Olan Thorensen - Cast Under an Alien Sun

The two carriages and fifty Narthani cavalry escort covered the last mile to the village and stopped at one of the larger structures, where a Narthon banner flew from the roof and where several soldiers waited for the new arrivals. Major Saljurk dismounted from his horse, spoke with an awaiting junior officer, and came back to Akuyun’s carriage.

“The Buldorian commander is at the dock. Shall I send for him right away?”

“No,” said Akuyun, “tell him we’ll meet him here in an hour. That’ll give us a chance to stretch our bones after the trip and get something to eat.”

Exactly one hour later, Major Saljurk ushered Musfar Adalan into a room where Akuyun, Kalcan, and Hizer waited. Akuyun smiled and rose to greet the Buldorian commander. The smile was genuine, since he appreciated punctuality and sensed it boded well for these mercenaries’ coming performance. However, the smile was the closest they came to contact—clasping of hands or arms was reserved for close associates, not between a Narthani general and Buldorian raiders.

“I’m pleased to see you, Captain Adalan, and right on time, as we agreed. I take this to mean a good start to our relationship. I hope your voyage here went well.”

“Thank you, General. Yes, everything was smooth. No weather or other problems, and all seven ships and crews are ready to begin.”

“Fine, fine. And you will begin soon, but after spending a couple of days meeting with Assessor Hizer.” Akuyun used an arm to indicate the man sitting next to him. “He is in overall charge of information gathering and will be selecting targets and coordinating the raids. Also, Admiral Kalcan will want to inspect your ships, and you’ll be meeting with him to go over coordinating naval issues.”

Adalan was a master at concealing his thoughts, a talent that served him well to hide his exasperation. By all the Gods that might be, these Narthani loved to hear themselves talk! He thought they just liked to be sure everyone else knew they were in command. Not that the Buldorian commander didn’t appreciate good intelligence information, but he had dealt with the Narthani before and anticipated being told the same information over and over and over.

Patience, Musfar. They’re paying for your time by setting this up for us, so you shouldn’t complain too much.

“No problem, General. I look forward to our meetings.” To the facile lie, he added a flamboyant gesture touching forehead, lips, and chin, assuring himself the Narthani didn’t realize the order of touching was reverse a standard Buldorian gesture of respect and indicated the target should do something quite rude with the member between his legs.

Akuyun was thorough in everything he did. There were three ex-Buldorians among the tradesmen brought in to resettle Caedellium, one of whom was a clever and fervent convert to the Narthon Empire and a willing tutor in the more relevant Buldorian customs.

The general’s pleasant demeanor never wavered. So, our good captain tells me to go fuck myself , Akuyun thought, amused, though he showed no emotion. Never mind. As long as he does what we brought them here for, I don’t care what he thinks to himself or what he thinks he’s slipping past me.

“Then, if it’s agreeable, let’s begin the briefings right away. I’m sure you and your men are eager to start.”

Adalan barely managed to hide his surprise. He had been prepared for the Narthani to blather on. He recognized a different kind of Narthani than he’d dealt with before. This one was not one to be underestimated. While it didn’t quite rise to the level of worry, the Buldorian wasn’t as sure as he had been moments earlier that the Narthani didn’t know he had been insulted.

“In that case, General, I need to send for my captains, if we are to begin immediately. Shall we reconvene in half an hour?”

It was near sunset when Hizer and Kalcan finished summarizing what they believed the Buldorians needed to know about Caedellium, including general topography, clan structure, types of weapons, most likely defenses the raiders would face, and enough detail of the coast and the nearby waters to begin. Sets of maps had been distributed, and the Buldorians asked many questions. Adalan, his second-in-command cousin, and the other ship’s captains were attentive to every detail. Akuyun was satisfied the mercenaries knew their business.

Hizer ended the briefings. “And that, gentlemen, is our overview for you. Now, I’m sure you’re interested in the first target we’ve selected.”

Saljurk handed each Buldorian another map showing an expanded view of a section of the islands making up Seaborn Province off the northwest coast of Caedellium. A settlement was prominently marked.

“This is your first target, the fishing village of Nollagen on the southernmost island of Seaborn Province. The population is about 400, and, as far as we know, the Seaborn Clan doesn’t maintain a regular militia or security force of any kind. They believe their isolation and relative poverty protect them from such needs.”

Hizer paused, as he noticed frowns from several of the Buldorian captains. “I realize this is not as attractive a target as you were expecting or as attractive as future targets, but we chose this one for the first raid. Resistance should be minimal for a force your size. Other settlements are far enough distant to minimize help arriving before you finish with the village, and news of the raid will take time to reach the other clans, meaning you should be able to carry out another raid or two before other clans are warned.”

Not all of the captains appeared mollified, but Adalan accepted the arguments. Not that he thought there would be a problem with going directly to a richer target, but he agreed with the Narthani that careful preparation was never unnecessary. If everything worked as expected, there would be opportunities for better spoils.

Admiral Kalcan took over the meeting and went over surveys of the coast around Nollagen, using the maps to point out beaches, reefs, coves, inland terrain, and other details his sloops had gathered from a year of careful patrols and mappings. The degree of detail alerted Musfar.

“Pardon, Admiral. I don’t see how you got such impressive details simply by observing from offshore.”

It was Hizer who answered. “That’s because the Admiral’s data is supplemented with observations on shore. You don’t need to know other details.”

While Adalan would have liked to learn more, he was satisfied. Obviously, the Narthani had agents in place within the Seaborn Clan and therefore likely among all of the clans. They might be genuine Narthani spies or paid Caedelli. Either way, he was reassured the information being given him had multiple sources.

Hizer continued, addressing Adalan. “We would like you to think about what you’ve heard these last hours and propose how you would carry out the raid on Nollagen. Let’s meet again tomorrow at mid-morning to go over your plan.”

Senwina Kardyl roused from her sleep. Their small house was dark, but noise got through her dreams. A tone overlaid with distress. Still half asleep, she automatically reached out to the cradle beside her bed where six-month-old Onyla slept. The baby hadn’t stirred. Senwina tucked her arm back under the blanket and rolled toward her husband’s warmth, when she heard shouts. Many shouts. The walls of their home were thick stone to keep out the rain and dampness endemic to this part of southern Seaborne Province, so she couldn’t make out the words being yelled, but there were many voices.

She rose to one elbow and turned up the whale oil lantern on the table next to their bed. The lit lantern was a luxury they permitted themselves when they had their first child. Now fully awake and trying to understand what she was hearing, she sat up.