Blackstone (Book 2) (14 page)

As it happened, the two men standing guard at the iron black
gates were ones he knew well. He’d fought with and against them several times.
They were as much friends as enemies, depending on how much they all had to
drink that night. So they automatically gave him a friendly wave, even as their
postures went taut, ready for a fight if he was bringing one.

Wolf waved them down, not slowing his pace as he said, “I
bring messages directly from my guildmaster. We have information of the army
that’s coming this direction.”

Tollak and Varg gave each other alarmed looks and demanded
in near unison, “You know about that?!”

“Where’s Darrens?” Wolf asked impatiently. He didn’t have
time for stupid questions.

“Not sure,” Varg admitted, frowning as he looked over his
shoulder, toward the main building. “I heard that he was calling for an
all-hands meeting with the higher-ups. I’d guess in the main meeting hall. If
not there, someone is bound to be in there that would know.”

Good enough. Wolf fidgeted in place as they quickly unlocked
the gate and pushed it open. With a quick stride, he slipped through, going in
almost before they could clear the path so people could enter.

The bustle of the city didn’t compare to the compound. Wolf
couldn’t go two steps without knocking into someone. Ryu Jin Ho, Markl, and
Rune all clasped each other’s wrists in a firm grip to make sure that they
didn’t lose anyone just going from the gate to the main door of the meeting
hall. Wolf’s impatience, already thrumming and pulsing like a live thing, was
just about at the breaking point when he finally put his hand on the wooden
door and pushed it roughly inside.

There were rows of chairs on the left and right hand side,
leaving a clear space in the middle for the speakers to stand in. Otherwise the
room was empty of furniture, and only the light from the windows and the lamps
hanging overhead illuminated the place. Wolf found to his relief that Darrens,
his wife, and most of the guildmaster’s main men were already gathered. Darrens
was in the middle of the room, apparently stalking back and forth as people
gave him information, but upon their entrance the Guildmaster of Blackstone
stopped dead.

“Wolfinsky!” he said, tone mixed between relief and
surprise. “I’ve been trying to reach Deepwoods for the past week. Where have
you been?”

“Saoleord.” Wolf stepped far enough inside that he could
half turn, his good hand gesturing to the man standing quietly behind him.
“This is Ryu Jin Ho-zhi of Saoleord, a strategist. He’s come to help us deal
with the army coming our direction.”

Darrens automatically inclined his head to the man.
“Greetings, sir. I’m Gared Darrens, Guildmaster of Blackstone and ruler of this
city. Please, come sit and talk with me.”

Ryu Jin Ho bowed, arms to his sides. “I would be pleased to
do so.”

Darrens’ gaze cut back to Wolf. “Army? That’s confirmed?”

It was Markl that answered. “We haven’t seen it with our own
eyes, but we’ve seen the destruction left in its wake. It has razed Channel
Pass and Stott almost to the ground. The only thing left was the stone skeleton
of the cities.”

A black thunderstorm swept over the guildmaster’s
expression. “Are they coming here next?”

“Here or Winziane,” Markl confirmed. “We believe here, as
it’s closer and a more direct approach.”

Several voices offered up muted prayers. Wolf silently
joined them.

Darrens strode over to where Ryu Jin Ho sat and took the
chair next to him, sitting sideways so that he could face the man directly.
“Master Ryu Jin Ho, Wolfinsky called you a strategist. Explain to me what that
is.”

“It means I know the strategy of war,” Ryu Jin Ho explained
with one hand splayed, a feral light in his eyes. “It means I know how to train
men and women to fight as a unit, as an army, and outmaneuver my opponents.”

Rubbing a rough hand over his face, Darrens looked away for
a moment. “You know how to fight and lead armies. We certainly need someone
with that skill, but how did you know to come here so quickly?”

“A student of ours, Man Fei Lei, saw the signs of this
months ago. He convinced Siobhan-jia of the direness of the situation. She came
to us and asked for help. We all hoped to come in time to divert the disaster.”
Ryu Jin Ho let out a sad sigh. “I fear I have come to you too late. Now we do
not have time to train as we should.”

“We know nothing about war. We’ve never fought one.” Darrens
seemed, in that moment, completely lost. Wolf was surprised to see it because
in all the time he’d known this man, Darrens had never once been uncertain
about anything. Even when Lirah went missing last year, he’d known what to do to
find her again. “Even when Siobhan and Man Fei Lei came to me and tried to
convince me of the possibility, I couldn’t even imagine it. Now that I’m faced
with it, still, it seems more like a nightmare than anything else. I…Master Ryu
Jin Ho, I am glad to see you. We’ve been debating all morning what to do. What
can we do?”

Ryu Jin Ho gave him a confident, encouraging nod as he said,
“There are many things we can do. Hope is not lost yet. We must act quickly,
however, and work with everyone if we are to succeed in protecting this city.”

“I welcome your help and advice. Where do we start?”

“A map of the city, a list of its defenses, and a knowledge
of its defenders is what I need before I can answer that question.”

“You have it,” Darrens promised immediately. Turning to his
wife, he said, “Kari, help me gather all the information. Bring it back here.” With
that order issued, he asked, “Where is Siobhan?”

“Winziane,” Rune answered. “We did not know where they’d go,
so we split up ta send warning ahead ta both cities.” Rune shifted from foot to
foot, body slowly turning toward the door, his body language making it clear he
wanted to leave. “Guildmaster Darrens, if ya don’t mind, I’d like ta go to
Winziane now and tell them what’s happening here.”

“That’s wise,” Darrens allowed. “Master Hammon, Wolfinsky,
have you learned strategy while in Saoleord?”

“Some,” both men allowed.

“Then you’re staying. I need you here to help us. Master
Rune, I know you’re running out of daylight. Go. Tell Siobhan I want her back
here as soon as possible. I need both Pathmakers just in case things go wrong
and I have to evacuate the city.”

Rune nodded understanding, spun on his heel, and sprinted
out of the room so quickly air spun in his wake.

Wolf slapped a hand to his cheek and mentally ordered
himself to focus as people started arriving with maps and such in their hands.
Siobhan had commanded him not to fall. He intended to keep that promise, but he
had no intention of letting Goldschmidt fall either. Not on his watch. Not if
he could help it. 

After seeing Channel Pass’s destruction, Siobhan half-feared
that Winziane would be the same. They arrived at the other end of the path to
find that the city thrived with its usual bustle of activity. One could
believe, watching the traffic back and forth, hearing the din of noise, and
feeling the vibrant life pouring from the place, that there was no threat of
destruction hanging overhead. It was like what had happened in Channel Pass was
only a dream, a nightmare, and one best forgotten.

Oh, if only…if only that were true.

As she climbed off the cart, she caught sight of Hyun Woo’s
expression and paused, her feet not quite touching the ground. “Hyun Woo-zhi?
Is something the matter?”

He gave a sour grunt, brows furrowed as his eyes roved over
the city. “A pretty place but it will be hard to defend.”

Siobhan paused and really looked at the place, trying to see
it the way he did. Winziane sat on a flat plain, surrounded by lakes on all
sides, with one estuary that led directly to the sea. Its location was perfect
for trading and for craftsmen of all types, as they had most of the resources
they needed readily at hand. Of course Winziane had a wall around it, but it
wasn’t anything large or impressive. Only the insane would try to attack the
city. It was one of the largest in Robarge, after all, and controlled by the
most influential guild on the continent. Who in their right mind would attack
it? The walls were just high enough to control traffic flow, nothing more.

Her understanding of strategy was limited to small
skirmishes between her guild and pockets of bandits, or other guilds, and the
like. Wolf and Ryu Jin Ho had been teaching her about the strategy on larger
scaled conflicts on the way down here, but she really only had a firm grasp on
the basics. Still, even her limited knowledge let her see the problems that
Hyun Woo did. “What…are the odds we can defend this place?”

“That depends on how quickly people can work,” he answered
grimly. “For now, let’s go see this guildmaster.”

It was more easily said than done, of course. Siobhan had to
go through multiple checkpoints just to get to the Silvermoon compound.
Finally, she resorted to using Markl’s name and guild seal to get through the
gates. (Thank heavens he had kept his family seal on him and thought to give it
to her before leaving.)

Word must have traveled ahead of her somehow, as Nuel Hammon
met her at his office door, worry on his face. “Guildmaster Maley! I’m
surprised to see you here.”

She gave him a short bow of greeting. “Guildmaster Hammon. I
bring bad news, I’m afraid.” Having an idea of what his first worry would be,
she quickly added, “Markl’s fine. It’s not regarding him.”

His worry eased a degree although his eyes still went past
her shoulders, searching for his son. “Then where is he?”

“I sent him ahead to Goldschmidt.” Feeling that talking
about this in an open hallway was a bad idea, she pushed past him, catching his
arm as she moved to encourage him to go back into his office.

She took a second once inside to orient herself to this new
space. Massive desk along one wall, a line of shelves behind it, two couches
and a chair in the middle of the room that faced a large window. It spoke of
wealth, and comfort, in a tastefully masculine way. On an ordinary day, she
would have enjoyed spending time here.

Hammon stumbled a bit in her wake as she went directly to
the couches and encouraged him to sit in one of them. This was not news that
one should take standing up.

Studying her face, he slowly sank into one of the couches,
although he sat on the very edge as if ready to spring to his feet at any
moment. “What is going on? You look ghastly, as if a ghost haunted your
footsteps.”

“You’re not far off.” Siobhan took a breath and drew upon
the courage, from somewhere, to explain the madness she had seen. “Sir. We are
on the brink of war.”

For several seconds her words didn’t make sense to him. It
was like she had spoken in a foreign language he had never heard of and the
sentence didn’t even compute. “War,” he repeated, as if trying to do high level
mathematics with that word alone.

“There is an army coming from Orin,” she continued, images
of the destroyed Channel Pass flashing in front of her eyes with every word
spoken. “It’s more of a rabble, a large mob, really. It’s destroying every city
in its path and looting it. Then they burn the city to the ground.”

Hammon forgot how to breathe for a moment, eyes so wide they
consumed his face. His mouth moved several times, no sound emerging, before he
was able to force out, “How many cities?”

“Channel Pass I saw with my own eyes. We’re fairly sure
Stott has already fallen as well.” Siobhan had to swallow past a tightening
throat before she could say, “At this time, I don’t know about Goldschmidt.”

Hammon rubbed a hand over his face, roughly, as if trying to
confirm whether he was awake or dreaming. “How large?”

“We don’t know. We haven’t seen it, just the traces they’ve
left behind. They destroyed two cities within the course of two weeks, that
much I can tell you.”

Hyun Woo stepped around into view before saying gravely,
“I’ve calculated how many men it would take to destroy a city, even one unguarded,
and the time it takes to travel the distances they have. It is my opinion that
they only need two or three days to loot and pillage a city. They’re ruthlessly
efficient.”

Hammon repeated
two or three days
soundlessly, skin
going impossibly pale. A vision of Winziane being destroyed in the same manner
flashed across his face. Siobhan shared the same terror of Goldschmidt, so she
recognized the expression very well.

But Hammon was made of tough material. He only needed a few
seconds to grasp this terrible news and gather the internal strength to face
it. Then he stood, facing Hyun Woo. “I’m Nuell Hammon, Guildmaster of
Silvermoon. Who might you be, sir?”

Hyun Woo put his hands to his side and gave him a formal
bow. “Hyun Woo, Master Strategist from Saoleord. I have come with Deepwoods to
help you and every other city under attack from this army.”

“Strategist?” Hammon repeated slowly, as if he recognizing
the word from somewhere, but not able to place it in that moment.

“We went to Saoleord for help,” Siobhan explained with a
hollow smile. “As they still remember how to fight wars.”

For the first time since entering the room, Hammon’s eyes
lit up with fierce hope. “Is that right. Then I am very glad to meet you,
Master Hyun Woo. Thank you for coming.”

Siobhan turned and extended her hand to the other woman
standing so quietly and patiently behind Hyun Woo. “This is Cha Ji An-jia, also
of Saoleord.”

Hammon turned and gave her a bow, almost an exact replica of
the one that Hyun Woo had given him. The man was certainly quick on the uptake.
“Cha Ji An-jia, the pleasure is mine. Please, all of you, sit. I will have
refreshments brought in, as you seem to have traveled here with all haste.”

They had, actually.

“And then,” Hammon said, jaw set in a determined line, “You
will tell me what I need to do to help Goldschmidt from being overrun and how I
can protect my own city.”

ӜӜӜ

In Siobhan’s life, there were only a few times when she’d
felt totally useless, as if she were little better than a decorative statue
sitting about gathering dust. Most of the time, it was when someone was
severely injured, or she was stuck in a situation that she had no control over,
like what happened with Lirah last year. This time, it was simply because the
conversation was completely over her head.

Hammon had lost no time in gathering reports, maps, and
whatever information Hyun Woo needed. A collapsible table had been brought in,
set up between the couches, and was now covered in parchment. Hyun Woo, Hammon,
and Tran were bent over the table discussing tactics and strategies. Siobhan
didn’t understand one word in three, so couldn’t contribute anything to the
conversation. But at the same time, as the guildmaster who was Goldschmidt’s
representative, she couldn’t get up and leave either. Hammon occasionally had
questions for her, or needed to tell her something, and it forced her hand so
that she had to remain sitting there. Patiently. Well, not patiently, but she
did wait quietly.

Hyun Woo made a sweeping motion with one hand, indicating
the outer wall of the city. “What is this area like? Is the ground soft?”

“Mostly marshland,” Hammon responded. “We don’t build on it
as anything with a foundation just sinks. But it’s firm enough to travel over.
Wagons and such don’t ever get stuck on it.”

Finally! The conversation was taking a turn that even she
could understand.

“Such ground is perfect for an invading force,” Hyun Woo
grumbled, frowning at the map. “We need to break up this area, somehow. Do not
let them have a direct or easy approach. Caltrops would be the easiest way.”

“Cal-what?” Hammon repeated, confused.

“Metal spikes that are twisted in a way that they set firmly
in the ground,” Hyun Woo explained. His hands rose to illustrate, fingers
crooked and caught together. “They embed themselves into the feet of anyone
foolish enough to walk on them.”

“The army is mostly on foot, we think,” Tran said slowly.
“Caltrops would be a good way to stop them. But won’t we need a lot?”

“Yes.” Hyun Woo glanced up at Hammon with an expression that
clearly said,
You need to get this started now.

Hammon promptly grabbed a clean sheet of paper and a
charcoal pencil and handed it to him. “Draw the design, give instructions on
how to make them, and I’ll have every available blacksmith start working on
them.”

Pleased, Hyun Woo took both from him and started quickly
sketching.

Tran put a finger against the map. “The caltrops will slow
them down, but we still need a way to fight them off. We need archers on every
wall, well equipped with arrows.”

“And lots of oil,” Hyun Woo added, not looking up from his
drawing. “The important thing about fighting is stamina and giving your men
time to rest. If you can lay down oil, and set it ablaze, then you give them
several hours in which to sleep and eat without worry. No man is foolish enough
to cross a line of hot fire.”

Hammon’s brow compressed. “Won’t they try to put it out?”

“Of course. But even that takes time.”

Siobhan couldn’t help but pipe up. “All of this sounds like
delaying tactics to me. Do you have a plan to defeat them?”

Hyun Woo paused and tilted his head toward her. “She makes a
valid point. We do not have a strong force to meet them with. Your fighters are
strong, individually, but they do not know how to fight as a unit. Most of the
world is this way. It is why two cities have fallen to the rabble. But I know
from experience that mobs are easily discouraged. If we make this city too
hard, too costly, for them to take, then they will leave. Right now, we want to
make them leave. When we have space to breathe,
then
we think of how to
defeat them.”

A finger tapping against the table, Hammon considered this
in silence for several moments. “If I didn’t send a force of men to help
Goldschmidt, would we have the strength necessary to defeat this army?”

Siobhan held her breath, nervous about what this answer
would be. Her eyes cut to Hyun Woo and silently pleaded for him to not say
yes
to that question.

“Hmm, not necessarily the case. You see, it is not strength
you lack but experience and tactics.”

“Our position here is defensive, not offensive,” Tran added,
supporting this. “More men will not help us if they don’t know what to do to
defend the city. With the right preparations, we won’t need an overwhelming
force to hold the walls.”

Hyun Woo beamed at him. “Truly a privilege, teaching an
intelligent mind.”

Tran grinned back at him, with what might have been a faint
blush staining his cheeks.

Siobhan felt proud of him as well. Those two weeks in
Saoleord had obviously not been a waste with Tran. But then, with his memory,
she hadn’t expected otherwise.

A finger moved back and forth between the two men as Hammon
asked, “So, you taught him strategy?”

“Indeed, what I could in the short time given to us,” Hyun
Woo confirmed.

Not being an idiot, Hammon immediately gave the man a
congenial smile and requested, “When this is over, will you teach me and my men
as well?”

“I will teach you now,” Hyun Woo corrected, eyes crinkling
up, lips curled back in a feral expression. “Experience is the best way to
teach. If you want others to learn, bring them in here.”

Hammon promptly spun on his heel, coat flaring out at the
bottom, and went directly to the door. Flinging it open, he shouted down the
hallway, “Boren, Collins, Cox, get in here!”

Siobhan, despite the seriousness of the situation, couldn’t
help but grin. Well, the man was certainly quick on the uptake.