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CHAPTER 28
ILLIOS
JALIN PLACED the cloaking talisman I had given him around his neck and vanished in a shimmering haze. Nodding briefly to myself as I watched Orrin and one of his men leave for Illios I took Dthor’s arm and continued our evening stroll as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Now, if all went well, we would discover the nature of the weapon that held us at bay and once Jalin returned with the drawings I was hopeful that we would also ascertain some clue as to how the device could be disabled.
I was equally confident that I would not have to wait overly long to see if my suspicions about Sirazj were justified. I was certain that soon I would know for certain whether the Seer was the King’s man or Balten’s lap dog. It was entirely possible as Dthor—and even Orrin—had suggested that the Seer was Eilen’s pet. I supposed he could even be working for both. Either way, with Jalin cloaked he could not only move unseen around the outer wall of Illios gathering intelligence but he could also do the same around the encampment and get as close as he needed to be to listen out for the treachery I was certain abounded in our current arena.
As it transpired I did not have long to wait for Kylos sought me out that very evening and presented me with a black Herald Dove impaled on one of his arrows. The bird had been despatched under cover of darkness, as were most courier birds in times of war, to prevent its detection and the archer, knowing that none were sanctioned had brought it down. The small brass canister attached to its leg carried a message from Sirazj to Queen Eilen informing her both of our plans to attack Illios and of the King’s true state of health.
“There was a second bird, Ez’n,” the young archer said looking rather shamefaced, “But I was not swift enough to stop it.”
“It is not unusual for two birds to be sent in case one is intercepted.” I answered. “Do not chastise yourself Kylos.”
“But Ez’n,” the young man said, “the second flew into Illios itself.”
“Did you see where it came from?”
“The Seer, Sirazj, released both,” Kylos answered.
“Thank you, Kylos. I will deal with this in due course. Mention this to no-one.”
“As you command, t’pahq.” The archer saluted me and left.
So Sirazj was spying both for the queen and for someone within the city as well as being in Balten’s confidence was he? Well, that being so, he had successfully misinformed his master regarding the attack and it did not matter a jot whether or not those within the citadel knew that King Janir was ill. Most important was that he had failed to inform his mistress and most telling was that the only person other than Dthor who knew of the King’s plight was Balten. It would seem that the Royal Seer was playing a very complex and hazardous game.
“As to what I intend to do about our treacherous Seer, Dthor,” I said in response to my Consort’s question, “I intend to do nothing at all for the moment. When Jalin returns I will have him inform the king. I can at least be certain that his messages cannot be so easily intercepted.”
Janir took the news with uncharacteristically philosophical calm. It was almost as if I had merely confirmed something he himself had either known or suspected for some time.
“I grow so tired of this, Meriq,” the king told me as he prepared to retire for the night. “I shall be glad when it is over—one way or the other.”
“I understand, majesty,” I said quietly. “I will deal with this soon.”
The king smiled. “And I think it best that I not know what you are plotting, my young friend.”
“That much is certain, my king.” I told him.
Jalin returned to the encampment and came to my quarters just after first light with a comprehensive portfolio of drawings. Orrin and his compatriot had not only managed to get a clear and protracted look at the device they had also managed to pinpoint several of the major concentrations of fighters within the city. Thus armed I sent word to the kings and summoned the War Council.
The generals and kings listened intently to the reports.
Yet again their contacts within the Illojan resistance cells had proved invaluable in providing accurate and current maps of the city with its main batteries of ballistae and one with a route of access to The Eye clearly marked out.
“The route is quite lightly guarded, Ez’n,” Orrin said, “At least as far as I can ascertain. I believe our foes are confident that they are safe behind their shield and unassailable given the power of the Eye.”
“Indeed it appears so, Orrin,” I agreed, “but as Anubis was fond of saying, “confidence is that feeling you get shortly before you fall flat on your face.”
From further information, it seemed that both the Legion and the citizens were beginning to feel the effects of the restricted water supplies. The city’s drains and sewers hand begun to dry out and rats and other vermin were beginning to appear in the streets in search of fresh water. The creatures had already attacked several of the garrisons gnawing through barrels and casks to get at the supplies. The results had been a near catastrophic loss of reserves so bad that the legionnaires had taken to raiding the homes of the citizens and commandeering whatever domestic supplies they could find.
Primed by the resistance cells, most of the homes had secreted their water supplies, keeping very little in the houses—often no more than one or two day’s supply at a time.
And while the legionnaires scoured the city, the walls of the Zetan dam continued to increase in height to compensate for the mountain thaw and soon I would order all of the sluices to be closed so that the water level built to breach point. When the dam could no longer contain the body enclosed behind it I would make my move.
Jalin had produced some excellent sketches of the Eye itself. The device was a highly polished mirror that captured and focussed the rays of the sun through a huge red crystal during the day, and a large blue crystalline lens That harnessed the light of the moons at night. The mirror was set on a turntable that allowed it to be rotated quickly via a series of gears and it could be tilted or elevated using a further set of gears.
I studied the drawings carefully. The design was indeed familiar to me. I remembered my father demonstrating a scaled model of such a device which he described as a burning mirror. The crystals must have been added later for I had no clear recollection of them.
“Well then,” I said slapping the arms of my chair as I rose to pour myself some tea from the samovar. “It should be quite simple to stop this Eye. All I have to do is extinguish the sun and the moons, or perhaps stop them from rising.”
The generals regarded me somewhat sceptically then began laughing as they appreciated the joke. I told the assembly then that I was working on a method to disable the Eye and devise a method of disabling the mystical shield that prevented our siege engines from breaching the walls and gates.
“May I ask how much longer we are to sit around doing nothing Ez’n?” Sirazj leaned back in his chair resting his pudgy hands on his sizeable paunch. He regarded me haughtily looking along the line of his sausage-like nose.
I regarded the Seer with equal hauteur. “We are not doing nothing, Lord Sirazj,” I answered evenly. “We are merely waiting for a more propitious time.” I reached into the satchel that hung over my shoulder and produced the impaled Herald Dove. “It seems that someone intended to betray my plans for a covert invasion of Illios and so I have had to reassess our options.”
The Seer looked at the broken message case on the bird’s chest and paled visibly. Balten rose quickly.
“Ez’n, that bird is mine. I had Sirazj send a message to the Queen to inform her of our current situation. Do you not have the parchment that was inside?
“No your highness,” I answered carefully avoiding Dthor’s near accusatory look. “The message is in hands other than mine.”
The Captain pursed his lips to disguise his smile. The Crown Prince looked almost relieved as did Sirazj. “I can assure you there was nothing of a sensitive natur
e in the case.”
“I see.” I answered. “Well, perhaps you should clear the release of messenger birds with a member of the Council, your highness. That way they will not be shot down by my archers and the contents of their cases will then have a much better chance of reaching the intended destination.”
As the meeting reached its conclusion I made the point once more that any messenger birds released without the authorisation of the War Council would be summarily shot down or falconated, sending what I hoped was a clear warning to the Crown Prince and the Seer.
The last of the generals was leaving when Jalin appeared from the King’s quarters. “The kings wish to see you, Ez’n,” the youth’s thoughts touched mine with the gentleness of a summer breeze.
Janir and Keelan were seated with Markos and Jae’nt near a brazier at the far end of the pavilion. They rose as Dthor and I entered, greeted us cordially sitting once more as Jalin poured mulled wine and served savoury breads.
“So what are you planning for Illios, you little fox?” Janir asked as we all settled by the fire.
It had occurred to me over the last few days that a shield such as the one currently protecting the walls must have a power source that was not a person. No man or woman possessed the physical strength to sustain an enchantment of such magnitude for any length of time. Even if the stones themselves had been magically charged the energy would dissipate over time and in the face of sustained attack even if the energy of the attack was somehow absorbed and converted to sustain the shield. Nothing magical could last indefinitely.
Our main problem was time. The longer we besieged Illios, the more time the Legion had to consolidate its position elsewhere in Mederlana. We had already delayed by two lunations while the gold—and blacksmiths upgraded our weaponry and a further six settans had been swallowed up as we constructed the dam and waited for the water supplies within the city to reach critical levels. Though I did not say it, it was clear that King Janir was acutely aware of the fact that time was very much against us. The strain of maintaining the King’s illusion of health was beginning to tell on me and it was only a matter of time before the spell failed. All I could hope was that it did not fail at a critical moment. On top of that, it was entirely possible that the Legion had managed to send a rider or Herald Dove to summon reinforcements when their main city force was destroyed by the Morlans. As if that was not enough, it would appear that the King’s own Seer was sending messages to someone inside the city and if his reaction to the dead bird was anything to go by it was unlikely that he was communicating with friendly forces.
Given the constraints of time and the health of the King, my plan was to allow the water behind the dam to build until it was on the verge of breaching it. I would then open the main sluice and release a massive current along the original river bed.
“And what will this achieve, t’pahq?” Keelan asked.
“The river bed is deep, majesty, and if I am correct the river will follow its old course to the city wall and the weight of the water will bring down the walls. The shield is designed to repel the elements of aggression, not the elements of Nature.”
“And say you are able to breach the walls in the way you describe, Meriq,” Janir said, “How do you propose we get past the Eye without having a good part of our soldiers roasted alive?”
“We blind it, sire.” I answered. “I may not be able to stay the march of the celestial spheres, but using the power of Gorgoth’s stave I can shroud the mirror in fog so that the rays of the sun cannot reach it.”
Keelan looked a little doubtful and I had to admit there were many variables and a great deal could go wrong. The river might not follow true to its gulley, the walls might not breach and if the Wizard Pendar and his captor Kaseem united against me I would be hard pressed to maintain the veil of fog around the Eye long enough for the army to invade the city and gain a reasonable foothold.
Janir and Keelan conferred for a short while. “It is the best plan we have Ez’n,” Janir said, “Make it happen.”
“There is another possibility, King Janir.” I said as the last of the war council left. “but I will need a battalion of men to accomplish it.”
The kings listened carefully as I outlined my second plot. The preparations would be simple but I would need to transport large quantities of oil and pitch.
“And what will pouring hundreds of barrels of pitch and oil down the mountainside accomplish?” Balten asked impatiently. He gave his father an exasperated glare. “If you ask my opinion, father, this is even more hare-brained than destroying the dam the Ez’n had us spending settans to construct.”
“But I did not ask your opinion, Balten,” Janir said bluntly. “And neither do I welcome it.” The king turned to me. “I must admit, Meriq, I am curious as to what you hope to accomplish.”
“And I.” Keelan added.
“Thick black smoke, sire. The kind that will rise up from a forest fire and obscure the sun.”
“With respect, you have taken leave of your senses if you think wood still wet from the thaw will burn.” Balten snapped.
“It only needs to smoulder and smoke, Highness. The oil and pitch will provide the catalyst and the heat generated will cause the effect I need if I am unable to sustain the fog.”
“Very well, Ez’n,” Janir said, “See to it.” The king began to rise. “Let it rest!” This to Balten as the Crown Prince went to speak again. “It will be as I say it will be.”
As the sun began to set over the Cassandrian Mountains the first battalion of fighters started to move out of the encampment and made their way towards the sluice gates and the makeshift bridge that spanned the dry river bed. By dawn the first wave would be in position and ready to storm the city as soon as the walls fell—if indeed they did fall.
The arc of the sun was just showing when I gave the order to strike the sluices. The gates burst outwards shattering against the walls of the river gulley. The makeshift bridge vanished under the huge frothing wave as it bore rocks and debris from the sluices at breakneck speed towards the Illios.
Even from where I stood I could see legionnaires crowding to the battlements as the roar of the river filled the still morning air like a hundred thunderstorms.
The wave gathered speed and struck like an ocean. The magical shield glowed and sparked for a moment or two before shattering into a constellation of glowing shards of energy. Then, there came an unearthly crack as if the heavens themselves had shattered under the weight of the river’s blow. A huge fissure snaked up the walls like a strike of black lightning and with a groan and a growl the curtain wall collapsed spilling legionnaires from the walkways and washing them away in the flood.
Screams and yells erupted from the city. The gathered soldiers let out a heart chilling roar and seethed forwards.
With the sun still barely showing over the mountains the Eye was little more than a flickering candle atop its lofty perch, but I knew that once the sun was up the Eye of Zoar would begin its deadly work. Nevertheless, I was not about to call up the clouds until I had to for if indeed Kaseem and Pendar joined forces to thwart me I would need all the strength I could muster. And if my strength failed me then it was down to the torch men on the mountain tops to carry on the work.
As the flood subsided the Legionnaires began to pour out of the city like ants forced from their nest screaming and yelling as they charged towards the advancing Zetans. The morning air filled with the sound of screamer arrows followed almost at once by the cries of alarm from the charging Legionnaires as their armour shattered and the gold tipped, poisoned arrows struck home.
With the Black Legion’s attention fixed on defending the breach, no-one in the city noticed as the Kyr-Garrin and a phalanx of Morlan and Zetan Cavalry broke away and skirted the walls, and no-one seemed to notice when I shattered the chains of the drawbridge with lightning cast from Golgoth’s stave.
The thick black gates splintered under the same force and the men had rammed thick wooden pylon
s into the portcullis channels before anyone could even think to drop it and we were in the city even as the grille dropped and jammed against the piles.
The first rank of my men was felled by archers as they cleared the gates. I cursed. The Legion had not been idle since Orrin and his men had infiltrated the city and the Herald Dove sent by Sirazj had obviously reached its destination. The main thoroughfare and the side streets had been barricaded and garrisoned with archers.
“We are undone, Ez’n.” Jae’nt said.
“Not yet.” I answered and sent a wall of fire along the street followed almost at once by a wave of thought that tore up the cobbles and any other loose material hurling it into the startled legionnaires. The blockades in the side streets fell equally swiftly and we fanned out as planned killing any legionnaires we happened upon and slowly began to converge on the central tower.
In the main square resistance to our advance was strong. Clearly the strategists had rethought the deployment of their forces and this particular use of manpower was obviously designed to buy time while the sun reached a point in the sky where it could be harnessed by the Eye.
“Slythe me sideways!” Markos exclaimed as a javelin hissed past his head and bounced off his shield-man’s battle helm.
“An offer that would be most attractive and very interesting at a less hazardous time.” Jae’nt responded with a laugh.
“Ho!” said Markos grabbing up the javelin and hurling it back at the defenders, “And here was I thinking that you Zetans were keen to slythe anywhere and anytime.”
“Almost any time,” Jae’nt replied ducking behind his shield as a javelin glanced off it, “but not normally when we’re in danger of getting tupped by a spear.”
“Not a forged one at any rate,” Faedron offered.
“Wall!” Markos shouted suddenly and the Morlans shifted around us locking their shields together like the scales of a dragon forming a wall of gold plated steel almost the height of two men. A third group of men leapt on to the shoulders of the two leading ranks slotting their shields over the top to form a sloping roof while behind them lancers formed their ranks. The men began to march steadily towards the barricades scarcely hesitating as javelins and arrows clattered against their aspides.
A Rising Darkness Page 41