Iron Edge Read online

“I would have done the same thing. Not that my head will thank you in the morning. I need to report, there’s an army about ten miles to the south of here right now. About ten thousand strong. Minus fifty or sixty. I got a few.” That probably sounded like bragging, but he hadn’t done it fairly, on a battlefield.

  “I… Let me… Over here!” Yelling was probably stupid, but it got several men on their side, all dressed in deep red shirts, some with rank badges he could barely make out, to show up. George got to go over the whole thing, until one of the men slapped him on the arm.

  “Yah. This be Captain Elder. Went out with the brave ones to slow the barbarians coming at us. We should get him in to camp. The Gen’ral will want to see ‘em, I wager.”

  George nodded, getting who the man was from his accent, more than his face.

  “Borokki? I can’t see much out here. I was wounded in a scuffle, a few days back. Then…” He was taken by the arm, to be walked into the camp. In case he fell down, now that doing so might not kill him.

  It was tempting, he had to admit.

  Instead he moved, reeking from a week or more of sweat and a slight scent of rotting, since his blood had soaked his clothing, even as he’d worked to keep the stab wound clean. Hopefully it would be enough. They walked for a while, since he was going so slowly. It was dark as well, so running at the armed camp guards, the inner perimeter, might not go over so well. In fact, they had to call out codes, several times.

  Then, as soon as they got inside the inner line, by the seas of tents and fires, most of the men actually left, heading back to their posts. They wouldn’t have left them unguarded for that long, but George hadn’t thought of it at the time either. Then, his brain wasn’t really working all that well. A new man, who he didn’t recognize at all, took him by the arm.

  “Captain Elder? This way, please. There’s a meeting right now.”

  That meant being led to a big tent, which was crowded enough to show that everyone with the rank of Captain or above was inside the thing. That meant he could see that Renner and Herret were both there when he limped in. General Sayner was as well, but there was another man in the front leading things. He had a full and heavy beard, as well as a rather sour expression on his face.

  “What is it? We’re rather busy at the moment. You may have noticed there’s a war coming?” That sounded snappish, as well as more than a bit pissy.

  Sayner just nodded.

  “This is Captain George Elder. One of the men that went to engage and distract the Tollan. I hadn’t figured to see you again. Any of you. Whatever you did, it seems to have worked. Do you have a report?” His voice wasn’t soft, but he also didn’t send George away instantly either.

  He started with the important part of things.

  “The main body, at least that we found, of the Tollan is camped about twelve miles south of here. Possibly less. I’m not walking fast right now. It was about ten thousand, but I think that I got about fifty or sixty of them. Sniping with arrows to get them to chase me. Eventually that didn’t work, so I just had to try and stay ahead of them. I don’t know what happened to the other groups, since we were working different sides of the army.” He stopped then shrugged. “It is one of those, but they keep going back to their old tactics. That works against them in large groups.”

  The pissy man stared for a moment, then made a grumpy sound.

  “Short notice. You couldn’t have gotten back sooner than this?”

  Rather than get upset at the rebuke, George just forced a smile. He didn’t feel it, but at the moment nothing was actually coming to him that way.

  “My task was to try and slow them down, not warn you they were coming. I didn’t do enough that way, but the failure is in that part, not in getting you the word a day in advance.” He sounded a bit pissy himself, he understood, so shook his head before the man could rebuke him. “Not that it wouldn’t have been the better plan, once things became inevitable. I haven’t eaten or slept in days, so probably can’t claim to being clear in the head right now. I got a nap for a few hours, three or four days ago. The rest of the time I ran. Not fast. I got wounded. There were three of them. Scouts, I think. They died, but got at me while I slept. It was a mistake on my part.”

  Sayner shook his head, as did several of the other command staff.

  “Except that no one living would have done more than that. Still, be a bit more polite to the High General of the Southern Forces, will you?” He smiled, not looking over at the now angry seeming man next to him. The one in charge. That would explain why he was there, if he were the High General like that.

  “Sorry, Sir. I normally manage a bit better than this.” It was true enough, to be fair.

  The man softened a bit, though not all the way.

  “I understand. Can you go over everything with us? We need a full report. Also, we need to wake the men early, so we can move them to the best battle field available. I think position two will be best for this.”

  The report took a long time, given he kept losing track of what he’d been saying. Renner kept having to prompt him, which had to make him seem like a moron. Too slow to understand how pressing it all was. Then, he fell asleep as well, only to be woken up.

  After the whole thing had been gone over, Sayner broke in, and waved.

  “Can we get Captain Elder a tent? We won’t have much time for rest, but some is better than none.”

  The other General, who clearly wasn’t wild about George at the moment, being the bearer of the bad news, waved for it to be done.

  “Get him out of here. Captain Herret, he’s your man, isn’t he? Return after he finds a spot to lie down. Hurry. We need to go over everything, in light of the new information.”

  They did do that, with the other man patting him on the back, several times.

  “We have a spot for you. Regina has her own tent, since we only have so many Witches and High General Wendell didn’t want to risk not having her on hand, if she perceived anything. She warned them of the coming forces, but didn’t know when exactly they’d first meet. On the nice side, she did mention you’d be returning. Something about snow? That you were stuck in the snow with her?” He clearly didn’t really get it.

  George nodded, too tired to act insane, or sane, whichever the act was at the time being.

  “Right. It’s different there. Thanks. I…” He nearly fell asleep walking, barely being aware when he lied down on something soft. He reeked, which wasn’t great, but if anyone complained about it, he wasn’t aware of the whole thing.

  Then, he wasn’t aware of much of anything until the noise woke him, a long time later. It was the tent being taken down by four men, with him still sleeping inside. The thing wasn’t large, but it was big enough for several adult men. The other bedroll was already put away, along with the single pack. His had been abandoned, since he couldn’t have made the journey he had with the extra burden.

  Sitting up he didn’t speak, just rolling his own bedding up quickly, trying not to be hit in the head by anything. It required a bit of ducking. He grabbed the pack, which was, he thought, his wife’s. That part was still interesting to him, since it had been so sudden, but the woman had been insistent and it meant that he could have sex with her, if they ever had a chance for that kind of thing.

  She even knew he was weird and didn’t seem to care all that much. Letting her get away would have been foolish, so he was happy enough with the general idea. Also, it was Stena, which meant he didn't really get a choice in that kind of thing, once selected. They had divorce, but unless the other person was truly horrible, it wouldn’t be allowed.

  Standing up, very slowly, he felt incredibly stiff. Uncomfortable and like he should be grumpy. He wasn’t however, for some reason.

  When he got out from under the canvas that had tried to fall on him, the men working faster than seemed normal, Regina smiled at him.

  “Darling! We were going to wake you, but I didn’t want the man doing it to be stabbed. You aren’t armed,
but he is, so we had to avoid that. I hope you don’t mind the rude awakening?” She seemed a bit glib about it all, but he understood the basic idea.

  He’d been in the thick of things for a week straight. George was going to fight now, if startled.

  “That seems right. I’m not sure where we need to get to right now.” He was starving, but there didn’t seem to be a cookfire nearby. That made sense, honestly. There was about to be a battle, sooner or later. The men would have made some things up ahead of time, if they could, but most wouldn’t be feeling a strong need to eat just then.

  Looking around he didn’t even ask about it. He wasn’t in top shape, but stuffing himself right then would be a mistake. Even nibbling could be, for the time being. So, he got his water bottle and finished it off. Then his wife waved for him to follow, not taking her pack from him or the bedrolls, since he didn’t try to pass them over.

  The end point was the clean water spot of the river they were using for such things. All the sanitation was down river, since it would flavor the water in an unpleasant fashion. It wasn’t about germs, just that shit didn’t taste great. Still, it worked for the time being, as far as keeping everyone from getting sick. He sank his carry bottle under the water’s surface, the leather being treated inside to keep the water from leaking out too fast. It wasn’t plastic, but it worked, more or less. Well enough.

  George drank more, since he pretty much had to be badly dehydrated. It was hard to tell, but some things could do that to you, even though he’d been sucking down water pretty regularly. Regina didn’t bother speaking until he stood up after refilling the container three times. Then he did hers for her, kneeling on the edge of the river.

  Her face was a bit grim.

  “Their Wizards are managing to block me. My sight? Not perfectly, but things that would normally be clear are hazy. We’ve asked for one or more of our own to be brought in, but they won’t get here for several weeks. I don’t know the outcome of this, but I have to think it isn’t going to take that long.”

  That was just the way of things like that, regardless of the world. You needed help and it would be offered. Well past when it might actually do anything for you.

  Instead of agreeing or asking about what had been going on while he wasn’t there, George stood up, feeling weak and listless. His clothing was bagging off of him, and he still smelled pretty bad. Moving down river one spot, past the marker that indicated that, a crudely carved log with an arrow on it, he stripped his clothing off and started to scrub off. Regina washed the things for him, scrubbing them on a rock, with a bit of soap from her own pack. Then she rung them out well, and handed them back.

  “Wet, but…”

  He smiled at her as he put the chilly things back on. The water was cold, so he didn’t take it as a huge shock.

  “But at least I smell a little better? I’ve been damp for a week now. I can handle another day. Past that, parts of my body will start to rot off.”

  “I know. We need to take out their Wizards, first thing. I’ve been telling the generals that, of course, but none of them seem to be listening to me. They’ll be in the back row. We can just ride around them and attack from the rear, but apparently, that’s too dis-honorable? Too close to assassination. You won’t have an issue with that though, will you? I noticed that you received those weapons and orders in the other world. You’ll have to go back for that. This world’s George can’t do it. He’s a good sort, but not the fighter you are.”

  That got him to blink, but it was just a normal thing, coming from shock.

  “This world’s?”

  She nodded.

  “I worked that part out. There are two of you. You don’t take over, as much as switch places. You’re the better fighter, the stronger survivor, so tend to be called on in dire situations. He’s better at many day to day tasks. In both worlds, by the way. Not as good in bed, but that’s just due to experience, nothing else. I think he’s a bit shy that way?”

  It was interesting to learn that. Not that it meant he was sane, but at least there was a good indication of who was taking over from him when he left. Impressively, that meant that other George could drive a car, work a computer and all that. They shared knowledge though, so if he could do it, the other guy probably could as well.

  George could do decent wagon work, after all.

  “I see. It makes sense, I guess. We need to get a team together then, and figure out how to get at their Wizards. Um, what can they do? Do you know?”

  She nodded then, her face puzzled for a few seconds. Then she shrugged.

  “Right, I keep forgetting how sheltered you are, living in Homess. Wizards force the world to their will. They can summon elements, casting fire, water, air and even earth. Dropping stones and such things… Their spells are powerful, but need a high level of focus. They’re weak in skills of the mind on average. They don’t read the future well, or the minds of men. The most powerful can bring in beasts of great power, or so I’ve heard. Then… Well, you can’t properly fight such things. The only way to stop that would be to kill the controlling Wizard. Monsters, that kind of thing.” She didn’t seem worried about that, for some reason. “Thankfully, they can only do so much at once. Casting fire is powerful, but doing that once an hour is difficult for all but the best. The bigger the effect, the less they can do after that. We may take hits from that area, but the most dangerous part of this really is the fighting men.”

  That made sense. A gun that fired heavy artillery was a danger, but if you only had ten shells, it might not change the nature of the battle much. It sounded like bringing in one of the controlled creatures would be the big issue. The Wizards on the other side might not be able to do that kind of thing, but they had no one on their side who could at all to match it.

  What they had was a person who could kind of see what might be happening.

  “Hey, can you read their minds? The leaders of the other side? I don’t know, it will be in Tollan, right?”

  That got a silly look and a head shake.

  “No. Thoughts aren’t in a language, words are. The difficulty is in finding them. On the good side the Wizards can’t shield from that and blur the future at the same time. I’ll need to work out who’s who however, which means sitting quietly for a while. That’s going to be hard, at the moment.”

  She waved at the camp, which was pretty much put away already. It was light out, but only just barely. The other side wouldn’t be marching yet, he didn’t think. The trick would be in getting them to come at them, doing the extra work that day, tiring the enemy out.

  George nodded and patted his wife, the Witch, on the back.

  “I’d hug you, but I’m all wet. Let me… We can find a way for you to ride. I’ll set that up.”

  Normally Regina walked, like the men did. Most of the women with the camp did as well. They weren’t taking them or the food wagons to the fight, but they were taking in the weapons wagon. He didn’t ask permission, just setting her up on several padded bags, waving at the driver.

  “This is our Witch, Regina. We need to guard her while she works. She’s going to try and get information from their leaders minds.”

  He would have had an issue with that, if it were him, in his world, but this man was from Stena, so he simply nodded. Possibly even having seen things like that before.

  “Yes, Sir. I’ll protect her with my life.”

  Hopefully that wouldn’t be needed. They moved out shortly after that, with Regina riding in the back of the heavy wagon. George was on foot, but didn’t have to carry anything. What he needed was better weaponry, which he took from the back of the wagon next to him. There was a sturdy spear, a round shield and a sword and scabbard. He was still damp, but that was fine. By the end of the day they all would be, one way or the other.

  He also pulled a new bow and some arrows. The one that he’d had the day before, the Tollan one made of bone and sinew, was gone. Taken at some point, by someone. This one was just wood and leathe
r, but was longer and had a stronger pull to it. The arrows were longer as well, which meant they’d fly further, as long as he got a full draw on them.

  George was well armed then, when Captain Herret waved him over, half an hour later. The man was with his company, which was four hundred strong now. They were missing some men. More than they should have been. No one else had come back, from the first group that had gone to slow the advancement of the other forces. Not yet.

  Grinning, the other man, large and powerful looking, his clothing neat and tidy, as if he’d dressed up for company, glanced at the weapons.

  “Here the bet from the troops was that you’d be back with the women, eating cakes and having your cock stroked all day.” He looked embarrassed as he noticed that Regina was in the back of the wagon. His eyes went wide, but she had her eyes closed, and was making hand signs in front of her.

  George waved.

  “She’s trying to get into the brains of their leadership. Their Wizards have taken out her ability to see what will be, temporarily, but they can either do that or protect minds. They picked the first one, so we’ll go in on the other side of things. We need to take them out.”

  That got a terse nod and a disgusted seeming look from the man.

  “Agreed. The High General is less than thrilled about the idea, however. Until he gives the order, we’re stuck. Going against his word is treason.” There was an annoyed shrug then. The man wasn’t happy with the idea at all.

  Instead of arguing the point, since it was, in the end, a problem everywhere, he just nodded.

  “All right. I’ll try to set up an operation, in case he changes his mind. Other than that, I need to get with our men. We’re supposed to stand in the center of the front line, I suppose, standing shoulder to shoulder?”

  That got a laugh at least.

  “Right side flank, actually. We’ve got special troops, so they’re being used about right that way. We’ll have the people trying to work around us and of course, be dealing with the masses of undisciplined men from the other side, doing whatever the hell they feel like. The other side of the line will be harder pressed. We’re more or less ready for this kind of thing.”