Steel And Flame (Book 1) (57 page)

“It has.”

“Then why did you not state so in the first place?”

“The call has long since been issued to all of the
lords to muster their tribute for march!”

“But I am not one of the king’s lords, am I?  How am I
to know of such?”

Tollaf’s arrival spared Fredrick from making an angry
comment.  Torrance saw the messenger’s face pinch in irritation when he turned
toward the opening door.  In all likelihood people rarely challenge his words,
which in his mind were the king’s words.

His chief mage arrived sooner than Torrance expected,
which must mean he had already been on his way to see the commander, intending
to again plead his case regarding his troublesome apprentice.  Just as well
then, since this messenger struck him as less intelligent than he had hoped, or
at least less informed, so would require special handling.

“Messenger Fredrick, this is my chief mage, Tollaf.  I
asked him here as I expect we will be discussing specific matters of our
fighters.”

Fredrick drew himself straighter, which mildly
intrigued Torrance as he would not have thought it possible.  “I am a
courier
,
not a messenger!”

“My apologies.  Won’t you both have a seat.”

Five simple chairs were arranged before the desk. 
Fredrick took the center directly opposite Torrance while Tollaf claimed one on
the edge, leaving an empty chair between them.

“One other is on the way to join us, so let us
postpone the discussion until he arrives.  Would either of you care for
brandy?”

Tollaf nodded while Fredrick took on airs.  “It is far
too early in the day for me.”

“Suit yourself,” Tollaf grunted while he leaned
forward to take the proffered glass.  After deeply sniffing the bouquet, he
sighed and leaned back.  He raised an eyebrow at Torrance, who shook his head
slightly.

“How did you know I wished to discuss your troops?”

Torrance allowed derision over the question’s
foolishness to flash across his face before responding with a question of his
own.  “What else would a direct emissary from the king wish to discuss with the
commander of the Crimson Kings?  For that matter, what does
anyone
who
comes through those gates wish to discuss with us?  Their need for men and
fighters, of course.  That is the business we are in.”

Fredrick felt the contempt.  He chose to keep his
mouth shut until Tollaf decided the silence wafted too thick and asked about
the courier’s journey.  The courier recited his history for the past three
eightdays; traveling southeast from Thoenar, stopping at every major holding to
ensure that the muster proceeded apace, delivering new orders to the lords
before coming to Kingshome.

“How far behind the orders to muster were you?” Tollaf
asked.

“The couriers with those orders rode an eightday ahead
of me.”

“So the orders went out almost four eightdays past? 
That was over a month ago!  Why didn’t we know of this?”

“Because,” Torrance supplied, “as the good courier
here stated before you entered, the orders were sent out to the
lords
owing tributes of men to the crown.”

“I’m sure it was an error, Commander Torrance.  An
oversight by some minor clerk assigned to compile the lists.”

“It doesn’t matter.  The Kings are always ready to
march.”

The door opened with Janus’ arrival.  He looked sour
as ever, it pleased Torrance to see.  Fredrick would have a real dustup if he
provoked the head clerk.

Janus accepted his brandy glass before claiming the
opposite edge chair in the row.  If Fredrick noticed, he disregarded the
unspoken sentiment.

“Since you have received no word of the muster, I must
tell you of it myself.  All those owing tribute in times of war must have their
men at the staging ground by the first day of the second spring month.  Once
there, you will report to the king’s seneschal for duty assignment.”

The three men waited for further details, but the
courier seemed to believe he had said all that needed to be said.  After a
pregnant silence lasting several moments, Torrance stated the obvious.

“Courier Fredrick, perhaps you should spend a few
moments informing me exactly why the muster call was issued.”

Surprise rippled through Fredrick, as if any village
idiot should have known the answer.  Torrance already did but he wished to hear
how the man responded.

“For the defense of the kingdom, of course!  Everyone
knows that.”

“Everyone who was on the courier list you mean,”
snapped Tollaf.  “Don’t forget this is an enclosed encampment and news travels
slow in the winter season.”

The courier leaned away from Tollaf’s venomous
statement.  “Forces from Nolier crossed the border at the start of winter and
seized land not rightfully theirs.  We go to take it back in the name of the
king.”

“And for this you need to rouse the whole kingdom?” 
Janus sounded scornful.

“It is not for you to criticize the decisions of the
crown!  The call to muster has been sent, and you are honor bound to obey!”

“Have I said we would not obey the agreement to the
letter?” asked Torrance.

“Then what of those deserters my men and I came
across?  It is lucky for you I ordered them back in the king’s name or your
tally would have come up short under the seneschal’s count.”

Now Torrance, and indeed the other two, were truly
astounded.  Fredrick sat stiff as a board yet smug at the same time, as if he
expected thanks or praise.

“What,” asked Torrance carefully, “deserters would
those be exactly, Courier Fredrick?”

“That force of men I encountered fleeing westward. 
They claim to have been traveling on legitimate business, but had they been
heading to the staging ground they would have been traveling north.”

“Those ‘deserters’, as you refer to them, were hired
for contracts some months ago.  By delaying their time schedule, you have
interfered with the date by which they were promised to arrive.”

“It is of no concern.” Fredrick dismissed airily. 
“Were they traveling on such an inconsequential matter, they would have needed
to return in any case to fill out your tally.”

“What tally?” shouted Janus.  “What ever gave you the
idea that we have to provide for half the king’s blasted army?”

“The agreement states—”

“It states we must provide men for the call of the
king!  I know it better than you do, you illiterate, so don’t preach to me! 
I’ve been examining it for the last two eightdays!”

“What?”

“Ever since the commander asked me to in case some
fool like you showed up.”

Fredrick jumped up to his feet.  “You
did
know
about the muster already!  You have lied to me!  An emissary of the king!”

“Oh, sit down, young man—” began Tollaf but Fredrick’s
continuing rant overrode him.

“And those men!  You
were
sending them away
with the knowledge you were breaking faith with the crown of Galemar!”

“SIT DOWN!” thundered Torrance, suddenly out of
patience.  This fool had depleted it much sooner than he would have given him
credit for.  He pierced the self-important courier with his gaze as the last
echo died in their ears.  Incredibly, the irritating fool retook his seat
rather than retaliate in a pompous declaration of his own importance.  Perhaps
it had to do with the tone of command Torrance still retained from his days as
the Sixteenth’s lieutenant.

“Now,” continued Torrance in a softer voice, though
his words were laced with steel, “you will listen.  Of course I knew of
Nolier’s actions in seizing land beyond their border.  I’d be a piss poor
commander if I didn’t.  I was telling the truth about not receiving specific
word of the muster, but I could guess by knowing what I know and seeing how the
lords around me have been acting.

“As for the matter of my men, I will overlook your
transgression this one time, but know this. 
No one
issues orders to an
officer of my band but me.  Especially not a person like you.”

Fredrick risked speech, his face reddening above his
collar while he fumed.  “If you guessed at the likelihood of a call to muster,
then you have broken the agreement by sending your men elsewhere.”

“No we haven’t,” countered Janus.  “Those contracts
were signed before we received word of anything Nolier was up to.  Since then,
the commander has been…discriminating…about the contracts we accepted to leave
as many men free over and above the tribute in case you wanted to hire on
extras.”

“Hire?  What are you talking about?  You owe the king
these men of yours.  No recompense is required!”

“Wrong again, boy.”  Janus enjoyed pricking the man. 
“If you’d care to look at the exact wording of the agreement, I’m sure the
commander has a copy close at hand.  But let me save you the trouble and tell
you the second commander of the Crimson Kings agreed with the crown to heed the
call to arms
as any of the king’s lords would
.  As even
you
might
possibly know, the lords with smaller holdings owe a set amount while the
nobles with larger populations owe one man for every twenty under their rule.”

Torrance stepped in.  “You seem to have come here with
the notion of conscripting every man in the band to your banner.  The reality
of this situation is that, at best, we would owe the king no more than eighty
men if the band was full up to the rafters.  The band is never that full
though, and so we only owe seventy-five at the most.”

“You can’t dictate terms to the king!”

“I’m doing nothing of the kind, Courier Fredrick.  I
don’t know who gave you the idea we were bound to leap in with both feet, but
any magistrate will support me after examining the agreement themselves.  And
in case you think I’ve doctored our copy, I’ll have you know there are copies
stored with the king’s scribes which state the exact same clauses.”

“But…”  Fredrick was flustered, at a loss to respond.

“As Head Clerk Janus stated however, I’m not one to
leave my kingdom in a pinch and turn my back.  Seventy-five men would be
something like three-and-a-half units.  We try hard to avoid breaking up a
unit, so I’ll be magnanimous and send an entire squad to answer the call to
muster in the name of the Crimson Kings.  Not counting the squads already
committed to previous contracts, that leaves ten entire squads available for
hire.  Seeing as it is the king after all, we’d even be willing to work at a
discount off the normal fee.”

“Excluding provisions costs of course, and incidental
expenses that will still be fully required under contract,” added Janus.

“I can’t…I mean, there’s no way I can agree to any of
this!  It would take me a month to make a round trip to Thoenar using the
courier’s route!”

“I am aware of that.  That’s another reason I’ve asked
my chief mage here.  He will be happy to set up a communication link between
himself and one of the court mages so you can discuss matters with an authority
capable of making the decision.  Tollaf?”

“It’s an easy matter.  I’ve done it before so
contacting Hazel or Farnley in Thoenar would be a reestablishment rather than a
brand new link.  It could make a good lesson for my apprentice.”

“Time might be an issue, friend.”

“Hmm.  Perhaps I shouldn’t include him then.”  Tollaf
stood, looking back at the courier when he reached the door.  “Well?”

Things were going too fast for Fredrick.  “What?”

“Are you coming along or not?  We haven’t got all
day!”

Fredrick glanced at Torrance who responded, “The
sooner you have an answer, Courier Fredrick, the sooner we can continue discussions.”

Plainly ill at ease, he followed Tollaf out the door. 
Janus turned to his commander.  “What are we to make of that?”

“Either someone doesn’t think much of a lowly band of
mercenaries to have sent him along, or he has a friend in high places to have
gotten a courier position.”

“I’d wager on a combination of the two.  I’ve
especially never liked his kind, so full of themselves and hardly daring to
walk outside without perfuming their smallclothes.”  Janus scowled mightily. 
“Emissary of the king, my wrinkled ass!”

“Calm down, my old mentor.  We’ve been ready for him
and we still have a few punches left to send his way.  He doesn’t seem the type
to be able to roll with them.”

“What about Devry and Classent?  They looked ready to
tear someone’s heart out and eat it when I passed them outside.”

“Why don’t you go tell all the lieutenants with
contracts scheduled to stay in town the next few days.  The contracts can wait
and I want to see how this plays out.”

“Fine.  Meanwhile, I’ll get my other work done.”

“I expect this man to be talking with his senior
officials for the next few days.  Even if it was an honest mistake, the
original agreement will have to be dug out of storage and a treasury official
will need to be found who can compare the funds anticipated with current
balances to see if they can afford us.”