The Invisible Chains - Part 2: Bonds of Fear (2 page)

onerous.

On the whole, Lorcko of Iramid, only son and heir of Volcko, baron

of Iramid, general of the Third Regiment of the Army of the North,

was all too willing, excited even, to join his father at the encampment

at Lorseth.

Bonds of Fear

11

Commander Demrac Tarngord looked satisfied around at the

hustle and bustle that was going on, as he rode his horse at a slow

walk. He had gone on an inspection tour of the new barracks around

Lorseth, accompanied by a small retinue of staff officers.

He had to admit that the young man knew what he was doing.

The army was growing at a rapid pace. Not far from the encampment,

the Landemere Contingent was building new barracks and stables.

Already more than eight hundred light infantrymen out of the planned

two thousand had arrived, together with three hundred horsemen.

Soon the same would be happening on an even greater scale on a

terrain further down the road. The recruitment of the Amirathan

Militia was firmly underway, witness the hordes of people that were

coming and going from and to Lorseth Castle. Master Parmingh had

found it necessary to go on a recruiting spree himself to bring his

administration up to par.

“I’m almost sorry for him. He’s really doing a good job. It’s a pity

that Tenax hasn’t taken him in his confidence and made him see that

there are higher issues involved, that there are good reasons why

we mustn’t provoke the barbarians at this particular point in time.

Tenax knows what he’s doing, I suppose. Yet, does he fully realize how

energetic, how crafty his youngest offspring can be? I wonder...”

“Both the collection of the tribute and the recruitment are

well underway,” Tomar said. “It’s an enormous burden on the

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administration, but we’ll manage.”

“Good,” Anaxantis replied, with a slightly worried look on his

face. “Don’t forget, we have barely three months. By then we must

have molded both the Landemere Contingent and the Amirathan

Militia into a coherent fighting force.” He sighed. “Meanwhile I still

have to visit Mirkadesh and see what’s going on there. I don’t buy

their explanation that they are only just self supporting. It’s too

neat. Too convenient. And I have to see the Renuvian plains for

myself. The strategically most important regions have to be charted.

Advantageous battlegrounds have to be looked for. There’s still so

much to do.”

They were sitting in the war room.

He handed the reports with the latest figures about the Militia

back to Tomar, who seemed to hesitate.

“I don’t want to rain on your parade,” he said eventually, “but

aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Huh?” Anaxantis, whose thoughts were elsewhere, said.

“The secret charter, Anaxantis. You act as if it didn’t exist. But it

does. You can collect an army of a hundred thousand men, but what

will it avail you if you end up a second Whingomar?”

Anaxantis laughed.

“Oh, my friend, that really bugs you, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does,” Tomar said testily. “And your cavalier manner of

ignoring the problem doesn’t help.”

“It’s eating you alive that you don’t know what I plan to do about

it,” Anaxantis teased him.

Tomar shifted in his seat.

“To tell the truth, yes, it is.”

Bonds of Fear

13

“OK. I can’t tell you any specific details. You know me better than

that. But I will try to set your mind at ease. Somewhat, at least. It

goes without saying that even that is to be treated in the strictest

confidence.”

“Of course.”

“Well then. What are the two elements that have to be present for

taking the army out of my control?”

“Tarngord has to show you his secret charter. That’s it.”

“Ah, exactly. So, the two elements are Commander Tarngord and

the charter. What if, when the time is there, the charter would not be

there anymore? Gone? Disappeared? Tarngord could rage, rant, and

scream all he wants. Without the actual charter he is powerless.”

“You’re planning to have the charter stolen? Do you even know

where it is?”

Anaxantis looked at him with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

“Now, now, Tomar. I told you I couldn’t go into details. Let’s just

say I know all I need to know and I have the right people to do what

I want to have done. You understand how important discretion is. It

has to be done at exactly the right time. I don’t want to give Tarngord

time to get a new copy from the king.”

“Yes, I see. But he will still invoke its authority, I’m afraid.”

“And I will ask him to produce the evidence of that authority.

Which he won’t be able to. End of problem.”

“What if he insists?”

“I’ll have him arrested for gross insubordination. He can sit out

the war in the dungeons,” Anaxantis said, and the way he looked at

Tomar left no room for misunderstanding that he would be as good

as his word.

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Tomar looked at him, speechless.

“Would he go that far? Would he dare defy his father like that? Oh

yes, he would. No doubt about it. After all, he makes no idle threats.

And why not? By the time news has reached the high king at the fort

of Nira in the South, Anaxantis either will have beaten the Mukthars,

be on the run with whatever troops he has left, or have been killed in

action. The king will find it difficult to discipline the only one of his sons

who has proven to be a victorious general. He might need him in the

South, after all. If Anaxantis fails to stop the barbarians and the battle

ends in disaster, he will probably try to regroup in the hills, and the

situation will be so confused and chaotic that an orderly investigation

will be impossible. He still will be indispensable as the only one who

can organize the resistance. And in the last case? Well, the fallen don’t

care.”

Bonds of Fear

15

“Really, Bortram,” Obyann said while he folded one of his tunics,

“there’s only so much I can do with thread and needle, you know. It’s

time you got a new one. It’s not as if they are costing you anything.”

Bortram had just entered his barrack. He seemed preoccupied.

“Yeah, all right then. Go to the master of equipment and get a new

tunic,” he replied absentmindedly.

“That’s it? You’re not going to sputter and contradict me, and

make a scene about that tear ridden rag? Something must be really

bothering you.”

Bortram looked at the young man. He had found him surprisingly

down to earth for the son of a noble and refreshingly knowledgeable

about farming. It made him trust Obyann more than he cared to

admit to himself.

“Yeah, see, I told you my parents were in a spot of difficulty, which

miraculously seemed to have gone away after I told You-know-who.

So I let the scribe write back to my father that he should personally

go to Ormidon and ask the moneylenders if there really had been a

mistake all these years and if the books were indeed even. Just to

make sure, you know. And I told him to look for nervous twitches

and such. He must have thought it a good idea, for he went and what

do you know? The old place of business of the firm burned down

and all records were lost. They assured father that everything was

all right though. Now, isn’t that strange?”

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Andrew Ashling

“Accidents happen. Houses burn down.”

“Yes, but it struck me that it was a little too coincidental that

first the firm should rectify a mistake, a rectification that was very

advantageous to my father, and that immediately after all records

went up in smoke. The more I thought about it, the stranger I

thought it was, and even more so when I suddenly remembered

that Hemarchidas was in Ormidon when all this happened. On a

special hush-hush mission for a certain devious little prince of my

acquaintance.”

“You can’t seriously think he had anything to do with that.”

“No, but I went to ask him anyway. I had made it clear that I didn’t

like handouts and that I didn’t want his help.”

“Although it could have cost your father his farm and it kept you

awake at night.”

“That is as may be, but all the same he shouldn’t have intervened.

If that is what he did. Anyway, so I went to him and asked him to his

face if he knew anything about the fire.”

“And?”

“He swore he had nothing to do with it. So, I asked him what exactly

Hemarchidas was doing in Ormidon at the time. He flatly refused to

answer me. After I insisted he said he had sent Hemarchidas on a

special mission concerning his personal safety, and that was all I got

out of him.”

“Well, see, there you are. You have your answer. He’s your friend.

Shouldn’t you believe your friend?”

“Yeah. Except, something tells me that he did intervene, although

I’m certain he wouldn’t burn down houses. And now that I come to

think of it, that was all I asked him. I never asked him directly if he

had anything to do with the loan.”

Bonds of Fear

17

“So what if he did? Friends do things for each other.”

“I made it very clear that I didn’t want his help. I think he went

behind my back.”

“If he did, and that is a big if, I say, good for him. I go behind your

back all the time or nothing would get done around here.”

“No, you don’t. I know perfectly well that you say yes and then

just do what you had planned to do in the first place. So, since I know,

it’s not behind my back, is it? In fact, it’s before my face... in my face...

to my face... You know what I mean.”

Obyann sighed.

“Bortram, listen. When I was six or so, father thought it was time

for me to learn to swim. When I more or less knew how, we went

many times to the river to practice. He always told me to stay near

the bank, but after a few days I felt I could cross it easily. I wanted

to surprise him. I got to the other side all right and then began

swimming back. In the middle I got into trouble and the stream was

dragging me with it. My father got into the water, but I yelled at him

to stay away. I could do it on my own. I wanted to do it on my own.

But did he listen to me, you think?”

“Well—”

“Of course he didn’t. He jumped right into the river and came to

get me out. He knew I was as stubborn as a mule and that I would

rather drown than ask for help. I screamed and kicked all the way

while he dragged me to safety. He was right of course. But I was

mad and refused to speak to him for days. He never said anything

about the incident again. He never reproached me for my behavior

afterwards. I guess he was just glad I didn’t drown.”

Bortram said nothing, but it was obvious he was thinking,

thinking hard.

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Andrew Ashling

“So,” Obyann asked, “would you have respected my wishes?”