Chapter 43

Landor was already seated at the long table when Pernice and Jorgarn arrived with Bralan and Torbert. Jorgarn was perplexed why Landor wanted to meet in such an open area to discuss something that was best kept private. The chairs were arranged with many feet between them. It made no sense.

Torbert's chair was to the King's right, as befitting his role as Knight. Pernice was stationed midway down the table and Bralan and Jorgarn were at the opposite end from the King. One would almost have to shout to be heard.

"I have decided that Torbert will lead the troops into battle," Landor said without preamble when the group had been seated. Jorgarn saw the surprised look on Torbert's face and he knew the information had not been revealed to him previously. "Jorgarn, as your named seconds are no longer available, you will need to stay in the castle with Bralan and me."

Pernice glanced at Jorgarn, who simply shrugged.

"King Landor, I recommend you reconsider your decision," Pernice said. "The Freeland militia is under no obligation to accept orders from Sir Torbert; I doubt sincerely if their commanders will order them to do so."

"Then they can serve as protectors at the castle under Jorgarn's command," Landor said. "The Guard will serve as the main force under Torbert's command."

Jorgarn chose to ignore Landor completely and address his remarks to Torbert.

"How many men in your units have seen actual combat?" he asked. "I would wager you have a dozen, perhaps 15."

"Less," Torbert said. He still wore a puzzled expression. "I believe there are six who served with you in Umbria and one who was wounded in Gobrik and returned afterward."

"My advisers tell me that the Guard will be sufficient against the rabble," Landor said with a wave of his hand. "Their information indicates that the opposition is mostly farmers conscripted by their Lords and is less than 40 men."

"And I'm certain your advisers will not be sending their sons and daughters to die for their stupidity, will they?" Bralan said. There was anger in her voice and it rang strongly through the hall. Gone was the timid woman who often sat silently and allowed others to speak. "Landor, this is ridiculous! Your Guard will be facing at least 75 and possibly as many as 125 men, many of them Umbrian soldiers and probably more than a few who have experience in the armies of Vecad, Salaria and Gobrik. If you send your untrained army of boys and old men, it will be a slaughter ... and it will be you who goes to their parents to explain exactly why you sent them – arrogance and pride."

Landor's face turned red. He had expected Bralan to accept his decision as she had most of his others. He was certain Jorgarn and Pernice would argue, but instead they sat back with their arms crossed and a look of resignation on their faces.

"Pernice, will you recommend to your countrymen that they remain here and protect the castle?" Bralan asked.

"No," Pernice said flatly. "I will recommend they re-board their ships and stay out of the fray. There is no need for skilled fighting men to sit here. Once the insurgents kill the King I will ask your permission for them to come ashore and secure Emertland for you."

Bralan nodded and turned to Jorgarn.

"Will you stay to protect Landor if I elect to seek safety aboard the Freeland ships?" she asked.

Jorgarn nodded grimly.

"I will stay here and defend King Landor until my last breath or his," Jorgarn said, his eyes boring into the King's. Bralan's mouth dropped. She had not expected that answer.

"Sir Torbert and Gorin will be dead so it will be my duty to succeed them," Jorgarn explained when he saw Bralan's expression. "I will not betray Sir Torbert's memory by shirking my responsibility to him. However, I will ensure that all other people are gone from the castle beforehand. I will not allow anyone else to sacrifice his or her life for this foolishness!"

"It is not foolishness," Landor said loudly.

"Your Highness," Torbert said. "I respectfully suggest that Jorgarn or Pernice are more qualified to lead the troops. I further suggest that your safety is best assured by allowing regiments from the Freeland militia to defend you. Although Bralan's words were hurtful, she is correct: Your army is comprised mainly of young boys and old men. They have come far in the months that Pernice and Jorgarn have trained them but they are not prepared to face a skilled army. They are particularly not prepared to face a skilled army who uses the tactics described by our veterans of the Umbrian campaign."

Landor turned his steely eyes to his brother.

"This is about Emertland!" he said. "What will the people think if we have to rely on a mercenary army for our protection? They will see me as weak and ineffectual. Emertland's pride is at stake here."

Pernice's laughter filled the room.

"More of your advisers' words, I'll wager," he said. "I have had enough of this nonsense! I will meet the Freeland ships and tell them there is no need to come ashore until this old fool is dead. Torbert, I'm sorry. You know how much you mean to me. Your death will pain me greatly but I have become accustomed to losing those I care for. Landor, hear me and mark my words: If Jorgarn falls in your defense, you better make sure you die afterward. Because if he dies and you live, I will march the Freeland Army into this land and by the time I am finished there will not be a nobleman or noblewoman left alive. I will hang every last one of them and their children, too. I will drag you with me as I destroy this country and everyone in it. Then, only then, will I grant you the sweet relief of death you'll beg for a thousand times. Bralan can become the first Queen of Freeland for all I care."

With a nod toward Jorgarn and Bralan, Pernice exited the hall and the castle.

The room descended into quiet after Pernice's angry words finished reverberating in the empty room. Landor's face turned ashen and he looked to Torbert for support. He found none.

"I have decided that we should allow the conspirators to close within a few miles of the castle before we confront them," Landor said in a voice that was much less assured than it had been previously. "I will suggest to most of my allies that they should come to the capital to watch. It should provide the populace with a boost."

"That is unwise, Your Majesty," Torbert said tonelessly. "Our Guard is unlikely to last long enough to evacuate the capital. I doubt you will have time to escape. If the Freelanders don't come ashore to provide protection, the capital will be overrun before you can make arrangements to flee. Many of your allies will be killed or captured."

"Torbert, these are farm boys led by that fool Denae married," Landor said dismissively. "They probably will carry only hammers and shovels. Surely the Guard can handle a small group of men led by a man with no military training whatsoever."

"I disagree with your advisers' assessment of the enemy," Torbert said. "Leyota's spy has not been wrong yet. She is a member of the Troch household staff. There is no question in my mind that we will meet an army of more than 100 men – many of them trained soldiers – who will be led by someone who knows what he is doing. If you want me to lead the battle, I believe you should let me decide when to fight it. If you wish your advisers to lead the battle, they can choose the spot where we are killed so long as they plan to come with me."

Landor waved his hand dismissively.

"Where do you receive your information?" Bralan asked. "I wonder only so I can know who to behead once I am crowned. Because I can assure you that the Freeland information is solid. I know the source of the information and there is no question in my mind that not only does she have access to what she has told us but she has the best interests of your daughter and this Kingdom at heart."

"Well, do tell," Landor said. "Who is the spy in their camp?"

Bralan shook her head.

"I am not authorized to give you that information," she said. "If your advisers are so good, they should be able to tell you who is employed at the Troch manor and you should be able to guess the source."

Landor rolled his eyes and looked again at Torbert.

"Why do you believe this servant has information my people can't get?" he asked.

Torbert was silent for a moment.

"I believe the answer is clear," he said. "It is the same reason that the conspirators know what happens here. You speak freely in front of the servants. You always have but you have done it more frequently since Denae's departure. You insist upon having this meeting in a room where it is simple to overhear conversations undetected. The Troch family would be worse about it than you are. I suspect I know who is providing the information to Leyota and I suspect I know why. Then there is the simple fact that everything Freeland has sent us has borne out. Your councilors have revised their estimations a dozen times in the last two months. Why it was only five weeks ago you were assured that there was no rebellion and Emertland would see no fighting. I suggest, Your Majesty, it is time for you to look elsewhere for guidance. The advice you have been given is not the best. I believe they have fallen into the habit of telling you what you wish to hear instead of what you need to know."

"May I suggest an alternative?" Jorgarn asked.

Landor's eyes narrowed but he nodded.

"Allow the Freeland militia to come ashore and to prepare as though we are facing a large, trained force," he said. "If it turns out we're wrong, it is simply a training exercise and there is no harm to Emertland. We will put together two plans of attack: One will feature the Guard fighting an untrained army close to the capital; the other will feature the combined forces of Freeland, Tark and Emertland against a skilled adversary farther from the Capital. There is time for us to send people out to see exactly what is coming. You might be correct, King Landor. I will admit that when I first heard of this conspiracy, I didn't believe it. I have always believed you to be a fair and honorable man. I was honored to be your subject for the time I lived here. But there is no reason for us to sit here blindly and hope we're correct about what is happening."

"Will you order your soldiers to fight for Torbert?" Landor asked. Jorgarn could not understand why it was a sticking point for the King. Bralan spoke before Jorgarn could reply.

"King Landor, I believe you misunderstand Jorgarn's role in Freeland," she said. "He is not the head of their army. I do not believe he or Pernice is even a part of their army. He is not on the group that leads the country. He could not order the Freeland Army to do anything even if he wanted to. I will speak to Leyota when she arrives to gauge her feelings on the matter. The Freelanders might be amenable to following Torbert but I would suspect that they will insist that one of their commanders lead them – just as Sir Torbert would insist on someone from the Guard to lead his forces."

"I would insist upon it, if that option wasn't already taken away from me at King Landor's insistence," Torbert said.

"What choice did I take from you?" Landor asked hurriedly.

"I planned to put my second in command in charge of the forces," Torbert said. "Right now, I have no one – absolutely no one – in a leadership position that will do any good on a battlefield. The Guard Commander is the leader of the field but you insist that it will be me, so it will be me."

"You can appoint your Commander if you choose," Landor pointed out.

"Not if he is in the castle with you I can't," Torbert said in exasperation. "We have had this conversation before. I know you do not understand the inner workings of the Knighthood so I will say this as succinctly as I can. Jorgarn, regardless of where he goes or what he does – if he never steps foot in Emertland again – is a Knight. It matters not if he lives 10,000 leagues away. He is a Knight so long as he lives. And as such, he is a Commander in the Guard. Regardless of where he is, he is my second in command, my battlefield leader. He was when he lived in the castle; he was when he left for Freeland; and he is now. There is nothing you can decree that will change that, Landor. So long as he lives, he is a Knight. Even if Denae or Bralan or whoever might come next dies, he is a Knight. Does that make it easier for you relinquish control of this before you find yourself in something you cannot get out of?"

Landor closed his eyes briefly.

"So, you are saying regardless of what happens here, I am never to be rid of Jorgarn," he said with a trace of anger in his voice.

"I suppose you could pick up a sword and have a go at me," Jorgarn replied in the same tone. "Or maybe you would like to select a few more of your subjects to send to their deaths because you can rest assured, I would take many of them with me before I went."

"Enough," Torbert said. "Yes, Landor, you can rid yourself of Jorgarn. Although why you would want to is beyond me. You have the option of trying to kill him. I would wager that Freeland would invade us and kill you, but that is an option. Or you can abdicate the throne. Then you will be rid of him and I will be rid of you."

Landor turned to his brother, mouth agape.

"Yes, brother, I have grown tired of your ridiculous assertions and accusations over the past year," Torbert said through clenched teeth. "I have grown tired of listening to you decry how you were forced to send Denae away. I sicken of listening to you blame your problems on everyone but where they truly lie: With you and those you surround yourself with. Have you noticed that every decent person who once resided in this castle has left?

"First it was Eslada and Bralan because you refused to make Denae accept responsibility for that which she admitted was her fault. Then it was Lorida because she refused to watch your daughter make a mockery of her position. Next it was Batrix and Astid because they tired of you belittling my daughter's death. Jorgarn is gone. Pernice is gone. Fieth, Renoit, Leyota. You even forced Merg to leave the only home he has ever known. You forced people to take sides and then you got angry when they chose the side opposite yours. Landor, everyone chose the opposite side. Has that not occurred to you? Have you not asked yourself why all the decent people are over there and you and Denae are over here? Perhaps it is time you do. If you will excuse me, I fully intend to have my Commander assist me in preparing a battle plan for this asinine decision you've made. Then I will seek out Pernice to plan an alternate strategy when we find out we're not dealing with a handful of farmers with pitchforks."

Torbert left the room, shaking his head as he departed. The King stared down the table at Bralan and Jorgarn for moment then followed Torbert.

"That was certainly a productive strategy session," Bralan said wryly as she and Jorgarn left headed up the stairs to their wing of the castle.

It wasn't until their morning meal the following day that Jorgarn remembered to tell Bralan about Leyota.

"The baby came," he announced out of the blue.

"What?" Bralan wondered for a moment before she realized what Jorgarn was talking about. "Really? How do you know? Can you do that thing you used to do with Denae?"

She blushed.

"I mean talk to each other from far away," she corrected.

"No," Jorgarn replied. "Torbert told me. She sent him a message for me in her letter."

"So what is it?" Bralan asked with excitement.

Jorgarn misunderstood. He sat for a minute trying to recreate the conversation in his mind.

"She said the delivery I was expecting came and it was in the condition I wanted," he repeated.

"I mean is it a boy or a girl?" Bralan said with a touch of exasperation.

Jorgarn pondered.

"I assume so," he said as he tried to hide a smile. "Although Pernice compared me to a puppy yesterday so we can't rule that out."

Bralan threw a piece of toast at him.

"I don't know," he finally answered. "She didn't mention the gender or if she did, it was lost in Torbert's translation."

"Maybe that's what she meant by 'it's in the condition you expected, '" Bralan offered. "Did you expect a boy or a girl? Did you say you wanted one or the other?"