Malaz Empire Book #2: Return Of The Crimson Guard by Ian C. Esslemont

Author:Ian C. Esslemont [Esslemont, Ian C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-06-09T21:00:00+00:00

Past noon they reached the crossroads. Here the road south to Kan and. Dal Hon met the major east-west trade route. The freshly burned remains of wayside inns, hostels and horse corrals lined the way. Ghelel knew this to be the work of the Seti and she bridled at the destruction wrought in what some might come to construe as her name. Trampled and now neglected garden plots stretched back on all sides. All was not abandoned, however; a tent encampment stood on a north hillside overlooking the crossroads. What looked to Ghelel like several hundred men and horses rested. A contingent was on its way, walking its mounts leisurely down the gentle slope.

`Urko’s men?’

`Yes.’

`They are to join us in the south?’

The Marquis fished his pipe from a pouch at his side. `That is the question, Prevost. They were to deploy against the South Rounds. But things have changed. Now we must discuss strategy - and much will rest on our decisions. As it always does, I suppose, in matters of war.’

The contingent did little to strengthen Ghelel’s confidence. Among their numbers she saw the robes over mail of Seven Cities, the embossed boiled leather of Genabackis and the bronze scaled armour of Falar. No order or effort at regimentation seemed to have been made save for pennants and flags of Falaran green. The soldiers seemed to treat the rendezvous as some sort of outing; they joked and talked amongst themselves while kicking their mounts on to the road in complete disorder. Ghelel glanced sidelong to the Marquis - the man’s heavyset face revealed nothing of any anger or disgust at what, after all, could be interpreted as an insult. The foremost one, a ginger-bearded fat fellow in a leather hauberk set with bronze scales, inclined his head in greeting. `Captain Tonley, at your service, sir,’ he said in strongly accented Talian.

`Marquis Jhardin, Commander of the Marchland Sentries. Prevost Alil, and Sergeant Shepherd.’

`Greetings.’

`Is Commander Urko with you?’

`Yes, he is. But he’s unavailable just now.”

`Unavailable?’

`Yes. He’s …’ The man searched for words.

`Reconnoitring,’ one of his troops suggested.

Captain Tonley brightened, his mouth quirking up. `Yes, that’s it! Reconnoitring. Come, join us,’ and he reined his mount around.

`Thank you, Captain,’ the Marquis said. `I hope we will see him later.’

`Oh, yes.’ The captain waved such concerns aside. - ‘He will be back tonight. For now, join us. Rest your mounts. Tell us about this attack we are hearing of.’

The Marquis nodded to Sergeant Shepherd who raised his arm in a `forward’.

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