Robert Adams: The Savage Mountains

Then, too, there was the Maidens’ treasure, which the Center could put to good use, once Erica and Greenberg and Dr. Diamond had perfected a scheme to get it to their advance base. But it was both bulky and heavy, and many, many pack ponies would be necessary to transport it through those hundreds of miles of mountains. And they’d need a strong force to seize and guard the tons of gold ingots and ancient coins; perhaps they could recruit from the Muhkohee tribes, once the Maidens, Ahrmehnee and Confederation forces were busily butchering each other.

At the head of the long column of mounted and armored warrior women, Sahrah/Erica rode knee to knee with the tall, handsome brahbehrnuh or warleader of the Maidens. And she thought it was too bad, in a way, that that splendid body would most likely be hacked into bloody gobbets before the spring came on the hills. It was a strong, healthy and attractive body, for which she would willingly have traded the one she now occupied.

Milo Morai had not, in something less than two centuries, built his Confederation by passively awaiting attacks. In this present world, pacifism was suicidal, if indeed, it had not always been. Which was why, immediately Vawnpolis was surrendered and regarrisoned, he set about preparing for an offensive thrust into the mountains.

They gathered within the largest chamber of the Vawnpolis Citadel—the major nobles of the archduchy, with surrogates taking the places of those thoheeksee dead or incapacitated; the strahteegoee of the Confederation units camped outside the walls, headed by Sir Ehdt, the siege-master, and High Lady Aldora; Vahroneeskos Drehkos Daiviz of Morguhn and three of his officers, all veterans of his early-summer march through the mountains.

Working from such few maps as were available, Sir Ehdt had constructed a huge sand-table model of the western borders of Vawn, with southernmost Skaht to the north and northernmost Baikuh to the south. Now, he and a couple of Confederation officers were tracing Drehkos’ route and altering the model to conform with the former rebels’ memories of the terrain through which they had fought.

And, throughout it all, Thoheeks Bili of Morguhn had sat in his place, silently staring his hatred at the gray-haired, emaciated figure of his rebellious former vassal. Only some exceedingly firm language from Milo and Aldora had gotten the young noble into the same room with Drehkos, for Bili could not forget the siege of Morguhn Hall or that Drehkos had been one of the rebel commanders there. His pride might keep the fact from his clansmen, but his peers well knew that pardoning Drehkos and the mad Vahrohnos Myros had been a bitter pill for Bili to swallow.

Sir Ehdt’s pointer paused over the serpentine line of light-blue sand which represented the principal non-seasonal waterway debouched by this section of mountains. When he spoke, his voice was tinged with the respect which the vahrohneeskos had earned from those who had fought him so long. “Lord baronet, this blue sand is the main stream of the Peekrohs River, which you must have crossed next. Please try to recall just where you crossed and the approximate depth.” He then handed over the pointer.

Fingering his ear with his free hand, Drehkos briefly closed his eyes in concentration, then moved up to the table, scrutinizing the jagged chunks of rock and hummocks of sand. Beckoning his officers to him, he exchanged a few low-voiced words with them, then spoke aloud.

“As we remember, my lords, we entered Bitter River about here … but came out here.” He indicated a spot some little distance downstream of the point of entry.

Before he could say more, Vahrohnos Rai Fraizehr, sitting as surrogate for the infant heir of dead Thoheeks Fraizehr, nodded. “Aye, those mountain streams be swift How many men and horses did you lose in that crossing?”

But Drehkos shook his close-cropped head. “It was only swift in the center channel, my lord, though fortunately not too deep. For the length of the distance, here, it is very wide, but generally shallow. That’s why we stayed in it for so long—it’s a pebble bed and easier going for tired horses and exhausted or wounded men than the trails which paralleled it.”

He frowned. “Besides which something told me to employ that route and—”

“And, my lords,” put in one of the former rebel officers with a grin, “Lord Drehkos’ hunch was right, as they mostly are. A couple of days after, we took a wounded Ahrmehnee and, ere he died, squeezed out of him the information that an ambush was set and waiting for us just where we would have been about an hour after we forded the river had we gone straight across. Thanks to Lord Drehkos, we outfoxed those barbarian bastards, went near two whole days without having to fight, we did!” crowed Captain Toorkos, exultantly.

Milo, Aldora and Sir Ehdt had already questioned Drehkos and almost every other living survivor of that march at great length. This session was being staged for the benefit of the nobles and army officers. Now the High Lord rose from his place.

“As you are aware, gentlemen, it is my intent to invade the Ahrmehnee mountains in force. It will be a savage and brutal campaign, for they must be hit hard and hurt seriously, else we’ll soon have them here in our laps.”

Striding around the table, he took up the pointer and placed its tip at the Gap of Vawn—where the transmontane trade-road entered the mountains and near to which lay the tumbled ruins of Fort Buhkuh, in which the last of the Vawnee Kindred nobility had resisted to their deaths the Vawnee rebels.

“At this gap will strike the main body of our force, led by me. I will lead most of the Confederation infantry, with three squadrons of kahtahfraktoee, Thoheeks Hwahltuh of Vawn-Sanderz and his clansmen and half of Vahrohneeskos Drehkos’ troops. We will strike directly for the heart—the seat of the Stahn Nahkhahrah, himself, the place called Zeese.”

He moved the pointer northward, up into the duchy of Thoheeks Skaht. “The force which enters Raider Gap will be led by the High Lady. It will consist of eight squadrons of kahtahfraktoee, two of lancers, Vahrohneeskos Drehkos and all of his remaining cavalry and the Kindred nobility of Skaht, Duhnkin, Lahmahnt and Fraizehr.”

Rapidly, he moved the pointer south, into the Duchy of Baikuh. “Through the Gap of Skulls will go the third prong of our attack. All the Freefighters presently with the army, all the Kindred nobility not otherwise assigned, all to be led by Thoheeks Dili of Morguhn.”

Months agone, when Bili had been the youngest and newest duke of the archduchy and an unknown quantity to his peers, there would certainly have been loud and bitter outcry at the High Lord’s choice of commanders for the southernmost column. But in the wake of several months of brutal combat, much of it commanded by Bili, he was no longer the newest thoheeks and his abilities as both astute captain and stark warrior were well known and unquestioned … for all his not-quite-nineteen years.

The High Lord continued: “The prairiecats will be evenly divided amongst the three columns, as will the medical personnel. The engineers and selected Confederation Army units will take up garrison duties in Vawnpolis and the border forts. The trains will remain in Vawnpolis, as well, but in readiness, for there may be need of them. Overall command of the defenses of the three duchies will be in the capable hands of Sir Ehdt Gahthwahlt and, after due consideration, I have decided that Sub-strahteegos Vaskos Daiviz of Morguhn will command Vawnpolis, assisted by former keeleeoostos Vahrohneeskos Ahndros Theftehros of Morguhn.”

Of all non-mutants present, only Bili understood the hidden meaning of the High Lord’s choices—Aldora was a farspeaker, whose mind could range the Vawnpolis base or any of the other two columns at will; using the added power of another mind, preferably that of a prairiecat, Milo, Bili or Ahndros could do the same, and so the far-flung commands would be in frequent or constant contact, as the situations demanded.