The Raven Collection

‘Presumably, Stylia

‘There has been a problem in interdimensional space.’ Stylia

‘I take it the Wytch Lords’ souls are no longer under your control.’

‘No, they are not.’ Stylia

‘Stylia

Stylia

Another pause for consideration followed. Scribbled notes were passed between delegates.

‘A masterly failure for Xetesk and its incumbent Lord of the Mount,’ said Vuldaroq. ‘The mana cage was surely your greatest continuing triumph. Gone now.’

Stylia

‘Let us not forget,’ said Barras, taking up the cudgel, ‘that only Xetesk had the means and the skill to imprison the Wytch Lords. None of us in our Colleges were pushing to help them. I, for one, would like to register my thanks to Xetesk for their unstinting efforts, and indeed their instant reaction in the calling of this meeting. ’

Vuldaroq’s face reddened and he sat back, the cloth once again dabbing his forehead, fuming in the knowledge that he’d misjudged the mood of Julatsa and, as he was about to hear, Lystern too.

‘I add my thanks to those of Barras,’ said Heryst, rising to his feet. ‘We have a critical list of questions to answer. These are they, as far as I can see. Can the Wytch Lords regain their former power and how long will their bodily reconstitution take? Does the Wesmen invasion rely on the Wytch Lords’ reconstitution or will it take place in advance of this? Finally, of course, what is our response and can we expect help from other quarters? The floor is open.’ He resumed his seat.

Stylia

‘Uh-huh,’ said Vuldaroq, pursing his lips.

‘Naturally, the assumption has been made that the mana cage has been breached recently, and this may well be the case. However, I must point out that the nature and frequency of the spell calculations means that our worst case is that they have been in Parve for three months.’

Another silence, this one angrier.

‘So how long before they have reconstituted?’ asked Heryst.

‘I have no idea,’ said Stylia

‘So they could already be up and walking.’ Heryst’s voice was dread.

‘Steady, Heryst. I think that if they were, we would have heard about it by now.’ Barras held out a hand to calm the Lysternan. ‘Remember, they are merely collections of seared bones. I can’t imagine any reconstitution being quick, can you?’ He smiled.

‘We’ve underestimated the Wytch Lords before,’ said Heryst.

‘And we will not do so again,’ said Stylia

‘This part of the discussion, at least, is pointless,’ said Vuldaroq brusquely. ‘Because we can only guess at a timetable. We have established a need for urgency and now we should move on to the shape that urgency should take.’

Stylia

Murmurs of assent ran around the table. Notes were made.

‘Returning to Heryst’s agenda of questions,’ said Vuldaroq. ‘I also believe his second to be vital but, as yet, unanswerable.’ The obese Dordovan pulled at his nose.

‘Why so?’ asked Stylia

‘Because the answer will only become apparent when the Wesmen move. Whether it is before or after the reconstitution will give us our answer.’

‘I disagree,’ said Barras. ‘We already have evidence that the Wesmen are acting under Shamen control, and that now points to Wytch Lord influence. We don’t know the extent to which the Lords can dictate events before they are walking. I suspect their influence is great. Stylia

‘Don’t forget that the Wesmen have clearly been massing for some time to develop such a large force,’ said Heryst.

‘Indeed,’ said Barras. ‘And they are not fighting each other so far as we can tell. Not yet. Again, that is surely down to outside influence. But, as Vuldaroq will no doubt point out, we don’t know when they will move. All we can do is plug the gaps to the east, wait, and build as fast as we can.’

‘And so, gentlemen, we reach the key to our meeting,’ said Stylia

‘Thank the Gods we hate each other so well,’ said Barras, ‘or we’d never have kept up the level of our College Guards.’ There was laughter. ‘How many men can we muster?’ The laughter ceased. ‘Julatsa has perhaps six thousand regular soldiers, half of whom will guard my City. In a month, the reserve can offer maybe another eight thousand.’

‘I have no accurate figures on our troop levels,’ said Vuldaroq. ‘The City Guard numbers in the region of two thousand and the College Guard must be three times that. I can confirm after communion. ’

‘Heryst?’ asked Stylia

‘Eleven hundred regular soldiers, two hundred horse and no more than two thousand reservists, most of whom are part-time City guardsmen. We don’t have the funds for a retained force any larger,’ he explained.

‘But including the best general in Balaia,’ said Stylia

Heryst bowed his head in acceptance of the praise. ‘Indeed so.’

‘And you, Stylia

‘No, Vuldaroq,’ said Stylia

Barras ran the calculations quickly in his head. ‘We are outnumbered three to one even if we include all our reserve forces. What about the KTA?’ Vuldaroq sighed and sniffed.

‘I wish I could say they were mobilising, but the fact is their internecine squabbles drain them of money and keep them turned inwards,’ said Stylia