The Power That Binds by Mark E. Cooper

Author:Mark E. Cooper
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sword & Sorcery, Magic & Wizards, Epic, Historical, Fantasy, series, Sorceress, Sorcerer, Wizard
Publisher: Impulse Books UK
Published: 2013-05-09T00:00:00+00:00

10 ~ Towering Inferno

Navarien marched through the long grass at the head of his men well on his way to Durena. He had handed over responsibility for Cantibria on a warm day with the sun beaming down on his wonderful fort. The navy was late—no surprise—but the militia had finally arrived and that was all that really mattered. The shock on the militia colonel’s face when he saw the fort for the first time had been something to savour. He was so pleased with it he said, he planned to mention it in his next report! Of course, the colonel didn’t need to know that Turner’s new crafter maniple had rebuilt much of the original one.

The sealed orders that Colonel Gabor handed him upon his arrival were little different from his original orders. The loss of the Victory, and thus his entire contingent of sorcerers, had been acknowledged, but he was to continue the campaign as planned with one revision. A ship would be especially outfitted to brave the winter storms to bring him a new contingent of sorcerers, but they wouldn’t arrive at Calvados until after the city had fallen. The ship would bring new orders for him concerning the next stage of the Camorin conquest, and the sorcerers would help in that endeavour when the campaigning began again in the spring. That time was still a long way off, summer had barely begun, and he had both Durena and Calvados to take.

Navarien took a deep breath and scanned the horizon. It was good to be on the road again, even if the so-called road was more like a trail. Sitting on his backside all day had made him soft, but he would soon toughen up again. He hadn’t ridden a horse since embarking the ships to come north, nor had his men for that matter, but where was he going to find ten thousand horses just wandering loose? So they marched, the legions were good at marching. He liked marching. Unfortunately his feet didn’t like it. They were killing him!

Despite the loss of the sorcerers, he was only a few tendays or so behind schedule. That was miraculous good luck, but he didn’t expect it to continue. One solid and insurmountable part of the plan did exist though, and that was the coming of winter. He not only had to take both cities, he had to be snuggled into a fort in Calvados before it gained a strong grip on the north. Winters in Camorin were harsh. The north winds blew incessantly bringing the touch of death for anyone caught outside for too long. The clans almost seemed to hibernate like bears at that time of the year. If they could survive it, then so could the legion. That didn’t mean he wanted to put it to the test.

All in all, there was a lot to said for cities in wintertime.

The day wore on until the legion stopped to make camp. The baggage had already been unloaded by the time he staggered into camp.

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