An Aimless War - Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Early the next morning, Tannix called a meeting with his mother, Captain Roland, and a handful of advisors. They gathered in an office that had clearly been Lord Tandrael's. Tannix cleared away the papers on the desk in order to unfold a large map of the kingdom.
Once again I settled back against the wall with Acen. There were other guards in the room. Lady Clairia had her own personal guards, and there were the usual castle guards. None of them looked quite as alert as Acen did, which shocked me because I wasn't sure he had slept the night before. He had certainly laid down on my bed, which forced me to sleep on the couch. But I doubted he had actually slept.
"Tandrin wants us to send ships here." Tannix started the meeting abruptly, and pointed at a spot on the map I couldn't see. "Lord Triben is apparently being overwhelmed by refugees from East Draulin and the coast. He wants to focus on holding the Tol River against Deorun."
One of the older advisors, a stern looking man with a wispy beard, interrupted. "The Tol River won't hold, not this time of year. Maybe in the flooding season, but right now it's hardly an obstacle. Not to mention Triben's lack of a proper army."
"The Zianna army is preparing to head out, and Lord Kitsi has already sent men. Our navy needs to patrol the coast. Both as backup for the armies, as well as to collect refugees and bring them to West Draulin. We have plenty of land and resources to support them," Tannix said. "We've already taken in a large portion of East Draulin's navy. Any ship that wasn't moored when the city was taken came to us, and plenty of smaller sailboats managed to get out. Roland, I understand you've been looking after them?"
Roland nodded. "The East Draulin Navy ships are settled in the port; their crews have been mostly staying aboard for now. I think they've eager to make a move. The fishermen and their families who managed to escape have been taken in free of charge by a handful of taverns in the Crelan district. A lot of richer ship captains have donated money to the taverns to help."
"That's a good temporary solution," Tannix said with a nod. "Long term, we can look into offering them employment or setting them up with houses, maybe even farms, at the city outskirts. You'll let me know if they need more money?"
"Of course," Roland said.
Another advisor, one of the few women in the room, said, "I can arrange employment offers and housing, Lord West Draulin."
"Thank you, Lady Ohra," Tannix said. He stood up straight and rolled his shoulders. "As of right now, until we hear from Tandrin and Esmeranda, that is West Draulin's role. Support Triben at the Tol River, watch the coast, and take in refugees."
"We should be more aggressive," another man growled. "Our navy could take back East Draulin."
"We don't know that, and we don't know what Deorun is planning. We'll wait for our orders from Zianna," Tannix said.
"We were attacked," the same man said. "West Draulin was specifically targeted. It stands to reason that these attacks are related to the assassination attempt last year, which you interrupted. Lord Tandrael's death could have been an act of revenge."
"I'm aware," Tannix said dryly.
"We should be moving against them, not sitting and waiting for orders from a barely-trained king and a reluctant second so—"
"Lord Naver." The instant Lady Clairia spoke, the man fell silent. "My sons may be young, but do not mistake their youth for weakness. Tandrin was trained to run West Draulin, so he is certainly capable of supporting Queen Esmeranda. Tandrix may be my second son, but he was also one of the most promising students to come out of the Order since his uncle Tandar. He is more than capable of leading our city through this war. Do not speak ill of either of my sons again."
Lord Naver grit his teeth and ducked his head. "My apologies, Lady West Draulin."
Tannix immediately moved on. "Captain Whelay, organize half of our warships to sail for Triben. Take the East Draulin ships, as well, if they're so eager to do something. We'll keep the Draulin Guardian here for now."
A weather beaten, middle-aged man nodded. "Will Lord Tanden be returning to captain the Guardian?"
"We've sent out word, but he's hard to find," Tannix said. "If it comes to it, Roland can captain the Guardian. For now, Roland, you'll organize the rescue ships. Have them land at intervals along the coast to search. They'll look for refugees as well as evacuate the fishing villages."
Roland nodded. "I have already spoken to plenty of ships willing to make rescue trips. Most of them should be ready to leave by tomorrow."
"Excellent," Tannix said. "And on to the last matter of business. There have been no reports of Lord Macad or his family. They haven't crossed the Tol River, and Tandrin hasn't heard anything about ransoms. Chances are high they've been killed."
Lord Macad wasn't a name I was immediately familiar with, but if he was Lord East Draulin that meant he was Lady Mayah's father.
"There is a slight chance they've gone into hiding in the city," Tannix continued. "So, tonight, Roland will be taking me and my men to East Draulin."
A moment of stunned silence followed. Nobody seemed quite sure of what to think of Tannix's announcement, or what to say to him. It was Acen who finally spoke up.
"My lord, you're the last person who can go to East Draulin. Your approach will be seen as an act of war."
"We're already at war," Tannix replied. "If Lady Mayah is in that city, I have to find her. We'll take two ships tonight, and while we search for her Roland's crews will search the city for any Ziannans who have been trapped."
"Tandrix," Lady Clairia said. "Your intentions are very noble, but I must agree with Sir Atricen. As Lord West Draulin, it is your duty to direct your people, not to take on dangerous missions yourself."
"I can't do that, mother," Tannix said. "I can't sit here and be a politician. I'm a soldier, let me act like one. You can easily direct our people while I'm gone. Once we've dealt with Deorun, I swear I'll learn how to properly be Lord West Draulin, but we're at war. I'll be far more helpful if I'm actually doing something."
Lady Clairia seemed on the verge of agreeing, but Acen spoke up again. "My lord, I must insist. The last thing we need is to make Deorun feel threatened before we're ready to fight."
"You don't need to come."
Acen looked appalled by the suggestion. "Of course I do. But I'm that captain of your guard, and as such, I believe I have the right to tell you when you're being an idiot."
Everyone but Roland looked shocked. The other guards all tensed, like they were ready to arrest Acen on the spot. Then Tannix started to laugh.
"Yes, Acen, you certainly have that right. That's exactly why I know I'll be safe with you coming along. There's no one I trust more than you. Finn?"
I flinched, startled, and forgot to be as formal as I should have been. "Yes?"
"How hard do you think it would be to hide in East Draulin?"
I looked at him blankly as my mind raced. I had never been to East Draulin, but I knew it was an old Zian city, same as Zianna. Which meant it would have an upper and lower city, large walls, and crowded streets. "Probably fairly easy," I finally said. "You and the knights will stand out, but if you dress up in servants' clothes you'll just look like low class Telts so you might be ignored. Mandell and I could probably pass as Deorans as long as no one tries to talk to us."
"Then that's what we'll do," Tannix said firmly. "We'll arrive in East Draulin tonight, work through the night, and be out by morning. Roland, prepare the ships. Mother, we'll have to send word to Tandrin so he's aware of our plans. I'll leave to you continue discussing them with our advisors. Acen, we need to go prepare our men."
He walked out without giving anyone a chance to continuing arguing about his plan, leaving me and Acen to hurry after him.
The knights were excited to be doing something. As soon as they heard the plan, they started to prepare. Mostly preparing meant finding less expensive clothing to wear. In Acen's case, preparing meant being sent home to sleep for most of the day. He argued, but Tannix insisted. It wasn't until Jalor promised to shadow Tannix for the day that Acen finally left the section of the barracks where the knights lived.
They had recently moved to a new area in the barracks. Before they had all stayed together in one large room with two rows of beds. Now, they had individual rooms all facing onto a private courtyard. The courtyard connected to a corner of the castle, where a private spiral staircase led all the way up to the Tandran's living quarters. Until recently Lord Tandrael's personal guard had lived there, but they had all been given houses in the fortress as thanks for their many years of service.
Acen had a house, as well, solely because he had a wife. She lived in the house, while Acen would move back and forth between the house and the barracks, depending on the guarding schedule. When Tannix sent Acen away, he didn't just go to his room, he went to his house. Acen needed the sleep, but I also suspected that Tannix had sent him home to spend some time with his wife before we left.
The knights decided I was the expert when it came to sneaking around cities, so throughout the day they peppered me with questions or asked my opinion on the cheaper clothing they had found to wear. It was nice to feel useful. With my help, they actually managed to look like poor farmers or craftsmen as opposed to the highly trained, wealthy knights they truly were.
But at least Mandell wasn't a Telt. Kor and Ender could easily look like regular Crelan sailors. Even Evrik's intentional scruffiness worked to his advantage. It was the noble Telts who really stood out.
To further disguise Tannix, we tried rubbing soot through his hair. It didn't change his hair colour as much as I had hoped, but did give it a dusty, dirty look that definitely didn't suit him. Jalor, after some prompting from the others, agreed to untie his hair and rub some soot in as well.
With their appearances somewhat ready, the knights began to spar each other. I knew them well enough by then to recognize that it was a way to work off their nervous energy, more than a way to actually practice fighting. Watching them was a nice distraction for me, too. After months of watching them fight, I was starting to understand their individual styles a little better. I could see that Kor and Ender were the weakest when it came to sword fighting, but whenever the knights practiced fighting in pairs the twins were the best at working together. Acen, Jalor and Tannix had very proper, elegant fighting styles, whereas Mandell relied on his size and the brutality of his chosen weapons. Evrik was stronger than he looked, and used his shield as a weapon just as often as he used it to protect himself.
When Acen came back later in the afternoon, he noticed something I had missed. The knights' expensive, personally fitted weapons were far too conspicuous. He made them each get standard swords and daggers from the armoury. Kor and Ender found simpler bows and less decorated quivers to wear, and Evrik tucked some of his throwing axes into a plain leather pouch instead of his usual special belt.
We ate in the kitchens. Lalina gave us piles of food, which the knights were happy to work their way through. Tannix disappeared, trailed once again by Acen, to say goodbye to his mother and Tairia.
Then we were on our way down to the port to meet Roland. It was on the walk that I really let myself think about what we were about to do, and my involvement in it. I wasn't a trained knight. I'd never even been to East Draulin. I just knew how to go unseen, and I had a few knives tucked into my boot to throw if I really needed to.
I prayed to Zianesa that that would be enough.