The Red Cloak (p. 6)
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | map 6. MONTE PEIGNO
Padrin Zelmorzi rode at Cappel Rode's side as the battalion entered Vali Coltina. The juxtaposition was the captain's design, because he had intelligence to pass on.
"Sergeant Zelmorzi, I would ask you to take on a special task."
"Certainly, Sir," replied Zelmorzi, turning his gaze from the white flecked surface of the much diminished River Orro, whose topography rivaled the mountains and valleys that ringed the River's source.
"First, I must tell you that you may see something disturbing. I know your hatred for the Guipesans runs deep, so I must ask you to swear an oath to obey my word regardless of the circumstances."
Zelmorzi nodded, confused as usual at his captain's words. What could he possibly see that would make Rode doubt his soldier's pledge?
"Swear before the four Goddesses that you will take no action against the enemy unless I order it."
"I swear before Melia, Isa, Sestica, and Cares to take no action against the enemy without your command."
Rode nodded and scratched his long, narrow nose, satisfied. "The town of Monte Peigno is located in a small basin at the head of Vali Coltina. The source of the River Orro is just beyond that, in a knee of the mountain. The spring is sheltered by the citadel of Monte Peigno. The citadel's gates open into the town, which is ringed by a stone wall. But ... I know of another way in."
"How?" asked Zelmorzi. "Our scouts haven't left the gorge yet." His eyes traveled to the walls of Vali Coltina. Though he couldn't see them, he knew that two dozen soldiers quartered the mountainsides in search of Guipesan ambushes. Zelmorzi didn't envy their duty -- the steep slopes of Vali Coltina were so pitched that the spruce, ashes, and oaks invariably grew with a kink in the trunk.
"You will find out soon enough. Remember your oath." Zelmorzi had no trouble ascertaining that he wouldn't like Rode's source of intelligence about the Peigno family fortress.
"Somewhere along the outer wall of the Citadel is a secret postern. If I can force it, I can get at the Peignos before the main gate is breached. But I need a dozen more men to go with me. Choose twelve of your best, and have them ready at my signal. I'll need to be able to withdraw them from the battle once it's underway. I want to be sure Don Peigno is fully distracted."
Zelmorzi nodded. "I will have them ready, sir."
"Good." Cappel Rode turned his eyes forward to where the road through Vali Coltina twisted out of sight between the mountains. As Zelmorzi urged his horse forward to seek out his best soldiers, he felt a vest of anticipation settle around his chest. Though Rode had certainly not clarified the enigmas surrounding him, he had all but set a date for their resolution. Zelmorzi was sure that the attack on Monte Peigno's postern would answer his questions.
*** The walls of the town of Monte Peigno were not nearly as high as those of Bochi Orro, and certainly much smaller than Carseli's. That weakness was counterbalanced by the goat pastures around the town, which prevented substantial trees from taking root. The sharp angles of Vali Coltina forbade the importation of wood suitable for siege engines. The men of Cappel Rode's battalion were forced to scale the walls on ladders and ropes with grapnels.
Captain Rode had arranged for himself, Sergeant Zelmorzi, and the twelve picked men to be at the rear of the attack. Zelmorzi waited, uncomfortable in a battle situation without being able to do anything.
The attack was going well. Though sentries hidden in Vali Coltina had assured that the Guipesans were not taken completely by surprise, Rode pressed the attack upon leaving Vali Coltina. He said that this was to keep the Guipesans off balance, and prevent them from making serious preparations. Rode's battalion's main advantage now was experience. The Morsine force had gone through years of war, while the Peigno family garrison had spent the duration of the struggle in Monte Peigno.
Now, as dawn was threatening to break, the Morsine soldiers had gained a foothold on the wall in three separate places. The fighting was fierce. The Guipesans knew that Vali Coltina was the only way out of Monte Peigno, and for all they knew it was held by a division of Morsines. It wasn't, ~on Peigno had no way of telling that.
"All right." said Rode crisply. "Let's go."
Zelmorzi nodded and picked up a tin whistle that hung around his neck. He blew three short notes, then a long one. The picked men, who were not engaged in actual combat, quickly gathered around Zelmorzi and Rode.
With a scratch of his long, thin nose, but no words, Rode led the group out away from the town. As the gray predawn intensified, they circled around the edge of the valley bottom toward the high, square citadel of Monte Peigno. The goat pastures offered little cover other than low rock mounds marking property lines. As Rode led them over the field stone fences, he kept his eyes fixed on the Citadel. Zelmorzi noted that, in addition to his sword, Rode kept a hefty double-bitted woodsman's axe tucked in his belt. Zelmorzi remembered the impatience with which Rode watched the brawny soldier chop open the door to the gatehouse of Bochi Orro. Idly, he wondered how the reconstruction of the city's defenses was going. Having no knowledge of exactly how much damage the Guipesan force had sustained, he couldn't guess how soon they would return. And such a guess would be wrong anyway. The Guipesans had an irritating tendency to do the least convenient thing possible.
Zelmorzi let out a snort of surprise. At Bochi Quo, and Carseli, and all the battles before them, his attention had been on destroying Guipesans. But here, he hadn't thought about that at because he hadn't actually fought with anyone yet.
"There it is," said Rode, pointing at the base of the citadel. Zelmorzi looked out over the goat pasture at the shadowed bulk of Monte Peigno. The sun had risen over Vali Coltina just moments ago, throwing the back wall of the Citadel into shadow.
The Citadel of Monte Peigno was half again as tall as it was wide, and twice the height of the town wall. Only its back face was accessible from outside the town. Square watchtowers embellished the comers. Tucked away within the shadowed elbow of one was a brief staircase capped by a low wooden door. The hillside below the stair was steep, rocky, and exposed.
"When we get to the last wall, we'll have to make a run for it. Don't worry if you make noise, their attention should be on the attack of the town. But don't draw unneccessary attention to yourself, of course." Rode ran a finger over the face of his axe as he talked. "Once we're inside, follow my lead. Don't do anything unless I say so." Without waiting for an acknowledgement, Rode vaulted the wall and was on his way.
A pair of sentries noticed the fourteen Morsines as they clanked up the shadowed hillside. Rode led them onward at a run, and Zelmorzi was able to lean, panting, against the wall, with his shield as a roof, by the time an alarm was raised. A smattering of arrows glanced off upraised shields while the attack force regained its breath.
Breathing deeply and slowly, Rode started up the stairs. He handed his shield to Zelmorzi as he unslung his axe. The sergeant sheathed his sword and took a linden disk in each hand. He held them over the captain. Rode reached the door and took a practice swing. Then, with a grunt, he buried the axe in the wooden door. As Rode wound up for a second strike, something clumped off Zelmorzi's right shield. His arm went numb to the elbow for a moment. Whatever it was rolled off into the deep shadow beside the staircase.
Zelmorzi heard a healthy crack as Rode pried loose his third strike. His fourth split free a long wedge of weathered wood. He became frantic as the axe continued to crack and chip the heavy door. Pale wood showed all around the lock as Rode chopped away the weather-gray outer layer. From time to time, an object would strike one of Zelmorzi's upraised shields. His arms grew weak from loss of blood and he ached to put them down.
Suddenly, Rode's axe disappeared up to the handle in the door. He pulled it loose with a snap. The Captain kicked at the postern. Mter two, it split loose from the edge that contained the lock. Rode put his hands in the gap and wrenched the door open. He entered and Zelmorzi followed, gratefully lowering his arms. The blood rushed warmly back to his fingers. After returning Rode's shield, he appraised the room behind the postern. It was barely big enough to be a coat closet. A door was set in the far wall. The door had no lock, but it opened into the Citadel. Something heavy was set against it.
Mustering his strength, Rode slammed into the door. There was a crash, and the captain fell into the next room. Zelmorzi followed, stepping over the toppled shelf that had blocked the door. Plain black shoes strewn over the floor indicated the shelf's contents. The room was lined with racks of maids' dresses and tabards in the Peigno blue and gold.
Cappel Rode led his men out of the storeroom and into a narrow hall. Without a word, he began to search the citadel.
The Citadel of Monte Peigno was built solidly and simply. Rode led his baker's dozen of followers through claustrophobic hallways, austere servants' barracks, heavily scented pantries, empty dining halls, warm kitchens, a musty library , and the spacious Great Hall, moving ever upward. They saw only an occasional servant, and no guards -- apparently Don Peigno trusted his people enough to take all of his soldiers to battle.
The uppermost floor of the citadel was the Peigno family rooms. The first door bore a gold plaque inscribed "Stovir." Yet oddly, Rode ignored Don Stovir Peigno's room. Instead, he moved on to the one marked "Lira." Stopping, he knocked and waited patiently. Any noise from inside the room was prevented from reaching Zelmorzi by the stomp of boots on the wooden floor. When Rode heard no answer, he opened the door.
Lira Peigno's sitting room was sparsely furnished. Zelmorzi guessed that most of the Peigno family's nice things had been left in their town house in Carseli. When the Morsines took control of the city early in the war, the Assemblymen had probably been forced to leave their possessions behind. The room contained a pair of wicker chairs, a glass topped table carved in the rough pagan motif common to Horth craftsmanship, and a watercolor of the Blue Fortress in Carseli. Rode strode quickly to the painting and laid his hands on the frame, as if he hardly believed it existed. A huge smile grew on his face. While Rode made for the door on the opposite wall, Zelmorzi paused by the watercolor. Though he was no art critic, he thought he recognized a similarity between it and the one of the Sable Bridge that he had seen in Rode's room in Bochi Orro. It was signed with the same name that garnished the portrait of Lira Peigno: "A. Bofi." Zelmorzi couldn't fathom the strange connection between Rode and Lira. Following the captain into the next room, he guessed that the mystery would soon be solved.
Beyond the sitting room lay Lira's study. A desk, carved with the same primal demons and nature spirits that decorated the table in the sitting room, was topped with a smattering of papers. A small bookshelf bore volumes of various sizes, colors, and shapes. But most important, the room contained Lira.
Zelmorzi recalled the portrait that he had seen in Bochi Orro. He recognized her, but it seemed that the face in the portrait was significantly more attractive. She looked first horrified, then startled. Rode removed his helmet. "Lira!"
"Antegno? Antegno Bofi?" replied Lira, amazed. She took her hand from the knob of the door that, presumably, led to,her bedroom. She smoothed her dress.
Rode nodded. "You have nothing to fear from Stovir, my Lira." He opened his arms as if to embrace her.
Lira did not reciprocate. "Fear? I believe I have more to fear from you and your Morsine thugs than from my brother. Didn't you read my letter?"
"Yes, of course! I know those were Stovir's words. You wouldn't cut me off like that. I know you loved me -- you were prepared to pay the tuition at the Carseli Art Institute for a poor Morsine artist " Rode's hand came to his chest, confinning that he spoke of himself.
Lira turned away, her eyes sparkling wetly. "No, I think there was a good measure of pity .I couldn't bear to see you kept poor and cut off from developing your talent by something as idiotic as this Guipesan-Morsine thing stifling the economy. Remember, Guipeso and Morsi were brothers long ago. When the war started, I didn't want you to be hurt by having a relationship with a Guipesan. Antegno, Stovir never knew about you, or the letter, until afterward."
Cappel Rode, a.k.a. Antegno Bofi, stood struck dumb. Zelmorzi tapped his sword hilt nervously. He guessed that this friendly exchange with a highborn Guipesan was what had prompted the additional oath of obedience. Yet Zelmorzi felt no hatred for Lira. She seemed quite different from the heartless rioters who had burned his farm. He could hardly believe she was a Guipesan.
"But ..." Rode said, "... The war has made me stronger. I now take my orders directly from Don Dalen Roma. With the pity gone, can you now find love?"
Lira tucked her thin lips between her teeth and pinched her brows. She turned to face Rode with her hands knotted in her skirt.
"My name isn't Peigno anymore. It's Manivali."
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