The group filed past Hallic and he waited until they were several yards in front of him before following. He watched the shadows and kept an eye on the rooftops as he went. If Odella and the others were the last mages in the area, they were the only targets that could be attacked and the rogue watched for any suspicious movements.
Many of the street lights had failed, probably from damage caused by the fire, and with so much smoke still rising from the buildings around the neighborhood, it was difficult to see very far. But the group reached the main gate out of the quarter safely and Hallic breathed a sigh of relief as they passed several royal guards that were waiting there.
The armored guardsmen appeared to recognize him and one of them stepped forward.
“The king wants to see you,” she said gruffly, her armor gleaming in the light of a street lamp. “He's just up ahead.”
The rogue thanked her and hurried forward.
The next city square was a block away and that is where all of the evacuees had been sent. The bright lights there shone down on groups of people who were huddled together all over the open area, most of whom still looked dazed and confused. Someone had summoned clerics and emergency workers to aid the displaced mages and their children and, as Hallic entered the square, he saw people in white robes attending to the needs of those who were suffering from smoke inhalation or from superficial burns.
“Hallic!”
The rogue looked to his left and saw the king waving at him. He hurried over while Odella moved off to check on her people.
“How are the school children?” the rogue asked Shandon as he joined him and Jergen.
“Frightened but uninjured,” the king replied.
He was staring around the square at the refugees. He shook his head sadly.
“I hadn't realized just how few of them there were,” he said. “I count less than a hundred mages, including the children. Gods, how can our people be afraid of such a small group who have never done them any harm?”
Jergen frowned as he watched the clerics and others tending to the wounded.
“Old prejudices die hard,” he said soberly. “But if the population could see the mages now, and see how vulnerable they are, I doubt that many of them would be able to justify those fears.”
There were many benches scattered around the square and most of them were occupied by the children. Hallic counted the little ones and looked at the king.
“Twenty,” he said softly. “Less than a hundred mages and twenty of them are children. Does Cindra fear her people so much that she felt the need to kill them all, even though there are so few of them? What an evil, evil thing she is.”
“Either her or my son,” Shandon said angrily. “But both are equally guilty. Whatever affection I once felt for Corbin is now gone. To attack children? With fire? I cannot think of a more abominable act. He deserves nothing but death for this, and that witch of his as well.”
Jergen looked at his old friend and nodded approvingly.
“You have finally come to see him for what he is,” he growled. “I know that it is a hard thing for a father to deal with, Shandon, but your people must come first now and these...” he waved at the scattered groups of mages, “are your people too.”
“I know that. I know that very well.”
Odella joined them a few minutes later and Shandon asked her how her people were doing.
“Surprisingly well, all things considered,” the mage replied as she looked around the square.
She smiled affectionately as she watched several of the children being held by their parents.
“I am relieved to report that there were no casualties,” she continued. “We have a lot of burns, some quite severe, and many people are suffering from smoke inhalation, but the clerics tell me that everyone will recover in time.”
One of the white-robed healers walked over to the king and the others and nodded at him. She was taller than most dwarves and her pale blond hair shone in the light of the street lamps high overhead.
“Your majesty,” she said, her voice light and gentle. “It is good to see you again.”
“Adeilla!” Shandon exclaimed. “Well now, this is a surprise. I haven't seen you in ages. How are things going?”
The cleric glanced back at the crowd and smiled.
“Well, your majesty. All of the people will recover and we have already healed the most severely burned victims.”
She looked at Odella for a moment before turning back to the king.
“I would like to ask you for a favor,” Adeilla said to him. “As I am the high cleric of Kingstone, Odella thought that I should be the one to mention it.”
Shandon looked at both women curiously.
“Very well. Ask away,” he replied.
“Thank you. I have been speaking with some of the mages and they've informed me that these fires were set deliberately. Is that correct?”
The king glanced at Hallic, who answered the question.
“We believe so, yes,” he told her.
“Ah, Hallic,” Adeilla said with a warm smile. “I didn't recognize you for a moment. You are working for the king again?”
“You could say that,” the rogue told her.
“Delightful. His majesty needs as many loyal friends as he can get,” the cleric said. “Anyway, since the mages were attacked and, since their homes are now ruined and will take quite some time to repair, they need a new place to stay. A place where they are less vulnerable to whatever evil perpetrated this horrible assault. As the king, I am afraid it falls upon you to find such a place, my lord.”
Shandon sighed and nodded.
“Yes, of course it does,” he replied. “I am responsible for these people, as they are under my protection.”
He looked at the others.
“But where to put them? Any suggestions?”
There was a long moment of silence as the group gave the question some thought. Hallic found himself staring at the wounded children who were being attended to by the healers. He remembered Mel when she was that age and how desperate he would have been to keep her safe if they had faced such an attack.
We have to protect them, he thought fiercely. I refuse to allow this small group of outcasts to be harmed again.
“Odella!”
The mage jumped as a disembodied voice called her name, as did several of the others. She looked around and then smiled with relief.
“Larin. Oh, thank goodness,” she said with immense relief. “I was just about to call you. Where are you?”
“Mel and I are in Cindercore. I was about to Gate back to Kingstone and I was checking out the neighborhood just before casting the spell when I saw the fires. What's happened? Were we attacked?”
Odella looked at the king, who stepped forward.
“Your people were indeed attacked, Larin,” he said as he looked past the others at the scattered mages. “We believe that the perpetrator was either my son or Cindra or both. The good news is that there were no fatalities. The bad news is that the homes in the mages' quarter will take some time to repair. We were just discussing temporary quarters for the displaced families.”
“Thank you, my lord, for your aid,” Larin said, sounding relieved. “If you will wait a moment, I will bring Mel and myself through and join you there.”
“Please do.”
Hallic and the others looked around, wondering where the mage would appear.
“I'm guessing over there,” Jergen said, pointing toward the entrance into the square that led from the mages' quarter.
Adeilla shook her head.
“What if he popped in while someone was walking through that spot?” she asked him. “No, I would say that Larin will appear in some out of the way corner of the square.”
It turned out that they were both wrong. A few minutes later, Mel and Larin hurried into the area from a narrow side street that none of the group was even looking at.
“There they are,” Hallic told them as he nodded to
ward his daughter.
He was relieved to see Mel looking rested and alert. She smiled at him as she and the mage crossed the square.
Larin stopped several times to speak to some of the families, while Mel approached her father and gave him a quick hug.
Hallic noticed how relieved the mages looked when they saw Larin and it reaffirmed his belief that the mage was the leader of his people, even though he claimed that no one really led them.
“Welcome back,” Shandon said to Mel. “How are things in Cindercore?”
“Better now,” she replied with a glance at Larin. “Thanks to our friend over there. We destroyed three daemons that were spying on the guild-house, which unfortunately might have led to the attack on the mages.”
Larin looked angrier than Hallic had ever seen him as he finally joined the group.
“How vile of Cindra, to attack the helpless in a fit of pique,” he exclaimed as he looked back at the children being cared for by their parents. “She may believe that she has cowed us with this cowardly act, but she will soon learn that she has achieved the opposite result.”
“Well said,” Adeilla said with a smile.
Larin looked at the cleric with some surprise.
“The high cleric, here in person?” he exclaimed, bowing politely. “We are honored, Lady Adeilla.”
Adeilla waved off his compliment.
“Where else should I be, if not serving my people?” she asked him. “I know that mages and clerics don't normally work well together, but in a time of crisis those differences must be swept aside, my friend. My clerics will always respond when others are in pain.”
Larin nodded, looking grateful.
“It is appreciated,” he told her before turning to Shandon. “Now, my lord, you were discussing temporary quarters for my people?”
“We were, yes. Any thoughts?”
The mage looked from the king to the groups scattered around the square and back again.
“Just one, my lord,” Larin said slowly. “I do not know how you will react to this recommendation, but the only fairly secure area in the city where my people might feel safe would be in the palace itself.”
Shandon looked surprised by the mage's suggestion, but Hallic and Mel both smiled at the same time.
“My thought exactly,” Hallic said the king. “The palace is protected by the royal guards and can be made even more secure by Larin and his mages to protect his people from magical attack. I suppose that if there were more refugees, it would not be practical, but there are less than a hundred of them and your home could easily house that many people temporarily.”
The king looked at Jergen. The warrior surprised him by nodding.
“I must agree,” he said roughly. He gestured at the weeping children. “Look at them, Shandon. Do they look like a threat to you? Mages or not, they are your people. I know that I was once, to my shame, suspicious of Larin and his kind. But they have shown nothing but loyalty to you and to the empire. They are in need now and must be protected.”
Shandon's face reflected his feelings as he looked at all of the people around the square.
“I agree with you,” he said heavily. “The nobles will howl in protest, I'm sure, but I ignore them most of the time anyway.”
He and Adeilla looked at each other and she nodded at his silent question.
“They can all walk, my lord,” she told him. “If you want to take them to the palace now, my clerics and I will go with you and ensure that all of them remain comfortable. It is not far, after all.”
“Very well. Jergen, would you go ahead and inform Falder that we will be entertaining about a hundred guests for an extended period of time?”
Shandon grinned at him.
“And tell him that I expect him to have quarters prepared for all of them by the time that I arrive, so he'll have to move damned quickly.”
Jergen laughed heartily.
“I can't wait to see his face,” he chortled. “But don't move too quickly, Shandon. Even Falder will need some time to accommodate so many.”
He trotted off and the king turned to Larin.
“Go ahead and get your people organized, my friend,” he told the mage kindly. “They've had a rough time of it, so tell them that there is no rush. We will move at the pace of the slowest of them.”
“I cannot express the extent of my gratitude, my lord,” Larin replied, his voice thick with emotion.
“There is no need. They have been your responsibility for a long time and now they are mine too.”
Larin moved off with Odella by his side. While the two of them began organizing their people, Shandon waved over the nearest of the royal guards.
“Yes, my lord?” she said as she stopped in front of the king and banged a mailed fist against her breastplate.
“Are you the ranking guardsman?” he asked her.
“I am, my lord.”
“Good. We are taking all of these people to the palace.”
The warrior's eyes widened inside of her helm, but she simply nodded silently.
Shandon grinned at her.
“I am giving them a temporary home while their houses are rebuilt. Now, I want a defensive perimeter set up around them as we move. They've already been attacked once today and, while they are hurt and tired and vulnerable, they might be a tempting target for whoever assaulted them. I want you and your squad to keep them safe as we all head to the palace. Understood?”
“Understood, my lord,” she replied stiffly. “We will not allow any harm to come to them, I swear it.”
“Excellent. Off you go.”
The guard saluted again and moved off to speak to her squad.
“Now, while we are getting organized,” the king said to Hallic and Mel, “I want to hear all about the trip to Cindercore and these daemons that you battled.”
Mel looked at her father, who winked at her.
“Certainly, my lord,” she told Shandon. “Well, it all started when I had arrived in the city and headed to the guild-house...”
Chapter 19
The journey to the palace seemed to take longer than it actually did. Less than an hour after Mel had finished telling her father and the king about her adventures in Cindercore, the entire group had reached the main gates into the royal grounds.
Standing outside of the gates were Jergen and Falder, and at least a dozen palace servants were with them, waiting anxiously.
Shandon walked ahead of the group and stopped in front of the gates, his hands on his hips.
“Well?” he said sharply to Falder. “Have you managed to find accommodations for our guests?”
The seneschal looked past the king at the mob of tired, sore and frightened people. His nervous expression was replaced by a look of compassion and he bowed to Shandon.
“It was a challenge, my lord, but yes, we have. Servants are still fetching bedclothes and moving furniture out of storage to fill long-empty rooms, but everyone will be accommodated.”
Shandon grinned and slapped him on the shoulder.
“Excellent! I knew that you were the right person for this job. Thank you, Falder.”
He looked at the handful of servants waiting quietly behind the seneschal.
“These folks are here to guide our guests to their new quarters?”
“They are, my lord. We would like to bring the largest families in first and then go from there.”
The king turned around and looked at the many people now waiting silently, staring nervously up at the towering gates ahead of them.
He gestured for Larin to join him and the mage walked forward out of the crowd, smiling at the people around him reassuringly.
“Yes, my lord?” the mage said as he reached the king.
“You know your people best, Larin. Could you bring out the largest families first, please? Falder will have the palace servants guide them to their quarters.”
Larin nodded at the seneschal.
“I would be happy to,” he replied. “
The children are exhausted and frightened and need to get some sleep.”
“I understand, sir mage,” Falder told him. “Food is being prepared right now and will be delivered to all of your people as they settle in.”
“Thank you,” Larin said. “Then let us begin.”
He turned around and walked back to the crowd. He stopped a few feet away in front of them and raised his hands.
“Everyone!” Larin called out, stilling the many nervous whispers among them. “The king and his seneschal have prepared quarters for all of you. You will find shelter and safety within the palace walls and I and the other senior mages will protect you from further attacks, as will the royal guards.”
There was a swell of quiet comments and a wave of relief seemed to wash over the mages and their children. Larin smiled at all of them.
“Now, let's get started, shall we? Those with two or more children, please come forward.”
There was a momentary hesitation and Larin chuckled.
“Grendal, Narisa, come along now. Your brood is the largest and they all look like they could fall asleep on their feet. Let's get them tucked away, hmm?”
Laughter rippled through the crowd and then two dwarves stepped out of the group along with three small children. The father, Grendal, was carrying a fourth, a toddler asleep in his arms.
“Anyone else with more than two children?” Larin called out. “Come along now.”
Three more families joined the first one and Larin smiled kindly at all of them.
“You are safe now,” he assured them.
Two of the palace servants hurried toward them and the mage gestured at them.
“See? These good people will take you to your new quarters. I've been assured that, once you are settled in, food will be provided to you. Now off you go. It's high time that your children got some rest.”
All of the parents thanked him profusely, but Larin shook his head.
“All thanks should go to the king. You and I are family and families take care of each other, don't they? Go along now. I will check in on all of you in the morning.”
The two servants, both young women dressing in crisp black and white tunics and trousers, smiled at the four families and asked that they follow them. At the same time, guardsmen pushed open the towering ornate gates revealing a long cobblestone path lined with bright lamps and many statues.
The Dwarven Rebellion Page 24