as well. Leave Palmaris deserted before the advance of the usurper and the wretched De'Unnero! The bishop chuckled at the impracticality of it all. The fall would soon enough come on in full, and winter arrived early in those areas north of Palmaris, the only escape route from the advance of Aydrian. If Braumin had led the folk of Palmaris into self-imposed exile, he would have been sentencing a good number of them - the majority, even - to certain starvation and death from exposure on the harsh road. And those who did get to Prince Midalis would hardly have bolstered the prince's cause, but would have dragged him down beneath their dependent weight.
So a partial withdrawal and a partial defense.
For Braumin, there would be no withdrawal. He meant to fight Aydrian - or more pointedly, fight De'Unnero - to the bitter end. Before sunset, word had come that the Ursal fleet was shadowing the army up the Masur Delaval, and would likely seal off the river before the morning.
"You need to leave once more," Braumin said to Viscenti.
The skinny man turned sharply toward him. "I stand with you!" he insisted.
"You stand as witness," Braumin corrected. "From across the river. You will bear witness of the fate of Palmaris and St. Precious to our brethren in St.-Mere-Abelle."
Viscenti seemed to be trembling more than usual. "That is the duty of Bishop Braumin. You, and not lowly Master Viscenti, can go to St.-Mere- Abelle and force Father Abbot Bou-raiy to strong action against De'Unnero."
"Father Abbot Bou-raiy will need little prodding in that direction,"
Braumin assured his friend. "My duty is here, to the people of Palmaris."
"Palmaris will not stand long against King Aydrian."
"But Bishop Braumin will hold true to the end," Braumin explained. "I will serve as a symbol of hope and defiance for the common folk of Palmaris, and for my brethren as they prepare for the long struggle against Marcalo De'Unnero. As Master Jojonah led the way for us, so I shall take up that beacon and help to guide our people through the long night of Aydrian."
Viscenti shook his head through every word of the dark and prophetic speech. Jojonah was a martyr, having been burned at the stake by Father Abbot Markwart. The image of Jojonah had indeed led the way for many of the younger brothers of the Abellican Church: the way to Avelyn, the way to the Miracle of Aida.
But that didn't change the fact that Jojonah was dead.
"You go and I will stay," Viscenti insisted.
Braumin turned his gaze over the man, the bishop looking every bit of his fifty years. "I am not just the abbot of St. Precious," he quietly and calmly explained. "I am the bishop of Palmaris. As such, I have sworn my loyalty to Father Abbot Bou-raiy and to King Danube and Queen Jilseponie.
And mostly, to the common folk of Palmaris, Abellican, and Chezru. I am staying, Master Viscenti, and I am ordering you across the river, this night, before the fleet can close the way. You will bear witness to the fall of Palmaris, the fall of St. Precious, and the fall of Bishop Braumin. You will go to St.-Mere-Abelle and tell them, and you will hold strong the course against Marcalo De'Unnero above all else. There are few I would trust with this most important mission, my friend, my ally. Only because I know that you will carry on do I have the strength within me to do as I know I must do." Viscenti started to argue but Braumin draped his hands over the man's shoulders and held him firm.
"Go," he bade the diminutive master.
Tears welled in Master Marlboro Viscenti's eyes as he crept out the back door of St. Precious soon after, rushing with his escorts to the Palmaris long dock, where a group of Behrenese fishermen were waiting to ferry them across the great river.
As dawn broke across the eastern horizon, the spectacle of the force that had come against Palmaris was revealed to the townsfolk in all its splendid glory. A line of soldiers stretched the length of Palmaris' southern wall and more! Their banners waved in the morning breeze, showing their various legions, or, for the Allhearts, their noble family crests, and one design flew above all others: the bear and tiger rampant, facing each other above a triangular evergreen. How significant that banner seemed to Bishop Braumin, a perversion of Danube's own and the Abellicans' own! Danube had ridden under the bear rampant.