themselves.
He laid himself out on the mattress and closed his eyes. He no longer expected any night to bring easy rest, for they were always full of frightening dreams and sudden wakings. Still, he could hope.
III
Orisian broke his fast the next morning in the main hall. The trestle tables were lined with Guardsmen, and with the homeless and destitute given shelter in the barracks. Orisian sat with Taim and Torcaill and the rest of the Lannis warriors.
The hall was filled with cacophonous activity. Plates clattered; arguments raged; cooks and servants rushed back and forth. Orisian's head ached, and he winced at each crash of a falling tray and each shouted insult. The night had not, in the end, been restful. Several times he had woken with a heart set racing by the horror of some forgotten dream. The wind had raged all through the hours of darkness, shaking the building.
"Two dead sentries on the edge of town last night," Taim said between mouthfuls of salted porridge.
"No one saw anything?" asked Orisian.
Taim shook his head. "But one of them was savaged. Had his hand almost torn off, and his throat bitten out. Dogs, it looked like."
"Hunt Inkallim," said Torcaill. He looked as weary as Orisian felt.
"Seems likely," agreed Taim. "There's a good chance one or more of them got inside the town. Not a good sign."
"I don't mean to be chased out of here yet," said Orisian quickly. Best, he thought, to anticipate the suggestion he could already imagine Taim formulating.
The warrior regarded his Thane for a moment or two, and Orisian could see his disagreement clearly in his expression, but when Taim spoke it was mildly: "The Hunt'd only be creeping around in here for two reasons I can think of. Either they meant to kill someone--you, most likely, if they know you're here--or they're scouting the place out for an attack. Neither choice bodes well for us."
"I know," Orisian said.
Although Ive was a substantial town, one of the Kilkry Blood's biggest, it was ill prepared to stand against an assault. It had long been remote from any disputed land or battlefield; it had no castle, and the wall that once ringed it had long ago been dismantled, its stones turned to more peaceful use in the skeletons of barns and farmhouses.
For days now, labourers had been toiling all around the edge of town, trying to encircle it with a ditch and timber palisade. Until that work was completed, Ive's only defence was the flesh and steel of the warriors gathered there, the Guard and the poorly armed townsfolk themselves. In all there were perhaps a thousand trained fighting men, and another two thousand untrained but willing and able to fight. More than enough to master the savage but disorganised raiding bands they had faced so far; too few to last long if the Black Road's full might descended upon them.
"There might still be time to get to Kilvale," Torcaill said, sounding almost hopeful. "For every score that turn up in Ive each day, there's a dozen leaving and heading south. They think the road's still open."
"But they don't know," Orisian said. "Nobody knows who's in control anywhere, not really. It'd take... what, two days to get there? If we're caught on the road, we'd be finished. And there's nowhere the Black Road will want more than Kilvale. It's their birthplace. If we did reach Kilvale, and it falls, where do we run to then? Dun Aygll? Vaymouth, even? What kind of a Thane would that make me?"
He glared questioningly at Torcaill. The warrior studied his bowl, stirring the porridge within it carefully.
Taim Narran was less reticent. "A living one, at least," he murmured.
Orisian looked at the older warrior, an angry retort boiling up towards his lips. But the momentary fury passed. He breathed deeply.
"I'm sorry," he said. He pressed finger and thumb to his temple, willing the throbbing in his skull to subside. "I just think... I think we lack the strength to make any difference in whatever struggles are to come between Haig
He laid himself out on the mattress and closed his eyes. He no longer expected any night to bring easy rest, for they were always full of frightening dreams and sudden wakings. Still, he could hope.
III
Orisian broke his fast the next morning in the main hall. The trestle tables were lined with Guardsmen, and with the homeless and destitute given shelter in the barracks. Orisian sat with Taim and Torcaill and the rest of the Lannis warriors.
The hall was filled with cacophonous activity. Plates clattered; arguments raged; cooks and servants rushed back and forth. Orisian's head ached, and he winced at each crash of a falling tray and each shouted insult. The night had not, in the end, been restful. Several times he had woken with a heart set racing by the horror of some forgotten dream. The wind had raged all through the hours of darkness, shaking the building.
"Two dead sentries on the edge of town last night," Taim said between mouthfuls of salted porridge.
"No one saw anything?" asked Orisian.
Taim shook his head. "But one of them was savaged. Had his hand almost torn off, and his throat bitten out. Dogs, it looked like."
"Hunt Inkallim," said Torcaill. He looked as weary as Orisian felt.
"Seems likely," agreed Taim. "There's a good chance one or more of them got inside the town. Not a good sign."
"I don't mean to be chased out of here yet," said Orisian quickly. Best, he thought, to anticipate the suggestion he could already imagine Taim formulating.
The warrior regarded his Thane for a moment or two, and Orisian could see his disagreement clearly in his expression, but when Taim spoke it was mildly: "The Hunt'd only be creeping around in here for two reasons I can think of. Either they meant to kill someone--you, most likely, if they know you're here--or they're scouting the place out for an attack. Neither choice bodes well for us."
"I know," Orisian said.
Although Ive was a substantial town, one of the Kilkry Blood's biggest, it was ill prepared to stand against an assault. It had long been remote from any disputed land or battlefield; it had no castle, and the wall that once ringed it had long ago been dismantled, its stones turned to more peaceful use in the skeletons of barns and farmhouses.
For days now, labourers had been toiling all around the edge of town, trying to encircle it with a ditch and timber palisade. Until that work was completed, Ive's only defence was the flesh and steel of the warriors gathered there, the Guard and the poorly armed townsfolk themselves. In all there were perhaps a thousand trained fighting men, and another two thousand untrained but willing and able to fight. More than enough to master the savage but disorganised raiding bands they had faced so far; too few to last long if the Black Road's full might descended upon them.
"There might still be time to get to Kilvale," Torcaill said, sounding almost hopeful. "For every score that turn up in Ive each day, there's a dozen leaving and heading south. They think the road's still open."
"But they don't know," Orisian said. "Nobody knows who's in control anywhere, not really. It'd take... what, two days to get there? If we're caught on the road, we'd be finished. And there's nowhere the Black Road will want more than Kilvale. It's their birthplace. If we did reach Kilvale, and it falls, where do we run to then? Dun Aygll? Vaymouth, even? What kind of a Thane would that make me?"
He glared questioningly at Torcaill. The warrior studied his bowl, stirring the porridge within it carefully.
Taim Narran was less reticent. "A living one, at least," he murmured.
Orisian looked at the older warrior, an angry retort boiling up towards his lips. But the momentary fury passed. He breathed deeply.
"I'm sorry," he said. He pressed finger and thumb to his temple, willing the throbbing in his skull to subside. "I just think... I think we lack the strength to make any difference in whatever struggles are to come between Haig
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