The Barons' War
Copyright© 2025 by Lumpy
Chapter 10
The Silent Isles
William knelt beside the carpenter at the stern of the beached ship, examining the newly fitted planks. The wood felt rough beneath his fingers, not the smooth, seasoned timber that a proper shipyard would use, but it would have to serve.
“Will it hold?” he asked Foskett.
“Yes, my prince. Not pretty work, but solid enough. We used the nails we forged yesterday and they are holding well. Need more for the bow section. Once we have more pine resin for caulking, we’ll test if she’s watertight. There is still a lot to do, but with this progress, maybe three more weeks and she will be ready to put to sea.”
William nodded, rising to his feet and dusting off his knees. Every day, the projection of when they would be able to leave extended. It wasn’t the carpenter’s or the captain’s fault, but it was hard for William not to be impatient.
Before William could reply, he saw Sir Drummond hurrying toward him, coming up the beach from the camp. The knight, who was usually serious, looked even more grave than usual.
“Your Highness. The supply party has not returned. Six men departed at dawn for the pine grove we found to collect more resin. They should have been back by midday at the latest.”
“How long since anyone saw them?”
“Nine hours, Your Highness. Too long for a simple gathering task. This makes thirteen men now, although this is the first with so many at one time.”
William cursed silently. After the first several disappearances, he’d forbidden solitary excursions. They’d gone out in pairs, and he lost two more. After that, they only sent large parties, which had seemed to work. They hadn’t lost anyone in a week. He’d hoped that meant he’d solved the problem.
“We need to search for them now,” William said, turning and heading for the tents. “Round up Eskild and five others. Tell them to bring torches, weapons, water.”
Instead of following orders, Drummond followed him.
“Your Highness, with respect, you should remain in camp. We cannot risk your safety on this island. I will lead the search party myself.”
William ducked into his tent, emerging moments later with his sword. “I’m not going to argue. I’ve stayed here every day while all of you have been out there getting what we need. I am a third wheel, just telling everyone to hurry but adding nothing to our progress. You have work to do, so do it. I will lead the men.”
“And when we leave this island? Who will lead the army back to Sidor?”
“The same person if I never got off this island. Protecting me while we slowly languish, losing men, is the same as never leaving this island. I am in no more danger now than I was leading armies in the field. I did not lead from safety then, and I will not do it now.”
“Your Royal Highness, I must advise...”
“You have advised. And I thank you for your counsel, Sir Drummond. But this is not open for debate.”
A brief silence fell between them. William knew Drummond saw the boy he’d met a year and a half ago, in over his head and in trouble. William knew he still had a lot to learn, but he also wasn’t that boy any longer.
“As you command,” Drummond relented, though he clearly still disapproved.
William clapped him on the shoulder. “I will forever appreciate your council, my friend. Keep the camp secure. Continue the repairs. If we do not return by morning, do what you can to get these men to safety.”
“Yes, my prince,” he said, bowing his head before going to carry out his orders.
Ten minutes later, Eskild and five of what William was sure were Drummond’s best soldiers arrived.
“We follow the supply team’s path to the pine grove, two miles north through the forest. Stay together at all times. No man wanders off alone, not even to relieve himself. We will not return until we find what is killing our brothers, and deal with the danger. Understood?”
The men nodded, faces solemn.
“Good. Let’s get going.”
With final instructions to Drummond, William led his small band toward the tree line, where shadows already stretched long and dark beneath ancient boughs. The air beneath the canopy smelled of damp earth and decay, with the distant tang of the salt sea fading behind them.
The narrow path showed clear signs of recent use from all of the trips his men had been making to collect water, resin, and other supplies. Broken twigs, disturbed leaf litter, occasional boot prints in patches of softer ground. Eskild led them at a brisk pace. The entire place made William uneasy. The Silent Isles had earned their name; no birds called from the branches overhead, no animals sounded in the distance.
They traveled for nearly an hour, maintaining Eskild’s punishing pace. As they traveled deeper into the forest, it grew denser, the trees taller and older. Finally, the path opened into a small clearing where a grove of massive pines stood, several cut down to the stump or scarred by earlier work parties.
“Spread out. Look for signs.”
It did not take long to discover the first evidence of trouble. William stepped into the center of the clearing where several satchels lay scattered on the ground. Tools for tapping the trees, small hammers, metal spouts, and collection buckets, lay abandoned amid the pine needles.
William crouched to examine the items. Nothing appeared damaged or torn, simply dropped. Whatever had happened, it occurred suddenly.
“Your Highness.” One of the soldiers pointed to a dark patch on a cluster of fallen leaves. “Blood.”
William moved to examine it. The stain was brown and dry, hours old. His fingers brushed the crisp leaves, coming away with flecks of rusty color.
“More here,” called Eskild from several paces away.
He pointed to spatters on a tree trunk, then to another patch on the ground nearby. William looked around the clearing. The men, knowing what to look for, quickly found more evidence of blood. Not great pools of it, but scattered droplets and smears around the area.
There wasn’t just blood. One of the men found a knife that had belonged to one of the sailors. A sturdy blade. It was bent at an unnatural angle, as though it had struck something with tremendous force.
“Hit against stone, perhaps,” Eskild suggested. “Bone would not do this.”
“Stone would have chipped it or shattered it, not just bent it. Keep looking.”
The search party spread out further, staying within sight of one another as William had ordered. The clearing told a grim story. A torn piece of shirt caught on a branch, a broken bow lying half-concealed beneath ferns, a water flask emptied and crushed.
“Here!” One of the men called. “A trail leads away. Blood drops.”
William joined him, kneeling to examine what appeared to be a path of disturbed undergrowth leading away from the clearing. Small droplets of dried blood marked the route.
“And here,” Another man said. “Another blood trail.”
“Did they scatter? Run in different directions?” William asked.
“Both trails seem to curve around here,” Eskild observed. “They converge again on the far side. No, whatever attacked them, our men fled in different directions. Something caught them, gathered them back together.”
William moved to where the trails converged into a single, more disturbed path. The ground showed deep furrows, as though heavy objects had been dragged. More blood stained the earth here.
“Six grown men,” William murmured. “Taken all at once.”
“Your Highness, night comes soon. Perhaps we should return to camp, bring more men tomorrow,” a soldier suggested.
William understood their fear. The forest had grown darker around them, forcing some of the men to light torches, which created more shadows than it banished. But he also wasn’t going to let them be ruled by it.
“The trail is fresh,” William replied. “Tomorrow may be too late. Our duty is clear. If our comrades live, they need us now, not tomorrow. If they are dead ... then we must ensure that no more of our people join them.”
With one more look to Eskild, he turned in the direction the trail led and said, “Let’s go.”
Lysmir River, Near Cestralion
Isolde stood at the bow of Count Janir’s merchant vessel, her fingers gripping the weathered wooden rail. Their flight out of Valemonde had been mostly uneventful, with her brother and Agravaine distracted trying to get her father’s will overturned.
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