The Swords of Corium by B. V. Larson Read Free Book Online

ceiling inside was fifty feet high and the channels were the same in width. The water was twenty feet deep, allowing the great ships to pass into safety each fall and exit during the late spring thaws.
    When dawn rose over the city, turning the silver towers pink, a passage through the ice had been completed by the summoned beings of light. Dark seawater showed like a roadway, guiding the ships out to the open sea a mile away. The beings summoned by Therian had completed their long labor, and the ships were able to exit their frozen port two months before the summer thaw.
    The Hyborean fleet sailed with the Royal Ark in the lead. Ten more war arks followed the flagship. Each massive vessel boasted nine masts, which were lowered to the decks until they could get under the archway and out onto the open seas. The men strained and cried out with exertion, using oars, small sails and great poles to drive the ships down the channel to the sea. Once out in the open, the crewmen strained and clockwork systems clicked until the great masts rose up. The masts, each carven from a tree trunk of Hyborea’s hardwood forests, were locked into place. Only then did the sailors unfurl the sails and catch the light breeze, gratefully setting aside their poles.
    Each of the eleven vessels sailed out and immediately turned west. The plan was to head out to sea and wait until the barbarian fleet landed on the ice shelf. A signal would come then from Corium via flashing lights. When the signal came, they would rush forward and catch the invaders half on the land and half on the sea.
    Therian and Viscount Bryg discussed the plan in the captain’s cabin. Gruum stood off in a discreet corner, watching everyone.
    “What if the news does not come for days?” asked the Viscount. He was clearly distraught at being outside the city in her hour of need. “What if a heavy fog rolls in?”
    “We will deal with such issues when the time comes,” Therian said. “The signalers must flash a beacon to us every hour. If they do not, we will know something is amiss.”
    Viscount Bryg nodded. He stared down fiercely upon the rolled charts that laden the captain’s table. “I don’t like any of this, sire.”
    “The most difficult part of battle is the waiting,” Therian agreed.
    “Permission to send out a scout, sir,” Bryg said. “I want to spot that fleet. They could be a week off or a day.”
    “Permission denied,” Therian said calmly.
    “And why, if I may ask, my King?”
    Therian stared at him for a moment. Gruum thought it was a dangerous stare. Viscount Bryg, despite his no-doubt good intentions, seemed to be irritating the King with his persistent queries.
    “I will permit this question, as you are my Admiral. But I would point out that a man in your position should not require such hand-holding.”
    Bryg winced, but held his tongue.
    “What is the point of this trap, man, if we go out and show ourselves?”
    “It would only be a single war ark…” Bryg began.
    “Vosh was not a fool when he was alive, and he’s had seven hundred years since then to grow ever wiser. He will see we escaped the ice with one ark, and will immediately surmise the rest are nearby. The entirety of our plan will be revealed to his mind.”
    The cheek muscles on Bryg’s jaw line twitched. Gruum watched him closely, with each of his hands resting on the hilt of a weapon.
    At last, Bryg nodded. He rolled up a chart and marched out of the cabin to the decks. Gruum stepped forward out of the shadows when Bryg had gone.
    “That one bears watching, milord,” Gruum said.
    “He’s a good officer.”
    “He’s very passionate.”
    “The best officers are.”
    Gruum shrugged. Mentally, he marked Bryg down as a man who would never be allowed in the King’s presence alone.

-11-

    Within hours, the fleet had reached the point where they planned to lie in wait. When evening came, it was as windy as the day before had been calm. Half the sails had to be rolled and