Paks nodded, laughing, and Vik went on. “This is letting some of the ale out of Siniava’s barrel—he lost more than six hundred men last fall, and he’ll lose these, and the rest in Andressat—say eight hundred or more. You can’t pull that many well-trained troops out of a hat, you know. However many he’s got, this will hurt.”
“I hope so,” said Paks.
Chapter Twenty-three
For the next three days, the Halverics and the Duke’s Company marched south to Cortes Andres. Rain and rugged country slowed them; the road zigzagged into steep valleys and back up to the sheep pastures. Paks saw carefully terraced slopes set with precise rows of dark sticks.
“Are those young fruit trees?” she asked Stammel.
“Tir, no! Those are grapevines. This is wine country, Paks.”
“Oh. They don’t look like any grapevines I’ve seen.” Paks thought of the little black grapes of the north sprawling over bushes and walls in an untidy tangle.
“They are. Expensive ones, too. If we break off a single twig, the Count’d have our hides.”
They passed through villages nestled in the sides of valleys: stone houses built so close together that the roof of one made the first story of another. Down in the narrow valleys, little plots of spring grain showed green, and a few fruit trees were just starting to bloom. Streams ran clean and clear in rocky beds. Paks saw no cattle, and noticed that the sheep and goats were often spotted in bold patterns of brown and black and white.
The rain which had slowed them covered their approach to Cortes Andres. Clart Cavalry slipped between Siniava’s pickets and the city, and the retreating enemy ran straight into the front of the Duke’s column.
Seen from the high ground on the northern road, Cortes Andres gave Paks an impression of great strength and stubbornness. Its outer walls were built of immense blocks of gray stone, while above the wall all the towers and battlements gleamed white. Two inner walls circled the city as well. The innermost, like the citadel which rose inside it, was built of pale gold stone. Of the buildings within the walls nothing could be seen but red-tiled roofs, which gave color to the stone around them. Paks could well believe that this citadel had never been taken by assault. She could not see anything of the rivers that came together just south of the city wall; she had been told they formed a deep gorge, and cliffs protected the city on that side.
They marched nearer. The rain stopped, and the sky lightened. Aliam Halveric rode up beside the Duke; both had their standard bearers display their colors. As they neared the gates, a blue and gold banner rose above it. Arcolin halted the column. After a short wait, a man rode from a narrow postern to meet the Halveric and the Duke. The Duke turned and waved; Arcolin started them moving again. They marched nearer. Paks noticed that the portcullis did not rise, nor the gates open. She glanced up. Bowmen edged the wall. The column had marched past the commanders in conference, but now the man from Cortes Andres rode forward and shouted up to the gate tower windows. Arcolin halted them again. Paks squinted up at the arrowslits and caught a glint of light. She felt sweat spring out on her neck, and fought the desire to swing her shield up. Suppose these were not Andressat’s men, but Siniava’s? The Duke rode up beside them. With a terrible screech the portcullis lifted from its bed. It moved more slowly than any Paks had seen, crawling up its tracks. Then the gates folded inward.
The gatehouse tower was uncommonly deep; Paks saw the tracks of three portcullises. Between them, when she looked up, were convenient holes for bowmen, and she thought she saw eyes gleaming behind each hole. They came out of the tower into a stone paved area between the first and second walls, bare of cover and easily commanded by either. Part of this had been fenced off for sheep pens, but all of it, Paks realized, would make a fine trap for an army that managed to take the outer gate.
The second wall loomed higher than the first, and its gate was offset to the west. They threaded their way between pens of sheep to halt outside the second gate tower. These gates too were closed, but a cluster of figures in blue and gold waited for them. Paks, marching in the first cohort, could see the deference with which the Duke and Aliam Halveric dismounted and walked up to the gray-haired man in the middle. It startled her to hear them addressed as “Aliam” and “young Phelan.” She expected the Duke to object, but he answered courteously, calling the man “my lord Count.” The captains were introduced, and after more conversation the Count strolled down their column. Paks wished they were not rain-wet and muddy. As he returned, he was chatting with the Duke about border towers and the condition of the vineyards. Paks could not see how they were related.
“Well, then,” he said. “We haven’t enough stabling within the inner walls for all those cavalry—your mount, of course, Phelan, and Aliam’s, and your captains’, will be in the citadel. Your troops can have barracks space in the second ring. Fersin, my aide, will direct them.” One of his retinue bowed. “You’ll dine with me in the citadel, and your captains as well. I expect they’ll want to be housed with their cohorts, yes?” The Duke nodded. “I’ve arranged a suite for you and Aliam, convenient to my quarters; we have much to confer about.” The Count glanced at the column again. “Do you—do you need separate barracks space for the women?”
“No, my lord Count.”
“I see.” He sounded doubtful. “We don’t—meaning no disparagement to your troops, Phelan, but we have not seen so many women active in warfare. A paladin here or there, and occasional knight—but—well, no matter.”
“I assure you, my lord, that they are quite capable.” The Duke’s voice was dry, and Paks suppressed a grin.
“Oh, quite—quite, I’m sure. Meant no disparagement. But one thing, Phelan, your troops can’t wander about armed in the city—”
“Certainly not, my lord. They will stack their arms in barracks, and I had not planned to permit any wandering anyway.”
“I didn’t mean to sound inhospitable—”
“Not at all. No one wants strange troops straying loose. These won’t.”
“No harm if they go to the fountains—or if you need more supplies—but it might be better if they stayed close.”
“Certainly.”
“Very well, then. Fersin will direct my quartermaster to stand ready with any assistance. I know you brought your own surgeons, but if your wounded need special care, you have only to ask. Hobben—” He spoke to one of the gate guards. “Open this thing and let our guests through. Come along, Phelan, and tell me what you found.” He turned away; the Duke and Aliam Halveric followed him through the opening gate.
The column followed Fersin, who turned left inside the gate and led them beside the wall to two-story stone barracks built against it.
“This and the next are empty,” he told Arcolin. “If you need more bedding, just tell me. The baths—” he glanced back at the column, “are in the far end of this one, and the near end of the next; there’s a kitchen in each cellar. By the Count’s order, water’s been heating since noon, for your convenience. If you need food, we can supply it, but it will take a little time, since I must speak to the quartermaster. I’d appreciate a squad of your men—uh, troops—helping me bring it—”