Ascendant Page 7

  “I have these letters, maybe they will clarify things.” Sava frowned and proffered the envelopes.

  Codrin opened the first letter and finished reading it fast. It was the formal announcement that Garland was now the Grand Seigneur of Leyona. The writing was unknown to him, but it carried the seal of Leyona and Garland’s signature. Good that I did not announce to all Frankis my glorious conquest of Leyona. The second envelope was thicker, seeming to contain several papers. He broke the seal, and three letters came out. The first one was written by Garland.

  ‘They say that strong people have to rise to the occasion. I may brag that it was my decision to take Leyona, but it may be that I am only fooling myself. For you, I am a traitor, but who knows what you will think about me in a year from now? A fool? A savior? Leyona is nothing more than a nest of hornets. You will find two more papers enclosed in this envelope. I bequeathed the fortress and county of Poenari, the counties of Orhei and Saunier, and the title of Seigneur, to you. Few people know about Poenari, and most of them think that it’s only an old ruin. It is more than that. In the hands of a capable commander it may become an impregnable fortress. I know that you took twenty thousand galbeni from Leyona’s Visterie. Sava will bring you five thousand more. It should be more than enough to make some urgent repairs and hire enough mercenaries to protect you. There is one more thing you should know about Poenari. It carries a long-hidden mystery that I tried for many years to solve. I failed, or better said, I could not convince Bernart, the actual custodian, to enlighten me. He is a fine man, even though he is older now than the last time I saw him. The upper part of the wall and the city itself bear the marks of Alban architecture, but the main wall is much older. I think that it was built under the Talant Empire, and no siege catapult can even dent it. There are many signs of old sieges, and all they could do was to scratch the wall. And who knows what may be hidden between those walls?’

  For a few moments, Codrin played with the letter, and then read it again. Garland’s decision is bit of a riddle, but Dochia was right; I just received Poenari, and I have no reason to refuse it. It seems to be a much stronger place than Cleuny. Did she know that I took and lost Leyona? Maybe... She wouldn’t have told me. “Do you know Poenari?” Codrin looked at Sava.

  “A strange fortress, but it’s isolated, in the middle of the mountains. It was a Seigneury in the past, but none of the owners survived the civil war.”

  “Garland gave it to me.”

  “He had some guts, in the end,” Sava rubbed his chin. “That’s a place no one can take from you. If you are not betrayed,” he added with a sigh.

  “Vlaicu,” Codrin gestured for him to come. “We’ve lost Leyona. Keep it to yourself, and bring me all the Knights from there.” He watched Vlaicu walking away, and his mind went back to Leyona. That was my chance to destroy Bucur’s hopes of becoming a king. No, that’s wrong. It was my chance to prove that he can’t be king. His chances are still slim, but many will still believe in him because the Circle wants them to believe. If the Knights of Leyona leave me, I will not have enough soldiers to lay siege to Severin. They will leave. I am sure that the Circle took care of that. Saliné... he shook his head. There is no way to take Severin now.

  “They are here,” Vlaicu woke Codrin up, whispering into his ear.

  Codrin stared at the eleven Knights aligned in front of him, and felt no bonds between him and them. They feel the same... Jara was right, it’s not enough to proclaim yourself ruler; you need people to follow you. Most of them followed me because their sons or fathers are hostages in Leyona. Garland’s hostages now. “It may be that some of you already know. Garland took Leyona, and proclaimed himself Grand Seigneur. I don’t intend to take the city by force; there will be too many deaths for an uncertain outcome. I will keep Poenari, Orhei and Saunier, which are linked to my lands in Mehadia and Severin. Those who want to go to Leyona and pay allegiance to Garland are free to go.”

  Most of the Knights chose to leave yet, at the end, all of them bowed in front of Codrin, a sign that they recognized in him a man above them. Two Knights stayed. A Half-Knight from the eastern part of Leyona, whose lands were between Poenari and the Seigneury of Deva. And Garland’s brother, Laurent.

  “I know about my brother’s wife,” Laurent said. “Some Knights told me. It will not be easy for me to stay there, knowing that she was Leyonan’s mistress and the child she carries was not fathered by my brother. Even more, I may be in danger, if she learns about my knowledge, so if you accept me...”

  “I accept you,” Codrin said, keeping an afterthought to himself.

  An hour later, a troop of riders stormed along the road, coming from Severin, and Ban dismounted in front of Codrin, his face ashen.

  “I know about Mohor,” Codrin said, before Ban could speak. “We have already mourned him. You came back with fifteen riders. Will you join me?”

  “Five remained in the forests around Severin to watch Aron’s movements. They will send couriers if something happens there. We already talked and we all want to join you.” He stopped briefly and glanced at Vlaicu.

  “Don’t think that you’ve escaped me,” Vlaicu said.

  “It was hard to think that you would kiss Aron’s bloody hand. What do you want to do now?” Ban stared at Codrin.

  “We take Seged.”

  Chapter 7 – Codrin

  Codrin believed he had enough soldiers to take Aron’s castle, which lay halfway between Cleuny and Severin. Taking Seged would weaken Bucur and give Codrin a good grip on the eastern part of Severin. From his position, on the top of a small hill, he had a good view, and Seged castle looked small and grey, yet it was three times larger than Cleuny. It had a modest barbican, four turrets that rose to different heights, and was surrounded by uneven walls. Built on a small plateau, with steep slopes on more than half of its perimeter, the castle had both strengths and weaknesses. The parts rising over the slopes were hard to assault, so he was looking at the walls around the barbican. Built on the flat part of the plateau, they were shorter than those in Severin, and Codrin was counting on the Mountes, who were as good at carving wood with their axes as they were at using them in battle, to make the tools he needed. Wandering through the forest, they had already started to look for young trees that would make good assault ladders. His men were hidden in the forest lying half a mile from the castle, behind a small hill, and no one in Seged was aware of an army at their door. I need a diversion, he thought. From Vlaicu’s memory, Seged usually had only thirty guards, and now the number could be even lower, as some had died the night Aron’s men tried to capture and kill Codrin, and some could be in Severin with Aron.

  He had two things in mind to lower the losses. One was to hide some soldiers in carts that were now empty of food, and sneak them toward the gate at dusk, asking for shelter for the night. Dressed as merchants, the soldiers would try to take over the gate when most of the people were sleeping. It was customary, and a source of revenue, for any owner of a fortified place: give shelter for a cost. The second idea was put forward by Laurent.

  “I know the second-in-command at the gate. He is a relative of mine,” Laurent said in the council. “I can enter Seged in the evening, and request shelter. Times are hard now, and I think that for a proper amount my cousin will open the gate during the night.”

  Codrin postponed the decision until the assault ladders were ready – if the diversion failed, he needed to attack fast, not giving the defenders enough time to organize themselves. Under the cover of night, the Mountes carried the ladders into a small ravine, three hundred paces from the section of the wall to the left of the gate, which Codrin thought would be easier to assault. The walls were slightly taller there, but the plain in front of them was smooth, allowing the soldiers to advance faster. Speed was more useful than five feet less in the height of the wall.

  “Go,” he finally said to Laurent, when dusk was coming. “If you don’t come back early in the morning, we will attack. It will give us more
chance to find you alive, if they catch you.”

  With a nod, Laurent mounted, riding out of the forest from a place that was not visible from the gate, then let his horse run at a canter toward Seged. From the top of the hill, Codrin followed him with his spyglass: the passage through the gate was without incident.

  From now on, I can only wait; Codrin put away the spyglass. Sometimes, waiting is harder than fighting. It was late when he fell asleep, and from the slight noise around him, most of the soldiers were driven by the same inner tension. None of them had assaulted a fortress before and, where on the battlefield one could rely on his own skills to survive, climbing a wall on a ladder was a matter of luck. Luck was needed in any battle, of course, but not to such extent.

  It was still dark when the night-watch woke Codrin. Under the cover of darkness, a group of twenty Mountes sneaked into the field toward the ravine, hiding the five assault ladders. Two Mountes were strong enough to run with a twenty-five-foot long ladder on their shoulders, but Codrin wanted the reserves to be in place too. Another group of ten, half of them guards from Severin and half mercenaries, walked and stood in front of the gate, their backs pressed to the hard wood. The gate was one foot inside the wall and, at dawn, they would not be visible from above.

  With ten riders, Codrin hid behind a coppice grown around a small pond lying a hundred fifty feet from the gate. It was the kind of growth that was usually cut down in spring to clear the space, but it seemed that Aron neglected that, and the young trees and bushes were now eight feet tall, enough to hide a horse. There was a reserve plan in case Laurent failed. The road to Seged was now blocked by Codrin’s soldiers, and no one could go toward the town. At the opening of the gate, the soldiers hidden there would try to enter by force and block it while Codrin would ride with his men to help them hold the gate.

  At dawn, nervousness grew in the main camp, and more so in the three small, scattered groups. All eyes were on the gate and the walls. With his spyglass, Codrin watched the change of sentries on the wall, and counted them again for the tenth time: there were only three guards on the front walls, one over the gate, and the other two in the middle of the walls going right and left from the barbican. There was a hundred paces distance between them. The light became stronger, and Codrin’s soldiers gripped their sword hilts harder. Even though the swords were still sheathed, it was a common gesture, like a communion between the soldier and his weapon. Only the ones in front of the gate had their swords out, ready to kill.

  A small postern adjacent to the main gate opened and everyone stared at it with uncommon intensity. One soldier appeared in the entryway, without going out, and he stayed there for a while, looking over the field. A minute later, he vanished inside, leaving the small gate open, and one soldier behind Codrin raised a pole with some oak branches tied to it. The men at the gate moved slowly toward the postern. Another man appeared in the entryway, and the pole with the branches went down. Codrin’s soldiers at the gate froze in place. This time, the man went out and, seeing the soldiers in front of the gate, flashed a large smile at them. It was Laurent and, in a few moments, the ten men sneaked inside the city. Two minutes later, the gate opened, and Codrin stormed it with his riders.

  “There are two Sages in Seged,” Laurent said to Codrin. “One of them is Belugas.”

  Led by Vlaicu, another group of fifty riders came out from the forest and advanced fast toward the gate. In ten more minutes, Seged fell to its new masters, and Codrin entered the large building that served as Aron’s residence. Vlaicu knew the place, and he led them toward the council room, setting guards in proper places. When the first servant sounded the alarm, it was already too late.

  “Don’t worry,” Codrin said to a servant who seemed to be less frightened than the others, “we are not here to kill you. I want Nard and the two Sages in the council room. Go with him,” he ordered Vlaicu and three soldiers.

  Twenty minutes later, when all the people he wanted were gathered in the room, Codrin stared at his prisoners. There was one Sage more than he had been told about, a novice. Strange, he thought, none of them look as if they have just woken up.

  “I demand to know why my sleep was disturbed,” Belugas said.

  Codrin ignored him, left the room and gestured to Vlaicu to follow him. “Were they asleep?”

  “No, and they were already dressed. I found it strange, but there is nothing more to add.”

  “All of them were awake and dressed,” Codrin said, but it was more to himself than to Vlaicu. As if they knew that we would take the city. It can’t be; he shrugged and went back to the room, stopping in front of Nard, Aron’s second son.

  Nard was one year younger than Codrin, and bore little resemblance to either his father or brother. He had a thin frame, almost feminine, even the face had delicate traits, partially hidden by a thick moustache and sparse short beard. He is trying to look like a man. Codrin almost smiled.

  Nard stared at him with the same concentration; Codrin was the worst enemy of his family, but strangely, the young man did not seem to see him in a bad way.

  “I am not here to kill you. You will be exchanged for Saliné,” Codrin said.

  “You should spare yourself the time and effort,” Nard said.“Father will never accept the exchange. Saliné is more important in the political game than me, and we are not really close to each other.”

  “The next step is to delimit yourself from Aron’s sins.”

  “He has some, like any of us, and I may do so, but who would believe me? You?”

  Codrin said nothing and moved on to the next man in the room: Belugas the Primus Itinerant Sage. His stare was even meaner than before.

  “I am the Primus Itinerant of the Circle,” Belugas snapped. “I demand to be released immediately.”

  “And I demand freedom for Saliné, Jara and Vio,” Codrin said, his voice cold. “And Mohor’s life back. Can you deliver that, Belugas?”

  “You have no right to ask anything.”

  “Sage, a prisoner should be wiser. Search Belugas for letters, then put him in jail with the other two,” Codrin said to Vlaicu, who knew his way around Aron’s castle. “In separate cells, and replace all the guards there.”

  “How dare you?” Belugas’s voice dripped with fury.

  “The Circle must learn that there is a price to pay for the destruction it has unleashed on innocent people and for not keeping the agreement we had about Vio.” Codrin turned his back to the Sage, a trace of disgust on his face. “Laurent, take command of the gate. Come with me, Nard.”

  Shaking his head like a wild animal spooked at finding itself trapped in a cage, Belugas stepped back, trying to find a way to run. His back hit the wall. “I am Primus Itinerant. Stay away from me!” he, shouted when Vlaicu grabbed his right arm, twisting it behind him while, after being searched, the other Sage and the novice went out of the room with no complaints.

  “It would be my pleasure to break your arm, Belugas,” Vlaicu whispered. “Don’t give me more reasons; I have plenty already.”

  “The Circle will pay you a lot to free me,” Belugas whispered, trying to overcome the pain in his arm. Codrin was already out of the room.

  “Like they paid my Seigneur?” Vlaicu snapped.

  “It was just an unfortunate accident.”

  “And Lady Jara. She was the payment for Orban’s help in killing Mohor and making Aron the Seigneur of Severin.”

  “Everything was done for the future of Frankis.”

  I warned you, Belugas,” Vlaicu growled and twisted his arm until the Sage went to his knees. “There is no future for Frankis with Sages like you and men like Bucur and Aron. Move.” He pushed Belugas, who fell onto his belly, and Vlaicu searched him brusquely – he found no letters. “Move,” he repeated, and the Sage rose quickly and walked away, massaging his arm. In the prison, Vlaicu waited patiently until the Severin guards he had chosen closed the door of Belugas’s cell. “No favors for those scoundrels,” he grunted. “But don’t harm
them either,” he quickly added, knowing that all Mohor’s soldiers were itching to kill them.

  “I heard that you are the Secretary of Seged.” Codrin glanced at Nard once they arrived in the Secretariat.

  “Sort of,” Nard shrugged.

  “What is Belugas doing here?”

  “He replaced Aurelian as Primus Itinerant and was on his way to Severin to talk with Father.”

  “I want to see the archive of the Secretariat.”

  “Some things are still here, but the most important letters were sent to Severin, two days ago.”

  “So, you think that I will find nothing of value in the archive?”

  “It depends on what has value to you, but...” Nard shrugged.

  “Do you know what happened in Severin?” Codrin asked, and Nard nodded. “Why was Vio sent to Orban? She was supposed to be sent into my custody.”

  “I don’t know, but Mohor’s death was an accident.”

  “What where the plans for Mohor?”

  “They planned to send him to Arad too.”

  “So the only accident was that Aron killed Mohor, when the plan was that Orban would do it.”

  “I had no part in this,” Nard said, shaking his head.

  “Maybe. Do you have anything to say about Seged?”

  “No.”

  “Take me to Belugas’s room.”

  Codrin stopped in the doorway of the room which had hosted Belugas and, in silence, he glanced around him. The bed was not really used, he observed, and stepped inside. The bed clothes did not fully cover the bed, but it looked as if someone had lain over them, across the bed. On the table, there was a large leather pouch, the type he had seen many times with other Sages; it was the container for the most important things an Itinerant Sage would carry: correspondence. He opened the pouch and found it almost empty, then threw the contents onto the table. There were only some unused papers, a small bottle of ink, feathers. Through the open window, the fresh air of the morning was filling the room, yet there was a faint scent of smoke too. After he closed the window, the scent of smoke became stronger, and he went to the fireplace.