Two Kingdoms 23: Map

[DoctorM]

TWO KINGDOMS 23: MAPS

Author's Note: This is the twenty-first part of an AU construction about a very different post-1120 Gwynedd where the coronation challenge at Kelson's coronation went rather differently--- very differently. This segment falls I think a bit after "Library" and "Plaza". As always, input and comments are very much appreciated.


"Warin de Grey," the Shadow Queen says. "You're telling me I should be grateful to Warin de Grey."

Her Remembrancer looks down the long conference table and traces a finger across the southeast corner of the great map of Gwynedd.  He taps at the blue line of the Rhengarth river.  "I wouldn't go raising any toasts to him," Christian says. "But I think he's bought us more time. Maybe half a year."

The Queen is there at the head of the table with one of her little glove beagles in her lap. She leans forward and looks at the passes south of Dhassa. "Why there? What were they doing there?"

Christian looks back at the assembled Tolan and Marluk commanders and then at Aurelian.  "It's been an early winter this year. You know that. But it's been mild enough in the south. Wet, though.  We think they meant to march west out of Coroth and go through Mooryn country. Follow the river to Nyford, join forces with Duke Nigel,  and march up to Rhemuth. But it was too wet for the baggage train. So they went north."

One of the Marluk commanders raises a hand. "Into Carthmoor it's all a swamp, Your Grace. And they had almost half the Orsal army and all that engineering gear. For a siege. Biggest thing my scouts had ever seen."

Charissa is looking at the narrow passage between Orsalis and Coroth. "Give me numbers," she says.

Christian shrugs. "Nine thousand or so. That's the best estimate. Plus that many Corwyn men. Maybe a thousand of the Orsals were sappers and engineers. The Horthy like siege equipment. They brought lots of it."

"They brought at least a dozen mangonels and onagers," Marc-Friedrich Aurelian says. The State Inquisitor is there next to Christian. "Three of their big trebuchets, too. They were showing off."

"They had the men free," Christian says. "They tried to get into Lorsol last year. That didn't work— Lorsol troops and some of Lionel's cavalry blocked them hard. They had all those sappers and siege engines just sitting around. So they hired out to Corwyn. The Horthy were counting on lots of subsidies."

"And it all went bad. Where?"

"Here." Christian sweeps a hand across  the map from Sostra to the Rhengarth river. "Just raids at first, just for loot. Then bigger attacks in detail.  Then even bigger ones— and no help from local lords. It sounds like more than a few local lords joined in. It was a big baggage train. And so everything fell apart,"

Charissa shakes her head. "A Corwyn army scattering. That doesn't sound like Alaric Morgan's people. He's too good for that."

"Morgan wasn't there," Aurelian says. "One of the Horthy princes was— Niklás, I think.  Orsal captains. Corwyn captains, too, but not Morgan. And there's a lot going on— going bad —inside Corwyn."

"Warin de Grey, you're saying."

Christian sits back down. "We have nothing on whether de Grey himself was there, or whether it was other groups under his banner.  Warin de Grey is a name as well as a man. There's been a lot happening in Corwyn country done in his name. Morgan is supposed to have said de Grey has a flair for intrigue, and maybe that's true. But what he is is an inspiration. Everybody in the southeast who doesn't like Alaric Morgan or doesn't like Deryni or just thinks they'll do better out of a bit of chaos— they all say they're with Warin de Grey."

The Shadow Queen grimaces.  "Minor gentry, comes from nowhere, a couple of years  on and goes from being a local irritant to  attacking ducal armies. And God talks to him about the evil Deryni."

"And now God has made him rich. And given him whatever was left in the baggage train." Christian reaches out with the tip of a stiletto to touch the little red-inked castle that marks the site of Coroth on the map. "My people say it's all over Corwyn country  he got a lot of the pay chests. If he got siege equipment, if any of it was still intact...he just may go to Coroth. He has captive Orsals to make it work. So, merci, Warin de Grey."

Charissa stares down the table at her inner council. "This is why I hate rebels and heretics," she says. "I don't care about anyone's faith— Jews or Moors, Eastern Church or West. But I hate heresy and I hate rebels. This is always how it starts. Someone hears God telling him things. Use white wine at the Mass. All angels have six wings. Go two steps down the road and it's all let's abolish tithes and get rid of the bishops. Two more steps and it's let's redistribute the lands and hang the lords. And, oh yes, let's kill all the Deryni. Always that: let's get rid of all the Deryni. Warin de Grey's  just the latest one. What does the Church say about him?"

Aurelian shrugs.  "The Church doesn't like Morgan, and it doesn't like Deryni. But it doesn't like rebels, either. So it has sermons preached about the evils of rebellion...with a few mentions of how rebellion's justified if a lord isn't a good and faithful believer. Meaning if he's Deryni.  There's money coming in to de Grey from a few abbeys and a bishop or two. Not much, but some. They're buying protection for their own lands more than supporting de Grey."

Charissa shakes her head. "I want to know what Alaric effing Morgan is doing," she says. "He's not going to let his duchy fall apart.  He wants to go back to Rhemuth with the Haldane boy, too. He's been quiet, and that's not like him. Find out."

Aurelian and Christian look at each other. "There was some kind of attempted coup at Coroth last year," Christian says. "De Grey's followers, but also inside the garrison. We were busy in the north. But it was supposed to have been a near-run thing. There were hangings, and more than a few.  Arrests, too— again, more than a few. "

"Coroth Castle's opaque," Aurelian says. "Morgan always had good counter-intelligence, and now they've been let off the leash. Two of my teams have vanished— the people we had inside Coroth Castle, and the ones we had in the city. I'm putting more teams in, but I'm expecting to lose most of them— dead or turned."

"Spend what you have to," Charissa says. "Do whatever you have to do. Do whatever works to anyone who can tell us what's happening. Get inside Coroth. Get inside now."

"Being done," Aurelian says. "We'll get in through the back door. Through Orsalia. What happened up on the Rhengarth left a lot of Orsal lords poor and lot more with dead kin. Some of them blame Alaric Morgan for that. We'll be inside. But it will cost."

Christian moves the stiletto from Ile d'Orsal up to Dhassa. "Six months," he says. "It'll take Morgan at least that long to rebuild his army and re-provision.  Whatever's going on inside Coroth Castle, nobody's going to trust anybody else. Morgan's going to have make examples, and that won't be popular. Anti-Deryni feeling's there, and it's spreading.  I have scribes penning things— Morgan wants to secede from Gwynedd and have his own kingdom,  things claiming Duke Nigel blames Morgan for the Coronation coup and almost getting Kelson Haldane killed.  Let's put that out there— muddy a few wells. But Morgan's good. He's tough and he's good. Six months and he'll be back."

Charissa looks to the southwest of the map. She's still holding the little beagle. "Nigel Haldane won't move alone. So we have another half-year at Rhemuth. But I'm not wasting troops there.  Keep the riots down, keep the river open for a few more months. That's all I need. It's Claibourne and Kierney and Cassan I want.  Maybe let Marley try for Truvorsk. I want depth behind Valoret, and I want sea lanes south. We need exports. Also... I want to scare the Bremagni a bit."

Aurelian looks at Christian. The Queen's Remembrancer taps at Danoc and Jenas with his blade. He looks down at Charissa.

"There's something else," Christian says. There's outside money coming in there. A lot of it. Not Bremagni money. There's a local lord— Lord Nault. Nobody two years ago, now he's got a dozen other local lords in tow. Not Bremagni, not Carthmoor, not Cassan money. Now Lord Nault claims to be holding key towers along the river for you— not that any of our people can use his roads, or use the river south of Desse. And Haldane raiders keep showing up. There's money coming in, and there's no source.  Someone's paying Nault. He's not like Warin de Grey. Nothing religious, just money. But someone's paying for him to support the Haldanes. Someone new."

"Someone...from a third front."

"Something like that. Or something else bad."

"Logreine money?"

Christian opens his hands. "Too much money for that. Not Coram, not the Council. This is new.  Someone's trying something out. Nault's their first experiment."

The Shadow Queen draws in a breath. She puts the little beagle on the table. "Find out," she says. "Go anywhere you need. Take Moors if you need them. If there's a third front out there, we shut it down now.  I'm going to Tolan next month. Bring me something. We don't need anything coming out of the shadows. Shut it down before Corwyn can come back up to Rhemuth."







 

[Jerusha]

Warin de Grey returns, and a third front has opened with a large, unknown funding source.  Things are getting complicated. 

Surprised at all the trouble in Corwyn, but it does keep things interesting! 

[Nezz]

Ooooh, I'm just liking this story more and more.

[DoctorM]

Warin de Grey returns, and a third front has opened with a large, unknown funding source.  Things are getting complicated. 

Surprised at all the trouble in Corwyn, but it does keep things interesting! 

I remembered in the original novels that Coroth had fallen to de Grey's people because of disaffection in the garrison, and I wondered how that play out in the longer term.

[DerynifanK]

Very complicated and interesting but I have to admit it still seems one sided to me with the Haldane side, when it's mentioned at all, always getting the worst of things. Seems that it would be even more interesting if it were a little more balanced. Concerned about Corwyn. Seems Alaric has a lot of work to do there but I'm sure he has a plan, and I hope supporters. Intrigued as to who is putting all this money into a third front and what they are after. Lots of twists and turns

[DoctorM]

Very complicated and interesting but I have to admit it still seems one sided to me with the Haldane side, when it's mentioned at all, always getting the worst of things. Seems that it would be even more interesting if it were a little more balanced. Concerned about Corwyn. Seems Alaric has a lot of work to do there but I'm sure he has a plan, and I hope supporters. Intrigued as to who is putting all this money into a third front and what they are after. Lots of twists and turns

I think one thing I may be doing is looking at how brittle governments can bet, and how easy it is for things to slide toward chaos. Lots of local quarrels, lots of people on the fringes of things...and those things somehow become very, very important...and dangerous.

[DerynifanK]

You seem to have a very devious mind but I like it. Never know what will happen next which certainly keeps the reader's attention. Sort of like modern mysteries where one tries to outguess the writer but is often fooled.

[DoctorM]

You seem to have a very devious mind but I like it. Never know what will happen next which certainly keeps the reader's attention. Sort of like modern mysteries where one tries to outguess the writer but is often fooled.

Thank you! That is much appreciated!