The King's Name (19 page)

Urdo glanced east as if he could see all the way to distant Tevin, and sighed. Then he saw something close at hand. "There's a scout coming back," he said.

It was Flerian who came up to us, looking pleased with herself. "Nothing moving, southeast down the highroad three miles," she said. Her horse looked exhausted; she must have come back very fast. "But I

found a farmer who would talk to me. She said that Cinvar had gone away down the highroad yesterday morning, very early, taking her son with him." She paused and took a deep breath. "That is, he took his whole army and all his militia, which included the farmer's son.

She said her son said they were going to Caer

Tanaga. She said her son hadn't been expecting to go so soon; a message came the night before telling him to be ready to leave at dawn."

"Any chance it was a trap, the farmer lying?" Urdo asked.

"I don't think so," Flerian said. She took a drink from her water bottle, then retied the top carefully. "She was worried about her son going off with only one shirt, she was worried the wars had come again, but she wasn't afraid of me especially, and when I said I'd come from the High King she praised the White God and said that you'd bring peace again. She didn't seem clever enough to be lying that well."

"Good work," I said. "Now get a bannock, change horses and rub that poor tired creature down, and make sure he doesn't drink too much too fast." She went off to follow orders, smiling. "Who would he leave in Caer

Gloran if he has gone off?" I asked.

"I don't know," Urdo said. "But why would he go? Caer Tanaga? And the night before last—that's the day we fought Marchel, no, the day after? Too soon for him to have had any
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news of it, because she didn't have any rested messengers to send."

"She didn't," I agreed. "There's only half an ala at Caer Tanaga, you said?"

"Gormant should be able to hold the place against whatever infantry Cinvar can field, and in any case, if he left yesterday morning on foot we can overtake him long before he reaches the city."

"What if Flavien and the others are going down there to join him?" I asked.

"Much more difficult, but still possible," Urdo said.

"So what now?" I asked, looking at the alae, who had mostly finished watering their horses.

"Camp or go?"

"Caer Gloran," Urdo said decisively. "I need to know what's happening in Tathal. We couldn't catch Cinvar tonight in any case. It's four days' ride from here to Caer Tanaga, without killing the horses, call it seven days'

march for him. Caer Gloran and news tonight, then tomorrow we follow Cinvar."

Before we reached Caer Gloran our scouts reported meeting scouts from Cadraith ap Mardol's ala, coming down the highroad from the north. We met up with Cadraith just outside the town as the sun was setting behind us in a blaze of red and gold. The great dark walls loomed up ahead, and we followed the road around toward the gates. Cadraith had no news we had not sent him. He had seen nothing of ap Meneth and had suffered no problems except the two men Cinvar had killed. It was good to see him again after so long.

The lookouts on the walls saw us approaching and blew signals. We drew to a halt out of range, unless they had large engines on the walls above, and sent forward the advance party, under herald's branches; Raul with half a pennon as escort. They rode toward the great closed gates confidently. They were well armored, but no missiles fell on them. As they drew nearer, the gates swung open.

Raul was out in front, ready to do his herald's duty. He turned to Urdo for instructions. As he hesitated an old woman stepped into the middle of the open gateway, full in the light of a pair of torches set inside the gates on either side. Even at that distance I recognized her. She was Idrien ap Galba, old Uthbad's wife, Cinvar's mother. I had not seen her since Morien's funeral.

She looked shrunken and tired. She was leaning on a cane. She bore no other visible weapons, but she was not holding a cup of welcome either. She just stood in the doorway, waiting.

Urdo signaled to Raul to go on. Raul went forward, branch in hand. Idrien said something to him, quietly, and his shoulders stiffened. Then she said something again; maybe he had asked her to repeat it. He said something else and she shrugged her shoulders, wearily, and spoke again. Then Raul rode back toward us.

When he came close I could see that he was frowning.

"Idrien ap Galba, Dowager Queen of Tathal, informs us that Caer Gloran is an open city and that we may rest here but may not use it for military purposes."

"What!" Urdo said. I had never seen him so astonished. I could feel my own eyebrows rising and Cadraith's were up to his helmet already.

"She reminds us that Elhanen the Great respected the neutrality of open cities," Raul said, absolutely calmly.

"That being the latest precedent she can remember?" I asked, and laughed. "I don't think there has ever been an open city in Tir Tanagiri, and it was a very old custom when Elhanen respected it in Narlahena seven hundred years ago."

"I don't believe it is even practiced in Lossia these days," Urdo said. "But we are not living in the pages of

Fedra. I can't imagine what Idrien's thinking. I will speak to her myself."

"I said that these were not Fedra's times, nor Elhanen's, when a city could declare itself no part of a war,"

Raul said. "Idrien replied that whatever times they were, declaring Caer Gloran an open city was the only course she could think of which would not dishonor any of her vows, for
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her son made her promise not to surrender Caer Gloran as a base, but she has neither troops nor desire to defend it against us."

I looked at Urdo, who for once was completely at a loss for words. If Idrien's intention had been to throw us entirely into confusion she could not have done better.

"We could do it, but it would be a very strange precedent," Cadraith said.

"In either direction," Raul agreed, and his voice sounded strange in my ears, recalling battles of a war that was won and lost a thousand years ago. "When Petra rose up after declaring itself open, everyone within the walls was killed or sold into slavery, but when the Sateans violated the neutrality of an open city the priests called on the gods to blast them, and they had no victories after. Fedra called Larissa a whore among cities for declaring itself open to each side in turn as the war passed over it."

This, or something, stirred Urdo into one of his immediate decisions. "Go back to her, Raul, and tell her that open cities are no part of the law of Tir Tanagiri and never have been. Ask her if her son is in rebellion against us. If he is, ask her if she supports him and if the city does. If she does not, and the city does not, then say we will come in for tonight and leave in the morning, taking supplies but neither garrisoning my city nor doing any harm."

"What's the difference between that and what she's asking for?" I asked.

Raul and Urdo both looked at me with identical expressions of exasperation. "We have not accepted the precedent," Urdo explained.

"And if she should say they are in rebellion," Raul added, "then we are not obliged to treat them as neutrals.

We will have a statement of loyalty from her, if she is not, though she will not have broken her word to her son."

"I see," I said, as meekly as I could. Urdo laughed. "Unless it is a trap," I added. "They might mean to lure us in and kill us. We don't know for sure that Cinvar isn't there. There seem to be plenty of people on the walls.

Inside the town an ala can't maneuver easily. I remember that nightmare fighting inside Caer Lind."

"There haven't been many farmers around in the fields," Cadraith said, "They could all be inside, waiting to ambush us."

"Three pennons first to check everything, then," Urdo said. "Elwith's and one of each of yours."

"Cynrig's," I agreed, and Cadraith named and signaled to one of his. I gave the orders for the three pennons to be ready as Raul rode back to the gate and spoke to Idrien again.

"She wouldn't have got far trying to declare an open city to a Jarnish king," Urdo said as we watched them talking in the torchlight. It was quite dark now.

"She'd have got her head cut off," Cadraith said. "I'm not sure she wouldn't have with some of our praefectos.

She was risking it anyway."

"That's part of why I'm agreeing, as far as I am agreeing," Urdo said, watching Raul and Idrien intently.

"Though I should think if she knew I was here she'd know I wouldn't be likely to harm her personally. She was one of my father's warriors, after all."

"Nobody tells me anything," I said. "I wouldn't be inclined to hurt her either; she's always been friendly to me and she's a sort of relative, and in any case her daughter, Enid, was my friend."

"Enid was a very brave armiger, and as loyal as the day," Urdo said. "She saved my life once. If she hadn't died at Caer Lind a lot of things would be different. She might have been able to make her brother see sense."

"Bran ap Penda too," I said. "He'd have made a good king, when he'd grown up, if he'd needed to."

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"Ah?" Urdo sounded interested. "I never really knew him well, but he was in your pennon, wasn't he?"

"Yes. He was one of the first people to fall at Caer Lind, in the ambush."

"If he'd lived there would have been no pretext for saying you were interfering in Bregheda," Cadraith said regretfully.

Raul was leaning toward Idrien, and now they were embracing.

"Ah, good, warm baths and hot food tonight," Masarn said cheerfully, from behind us. We all turned to look at him. "Reporting the three pennons ready when needed," he said. "And delighted to see that we're going to be going inside."

We waited in the cooling evening while the pennons checked that the town was safe.

"Safe, and practically deserted," Cynrig reported. "It seems like there's almost nobody there."

"It's creepy," Elwith said. "I've been at Caer Gloran before, and it's always been quite a busy place, but not now. It's like a town when people leave because there's a fever."

We went in and settled ourselves and our horses in the dusty stables and barracks that had only been used by red-cloaks since Marchers ala were disbanded. Cinvar must have kept whatever horses he used himself in stables somewhere else. There was almost room, even with three alae.

The cooks started making supper for the armigers, but before I could join my pennon a messenger came from Idrien inviting Urdo, Cadraith, Raul, and myself to eat with her. The messenger, who was a child of six or seven, waited for a reply.

"There's no way to refuse such an invitation," Raul said.

The meal was one of the most uncomfortable of my life. The food was barely adequate, undercooked roast lamb with herbs and hot bread. The service was appalling and the conversation terribly strained. I would far rather have eaten with the ala, and I was sure Urdo would have. We sat on benches by a table, as the ala often did, but in all other ways it was a very formal meal. Idrien had a priest with her whose name I didn't catch, and there were no other guests.

"I was hoping to have the pleasure of seeing your daughter, Kerys," I said, as soon as the first painful formalities were over and we had started eating. This was the most neutral thing I could think of to say. I

could quite reasonably have called Kerys my sister; she had been married to Morien long enough, but I did not want to appear to be pushing a relationship Idrien might no longer wish to acknowledge.

"She is in Talgarth," Idrien said. "Along with the greater part of the people of Caer Gloran, whose absence you may have noticed. Cinvar has made her key-keeper of that fortress and she believes it may be defended if you attempt to reduce it." Much suddenly became clear. I winced.

Had he sent his mother here with no troops to defend the indefensible while leaving his sister in the strong place?

"And Cinvar?" Urdo asked.

Idrien looked at him sharply. "Cinvar?"

Urdo spread his hands. "Your son is in rebellion, you are loyal; it is a difficult situation for us all.

But I need to know what the rebels are doing so they can be stopped."

Idrien's lips thinned. "This is why I sought neutrality," she said, looking at her priest, who raised his chin sympathetically but said nothing. "Are you really asking me to betray my son?"

"I am asking you to save your daughter and your grandchildren," Urdo said emphatically, leaning forward.

"You are old enough to remember the civil wars. I know you will have counseled Cinvar against rebellion, and he has not listened. If there is to be any peace it will not be through victory for your son. In such a victory everyone loses."

There was a long, heavy silence. I drew breath to speak once, though I was not sure what to say,
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but Urdo, not even taking his eyes away from Idrien, put his hand on mine to silence me and I let the breath go again.

After a long time, Idrien spoke again. "I suppose whatever happens it makes no difference what I tell you.

Cinvar, yes, acting consistently against my advice, has taken all the militia he can raise and gone to Caer

Tanaga."

We knew this already, of course, but it was good confirmation. "And who are his allies?" Urdo asked.

"Cinon of Nene, Flavien of Tinala, Gwyn of Angas, and Arling Gunnarson of Jarnholme, for sure," she said, quite calmly. "Some of the other kings were wavering about joining them.

Cinvar went off to Caer Tanaga because he heard that Arling had landed and they were all to make an attack on the city."

"Landed where?" I blurted. Idrien looked at me as if she had forgotten there was anyone in the room but Urdo.