Rex Regis

34

The river road as far as Talyon proved not only to be paved all the way from Variana, but the paving continued for the next two towns beyond, the second of which, Caanara, was where Quaeryt and the two companies spent Mardi night, using both inns. Quaeryt and the imagers and first company stayed at the Black Bear, whose innkeeper had observed occasional riders in Telaryn livery riding both north and south, but none for the past week or so.

“Couldn’t say for certain, sir, but as I recall, there were four Telaryn riders moving quicklike through town a week ago last Samedi. Sometimes, they stop here, but those fellows barely slowed to a walk in the town. They just might have wished they did, seeing as it had rained the day before.”

“The road’s not paved north of here?”

“For another five milles, mayhap. All that was done in my grandsire’s time. All the roadwork hereabouts stopped when Rex Kharst’s father took the throne.”

Another mystery of sorts. But Quaeryt just nodded, then asked, “I heard that Kharst’s imagers might have fled north from Variana.”

The innkeeper shrugged. “Could be, but who’d know an imager from any other party of travelers ’less they were fool enough to let anyone know?”

“I take it imagers aren’t exactly welcome in the north?”

“Not sure they’re welcome anywhere, especially for High Holders out of favor. There’s word that a few High Holders welcome them, but which ones, I couldn’t say. Likely ’cause they’re relatives. Anyone else’d turn out an imager whelp.”

“They say that Lord Bhayar is starting a school for them in Variana,” said Quaeryt, “offering a gold to parents who send young imagers there.”

“Might not be a bad idea. Keep them under control and give their parents a reward for raising ’em and putting up with ’em.” The innkeeper frowned. “How’d you be knowing that?”

“He told me to arrange for building the school. I was a scholar before the war.”

“Scholar-commander … don’t know what the world’s coming to…” The man shook his head, then brushed back a lock of lank black hair. “Used to have scholars, too. They started disappearing some twenty years ago, something about the rex not letting them earn coins. Small scholarium here when I was a boy. Been gone for years, though.”

“That’s true all across Bovaria, I’ve heard.”

“Terrible times … terrible … You said you’d pay?”

“I did. Two golds for food for the men, and a gold for lodging.”

“Not all that much … but any boat in a flood.”

Quaeryt didn’t learn any more of interest from the innkeeper, and on Meredi morning he and his forces were on the road north well before seventh glass.

North of Caanara, the river road ran along a low bluff beside the Aluse, the edge of the pavement some fifty yards from the edge. The undergrowth on the top of the bluff between the road and the dropoff to the river was mainly weeds and a few scraggy bushes, and only a handful of trees. At first Quaeryt wondered why, but then he began to notice all the stumps. Everyone logs the lands of the rex … where they can. At least, it keeps it easier to see the river. On the side of the road away from the river were scattered cots, with woodlots and fields, some more well tended than others, and occasional patches of grass.

The top of the bluff paralleling the river was flat enough, but to the east of the road the ground rose unevenly, gently in some places, and those areas held fields, sometimes terraced. The steeper slopes were often rocky and rugged covered with grass and sparse trees, while the steep stretches that were not excessively rocky were thickly wooded, and in a few instances, the branch tips were within yards of the road’s shoulder.

Quaeryt had just ridden past a millestone that, on the north side, read: CAANARA-5 M when one of the scouts rode back toward first company.

The ranker called out, even before he swung his mount around and up beside Quaeryt and Zhelan. “Sir! There’s a gorge ahead with a bridge.”

“And there’s a problem with the bridge or the gorge … or both? Or the paving ends?”

“Best you see for yourself, sir.”

Quaeryt led first company forward for almost half a mille along the bluff road before he could see a bridge, but the ground was so level it was difficult to make out what the problem might be. Only when he was within a few hundred yards did he begin to see. The timber bridge was narrow and crossed a space of no more than ten yards. It also appeared rickety.

Then … some fifteen yards short of the bridge, the stone paving ended. Although Quaeryt had expected that from his talk with the innkeeper at the Black Bear, what he hadn’t expected was the nature of what the bridge spanned.

Quaeryt reined up a few yards short of the bridge, then eased the gelding forward until he could see fully. The narrow timber bridge crossed a gorge some ten yards wide, but one that had been eroded more than that in depth so that the stream that had cut it flowed almost lazily westward into the Aluse. Quaeryt doubted that anything larger than a single light cart drawn by a small horse or donkey could safely cross the gorge. For a time, he studied the earthen walls of the narrow canyon, but it was clear that with each year, more of the walls would crumble away. He glanced to the east, but the narrow gorge was at least seven or eight yards deep even a half mille to the east, and there the trees ran to the edge. In fact, in one place a young fir angled out over the stream, as if the ground under a portion of its roots had been washed away. His eyes went back to the bridge. The second time he noticed that the planks and timbers were relatively new, certainly less than a year or two old.

“I’d not want to risk more than a rider at a time on that,” said Zhelan.

“If that.” Quaeryt turned in the saddle. “Imagers, forward!”

The three young imagers rode forward and reined up just behind Quaeryt.

“Undercaptains … and Elsior … take a good look.”

Quaeryt waited until the three had studied the bridge and the gorge. “How would you suggest you image a bridge across this little canyon?”

After a time, Lhandor said, “It depends on what’s at the bottom of the gorge. If there’s rock not too far below the stream level, we could image away the dirt and stones above the rock, and then image a bridge pier on each side. We’d need an arch across the middle to support the roadbed, and a half arch from each pillar to support the approach causeway on each side. That ought to work for at least five or ten years. It could be longer.”

“Khalis? What do you think?”

“I won’t disagree with Lhandor on this.”

“Elsior?”

“I would not disagree…”

“But you have a suggestion?”

“Yes, sir. If we can image retaining walls away from the piers on each side, no more than three yards up from the base of the pier, that would channel the stream away from the back of the piers. The stream is not much higher than the river now. It can’t dig down that much farther.”

Quaeryt held back a smile. “Go to it. If you want me to image part of it, I will, but you have to describe what you want done. Since it’s your idea, Lhandor, you’re in charge.”

“Yes, sir.”

Quaeryt watched as the three dismounted and then walked just a few steps onto the bridge to study the gorge. They conversed quietly before Lhandor stepped close to the edge of the gorge and focused on the far side. At the base of the gorge on the far side, a trench appeared, at the bottom of which Quaeryt could see stone-before it was covered with stream water.

All in all, the imaging of a new stone bridge, wide enough for two wagons, if barely, took almost two glasses-and Quaeryt ended up imaging the retaining walls proposed by Elsior, as well as the last sections of the approach causeway.

The three undercaptains crossed the new span first, followed by Quaeryt and Zhelan, and then first company.

Halfway across, Zhelan turned to Quaeryt. “You could have done that yourself, could you not?”

“I could have created something, but what they did is a better bridge, and they need the experience of thinking it out and then doing it. I’ve done more in battle because too much was at stake. Now is the time for them to do all they can.” Quaeryt laughed softly. “I won’t always be around them, and I certainly won’t be here forever.”

“You’re young as commanders go, sir.”

“That may be, but things can happen to young commanders as well. The greater the experience they have, the more likely the Collegium is to be successful.” And a permanent part of Bhayar’s Solidar to come. After a moment Quaeryt added, You hope.

The bluff road stretched ahead for what looked to be another mille before it looked to slope downward toward a level closer to that of the River Aluse.

More mud and problems, thought Quaeryt. But he did not voice those words.