Lora of Two Worlds

Leon and Roland climbed the gate tower. In the dawn light, a column of Redmane soldiers stretched across the valley, seemingly indifferent to the small White Horse Gate before them.

Something wasn't right. Leon felt it. If these were crown-summoned reinforcements, the men on this gate were their enemies. They wouldn't advance so boldly.

Unless, these were reinforcements invited by the Duke of Greyhollow March. In which case, how could they let them into Stoneford? He said suddenly: "Lothair, colluding with Redmane, fomenting rebellion, besieging Yarrow-Deep, defying the crown, what's the penalty?"

"I've fallen into your hands, pin any crime on me you like. But these Redmane weren't summoned by Greyhollow March. I never received orders to let them pass." Lothair, dragged to the wall, was himself startled to see the army outside.

Sunlight lit the gate. They could see clearly: the Redmane army had stopped beyond arrow range. A single open cart, no canopy, was slowly approaching the gate.

A man lay on the cart. Lothair squinted. The silver armor looked familiar, but he couldn't see the face. He wasn't sure. He asked Roland:

"General, please order no arrows. The identity of the man outside is unconfirmed. I fear a terrible mistake. Let my man go out and verify. If he's who I think, whether this gate opens may not be my decision alone."

Meaning: this man was important enough that Lothair would request instructions from Stoneford. If he vouched for them, entering the city would be simple. The question was how to force his agreement.

"You want to use this man to pass? Then if I kill him, your garrison has nothing to worry about." Leon drew his bow full. The arrow aimed at the man lying on the cart, who didn't know what was coming.

Lothair saw the bow, and lunged at Leon. The collision only made Leon sway, but Lora, beside him, was knocked to the ground. A guard helped her up: "Lady Lora! Are you all right?"

In the quiet dawn, the words carried, faintly, to the two Redmane men at the front of the column. They exchanged a look. One, a middle-aged man, walked to the cart and called up to the wall:

"Is that the young Lady Odenheim of Lohenheim, up there?" Huh? Has my fame spread to the northern Redmane?

Corin remembered, at the Shrine of the Two Lords, those Redmane men who'd helped inexplicably, then vanished. He leaned to Lora: "My lady, could this be connected to those Redmane in Yorvik?"

They had no answer. Corin called to the men outside: "Who are you?"

The Redmane man had recognized Corin. He turned to his companions: "It's that Askar man from the shrine. Why is he with the lady?" "Tell her our purpose."

The Redmane turned back to the wall: "Lady Odenheim, we mean no harm. We're the Northern Plains Command of the Eastmarch domain, ten thousand strong, sent by crown warrant to suppress the Greyhollow March rebels."

"Reinforcements? Then why Stoneford, not Deepford?" Leon was puzzled. Their movements hadn't been shared with Yorvik, let alone the Redmane.

The man outside anticipated the doubt. He pointed at the figure on the cart: "We were heading to Deepford. At Eastmarch, we happened to capture the duke's second son. So we decided, bring him to Stoneford and try our luck."

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The duke's second son, Windsor Yvain?

If not for Lora's words, he'd be merely the rebel's sidelined son. His my older brother was at Deepford, earning glory. He'd been sent to garrison the westernmost town, Eastmarch.

But with Lora's information, he was the best candidate to replace the duke. Lora understood too. The man on the cart was Windsor Yvain.

She called from the wall: "What's happened to the second son? Fall back twenty paces, I'll come out and see."

Making a massive army retreat was dangerous, a spooked horse, a stampede. But the Redmane didn't hesitate. They pulled back twenty paces. At the gate, only the cart, four guards, and the middle-aged commander.

"Sister, have them push the cart to the gate. We'll pull it in. You can't go out, too dangerous!" Even with the retreat, Roland was uneasy. They hadn't been at the shrine. They didn't know how the Redmane had helped. You couldn't judge men by one good deed.

"No, I need to find out what their connection to House Odenheim is." Her instinct said: no malice. But they'd called her by name. She knew nothing about them. That gnawed at her.

Lothair, only now learning that these remarkable young men were from the Odenheim house of Lohenheim. If the Lohenheim army was here, it wasn't just three hundred. And the Redmane outside, fierce, battle-hardened...

His heart went cold. He looked up, a bitter laugh:

"Lady Odenheim, this lord, the second son, saved my life. He spoke for me before the duke. Without him, I wouldn't be here guarding this gate. If you'll let me go out and confirm his identity..."

He'd been pinned to the ground after colliding with Leon. Lora looked at Roland: "Brother, let him go. He comes out with me."

Shawn hauled him up, cut his bonds, kept himself between the man and Lora. Leon said: "I'll come with you." "Good. Go out. The cart is in bow range. I'll cover you."

The gate opened. Lothair, Lora, and Leon walked out. Lothair recognized the man on the cart instantly, Lord Gareth, Windsor Yvain. "You killed him?" he cried, grief-stricken.

The Redmane commander sneered: "If we'd killed him, why drag his corpse fifty li? When we caught him, he could curse heaven and earth. We fed him on the road. But this morning, he simply died."

Lothair rushed forward, felt the man. Hands and feet ice-cold. Dead. He roared:

"Redmane slaves! The second lord is in his prime! If you hadn't harmed him, how would he die for no reason?"

The Redmane guards, hearing "Redmane slaves", went berserk. Four men, against a fortress, and they drew blades, ready to kill Lothair on the spot.

Leon noticed: through all the shouting, Lora had been calmly examining Windsor Yvain's "body." She lifted his eyelid, pressed the eyeball, then drew a fine thread from the hem of the sacking beneath him and wrapped it around his fingertip.

As he'd expected:

"Stop arguing. The second son is alive."

"Alive?" The Redmane were stunned. No breath, no pulse, and alive? The middle-aged commander's heart stirred:

"The young lady is a physician? If he lives, can you save him?"

These Redmane had been unlucky. At Eastmarch, Windsor Yvain had led three thousand men to block them. The Redmane had crushed them and captured the second son.

They'd meant to besiege Stoneford: the duke would want his son back, Deepford could be abandoned. If the duke refused, Stoneford besieged would still destabilize the Deepford campaign.

They needed a living man. A corpse was useless, it would only rally the enemy.

They'd been sent by their chieftain, Zarek Zachary, who had volunteered to the Eastmarch marcher duke for this campaign.

The duke of Eastmarch, loyal to the crown, but old and ailing. He'd asked to retire. The King refused. So he held on.

This was why the Duke of Greyhollow March hadn't feared an attack from the west, only White Horse Gate stood between him and Eastmarch, and Eastmarch wasn't expected to march.

But the Northern Plains Command had volunteered. And the duke had given them the mission.

And now, at White Horse Gate, they'd found the young lady.

Corpse-swoon syndrome, whether it could be treated depended on the cause. Deficiency or excess. Lora wasn't certain she could cure him. But she could stimulate him awake.

"Lady Odenheim, if you have a way, please save the second lord!" Lothair, on an emotional roller coaster, dropped to one knee, fist to chest.

Lora dodged the old general's bow. Then:

"I have private medical techniques. Please, everyone step back."

Medical families had secrets. No one objected. They turned away.

Leon had wanted to stay, she'd never hidden her treatments from him. But she seemed to glare at him. He turned obediently, like the rest.

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