Bright Swords of Serena

Chapter 12

 They sent Isandrov's body home the next day, the twenty-eighth of May, and started the troops moving out from Brestow toward Kelender. On the second day of June, they attacked and took Kelender, and now Calvan had several choices of steps to take next, but most of all he had King Philip's attention, because for the first time he had thrown his whole ten thousand into the fray, except for those companies assigned to Brestow and the beaches and the waystations in between. Now the Private Fleet agents could go about their business in the south in confidence that Philip would be distracted in the north, although the loss of Kelender apparently hadn't distracted him from getting married the day after he lost it.

On the morning of June sixth Calvan issued marching orders. They would continue southwest toward Stanton, which like Kelender was a major road nexus, but Calvan was particularly concerned with the road over the Gray Hills to the south—where Philip had put all his supply dumps. Holding Stanton, they could simultaneously threaten the capital—another road led to Althione—and cut off most of Philip's troops wintering in the south. General Compton's northern army, who had licked their wounds after Kelender and come back to work, cooperated nicely, retreating across the plain, blocking the Kelender–Stanton road at exactly the right pace. Calvan's army followed in a lazy-seeming way, so that it was the last day of June when, Compton having reinforced his troops to the number of six thousand and having had them hole up in and around Stanton Castle, the Tymarians arrived before the castle. They had been in Aethir three months: tomorrow was the summer solstice. Late in the afternoon, Emil Shaw poked his nose into Hollander and Fanning's tent and said, "Sir?"

"Yes, sergeant?"

"'Scuse me, sir, but Lieutenant Amory sent me. She says, would you join our fire tonight if you're free?"

"Well, go ahead, Anders, I got the short straw," said Fanning, who would be on duty. "Drink something for me."

"Tell the lieutenant I accept, with thanks," Hollander said. "I'll be there shortly."

Shaw took himself off. Hollander took a standing bath, put on a fresh uniform and tucked two bottles of wine under his arm. As so often happened, he found Amory on the Marn Third's horselines.

"Working on a holiday, lieutenant?"

"Oh, sir. Hello." She smiled. "'Tisn't holiday till twelfth hour, and the horses have to be tended."

"Well, I'll help you, that'll make it go quicker."

"Sir..." she said, and stopped.

"Yes, Ellen?"

"Something's going to happen soon, isn't it?"

"Very probably, yes," he said. "But don't talk about it, yah? And you didn't hear it from me."

"Sir—what are we doing here?"

"Pardon?"

"You know what I mean," she said, distributing hay to yet another hungry horse. "Ten thousand soldiers for one attack on the fishing fleet?"

"Ellen, a smart officer is a good officer, but don't talk about it. That's an order. Do you understand me?"

She put down the hay and saluted. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now let's finish up and go to holiday."

Several squads had joined forces around a large fire. Hollander sat with Amory and Shaw and was made welcome, particularly when he contributed his wine to the common meal. The cooks served up an unusually good stew, there were potatoes baked on the outer edges of the fire, fresh greens to eat while they waited for stew and potatoes; then cheese afterwards, and then sweetnut cakes. Singing followed the food.