“Good.” Bhayar gestured to the map again. “At present, from what we have learned and observed, Kharst’s main force is located across the Ferrean and about two milles north in the town of Cleblois. There is no suitable ford or crossing there, but the piers were built to allow barges coming downstream to make their way across the main channel to the east side to dock at the old piers just north of the post here. He has four to five regiments in Cleblois, roughly half of foot and half cavalry. There are archers, but how many is uncertain He has a second, if smaller force, comprising three regiments, on the south side of the Aluse and west of the Vyl…” From there, Bhayar, with occasional additions by Myskyl, pointed out the possible routes of attack, and then went on to note the placement of the Telaryn troops, with three regiments south of Ferravyl, three more in Ferravyl, another deployed in companies to the south along the Vyl, and another to the north along the Ferrean, leaving Third Regiment to hold North Post, a position roughly across the river from Cleblois.
“That should give you a view of what we face.” Bhayar rose. “I’ll need a few moments with Subcommander Quaeryt. Commander, you can discuss any courier or dispatch schedules or other matters with Submarshal Myskyl in his study. Then you and Subcommander Quaeryt can rejoin Third Regiment.”
Bhayar waited for Skarpa and Myskyl to leave the conference room before clearing his throat and continuing, switching to court-Bovarian, the language used in the palace and among intimates. “There are a few other matters we need to discuss.”
Quaeryt couldn’t help but be amused at the circumstances surrounding a war with Bovaria that had Bhayar speaking Bovarian to an imager with whom he had studied, and who’d been a loyal Telaryn governor, princeps, and scholar assistant. But then, that somehow fit in the chaos that seemed to surround and infuse all conflicts, at least all those with which Quaeryt had been familiar, either through study or experience.
“There are a pair of uniforms waiting for you at the front duty desk. They’re tailored to fit you. They’re a brownish green, rather than the lighter green of regular officers, but they’re close enough that you shouldn’t stand out too much. You’re going to take command of a special company-five squads of troopers and as many imagers as I’ve been able to have rounded up.”
“But…”
“They’ve been told that you’re familiar with imagers and that I don’t want a known imager in charge of imagers. I’ve also conscripted your friend Voltyr … as well as others from across Telaryn. None of them will be happy, but we’re going to need imagers, and it’s your job to make them understand that. You also need to make them effective.”
“Does Kharst have imagers?” asked Quaeryt.
“It’s likely, but we don’t know how many. He can’t have more than a few, because he’s killed off most of them. Most came from Khel or the parts of Bovaria bordering Khel before he conquered it. They’d be little more than slaves.”
Quaeryt wondered about that, but he wasn’t about to question Bhayar. “What exactly am I supposed to do with this group?”
“Whatever you can to support Third Regiment and create disruption and chaos among the Bovarians.”
“You seem to have close to equal forces, and at least half of yours are experienced in battle and well trained. Why do you need more?”
“I’ll answer that in a moment. Why do you think I relieved you as governor?”
“Begging your pardon, Lord Bhayar, but that’s what I’d like to know,” said Quaeryt quietly.
“Oh … I’ll tell you why. You’d have turned Montagne into a wonderfully well-governed province, and every governor and High Holder in Telaryn would have been demanding your head … or your replacement. Governing isn’t just doing it well; it’s doing it in a way where no one is truly satisfied, but no one with power is fiercely dissatisfied.”
Quaeryt did not reply for several moments, thinking about the implications of what Bhayar had said.…
“Quaeryt…?” prompted Bhayar.
“I was thinking, deeply, about what you said.” Quaeryt smiled tightly. “I take it that wasn’t the only reason.”
“No … Vaelora had to be checked in a way you could not. I hadn’t anticipated how much you’ve come to love her…”
“… Besides, this way Markyl will be far more bounded than if he had succeeded Scythn directly. He was the one all the High Holders wanted to follow Scythn, you know.”
“I might have guessed.”
“My placing you as governor also served notice, in an indirect way, that any of them could be replaced immediately if they become too greedy. You proved you could be an effective governor, and you’re far more valuable as a governor in waiting, so to speak, than an actual governor.”
“Thank you,” replied Quaeryt dryly. He extracted a folded sheet of paper and extended it.
“This is?” asked Bhayar as he took it.
“A copy of what I left behind for Governor Markyl, with a note that you had a copy.”
Bhayar laughed. “Excellent! Excellent … you’ve just proved you make a wonderful governor in waiting.” He paused. “That leads us to why you’re really here. That’s the problem of Bovaria itself.”
“Bovaria itself?”
“Bear with me,” said Bhayar. “The only port that can handle Bovarian sea trade that is even remotely close to Variana is Ephra, and it’s on the north side of the River Laar, opposite Kephria, which belongs to Antiago. The Autarch has enough ships to shut down trade there anytime he’d like. In addition, all the trade that would come down the Aluse can’t so long as we hold Ferravyl. That’s because Kharst doesn’t want his merchants to pay tariffs, and I’m not about to let them use the Aluse to strengthen Bovaria without getting a healthy stream of golds to build up our defenses. So his traders have to use barges from the Aluse south of Variana along the Great Canal to the Laar and then go down the Laar to Ephra. That takes longer, and it costs more.”
Quaeryt understood the higher costs of trading, but Bhayar had more than that in mind. “What you’re saying is that Kharst wants Ferravyl so that he can eventually take Solis. Why doesn’t he just take Antiago instead?”
“He’d take heavy losses, especially with all that Antiagon Fire, and he still wouldn’t have direct access to a good port. The great canal is long and very narrow. It costs thousands of golds a year to maintain.”
“But he can’t possibly conquer Telaryn, even if he takes Ferravyl.”
“Not this year or next. Perhaps not in ten years. He’s thinking for the long term. If he can gain control of Ferravyl, he’ll control the Aluse. Once he has that, it won’t take him long to build up forces to take the grain lands from Solis to Piedryn. And then there’s the iron.”
“Iron?”
“Iron ore. Why do you think my predecessors fought to keep Ferravyl? The largest amounts of high grade iron ore in all Lydar lie to the northeast of Ferravyl. With control of that iron and the grain lands, it would only be a matter of time before…” Bhayar shrugged. “So … it’s best we act…”
“You have something else in mind?”
“I have thoughts. Whether they become more than thoughts depends on how much damage we can inflict on Kharst’s forces. According to Submarshal Myskyl, your very presence multiplied the losses suffered by the rebels and reduced regimental casualties comparatively. I expect you to do the same here once the Bovarians attack.”
“How long do we have?”
“They could attack tomorrow … or next week. I wager it’s sooner rather than later.”
“Why did you pick me for this?”
“You’re the only one that might be able to wield the imagers into a coherent force. That’s always been a problem in using imagers.”
Quaeryt wasn’t satisfied with that answer, knowing that there had to be more. “What else?”
“There’s a price for everything, Subcommander. If you don’t pay it, what you get will eat you away until you’re a shadow of yourself.”
Quaeryt managed a smile and a nod. “There is indeed a price, one way or another.”
