Borna split his forces. This is something you should never do when facing a superior enemy. But we had little choice, if we were going to feed all the non-combatants who were flocking to join us.
Two years of fighting had weighed heavily on the people. Their harvests, flocks and herds were repeatedly stolen, by both sides. Now they had no option but to place their hopes in their Hospodar. Somehow, Borna had to find a way to support them.
So he took the thirty Uplanders, Nanaidh and all twenty of the female warriors, and a handful of others. Aare, Modri, and his two followers were brought along, for their knowledge of the lands around Manahir's steading. The only other males included in the party were Lovro and me.
Hravar and Dirayr would have preferred to go with us, I'm sure. But they were given tasks related to food-gathering, or taking care of the families of non-combatants. Likewise, Kawehka and the foresters, including Tsoline, stayed behind to hunt in neighbouring forests.
Borna meant to carry the fight onto our enemies' lands, and possibly bring back some food. At the very least, it would be sixty fewer mouths to feed at our steading.
It was easy to skirt Manahir's lands, with Aare and Modri to lead us. They questioned a few trustworthy locals, and learned a great deal.
- "Leho and his brother have gone back to Adarion." said Modri. "But they've left 150 men here."
Borna chose to bypass them. He wanted to see Yelsa, the province of Ban Indrek.
We rode on, stealing a sheep or three here and there. Aare spoke to a pair of herders, and discovered something interesting.
- "They think we're from Adarion." he reported. "Hundreds of riders have been passing back and forth, since last fall. To them, we all look the same."
- "Hmm." said Borna, looking thoughtful.
That gave me an idea, too. "Aare, ask them if the 'other' riders from Adarion steal livestock, or if they pay for it."
- "They never pay." was the answer.
- "Hmm." said Borna, again.
- "You think we can pass as a party from Adarion?" I asked.
- "Let's try it and see."
So we rode deeper into Yelsa. We ignored the locals, who scampered to hide their food or livestock when they saw us coming. But when they didn't see us coming, we ate well.
- "It's so ... big." said Payl. "So many people."
- "There are almost twice as many in Adarion." I told her. "And Hvad town has even more folk, in a much smaller space."
- "You've seen it?"
- "Once, as a boy. I couldn't believe how people could live so close together, all piled on top of one another."
- "Have you been everywhere in the Lowlands?" she asked.
- "Hardly. I've never been to Pitve, or Mahuc, or Stonje. And I think that I'm about to see Adarion for the first time."
- "He's very daring, your Borna." she observed.
He certainly was.
When we camped, at night, Borna posted multiple pickets, in no particular pattern. He also liked to conceal many of our horses, or even a portion of our company, when possible. On this particular occasion, half of us were spending the night in a grove of silver birches.
Lovro and Nanaidh were great warriors, but not necessarily suited to command large numbers in the field. Aare was not experienced enough. That meant that command tasks, such as inspecting our camp, and supervising the placement of pickets, fell on Borna's shoulders alone, unless he delegated them to me.
As his Hand, I should have accompanied Borna everywhere he went. But more and more, as his druzhina grew, he had come to rely on me as a lieutenant, one who was capable of completing a task independently. Meanwhile, Lovro and several others shared my duties as bodyguard, so that Borna would not be unprotected.
This arrangement had certainly benefited me, these past few months. It granted me many opportunities to be with Payl, in privacy. Borna never begrudged me the time. In fact, he seemed to approve wholeheartedly. Payl never complained, either, that I was available only at certain times - perhaps she even preferred it that way.
So on this particular night, I was completing a circuit of our camp, satisfied with everything I had seen. As I passed a large birch tree, I heard a throaty chuckle. Instinctively, I glanced in that direction. A couple were seated close together, the man's arm around the woman's shoulder. She had long, flowing red hair.
Durra? I couldn't believe that Durra would be trysting, under the trees. Lovro would be astonished, when I told him. I was curious, of course, to know who the man was, but my sense of propriety suggested that I should respect their privacy.
I couldn't help it. I glanced once more at the woman. That's when I realized my mistake. From this side of the tree, the couple were less concealed by shadows. Her long hair wasn't braided. And it was not dark red, as I had first thought. It was more of an orange red.
The woman wasn't Durra at all. It was Siret.
My heart stopped. I thought instantly of Dirayr. He'd said that he and Siret would marry, one day. Now my curiosity overcame my respect for her privacy. I took a step closer, to see who Siret was with.
I was too close. The couple both looked up, and saw me. To my utter horror, the man with Siret was Borna.
- "Ljudevit?" he said. "What is it?"
Of course, in his mind, the only possible reason that I would interrupt them had to be some kind of emergency. But my mouth was dry, and my mind felt paralyzed. I couldn't form a coherent thought, much less transform it into speech.
- "What's wrong?"
- "You ... you're needed." I somehow got out.
Borna whispered something to Siret, then got to his feet and came to join me.
- "What is it?" he repeated.
I jerked my head, and moved further away. He followed. Out of earshot from Siret, I rounded on him.
- "
What are you doing
?" I hissed.
- "What are you talking about? What does it look like I'm doing?"
- "That's Siret!"
- "Ljudevit - what's wrong with you?" he asked, his voice rising.
- "What about Tsoline?
What about Dirayr?
"
- "What about him?" replied Borna. He was growing angry, now.
- "Dirayr is planning to ask Siret to marry him." I said, trying to keep my voice down.
- "She said nothing about that to me. Look - Tsoline doesn't own me, nor I her. And the same goes for Siret. Dirayr doesn't own her. She's a warrior, Ljudevit - not a slave."
- "He's your friend." I insisted.
- "
She's
my friend, too." he answered.
- "All the more reason."
My wits deserted me, that night. I should have said 'Put yourself in Dirayr's place' - but I didn't. I was too shocked, caught off guard by Borna's response. And then the moment passed.
"End of conversation." said Borna. "Go away, Ljudevit."
***
We crossed into Leho's province, and immediately began to notice small differences. The fields were more orderly, laid out in neat patterns. There were more farms. The hamlets and villages were larger, and more prosperous. When I saw how comparatively wealthy they were, I began to feel like a savage Uplander myself.
Borna's luck manifested itself several times during our ride across Yelsa, but in Adarion, it became freakish. Off in the distance, we saw a pair of hills, with a large village nestled between them. Aare was sent off to investigate.
He returned with his mouth agape. "You're not going to believe this." he said. "That village? It's Solimoj."
He was right. I couldn't believe it. Of all the places in Adarion, we had stumbled upon Leho's salt mine. It was the largest and richest in all of landlocked Hvad. The revenues from Solimoj alone probably accounted for a third of Leho's wealth.
- "I wonder how many guards there are." said Borna.
Aare just grinned. "Already asked. Would you believe thirty?"
- "That's more than I would have expected." I said.
- "It's more than usual," said Aare, "because today is a special occasion. It's the day the miners get paid. In salt, of course. So there are a dozen merchants here, to buy from the miners, and from Ban Leho. The extra guards are here to make sure the Ban's money reaches its destination."
Lovro licked his lips, and spoke for every man and woman in our company. "Damn."
There was no question, from that point. Borna organized us, swiftly and efficiently. We rode straight into the village, and attacked at once. The villagers scattered like chickens. The merchants and their guards tried to protect their money. The miners were unarmed. Many of them took advantage of the confusion to disappear with their salt.
Leho's guards fought very poorly. They weren't together, in any sort of body, but spread around the marketplace, in twos and threes. Perhaps they were shocked by our women warriors, or by the presence of the screaming Uplanders. Several of them ran from the sight of Vepar alone. Or, maybe it was the simple fact that the money in question wasn't theirs to begin with.
We killed a dozen warriors, and another dozen merchants, or their guards, plus a few innocent villagers. We captured the outbuildings at the head of the mine. Nothing was fortified, or built for defence.
Seven of ours were killed, or seriously wounded, probably because of the confusion, and the disjointed nature of the fighting. It was a heavy price to pay. Had we taken more time to prepare, and advanced as a unit, we would have suffered fewer losses. Then again, our foes would have been better prepared, and put up more of a fight. Or many might have fled.
But now we had to hurry. The villagers would spread the word, on foot. And if one of the warriors had escaped on horseback, then our time in Solimoj had to be extremely limited.
There were many wagons in the center of the village, belonging to the merchants, and to the Ban. But Borna wouldn't let us take them.
- "Too slow. We take only what we can carry."
It's surprising how much fifty riders can take, especially when they've captured the mounts of thirty more warriors. It was these animals that caught Lovro's attention. He pointed to three magnificent horses, taller and stronger than our Hvadi ponies.
- "Remember what Hravar was telling us?" he asked. "I'm thinkin' those are Izumyrian."
- "They are." said a voice. "They are mine." The accent was strange, to our ears. Both Lovro and I turned to look.
A richly-dressed young man stood before us. He had long, straight black hair, and was completely clean-shaven. His clothing was unusual, too. It seemed lighter than our linen and wool, the colours brighter. He also wore a necklace and a chain around his neck.
His sword scabbard was empty. Nanaidh had disarmed the man, and his two retainers, who stood behind him.
