Andre Norton - The Duke's Ballad

At first the siege created few problems. Those who’d fled outnumbered those who’d entered. The first great pack trains of spring supplies had arrived earlier, and there was ample food in the city. Kars water came from a number of deep wells. Estates like the one Aisling and her companions had rented had not only well water but also great rainwater tanks. Aisling had entered these through an opening in their roof and swept them clean. Then she had reconnected the pipes that would carry the water from any rain showers down from the roof area to fill the tanks. In one of the cellars she found a pair of hand pumps.

“Rann, where do you suppose these fit?”

He walked over. “Down outside by that lowest corner. I think I saw two outlets there.” They carried their prizes outside and discovered he was right. Keelan looked at the angles.

“Whoever built this was smart. He sloped the tank so that even a few light showers will let you pump water from here. And when the tank is full the weight of the water will make pumping much easier. But I wonder…” He thrust bushes aside and gave a yelp of triumph. “Look, Aisling. There’s a trough. It would have been meant to lie under the spout of the second pump.”

The stone trough was filled with rubbish, and bushes had grown up around it. Hadrann called their guards and gave orders. By the next day they had the wide trough cleaned and hauled into position. It would serve to water the horses. Amara had found two large shallow pans in a dust-laden storeroom. One was complete with a pierced metal lid. This was cleaned and placed by the trough. The geese and hens could drink through the holes without the geese climbing in to foul their drinking water. The other deeper lidless pan was filled for them to swim there instead.

With the siege a reality all three were able to buy openly. Other prudent families would be doing likewise. Aisling visited merchants with her necklace of hammered coins. Supplies flowed into the estate. Hadrann received a large allowance from his father. Keelan and Aisling had gold of their own. They poured out all they had. Soon traders would realize that gold had no value against the necessities now barred from entrance to the Kars marketplace.

The three bought more food, firewood, bales of hay for the horses, and grain for both them and the poultry. The hens had settled and were laying busily. Amara was delighted with that and produced a stream of delicacies based on a number of eggs. Aisling had looked over the amount of grassed land and purchased ten yearling sheep as well. These grazed on the wilder parts of the estate, keeping a nervous eye on human comings and goings.

On his second trip to Geavon’s keep Keelan had taken their carriage team and left them in the keep stables. In the livery stables the three now had only a riding beast each, and the guards had a pair of plain mounts of their own. Aisling would bring the horses back to the estate and feed them there no sooner than she must. Geavon had exchanged their found coins for other coin of Karsten. He’d then refused to keep the found coin. Keelan expressed their gratitude before using the exchanged coins to buy supplies from those leaving the city. Those fleeing had no time to waste. Gold was gold.

The siege wore on for weeks, then a month. In the city tempers grew short, as people gradually understood that the siege would not go away. Food prices climbed slowly, then more swiftly. After two months Keelan retrieved his horse from the public stables. The animal was added to those that grazed the pasture about the estate. Rain had fallen earlier, the short but heavy showers of early spring. Most came in the early hours and lasted half a candlemark but with violence. The great stone water tanks had begun to fill.

Amara’s kitchen storerooms were filled to bursting with bags of flour, sugar, salt, and other necessities. Even through the first month there’d been those willing to sell for gold. They would regret their decision soon enough. The three took every opportunity to eat at the palace. Shastro kept his usual table, ignoring the growing shortage of food. He would have what he wanted, or why else was he duke of Kars. Wind Dancer came with them and hunted happily. He made certain to bring his prey to the cook each time.

She praised him eagerly. She’d lived through sieges herself. The rats this clever beast offered might one day be all that stood between her and starvation. By late spring the estate’s tanks were brimming. But in the city other items were in short supply. Shastro was being unpleasant about servants who ate his leftovers. He claimed they stole the food and sold it. Three horses now grazed about the house. The guards had sold their two mounts. By mid summer Aisling considered the sheep and poultry thoughtfully.

“I think we may have to kill a sheep.”

Keelan stared out at the tiny grazing flock. “Why now. The grass looks good still?” Hadrann who was present, answered that.

“It is. At the moment the grass growth keeps pace with the number of mouths to eat it. But with the heat the growth will slow soon. If we have too many grazers then there will be no grass left by fall. We have to kill some of the sheep.”

Aisling joined them in studying the flock. “Two, I think. We could offer one to Shastro for the high table. Have you noticed? I think he and Kirion have been arguing. Kirion never appears at the evening meal any more.”

“I noticed. And Shastro scowls if you mention our dear brother. I think there may have indeed been some unpleasantness.”

Aisling grinned cheerfully. “Well, you know the saying ‘When thieves fall out, honest citizens come into their own.’ I guess Shastro wanted his own way. He’d have told Kirion that he didn’t care how it was done, he should just get rid of Franzo and his army.”

“And Kirion would play Hades trying to explain no one has that amount of power. He can’t just spell three thousand men and a whole siege camp’s worth of gear to vanish.”

“Shastro would ask what use was power if it couldn’t be used when you needed something done…”

“Kirion would say the duke had done well enough from Kirion’s power thus far—”

“Shastro would lose his temper and demand something be done right now, or else he’d find someone who could—”

“And our brother would call him a fool, tell him to see if he could do that, and stomp off.”

“The duke would…” Aisling started, then reconsidered. “No, he wouldn’t dare have Kirion arrested in case Kirion wouldn’t lie down for it. Anyhow, he needs Kirion’s powers. They’ll be using them to spy on Franzo and cause mischief. There’s a lot you can do to an army even using minute amounts of power. Kirion would know tricks to make those out there very unhappy.”

Hadrann had been listening with amusement. “You both know your brother and the duke well. So what will Kirion have been doing?”

Aisling snorted. “Oh, that. Well, seeing that tether ropes fray or come loose on the most restive mounts. Making yeast for bread making work too fast so all the loaves spoil. Seeing that a cook adding a handful of salt to a cauldron of stew slips and adds the boxful. En-couraging rain to move in right over the army and stay as long as possible.”

She laughed suddenly. “When I was over-mountain one of our witches caused a plague of fleas. It drove the other side totally crazy. The brutes got into everything from bedding to armor. Everyone was scratching. There’s a host of things like that one can do. It doesn’t take a lot of power and it drives the other side wild.”

“And if they do that, then it confirms the Coast Clan’s belief that Kirion and the duke are behind every bad thing that has ever happened to them,” Hadrann said soberly. “If they get into the city after a year of those sorts of tricks, there’ll be no mercy. They sack the place, kill a lot of innocent people whose only fault lies in living here.”