46

Lundi morning, Quaeryt first met with Subcommander Alazyn in the smallest of the inn’s plaques rooms.

“What have you been doing?” asked Quaeryt as soon as Alazyn settled into the chair on the other side of the battered circular table.

“Having the companies ride patrols. It’s been quiet. Don’t think the locals have seen this many troopers ever.”

“What about the High Holders? Have you seen any of their men?”

“About a week after you left, we saw a squad of riders in gold and green. They saw us and took to a path through the woods. Haven’t seen anyone in a uniform since. Neither have any of the submarshal’s regiments, either, even when they tried to visit some of the high holdings.”

“That’s what the submarshal said. It’s likely things will change in the next week. I’ll be doing some scouting today with first company. Now … give me a report on all your battalions.”

“Yes, sir. First battalion…” Alazyn offered concise and thoughtful reports on the readiness and strength of each battalion.

When he finished, Quaeryt went to find Zhelan and to inspect first company. Then, at two quints past seventh glass, Quaeryt and the imager undercaptains, as well as first company, rode out of Geusyn with Skarpa’s scouts. Less than half a mille outside the town, the rutted road they followed to the east-southeast narrowed to a clay track barely wide enough for a single wagon or two horses abreast.

Quaeryt frowned. According to the map Skarpa had provided the nearest high holding was that of one High Holder Chaelaet, and it was some three milles east of the east river road.

“Undercaptain Horan, forward.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’d like you to clear the area on each side of the road, so that there’s ten yards beyond each shoulder. Do it in whatever way requires the least effort on your part. Begin by clearing with a stretch some twenty yards forward of us on each side.”

“Yes, sir.”

Horan concentrated.

After a moment a wave of cold air swept across the front of the column, and a thin misty fog filled the air to the east. As the light breeze carried it away, Quaeryt could see that Horan’s imaging had removed anything that had been growing taller than a few digits and dumped the refuse into a packed mass against the remaining trees, effectively creating a barrier nearly two yards high that extended almost thirty yards ahead.

“How do you feel?” asked Quaeryt.

“I could do a few more of those, sir.”

“I’ll have you alternate. That way you can do more over the day. Undercaptain Threkhyl, forward!”

Threkhyl rode forward, and as the column moved down the road, somewhat smoothed out by Horan’s imaging, Quaeryt explained what he wanted done once more. Threkhyl cleared the next fifty yards, and first company moved on. Even so, it took more than a glass to clear the first half mille, and Quaeryt ordered a short break after that.

The second half mille took a good glass and a half. To clear the shoulders and smooth road for the entire three milles and the hundred-odd yards up the side road to the rough stone pillars marking the hill lane leading up to Chaelaet’s hold took until well after second glass of the afternoon. That wouldn’t have been possible had Quaeryt not cleared several hundred-yard stretches himself.

As the weary undercaptains rested and drank from their water bottles, Quaeryt studied the area to the east. The gray-walled hold was more like a chateau fort, sitting on the top of a narrow ridge composed mainly of light gray rock that rose some fifty yards above the surrounding forest. The walls themselves didn’t seem that high, perhaps three yards, but they had been constructed at the top of a steep rocky slope a good fifty yards long that had been cleared of vegetation and soil. The hold and the outbuildings weren’t that extensive, making it possible that the other imagers might be able to flatten all the structures without assistance from Quaeryt.

Although Quaeryt couldn’t be certain, the lack of trees on the far side of the lower slopes of the ridge suggested that large expanses of fields and meadows lay to the east on the north side of the road. That made sense, because anyone from the west-and the River Laar-would have to pass the fortified hilltop to reach the more productive lands. The narrowness of the road and the closeness of the trees-before the imagers had changed that-would also have made any attackers on the hold vulnerable to continual assault. While a regimental-sized force could have survived such an attack, the casualties would have been significant in dealing with just one High Holder.

Quaeryt nodded. That was important, given that Skarpa had identified five High Holders within a day’s ride to the east, all located just north of the border with Antiago.

Zhelan eased his mount up beside Quaeryt’s mare. “The scouts have found some tracks on the road. They’re not that recent, and they’re all headed away from Geusyn.”

“Yesterday?”

“Late yesterday, most likely.”

Quaeryt nodded, his eyes still on the rocky hill and its hold.

“There’s a good half mille of narrow lane up to the lower gate, sir, and the lane to the upper gate is walled.”

“I thought it might be. That’s why I wanted the road cleared.”

“Will you have to have imagers do that for the next holding?”

Quaeryt shrugged. “I don’t know. The next nearest high holding is more than ten milles from here. I suspect we’ll have to do some clearing in dealing with other High Holders, but how much and when will depend on what happens tomorrow.”

Zhelan studied the hill hold for a time before speaking. “That hold looks like it has never been taken.”

“It probably hasn’t. Rex Kharst was a sovereign in name only in parts of Bovaria. That makes matters harder for Lord Bhayar.”

“Begging your pardon, sir, but it makes things harder for you, the submarshal, the undercaptains, and the troopers.”

“I stand corrected, Zhelan,” replied Quaeryt with a soft laugh. “But if word gets out that any group of High Holders can defy Lord Bhayar…”

“I understand, sir.”

“For your information,” Quaeryt said softly, “I’m not planning on risking troopers unless we’re attacked on the road. Nor will there be an attack or a siege on fortified positions if a holder refuses allegiance to Lord Bhayar.” He took a deep breath. “That may be hard on some Bovarians who are innocent, but I see no point in risking men unnecessarily.”

“That was why you cleared the roadway today?”

“Yes.” And also to start building up more strength in the imagers.

“You don’t think that this Chaelaet will pledge allegiance, do you?”

“No. He’ll either evade pledging, or withdraw from his hold, or close his gates and defy us to do our worst.” Not understanding what that might be.

“There are some who will not learn.”

“No,” replied Quaeryt sadly, “there are some who have never had to learn until it is too late.”

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