Next to a lost battle, nothing is so sad as a battle that has been won.
Ensign Kensie Poldara crouched behind a bush. Blood was picketed three hundred yards back; the stallion was too big to hide or move quietly in the undergrowth. To either side of Kensie, his squad also hid themselves, waiting for Max Sayward and his squad to attack the slaver camp from the other side.
Sergeant Ingesson had found the track of the slaver caravan on the smuggler trail around noon. While Ensign Sayward and his men cautiously followed the slavers, he sent Private Quinn to Kensie's squad, which was patrolling nearby.
Consulting their maps, Kensie and Sergeant Urquart had placed their squad ahead of the slavers along the trail. By late afternoon, Private Style had returned from the guard post with Captain Peregrine and Lieutenant Krandall and two more squads. The slavers were now surrounded as they made their camp.
Based on the track, Sergeant Ingesson estimated there were a dozen slavers and thirty captives, probably women and children. Private Wertz, the best scout, had gotten close enough to roughly confirm Ingesson's estimate.
Kensie, using his mindspeech and animal mindspeech, came up with about the same number, identifying the slavers and captives by the feel of their minds rather than direct probes and looking through the eyes of the horses belonging to the two leaders of the slaver band. Since his numbers agreed with the other two estimates, he decided it was not necessary to reveal his gifts.
Captain Peregrine decided that they would attack while the slavers were still making camp, before the slavers could get sentries posted.
A slaver sent out as sentry approached Kensie's position. When he was ten yards away, Private Wertz rose silently behind him. Private Wertz clamped a hand over the slaver's mouth and drove a knife through his back into his heart. As he lowered the body silently to the ground, Private Wertz looked at Kensie's position. Kensie raised his hand in a 'thumbs up' gesture and mouthed the words "Well done, Wally."
A shout arose from the direction of the slaver camp, followed by screams and the sounds of fighting. With a nod to Sergeant Urquart, Kensie ordered his men to move forward quietly. They heard the sound of a horse running towards them. One of the leaders had leaped onto his horse bareback to get away.
Kensie reached out with his animal mindspeech to spook the animal. It bucked. With no saddle, the slaver fell to the ground directly in front of Kensie. The slaver rolled to his feet with his sword in his hand. He swung at Kensie, who beat the man's sword aside and drove a foot of his own sword through the man's throat.
The slaver's eyes bulged and his tongue stuck out as blood poured out of his mouth. Kensie pulled his sword out and the man fell to the ground. Kensie stabbed the man through the heart and stepped over his body.
"Good lad. Make sure the bastard's dead." Sergeant Urquart said as he trotted alongside Kensie. To either side of them, Kensie could hear his men fighting with fleeing slavers.
Ten yards from the camp, they met Max Sayward and his squad coming the other way. Kensie looked up at Max, who was riding Warden. He rested a hand on the horse's shoulder. "I think we've got them."
Kensie turned to Sergeant Urquart. "Did any get by us, sergeant?"
Urquart looked around, counting the squad and catching each man's eye.
"No one went past me." Jels Style reported. The other troopers shook their heads to confirm they had not seen any escapers. Three men held up bloody swords and grinned.
Lieutenant Krandall rode up. Max and Kensie reported they had not seen any escapers. "Come in to the camp." He ordered.
Kensie saluted. "Request permission to fetch my horse, Sir."
"Granted." Krandall said. "Be at the camp in a quarter candlemark."
Kensie turned and jogged to where he had left the stallion. As he went, he reached out with his animal mindspeech to calm the horse. The screams and noise of fighting had agitated Blood. To Kensie's surprise, he saw that the slaver's horse had found Blood and was grazing quietly nearby.
Kensie reached Blood and untied him. Mounting his horse, he took the reins of the slaver's horse – a small but serviceable chestnut gelding – and ponied it back to the camp with him.
When Kensie reached the camp, Captain Peregrine was angrily pacing around the fire. Max whispered to Kensie that the Captain was frustrated because all of the slavers were dead, including two that had been wounded as Max's squad swept through the camp. The captives, seeing the slaver gang broken, had beaten the two wounded slavers to death while the guard went after the others.
Captain Peregrine did not blame the freed captives. A few of them had already spat out their stories of rape and abuse at the slavers' hands. Their desire for revenge was understandable. Unfortunately, the death of all the members of the slaver gang meant that there were no leads to investigate.
Healer Leon was already in the camp and Ensigns Smith and Green and their squads arrived with supplies from the guard post. In addition, several people from North Evendim village began arriving. The women were especially helpful to comfort the freed captives.
Kensie and Max's troopers had a few minor injuries. The men bandaged each other to leave the healer free to help with the captives. Captain ordered the two to take their squads back to the guard post. As they left, Herald Harrow arrived with the healer from Goldenoak riding pillion on his Companion.
Kensie, Max and their squads arrived at the guard post just after sunset. After seeing that their men were fed and cleaned up, the two went to their quarters. Kensie could not get the memories of the condition of the captives out of his mind. To relax, he went to the training room and practiced slow stretches. A few sunwidths later, Max joined him.
Even the exercises did not help. The two ensigns returned to their quarters. They talked about what they had seen until they fell into an exhausted, fitful sleep.
Captain Peregrine brought the freed captives back to the guard post the next day. Female Heralds from nearby circuits arrived to gently question them, but they were not able to get any useful information about the slavers. Eventually, the guard organized wagons and an escort to take them back to their original homes or to temples in Poldara and Haven if they had no homes.
The evening before Rest Day, the four ensigns went to the Merry Gryphon for their usual social evening. Max arrived last. Glancing around, Max said "Kensie, could we go somewhere private?"
"Are we not invited?" Jai asked.
Kensie had an idea what was coming. "I think you might as well hear whatever Max wants to talk to me about. Unless Max objects to you being there?" The last was a question directed at Max.
Max looked uncomfortable, but shook his head. "You can decide once I've said my piece."
The four moved outside to a table in the shade of a tree. Max took a deep breath. "Kensie, I'm sorry. I took you for a coward. A few days ago, you proved me wrong. Please accept my apologies." He offered his hand. Jai and Rusty inhaled sharply, clearly uncomfortable.
Kensie shook Max's hand. As Jai and Rusty began to rise, Kensie waved them back to their seats. "You might as well hear this, too."
Quietly, Kensie again told the story of what had happened at the Final Battle, finishing once more with the statement he had no evidence to back his claim. He did not tell his comrades that he had told the story twice under the Truth Spell.
The four sat silently for a few breaths. Max extended his hand once more. "I believe you." He said. As Kensie clasped his hand, Jai and Rusty reached out, making a four way handshake.
They returned to the inn after the sun set. A journeyman bard, newly arrived from Haven, was entertaining the patrons. He sang a pair of saucy songs called "The Grey Stallion" and "The Red Gelding". The words caught Kensie's attention. He wondered about the references in the song. Could it be about Bredin Kase?
The summer passed much as the previous one, with patrols and firefighting. In the middle of Corn Moon, there were reports of bandit activity near Blaumeer. Captain Peregrine ordered extra patrols in the area.
Rusty Green and his squad came upon the bandits in the midst of robbing a small party of merchants. They killed three of the five bandits on the spot. Heralds Emeric and Harrow arrived three days later. They questioned the survivors under the Truth Spell, getting full confessions of several crimes and making sure no members of the gang had escaped. Captain Peregrine hanged the two robbers in the parade square.
There were three pirate attacks on villages along the southern part of Valdemar's Lake Evendim shore that year. None were near North Evendim guard post, so Captain Peregrine only had the general reports that were sent to all of the posts. In two of the cases, the local commanders suspected the pirates had had help from inside the villages.
In the fall, Rusty Green was promoted to lieutenant at the Stag River guard post. To Kensie's relief, his replacement was Stephen Conacre, the eldest son of Earl Conacre. Stephen had been among the circle around Rubin Larkin at court. He and Kensie were casual friends.
The winter was bitterly cold that year. Captain Peregrine ordered that road clearing crews work only half days, though this meant the men were out every day after a storm. Despite precautions, several of the men had frostbite.
The captain also ordered regular patrols on horseback in case anyone was caught outside. The patrols found and rescued dozens of individuals. They also found seven people frozen to death.
Kensie was grateful when spring finally arrived and the weather turned.
On a Rest Day about a fortnight before Midsummer, Kensie and Max returned from a ride along the shore to find Corporal Lutz waiting for them at the gate. "Cap'n wants to see you both immediately. I'll take your horses."
The two ensigns ran to the captain's office. The captain's clerk ushered them in without knocking.
Inside, the other officers were listening to a middle-aged civilian with a weathered face and heavy beard. The man was Artemus Boll, Headman of the village of Rushton, which was on the lake shore near the border with the Tayledras lands.
Master Boll told the officers how one of the young men of the village, a surly ne'er-do-well named Neil Hewkin, had lately started going off 'hunting' in the woods nearby. " 'e don't seem to catch much, but 'e's always got coppers for a pint." Master Boll said. "An' 'e's started acting uppity, like 'e's got somethin' on us. Told a few people that they 'better be nice to 'im now or they'll be sorry.' "
The officers exchanged glances as the headman went on. "I 'membered what you told us 'bout watchin' out for that sort o' thing, so me an' the other men decided I should come an' tell you."
"Has he any family in the village?" Captain Peregrine asked.
Master Boll shook his head. " 'is ma died years ago. 'is pa kept a lid on 'im until 'e died sudden last year. Conan was a bit of a blowhard, too, so we didn' think much of Neil's big talk until 'e started 'avin' coin all the time."
"Was there anything suspicious about Conan Hewkin's death?" Captain Peregrine asked.
The headman waved his hand dismissively. "Nah. Conan was jus' walkin' along an' 'e sudden grabs his chest an' groans a bit, then drops down dead. Neil was right upset like any normal boy."
"Where is Neil Hewkin now?"
Master Boll smiled conspiratorially. "I tol' 'im I needed help with some stuff I's buying 'ere. Got 'im to come along wi' me. 'e's over at the pub now."
Captain Peregrine's eyes flicked to Lieutenant Krandall, who saluted and left the room.
He rose from his desk and shook the headman's hand. "We'll bring him here for questioning. Would you mind waiting in another room until we are done?"
The captain summoned his clerk, who took Master Boll to the officers' social room. "Where is Herald Emeric?" He asked.
"If he's on schedule, he and his intern should be at Iron Ridge now." Lieutenant McNiall said. "It will take five days to get a message to them."
"Damn." Captain Peregrine swore. "We don't have five days. The first quarter moon is in five days and we have to be ready beforehand. If this Neil Hewkin knows anything, I need to find out now."
Kensie nodded to himself. He remembered what Captain Stroud of Goldenoak had noticed two years ago. Every attack since had followed the pattern.
Captain Peregrine began issuing orders to get the post ready to move out. He ordered Stephen Conacre to ride to Goldenoak and Stag River to request assistance. He ordered Max Sayward to go for the Heralds and bring them back as soon as possible. The officers began to leave, except for Lieutenant McNiall, who stayed to help the captain and Lieutenant Krandall interrogate Neil Hewkin.
Kensie lingered, waiting until all the others had left.
"What is it, Poldara?" Captain Peregrine snapped.
"Sir, I think it is time to decode those orders." Kensie said. His voice quavered as he spoke.
Joshua Peregrine's eyebrows shot up. Cautiously, he said "What do they say, Ensign?"
"I'm a mindspeaker, Sir." Kensie clasped his hands to keep them from shaking. "If this man isn't cooperative, I can read his thoughts. Unless you'd rather wait for the Herald…"
Captain Peregrine stared at Kensie for a long time. Lieutenant McNiall's mouth was open in shock. Carefully, the captain sat down. He stared at his desk and chewed his lip. "Now I understand what you said about knowing what was in the letter could be as disruptive as not knowing."
He looked up at Kensie. "Have you used your gift since you came here?"
"I've used it to help find people, Sir. That's why I'm so good at it. I can feel their minds without actually reading them. I can also mindspeak animals, especially horses. I've used that, too."
"Have you been spying on people in this post?" Captain Peregrine narrowed his eyes.
"No, Sir. The Heralds told me they would block my gifts if I ever did that without need. They check on me every time one of them visits the post. Other than the Heralds, you are the only one who can authorize me to read someone's mind."
"I see." The captain said. "You had better stay here, then, in case we need your help. For now, this will remain between the three of us and Lieutenant Krandall."
Lieutenant Krandall returned with Neil Hewkin; four burly privates strong-armed him into the office and sat him down.
Neil Hewkin was not cooperative and shouted curses and abuse at Captain Peregrine when questioned. When the captain asked where Neil was getting the money he spent, he went white and shut up completely. Captain Peregrine nodded at Kensie.
Now, as the captain questioned the young man, Kensie read the answers from his mind.
Neil Hewkin had taken money to betray his village. There would be an attack in five nights. Neil Hewkin was to knock out or kill whoever was on watch and open the stockade to the pirates. They promised him he would join their crew after they sacked the village. Kensie also obtained the signal that Neil would use to tell the pirates all was ready.
When the interrogation was done, Neil Hewkin was shaking in fear and anger from having his thoughts read. Captain Peregrine had no pity. "Just so you know. The pirates have no use for traitors, even ones they've made. The last three men who betrayed their village got a knife in the back to pay them off." He ordered the man taken to a cell.
Five nights later, Kensie watched from the village stockade as the quarter moon sank into the waters of Lake Evendim. Heralds Emeric and Harrow had arrived late that afternoon. Since they could reach Kensie's mind at a distance, Captain Peregrine had placed Kensie inside the village with his squad and Ensign Conacre's. Their job was to stop the pirates at the gate and prevent them entering the village. At the gate, the pirates would not be able to use their larger numbers to overwhelm the two squads within.
::They are getting into position.:: The mindvoice was Herald Emeric's. ::They should be signalling soon.::
Kensie ran down the steps from the wall and joined the others. "They're coming." He said as he swung up on Blood. There was a rustling in the darkness as the men readied themselves.
Kensie heard the pirate signal: Three owl hoots followed by a pause and two more. "Do it, Wally!" Kensie ordered in a soft voice.
On top of the wall, Private Wertz flashed a lantern towards the trees. Three flashes, a pause, two more.
The pirates repeated their signal and Private Wertz responded again.
::They're moving.:: Emeric sent.
The pirate force, about eighty men, emerged from the forest and cautiously approached the gate.
"Open it!" Kensie ordered. The two squads inside the stockade shifted nervously as the gate swung open. Behind the pirates and around them, two hundred troopers from three guard posts hid in the trees and readied themselves. As Rushton lay in Captain Peregrine's territory, Captains Stroud and Termole had placed their troops under Captain Peregrine's command.
Behind Kensie, thirty men from the village were perched on rooftops around the village square with their bows drawn.
The pirates' approach seemed to take ages. At last, Kensie could make out a darker mass moving towards them in the night.
The pirates paused twenty feet from the gate. "Hewkin, 'ave you done it?" came a harsh voice from the midst of the pirates.
Wally Wertz, who had been chosen to impersonate the treacherous Neil Hewkin because he was similar in build and voice, stood slightly forward to one side of the gate. "Yah, guard's dead. Come on."
Kensie had to give the pirates credit for discipline. They did not shout, but simply charged the gate. Knowing that Herald Emeric was 'listening' he mentally shouted ::They're attacking!:: to the Herald.
He waited until the pirates reached the threshold of the gate before shouting "Now!"
The archers on the rooftops lifted the flaps on their lanterns, aiming beams of light at the pirates and revealing them in mid-charge. Behind the lanterns, the archers were still hidden in darkness as they shot their bows. A volley of arrows hit the partly blinded pirates, who screamed as they were struck. From beyond the stockade, Kensie could hear bugles as Captain Peregrine and the others emerged from the trees to close the trap.
"Forward!" Kensie shouted and the guardsmen charged the stunned pirates. Kensie rode Blood straight into the pirate center and began slashing down. His sword sliced across one man's face. The man screamed and covered his torn eye socket. Kensie struck again, chopping the man in the back of the neck. The man made a gurgling sound and dropped. In front of Kensie, Blood's hooves trampled men flattened by his charge. Kensie could hear the agonized screams as bones crunched and broke under the horse's steel shoes.
Beside Kensie, Stephen Conacre rode his own warhorse into the melee and hacked at the pirates. Arrows whizzed overhead as the villagers continued to shoot into the mass of pirates. They had been given careful instructions to aim high to avoid hitting the Valdemaran guardsmen.
The pirates, now realizing they had been trapped, broke and began to flee. Kensie and Stephen moved their squads to the gate, blocking it with a wall of men. Captain Peregrine had given them a direct order not to go out of the gate to avoid the possibility of the guardsmen fighting each other.
The surrounding troops outside drove the pirates back towards the stockade, encircling them.
"Throw down your weapons!" Lieutenant Krandall shouted from the darkness beyond.
"To hell with you!" A pirate shouted, throwing a knife in the direction of the unseen voice. An arrow cut him down a moment later.
"Finish them!" Captain Peregrine shouted. With a roar, the guardsmen closed on the surrounded pirates.
Several pirates near the gate turned and charged Kensie's line. In the light of the lanterns from the village, Kensie could see one stripling running towards him with a spear. Kensie raised his sword to strike.
Blood reared to smash the young pirate with his hooves. The boy ducked under the stallion's legs and drove his spear into its belly. With a terrible scream, Blood fell. Kensie tumbled off into the midst of the pirates.
Raging, Kensie rolled to his feet. Alberich and Hwyl's training took over and his fury drove his cold calculation as he lashed out all around him. He barely avoided striking Jels Style as the private moved to his side.
"Back to the gate, Sir." Jels grabbed his arm. Still fighting with the remaining pirates, Kensie and Jels retreated to the line of his squad.
Outside the gate, Captain Peregrine closed the ring. Mercilessly, the guardsmen hacked the pirates down. Soon, only a handful were left. Knowing they would be hanged, the pirates did not surrender and fought to the last man.
With the pirates dead, the din of the battle ceased. Kensie's line and those beside Captain Peregrine stared at each other across the bodies of the pirates. "Well done, all of you." Captain Stroud said where she rode beside her counterpart.
With the battle at the village over, Kensie heard the terrible screams of his horse. The spear was lodged deep into Blood's belly, there was no way to save its life. The horse screamed and thrashed in pain. With tears streaming down his cheeks, Kensie drew his dagger and thrust it upward under the stallion's chin. Blood jerked, stiffened and lay still.
There was a moan from the stallion's side. Kensie looked towards the sound. Private Comstock shone a lantern at the source. The pirate boy – by his face, he was no more than fifteen – was pinned under the stallion's body.
Kensie raised his dagger. "You killed my horse." He said.
"He killed my pa." The boy said.
Kensie paused, staring at the boy's face. He looked up at the faces of his men, who stared grimly down at the boy, their anger plainly visible. "Take him and tie him." Kensie ordered. He sheathed his dagger.
Kensie looked around. In far distance beyond the trees, he could see the glow of a fire.
Lieutenant Krandall followed his gaze. "Captain Termole and his men are burning their ships." The Stag River captain and half of his men were tasked with destroying the pirate ships and wiping out the pirates left to guard them.
"Good." Kensie said. He drew a deep breath. "I'd better see to my men."
Kensie found Sergeant Urquart and asked for a report.
"Wertz is dead." The sergeant said. Kensie flinched and Urquart went on. "A few others injured, none seriously." He pointed at Kensie's leg. "Looks like you have a cut there yourself, Sir."
Kensie glanced down. His right trouser was slashed open and there was a shallow cut on his thigh. Now that he was aware of it, the cut began to sting and throb. "Do you have a bandage?" He asked.