And there he stood, the Emperor in waiting with his commanders. Kiva smiled once more at the sight as he walked around the table and took his place beside his new lord.
Without the prompting he’d needed from Kiva only a month before, Darius leaned forward and placed his hands firmly on the edge of the table as he addressed Tythias.
“What news, Prefect?”
The one armed, one eyed ex mercenary, though every bit the proper soldier, was in company with whom he was tremendously close and grinned widely at the Emperor to be.
“Kiva’s been teaching you to be far too formal, highness.”
Darius smiled. “Got to practice, Tythias. I keep forgetting when I’m outside. One of the weavers saw me beheading weeds with a stick yesterday and the general here grilled me for hours over it.”
Ignoring the scowl that crossed Caerdin’s face, Tythias leaned back against the wall.
“There’s good news and there’s bad news, gentlemen. On the good side, I found Filus and Sithis and their units. They were already heading back toward Velutio; apparently things are getting a little hairy out west. Alongside the other units we were looking for, we hooked up with a couple of the lords who still favour you, so there should be six or seven thousand men arriving in the next few days, and about three hundred of them are veteran units we know well. The rest are just guards and men at arms for the lords, but they’re at least partially trained, if not tested. Some of them are cavalry and we’ve got a couple of units of archers.” He sighed. “Other Lords we saw were non-committal though. They’re no great lovers of Velutio, but they’re not about to stand up against him while our army remains up here, hidden in the mountains. I think a show of arms down on the plains would bring a number of other lords flocking to the banner, but I can’t say I blame them for wanting to protect their land where they are now.”
Kiva nodded thoughtfully. “And the bad news?”
“The bad news,” Tythias replied, drawing a deep breath, “is that Velutio’s heard about you now. He knows Caerdin and the Wolves are supporting what he calls a ‘pretender-Emperor’ and he’s offering a rather large reward for news of the army’s location. A number of the lords that might have swung our way are remaining resolutely his. He’s threatening people you see?”
Kiva growled. “That man is nothing but bad news.”
“Worse than that to some” Tythias said sadly. “We’d been to see Lord Palio and he was busy marshalling his men to march to Hadrus when Velutio turned up on his doorstep. He crucified every fifth man and, when Palio wouldn’t give him our location, had him quartered and then burned in his own courtyard. We were there at the time. That Sabian may be Velutio’s but damn I wish he was working for us. We’d left them involved in a battle out to the west when we went to Palio, but still they almost beat us there. How he managed that I’ll never know.”
“Sabian crucified and burned people?” Darius’ voice quavered. “I can’t believe that.”
Tythias shook his head sadly. “He didn’t give the orders, but he didn’t walk away from it either. He’s Velutio’s chief officer and he’s deep in his job now. Just be grateful he’s out west and not over here.”
The table fell silent for a moment until Kiva cleared his throat. “Well, if we get seven thousand in a few days, we’ve got just less than two here already. We’ve got a small unit at Munda watching the place and every now and then a unit looking for us appears there. With those odd stragglers we should number around ten thousand in a few weeks when we’re ready to start moving. It’s not too bad, but it could be better. Velutio’s got twice that without calling up all his various allies, so I reckon he can count on outnumbering us around three to one at least. The only thing we’ve got going for us is the fact that all our people are fighting for a cause, while theirs are fighting because they have to. I need more information on the makeup of their forces and their plans before I can come up with any kind of coherent strategy.”
He leaned forward and focused on Tythias. “Are any of the allies coming to join us the sort we can send in amongst them to spy for us?”
Tythias shook his head. “We avoided anyone of dubious loyalty and all the various independents are waiting to see what happens. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait on Prince Ashar and his men for any more info. It’s a bit of a bastard. We’ve watched his army in several engagements, but we’ve always had to stay a bit out of the way. The moment we’re noticed, we’re screwed.”
Kiva nodded and turned to Darius. “I think we need to make a point. I need to be here to oversee things with Sarios and, to be honest, being in the saddle at the moment is incredibly uncomfortable to me. I think, though, that we need you and a colour party to go out and visit a few of these fence-sitters. Next time the Prefect rides out, you need to take Athas and Brendan and a hundred of the best men and go with them.”
Darius blinked and Tythias started making opposing motions with his hands, but Kiva leaned further forward and pointed. “You’re going to have to go out again. Have a day or two’s respite; in fact, wait until your recruits get here, but then you need to head out again. Just to the lowlands; to the lords nearby who could be swayed with the right moves. With the Emperor and an honour guard and captains of the Wolves with you, you might be able to almost double our force. I really can’t pass up that chance.”
He turned to Sathina. “I’m sorry, and I know you’ve been looking forward to seeing Tythias again, but this is too important and at least he’s not going to be heading into disputed areas this time.”
Sathina nodded placidly. ”General, I’m as much a part of this now as any of your men. I’d be stupid to let my personal feelings get in the way.”
The general and the innkeeper’s girl watched each other for the moment and then both nodded, but Tythias leaned across the table from his side, a wide grin splitting his face.
“I’ve a better idea. A military Emperor is what these people need, but what they want is pomp and grandeur. If Darius comes out with us, he needs to be an Emperor. He needs a retinue. Let Sarios and Sathina pick out a court to go with him. It’ll make the lords feel more important if an entire Imperial court visits and they can be part of it. Sathina can go with me.”
He turned his smile on the pretty girl. “That is, if you can cope with living in pampered luxury for a week or two…”
Kiva snorted. “Ok. I don’t disagree. Once you two have got your lovey reunion over, go and see Sarios and sort it out. You leave the day after the new recruits arrive.” He turned to Darius and grinned. “Sorry to lumber you with the lovebirds for a fortnight, but I daresay you can talk to Brendan and Athas and ignore these two.”
Darius returned the smile and straightened. “That everything then? I…”
His sentence remained unfinished, as a breathless and dusty figure arrived in the doorway and saluted unsteadily.
“Sir… Highness, there’s a small unit just coming up the hill t’ward the gate! No one we’re expecting, sir.”
Kiva slammed his fist on the table. “No-one knows where we are expect the people we’re expecting. Tythias, you must have been followed.”
Tythias bridled. “We were well clear of any of Velutio’s army or allies. If someone followed us they must have been near here anyway or very well hidden.”
The Emperor in waiting pushed past his general, grumbling. “If you two are just going to argue, I’ll go and see who it is.”
Darius strode out into the square, across the packed earth and stone, and up to the gate with his command group around him. The sentries on the gate had turned the massive bolt throwers down toward the path leading up the mountainside. The officers climbed the wooden stairs to the top and spread out along the battlements.