Vaelin had hoped to find some archers amongst them but the armoury had been stripped of its crossbows.
“I’d say it was like herding cats,” Corporal Wei told Vaelin with a sour grimace, “if I didn’t think cats would make better soldiers.”
It took a full two minutes before the company had managed to form a semblance of a circle and another two before it conformed to something that might actually withstand a cavalry charge.
Vaelin swallowed a sigh, taking in the sight of sweaty faces beneath the mismatched helms. For all their amateurish ineptitude, most at least were making an effort. As he had seen before, desperate souls facing certain execution often responded with gratitude and loyalty when offered deliverance and a chance at redemption, not to mention regular meals and a bed to sleep in. They could be good soldiers one day, he knew. Had we the time. But time was against them, and these men would not be saved by a soft-hearted commander.
“Too slow,” he told Wei. “Twice round the square at the run. A beating for any man who falls out.”
He stayed for another hour, drilling and punishing them until they began to sag with exhaustion. “One hour for rest and food,” he told Wei. “Then take them beyond the walls and march them south along the canal for ten miles. Any who don’t make it back by nightfall will sleep in the open.”
“You sure, my lord?” Wei asked. “Plenty of likely deserters amongst this lot.”
“Make sure they know the Stahlhast’s scouts will make great sport with any runners,” Vaelin replied. “Besides, any who do take to their heels will be doing us a service. If they run now, there’s little chance they’ll stand later.”
He found Ahm Lin receiving a lesson in the spear from Alum. The mason had always been a sturdy figure, and the muscles on his forearms bulged impressively as he thrust the spear into a grain sack. But, strong as he was, he was no longer young and had never been a warrior. His first thrusts were swift and well placed, but grew notably slower and less accurate after only a few minutes’ effort.
“You don’t really have to do this,” Vaelin told him. “Alum and Sehmon will guard you close when the time comes.” In truth he had wanted to keep Ahm Lin as far from the fighting as possible, but the potential advantage offered by his song was too great. Also, the mason showed a marked aversion to avoiding what he saw as his due share of the danger.
“A man should always be open to new skills,” Ahm Lin said, smiling and panting as he hefted his spear for another try.
“Killing isn’t in his soul,” Alum advised Vaelin in Alpiran. “He tries hard but he’s no fighter.”
“He also speaks your language fluently,” Vaelin said, seeing Ahm Lin wince. He put a hand to his shoulder as Alum coughed in embarrassment. “Any change?” he asked the mason, who shook his head.
“A tune that tells of approaching trouble only. But you don’t need my song to know that, I’m sure.”
Vaelin nodded and moved away. “Find me when it changes.”
Ellese and Nortah were on the north-facing battlement of the city’s outer wall. An ample supply of arrows surrounded them as they drew and loosed at a target some two hundred paces out on the scrub plain that surrounded the city.
“Missed again, my lord,” Ellese told Nortah with a brief grin before forming her features into a frown of mock concern. “Perhaps your eyes are failing. A common trait amongst the elderly, I’m told.”
“I’ve caned students older than you for insolence,” Nortah replied, though his tone remained mild. He nocked and loosed again, his whole body moving with the effortless combination of strength and precision of a lifelong archer. Vaelin followed the arc of the shaft as it sank into the centre of the bristling target.
“Good,” he told them. “Now move it another fifty yards out.”
“We can’t be sure of a kill at such a range,” Nortah pointed out. “Not to mention the difficulty of finding a particular target in the confusion of battle.”
“You’ll have Juhkar to guide your aim,” Vaelin said. “As for being sure of a kill, I have a notion about that.”
* * *
◆ ◆ ◆
At Sho Tsai’s urging, Sherin had established a makeshift healing house in the largest of the city’s temples, joined by an assemblage of the local healers. Most of these were monks and nuns from various Heavenly orders, one of whom