‘Anything else?’
‘A group of four nodes in the Tacnah Marches, here, seem to be affected by power you’re drawing in Fiz Gorgo.’
‘Is that so?’ said Yggur. ‘What about the lyrinx?’
‘Doubtless they’re affecting other nodes,’ said Tiaan, ‘but I don’t know enough to tell. Wait! I remember a node way down south that was fluctuating wildly.’
‘Where was that?’ said Flydd, who had a large leather satchel slung about his neck and was fiddling with the fastenings.
‘Near the Island of Noom, in the Kara Agel, in late spring. I could take another look at it, if you like,’ said Tiaan.
‘There isn’t time to go so far,’ said Flydd. ‘Klarm tells me that the enemy have made a great breakthrough.’
‘When did this intelligence come in?’ said Yggur. ‘And how does he know?’
‘He reported just a few minutes ago. I don’t know how he’s done it but Klarm even has spies within their cities. He believes they’re planning a massive strike in early spring, to overwhelm all our defences.’
‘What kind of breakthrough?’ said Yggur.
‘Klarm didn’t know, but they’ve made great strides in flesh-forming lately,’ said Flydd. ‘The nylatl they let loose last spring were just a trial, since perfected.’
‘Where did you hear that?’ said Yggur.
Opening the satchel, Flydd slid something onto the table. Tiaan screamed and leapt halfway across the room.
‘It’s dead!’ said Flydd. ‘Klarm sent it back from the city west of Thurkad.’
‘Sorry,’ she said, feeling shaky. ‘I still have nightmares about the nylatl.’ Tiaan peered at it from a distance. Nothing could have induced her to go up close. ‘It looks … different.’
‘They call it an uggnatl, I believe. The skull is flatter, the armour thinner, while the legs aren’t armoured at all. It’s leaner, longer, and much faster.’
‘It looks like a spiny, short-tailed rat,’ said Tiaan. ‘A rat the size of a small dog.’ The teeth were large, sharp and angled back. ‘Once it gets hold of you, it won’t let go. You’d have to cut it off.’
‘The nylatl were designed to take a lot of punishment, but it made them slower and less agile,’ said Flydd. ‘These little beasts have been formed for one purpose only: to inflict as much damage as they can. The venom is stronger and they’re as agile as a rabbit.’
‘Easy to kill,’ said Yggur.
‘But hard to hit,’ Flydd retorted. ‘Ten thousand of them would turn any battlefield into a slaughterhouse, and they’ll have a lot more than that by spring. Klarm believes they’re breeding them in all six cities.’
‘What can we do about them?’ said Yggur.
‘Nothing. Absolutely nothing.’
‘We don’t have any choice. We’ll have to attack first,’ said Flydd that night, when they were all gathered in Yggur’s workroom. ‘Soon; well before winter.’
‘How ready are your forces, Troist?’ called Yggur.
‘Borgistry’s army, and my own, have replaced most of our casualties. We number fifty-six thousand, more or less.’ Troist’s voice came from the farspeaker globe on the centre of the long table. ‘Plus a thousand from Clan Elienor, and the levees and volunteers from north, south and east. We didn’t get all we were promised but they’ve sent another twenty thousand. Though few have combat experience.’
‘That’s considerably less than the enemy can field in the west,’ muttered Flydd, ‘if they send all their fighters out at once. And they’re not wasted from hibernation now. They’re well-fed and fit.’
‘How do we stand on the east coast?’ asked Yggur.
‘They’re as prepared as they can be,’ said Troist. ‘Between them they can field one hundred and twenty thousand troops, and twenty-five thousand clankers. Formidable forces, but they’re a continent away and have their own enemies to fight.’
‘Roros has the thapter I sent to Crandor,’ said Flydd, ‘and the eastern manufactories have built dozens of air-floaters. And they have many farspeakers now, though the enemy numbers are vast.’
‘Wasn’t your overseer working on making more thapters?’ said Yggur.
‘Tuniz has had a manufactory given to her for that purpose,’ Flydd said. ‘But even with Mechanician M’lainte’s help, it’ll be at least six months before they can produce the first thapter. There’s too much to learn.’
‘What do you think about attacking their cities, Troist?’ said Yggur.
‘To attack a well-defended city we’d need at least a four-to-one advantage,’ said Troist. ‘Even if we could gather together all our armies in Lauralin we wouldn’t have enough men to attack Oellyll, and even if we won we’d lose most of them. And that’s not even considering these uggnatl creatures, against which we have no defence.’
‘They’re what I’m really worried about,’ said Flydd. ‘We can’t allow the enemy another six months to breed them. We simply have to act before winter …’
‘Are you absolutely sure?’ said Yggur. ‘If we implement the plan, there’ll be no going back.’
Nish looked from one to the other. ‘I hadn’t realised it had come to this.’
‘It’s come,’ said Flydd. ‘What if they were to release uggnatl into our cities? Can you imagine the horror if they were let loose among our children, our unarmed mothers?’ Flydd didn’t go on. He didn’t need to.
‘Then we’ll have to go with the plan,’ said Yggur.
‘What plan?’ said Nish and Irisis together.
‘An aerial strike, simultaneously, on each of their cities.’
‘With what?’ said Irisis, puzzled.
Flydd took a deep breath, let it out, then motioned to Yggur.
‘We plan to drop a barrel of fungus spores down the airshafts of each of their underground cities,’ said Yggur.
‘Is that all? It wasn’t all that successful when we used it last spring,’ said Nish. ‘Except on their morale.’
‘That was out on an open battlefield,’ said Yggur. ‘Underground, the conditions are perfect for the fungus to grow and with luck we’ll infect most of them – enough to destroy the lyrinx threat and force them to capitulate.’
‘Is there any danger to us?’ said Nish.
‘We’ve been working with it since mid-winter and it hasn’t infected anyone yet.’
‘I don’t think it’s right to use that kind of a weapon,’ said Malien.
‘Nor I,’ said Tiaan uncomfortably. And after they capitulate, then what? Are you going to kill all the survivors?’
Flydd and Yggur exchanged glances. ‘They’ll have to go into camps,’ said Flydd at last.
‘Prisons?’ said Tiaan.
‘Well, yes.’
‘For how long?’
‘Forever. Either that or …’
‘So you’re planning to pen them up, and then wipe them out?’ said Tiaan, her fists clenched on the table.
‘We’re not planning anything that far ahead,’ said Flydd. ‘Look, Tiaan and Malien, what else are we to do with the lyrinx? Uggnatl aren’t just another battlefield weapon – they’re living, breeding creatures born for one purpose only – to slaughter. They can wipe us out, and if we give the enemy time to breed up their numbers, they will wipe us out. Once they’re released, the lyrinx won’t have to fight. These uggnatl will hide and breed until they sweep like a plague across the land, consuming everything in their path.’
‘It’s not right,’ Tiaan repeated.
‘It’s not right to use uggnatl against mothers and children either, but the enemy will. We’ve got no choice, Tiaan. We’ve got to attack their cities first. Now, before the creatures can be bred in numbers. What do you say?’
‘I’ve fought nylatl twice,’ said Nish. ‘The first time was the most terrifying of my life. If these uggnatl are faster and more agile, I couldn’t possibly beat one. Who could?’ He shuddered at the thought.
‘Well, Tiaan?’ said Flydd. ‘You assisted in the making of the first nylatl.’
Shadows crossed her face. ‘I saw what it did to three defenceless women. I – I can imagine the horror of an uggnatl in my mother’s nursery. If there’s no other choice, I suppose we must attack their cities.’