The Baron ignored the soldier and climbed to the dais to return to his seat. His eye-socket was throbbing and tongues of fire were lancing up into his skull. Yet he kept his expression even and showed no trace of the pain he was feeling. ‘Find Kollarin and take him with you when you have your supplies. Take fifty men. Split them into two sections. One will ride to Cilfallen and post a reward of one hundred guineas; this group will also take four hostages and return them to Citadel. The second group, led by you, Obrin, will include Kollarin. You will start your search at the woman’s cabin. And before you leave you will take the former Captain Chard to the whipping post, where you will apply fifty lashes to his naked back. With every lash I want you to consider this: Fail, and one of your men will be lashing you.’
‘Yes, sir,’ said Obrin miserably.
The Baron waved his hand, dismissing the men. ‘Not you, Leofric,’ he said, as the slender blond-haired cleric was about to leave. ‘Shut the door and come to me in my study.’ Leaving the dais the Baron strode across the hall and through a small side door, leading to a flight of steps that took him up to the parapet study. A goblet had been placed on the desk, filled with dark, noxious liquid. The Baron hated medicines of any kind, and pain-masking opiates in particular. But the injury was now interfering with his thought processes and he drained the foul brew and sat with his back to the open window.
Leofric knocked twice, then entered the study. ‘I am sorry, cousin, for your pain and your disappointment,’ he said uneasily.
‘The pain is nothing, but I am not disappointed, boy,’ the Baron told him, motioning the younger man to a seat opposite him. ‘Far from it. The Highlands need to be purged, and the excuse has now fluttered in on the wings of a dead hawk. A woman rebel was arrested after attacking the King’s Emissary. Highlanders raided the dungeons to release her. Then they attacked the King’s soldiers. When word reaches the south the King will send another five thousand men to serve under me, and we will march from Citadel to the sea and wipe out the clans once and for all.’
‘I don’t understand,’ said Leofric. ‘How are the clans a danger to the empire? They have no military organization, indeed no army, and there is no insurrection.’
The Baron smiled. ‘Then we cannot lose, can we, Leofric? And at the end I will have an army as large as Jastey’s. The King grows old and soft. You think Jastey has no plans to seize the crown for himself? Of course he has. And I can do nothing to stop him while I am stuck away here in this God-forsaken wilderness. However, a war against the clans, well that has great merit. In the south they still fear these northerners, and old men recall with dread how the shrieking savages erupted from the mountains bringing fire and death to the Lowlands. You will see, Leofric. As soon as news reaches the south of this latest outrage, the price of land south of the border will plummet. The weak-hearted will sell up and move and panic will sweep through the immediate Lowland towns.’
‘That I do understand,’ said Leofric, ‘but what if the Highlanders do hunt down this. .. Fell… and the woman? What if they surrender them to us to save the hostages?’
The Baron shook his head. ‘It won’t happen. I know these barbarians; they’re all too proud. I’ll hang the hostages as soon as they reach Citadel, and leave their bodies on the north wall for all to see. And if that doesn’t force at least a show of resistance, I’ll burn Cilfallen and a few of their towns.’
‘And what task would you have me perform, my lord?’ asked Leofric.
‘There will be no major invasion of the Highlands until spring. We want time for the fear to grow back home. I intend to attack with six thousand fighting men and five hundred engineers. You must put your mind to the question of how we feed and supply this army all the way to the sea. Also, I want you to study the maps and locate three sites for our fixed camps and fortifications. You know what is required: the forts should be situated close to the lands of the Pallides and the Farlain. Choose open ground, yet close enough to the woods for the men to be able to gather timber for the walls. Questions?’