Free Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley Page B

sword. The faintest of winces crossed his face as he heard Roaric draw breath at his side. Taim knew only too well how loosely Lheanor's son held his temper when it stirred within him. The younger man let anger colour his voice as he spoke.
    'My father gave me two thousand of our finest men to bring in answer to your summons to war,' Roaric said, 'and hundreds of them have surrendered their lives in your cause. More than half a thousand dead from plagues and fevers or on the battlefield, the same again unable to rise from their sleeping mats. In every battle, and now in every attempt upon the walls of this petty castle, it is Kilkry and Lannis that must be to the fore. Am I to leave every one of my men dead in these hills? When will the other Bloods lead the charge?'
    'The hunger for glory of our northern brothers is not what it once was, I see,' said the High Thane in a level voice.
    Roaric started to reply. Gryvan cut him off. 'You should choose your words with more care when addressing your High Thane. It is a long time since yours was first amongst the Bloods. Your father took an oath to me, as did Croesan, the master of our friend Taim here. You stand now under that oath. You are young, and for the sake of your father I will overlook it, but you speak poorly when you call this my cause. It is in the cause of all the Bloods and all the Thanes that one who forgets his duties, as Igryn oc Dargannan-Haig has done, must be brought to heel. There can be no order if such as he go unrestrained.
    You do not desire chaos, I assume?'
    There was a flush of colour in Roaric's cheeks and his eyes showed a wildness for an instant before he mastered himself. 'We have not the engines to break An Caman,' he said tightly.
    Gryvan gave a half-laugh. 'This is no Highfast, to shatter armies upon its walls. It is fit only to frighten bandits and robbers. You have scaling ladders, and the courage of your men: take an arm's width of the battlements and the army will be a flood following in your wake.' He turned to Taim Narran. 'And does our captain of Lannis-Haig share your fears?'
    Taim looked up. His face bore deeper lines and darker shades than did Roaric's. His short hair was fading to grey from the black of its forgotten youth. Nothing about his expression betrayed his thoughts save for his eyes. There was a measured, deep-rooted strength about them as he met the High Thane's gaze.
    'Neither I nor any of my men fear to die,' he said, 'though I, and they, would rather have a better reason to greet the Sleeping Dark. They lack the stores within the fort to last another month, and if we waited they would come out of their own accord. Igryn himself is beaten, a fugitive with only the mountains themselves to keep him from capture. You have half a dozen companies out hunting him in the mountains south of here. He will be yours in a day, or a week, and then again this fastness will mean nothing.'
    Gryvan oc Haig spoke slowly and clearly.

    'Perhaps you speak the truth, Taim Narran. I do not care. Understand me well: it is my will that the walls above be broken and that Lannis and Kilkry lead the way. And here and now, my will rules. Your domain is the precincts of Castle Anduran, and they lie very far from here. My domain runs from the Glas to these very hills. I am Thane of Thanes, lord of your lord. Every one of your men who can walk and hold a sword will stand ready at dawn.'
    'I understand you well, my lord,' said Taim, bowing his head. Roaric once again started to speak. Taim touched his arm and turned him away. He liked Roaric despite his youthful failings, and had no wish to see him harm himself still more in the High Thane's eyes. They walked out of the tent, to wake their men and await the day.
    Gryvan grunted and glanced at Kale.
    'Roaric is a fool,' he said. 'It's as well there's another between him and his father's high seat. Our friend Taim Narran is of better stuff, I think.'
    Kale shrugged. 'He knows no loyalty save to Lannis-Haig,