With the two colonels as his side, Amber followed Nai to Camatayl Castle. Kamfer’s Ford had grown in the days he’d been absent; now corrals, barracks, tents and warehouses were dotting the plain around the town. There were wagon-trains approaching, laden with food to maintain the army King Emin was building, and beyond he could pick out troops practising manoeuvres.
The Kingsguard inspecting the faces of everyone entering the castle said quietly to Nai, ‘If they’re going in armed, you keep ’em clear of Forrow, eh?’
Nai nodded at the sense of that and waved Amber and the colonels through and across the cluttered courtyard. Amber could see a large feathered hat at the centre of a knot of soldiers. Men instinctively parted for them before King Emin had even noticed their arrival. Nai placed himself square in front of the king’s bodyguard to block his path.
‘Ah, Major,’ Emin said cheerily, ‘I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.’
‘It’s General now,’ Amber replied, feeling his hand tighten instinctively into a fist before he could catch himself.
‘General? Ah, the Menin right of challenge? I hadn’t realised that worked in the military too.’
‘It doesn’t — but General Arek could think of no man higher ranked than he now our lord was dead.’
‘Hardly a fair fight,’ Emin said with an appraising look. Arek had been a fighting man, but few reached the rank of general while still in the prime of their life, and Amber was powerful, even for a Menin.
‘He realised that,’ Amber said, his tone of voice making it clear he didn’t want to discuss the matter further. Arek had died like a warrior, in a manner of his own choosing.
‘As you say, General Amber.’ Emin gestured to the men around him. ‘Since you are here, please report on the state of your men for my advisors.’
Amber recognised several faces: Dashain of the Brotherhood, General Bessarei of the Kingsguard and Suzerain Derenin among them, but only the Farlan veteran Carel had given him any sort of proper acknowledgement.
‘I command ten battle-ready legions — five heavy infantry, two medium and one of archers — plus one of skirmishers and a legion of cavalry support, if I can secure fresh horses for most of them.’
‘And they will fight under my banner?’
‘They’ll fight for me,’ Amber said stiffly. ‘I have promised them your assistance with supplies and in crossing hostile ground and in return they will fight any troops who try to block their path. But they’ll not fight under your flag any time soon.’
Emin hesitated a moment, most likely picturing a map of the route Amber was planning for his army. It would cut through the heart of Ruhen’s lands and past Thotel to the great high plain that interrupted the mountain line there. It would give him everything he needed.
‘That is acceptable. I thank you, General. Will you permit troops to be attached to your command? The Devoted have many Farlan in their ranks, and I believe their cavalry surpasses your own. I offer a few legions of my own best, the Green Scarves, and mages too, since you are assuming the lead on a dangerous journey.’
Amber turned to the men who’d accompanied him. ‘Green Scarves,’ he muttered to them in Menin. ‘Will you fight with them if they provide support?’
The pair exchanged a look. ‘We heard of them in dispatches,’ Dorom replied, ‘but neither of us have personally encountered these legions. I believe they were a major irritant for our lord’s armies during the advance: brave soldiers led by a God-marked daemon.’
‘Led by a daemon?’ Amber asked King Emin.
The king smiled indulgently. ‘He does get a bit over-excited at times — I believe they’re referring to General Daken. The Green Scarves are currently commanded by Colonel Dassai, but Daken will be rejoining them soon.’
Amber straightened a little. ‘Your mission was a success?’
‘It was. And that leads me to this: Isak Stormcaller will be arriving here soon. You and your men had best keep clear of him.’
‘Clear?’ Amber growled.
‘Well clear. If you need a reason, it’s this: he went to find an object of great power, Death’s own weapon. None of us know the damage he’ll wreak if he’s attacked. You know his mind is damaged; the Gods alone know what toll Termin Mystt is taking, so he may prove indiscriminate.’
‘I shall instruct my men accordingly.’
‘You do that.’ Carel spoke up, ignoring the shocked looks from some of the king’s advisors. ‘All you’ll get is a bad death, and you better believe I’ll be leading the massacre o’ the rest o’ your boys before anyone gets a chance to stop me. Don’t reckon many o’ these boys here will care who’s giving the order if it’s to kill Menin.’
Amber bit down on his lip, fighting the anger that blossomed hot in his stomach. ‘I hear you, Carel,’ he said after a moment.
‘You have my word.’
Emin looked from one man to the other. ‘I think we all understand each other, so let us move on. General Amber, what condition are your troops in?’
Amber kept his eyes on Carel a moment longer before returning his attention to the matter at hand. ‘Their condition?’ he said, ‘tired mostly. Being holed up in a town on short rations hasn’t done any of them much good. I could do with a week to get them back into proper order before they’re ready to fight a drilled army.’
‘You have it: a mile or so north of here there’s a stretch of heath you can camp on. Plenty of water there too.’ He thought for a minute then said, ‘General, the bulk of your troops are heavy infantry. You will not fight alongside my armies — what about an elite force not of either of our tribes?’
‘Got one up your sleeve, have you?’
King Emin inclined his head, smiling slightly as he tugged one braided cuff then the other in the manner of a travelling conjurer. ‘My mage assisting Lord Isak’s swift return tells me we have had an offer of assistance from an unexpected source. I suspect your battle tactics will be to push through anyone arrayed against you and break their order. These troops could provide a breach of the lines on command.’
Amber narrowed his eyes at the king. ‘Just who’re you talking about here?’
‘The Legion of the Damned — I believe you saw them at work in Scree?’
‘Not up close, just from the city walls, but I didn’t much like what I saw. They slaughtered more’n a thousand at the gate itself, gave ’em nowhere to run and never listened for quarter.’
‘I am told they’ve pledged their loyalty, though obedience might be yours to persuade. Mage Ashain informs me they will arrive soon. They are travelling faster than Lord Isak’s party.’
The big officer scowled. ‘Don’t sound an easy task, but I’ll use ’em, sure. Bastards’ll be worth the trouble.’
‘Good. The bulk of my troops are spread out in an attempt to restore some order to the eastern parts of Narkang. If I need not recall them to support your army I am thankful.’
‘The bulk of your troops?’ Amber asked, gesturing towards the thousands of soldiers encamped beyond the castle walls.
‘The men you see here are largely raw recruits and those mostly inexperienced troops who survived Moorview. I’ve had to divert much of the Canar Thrit reinforcements to the Vanach border to dissuade any expansion of boundaries there, and the legions from Canar Fell are untested in battle. General Bessarei here tells me he needs another month before sending them into battle. We will be marching, I assure you, but it will be in your wake, once the enemy are forced to react to your efforts.’
Amber gave the king a brief bow of acknowledgement. Tense and tentative allies they might be, but still Amber felt the warrior spirit inside him cry out to obey this ruler. Loyalty and duty were beaten into the minds of every Menin warrior. For generations they had had a lord without equal, one worthy of reverence and sacrifice. Though pride and anger kept Amber aloof and disrespectful, in that moment he realised he would always be a soldier in need of a master.
The king’s ice blue eyes glittered knowingly as Amber met his gaze and a chill ran down his spine — did the king realise that too? Had he been counting on it when he sent away the best of his army?
‘Thank you, General,’ said Emin. ‘I’m sure you are keen to see to your men. Gentlemen, we shall reconvene in the morning.’
After King Emin’s meeting with his newest general, both Menin and Narkang commanders swiftly moved on
