The Crown of blood

VIII

"What do you reckon?" asked Noran.

The former herald sat on his ailur with Aalun and Ullsaard beside him — the prince's followers had smuggled the war beasts out of the city the previous night, along with several chests containing Aalun's belongings, including a large amount of gold askharins. The three of them looked at the distant Askhor Wall trying to discern if the gates were closed. It was impossible to tell in the morning haze.

"I think we have to assume the worst," said Aalun.

"I agree," said Ullsaard. "I cannot see Lutaar going to the trouble of giving Nemtun his generalship back and hiring mercenaries if we could just walk out."

"We need to detail companies to the forests to collect timber for machines and ladders," said Noran. "That is going to take some time."

Both Aalun and Ullsaard laughed.

"What is so funny?" demanded Noran.

"You," said Ullsaard. "Trying to think like a military commander."

"You'd be right about the siege engines and ladders except for one small thing," said Aalun.

Noran thought for a moment, wondering what he was missing. He had read enough about the sieges of Parmia, Leruin, Geehd and other towns to consider himself fairly knowledgeable on the subject.

"I do not know," he admitted. "What do your keen military minds know that I do not?" Aalun and Ullsaard exchanged a glance and smiles.

"Shall I tell him?" asked Ullsaard. Aalun nodded. "We're inside the Wall, Noran. There are steps on this side."

Noran covered his face with a hand and shook his head in shame, feeling like an idiot. He looked up and gave a pragmatic shrug.

"Perhaps I should leave the generalling to you two," Noran said.

"That would be for the best," said Aalun.

"But there is something you can do for us," said Ullsaard.

"Yes?" Noran was eager to be useful. He had a feeling that the coming days would take him far out of his element.

"You see that caravan there?" said Ullsaard, pointing to a ring of wagons camped beside the road roughly a mile away. "Ride down there and find out what you can from the merchants. I want to know if they've heard anything about Nemtun or the Nemurians, what's happening outside the Wall, and when they came in."

"Not a problem, General," Noran said, banging his fist against his chest in salute.

"Good for you," Ullsaard said with a smile. "You could make second captain with an attitude like that."

"By Askhos's balls, I hope not," Noran said with a grimace. "I decided at a young age that I was not cut from military material."

"You can stay on as special advisor," laughed Aalun. "How does 'First Gossip-gatherer' sound?"

"I think 'Chief of Intelligence' will suffice," Noran replied stiffly. He steered his ailur down the road and urged her into a trot.

As he rode towards the merchant encampment, Noran considered his options. It was all well and good for Ullsaard and Aalun to make fun of his military inexperience, but Noran refused to be patronised. If it had not been for him, they would have known nothing about the Nemurians or Nemtun.

The prospect of spending a winter stuck in Enair with an army did not fill him with hope. He wondered if it would be better taking Anriit and Neerita and heading for the coast. He had enough money with him to book passage hotwards to Maasra and from there it would be easy to travel to his villa in Okhar. He could keep his head down, wait for this political storm to blow over, and when it was settled they could return to Askh. He could easily put his case as an unwitting servant of the prince and beg to be returned to his former position. If it came to the worst, living out his days amongst his vineyards would not be such a bad fate.

That certainly seemed like the more prudent route, and Noran had no illusions about his own strong feelings regarding selfpreservation. But even as he considered fleeing for the countryside, he knew he could not do it. Though an able commander and a strong man, Ullsaard would be powerless against Aalun's manipulation without Noran to guide him.

If things got as bad as Noran suspected they would, he was sure that most of the blame would fall on Ullsaard if Aalun had his way. For better or worse, Noran realised he could not bear the guilt of letting that happen without trying to help.

And if the situation got really bad, he could always flee with his wives later.