Manfred said, ‘Then, Madam, you shall dine alone.’ With a nod of his head, he ordered the guards to escort his mother from the hall. She turned and silently left with her escort.
Several of the nobles in attendance spoke softly to one another until the Prince pointedly cleared his throat. ‘Shall we begin?’ he asked.
Manfred bowed his head and the Prince sat. The others followed suit.
The food was splendid and the wine was the best Erik had ever tasted, but fatigue made it hard for him to keep alert. Still, the discussions around him were all-important, for men spoke about the coming fight.
At one point someone observed that the northern flank was holding so well it might prove wise to send for some of their soldiers to reinforce Darkmoor. The Prince overheard the remark and said, ‘That wouldn’t be wise. We can’t assume they won’t return there in force the next day.’
Discussion around the table turned to speculation about the coming fight, and after a while, Prince Patrick said, ‘Captain von Darkmoor, you more than any man here have fought the enemy. What can we expect?’
Every eye in the room turned toward Erik. He glanced at Greylock, who gave him a slight nod.
Erik cleared his throat and said, ‘We can expect between a hundred and fifty and a hundred and seventy-five thousand soldiers to arrive outside the city walls and along the entire length of Nightmare Ridge.’
‘When?’ asked one richly dressed court dandy.
‘Anytime,’ answered Erik. ‘As early as tomorrow.’
The man went pale at the news and said, ‘Perhaps, Highness, we should call up the Army of the East. They are only camped down in the hills to the east.’
Patrick said, ‘The Army of the East will be called when I decide it’s time.’ He glanced at Erik. ‘What sort of men do we face?’
Erik knew the Prince had read every report sent back by Calis on his three trips to Novindus, during his grandfather Arutha’s reign, during his uncle Nicholas’s reign, and the last time. He had also spoken to the Prince on this very subject no less than five times, so Erik knew he was asking for the benefit of those nobles in the room who were untested in battle.
Erik glanced at Greylock, who again gave him a faint nod and a slight smile. Erik knew Owen well enough to understand what he was being asked to do.
Erik cleared his throat. ‘Highness, the enemy is composed of what were originally mercenary companies, men who fought for pay under a hard-and-fast code of conduct. They have since been forged by murder, terror, and dark magic into a force unlike any that has waged war on the Kingdom in history.’ He looked around the room. ‘Some are soldiers who have been fighting their way across half a world, from the fall of the Westlands in Novindus to the destruction of Krondor. For twenty years they have known nothing but war, plunder, pillage and rape.’ He caught the dandy’s eye and said, ‘Some of them are cannibals.’
The man went pale and seemed as if he might faint.
Erik continued. ‘They will come at us because they have no other option. We have destroyed their fleet behind them, and they have no food. They also number some ten to twenty thousand Saaur - we don’t know the exact number.’ Some of the eastern nobles looked blank at the name. ‘For those who haven’t been briefed, the Saaur are lizardmen, something akin to the Pantathians, but nine feet tall. They ride war-horses twenty-five hands at the withers, and the sound of them charging is like thunder across the mountains.’
‘Oh, dear gods!’ said the dandy and he rose up, holding his hand over his mouth. He dashed from the room, and after a moment of silence, several of the lords in the room exploded into laughter.
The Prince laughed as well. Then after the mirth had subsided, he said, ‘My lords and gentlemen. Despite the levity, every word Captain von Darkmoor has uttered is true. More: if anything, he underestimates the foe.’
‘What are we to do?’ asked another well-dressed lord who looked as if he had never held a sword in his life.
‘My lord, we will fight. Here we stand, at Darkmoor and along Nightmare Ridge. And we will riot be budged, for if the enemy passes us, the Kingdom is doomed. It will be victory or death. There is no other choice.’
The room fell silent.
TWENTY-FIVE - Revelations
Drums sounded.
Trumpets blew and men ran along the walls of Darkmoor. Erik was dressed and out the door as fast as he could, racing for the council hall.
He was the third man in the room, after Patrick and Greylock, and was only there for a few moments before a half-dozen other nobles came running in. Manfred entered, calmly looked around, and said, ‘They are here.’
No one had to ask who ‘they’ were.