Chapter XXXIV - Preparation

“You’re looking well, Jarrett.”

Tancred threw Chale’s reins to a nearby soldier and whirled at the sound of a familiar male voice. “Father Gywain,” he exclaimed with real pleasure. “Have you forsaken your priestly duties and come to take up the sword on a field of blood? Why are you not back at Bryndor?”

The brown-robed priest stood a few paces away, watching him with an amused twinkle in his eyes. “The sword of the Almighty cuts deeper than the physical sword,” he replied with a laugh. “But for now I might as well employ the power of the spiritual and physical armaments. My heavenly King called me to provide spiritual guidance for these men in Aerilya’s army; my earthly king simultaneously called for the strength of every man able to fight. I’ve merely decided to answer both calls.”

“Welcome then, and my heartiest greetings,” Tancred said, grabbing the other man in a swift embrace. “It does me good to see you.”

“And who have you brought with you?” inquired Gywain, pulling back and peering around Tancred. “Lady Shyla, Jaedon! Familiar faces, how I’ve missed you all.”

Shyla and Jaedon greeted the priest warmly, each having known him from back before the war started. Zoe stood to the side, reluctant to give Brac into the care of the soldier who wanted to take him. Tancred watched as she finally handed Brac’s reins to the impatient soldier and muttered something to him that instilled a look of startled unease to his face.

“Yes, my lady,” he told her, nodding vigorously before turning and carefully leading Brac away.

Tancred smiled slightly, amused. Knowing Zoe, she probably had issued a warning in no uncertain terms about what would happen if anything befell her beloved stallion.

Gywain had also noticed the exchange. His intelligent brown eyes sized up the tall young woman. Zoe turned back to the group and she appeared to study the priest just as thoroughly.

“And who is this?” Gywain finally asked Tancred, his gaze still on Zoe.

“This is Zoe,” Tancred responded, motioning to Zoe to step forward.

“Ah,” Gywain murmured enigmatically. “Greetings, Lady Zoe. I am honored to meet you. I trust Jarrett has not given you too hard of a time while you’ve been in his company.”

“I think I’ve successfully given him just as much trouble as he has given me,” she replied in a calm voice that brought laughter from everyone else.

Gywain laughed the loudest of them all. “I believe you! Come now, I will show you all to the king’s tent.” He turned around without any more warning and began quickly striding through Aerilya’s camp. The rest of them followed, matching their guide’s swift pace.

Zoe positioned herself so that she was beside Tancred and asked quietly, “Why does he call you Jarrett?”

“It’s my middle name,” Tancred explained in an undertone. “He’s always done that.”

“Oh.”

He and his two companions had ridden from the Hunter’s base camp to the much larger Aerilyan encampment directly after breakfast concluded. The Aerilyan troops were busy and seemed well enough occupied with useful tasks, but the tension that rose from the camp planted a seed of disquiet in Tancred. In order to face the Elangsians and put up a good defense, they would need men who were not fearful or timid in the least. Strength and stealth must be our two most powerful allies during the battle, Tancred thought as he strode after Gywain. Without them, we will be lost.

They reached a large tent constructed of canvas dyed crimson with white trimmings. At the topmost part of the tent flew the matching pennant of Aerilya, which displayed the silhouette of a rearing unicorn.

Gywain stopped Tancred and murmured, “I will catch up with you later. I have other duties waiting for me now.”

“Aye,” Tancred nodded. Leaving the priest, Tancred ducked beneath the flap that a servant hurried to open for them, and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim interior.

King Trystellan Jaeger glanced up, his face marked with weariness and more heavily lined than Tancred remembered. “Hunter,” the king nodded, straightening from his position over a large wooden table strewn with maps, missives, and written directives. His golden crown also sat atop the table, obviously having been removed for comfort reasons. “I heard you arrived safely. It is good to see you again.”

Tancred bowed slightly at King Jaeger. “Aye, sire. It is good to be back where I am most needed,” he replied in a calm voice. He glanced around, quickly identifying the occupants of the place, and added, “Greetings to you, Prince Garrick, General Kane, General Quinn.”

The prince, tall and dark, smiled slightly at Tancred. He was only a couple years younger than Tancred himself and they had always gotten along well since they were young. General Marron Kane was an imposing figure with weathered features and deep-set gray eyes. General Trav Quinn was younger with flaming red hair, a freckled face, and sharp gray-green eyes. Tancred knew Quinn had been promoted at a young age after he led a group of fifty men against a much larger attacking Elangsian force and successfully repelled them. Quinn’s figure was more slender than Kane’s, Kane being shorter and very strongly built.

The two generals nodded their greetings, taking in each of the newcomers with their assessing gazes. Tancred introduced his companions quickly: “You all know my mother, Lady Shyla Ralyn, and my friend Jaedon of Mairbrac.” He motioned to Zoe, who stepped forward at the same time. “And this is Zoe of Braedoch. She was with me on my last mission to Ruma.”

“Welcome to you all,” King Jaeger said with a nod of his head. “Lady Ralyn, it is a pleasure to see you once again.”

Shyla dipped her head gracefully but said nothing. Once, in a time almost forgotten, Liam and Shyla Ralyn had been frequenters of the Aerilyan palace in Bryndor. It was a memory so far removed it was difficult for Tancred to envision anymore.

Kane’s eyes were fastened on Zoe and Tancred was interested by the strong surprise that darted across the older man’s face. His scrutiny was not lost on Zoe, either.

“Perhaps you remember me, General Kane,” Zoe spoke to Kane, standing calmly in front of the men, her stance firm yet unassuming. “It is good to see you again.”

“I do remember you, lady,” he replied at last, his husky voice tinged with wariness. “How...”

“I successfully brought her to my son’s camp,” Shyla broke in, looking and sounding slightly amused. “Did you doubt my ability to do so, General Kane?”

“Of course not, Lady Shyla, I am merely surprised that she is here. She is...” he hesitated. “She can be trusted?”

Tancred glanced from Kane to Shyla to Zoe, his eyebrows rising. “Have you met Zoe, General Kane?” he asked.

The general grunted, turning his attention from Zoe to Tancred. “Aye. My men found her in Mairbrac last winter. We captured her to question her, but Lady Shyla spoke for her and took her back to your camp. That was the last I’ve seen of her, until now.”

“An interesting fact I was unaware of,” Tancred replied dryly, sending a meaningful glance at his mother. She just as deliberately directed her gaze back toward Kane.

Zoe inclined her head to the general and said smoothly, “I trust you do not mind my presence, General Kane. I have been with the Hunter for some months now.”

Kane shrugged after a moment. “If the Hunter trusts you enough to take you to Ruma with him, I cannot do much else but accept you are an honorable companion.”

“That taken care of,” King Jaeger spoke up, “I trust you have brought us news of Elangsia’s coming forces, Ralyn.”

“I have information,” Tancred replied. “I understand that Jaedon and my mother alerted you to the fact that Elangsia was indeed allying with the Wild Men and preparing to march on us.”

“Hence our waiting army,” General Kane stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

Tancred shot him a glance. “The preparedness of Aerilya is to be commended,” he replied evenly. “It certainly shall take Elangsia off guard. They are organized to march on an unsuspecting, relatively defenseless country and wipe us out as they march through the land. When they find an army waiting for them, they will certainly have to reevaluate their position and plans.”

“How large is their attacking force?” inquired General Quinn.

“I estimate there will be six thousand when all is said and done. An additional thousand from Rulaan is expected.”

Prince Garrick’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he asked, “Are the Wild Men marching with Elangsia’s forces, or are they going to be following the main body of Elangsians at a later date, arriving a few days into the battle to assist?”

Tancred frowned. “The Wild Men were not joined with the Elangsian troops when I was there,” he said, thinking back. “I never heard anything that suggested that Rulaan’s forces will be merging with them. I think they are staying as separate as possible. Despite their alliance, there is a general aura of mistrust that I picked up on between the people.”

“Their entire alliance is based around a marriage that is half unwanted,” Zoe pointed out.

“Unwanted?” repeated King Jaeger, looking at her with interest.

Zoe nodded, her hair shimmering in the light thrown out by the lamps on the table. “King Naard and Prince Jaquin of Rulaan both desire the marriage, as do the king and queen of Elangsia. But the bride-to-be, Princess Brysa Alustate, is wholeheartedly against the union.”

“You know the princess’s feelings?”

“I spent almost a month as her slave,” Zoe replied coolly, lifting her chin a notch. “I used my time there to pick up information.”

“You were inside the castle?” asked General Quinn eagerly. “What did you learn?”

“The princess hates the Wild Men and the war contract. There is a great deal of anger and suspicion among the royalty of Elangsia. Brastus is power-mad, his wife Maurelle is insane, and Brysa is caught in-between them.” Zoe hesitated for a moment and then continued slowly, “If she were free of their power, I believe she could be a powerful and just ruler of Elangsia.”

“That may be information we can use at a later date,” the king mused, glancing fleetingly over at his son. “At the moment, however, battle plans require our full attention.”

“What have you figured out so far?” inquired Tancred.

The king motioned to the table before him. “These are maps of the terrain around us,” he said. “Mairbrac behind us, the plains in front of us. I assume the battle will take place in the plain. The Elangsians will likely make camp in the hills at the other end of the plain.”

“You are certain they will march this way?” asked Shyla, stepping forward and running a slender finger across the map, tracing the course they were discussing. She looked up, first at the king and then toward Tancred.

“This is the most direct route from Ruma to Aerilya,” Tancred explained to her. “They are not expecting any trouble along the way to Aerilya, so they naturally will take the quickest course they can to bring their army to our borders. This is the place they would have passed over our borders, had they an unobstructed path.”

“We will make sure they find a bit of an obstruction,” said Prince Garrick quietly, his eyes darkening.

Tancred looked over at the young prince and nodded. “We certainly shall give them a barrier to remember,” he agreed mildly. “One thing I’m sure you all know but must be dealt with now is the fact that we will have less than half the number of our attacking forces. We are going to have to be craftier than our opposition if we hope to win.”

“Agreed,” nodded Kane. “Have you any ideas?”

“I do. Since the Wild Men are not joined with Aerilya’s forces, why don’t we put our minds to finding a way to head off Rulaan’s reinforcements before they reach the battlefield?”

Everyone considered his words. “Head them off?” inquired Quinn, running a hand through his hair. “How?”

“If we sent a contingent of men out into Elangsia, giving wide berth to the path the Elangsian army are taking as they march down here, that contingent could confront the Wild Men and prevent them from joining the Elangsians.”

King Jaeger frowned. “But to even the odds out, we would have to send at the very least five hundred good men to face one thousand Wild Men—even accounting for the fact that the Wild Men would be taken off guard. If we did that, we would be down to twenty-five hundred men here, still facing six thousand. The trade off does not seem worth it.”

“Maybe,” Jaedon said slowly, his expression thoughtful. “Five hundred men might be far too many to send, actually. A very small force, less than fifty, might be adequate.”

“Less than fifty?” exclaimed General Quinn with obvious skepticism. “Against one thousand?”

Tancred nodded, pleased that Jaedon understood where he was going. “Absolutely. I was not speaking of confronting the Wild Men head on. I am talking about raiding parties: attacking them at night; when they are marching during the day and not prepared to fight; and picking them off one by one until they grow frustrated...and give up.”

Silence fell. “You think fifty men could prevent a thousand from coming?” asked Prince Garrick at last.

“If they’re my men—yes,” replied Tancred, confidence lacing his words.

“Who would lead them?” asked the king. “Not you, surely. Your men and the rest of Aerilya needs you here.”

Encouraged that his idea was not completely dismissed, Tancred explained, “I would stay here, instead sending one of my captain with a contingent of my best trained warriors.”

“You really believe they could do this,” stated Kane.

Shyla stepped forward, and leveled an even stare at the general. “With all due respect, General Kane, it’s what we have trained for all these years.”

“Explain,” grunted the general.

“Freeing slaves, raiding Elangsian war parties, stopping advancing Elangsian troops...all that and more has been the life of the Hunter and his men for this entire war,” said Shyla in a firm voice. “My son has trained his men well. If you entrusted to them this task, they could and would accomplish it.”

Tancred felt a rush of pride at the strength of his mother’s words. She glanced over at him, her blue-gray eyes locking with his for a moment.

“We do not doubt the accomplishments of the Hunter,” Kane hastened to explain. “I simply must point out that the odds against them are tremendous.”

“The odds against Aerilya are tremendous,” Tancred countered, “which calls for tremendous ingenuity and daring on our part. We have to hit our enemy with something they cannot imagine, something they don’t expect. That is what will win us the victory.”

“Wisely spoken,” King Jaeger nodded slowly. “If you were to theoretically send a contingent of men into Elangsia, how will you know where to intercept the Wild Men on their march down?”

Tancred thought fast. He was not sure on that one. All he knew was that the Wild Men were coming from their northern country; he was not sure what route or road they would travel upon. Finally he replied, “I suppose we would skirt around the approaching Elangsian forces and continue north past Ruma until we ran into them. It would be rather difficult to not find an army of one thousand marching southward toward Aerilya.”

“Hmm.” The king drummed his fingers on the table and sighed deeply. “I think it is a good idea, but not one to be implemented—at least not yet. It seems very risky, sending such a small group of men deep into enemy territory, especially since they don’t have a clear destination.”

Disappointed but expertly concealing it, Tancred acceded with a very small nod. “Very well, sire. Nevertheless, do I have your permission to implement that plan or one similar to it if such a time comes that I have more information and an appropriate objective to have my men complete?”

The king hesitated, his gaze resting on Tancred for a long moment. Tancred held King Jaeger’s gaze firmly, his arms crossed over his chest and his chin lowered. Finally the king waved his hand and said, “They’re your men, Ralyn. If you deem the situation worthy...send them out. You must of course let me know if you do so, understand?”

“Understood, sire,” replied Tancred.

“Good. Now, when the main Elangsian force arrives....”

è è è è è è è è è

It was three hours more before Zoe left King Jaeger’s tent with Tancred and the others. She exchanged cordial farewells with the two generals and paid respects to the king and prince before leaving Tancred and walking with Shyla to fetch their horses. The two of them walked quietly across the small clear spot in the camp, dodging a couple soldiers as they hurried past, and reached Brac and Shyla’s mare, Mai. The lady stroked Mai’s nose and smoothed the mare’s gold-tinged flaxen forelock. Zoe paused for a moment and watched.

“She’s a beautiful horse,” she ventured at last.

“Thank you,” said Shyla, smiling quietly at her. “I think so too. She was a gift from my husband.”

Zoe caught the pain that lingered in the woman’s words, though it was well hidden. “You miss him a great deal, don’t you.”

Shyla nodded, absently fingering Mai’s reins. “He was a wonderful man.”

“Tancred thinks so.”

“He has spoken to you about his father?” Shyla sounded a little surprised.

Zoe shrugged and busied herself with straightening Brac’s bridle. “Some. The rest I just figured out on my own.”

“I see.” The other woman’s voice changed, still quiet but probing. “What of you, Zoe? Have you a father? Other family?”

“My father died when I was five.” A catch came to Zoe’s throat and she exhaled heavily, struggling to keep her composure which suddenly threatened to slip. “I don’t remember much of him, nor of my mother.”

“She is gone as well?”

“They both died together.”

“What happened?”

Zoe focused on a section of Brac’s neck and stared at the individual hairs there as if her life depended on it. “I believe they were killed—murdered,” she corrected herself in a very low tone. She thought of Duard and her stomach turned. “But that is not a subject for this time or place.”

“It seems to me that if there is a root of pain or anger in one’s heart, it is best and wisest to pull it out with one quick jerk, rather then allowing it to entrench itself.”

Startled, Zoe’s head whipped around and she stared at the other woman with wide eyes. Shyla met her gaze calmly but with gentleness. “It is the surest way to rid yourself of a burden,” she added in a murmur.

“This burden is rather large,” whispered Zoe, shaking her head slightly.

“And is not Deus larger than everything?”

“Of course, but...” Zoe stopped.

“Think about that.” Shyla smiled slightly. Quickly she moved to Mai’s shoulder and mounted the mare. Glancing past Zoe she said, “Ah, here comes Tancred. Let’s get back to camp, shall we?”