Chapter 30

As a new day dawned, Thomas took Frost on a morning walk in an attempt to clear his head. A boy found them and, at first, stared at Frost. Not a smart move with a direwolf.

“I fed her, so you might be safe. I would suggest no sudden movements,” Thomas teased.

“Uh ... uh...”

Frost’s eyes narrowed as she returned the boy’s stare, acting like she’d spotted prey. Thousands of years of evolution were ingrained into his wolf. Her instinct was to go for the weak or helpless to thin the herd. Today, Thomas could tell this was just a game for his direwolf. Thomas put an end to the game because he knew that the boy had been sent for a reason.

“Frost,” Thomas warned.

She sat down and looked bored. Thomas knew that was just an act, so he kept an eye on her.

“King Edward has called his war council to the wall,” the boy got out. “You are the first I have found, so you have some time to prepare yourself.”

He took one more look at Frost and gulped before running away.

Thomas gave Frost a stern look as she quivered, wanting to chase her prey.

“Come on. I’ll let you wake Catherine up,” Thomas said as a reward to the direwolf for her restraint in not eating a child to break her fast.

Frost raced to their tent, and Thomas heard his wife squawk. Frost sometimes forgot that she wasn’t a cute little pup anymore. He ducked into the tent to find Catherine lying on the ground with Frost sprawled out on their pallet, her tail wagging.

Catherine gave Thomas an unreadable look.

“There are better ways to wake me up,” she complained.

Thomas reached down and pulled his wife to her feet. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss.

“Like that?”

“You can do better.”

Frost wasn’t happy about being kicked out.

Thomas was the last one to the wall. Duke Charles stepped aside to allow his son to stand next to the King. They surveyed the battlefield.

“Will they come today, do you think? What are they building, and how will they use it?” King Edward asked.

“They have to do something. They didn’t come this far just to turn tail and run, no matter how brilliant a speech you gave their herald,” Duke Charles said.

“Can we win? Can we really win?” asked Duke Able and then added, “And when will King Gabriel get here?”

“According to prisoner interrogations, Virden has only about eight hundred real soldiers. They have also marshaled thousands of peasants, but those will only matter if everything goes entirely to pot. We have about half that number, and we’re behind walls. We can hold them off, but we can’t attack them unless they completely collapse.

“As for Manito’s army, their messenger told Thomas they would be where they were needed. Wildling scouts have confirmed that King Gabriel is marching up the river road, but it’s not much of a road. When they arrive, they’ll be on the other side of King Doyle’s army. I think we can trust them to arrive soon. Our biggest problem is that we can’t coordinate an attack. All we can do is hope,” King Edward explained.

Hearing that the Wildlings had spotted Catherine’s father’s men buoyed everyone’s spirits. The loss of Duke Andric had hit them all hard, Jacob most of all, of course. The news of Manito’s army helped refocus the war council.

Thomas knew that King Edward was trying to put the best face on their situation, but in all honesty, it was dire. Given time, the Virdenese army would prevail. Abingdon simply didn’t have enough men, regardless of their defenses.

“We have reached out to Doyle’s mercenaries, who make up the vast majority of his trained and seasoned soldiers. If they waver, the invasion is done. Doyle may have given himself a short-term advantage by terrorizing his own troops with threats of impalement, but that’s an advantage that can only be sustained by a speedy victory.

“If this drags on, the soldiers will start speculating about which side is likely to prevail. They are hungry, and many are becoming sick. This may not be a stone castle we stand on, but it’s enough to hold them off. Put King Gabriel’s army behind them, and they’ll turn their coats fast enough.” Duke Charles added.

Even before Duke Charles finished speaking, they heard horns blaring in the distance, and a big bass drum began to beat. Infantry began to march out of the Virdenese stockade at a measured pace, their men-at-arms in the lead for a change and, eventually, the rabble behind.

Over the next twenty minutes, the men-at-arms drew up to a point about twenty yards behind the outer line of chevaux de frise, clustering heavily at the gaps on their side.

The peasants came up through the mercenaries. When they were in front, they began to dig, swiftly throwing up a berm a few feet high with a ditch behind it. They also started to clear the stumps from one area near the old road and level it out.

The war council called Nathan, a veteran of many battles, to offer his thoughts on what the Virdenese were doing. He studied what he saw as he rubbed his chin.

“They’re giving themselves defensible positions close to our lines. This will allow them to launch an attack or defend against a counterattack. Since the trench is not being dug across the road, I think they plan to use it.

“The enemy still won’t be able to cross the beaten ground en masse or get through our walls easily. To do that, they will have to shift the line of barriers as they attempted to the night before last. And they haven’t shown anything yet that can breach our walls, even though they are just timber and rubble,” Nathan said.

“Yes, but some Wildlings reported to Thomas that they appeared to be building a trebuchet,” said Duke Charles.

“Nathan, how would you use a trebuchet against us?” King Edward asked.

“Well,” said Nathan, rubbing his stubbly chin once again, “they’d be shooting from a lower level than our artillery and from farther out than our best range. I don’t think they’ll try to hit our artillery. What they could do, though, is pound our timber wall at the same place until it cracks and spills logs and rubble into the ditch. That would enable them to cross it and get into our fort.”

“What would you advise we do to prepare for that?” asked King Edward.

Nathan sucked in a deep breath before slowly letting it out as he looked at the ground. When he looked up, it was apparent he had a plan.

“In one battle, I saw walls broken by siege engines. I have an idea of what we can do if the main wall collapses. It would allow us to hold them off longer,” Nathan offered.

“And every day we do that brings King Gabriel’s army closer to support us,” said Duke Charles. “But Nathan, what did you mean when you said the enemy was setting up beyond our artillery’s ‘best range’? Can we shoot farther out than the barrier line we’ve targeted up until now?”

“Yes, we can. All it will take is to lighten the shot weight or lengthen the sling. It could be possible to range out at least half again as far as we have shot to this point. I can’t guarantee the accuracy, though,” Duke Able jumped in to explain.

He’d been involved with the men handling the siege weapons since they’d arrived.

“Do you mean we could hit the men-at-arms where they’re standing right now?” asked Duke Jacob. “Why haven’t we done that?”

“Indeed we can, my lord, but there are two reasons we haven’t,” said Nathan.

“And what are they?” asked Duke Jacob, somewhat exasperated.

“If we hit them now, they’ll change their tactics and move their line back to where we can’t reach them. And we don’t yet know how they’re going to rearrange the battlefield to enable their attack,” Nathan patiently explained.

Thomas was glad that his friend nodded his understanding as he swallowed his anger.

“As things stand now,” Nathan continued, “they’re closer but no more of a threat than before. Once we know what they’re going to do, we can see if our artillery can stop them, whether by breaking their siege engines or hitting their troops.”

This sobered the members of the war council, who looked at each other and nodded. King Edward then commanded Nathan.

“Kneel, Nathan, and hear our words.”

Nathan, looking concerned, did so, with even more trepidation when the King drew his sword. Then the King tapped the flat of his blade on Nathan’s shoulders.

“Rise, Sir Nathan. By your wisdom and your faithful service, you have earned our respect and our thanks. We desire that you attend all meetings of our war council as an advisor until further notice.”

After pausing for a moment, the King continued.

“Sir Nathan, in your role as military engineer for our fortifications, you have organized and directed the workmen who have harvested the timber and moved the earth. It is your diligence and leadership that have made our defense possible. Designate a work party to gather materials and provide labor to build up our defenses in case the enemy indeed batters our walls and makes a breach.”

“Yes, my King,” Sir Nathan said with a slight bow.

Turning to his war council, the King continued.

“I have been remiss in another matter. It is not seemly that I exercise personal control of the defense, but I have appointed no one else to overall command. While I will remain the ultimate authority, of course, I want you, Duke Charles, to exercise supreme command in my name. I will attend the war council, but you will issue the orders. And when time presses and the war council cannot meet, you must make the decisions necessary at that moment.”

“Of course, my King. I am honored. As my first act in that role, I request that the war council attend to their needs, then reconvene on the wall in one hour. I want to figure out what those bastards are up to,” Duke Charles ordered.

Thomas grabbed Jacob, and the two of them went to find Maeve and Catherine. The girls both smiled when they saw their men. Thomas got right to the point.

“Remember agreeing that if I asked you to do something concerning your safety, you would do so without question?” Thomas asked Catherine.

Maeve’s eyes got big, and Jacob looked surprised. Thomas was proud that Catherine simply nodded.

“I want you to take Maeve and Frost and return to Dolton. Seek out Nana Millicent and tell her to plan for the worst. If news reaches you that we have fallen, have her take you and Duchess Caroline with her family and flee to safety,” Thomas said solemnly.

“But I have to help with the wounded,” Maeve protested.

Jacob grabbed her hand and waited until she was looking him in the eye.

“Thomas is right. We are about to face the full force of Virden’s army, and it doesn’t look good. If I don’t have to worry about your safety, it will take a great burden off my shoulders,” Jacob said earnestly.

Maeve wasn’t going quietly.

“But...” she began.

Thomas reminded her of what almost happened to her the last time she faced Virdenese soldiers. If Frost hadn’t arrived in time ... let’s just say the horrors of war would have become very real.