‘Is that why you did not pursue Corwin?’
Dennis did not reply for a moment. As the battle-fury ended only then had he remembered that Corwin was with the band they had destroyed. But his body was not found, and he seemed to have been one of the few who escaped. Some of the men cried out to press the pursuit; even Asayaga wanted to, but he had refused. The children and women back at the bridge had been left with only four men to guard them, the men who had managed to cross the river. He had 313
turned away from that hunt without a backward glance, which had startled many.
‘He is his own poison. I’ll cross paths with him some day.’
‘Will you seek that path?’
Dennis smiled. ‘Not everything changes in a moment. I will seek it, but I won’t live for it.’
She smiled and placed a hand on his arm. Then after a moment, she drew herself close to him and kissed him, deeply.
His arms slipped around her, and he returned her kiss, then gently disentangled himself and pushed her away. ‘It’s true that I am not ready,’ he whispered. ‘I may never be ready to love again. And you should not have to wait. I’ll get you and your people to safety in Yabon City, and I will visit you when I can.’
She stifled a sob and forced a smile, though tears shone in her eyes. ‘I knew that is what you would say, Hartraft.’
‘Dennis, can’t you ever call me that?’
‘Of course, Dennis.’ She stood up on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. Then she drew back, her hand brushing his for a moment before letting go. Then she walked quickly towards the horses where the other women and the children waited.
As Dennis watched her retreating back, the striking poise of her strong, tall body erect with pride and self-assurance, he felt another crack in the hard stone that was within him. For a long moment, he felt deeply alone, and then as he saw her mount a horse and signal to her sister, a faint smile grew on his lips.
Asayaga stood on the crest of the road a hundred paces away from the others. He stiffened as Alyssa laid her hand upon his arm. ‘It must be goodbye,’ he said.
‘Why?’ she asked. ‘I have no home, no family but Roxanne, and I could go with you.’
Asayaga shook his head. ‘It is impossible. To my people you are a barbarian, fit only to be a slave.’ He fell quiet for a moment, then added, ‘To suggest we wed would bring dishonour to my house in their eyes and my lord would order me to take my own life, if he did not hang me in shame first. They would wonder why I did not keep you as a concubine.’
‘Then I will be your concubine, Asayaga.’
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He looked long at her as if weighing the offer, then said, ‘It cannot be. I have come to know your people, Alyssa, but you know nothing of mine. We can be a hard people, and love is often put aside for honour and duty. Even though we shared a bed each night, during the day you would be kept apart, and . . .’ he swallowed hard ‘. . . our children would be slaves.’
She looked at him, her eyes rimmed with tears. ‘You’ve never told me you love me,’ she whispered. ‘But I see by the way you look at me.’
Softly he said, ‘I have not told you because I cannot.’ Then he looked into her eyes and his own grew moist. ‘But you read my heart and you know how I feel.’ Stepping back, he said, ‘Let us end this now, for to linger only heightens the pain.’
He turned and shouted a command, and his men broke away from the Kingdom soldiers. Final handshakes were exchanged, many of the Tsurani formally saluting Dennis as he passed them. Tasemu approached, saluted, then extended his hand. ‘Goodbye, friend,’ he said in the common tongue.
‘Goodbye.’
‘I hope I not see you again in this war,’ the Tsurani Strike Leader said haltingly, and then he stepped back, saluted once more and started to bark out commands.
He reminded Dennis of Jurgen in the way he moved about, showering abuse on some, and then a second later giving an affectionate cuff on the shoulder to another as they formed ranks.
‘Just like Jurgen,’ Gregory said, coming up to join Dennis.
‘Yes, that’s what I was thinking.’
‘Jurgen would approve, you know.’
‘Yes, he would.’
‘So would your father,’ Gregory added.
Asayaga walked across with a purposeful stride, once more as if on a Tsurani parade ground and Tasemu snarled the command for the men to come to attention. There was a quick inspection, Asayaga nodding with approval, and then another flurry of commands.
Six men stepped out from the column, bows in their hands, and sprinted out over the hill.
‘Forward scouts,’ Gregory said. ‘My, how they do learn quickly.’
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‘I hope Tasemu is right,’ Dennis said.
‘About what?’
‘About our not meeting again.’
Gregory said nothing.
The column started off, the horses carrying the Tsurani wounded falling in at the middle. Many of the women and children from Wolfgar’s stockade openly wept at the parting.
Asayaga looked over at Dennis and nodded. Dennis left Gregory’s side and fell in with the Tsurani.
‘Remember, avoid contact going through the Kingdom lines: you promised that.’
‘Is that an order or a request, Hartraft?’
‘You know.’
Asayaga smiled and nodded. ‘A request then from me, Dennis.’
‘What?’
‘The war between our nations might last for years yet. We serve on the same front. If a day should come when we see each other again, in the woods, or across that open field . . .’ His voice trailed off.
‘That we back away,’ Dennis suggested.
‘Yes,’ Asayaga said after a hesitation. ‘Yes, my honoured friend.’
Dennis nodded and extended his hand.
Asayaga grasped it firmly, then let go. Alyssa came to Dennis’s side and Roxanne joined her sister, who put her arm around Dennis’s waist, and he put his arm around her shoulder. He was surprised at himself for doing it, but whatever comfort he gave her was returned.
He glanced back and saw Roxanne watching Asayaga and her sister with a slight smile on her lips, though tears ran openly down her cheeks as the Tsurani marched off.
Silhouetted by the evening sun, the column moved over the crest of the hill and disappeared. The world seemed strangely empty. Dennis waited, giving them time to go down the road and then turn into the woods. Then, finally, he nodded.
‘Standard march,’ he announced, ‘Sergeant Jurgen . . .’
He fell silent, looking at his men who were gathered around. He glanced at Gregory. ‘He’s gone, isn’t he?’
Sadly, Gregory said, ‘Yes, Dennis, Jurgen is gone.’
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Acting Corporal Jenkins stood at the head of the column, waiting for an order to lead the men out.
Dennis looked at him, and at the men, women and children waiting behind, all of whom depended upon him to get them to safety.
Finally, Jenkins said, ‘Sir, shall I lead the trail-breakers?’
Dennis was silent for a moment, then he smiled. ‘No,’ he whispered, ‘I’ll lead. Now let’s go home.’
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epilogue
Reunion
The day was warm.
Captain Dennis Hartraft of Highcastle, Squire of Wolfgar’s Hold, shaded his eyes to look at the evening sun setting beyond the mountains which rimmed the valley.
Bow over his shoulder, he slowly walked back from the woods.
He carried no game, though he had seen more than one stag. But the larder was full, the valley was rich, and he felt no desire to draw his bow on this warm spring evening. Hunting had been an excuse for some quiet time alone, to think. His conversation with Alyssa this morning over breakfast had put him in a reflective mood, making him ponder the strange twists of fate that had led him back to this valley after the war. And the children were running riot through the keep. At times he wondered why he found their noise
far more stressful than the din of battle. He smiled at the thought of his eldest, Jurgen, trying to lift his father’s shield, though he was only four years of age.
He paused at the crest of the small rise in the road overlooking the keep. It was a ritual which had become habit – nodding to the burial mound which held the ashes of Wolfgar, Richard, Alwin, and the others; even Sugama. He sat down for a moment.
Looking at the small marker he had erected to mark their grave, he said, ‘Well, Wolfgar, you old bastard, you’re going to be a grandfather again. Alyssa’s with child once more.’ He looked down into the valley.
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Where the old stockade had stood, now a sturdy keep rose. He laughed silently at the irony of life.
What had once been his land had been granted to the Tsurani with the ending of the war. Lord Kasumi, now Earl of LaMut, had been granted that office by King Lyam after the end of the war, when Earl Vandros had gain the office of Duke of Yabon, upon old Brucal’s retirement. Dennis had no problem with the King taking Kasumi and the other Tsurani stranded on Midkemia into service. Better than any solider in the King’s army, Dennis knew the quality of those men. For every Sugama there were a hundred Asayagas, men who would guard your back with their own lives and give everything in the name of honour and duty. No, he welcomed them as allies on the northern borders, keeping the moredhel at bay. What he objected to was them giving his family’s land to a Tsurani vassal of Earl Kasumi.
The news had been a bitter blow, for he had fought loyally for ten long years and to have his ancestral home bartered away was difficult to accept. He sighed as he remembered how angry he had been at the time.
There had been, he knew, a cloud over his name. For someone had indeed talked. He could not have expected different. Soldiers were soldiers and in the days after their return to the Kingdom lines rumours had been flying about the miraculous return of what was called ‘the lost patrol’ and clearly someone had finally spilled the tale of what had really happened.
Then had come the night when old Duke Brucal had called him to his pavilion and pressed the charges that he had consorted with the enemy, and knowingly let an e´lite Tsurani unit escape.
It was ironic coming from Brucal, who was known to be one of the most pragmatic soldiers in the field. Yet, duty was duty, and if the rumours were true, Dennis could stand accused of treason.
Fortunately, none of his men would implicate him before the tribunal of Dukes Brucal and Borric, and Earl Vandros of LaMut.
Dennis was freed and returned to duty, but his reputation had been sullied. The Marauders were disbanded and he was sent to serve the last year of the war with Vandros. The Earl had been quick to realize Dennis’s abilities and by the end of the war, Dennis had regained his rank and prestige, but the whispers 319
about his mysterious journey with a Tsurani patrol never fully went away.
In a way, the new duty had been a welcome relief. The front was quiet, the patrols a boring routine, and thus he had spent the rest of the war.
And twice he had seen Asayaga. The first time was in the woods, nearly a year afterwards. The Tsurani were pressing on another front, and then launched a quick diversion into the territory patrolled by Dennis. There had been a short, shocking fight at a burning inn, both sides losing heavily. Just as he was pulling out, dragging his wounded, he caught a glimpse of Asayaga on his flank, Tasemu by his side.
He waited, not sure of what was to come next. Smoke drifted between them, and when it lifted the two were gone, and he had managed to get his command out.
The second time was on the day the Rift closed. Dennis had stood at attention with the honour company sent to attend the historic meeting between King Lyam and Emperor Inchindar, the Tsurani Light of Heaven.
Even now, five years after the war, Dennis didn’t fully understand the betrayal of the elves and dwarves. One minute the two young rulers had been sitting together with a young magician in a black robe translating for them, and suddenly the woods erupted with elves and dwarves attacking the Tsurani.
The fighting had been hand-to-hand and bloody. Dennis had been battling to seize the rift machine, for he had heard Prince Arutha, the King’s brother, exclaim that it had to be taken before the Tsurani could bring reinforcements through from their homeworld.
The black-robed magician and another in brown robes had finally destroyed the device, and Dennis to this day could hardly believe the fury which had resulted from the destruction of that machine –the explosion like thunder and the shaking of the ground that had accompanied it, tumbling men and horses off their feet.
The Tsurani, damn their stiff necks, would not yield, even then.
Their Emperor had been safely returned to their world, but those warriors stranded on this side of the Rift continued to fight. Finally sanity reigned, and Force Commander Kasumi of the Shinzawai 320
ordered a surrender when the bulk of the King’s army arrived at the truce site.
Dennis remembered seeing Asayaga during the fight, and it had been a great relief to see him among the prisoners.
Absently, he patted Wolfgar’s grave, humming a snatch of an old tune about a king, and stood up. It was nearly time for evening inspection. A patrol would go out tomorrow over the northern pass to check on the doings of the moredhel; he wanted his men in early tonight and well rested. Most of them were new recruits, a bit too eager, but then again new recruits usually were.
Reaching the open gate of the stockade he saw the men lined up. The way they were looking at him was curious: several were smiling, especially the old hands who were veterans of the Marauders.
Standing in the middle of the parade ground was a short stocky soldier, wearing the tabard of the Earl of LaMut.
It was Asayaga.
The Tsurani turned, grinning, and raised his hand in a formal salute. Then he came forward and grasped Dennis’s hand in his.
‘Dennis, how are you?’
‘Asayaga! By the gods, I thought you wouldn’t get here until tomorrow.’ Dennis saw the insignia above the wolf ’s head on the tabard. ‘Squire?’
‘Yes, my friend. A landed squire to my lord, Earl Kasumi.’
‘Congratulations.’
‘Thank you. Now I know what you meant about Baron Moyet. A
fair man, but very difficult at times.’
‘A stuffy prig, you mean,’ answered Dennis.
Asayaga laughed. ‘You said it; I didn’t.’
‘So, where are your estates?’ asked Dennis, leading his guest to the newly-built keep.
Asayaga hesitated, then softly said, ‘Valinar.’
Dennis stopped and said, ‘I’ll be damned.’ Then he threw back his head and laughed. ‘That’s rich.’
Asayaga shook his head. ‘The title should have been yours. I’m sorry I brought trouble upon you.’
‘Don’t be. We did what was right. If we had not, both of us 321
would be dead now, and the kingdom would be minus a good Tsurani squire.’
‘And a good captain of the northern marches. At least you’re answering to Baron Highcastle, and not Moyet.’
‘There is that,’ agreed Dennis. ‘Besides, I like it here. The land is rich; it’s a fine location to build a new home, to live, even to have an occasional adventure. I’ll start a new Hartraft tradition here, Asayaga. I rather like the quiet now. And besides, there’s something special about this place that Wolfgar found. I guess a bit of his soul lingers, for I have inherited a distinct disdain for dealings in the courts of kings.’
Asayaga nodded. ‘I find that unsurprising.’
With a smile Dennis asked, ‘Alyssa? She’s waiting inside to greet you. Two sons now, a third on the way.’
Dennis clapped him on the shoulder. ‘You’re going to wear that girl out, my friend. Wolfgar would be proud.’
‘Yes he would,’ and Asayaga smiled, a sly sort of grin.
Just then two women appeared at the door of the keep. Alyssa hurried forward and half-flew into Asayaga’s
arms. ‘I’ve missed you!’
she exclaimed.
He laughed. ‘And I have missed you. How has your visit been?’
‘Wonderful. Better now that you’re here. How long can we stay?’
Asayaga slipped his arm around her and kissed her. ‘Another week, then we must both be back to court. Lord Kasumi’s wife says she misses her favourite lady-in-waiting, and I must return to my duties.’
Dennis turned to Sergeant Jenkins and said, ‘Inspect the men, change the watches, and then dismiss them.’
The sergeant saluted and turned to do as ordered.
Roxanne appeared at the door of the keep. She came down and kissed Asayaga on the cheek. ‘It is good to see you again,’ she said.
‘And it is good to see you, as well.’
A shout from inside the building, followed by a wail of protest, caused both sisters to look at one another. Roxanne said, ‘That’s my Jurgen.’ Hurrying away, she said, ‘What’s he up to now? He’s too much like you, Dennis!’
Alyssa said to her husband, ‘I’ll go see if it’s one of our boys, too.’
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The two men stood at the entrance to Dennis’s new home, surveying the valley where they had fought side by side years before, as the sun lowered in the west.
Asayaga said, ‘This is a wonderful place to start a new heritage.’
‘I couldn’t be happier.’ Dennis said. ‘Roxanne is a miracle and our sons are . . . impossible.’ He laughed. ‘She is right. I’m sure my father is looking down from Lims-Kragma’s Hall, amused at nature’s revenge on his son. But, yes, life is good. Come and rest.
I’ll ready the bath-house if you’d care to get clean.’
Asayaga laughed. ‘Yes. It’s good to see some civilization has rubbed off on you, barbarian.’
Dennis frowned, ‘Barbarian?’
Asayaga gave him a playful cuff on the arm. ‘Let us soak and relax, and you can tell me in which part of the brook at Valinar those improbably large trout you once told me of lurk.’