Patrick wasted no time. ‘Owen,’ he said, ‘I want you and Earl Montrose to ride to the south, along the eastern ridge. Take a company and see what we have on that flank. If the entire southern reserves are gone, as reported, I need to know what the enemy brings north. Don’t engage unless you’re attacked, and then try to get back here as fast as possible. If you run into any remnants of the southern reserves, bring them back with you.’
At that moment, Arutha, Lord Vencar, and his two sons entered the room. Erik nodded.
‘Arutha,’ said Patrick. ‘Your arrival is timely. I want you to oversee the administration of the city. We’re going to lock down the gates, and we’ll need to control the consumption of food and make sure no one compromises our security by leaving or smuggling.’ He turned to Manfred. ‘You’re in charge of the citadel, as is your right, but I will oversee the conduct of the war from these headquarters.’
Manfred nodded. ‘Highness.’
The Prince turned to Erik. ‘Erik, I want you to ride north, and oversee the northern defenses. If the south is as weak as I fear, we need to ensure we have no breaches in the north.’ He looked Erik in the eyes, and said, ‘Unless you’re recalled, defend to the last man.’
Erik nodded. ‘I understand.’ He didn’t wait for further orders but hurried out of the room, to the bailey, asked for his horse, and rode out.
An hour later he was moving on one of the newly constructed roads, cut into the eastern face of the mountains, a dozen yards below the ridge line. Along the peaks above him, he could see defensive emplacements. He could tell the men were ready, as they ran, carrying supplies, shouting commands, and readying weapons. The righting hadn’t started yet, but Erik could tell the enemy was close.
He rode as fast as he could. He studied every foot of the ridge above as he rode past.
While the front was a hundred miles long, roughly fifty on each side of Darkmoor, the northern command post was located twenty miles north of the city. Erik reached it by midday.
Jadow Shati stood outside a small command tent, obviously distressed, with a short man wearing the tabard of Loriel. When Erik entered the camp, Jadow said, ‘Man, I am glad to see you.’
Handing the reins of his horse to a soldier Erik said, ‘Why?’
Jadow indicated the other man with a nod of his head.
The short man, who had a square head, short-cropped grey hair, and a square jaw, said, ‘Who the hell are you?’
Erik realized that he had dressed in his blue tunic and yellow leggings, and had left his uniform back in Castle Darkmoor. Quickly sizing up the short man, Erik said, ‘I’m your commander. Who the hell are you?’
The man bunked. ‘I’m the Earl of Loriel!’ Then he lowered his voice. ‘And you are?’
‘Knight-Captain von Darkmoor, of the Prince’s Special Command, and I’m to command the northern flank.’
‘Well, we’ll just see about that,’ said the man, his face growing florid. ‘I’m sworn vassal to the Duke of Yabon, and I’ll take orders from the Prince of Krondor, but this special army and you jumped-up boy officers are more than I can stomach! I’ll be down to Darkmoor to talk to the Prince himself.’
‘My lord,’ said Erik in a soft but firm tone.
‘What?’
‘Have a nice ride.’
After the man left, Jadow burst out laughing. ‘Man, that little fellow is about as pleasant as a boil on the ass. I hope he stays away for a month.’
‘Well, given the mood our Prince was in when I left, I suspect his lordship will find little sympathy for his protests. Now, what’s the situation?’
‘As best I can judge, we have about six companies intact north of here, with ample supplies down at the bottom of the ridge. Some of the boys are pretty beat up, lads who were fighting along the northern front for the last month, but there are some fresh reserves, so overall we’re in good shape. The bad news is we’re facing Duko.’
‘I’ve heard of him. What do we know?’
‘Not much. Rumors. A few things we’ve learned from captives. He’s smart, has survived where some others, like Gapi, haven’t, and he’s still able to command a large contingency. Man, I don’t know. If I was to guess, I think he’s the best they’ve got after Fadawah.’
‘Well then,’ said Erik, ‘I guess we have our work cut out for us.’
Jadow grinned. ‘The nice part is we’re where they want to be, and they’re not.’
‘You have a happy facility to put things in perspective,’ said Erik.
Jadow asked, ‘What are the orders?’
‘Simple. Kill anyone who comes up that slope.’
‘I like simple,’ said the former mercenary from the Vale of Dreams. ‘I’m tired of this moving backward.’
‘No more of that,’ said Erik. ‘From this point on, if we move backward, we’ve lost.’
‘Well,’ said Jadow, ‘we must make sure we don’t move backward.’
Erik said, ‘I couldn’t have put it better myself.’
A trumpet sounded and Jadow said, ‘Seems they’re coming.’
Erik drew his sword. ‘Then let’s greet them.’
As they climbed the slope to the ridge line, Erik said, ‘Who else is on this flank?’