manage to penetrate the castle, you will have more chances to be a hero than you want.”
She shared his pensive mood. “Our storehouses are almost full with the fall crops. It was a good year.” She gestured out toward the Tharans with her free hand. “Why would they start a long siege when we have a full belly?”
“Once again, the Tharans are either stupid or they don’t expect it to be a long siege.”
“The dragons.”
Dax nodded. “The dragons for certain, but if I were the Tharan general, I would have at least one more surprise I wouldn’t show.”
After their walk, they headed back toward the family quarters. Dax saw Scarlet lounging in a doorway along a side hall. The half-formed thought that had occurred to him on the wall jelled into something a little more substantive. He tugged at Frieanna’s hand to follow him into the hall. Just as he was about to speak, Dax saw that the doorway was open and Attella Darry, the young cook’s apprentice, was just inside.
Scarlet glanced up as they approached and blinked in surprise. “Ah, good evening, Your Majesties,” Scarlet’s tone was playfully defensive.
Embarrassed to have interrupted his friend’s tête-à-tête with the attractive young lady, Dax said, “Uh, pardon me. I wanted to talk to you, but I thought you were alone.”
“No, that’s all right.” Scarlet smiled. “I was just reviewing tomorrow’s menu with Attella.” Scarlet knew perfectly well both he and Frieanna would see the lie there. “We were just about to say good night,” he added. That at least was the truth.
“Take your time, please,” Dax fumbled, “but would you stop by our room when you’re finished?” Still feeling awkward, Dax turned to go.
As he and Frieanna resumed their walk, she leaned toward him. “It looks as if someone has caught Scarlet’s eye. Is there a story there?”
“It happened the day we went to the kitchen to tell Ma Cookie.” Dax smiled. “Attella threatened him with a knife when she caught him sneaking food.”
Frieanna chuckled. “I didn’t notice.”
“Neither did I, but he told me about it later. He said she threatened to cut his nose off if he didn’t fix more berries to replace the ones he had eaten.”
She smiled and nodded. “That’s an interesting way to get a man’s attention.”
“Scarlet has told me many stories,” Dax said, “but I have to admit, that one was different.”
#
It was only a quarter hour until Scarlet knocked at their sitting room. Dax opened the door. “So what’s for supper tomorrow?” He could not resist asking.
“Only the best, of course,” Scarlet replied easily. “What do you need?”
“The King’s Watch,” Dax replied. “I’m concerned about the safety of the castle.”
Scarlet scratched his head. “Something new?”
“Frieanna put it in focus for me yesterday, and I’m even more concerned today. Why would the Tharans start a long siege when we have already taken in the year’s harvest?”
“You are going to tell me they are not stupid, so it must be they don’t expect a long siege.” Scarlet thought for a while. “I’m thinking even all three drakons would have a hard time with the city’s main wall, let alone the castle itself. So you have the idea they have something else in mind.”
“Dax is concerned about Tharans or their allies who may be hiding inside the castle,” Frieanna answered. “Please, let’s sit down,” she added and gestured to the seating near the pleasant little fire that burned in the fireplace.
Scarlet plopped into the chair nearest the crackling little flames and propped his feet gratefully on the low stool that was there. “There could also be a small force of Tharans who have been living in the city posing as merchants or something. If somebody inside opened the castle’s gate for them . . .”
Frieanna settled onto the short couch next to Dax and automatically took his hand. Dax smiled at her, then turned to Scarlet. “Exactly,” he said. “So if you find our friend Mr. Holder, would you raise the issue with him? The guard could turn the city upside down and not learn a tenth of the information Holder could get in a few hours. We would be in his debt.”
“Which you would find expensive to repay,” Scarlet observed.
Dax winced. “No doubt, but think how expensive a Tharan occupation of the castle would be.” Scarlet started to nod, but Dax held up a finger. “One other thing. Farr rightfully has most of the guard down on the walls, but I would like to have the guardsmen still on duty in the castle also patrol out on top of Adok tomorrow.”
