Crusade - James Lowder [50]
Azoun did what he could to keep the dalesman in line, but he secretly worried that Brunthar Elventree's myopic bigotry was only a prelude to the problems he would face later in uniting the soldiers as an efficient fighting force.
The king broke the tension that had settled over the room by introducing a topic he'd discussed only that morning with Thom. "Before we begin in earnest, gentlemen" he said calmly, "I propose we adopt a single name for the crusading army."
"Yes," Vangerdahast said from his seat near the window. "A single name will help bring us together"
For the first time since they'd met, all three generals agreed. Farl Bloodaxe and Brunthar Elventree nodded, while Lord Harcourt added a hearty, "Here, here!"
"Any suggestions?" the king asked.
After a moment's silence, Lord Harcourt tugged at his long white mustache and said. "I place the title 'Knights of Faerun' under consideration."
"All right, Lord Harcourt," Thom said as he noted the name on a clay tablet.
"What about the name you mentioned to me earlier, Your Highness?"
"The Alliance of the West," Azoun offered. "Or just the Alliance."
"I don't have a suggestion myself," Brunthar said. "But I like 'the Alliance' much better than 'the Knights of Faerun.' After all," he added sarcastically,
"we aren't all going to ride horses into battle."
Vangerdahast cut in with another possible name before Lord Harcourt could respond to the dalesman's snide comment. "How about 'the Confederacy of Western Powers?"
"Too long," Farl said. He glanced at the map, then concluded, "The Alliance is the best, I think."
Thom Reaverson noted his approval, as did Vangerdahast. Only Lord Harcourt paused before throwing his support to the title. The king thought that he saw the old cavalryman pout slightly before he mumbled, "You have my support, Your Highness."
"Fine, then," Azoun said brightly. "Now we can get to more important business." The king pushed a book onto one corner of the map to stop it from rolling and pointed to Lake Ashane, otherwise known as the Lake of Tears.
"This is where the Tuigan started their invasion of Ashanath."
"And by now," Vangerdahast offered, "they are certainly through Ashanath and into Thesk." He walked slowly to the map and traced west from the lake.
"The Tuigan probably haven't reached the town of Tammar, which is halfway between the Lake of Tears and the place where we'll land. However, the city will likely fall before we enter the conflict."
Farl rubbed his chin. "What about local resistance?"
"Either wiped out by the Tuigan or caught up in skirmishes with the Red Wizards of Thay," Azoun replied. He shook his head. "We can expect only a small addition to the army once we muster outside Telflamm."
Each man was silent for a moment, caught up in considering the hard times that obviously lay ahead of the Alliance. The wind whistled through the open window in high, haunting fits. The breeze had grown so steady, in fact, that Vangerdahast reluctantly closed the heavy leaded glass. The groans and creaks of the wooden ship and the shouts of the men on deck filled the momentary silence in the cabin.
"Then we'll have to arrange the army as best we can," Brunthar Elventree offered at last. "Take advantage of what we have."
As the generals set about organizing, then reorganizing the army into fighting units, Thom Reaverson scratched notes into soft clay tablets.
Parchment and ink were too expensive to waste on note-taking, so the bard always took down ideas and important information on a clay tablet. He would later meticulously transfer those same notes to paper and wipe the tablet clean to be used again.
The discussion lasted for hours. As the subject turned from troop organization to supply lines to potential battlefields, the lantern that hung from