Chapter 6

South of Bradford, Barony of Ironwyld

“Another victory for our cause,” Baron Loxon declared, raising his cup.

The young nobleman’s beard had grown wild during the campaign, making him look older than his three-and-twenty years. He wasn’t the only one in a good mood. Outside the command tent, the soldiers celebrated, singing victory songs, drinking and carousing, happy to have made it through another day of campaigning alive.

Baron Ashcombe, the latest of the barons to stand against their revolt, had handled his men poorly, exposing himself to be flanked and his men had been mauled badly. He’d run back to Bradford with his tail between his legs, and with only half the men he’d come out with.

Something for every man in the rebel army to celebrate.

And their prospects going forward looked good. Bradford was poorly fortified, in a bad position, placed more to cover the crossroads than for defensive strength, and left to decay from generations of mismanagement.

It wasn’t a question of whether they would take it, but what they would do after they took the city.

“We did very well, and there are many reasons to celebrate,” Aldric said. “But we are not without our own worries. We continue to bleed men. Three hundred dead, twice that wounded. Too many for a battle in open country against forces that broke after the first charge.”

“They’re several times more than that,” Baron Farrow said. “It was one of the most stunning victories I have ever seen.”

“It’s not the victory, but how we replace those lost men that’s my concern. We’re no longer in River Mark or near the Thunderhorn. We don’t have men coming in from the countryside daily, to join our banners. In truth, they seem more likely to fill my brother’s armies than ours.”

“That won’t last,” Baron Kenilworth countered. “These people have lived under the harshest of Edmund’s policies for more than a year. They joined Fletcher’s revolt, didn’t they?”

“And how did that work out for them? Their leader gutted in his own village and other leaders whose pardons were stripped away now either rot in jails or in the ground, taken by Edmund’s hangmen. Fear is a powerful weapon, one my brother wields well. So no, I do not think we will be getting many recruits here, which means we need to be smart with the men we have.

“I take it you have a strategy to do just that,” Baron Halbrok said, leaning forward on his cane.

“I do, but first, we’ve been getting information that Edmund has been building a force near Silverhall, along the western shores of Twin Lake. A large one. We are hearing that he’s emptying entire villages to man it.”

“How large, exactly?” Loxon asked.

“It is hard to know for sure. Some have told us it’s three thousand while others have reported as high as twelve thousand men.”

“That’s close to the size of the army still in Lynese. There aren’t that many trained men in the kingdom,” Farrow said in shock.

“As I said, it’s mostly conscripts, and that might be an exaggeration. Either way, it means our next move can’t be a straightforward path down the Tradesway to Starhaven. We would be overextended and they could sever our line back to River Mark and Iron Keep. It’s what I would do. We need to put our army between the men at Starhaven and this new army and smash it.”

“If Sinclair were here, he could take a force up the western side of Althear Bay, directly to the Icelanders, and give this new army something else to worry about,” Halbrok said.

“True, but he has his own worries to deal with as well.”

“You mean to say he’s too focused on his own lands and not the kingdom,” Loxon said. “He never could see past his own desires, to what was best for the kingdom ... or even his own survival, long term.”

While there was some truth to that, the alliance they had put together was fragile enough, and he couldn’t see the value in putting distance between himself and Sinclair.

Not if they were going to win this war.

“I’m not sure I agree. There is still a significant army of Icelanders on the peninsula. If Garris were to swing around into Kingsheart, that would leave only the Shatterstone Mountains and the Beck River to hold their army from coming around and hitting us from behind. No, I think we need Garris to clear Iron Keep before going after the Icelanders directly, to ensure we can continue to fight from a secure footing.”

Loxon looked away. Aldric had his own issues with Sinclair and it would be something he’d have to deal with eventually, but for now, he needed them all pointed in the same direction. Focused on the real enemy.

“I think our main focus should still be to clear the Tradesway all the way to Starhaven. Edmund’s army remains half-formed. If we move fast, he won’t stop us before we take the capital and end this nightmare.” Aldric placed a marker on Starhaven. “This also allows William to land with the Rendalia forces and double our strength. If we must push out again afterward, we can do so from a position of power.”

“Couldn’t we leave Starhaven until William returns with his army, while we focus on this army in Silverhall?” Halbrok asked. “Assuming he returns.”

“William will come, but you actually get at my play. We have to remain focused on Starhaven and, if William is going to come across the Sea of Kings and land his army up by Stonehill or Harrowdale, our army pressuring Starhaven will keep Edmund from properly contesting the landing. At the same time, we need some kind of blocking force to keep this new army from coming around behind us. Which is why I am thinking we put in a blocking force, and hold the chain of lakes and rivers that runs from Althear Bay almost all the way to Kingsheart Bay. They’re good, solid bodies of water, and should make it possible for a smaller force to contest rather than a much larger one.”

“You want us to guard from the Umber all the way down to the Redgrove?” Farrow asked incredulously. “That’s impossible. It’s too much land to cover.”

“For infantry, you would be right, which is why I want to split our forces. Nearly every mounted knight and man-at-arms will go with the blocking force, which will be mobile enough if they aren’t slowed down by footmen. Meanwhile, the infantry plus one group of knights, to use for breakthroughs, will continue on to Starhaven.”