Post by James de Valois-Burgundy on Apr 20, 2011 16:20:00 GMT -5
I had originally thought to send Cygnus on this errand, to find the kidnapped Comtesse, but in the end I had decided to go myself. Not because I didn’t trust him, far from it, but more because I needed to feel like I was doing something. I’d had nothing but dead ends here in the City, though there were a few small leads I was following, but at this point I was losing hope. I had to believe that this kidnapping was related to the poisonings, and that I was going to find some evidence. The women we’d interviewed could tell us nothing of import, so this was my only chance.
I rode out with a squadron before dawn, heading into the rocky hills of L’Agnace, in the direction the Gentian adept had indicated. I didn’t hold with that nonsense, most of the time, but maybe this would be enough to make a believer out of me. The men were some of my best, and we were silent as we rode, all of us lost in whatever thoughts preyed upon our minds that morning. For myself, I kept seeing her face, Rochelle de Trevalion, who had been alive when I’d left her, an unnamed notch in my belt, and was now dead. I felt responsible somehow, and guilty, and it was just one more reason to find the truth behind this mess. Someone needed to be held accountable.
When we got closer to the area I believed the Comtesse to be, we tethered our horses and made camp, minus the fire, while the scouts ranged out. While we waited, we were silent, not wishing to alert anyone to our presence. I hated the waiting, but luckily, I did not have to wait for long.
“Sir,” it was Noel, a young scout who showed a lot of promise. He could move like the wind and I near jumped a foot when he suddenly appeared to my left. At another time I would have cursed at him for it, but now was not the time. I nodded to acknowledge him, and the rest of the men gathered around while he spoke softly. “They have made camp about a mile east, and from the looks of it, they definitely have the Comtesse.”
“Who is ‘they’?” I asked, praying there was something distinctive about them so that we would have some idea what we were up against.
“They looked to be Skaldics, sir. Lots of fur, and I heard of them speak and he was definitely speaking Skaldic. I’m from Camlach, I know some of their language.”
Skaldics! It made sense, what with the increased raids on the border. This was a different style for them, but I’d had the sense for some time that they were stepping up hostilities. I felt a knot in my stomach as I realized that this could mean war. But that was for later, for now we needed to get Andraiya out of there.
Since it was late afternoon by now, waiting until night seemed the better plan, and Noel drew a map of the Skaldic camp in the dirt for us to study. I gave him the task of slitting the throats of the guards on duty, because of his silent feet, and one of the other men would cut the horse’s picket lines so that they would bolt when startled. Noel would then secure Andraiya, getting her away from the fighting, while the rest of us rode in and attacked in force. I stressed the value of taking at least one man alive, though I knew that Skaldics were notoriously hard to capture. Still, it would make all the difference in figuring out what was really going on.
Several hours after dark had settled over L’Agnace, Noel and his compatriot stole off in the night to begin their part of the attack, while the rest of us crept slowly forward on our horses, waiting for the signal that meant it was time to ride in. I assumed for the moment that everything was going well, because the signal came after a mere forty minutes or so, and with a cry, we came crashing through the underbrush and into the midst of the Skaldi camp.
They fought like devils, as usual, but we outnumbered them three to one, and so we made short work of them. When it was all said and done, most of them lay dead, strewn across the ground like a bloody snowfall, and only one remained alive. I wanted to interrogate him then and there, but he was unconscious, so we settled for binding him tightly to a horse for the ride back to the City.
My attention was turned now to the Comtesse.
“My lady, are you harmed?” I asked her, as Noel brought her forward. She did look the worse for wear, but she was alive, and I found that although I had not thought as much of her as of finding out information, I was rather relieved that it was so.
I rode out with a squadron before dawn, heading into the rocky hills of L’Agnace, in the direction the Gentian adept had indicated. I didn’t hold with that nonsense, most of the time, but maybe this would be enough to make a believer out of me. The men were some of my best, and we were silent as we rode, all of us lost in whatever thoughts preyed upon our minds that morning. For myself, I kept seeing her face, Rochelle de Trevalion, who had been alive when I’d left her, an unnamed notch in my belt, and was now dead. I felt responsible somehow, and guilty, and it was just one more reason to find the truth behind this mess. Someone needed to be held accountable.
When we got closer to the area I believed the Comtesse to be, we tethered our horses and made camp, minus the fire, while the scouts ranged out. While we waited, we were silent, not wishing to alert anyone to our presence. I hated the waiting, but luckily, I did not have to wait for long.
“Sir,” it was Noel, a young scout who showed a lot of promise. He could move like the wind and I near jumped a foot when he suddenly appeared to my left. At another time I would have cursed at him for it, but now was not the time. I nodded to acknowledge him, and the rest of the men gathered around while he spoke softly. “They have made camp about a mile east, and from the looks of it, they definitely have the Comtesse.”
“Who is ‘they’?” I asked, praying there was something distinctive about them so that we would have some idea what we were up against.
“They looked to be Skaldics, sir. Lots of fur, and I heard of them speak and he was definitely speaking Skaldic. I’m from Camlach, I know some of their language.”
Skaldics! It made sense, what with the increased raids on the border. This was a different style for them, but I’d had the sense for some time that they were stepping up hostilities. I felt a knot in my stomach as I realized that this could mean war. But that was for later, for now we needed to get Andraiya out of there.
Since it was late afternoon by now, waiting until night seemed the better plan, and Noel drew a map of the Skaldic camp in the dirt for us to study. I gave him the task of slitting the throats of the guards on duty, because of his silent feet, and one of the other men would cut the horse’s picket lines so that they would bolt when startled. Noel would then secure Andraiya, getting her away from the fighting, while the rest of us rode in and attacked in force. I stressed the value of taking at least one man alive, though I knew that Skaldics were notoriously hard to capture. Still, it would make all the difference in figuring out what was really going on.
Several hours after dark had settled over L’Agnace, Noel and his compatriot stole off in the night to begin their part of the attack, while the rest of us crept slowly forward on our horses, waiting for the signal that meant it was time to ride in. I assumed for the moment that everything was going well, because the signal came after a mere forty minutes or so, and with a cry, we came crashing through the underbrush and into the midst of the Skaldi camp.
They fought like devils, as usual, but we outnumbered them three to one, and so we made short work of them. When it was all said and done, most of them lay dead, strewn across the ground like a bloody snowfall, and only one remained alive. I wanted to interrogate him then and there, but he was unconscious, so we settled for binding him tightly to a horse for the ride back to the City.
My attention was turned now to the Comtesse.
“My lady, are you harmed?” I asked her, as Noel brought her forward. She did look the worse for wear, but she was alive, and I found that although I had not thought as much of her as of finding out information, I was rather relieved that it was so.