Jory Lanfear's Arc

Chapter 7 of 7

Jory reached Moanroe's Ford on the fourth day. The water ran shallow and brown between two muddy banks. He brought his own host with him, mounted knights, archers, and foot soldiers under his banner. He had never commanded so many men. He sat his horse at the water's edge and watched the other lords arrive. They came all morning. The Murray muster rolled in behind rows of painted shields. His sister Eleri rode at the head of her fifty guards, the same men who had saved him against Mordaunt. Lord Evan's host filled the far bank, spears like a field of reeds. By noon every lord the King had summoned stood by the ford. Then something happened Jory had not expected. Northern border lords rode in. These were men from Mordaunt's own country. They had refused to rise with him. They came to prove it by standing for the King instead. Their arrival changed the whole shape of the war. Mordaunt was not leading the North. He was leading only part of it. That night the lords gathered at the great fire in the war camp. Banners hung on poles around the flames. Tents circled the light. Men argued over the plan while servants poured drink. The northern lords spoke first. They knew Mordaunt's ground. His castle sat high on a ridge. A frontal march would bleed the King's army dry. But Mordaunt's supply came along one road through a narrow valley. Cut the road, and his army would starve inside a month. Some lords wanted the quick assault. They wanted glory and a short war. Jory saw the trap in it. He had chased evidence across the North once. He knew the land ate armies that rushed. "Starve him," Jory said. The fire lit his purple eyes. "We cut the valley road. We hold it. He comes down to fight us on open ground, or he rots on his ridge." A lord laughed. "The upstart wants a bride and a slow war both." Eleri stepped to her brother's side. "My men held the line when Mordaunt had the numbers. Hear him." The northern lords nodded. They had said the same before Jory spoke. One by one, the others agreed. The quick assault died at the fire. The plan became the valley road. But agreement cost something. The lords looked at Jory now as a man with a stake in the war. Mordaunt had named him the reason for the rebellion. Everyone at the fire knew it. The plan was his plan. If it failed, the blame would be his too. "Then you hold the road, Lanfear," the laughing lord said. "Your plan. Your men at the throat of it." The fire popped. No one argued. Jory had won the council and lost the easy part of the war. He had asked to starve Mordaunt. Now he stood between the rebel and his bread, alone at the front.