CHAPTER SIX
An hour after dawn of the following day, the 1st of the 7th was just about ready to move. The last of the palisade stakes were being withdrawn from the ground and loaded on the wagons. The men worked quickly but there was the inevitable grumbling. It was the normal human trait to set roots down, even in the roughest of environments. The men had gotten comfortable. They had forged some useful trading links with the local troops and some handy “business” arrangements with some of the ladies that hung around camp. But such was life. A week from now they would have forgotten they were ever here.
Captain Forge was busying himself with stowing his own kit when a mounted Corporal Jonas rode towards him.
“Morning, boss.”
“Corporal.”
“Found out what I could and spoke to a few of the locals. Lots of nothing’.”
“Uh-huh.”
“So I figure we head north then east ‘til we hit the river. Mostly woodland and wilderness country up there. Oh, and Porky Boy must be genuinely mad.”
Forge smiled at Jonas’ pet name for Duke Burns. “Really? Again? How so?” he asked.
“Well, accordin’ to his lads there ain’t been any trading traffic since before any of them could remember. All the traffic goes south further to the west. That fort must be real old.”
“Thanks, Jonas. See if you can’t get Sergeant Pike to get you some coffee.”
“Rather drink my own piss,” commented Corporal Jonas as he wheeled his horse around.
Forge stopped strapping his saddle and thought about that information. What was Burns playing at? Something didn’t add up. And he was damned if he was going to be on the receiving end of it.
Forge reflected on the previous morning’s results. Knowing that time was short he had deliberately hit upon a plan to at least hit back at Shifter. To try and redress the balance for the losses they had suffered. Burns was not told that fifteen of Forge’s troops had been sent out on a hunt. Forge couldn’t have hoped for a better result when the scouts had spotted the party of Shifter troops. A quick ambush and questioning had given them the location of the Shifter northern base. Hells, he would have been happy with taking out just those ten. Instead Sergeant Mac had led a raid into enemy territory. The result was another dozen enemy troops accounted for by Ashkent blades. Thanks to the stampede, there were probably a fair few nursing broken bones, sore heads and several bruises in uncomfortable places. The disruption in the camp would be sure to reduce the activity on the Shifter side of the border for a time. What was interesting was the assessment by Jonas and Kyle that the base housed regular Shifter troops. There was nothing “irregular” about them. And they had a cavalry troop too. It helped to explain why operations against them had been such hard work. Someone on their side had an ounce of intelligence. Seems like we’ve sorted the problem for the time being. He adjusted his jerkin, waggled his scabbard into an easier walking position and tucked his helmet under his arm. “Time to go stand in the shit storm I reckon,” he announced to no-one and ambled over to the command tent to see if the Duke had heard the bad news.
As Forge had entered, he almost jumped at the speed of Burns rounding on him. Portal, who discreetly stood to one side, was smiling faintly.
“How dare you? What authority do you have to question my methods?” he screamed.
“Sir?” Forge responded.
“Don’t play the innocent with me, Captain,” said Burns. “I know you sent out a patrol last night. A patrol that had not been authorised by me or any of my officers.”
“It was just a routine patrol, Sir. Turned out quite well actually,” said Forge brightly.
“What?” said Burns, a dangerous edge to his voice. Behind him Portal shifted uncomfortably and looked slightly confused.
“Yes, Sir,” replied Forge. “As luck would have it, my men stumbled on an enemy patrol. Tracked them, ambushed them and then paid a visit to their base.” He noted that Burns’ face had lost its anger and had been replaced by a very odd look indeed. “Snuck in, took out a few more Shifter troops and raised merry hell getting out,” continued Forge. He was starting to enjoy Burns’ obvious discomfort. Clearly he was in a spot. He could hardly punish success could he? “And these guys were regulars, too. Says a lot about our difficulties of late. We thought we were fighting irregular troops. Still, good thing we found them before we headed off, saves you some unpleasantness. Oh, and my apologies for not telling you, I was going to report it but kind of forgot to in the preparations to move.”
Burns was standing quite still. Forge suddenly felt the desire to duck. The man looked like he was going to explode and that was a hell of a lot of body mass for such a small room.
“Are you telling me, Captain,” said Burns in a soft, quavering voice, “that you, ignoring the chain of command, committed your troops to a possibly suicidal operation. And in so doing seriously damaged the enemy contingent ranged against us?”
“And that these troops were Shifter regular forces?” Portal chipped in.
“Yes to both,” replied Forge. “Shifter regular troops with cavalry support. By our reckoning, some two hundred soldiers. In fact, if they had wanted to, they could have engaged us in a pretty even fight. What with my troops having been all used up in a questionable patrolling strategy.” Forge had wanted to bait Burns but all he got was more of the Duke’s trembling face. “I was going to forward my report to Regiment,” he continued. “They ought to know what we are dealing with up here.”
“You will do no such thing!” screamed Burns, suddenly waking from his red-faced reverie. “You have done enough damage, Captain. You have deliberately gone against my orders and have publicly humiliated me in front of the men. I will deal personally with the report. And rest assured I will be recommending the harshest possible punishment for your mutinous behaviour. In fact, if you were not already to go north, I would have you in chains.”
You could try.
“As it is, I do not have the manpower to change my plans. You will take your men to the Rooke and you will ensure that the job is done efficiently and speedily. Do this and on your return you might just come away with your life, if not your commission, intact. And don’t doubt that my wizard will be telling me exactly what happens.”
Again, that self satisfied sneer from Portal. “Do I make myself clear, Captain?”
“As day, Duke,” replied Forge.
Forge gave a smart salute and left the command tent. Mutinous? Him? That was the first time he had ever been accused of that! He wasn’t at all bothered by the Duke’s threats. He had already dispatched a report to headquarters. Dav would get it and would recognise the value of Forge’s actions over the Duke’s remonstrations. Now all he had to do was take care of his men for the next couple of weeks. From what he’d been hearing, they then just might be on their way home.
He turned his attention to the task at hand. Until they returned to Ashkent he resolved to make sure the company wasn’t caught with its arses out in the wind. He sighed, placed his helmet on his head and went to find his horse. Mounting, he rode along the all but empty shell of what had been their home for the past few months. Outside, the column was forming up. It was a lot smaller then when it had first arrived. Forge could feel his bitterness well up again. He had sixty-seven men out of what had been a full strength company of a hundred. He had lost both of his original officers and some damned fine privates and non-coms. All because Burns couldn’t organise a piss-up in a brewery. At least they were getting out of here. He could exert control over what happened to his men out there in the wild, away from the incompetence of the Duke.
He rode down the column to the centre where the stores wagons were drawn up. Whilst each horse carried enough for a soldier to survive in the field, the wagons meant life could be more bearable. Food for men and horses, cooking equipment and all the other trappings of the company was the cargo. Two wagons had also been employed to carry the Bantusai.
They sat quietly enough, watching with mild interest the hustle and bustle going on around them. He noted that they had wasted no time in garbing themselves in the assorted rags and hand-me-downs he’d had Pike rustle up. Juma nodded his greeting from the rear of the foremost wagon.
“Thank you for the clothes. We are tough but we feel the cold like any other. It is not like our home here,” said Juma.
“Bet it ain’t. I’ll want your men pulling their weight on this trip. At the end of the day we stop and build camp. That means a ditch and then a wall on top of the spoil. The sooner it’s up the sooner we rest. Standard procedure in unfriendly parts.”
“We do the same...in a way,” replied Juma.
Forge tipped his head and then rode to the front of the column. Sergeant Mac and Lieutenant Locke were waiting for him. He noted how Locke was looking better and seemed to have made an attempt at getting his own mount fully prepared for the trip. The two men saluted the Captain.
“The men are mounted and ready to go. Flankers and rear guard are out and Jonas and Kyle you can just about see up ahead,” said Sergeant Mac.
“Thank you, Sergeant. Let’s get going.”
Sergeant Mac indicated back over his shoulder towards the Graves encampment. “Oh, just one thing, Sir.”
Forge looked back at and spied Portal riding towards them.
“Oh yeah, thought the air smelt a bit fresh.”
They waited as the wizard reined in next to them. The gangly mage nodded haughtily to the two soldiers. “Good morning gentlemen. I trust all is well. Shall we?”
Arsehole, thought Forge. “Good morning back,” he relied and then turned to his sergeant. “Move them out First Sergeant.”
Sergeant Mac spat to his left and signalled the column.
Forge took the lead and out of the corner of his eye he saw Portal take up station slightly to his rear. He didn’t know if he actually approved of this act of deference to his command. He’d rather not have his back to this slimy individual. As they left the outer pickets of the encampment it began to rain. Ah, right on cue.
The next three days passed without incident for the Company. The first day’s travel took them through land they had already patrolled and the scouts knew the safest routes to avoid ambushes. Not that Shifter would engage a force this large. Not now. By nightfall the rain had stopped and the Company had bivouacked in record time. Forge figured he might as well put his new builders to work and the Bantusai had attacked the construction of the palisade with gusto. Forge could not help but be impressed. For prisoners they seemed pretty damn motivated. It was not as if he had actually threatened them or anything. That night he had doubled the guard. He couldn’t help but feel uneasy. They were strictly speaking in disputed territory and therefore a higher level of security was needed, but that wasn’t it. It was the foreboding he felt in the back of his mind for this entire venture.
That night he sat by the fire nursing a coffee. On the far side, the company sergeants were deep in conversation. He had also noted that Locke had taken to avoiding him other than to deal with professional matters. The lad was still smarting from his dressing down. Forge was wondering if Locke would take it on the chin and sort himself out. Youngsters were bound to make mistakes. Hopefully he would get a chance to learn from them.
He felt a presence next to him. “May I join you?” asked Portal.
Forge grunted his assent as the wizard arranged himself next to him. He did so in a slow, precise method that left nothing to chance. That spooked Forge. Too damned in control he thought. They spent the next few moments in an uncomfortable silence. At least Forge did. Portal seemed more than content to watch the fire.
“I checked on the prisoners,” said Portal abruptly. “They have a sleeping space in the centre of the camp but they are not guarded. That is not wise.”
“My prisoners, my rules.” Forge knew he was being deliberately obnoxious. Not that he gave a stuff. “Besides where are they going to go? We’d would find them again and give them a slap for their troubles. Unless Shifter finds them first.”
“They are not fools, Captain. You have at least surmised that. But neither are they helpless. You do not know them. They have talents you could not understand. Given a chance they might kill you in your sleep and slaughter every man here,” responded Portal hotly.
“And I’m not a complete idiot wizard,” snapped Forge. “They are watched.”
“Aye, by men who grow tired as the night continues. You are fortunate that I am here. For I too watch them. By means far more reliable than your own. If they were to act unbidden, then I would know. And then I shall mete out more appropriate treatment.”
Forge wanted to make some sort of pithy comment but couldn’t come up with anything. He settled for another question. “So what is it that makes these guys so special?”
Portal glanced at him with that same sardonic smile. “It is a magic I have no knowledge of. Suffice to say that they can bend wood to their will. It took much effort to bring them to this place,” he paused, as if thinking to say more. “You will see. Goodnight, Captain.” Portal stood up, more swiftly than he had sat down, and left the fire.
Forge watched him go. He was pretty sure that Portal had been about to let something slip and had stopped himself. They were building a bloody bridge, not a palace. Hells, his men could probably knock something half decent up given the time. Time. That was it again. They were being pressured by time. But what for? The war over. He knew this was really going to bug him.
Later the next day they left the limits of the known terrain and entered the true wilderness. It was then down to Corporals Jonas and Kyle, the two company scouts, to guide them safely to their destination. Strictly speaking the further north they went the less they should encounter any true resistance. They had very little intelligence about the land they were riding through. As the map had suggested, it was made up of lush meadows and rocky outcroppings with large tracts of forest. Oaks, elm and birch trees competed for sunlight. There were trails of sorts, if you looked carefully. They hadn’t been used for a long, long time. The scouts stuck to them, as they led in roughly the right direction. It meant the going was a bit easier for the wagons. Game, too, was abundant. It meant that they would be eating fresh meat each night and not the rations they had brought with them, although Sergeant Mac claimed he actually quite liked salted beef jerky. The lads thought he was mad.
Sergeant Mac was not a worrier, at least not in the proper sense. He would just say he was being concerned. He was concerned about this mission and he was concerned about Portal. He was also concerned about their charges. Not that they had been any trouble but there were rumours floating around the lads. When he had asked Smitty about it, the big man had just tapped his nose and said “Magicians, I heard, Sarge. Can turn you into a tree soon as look at you.” Sergeant Mac had quickly dismissed Smitty as being hardly the most reliable of sources. However, it didn’t hurt to keep an eye on ‘em like the Captain had said. But it was the boss he was most concerned about. He had always been a bit of a cantankerous sort. Mac put it down to thinking too much about stuff. But Forge had been different of late. He looked more haunted. His eyes showed a strain that had never been there before. Sergeant Mac knew why of course. He had felt the deaths of the men as keenly as any other, but then he had the luxury of not having to carry the ultimate responsibility of the lads’ lives. The Captain did that. You lost men in war, it came with the territory. But these months had been more like a slow leaching of the company lifeblood, not a straight fight like they were used to. Truth be known they were used to turning up and kicking butt in a rapid and rather fatal fashion. It had been a long time since they had had to face a really stubborn enemy in a slogging match. He hoped that at least now they might just get some respite. The men needed it and so did Forge. His brain was cooking and Mac wondered how much more the captain could take.
That night as th
e camp relaxed after supper Forge made his usual tour of the perimeter. He would stop and speak briefly to each of the six men on the guard shift checking that they knew their orders and noting if they were alert enough for their four hour shift. It also meant he had a chance to pick up on the mood of the men. Whilst they were interested in the Bantusai, they were not too bothered about the task itself. They were just happy to be away as a company again. Away from the Graves troops who they felt were nothing more than bad luck and bad soldiers.
As he made his way back into the centre he saw Corporals Jonas and Kyle skulk back into camp. It was the drill that each night the two scouts would venture back out and study the surrounding ground. Usually they would tour around on foot and then hunker down near any likely spots that an enemy may take to get a closer look or attack from. That way they might well intercept any surveillance and act as an early warning if anyone were to launch an assault. Whilst on the move, the two men were arguably the busiest and carried the safety of the Company upon their shoulders. It did mean, however, that they escaped the required construction duties of the ditch and palisade and that they never had to do any commissary duties. So it wasn’t all bad. Usually they would check into the First Sergeant, and true to form he saw Sergeant Mac ambling over to them. Stopping off to get a brew, Forge went and joined the three men who were hunkered down in conversation.
“….I’m not saying it is like, really unexpected,” Corporal Kyle was saying.
“What’s up?” asked Forge as he passed the mug around.
“Boys were just saying about Shifter activity in the area Captain,” said Sergeant Mac.
“Such as?”
“Just that there ‘aint none, boss,” said Corporal Kyle.
Forge raised an eyebrow.
“I mean, we know they do operate round here,” continued Kyle. “Not in any great numbers but enough that we should find some trace. And we have found some older sites but….”
“We got jack shit,” added Jonas.
“Yeah, best as we could tell there hasn’t been anything happening round these parts for at least two weeks," said Kyle.
“So maybe they have gotten careful,” said Forge.
“And I’m shagging my horse,” replied Jonas.
Forge knew better than to push the point. If these two said there were no Shifter troops out there, then he believed them. It would take a lot of magic to hide an enemy force and there were not enough mages left in Shifter to waste on this northern flank, let alone any that were powerful enough to do the job anyway.
“Reassigned maybe. Or just running out of manpower?” mused Sergeant Mac. “After all, the camp that we hit was big. Perhaps they had pulled in all their troops?”
“Could be. Still makes our job a little easier.” Forge knew he sounded unconvinced. “So basically, as it stands we have free reign up here.”
“Not to say we aren’t being watched though, boss,” said Kyle.
“Aye, true enough. Just keep your eyes open. It’s one thing to know who you are fighting but it’s what you don’t that worries me,” Forge stood up and moved away. The other three continued in their discussions. He now knew that there was a real problem with this whole venture. Too many things were happening at the same time. First they get packed off at high speed to rebuild an old bridge for a trade route that no longer existed and now the enemy had apparently given up the ghost. Shifter were beaten, they just didn’t know it yet, but that was no reason for them to disappear up here. What he wanted to do was grab Portal round the neck and beat the truth out of him. However, he didn’t really have enough to confront him with yet and he hardly expected the wizard to just volunteer the information. He picked his way through the camp to the central square where the Bantusai slept. He had to admit, they were surprisingly well behaved. They were clustered in groups, talking quietly to each other, except Juma who sat stoically staring into the fire. Forge hunkered down next to him. He proffered his coffee and Juma took it nodding his thanks. The black man sipped at it and then passed it back. Somehow Forge had expected him to make a face at the bitter brew.
“So, you’re a Kai. A headman, chief. Something like that right?” asked Forge.
Juma nodded. “A Kai is the leader. A speaker of the truth.”
“What truth is that?”
“It is for me to decide.”
Forge started to prepare himself for lots of mystic bullshit but then realised what the other was saying. Politician then. “Ah, right. You make the laws, pass judgement. That sort of stuff.”
Juma smiled. “Yes. You were thinking something else?”
“Huh, yeah, reckon I was. I hear you have some sort of gift. Good at singing to trees or some such.”
Juma chuckled at that one. “Oh yes, we all sit round and sing at trees. How very useful.”
Forge felt his face begin to redden, he didn’t like being the butt of jokes. Juma put his hands up in placation. “No, no. I do not wish to mock you. It has been said I have a playful manner. I am just shocked by the reaction I and my people get. In the time I have spent amongst your kind I have heard many things. That we are great magical creatures. Demons even. Yet we do nothing that proves that.”
“So what are you then? I reckon it might be a good idea to put the record straight.”
Juma shrugged. “We are of the Bantusai. Our histories are held in our minds and told in song. Many years we have lived in our tribal lands. It is said it is a magical place. That perhaps in ages past something left its mark on the land. In the very roots of the earth. This may be truth. For as we lived and died and birthed anew we have learned or been given a gift. Where once we would work the wood to build our homes, much like you do now, we no longer do so.”
Forge cocked his eyebrow. Here comes the good stuff.
“Now we...sing? That is perhaps one way of describing it. We work the wood with words. We bring it from the very depths of the trees and shape it to our will. In so doing we take of the earth but we do not destroy it.”
“So everyone is happy, eh?”
“Indeed, we respect the land and it treats us well.”
“I get the picture. You can…mould wood. What? Like arrows, spears, big clubs?”
“And more. We build our villages with it, use it for our tools. Everything. We have become known for our skills and have provided for others who have been our friends. It seems like our fame has spread wider than we had thought.”
“You know what you are doing here? Why you have ended up travelling like this?” asked Forge.
“We are to build a bridge. We have done many before.”
“Just how fast could you build one? Given the right materials? Well...wood.”
“To make ones such as I have seen coming here? That would allow for wagons and such? A day. Two.”
“You’re shitting me!” scoffed Forge
“I do not shit on you captain. We are a clean living people and very concerned about our health.”
“Just how in the hells did you get caught?” Forge asked. “You seem too smart for that.”
“Perhaps we have become too trusting. None have tried to harm us for many years. Our neighbours treat us with respect. And our wards and protections have lessened over time.”
“Easy to happen,” agreed Forge.
“We did not think that a powerful magic would be used to take us. A sleep spell. Though I understand that it is but a common thing in your world. But to us this was a new magic, one we could not...did not think to counter. They entered my village and took all the men who were strong and fit. The others they slaughtered. They have no respect for life, these civilised men. I learnt the difference between civilised and civilisation early. The two words are not the same, are they?”
The bitterness in the words of Juma was almost tangible.
“So your people have been destroyed.”
Juma looked up at him. “Oh no, not my people, my village.
My family. The tribe continues.”
“Then you could get back. You could go home.”
“Yes, but how. We are far away. How could we escape notice. We do not blend in.”
“True, but if you were freed, you wouldn’t be stopped. We have guys of your colour within the Army. Hells you could join up, be part of the Engineering corps.”
“Captain, I would be content with one thing. That those who did this deed to my village were punished, that they were made to suffer. Then I would die satisfied.”
Forge decided again to change tack. “Do you not think it is odd that you have been all this way to build this bridge? You said you could build it in a day or two. Why the rush?”
Juma shrugged. “We were brought from the slavers and have come here. The one who bought us, he has spent much to get us. We were bound for other shores and work. Now we spend three months on the road to this place. It is much effort. I do not know the purpose. I am just a slave.”
“Hmm. I doubt that,” grunted Forge. He struggled up. “I’ll bid you goodnight.”
Juma grinned “You too, Captain. Do not let the bed insects feast upon you.”
Forge couldn’t be sure if Juma was taking the piss. He had to admit, he liked the man.
As he made his way back to his tent he stared over towards Portal’s. Right, you shit. Just give me an excuse.
It was the afternoon of the fourth day that the 1st of the 7th finally arrived at the River Rooke.