William turned to Erik. ‘Ready?’
‘Ready or not, our forces are in place. As I left the docks, the enemy was sighted.’
William dropped what he was doing and hurried to the large window that overlooked the harbor. ‘Gods!’ he said softly.
Erik and the others followed, and each in his own way was just as stunned. No matter what reports had said, none of them was prepared for the sight that greeted them. From the outer seawall to the distant horizon, clearing by the minute as the morning haze burned off the Bitter Sea, white sails could be seen. Erik craned his neck and looked as far north as he could manage, and could make out sails in the distance.
‘They must have fanned out since yesterday,’ said William, turning away and hurrying back to the table. ‘They’re going to wash over us like a tide.’ To the nobles in the room he said, ‘Gentlemen, you know what to do. May the gods protect us all.’
Erik glanced around the room. ‘The Prince?’
‘He left the palace last night,’ said William. ‘With my sister and her son and grandsons.’ William glanced at Erik and smiled. ‘Can’t lose the Prince, now, can we?’
Erik shook his head. ‘Lord James?’
‘In his office. Seems he felt obliged to stay.’
After the nobles had left in an orderly fashion, Erik said, ‘There’s nothing left for me to do here, sir.’
‘One thing,’ said William, reaching into his tunic. He pulled out a small parchment, rolled and tied with a ribbon, and sealed, the crest of his office pressed into the red wax.
‘When this is over, give this to my father if you can.’
Erik frowned. ‘Sir?’
William smiled. ‘I would never order a man to the wall if I wasn’t willing to go there myself, Erik.’
For a moment, Erik was unable to move. He realized with dread certainty that the Knight-Marshal of the Kingdom did not intend to leave the city. He swallowed hard. While he and William were not close, he had come to admire the man for his honesty, bravery, and clear, cool logic in planning a battle. And for one night, when he had shared supper with the man and his family, he had glimpsed a personal history. He could not help but feel loss.
‘Sir,’ he said at last, ‘good-bye.’
William held out his hand. ‘Goodbye, Captain. Much of what will come rests in your hands. Know one thing: you are capable of far more than you know.’
Erik put the scroll in his tunic and saluted as smartly as he could manage. Then he hurried from the room. He returned quickly to the courtyard where a fresh horse waited, and mounted. Unlike the others, who left through the one gate kept free of citizens, he turned back to the gate that led to the docks. He signaled for a patrol of lancers to accompany him, and the gates were opened as he reached them. Outside the gate a squad of foot soldiers held a small crowd at bay. Panic was beginning to manifest itself in the city as word spread of the approaching fleet. Some of the poor souls living along the waterfront, near the palace, were seeking to gain entrance into the city. Erik paused to shout, ‘There is no refuge for you here! The eastern gate is still open. Either leave the city that way or return to your homes! Now, dear the way.’
He moved his horse forward, and citizens dove out of the way as the squad of riders followed behind him.
Erik moved through the city as quickly as possible. He knew his assignment in theory, but the difference between theory and practice was quickly becoming apparent. His job was to oversee the orderly withdrawal of the city’s defenders to Greylock’s first defensive position to the east, about a half-day’s march beyond the first farms outside the city. But everywhere he looked, Erik saw chaos, and he doubted anything remotely like order could be pulled from the mess. Still, he was sworn to succeed or to die trying. He put heels to horse and moved into the crowd.
Jason grabbed up every book he could and put them into canvas sacks, which he handed to boys who were waiting to take them to nearby wagons. Roo had overestimated the time left before the invaders reached Krondor, and now he watched as his employees evacuated his businesses. Everything he could manage to hoard - gold, letters of credit, and other items of wealth - was safely hidden at his estates. He already had a pair of wagons there waiting to take his wife and children, as well as the Jacobys, to the east. He hoped that Sylvia had listened seriously to his warnings and would join them as they moved to escape the coming onslaught.
Jason said, ‘That’s the last of it, sir!’