‘But we have the best ships and men!’ said Nicholas.
‘I know,’ conceded Patrick, ‘but we don’t have enough of them.’
‘Nor time to build them,’ said William. ‘Pursuing this discussion further is pointless.’
‘Maybe,’ said James.
‘What?’ asked Patrick.
The old Duke smiled. ‘Something you just said. About Queg raiding from the east. I might be able to arrange that.’
‘How?’ asked the Prince.
James said, ‘Let me worry about that.’
Patrick said, ‘Very well. Let me know what you’re dreaming up, though, before you get us into another war with Queg.’
James smiled. I’m waiting for some reports from Queg, and when I have them’ - he turned to Nicky - ‘you can sail your fleet to Tulan. And tell Duke Harry to cut his fleet loose from the Sunset Islands and put it under your flag. That squadron of cutthroats will swell your flotilla to what, fifty ships?’
Nicholas was enthusiastic. ‘Sixty-five!’
James put up a hand in a restraining gesture. ‘Don’t get too carried away. This plot of mine may not work. I’ll let you know one way or another in a month or so.’
Turning to the others at the table, the Prince asked, ‘Anything else?’
‘Why Krondor?’ asked Greylock.
Patrick said, ‘Captain?’
‘I mean, I agree it’s likely they’ll come into the Bitter Sea, but why attack Krondor?’
‘Do you see an alternative?’ asked the Prince.
‘Several,’ answered Greylock. ‘None of them obviously superior, but the two that would appeal to me most if I were the Emerald Queen’s commander would be either to land north of Krondor, keep the defenders bottled up inside the city with a small force, moving the army around the city, then into the East, over the King’s Highway, or to put ashore between Land’s End and Krondor, moving to the south of the city along the Keshian border, then north to the pass to the east. I would lose some portion of my army holding Kingdom forces inside the city, but less than in a full assault.’
Patrick said, ‘William?’
‘We’ve considered it, but there’s nothing in our reports that would indicate this General Fadawah, who commands for the Queen, is inclined to leave anything alive behind his lines.’
‘Food?’ suggested Erik.
‘Pardon?’ asked the Prince of Krondor.
I’m sorry. Highness, but it seems to me that with all the numbers of ships and men we’ve had tossed about over the last few years, if they’re bringing even as few as six hundred ships . . . I could show you my calculations, but I think they’re going to be out of food when they get here.’
Nicholas said, ‘Yes, that’s it!’ He pointed to the island nation of Queg. ‘They can’t raid Queg for food, nor down here along the Jal-Pur Desert. No, they need to sack Krondor to provision their army before they move east.’
Patrick said, ‘I agree. Which is why, if James’s plan doesn’t work, I want the fleet deployed to the north near Sarth. When they attempt to come ashore, that’s when you harry them.’
Nicholas swore. ‘Damn it, Patrick, that’s the worst time! You know they’ll bring their fastest ships into skirmish along their perimeter. They’ll need only one or two large warships to break through whatever we have at the harbor mouth if we take all our big ships up the coast. Then they sail their troop ships into the harbor and seize the city! You can’t have it both ways, Patrick. If you want me to defend the city, my fleet needs to be equally divided between ships inside the harbor and those defending outside the seawall.’
Erik said, ‘Excuse me.’
‘Yes?’ said Patrick.
‘If it’s not too late, you could change the way ships enter the harbor.’
James grinned. ‘We’re already working on that, Sergeant Major. We’re going to make them come to a complete right-angle turn through a new set of breakwaters -’
‘No, m’lord,’ interrupted Erik. ‘I mean build another wall along the northern jetty to the harbor, put a sea gate in between the new wall and the old one, make them sail against the wind, not with the currents at the old breakwater, so they’re as slow as can be when they have to turn into the harbor proper. Maybe even have it so they have to be towed around.’
‘Why the new wall?’ asked Calis.
‘Catapults and ballista platforms,’ answered Greylock. ‘Burning anything coming around that corner that doesn’t fly Kingdom colors.’
‘If you sink the first two or three ships as they come in . . .’ said Nicholas.
‘They’ll have to turn away from the harbor and land on the beaches to the north of the city!’ finished Patrick.
‘Or attempt to land on the wall itself!’ said William. ‘Sergeant Major, I’m impressed.’
Patrick looked at Duke James. ‘Can we do it?’
‘We can, but it will be expensive to do it in time. And the merchants will set up a howl about the inconvenience.’