began to expand, the cities of Naedara were shadows of their former greatness, offering little or no resistance.
Even in his brief time as a provincial governor, Quaeryt had seen the underlying problems facing Bhayar, especially the difficulty of holding both governors and High Holders accountable without requiring a large force of troopers. And as he’d seen with Rescalyn, whoever was in command of an army also posed a threat. Could a force of imagers be somehow trained and organized to support Bhayar? Would they provide the force necessary to keep the governors and High Holders in line?
Quaeryt laughed softly at the arrogance of the idea, even as he considered how it might be possible.
As he neared the larger village, he saw a squad of riders formed up at the road that led south toward the center to the houses and buildings.
“Subcommander, sir, the commander is waiting at the large dwelling off the square. It’s maybe four hundred yards on the right side.”
“Has Subcommander Meinyt arrived?”
“Not by this road, sir.”
“Thank you.” Quaeryt guided the mare onto the rutted side road, past two small fields that separated the first cots from the old road.
Around every cot, everywhere he looked as he rode into the center of the village, there were troopers, and those were only the men of Third Regiment. The other thing that struck him was that none of the cots were built of the gray stone that had lined the ancient canal. So where had all those well-cut stones gone?
In less than a fraction of a quint, Quaeryt reached the square. It was literally just that, a square expanse of gray stone, but the stones were, surprisingly, not the same size as the evenly cut and sized stones of the canal, but much larger. On the west side was a chandlery, while shops dotted the north and south sides. Quaeryt turned the mare toward the two-story dwelling on the east, a weathered wooden structure that would have been considered modestly large in most Telaryn cities, but which towered over the other dwellings. Khaern and Skarpa stood on the narrow porch. Neither spoke as Quaeryt reined up and tied the mare to one of the hitching rings beside the gravel path.
“Good evening,” offered Quaeryt as he stepped onto the porch, his words punctuated by the creaking of worn planks beneath his boots.
Khaern smiled and nodded pleasantly.
“Evening,” replied Skarpa. “Porch is like everything else around here. Barely held together. Didn’t see Meinyt, did you?”
“He wasn’t close behind me, and the watch squad hadn’t seen him.”
“Not like him. Must have run into a problem. How is that hamlet you’re in?”
“Old,” replied Quaeryt. “A number of the cots are half built out of Naedaran foundations, and there are gray stones everywhere just below the ground around the cots.”
“Everything around here is old,” observed Khaern. “It’s old and worn-out.”
“That doesn’t make much sense,” said Skarpa. “Farther east, it isn’t like that. It’s almost like the Namer cursed this part of Bovaria.”
Quaeryt couldn’t help but think about the black coney, and the superstitions surrounding it. Had the area always been worn-out and tired?
“What are you thinking?” asked Skarpa. “You’ve got a funny look.”
“Just that the Naedarans had a canal that looks to go twenty milles or more with large estates and buildings along it. It’s been unused for years, centuries, probably, but it couldn’t always have been worn-out and tired.”
“Maybe the Namer cursed the Bovarians who drove out the Naedarans,” suggested Khaern almost laughingly.
“Who knows? Who cares?” said Skarpa, turning and pointing. “Here comes Meinyt.”
The three waited as the last subcommander rode up, dismounted, and tied his mount beside Quaeryt’s mare.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” said Meinyt as he hurried up onto the porch. “My mount came up lame just after I left the camp. Had to walk him back and saddle a spare.”
“Those things happen. Better now than in a fight,” replied Skarpa. “I’d have you sit down, but it’s a lot cooler out here, and this shouldn’t take too long.” He cleared his throat. “I have the first reports from the scouts.” Skarpa glanced to Quaeryt. “You were right. The entire south side of Nordeau is walled. The walls are not high, about three yards, but they’re solid stone. There are only two sets of gates. Both are heavily fortified, with much taller gate towers. The gates are ironbound. There may even be a portcullis in the gate towers behind each set of gates.”
“What about the north side?” asked Quaeryt.
“The north side is walled as well, at least the older part of the city. Both walled cities are connected by a stone bridge which is anchored to an isle in the middle of the river. The isle is also walled on all sides. On the north side, dwellings, shops, and other buildings have been built well beyond the old walls. The walls are well maintained on the south side. They appear that way on the north. There’s no way to tell how many men are behind the walls, but if they’ve got even what we have, it’s going to be cramped.”
Quaeryt could see that the other three officers were all looking at him. After a moment he spoke. “Until I can study those walls and gates myself, I can’t offer you any idea of how we can take the city.”
“Thought as much,” replied Skarpa. “Won’t hurt the men to have a day or so of rest.”
Quaeryt could sense what the commander hadn’t said-that he didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary. Neither did Quaeryt, if possibly for very different reasons.
56
Quaeryt and first company set out early on Vendrei because he hadn’t slept that long and because the days along the River Aluse got warmer and wetter as the day progressed, and he was tired of feeling hot and miserable when he didn’t have to. He had left all the imagers, with Voltyr in charge of working with Threkhyl, Desyrk, and Baelthm, and Shaelyt in charge of the newer undercaptains.
He kept looking to his right, but the road and what remained of the ancient canal continued westward in a straight line along flat land that rose or fell by no more than a yard or two at most. After a mille, the fields ended, and to the right of the road and canal swale rose woods, not thick forests, but well-tended trees, spaced well apart. By then, even with the cool morning air, Quaeryt was blotting his forehead and readjusting his cap. Ahead, the woods ended, giving way to meadows or pasture, because the ground was green, and most crops, except beans and a few others, would have turned or shriveled by the last month in harvest.
When first company reached the end of the woods and Quaeryt was surprised to see that they were roughly two milles from Nordeau, and that there were no trees at all between where he rode and the walls. Nor were there any structures at all-not a one.
“Company! Halt!” Before proceeding, he wanted to take in what he saw.
The River Aluse curved back southwest, so that the low grassy swale that had once been a canal ended in a hillock at the river’s edge less than a half mille south of the gray stone walls of Nordeau. Quaeryt couldn’t help but believe that the low hill covered some sort of ruin. He’d studied the map again before setting out, and where the river curved, northeast of Nordeau, it also narrowed, suggesting a difficult passage for boats or barges. The fact that the Naedarans had built a canal more than twenty milles long indicated to Quaeryt that they’d had a reason for it, and that reason had to be trade. That raised questions that he needed to put aside while he concentrated on the problem at hand-how to get Skarpa’s forces inside the walls.
He saw no one on the road that ran straight toward the walls, and finally he gestured for the company to proceed.
The closer they drew to Nordeau, the more obvious it was that south Nordeau was a fortress that had been built to last. While Quaeryt looked in every direction as they moved toward the walls, no one emerged from the one
