at the juncture of the north and south forks. It’s seventy leagues
from there to Seline. At a forced march, my army should reach
Seline in seven days. It’ll take the Asturians a day or so to march
to Seline from the coast and my army will be in place before they
get there.’
‘Thou art remarkably well versed in military strategy, Polgara,’
Andrion noted.
‘For a woman, you mean? I’ve been in Arendia for six hundred
years, Andrion, so I’ve had lots of experience with military matters.’
‘I will send mine own army to thine assistance,’ he said.
‘You’ve got your own borders to defend, Andrion.’
“Gainst whom, dear lady?’ he said with a smile. ‘Carteon hath
committed his entire army to the assault upon the northern reaches
of thy realm. He hath no force to hurl at me.’ Then he gave me a
boyish kind of grin. ‘Besides,’ he said in plain speech, ‘why should
you have all the fun?’
‘Oh, dear,’ I sighed.
‘I do perceive some flaw in these computations of thine, my Lady
,olgara,’ Lathan objected. ‘Thine army is encamped two day’s hard
ride from here, and Ontrose himself is at thy manor house on the
shore of Lake Erat. There will, methinks, be some delay ere thy force
can begin the march to Seline.’
‘I have certain advantages, Lathan,’ I reminded him. ‘General
Halbren’s my champion’s second in command, and he’s a solid,
practical man who can surely march troops a scant seventy leagues.
I’ll be talking with him before the day’s out, and with Ontrose not
too much later.’ I squinted at the map again. ‘Halbren can handle
the march,’ I decided. ‘I think I’ll have Ontrose go straight on to
Seline to start reinforcing the city walls. Your army will arrive three
days after mine, and I want to be sure that we’re still holding the
city when you get there.’
‘And then will I fall upon Carteon’s unprotected rear and grind
him into dog-meat ‘gainst the unyielding walls of thy city,’ Lathan
promised in a bleak voice.
‘I’m sure the dogs will appreciate that,’ I said lightly. ‘You,
however, are going directly from here to bed. His Grace here can order
your army to start the march. You can catch up with them in a day
or so.’
‘I command the army, your Grace,’ he objected. ‘It is my duty to
lead them.’
‘They know which way north is, Baron. They don’t need you out
in front to point the way. Get some sleep. You’re right on the verge
of falling apart.’
‘But – I
‘No buts, Lathan! Go to your room! Now!’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ he surrendered.
I had a strange, nagging feeling that something was seriously
wrong with Baron Lathan. I knew that he was exhausted, but his
behavior seemed somehow to be more dead than just tired. I didn’t
have time to investigate that, however. I went out onto the balcony
of the room where we’d just held our meeting and changed my
form to that of the now-familiar falcon.
General Halbren was a blocky man who’d come up through the
ranks rather than having had his rank bestowed upon him as an
addendum to a noble title. He was a thorough-going professional,
and I had a great deal of respect for him. He carefully considered the
information Baron Lathan had dredged out of Asturia and politely
suggested some slight modifications to my planned response to the
“Pending invasion of the Asturians. ‘There’s always the possibility
that Ouke Garteon may send an advance force to take Seline before
the bulk of his army arrives, your Grace,’ he pointed out. ‘Ten
leagues a day is probably the most we can expect from our
footsoldiers, but our cavalry units can cover more ground. If it’s all right
with you, I’ll detach the cavalry and send them on ahead – just to
be on the safe side.’ He smiled briefly. ‘Count Ontrose is very good,
but defending Seline all by himself might stretch him just a bit.’
‘We wouldn’t want that, would we, Halbren?’ I agreed. ‘I’ll be
going on to my house now, and I’ll tell him to expect reinforcements
in -‘ I hesitated. ‘How many days?’
‘Four, your Grace. Five at the most. It’ll be a little hard on the
horses, but they won’t be involved in the defense of Seline, so they’ll
be able to rest after they get there.’
‘As it seemeth best to thee, esteemed General,’ I said with an
extravagant curtsey.
‘Must you, my Lady?’ he sighed.
I laughed and then went a ways outside the orderly encampment
and put my feathers back on.
All in all, I was somewhat pleased at the way this was turning
out. Baron Lathan’s courage and enterprise had given us just enough
warning of Carteon’s planned invasion that we’d be ready for him
when he arrived. I had enough time to evacuate all the civilians in
the area, so my casualties would be minimal, and once Duke
Garteon’s army had been decimated, he’d have no choice but to
capitulate. The Battle of Seline would most probably insure another
generation of peace in Arendia.
It was evening when I settled in the garden of my manor house
at Lake Erat. Then I resumed my own form and went looking for
Ontrose. I found him in my library studying a map. It was childish,
I know, but I hadn’t seen him for several weeks, so I slipped silently
UP behind him, reached around, and put my hands over his eyes.
‘Guess who,’ I murmured softly in his ear.
‘Lady Polgara?’ he replied, sounding startled.
‘You peeked,’ I accused. ‘That’s not fair.’ Then I kissed hin,
several times, actually.
And then he kissed me. It was only one kiss, but it lasted for
quite some time. My senses were reeling and I was breathing hard
at its conclusion. I began to have some improper thoughts about
then, but I decided that it might be a good idea to advise him Of
the current situation – little things such as marching armies across
the land, defending cities, and wiping out the Asturians – before
we got down to the more serious matters.
My champion was startled by the news. ‘Art thou certain Of this’
polgara?’ he asked .
This was the first time he’d ever addressed me
by my name, and that fitted in rather neatly with the plans I had
for later in the evening.
‘The information comes from Baron Lathan, dear heart,’ I assured
him. ‘He slipped away and went to Asturia without telling Duke
Aridrion and me what he was up to. He personally heard Carteon
and his underlings discussing their scheme, and he watched the
embarkation of the Asturian army with his own eyes.’
,I would trust Lathan with my life, Polgara,’ he said, ‘and his
word is not open to question. I must to horse.’
‘Whatever for?’
‘I must ride to the south to rouse our forces to rush to the defense
of Seline.’
‘Put your saddle away, dear,’ I told him. ‘I stopped by our army
encampment on my way north. General Halbren will begin the
march to Seline at dawn. He suggests that you go straight from here
to Seline to prepare the city walls for the Asturian assault. He’s
sending the cavalry units on ahead to give you enough manpower
to resist any advance attacks by crack units of Carteon’s army.’
‘Halbren is most practical,’ Ontrose agreed. ‘We are most fortunate
to have him.’
‘There’s a bit more, Ontrose,’ I told him. ‘Baron Lathan’s going
to march the Wacite army north. He should arrive at Seline a day
or so after the initial Asturian assault.’
‘Dear, dear Lathan!’ Ontrose almost chortled. “Tween us both,
we shall surely obliterate Carteon’s army, and gentle peace shall
re-emerge in poor Arendia.’
I loved Ontrose almost to the point of distraction, but the
conjunction of ‘Obliteration’ and ‘gentle peace’ seemed to clash just a bit.
Ontrose was a poet, so he should have been a bit more careful with
language than that.
‘Hast thou perchance assigned numbers to those sundry events,
POl?’ he asked.
‘Numbers of what?’
‘Of days, your Grace. When did Carteon’s fleet sail?’
‘Oh, now I understand. Carteon’s force left Vo Astur three days
ago. mY computations suggest that his fleet will be at sea for eleven
days – that’s eight days from now. Halbren should arrive at Seline
in seven days. Assuming that it’ll take a day for the Asturians to
march to Seline. we’ll see him outside the city walls on the twelfth
day. Lathan should arrive on the thirteenth day.’
‘and by the fifteenth day, Carteon’s army shall be no more,’ my
champion added grimly.
‘Thy strategy is masterly, beloved.’
‘Better even than that, it appears,’I said with a warm glow surging
through my veins.
‘I do fear me that I do not take thy meaning, Pol,’ he confessed.
‘I’m not talking about this incidental war, my dear” I said rather