The Dwarven Rebellion

by J. J. Thompson

  “Wait a moment,” he replied. “I want to watch our magical friends light up the darkness. I must admit that I'm still fascinated by the use of their talents.”

  Both of the mages chanted in unison and made tossing motions just as the commander set foot into the shadows of the archway ahead. Motes of light flew from their fingertips and floated up and over the heads of the soldiers, their glow lighting the darkness as they went. In a moment, the troops were bathed in light as intense as the streetlamps behind them.

  The wisps continued to fly over the ranks of the soldiers until they were ahead of Commander Brokk. Hallic saw him look up once before continuing forward.

  “Now at least the soldiers won't walk into any nasty surprises that Corbin or Cindra might have left on the ground ahead of them,” he said to Mel. “And they'll be able to find their way to the power station.”

  “That's clever,” she replied with a relieved smile. “I was wondering why they didn't have anyone walking ahead of the ranks carrying lanterns to light their way.”

  “It was Larin's idea. He told Shandon that the warriors should be free to concentrate on their duties instead of holding up lanterns and turning themselves into targets.”

  “He's very clever, isn't he?”

  “Yes. We're fortunate that Larin and his people are on our side.”

  “I agree. Now, about Annia?”

  Hallic smiled at his daughter.

  “I'm sure that she's in place. I told her to wait until the lights came back on before moving in. When Larin Gated us to the guild-house ahead of the king and his troops, it didn't take long for Annia to confirm that the only traitor among them had been Mennis. Now she has a dozen of her people with her and they will all move through the neighborhood to meet us at the power station once they can see clearly. They will report on any traps or hidden dangers that are waiting for the king and his troops.”

  “Information is power,” Mel said with satisfaction. “How old was I when you first told me that?”

  “I don't remember,” Hallic replied, giving her an amused glance. “But it was one of the most important things that I ever taught you and you learned it well. Now get ready. As soon as we pass the archway, go left and I'll go right. We'll circle around and meet back at the station. I want to make sure that there aren't any nasty surprises waiting nearby.”

  They followed Shandon and the others into the darkened neighborhood and immediately split up. When the king turned to look back for them, he nodded.

  “Our rogue friends are on the hunt,” he said to the others. “That's comforting.”

  “They know their business,” Jergen replied as he looked up at the rooftops. “I'll give them that. As does Larin. Those glowing things of his are actually illuminating the entire street. Amazing.”

  The wisps of light had settled into place a dozen yards over their heads, each one lighting up a section of the street. They led the way down the block to the low, single-story building housing the mechanisms that shunted power to the entire neighborhood.

  Commander Brokk was moving at a slower pace as he led his troops forward. He was also scanning the roofs as he advanced and the archers behind him had all set arrows to their bows as they waited for a possible ambush.

  “I may be jumping at shadows, but I can almost feel malevolent eyes watching us,” Pieter said quietly. “I'd prefer a straight-up fight to this creeping through the darkness.”

  “Be careful what you wish for,” Jergen warned him. “Until the engineers do their job, we are at a disadvantage here.”

  A canal flowed around three-quarters of the border to the noble's quarter, cutting it off from the rest of the city. Only one bridge spanned the wide waterway and a steel gate blocked regular citizens from entering the neighborhood. Such a barrier might stop ordinary people, most of whom could not swim, but it proved to be no hindrance at all to a group of determined rogues.

  Annia and a dozen of her followers climbed out of the cold canal waters and stood dripping in the darkness. The air seemed abnormally cool and many of them were shivering, but no one made a sound. Instead they watched their leader as she cautiously looked up and down the banks of the canal.

  “Good,” Annia murmured. “There are no guards. Either Hallic managed to draw away all of the daemons, or they are stationed further inside the quarter.” She looked at the rogues around her. “You all know your jobs. Grab your partners and take up your positions. We're expected at the power station and we don't want to be late. Just wait for the power to be turned on before you leave the edge of the canal. We need to see any dangers that may be waiting for us. Note any threats or traps and bypass them. We'll report them to Hallic and he will decide how we should deal with them. Clear?”

  They all nodded silently.

  “Go on then. I'll meet you at the station.”

  She watched as the group faded into the darkness. Her injuries were healed, but her anger at Corbin and his witch burned like an open wound.

  Tonight, Annia thought grimly. Tonight we take back my city. And maybe we can end this treasonous plot as well. But whatever happens, my blades are ready. And all the evil magic and daemons that Cindra can summon won't stop us. Not this time.

  Chapter 28

  Mel crept around the corner of a tall manor house, listening keenly for any hint of hidden dangers. The darkness was almost total here, but even so, her dwarven eyes could still make out shapes and close-up details. And her hearing had always been better than average.

  But there was no indication that Corbin or Cindra had left any surprises for the king and his troops. Mel admitted to herself that she was baffled. Had the witch's only threat been the daemons? If so, they had failed miserably.

  A block down the street was the side of the power station; a blank wall made of thick stone, ancient and solid. Above it, one of Larin's floating wisps of light gleamed in the darkness and illuminated the road below. Mel could see nothing along the entire street that presented a threat, but she could not relax. Not until she had returned to join up with her father and the others.

  Hallic was approaching the station from the opposite side and he was feeling the same confusion that his daughter was.

  Why no traps, he wondered. Why no other threats? Had Cindra been so confident in her daemons that she had left the defense of the noble's quarter to them alone? If that was true, then she had miscalculated badly. I don't like it.

  Shandon, along with Jergen, Pieter and the two mages, finally reached the power station. The troops had spread out to protect the entrance of the building while a half-dozen engineers broke from their ranks and entered the station.

  The king watched them, an anxious sensation bubbling up in his stomach. It had all gone too smoothly for his liking.

  “I don't understand it,” he told the others. “It can't be this simple, can it? Larin, can you sense any hostile magics? Anything at all?”

  The mage shook his head.

  “None, my lord. All of the daemons were routed, apparently, and neither Odella nor myself can find even a trace of magical threat. I must agree with you, though. This was too easy. I cannot believe that Cindra would allow this area to be retaken so effortlessly, after summoning so many of those daemons to protect it. Such a use of her power would have taken a great toll on her, and yet it seems that it was her only plan. Very strange.”

  A few minutes later the entire area was suddenly bathed in light as all of the streetlamps came back on at once. The inky blackness disappeared in an instant and a sigh of relief rippled through the troops like the sound of a soft wind.

  Shandon smiled widely at his old friends and at the mages.

  “Isn't it amazing how something so simple as streetlights can reassure even an old warrior like myself? All of the scary monsters of the imagination fade away like smoke when...”

  His grin faded as he saw the faces of Larin and Odella. Both mages were looking at the power station with similar expressions of horror.

  “What is it?�
�� the king asked as he spun around.

  Shandon was stunned to see what everyone else was now staring at. For an instant he was frozen in shock and then he began cursing loudly.

  Bodies. Bodies were hanging from the edge of the roof of the station. Dozens and dozens of them. They were dressed in rich clothing and the glint of jewels could be seen on a few. Blood had pooled and dried on the ground beneath them. It was horrific, but what made it even worse was the sight of a handful of smaller figures dangling from the roof along with the adults. The bodies must have been hanging there for some time, because none of them were radiating any heat that would have allowed the troops to see them in the darkness before the lights were turned back on.

  “Nobles,” Larin muttered. “Nobles and their families. Slaughtered like animals. Gods, Cindra. What have you done?”

  He sounded like he was choking on his own words.

  “I thought that the nobles were supporting Corbin's bid for the throne,” Odella said as she stared at the dead, pity in her eyes.

  “Not all of them, apparently,” Jergen replied through his teeth. “Those bodies were left there as a warning, to the citizens and to us.”

  “That's possible,” Pieter agreed, his face twisted with sadness. “It certainly sends a message to everyone that Corbin and his witch will not hesitate to kill anyone, no matter how high their station, if they don't follow them. This is unforgivable.”

  They all looked at the king, who was still staring up at the sad display.

  “Commander Brokk!” Shandon bellowed suddenly.

  The commander hurried through the ranks of his soldiers.

  “Yes, my lord?' he said as he stopped and saluted.

  “Get a squad up there and retrieve those bodies. Immediately!”

  “At once, my lord.”

  As Brokk turned away, Shandon stepped forward and grabbed his arm.

  “Tell them to be gentle with the children,” he added softly.

  The commander flipped up his visor and looked at the king. His face changed for a moment.

  “I will see to it personally, my lord,” he replied with feeling.

  Shandon nodded and released his grip. Brokk turned away again and made his way back through his troops.

  Unnoticed by the others, Hallic and Mel had made their way from opposite sides of the power station and were now standing close to Larin and Odella. Both of them were looking up at the bodies, grim expressions on both of their faces.

  The king nodded at the rogues as he noticed them.

  “Anything out there?” he asked.

  “Nothing, my lord,” Hallic replied. “At least not between here and the entrance to the quarter. Annia and her people should be here momentarily with their own report.”

  He glanced up at the horrific display.

  “I see that Cindra has sent you a message,” he added.

  “I think that it was more of a message to the general public than it was to me,” Shandon replied. “If either Corbin or Cindra knows anything about me, they would have to know that killing innocents would only enrage me, not dissuade me from tracking them down.”

  The king looked at Larin.

  “Is she really that insane at this point?” he asked the mage. “Surely the witch wouldn't use this horrible act as an attempt to frighten us off, would she?”

  “This is not a warning, my lord. At least I do not think it is,” Larin told him.

  “Then what is it? Why would Cindra do this?”

  “She is taunting us,” the mage replied as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Both you and me. She is showing off her power and her willingness to do whatever it takes to win this war against the throne.”

  Larin and Odella looked at each other.

  “She is insane,” Odella muttered.

  “Yes, I think that she is, now. Her powers have broken her mind, which makes her even more dangerous and unpredictable. Have a care, my lord,” Larin told the king. “I don't think that there is any limit to her ambitions now. And I have to wonder if your son is even leading this rebellion any longer.”

  Shandon grimaced as he looked up at the bodies. Several figures could now be seen on the roof. As they all watched, the squad began pulling the victims up one by one. The children were the first to be drawn up and out of sight.

  “I don't care if Corbin is still in charge or not,” the king growled. “He started all of this and the blood of those people is on his hands as much as it is on Cindra's. He faces the same fate as she does when we catch him.”

  Hallic turned away from Shandon as Mel tapped his arm.

  “Annia,” she said as she nodded toward the side street to the left of the power station.

  A group of leather-clad rogues was hurrying past the line of troops to join Hallic and the others. Annia led them and she gave Hallic a quick smile as she approached. That smile faded as she looked up at the bodies still dangling from the roof.

  “By the gods, what has happened here?” she asked in horror. “Are those nobles?”

  “And their families,” Hallic told her. “They were slaughtered.”

  Annia watched the squad on the roof for a moment as they continued their grim task and then she turned her back on the scene to face Hallic directly.

  “There are no other threats that we could find between here and the canal,” she reported. “But there are also no signs of life either. Those bodies up there are not the remains of everyone who lived in this neighborhood, so where are the rest of them? I don't know, but I fear that we may find other bodies inside of the houses around us. Either that or people are huddled together in terror in their homes, waiting for the axe to fall.”

  Shandon was watching as the last of the bodies was pulled up to the rooftop, then he turned to look at Hallic as Annia finished her report.

  “We will search every house, every building in this quarter until we learn the truth about what happened to the people who lived here.”

  He looked at the group of rogues.

  “Thank you all for your service,” he told them. “Annia, did none of your people see anything suspicious? Anything at all?”

  Annia looked at the faces around her. All of them were shaking their heads. All but one.

  “Ellin? You saw something?”

  A young woman, her face pale in the bright lights glowing down on them, looked uncomfortable with everyone watching her. She cleared her throat nervously and kept her eyes on Annia.

  “There was something...odd at one of the great manor houses that I passed on the way here. I think that it was the residence of one of Duke Prenden Corse's sons.”

  She frowned for a moment and then nodded slowly.

  “Yes, it was his house. I know this neighborhood well. It is my home town, after all. And I've done a few jobs here in the past.”

  “So what did you see that was odd?” Hallic asked her.

  “Well, the front doors were open, Guildmaster,” Ellin told him. “That is not normal. The nobles are well aware of the hostility that many of the citizens feel for them and they take their security very seriously. Normally there are guards at the doors to many of these homes, but of course all of them are gone now. But to have those doors sitting wide open is just strange.”

  She gave the king a shy glance.

  “It probably means nothing, your majesty, but you asked.”

  “That I did. Thank you, young lady. Annia, do you know where this house is?”

  “I do, my lord.”

  “Good. While Brokk finishes up here, let's go and take a look at it.”

  “As you wish, my lord,” Annia replied.

  “Hallic, Mel, please come with us. Jergen and Pieter, you too. And Larin and Odella, of course.”

  “We should take a few dozen troops with us,” Jergen told the king. “This area is far from secure yet.”

  Shandon shook his head.

  “I want them to search house to house, starting from here. Tell one of the lieutenants to pass that along to Brokk w
hen he finishes his task up on the roof, would you? I'm sure that Annia and her group can handle any threats that we might face.”

  Larin smiled to himself as he saw the reaction to the king's confident statement on the faces of the rogues around him.

  Clever dwarf, the mage thought. These people will defend him with their lives now because of that. And I doubt that Shandon even knows that he did it. Amazing.

  “Let's go,” the king said.

  Annia led the way, her rogues fanning out around the king and the others. The troops watched them pass curiously, but remained in place, awaiting orders.

  The group moved around the power station and down along a main street. Around them was only silence and the sounds of the metal soles on the feet of the king and Jergen and Pieter rang loudly against the cobblestones.

  Annia led the way and her rogues ranged ahead, staying alert for any threats. They moved like shadows and Hallic gave Mel a look of satisfaction.

  “Well trained,” he whispered to her.

  “Annia is a good teacher,” she agreed quietly.

  Two blocks from the station, Annia moved back to join Shandon and the others.

  “The house is up ahead on the left, my lord,” she told him as she pointed to the large mansion.

  “Yes, I see it. The doors are open, just as your rogue told us. That was well done.”

  Annia smiled briefly and then hurried ahead again, motioning for the rogues to advance on the building. By the time that the party had reached the bottom of the steps, Annia was standing next to the open doors and several of her people had already slipped inside, checking for any possible threats to the king.

  Shandon climbed the stone stairs and stopped next to Annia.

  “Anything?” he asked her.

  “All clear so far, my lord. But as you can see, the doors have been forced open.”

  They could all see the broken locks and the dents in the heavy steel doors. The king scowled at the obvious signs of forced entry.