Chapter 19

Year 163 – Summer – Quartus Mensis – 41st day

Avem, town of House Valmai, land of the Vale

The wood at the entrance creaked under every footstep. The town council was taking shape. The servants were lighting the candles on each of the three tables. The light from the falling sun was coming through the west in the various shades of the stained-glass window.

The table on the left was occupied by Jared and Marcus, the commissary. On their table were an abacus, two books with quills, and a large bottle of ink. Marcus was cleaning his reading stone with a small piece of cloth. At the second table to the right sat Lord Krain from the Frey and his war general, Thorkel, who carried a small piece of paper and a larger scroll.

In the middle, on the last table occupied by Lord Valmai and the Eagle of Vale, a large map of Avem was spread out with a roughly added moat ahead of the northern wall.

Lord Valmai – “Jared, are you ready?”

Priest Jared – “Soon, my lord.”

The priest opened his book and turned many pages until he reached a clean one.

Priest Jared – “Quartus Mensis 41, year 163 of the second era of the Union. Twenty-eighth session of this year’s town council.”

Lord Valmai – “My friends and allies of long date, there are four issues I would like to address today. The reinforcements from both Rock Eden and the rest of the Union, the city’s defence, the provisions for winter, and our military forces. Does anyone have anything to add before I start?”

Lord Krain – “One of my soldiers found a letter on the ground. It was protected by a rag. I would like to ask you, who is Mundric?”

Lord Valmai – “I have no idea who that might be.”

Lord Valmai looked around, seeking answers.

The Eagle – “The only Mundric I know was a military lieutenant from House Kalator during the war with the East. Why such a question?”

Lord Krain – “What was your relationship with him?”

The Eagle – “I fought with him on the battlefield of Djernak. He was a man of honour. Again, I ask, why does it matter?”

Lord Krain – “General Thorkel, can you read us the letter?”

General Thorkel – “To the town of Avem and their allies. I send you this missive as a proposal. In this letter, you will find the future destination of the Kalator scouts. They are around a hundred, and tomorrow, when the sun reaches its zenith, they will build an advanced fort on the Velika road about eight miles north of Avem. As they build, I’ll be charged to scout the east while others will scout the west. I will stay away and leave the eastern flank unchecked. If you send a scout there, you’ll find that I’m right, and with your military forces, I’m sure you will wipe them out in no time. If you want more help, leave a bag with 1,200 Utos one foot underground, one mile to the northeast of the Oluja River, under three rocks tainted with blood. Signed, Mundric.”

The Eagle of Vale – “The Mundric I know wouldn’t sell his homeland for gold.”

Lord Krain – “What if he is lying?”

The Eagle of Vale – “Even then, we can send scouts to find their exact location. We know these lands better than anyone, and we have many hideouts.”

Lord Valmai – “Ethen! Send Derfel and his men, then come back at once.”

The Eagle of Vale – “Yes, my lord.”

Ethen left the town council in a hurry.

Lord Valmai – “Is that all, Lord Krain?”

Lord Krain – “Yes, we may now begin the council.”

Lord Valmai – “So, concerning the letter we’ve sent to the Union in the capital, the response was careful. They said they would send a letter to Kalhavstad to confirm or infirm our statement. Meanwhile, their most recent conscripts are being trained in Fort Kwerih and will move to Fort-Wind River by winter, were our claims to be confirmed.”

Lord Krain – “So, they aren’t going to help us?”

Lord Valmai – “They will send us reinforcements during the winter, so we still have to hold on our own until then.”

Lord Krain – “What about Rock Eden? I heard rumors of two homing pigeons arriving today.”

Lord Valmai – “It could have been worse.”

Lord Krain – “How many?”

Lord Valmai – “Half a hundred.”

Lord Krain – “This is an absurdity. They have more than ten times that amount.”

General Thorkel – “When will they arrive?”

Lord Valmai – “In 15 days.”

The town council ambiance was becoming gloomier by the minute.

Lord Valmai – “We will talk about the castle defences once Ethen returns. For now, let’s talk about the supply for winter.”

Commissary Marcus – “We have enough wood for the winter unless we intend to fortify the town even more. Since we didn’t seed anything north of the river, we won’t have our usual third yield of oats, and with those refugees, even if we keep rationing like we are doing, we will starve in Septimus Mensis. We also lack beds for our citizens. Those half a hundred houses north of the river used to have large families. I understand we can’t let them there, as the Kalator would use them as shelters, but those 300 residents need new shelters and these aren’t refugees but loyal subjects. Add them to the refugees, and if we don’t build more shelter, I expect about 700 will sleep outside during the winter.”

Lord Valmai – “If we hold until winter, we’ll rebuild more shelters south of the river by scavenging our southern wall. Until then, we’ll use our ship as shelters. What about our military supplies?”

Commissary Marcus – “We have armour for every soldier but not for every militia. We can turn some of our drapery into padded armour, but it will create another problem for winter. These calculations were made without taking the soldiers of Rock Eden into account. In total, we have a little more than 8,000 arrows. Also, aside from what our soldiers are using, we have 1,500 spears, 200 swords, and 100 shields. We could use working tools as a last resort.”

Lord Valmai – “As of now, we will use the drapery to make more gambeson. If we reach the winter, we will dismantle them. We also need more arrows, a lot more. For the rest, we will live with what we have. Those who are not part of the militia will have to work on these issues in their spare time. We will increase the rationing. Those who don’t work will have half a ration. Those who work in their spare time will have one-and-a-half times the usual ration. We still only give meat to those who fight. Commissary Marcus, send a letter to Rock Eden asking for food supplies; I will pay them in gold. I want four tonnes of grain in early Sextus Mensis. I will send them the gold once the delivery arrives.”

Priest Jared – “What about those who are unable to work? We can’t let them starve.”

Lord Valmai – “Once I have an answer from Rock Eden, I will stop the rationing. Until then, as their lord, it is my duty and burden to choose and impose the sacrifices that are needed for us to survive.”

Priest Jared – “Understood.”

Lord Valmai – “Now, for the defences. Lord Krain, how is the moat going?”

Lord Krain – “It’s going well but not well enough; we need more time.”

Lord Valmai – “We don’t have more time.”

Lord Krain – “If all my men work on the moat, it will be done in time. But if they also work to demolish all those houses, I’ll need more hands to help.”

Lord Valmai – “I’ll provide you with a hundred more men from Marcus’s choosing. I want both the moat to be complete and every northern homestead demolished.”

At that moment, Ethen returned to the town council.

The Eagle – “The scouts are on their way, and they will come back tomorrow morning to confirm whether it is true or not. If it happens to be, I will go there with my soldiers alone. No militia, nor any soldier from House Krain. Then we will clear them out.”

General Thorkel – “Why? Are you saying we are a burden?”

The Eagle – “No, I want to test their skills. I want my soldiers to know who they are fighting.”

Lord Valmai – “I want the moat to be finished by the end of tomorrow. Then we’ll slowly move all our supplies and tools south of town.”

Lord Krain – “It doesn’t matter what you ask; we cannot do it in time.”

The Eagle – “Actually, there might be a way to gain more time.”

Lord Valmai – “Talk.”

The Eagle – “It’s been 16 days since the last rain. The air is dry and still warm. We could set the forest on fire. This would force them to wait it out. They cannot do a siege during a forest fire. It’s way too dangerous, and if they try, they will end up losing their supplies. It would give us a few more days until the next rain.”

Commissary Marcus – “We cannot do that. It’s our main source of income.”

General Thorkel – “But if we don’t, they will use the wood to build siege engines. If we burn it down, they won’t.”

The Eagle – “It won’t all burn. The Velika Forest is massive. It would take a month to burn, if not more. The next rain should arrive soon. The clouds are starting to appear in the sky. Maybe four to six days and the rain will quench the flames. It might burn one-fifth of the forest at most.”

Priest Jared – “But what about the morale of our people? We are starving them, asking them to fight. What will happen if they even lose what they are fighting for? We can’t let this happen. They are frightened and barely holding onto their hope. The rumours of the Kalator’s sorcerer are spreading like wildfire. Our soldiers can fight, but a siege is won by the logistics. Our people will work every day to bring food and supplies to our soldiers, and most of them barely have a shelter for the rain. We’ll be lucky if no fever strikes us all before winter. If their morale is too low, many will desert to the south of the Union, seeking a refuge no one will give them. They’ll need food and they’ll end up in Fresh-Bay. We both know what will happen if hundreds of scared refugees try to steal food from Fresh-Bay. Our duty isn’t to crush the Kalator at all costs. It is to survive until winter. The Union, together, will deal with the Kalator rebellion. We won’t burn the Velika Forest!”

Lord Valmai – “I agree. The morale of our people is what matters.”

Lord Krain – “We could lower the rationing and buy more food from Rock Eden. They have access to the Celestial Traders. They won’t say no.”

Lord Valmai – “And where will we find the Utos? The Vale riches are its resources. Our iron, our strong oak wood, and our fishery cannot be harvested as long as the Kalator occupies our lands. We barely have enough Utos to buy the supplies for winter.”

Lord Krain – “I will be in debt to the Vale.”

Lord Valmai – “And how will you attain for that debt?”

Lord Krain – “The Frey’s lands are fertile and perfect for hops growth and ales production.”

Lord Valmai – “Your castle has been taken down, so your people are already eating my food. When the rest of the Union comes to help, they won’t vouch to give you back your castle. They will name someone else to ensure the Kalator won’t rebel again. Even if I vouch for you, there’s no saying they’ll agree. Any debt I take will be paid solely by me and my people, and with all the crows longing for my lands, I will not take a debt I cannot pay, only to sell the Vale to a greedy lord whose interest will pass before those of my people. We are not burning the Velika Forest!”

After these words, the room grew silent. In the fireplace, a burning log shattered under its own weight, breaking the silence.

Lord Valmai – “Let’s talk about our military forces. We know from Lord Krain that the Kalator is more than 3,000 strong. So, how much are we?”

The Eagle – “We have close to 300 soldiers from House Valmai. We also have a militia force of 400 without counting the potential conscripts.”

General Thorkel – “We have 200 soldiers and a militia of 50 men.”

Commissary Marcus – “So, with the help from Rock Eden, we have around a thousand footmen ready to fight, which means we are going to fight at three to one.”

Lord Valmai – “It’s not great, but it’s reasonable. We are defending a city, so they will lose more men by trying to take it.”

Lord Krain – “They have a sorcerer. I saw a door made from three layers of hard wooden beams get obliterated before my own eyes. Besides, half of our troops are not trained enough.”

Lord Valmai – “AND WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO? IMPLORE THE GODS? The Union won’t come until winter. We have done everything in our power, and the odds are against us. I will not let my people fall in fear and slavery. We will hold, and if we die trying, then so be it!”