Chapter seventy-six

From Amansk to Ortia

Toby welcomed Dom back enthusiastically; and was willing to accept Potentilla with very little explanation. He gave them rooms in his wing of the palace and hoped they stay for as long as possible.  That wasn’t to be, however, as within a day of arriving the news of the siege of Ortia arrived. 

Dom was appalled that he’d left his friends to face possible death in the besieged city. For the moment Potentilla and he forgot their personal dramas and immersed themselves in the more general drama. It didn’t take a lot to persuade Toby that he should lead a group of Amanskian soldiers into battle, although Dom did not know that he did this without his father’s permission. He simply took his personal guard of two hundred men, and marched them down the old Visneorian road to Ortia.

The Pale Flame outriders met the small Amanskian contingent on the road; they had already picked up the solemn Orbiverdi group the afternoon before.  

Prince Toby rode to meet them,   with Dom to his right and Lieutenant Potentilla to his left. Otto sat on his pale charger in full imperial armour. The cavalry that he led were all equally splendidly kitted out. They were a daunting sight.

‘Who are you?’ Prince Toby asked, being as brave as he could manage. Otto saluted him in the Visneorian style. 

‘I am General Otto Kantor of the Visneorian army, And you are?’

‘Prince Toby of Amansk, son of Praefectus Arnon, and these my companions, Dominick of Gorodnikov and Lieutenant Potentilla, they are Ortian military advisors’

Toby glanced at them, as if expecting them to contradict this account. Instead, they nodded.

‘And why,’ he continued,’ are you and your men dressed in the livery of the  Knights of the Pale Flame?’

‘Because that is who we are, I am Grandmaster of the Order. We now act as the city guard in Monurbis…’

Otto stopped for a moment, recalling something

‘You must be Princess Lily’s brother…’

Toby pulled his horse back and stared at the general warily.

‘How do you know that?’

Otto looked directly across, into the prince’s eyes.

‘I helped her escape from Castle Uberwald. She was exceptionally brave’

‘So, I’ve heard…’

Dom was particularly keen that this conversation should end. He forced himself not to look across at Potentilla. Perhaps he imagined her deep, sad, sigh.  

‘How many knights do you command?’ he asked, rather defying the conventions of military discourse.

Otto pulled himself back into military mode.

‘Three thousand here and another seven thousand in Monurbis.

Too small a number to make any difference thought Dom. That can only be about a tenth of the force besieging Ortia. He said nothing, though, as the Amanskian contingent themselves were a similar fraction of Otto’s forces.

‘Good’ said Toby, ‘we will add our troops to yours and assist in the defence of Ortia’

Otto sped his horse off and spent a few minutes riding up and down, inspecting the meagre troops. He rode back.

‘You men of Amansk should guard the way northwards. They shouldn’t stray too far from home’

‘I will come with you, though’ insisted Toby, ‘Captain Romanoff can lead my men’

‘If you’re certain, sire’ Otto said, not feeling that he had the authority to dissuade him.

‘It will be dangerous, though’ Dom warned, softly.

‘Why do you think I’m coming?’ Toby said. smiling at his best friend

Dom smiled dutifully back, but his heart wasn’t in it. He wanted to ask does you father know you’re here? But, again, he felt that that would exceed his authority, both as an Imperial citizen and, more pertinently, as a friend.

The Pale Flame group, stripped of most of the Amanskian troops, made their way cautiously towards Ortia. They approached by the less-trodden paths and under cover of darkness when they could. In the middle of the formation were the Orbiverdi, preparing to do who knew what?

Otto had a whispered conversation with their leader, Lysimachia, in his tent, two hours away from the city, where they rested for the night. She made it clear what was expected of his troops. They were to take them to the wall, but when pressed, she wasn’t really sure why. Otto was dumfounded. He spoke with as much patience as he was able to summon.

‘Why do you need to go to the city wall then?’

‘Someone will meet us there’

‘Who?’

Lysimachia shrugged

‘We’ll know when we get there…’

‘And then?’

She paused for second. There was a look of faint uncertainty in the Orbiverdi’s eyes.

‘That will also become clear’ she said

Otto sighed.

‘Let’s hope so’

.