fail to save Erat. Even though it cost me my life, I would obey that
last command of the man I loved. It was my duty, and duty was
all I had left.
I didn’t bother to explain this to father. As a matter of fact, I didn’t
speak to him at all as the two of us rode on up out of the forests of
Wacune toward the more open lands of Sendaria. Trying to explain
would have been a waste of time, since as closely as I’ve been able
to determine, father’s never actually ruled even so much as a small
barony, so he hasn’t the faintest idea of what’s involved in wearing
a crown. He assumed that my sullen-seeming silence was nothing
more than sulking, but in actuality it was the result of my
preoccupation with the defense of my southern border against the inevitable
Asturian invasion. Of one thing I was absolutely certain. My first
step in defending my duchy would be to get this meddlesome old
man out of my hair.
When we reached Muros, the city was in chaos. The merchants
were desperately trying to find somebody – anybody – willing to
buy up their assets at any price, the Algars had driven their herds
back across the mountains to safety, and the general population was
on the verge of flight. It didn’t take a genius to realize that the
Asturians would be at the city gates very soon. The more I thought
about it, the more I became convinced that Muros would be the key
to the defense of my southern frontier. The city was technically a
part of the Wacite duchy, but the collapse of Wacune had left it
hanging on a branch all by itself, a prize for the first passerby willing
to take the trouble to pick it. Even as father and I rode out of town,
I decided that I was going to annex Muros and the surrounding
territory all the way down to the banks of the River Camaar. That
river bank would obviously be a more defensible boundary than
some imaginary line running down the middle of a wandering
country lane..
First, however, I had to get clear of my father so that I could get
to work. The important thing was to avoid going all the way back
to the Vale with him. Once we arrived there, I’d never be able to
get out from under his thumb. I maintained my pretense of sullen,
suffering silence as we rode on up into the summer-touched
Sendarian mountains, and when we came down onto the rolling
grassland of Algaria, I was ready.
It was about noon on a glorious mid-summer day when we
reached the roofless remains of mother’s cottage, and that was when
I reined in and dismounted. ‘This is as far as I’m going,’ I announced.
‘What?’
‘You heard me, father. I’m going to stay here.’ I said it flatly and
with a note of finality. I didn’t want any misunderstanding.
‘You have work to do, Pol.’ This? Coming from a man who
avoided work as he’d avoid the plague?
‘That’s too bad, father,’ I told him. ‘You’ll have to take care of it.
Go back to your tower and snuggle up to your prophecies, but leave
me out of it. We’re through, father. This is the end of it. Now go
away and don’t bother me any more.’
That was wishful thinking, of course. I knew that father would
give things a day or two to cool down before he came sneaking
back to keep an eye on me, so I gave him about an hour to get out
of earshot, and then I went falcon and flew back across the
mountains to Erat, arriving at my manor house just at twilight. Then I
went looking for my Seneschal, Malon Killaneson. Malon was a
lineal descendant of one of Killane’s younger brothers, and he
closely resembled his many times over great uncle. He was efficient
and practical, and his easy-going mannerisms made people want to
cooperate with him in much the same way they had with Killane
himself. I did rather approve of Malon’s decision not to grow that
silly-looking fringe of a beard that had so marred Killane’s
appearance, though.
I found him. poring over a map in my library, and he started
visibly when I entered. ‘Praise be!’ he exclaimed. ‘I thought y’d
perished at Vo Wacune. How ever did y’ manage t’ escape, yer
Grace?’
My father decided to rescue me, Malon,’ I told him. ‘What’s
happening here?’
I fear all is lost, me Lady,’ he replied in despairing tones.
‘Everybody in yer domain knows fer sure that th’ Asturians kin march
in an’ take th’ whole duchy any time they want to, so there’s
hopelessness drippin’ off every tree an’ bush. When I thought y’d
been lost at Vo Wacune, me heart went down into me boots, an’ I
bin plannin’ t’ make me own escape across th’ mountains into
Algaria.’
‘You’d desert me, Malon?’ I accused.
‘I thought y’ was dead, yer Grace, so there wasn’t nothin’ left
here fer me.’
‘Is everything falling apart, then?’
‘Pretty much so, yer Grace. Yer army’s runnin’ around in circles,
not knowin’ which way t’ turn. Th’ Asturians are comin’, an’
everybody w’ the slightest touch o’ good sense is lookin’ fer a place t’
hide, don’t y’ know.’
‘Well, Laddy-buck,’ I said in a fair imitation of his own Wacite
brogue, ‘do yer despairin’ on yer own time. You an me, we got
work t’ do, so hitch up yer britches an’ let’s get at it. The Asturians
might have taken Wacune, but s’ long as I have breath, they’ll not
be after takin’ Erat, don’t y’ know.’
‘Now yer after soundin’ like me very own dear mother, Lady
Polgara,’ he said, laughing. ‘Is there any way at all we kin keep th’
murderin’ Asturians out o’ our front parlor?’
‘I think we can come up with something, Malon.’ I thought for a
moment. ‘The core of our problem lies in the close ties Erat has
always had with Wacune. The two duchies have never really been
separate, so we aren’t used to doing our own thinking.’ I made a
rueful face. ‘It’s probably my fault. I was concentrating about half
of my attention on keeping the peace in all Arendia, so I’ve divided
mY time between this house and the one in Vo Wacune. I suppose
I should have stayed closer to home to mind the store. More to the
Point, though, our army’s always been little more than an extension
of the Wacite force, so my generals haven’t had much experience
with independent thinking.’ I gave him a sidelong glance. ‘What
say y’, Laddy-buck? Would y’be after wantin’ t’ join me in educatin,
some soldiers in th’ fine art o’ thinkin’ fer themselves?’
‘When Y’ talk like that, Lady-o, I’d be after wantin’ t’ join y’ in
almost anythin’.’
‘Good. Go to General Halbren, the Chief of Staff. He’s a good,
solid man we can count on. Tell him that I’m back and that I’ll be
issuing the commands now. He’ll know what to do when he passes
my orders on to his subordinates. They’ll need lots of details right
at first, but after they realize that the commands are coming from
here rather than Vo Wacune, we’ll be able to start loosening the reins
a bit. The first order I want you to pass on to Halbren is that we’re
going to move in and annex Muros, Camaar, and Darine – along
with all the territory around our fringes. From now on, everything
north of the River Camaar is mine.’
‘There might be some argument about that, yer Grace. Them
Wacite Barons in th’ border areas be fearful independent, don’t y’ know.’
‘They’ll get over it, Malon. I’m bigger, older, and nastier than they
are. I can’t afford to have territory just off my left shoulder-blade
that I can’t control. For the time being, though, tell Halbren to
concentrate on Muros. It’s a rich town, so Duke Carteon of Asturia’s
certainly drooling in anticipation of the day when all that wealth
gets transferred into his own treasury. I’m going to give him a very
pointed lesson in good manners. just as soon as he comes across
the River Camaar, I’m going to trample on his face until it looks as
if he’s just been run over by a plow.’
‘Whoo!’ Malon said in mock surprise. ‘Aren’t y’ th’ fierce one,
Lady-O?’
‘I’m just getting started, Malon. If you want to see fierce, wait
until I’ve built up some momentum. Now then, you and I have
about a day and a half to get a week’s work done, so let’s get down
to cases.’ I sat down beside him, and we both started laying out our
defenses on his map.
By morning, we had our troop deployment roughed in. I knew