Chapter 48

Bralan and Leyota once again joined Jorgarn in bed that night. Marnit had fallen asleep while nursing and barely stirred when Leyota had placed her in the crib.

Jorgarn had stripped to his lower clothes, as he had done the night before. But Leyota got completely undressed before she came to bed. Jorgarn noticed faint marks across her abdomen in the dim light where the skin had not yet gone back to its previous tightness. But her bosom, already impressive before the pregnancy, was even larger. She still looked lovely and she saw that on his face when her chemise was over her head. She felt gratified that he still desired her.

Bralan watched with rapt attention as well. Leyota was very enticing, even though it had been only a few weeks since giving birth to a child.

Bralan joined Leyota in kissing with Jorgarn, then followed her lead in descending down his body.

"The only working receptacle is my mouth," Leyota said. "I trust that will suffice."

"You need not," Jorgarn said.

"Oh, this is purely a 'want' circumstance," Leyota rejoined.

"She wants to take you in her mouth and I want to learn how to do it," Bralan added with a smile. "This is a perfectly acceptable form of recreation for people who care about the other."

The next hour was sweet torture for Jorgarn. Leyota was talented and enthusiastic but she would often stop to explain a finer point of oral pleasure to Bralan.

Bralan, for her part, would reach out and stroke Leyota's cheek occasionally and her hand would join Leyota's in running up and down Jorgarn's erection. But she didn't take it into her mouth.

She had kept her night clothing on, too.

Still, Jorgarn knew he had little to complain about.

It was a three-day march to The Cliffs, as the men had started to calling the spot where the battle would commence. Those who had horses could make it in a day but there were only a few dozen or so horses available.

The Freeland militia would march, with Belad on horse at the lead. The Emertland Guard elected to do the same, with the men who owned horses offering their mounts to the Cavalry in case one of theirs tired or was killed.

The Tark Archers were used to walking. It was the preferred mode of transportation in a land where horses were used more for food than for convenience.

King Landor, with Bralan at his side, met the soldiers before they began their trek. He looked gravely over the troops for a moment before holding a piece of parchment aloft and speaking.

"In my hand I hold a list with 179 names on it," he said. "One-hundred-seventy-nine men and women from Emertland, from Tark, from the lands formerly called Longview and Domita and from lands too far away for us to even know their names, who died for this country and this King."

He paused for a moment and Jorgarn thought Landor wiped a tear from his eye. It was confirmed when Landor spoke again, his voice quavering with emotion.

"It shames me, good men and women," he continued. "It shames me to tell you that for more than a year this list sat ignored and disregarded in a drawer in my desk. There were only a few names on it I recognized and fewer still that I could put a face to. So I chose to forget it. It was only in the past weeks that I took this from that drawer. It was only in the past weeks that I reflected on what these names meant, not just to me or to Emertland, but to the families, friends and colleagues they left behind.

"So as you go forth in defense of this land once again – as so many of you went before – I ask you, I pray to you, please do not make me add more names to my List of Regret. I beg of each and every one of you – regardless of from whence you hail or to where you next are bound – please listen to your commanders and follow their orders. I know their goal is to see Emertland safe. That is the goal of every man and woman in front of me. But my goal is to see each of you return through those gates, hail, hearty and whole when this business is concluded.

"My words mean little. I know that. So do not do it for me or for Emertland. I want you to return for your families who love you and for the friends who will miss you and for the men and women who stand beside you and who would mourn your loss for the rest of their days. Go forth! Go forth, do your duty and then return to this ground safely."

Jorgarn saw Bralan wiping her eyes. She had planned to say a few words but wisely changed her mind after Landor's impassioned pleas. Instead, she simply kissed her fingertips and spread her hands to the crowd to show that her love went with them. It was a touching gesture and the men and women responded with a cheer for the Monarch and his Heir. They beat their swords upon their shields and raised their arms into their air in salute before they heeded the commands of their officers and marched smartly from the Eastern gate, down the coastal road to The Cliffs, Torbert at the head of an army that held 413 men and women.

The soldiers of the Combined Forces, as Torbert had anointed the group, arrived at The Cliffs several days in advance of the rebels. The Rangers were doing a strong job of keeping the insurgents off guard. Several nights in a row, sentries would go to their post to find their predecessor slain or bound. The Rangers bombarded the marchers with arrows when they travelled at daybreak and nightfall then disappeared into whatever thicket was available. Then they would pull back for a few days; letting the rebels return to complacency before striking again.

The Rangers who returned to the main force reported several heated conversations between those leading the small army and those who obviously were in control. The words "Silent Death" had been heard more than once, along with "Freeland" and "Jorgarn and Pernice."

The conspirators stopped the army for several days a few miles outside of Darnot region, while still in the safety of Peth. It was three nights before Jorgarn's rider appeared to tell them the rebels were on the move again, this time under the cover of darkness. They had sent a scout ahead to find a suitable spot for them to camp at daybreak, but the scout would not be returning. The Rangers had killed the man and left him staked to a tree a half night's march from The Cliffs. It was meant to ensure the battle would take place under the cover of darkness the following night.

What it ensured was that the rebel army would refuse – even under threat of death – to march again during the night. A Ranger arrived at the Combined site a few hours after dark to report there was no movement from the rebels, but he had seen much arguing and shouting during the day.

It was only a few hours after daybreak when the first column of the rebel army came into view. Jorgarn hid in the dense forest with the rest of the Emertland Guard. His horsemen had ridden several miles behind the enemy and were tracking them from a distance. The enemy front guard was almost through the narrow passage when Ronac Belad and his soldiers stepped from the forest in their path.

The front of the rebel army came to an abrupt stop and the rows behind them marched into the backs of the men in front of them. The confusion worsened when the Cavalry arrived and joined with Jorgarn's forces to push the back edge of the force forward. There was some fighting at the rear of the column – because Belad was correct, the Lords in charge had kept their best fighters nearest to them for protection. But the Emertland Guard had them outnumbered almost 3 to 1.

The Cavalry commander spotted six men on horseback edging away and raced toward them with his second in command. They spread a rope between them and three of the six men tumbled unceremoniously from their mounts onto the ground. Jorgarn, Fieth and Lippit spurred their horses into the fray to combat the three remaining horsemen just as the Archers let loose a torrent of arrows at the mass of men stranded on the tight road that bordered a harrowing cliff.

An entire column of men fell to their deaths when they were forced backward by those in front of them searching for a place to hide. It was then that Belad and the Emertland Guard charged into the startled mass and began to slay indiscriminately anyone still holding a weapon.

The three men facing Lippit, Fieth and Jorgarn were obviously experienced fighters but it was evident they were not used to fighting from horseback. Fieth suffered a small wound to his arm before dispatching his foe but Jorgarn and Lippit knocked their opponents to the ground easily and slew them before they could arise.

A loud horn emanated from the forest and the combined forces pulled back and left the main body of the rebel army alone. The few who remained alive seemed unwilling to try to retrieve a weapon. Most simply held their arms above their heads.

"Form a single line and move backward toward the clearing," Belad bellowed in Umbrian. Sixteen of the men started to move and Jorgarn and Pernice met them at the edge of the clearing with drawn swords.

"Umbrian?" Pernice asked.

When the men nodded, he and Jorgarn cut them down where they stood. Immediately men from the Emertland Guard raced forward, picked up the bodies and hurled them from the cliffs over to the sea below.

"As you see, you men have already been convicted and likely will die today," Jorgarn said in Emerti. "The few of you who remain have a chance to save your families, however. If you accept your fate with grace and dignity, Sir Torbert has offered to forgive your wife, children and parents. Those of you that die without honor should know your families will follow soon after. I will personally hunt down your wives and your parents and kill them. If your children are older than six, I will kill them, too. If they are younger than six, they will be sent to an orphanage in Swar where the girls will be raised to be whores and the boys raised to be slaves for men who enjoy other men. If that is the fate you want for your families, pick up a sword and come at me. If you wish for them to live in forgiveness, form a single line and walk to me slowly. You will be bound and brought before Sir Lord Torbert, Knight Protector of the Realm, to face your punishment. Make your decision or I will make it for you."

There was no hesitation from the remaining rebel force. They formed a line and came forward, slowly stepping over bodies. They reached Jorgarn with their hands out to receive their shackles. Sir Torbert rode up to the group in the clearing moments later.

"How many of you come from noble blood?" he asked. Five of the 17 remaining men stepped forward.

With a nod of Torbert's head, the men were ushered forward.

"Bow before him," Jorgarn hissed. The men had little choice but to comply.

Starting from the end, Torbert walked in front of each man. Two he recognized – as did Jorgarn – as men who had left the Guard in disgrace. The rest he asked their names and their family names.

When he finished, he turned to the one in the middle, the second son of Lady Brestid, with his sword drawn.

"You men lie!" he bellowed. "The Tribunal has removed all your family holdings. You are not nobility. You are craven cowards who form alliances with men who rape and steal from the innocent. Your family holdings were removed but by taking up arms against the King, you forfeit your life and the life of you parents. Your sentence is death!"

Torbert's sword fell with such speed it clave deep into Brestid's head, not stopping until it split his head cleanly to its chin. Seconds later, four more swords fell and the men toppled over. As before, men rushed forward, grabbed the bodies and hurled them into the sea.

"Now that we have established that lies will serve no purpose, let us deal with the rest of you," Torbert said. "Why have you taken up arms against your King?"

His question was directed toward no one in particular but a large, red-faced man stepped forward.

"They made us!" he screamed in terror. "They have our wives and daughters following behind us. If we don't do what they say, they do unspeakable things to them."

"Your wives and daughters were captured this morning," Torbert announced. "For those of you who speak truly, you will be reunited with them shortly. Are there any here who has not been compelled to fight? Is there any man who fought of his own free will? If so, step forward and receive your punishment. It will save your family's life and I will give you a decent burial instead of feeding you to the sea life."

No one moved and Torbert put his fingers to his lips and released a shrill whistle.

A moment later, a group of women and children were brought forward, lined by a ring of horsemen.

"I see we have 12 men standing here," Torbert said quietly to Jorgarn. "Which is good – if they are telling the truth. There are 12 women with children in that group. Sadly, two of the women say they were forced here by their husbands, not by the conspirators. Please go back and bring them forward one family at a time. Ask them to tell you their family name and then relay it to me. We will sort it out that way."