Bo sat with his elbows digging into legs, palms covering his eyes in stress and worry. Occasionally he would get up to pace the deck, scanning the dense jungle, for any hint of intercepting forces.
“How can you say that Chiros? Just like that my life is ruined.”
“It’s not ruined, boy.” Chiros snapped. “It damn well would have been when they picked you up in the morn”
“Yes, and what exactly was my crime?”
“Proximity to me.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing. Which means I’ve been attacked. Koh Deras is the only one with sufficient will and capacity. But he has no influence In Taleese, I’ve made sure of that.”
“Until now.”
“Exactly. So, who? Who alone has the power to force the King’s hand?”
“I…” Bo though out loud, “Emperor Galtus!”
“Yes, Bo. Which means they are working together.”
“You said he was working with Jaro too.”
“Which is why we need to get back to Carrid. That bastard isn’t just trying to take me down. He’s going to start a war.”
After half a day’s slow, clunking propulsion through the water, their pilot began to slow the vessel. Noticing the change in vibrations, Bo climbed up to the upper deck and saw they were moving towards a landing with five mounts tethered to a tree. A lone man, face obscured under a wide rimmed sun-bleached bamboo hat, calmly walked around the animals checking saddles and fastenings.
He climbed back down the ladders to the lower deck to find Chiros.
“We’re here I think?”
“Excellent.”
When they had made it onto dry land Bo asked, “what about the boat?”
“What about it?”
“I can’t believe you’re going to just abandon it.” He said, the pair having already watched Chiros’ men unload an entire wagon from the top of the barge with a crane that swung over near the bank, now observed them filling it with ornate travel chests.
They don’t look very heavy. Bo noted with suspicion, watching the men carry them with ease.
“The river’s taken us to where we need to go Bo. My pilot will take it a few leagues further and beach it on the opposite side of the river. We’ll ride in the other direction. The King will seize it from me whether I leave it here or back in Talon anyway, I’m actually tempted to hole it so he can’t enjoy it. In any case, everything we need is in that wagon.”
“What’s in the chests?”
“Papers.”
“Papers? I would have thought gold would be more useful.”
“They are far more valuable than gold boy. If anything happens to us on our journey back Bo, you need to destroy them. Understood?”
“If I can Chiros, but…”
“No ‘buts’ lad. Destroy them.”
“Will our passage be contested?”
“I hope not, but that’s why those three are here.”
“Who are they?”
“My bodyguard Bo. Did you not know?
“I saw him before.” He pointed at green hat polishing his cross bow. “Around the house a few times. ”
“They are ex-soldiers. Ravens to be precise.”
“They were Ravens?” Bo asked with sudden excitement, spinning his head to see them working. Green hat had climbed on top of the wagon and was cleaning a steel assault crossbow. The size of the weapon gave him a chill. He had thought much about what Chiros had told him about the Shaa’s flock in the desert. The other two walked around the wagon fixing down the cargo with leather straps and for the first time Bo noticed their swords. Short swords. Raven swords.
“We ride through the night?”
“For a time, get a bit more distance between us and kingdom soldiers.
For the second time in his life, Bo found himself sitting around a campfire in the jungle. It seemed a long time ago that he had met Laxis. The boy recalled feeling full of excitement and wonder at what his new life would bring. Now he watched the flames flicker with a deflated regard, absently snapping twigs into pieces, peeling back strands of its moist young bark to make string which he played with for a while before discarding them. More than anything Bo was thinking of Aiona. He was thinking of the devastated look on her face when they embraced for the last time. The words, she couldn’t voice amid quivering sobs and streams of tears. What hurt most was the prospect of another man. An unknown and a certainty, forged together into blade which pierced his already broken heart.
“Would you like a drink, Bo?” The boy looked up, It was the man that had found him inside the restaurant who he had learned was called Toke. “You look like you need one.”
“Thank you.” Bo said accepting the bottle.
Bo sipped at the strong smelling liquid, wincing as it burned his tongue on contact.
“It’s strong stuff.”
“Certainly is.” Coughed Bo, with spirits remarkably lifted. “Chiros said you three were in the Ravens?”
“Did he now?” Wit, the green top hatted man said, looking over at the sleeping tycoon.
He sounded just like Chiros then.
“He did. Though not much else.”
“Well it’s true enough, lad.” Wit continued. “Toke has been working for him for nearly eight cycles. He recruited Bundle and me about three cycles ago, when things started to get…”
Bo waited for the man to finish, realising that there was more to Chiros’ operations than he had been led to believe.
“Hot, I suppose you could say”. Wit finally said.
“Like in the Ravens?”
Blunder spoke up, “Gods no. This is much better.”
The other two looked like they wanted to disagree, but couldn’t bring themselves to discredit the reality that yes, their time working for Chiros was indeed much better than in the Ravens. They were fed well, paid handsomely and quartered in spacious apartments within the grounds of Chiros’ beautiful estate. Largely left to themselves and free to have a relatively normal life in Talon.
“How long do you think it will take to reach home?” Bo said, unsure what to say to the men who despite the potent liquor and jovial exchange still felt intimidated a little in their company. They all seemed to watch him, unspoken conversations being exchanged around the now glowing embers.
“Not long.” Wit said. “If the road’s good we’ll be in Ja Deist within a fortnight. He’ll probably want to stay there a few days to rest in a proper bed.” Gesturing again to Chiros, snoring slightly under a blanket.
“That’s if there’s no trouble, mind.” Toke added.
“Chiros has told me about the Shaa.”
“Aye. If they spot us we’re dead.”
“Don’t scare the lad, Toke.” Blunder said softly. “It’s not that bad. We aren’t going anywhere near them.”
“What are they like?”
“We left before Jaro invaded the Quoroubi, but veterans get the stories quicker than most.” Wit looked at Toke, who nodded in some sort of confirmation. “This ain’t official knowledge Bo, but friends of ours still serving have said that tribal rule in the desert has been completely Withd by the cult of the Shaa. Jaro either let it happen… Or wanted it to happen.”
“He wanted it to happen. It was the whole point.” Toke stated, taking a large swig from his tin cup and wiping his bearded mouth.
“But why?” Bo asked confused.
“Dunno lad. Politics ain’t it. There’s a reason for everything and always someone else to blame the consequences on.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Carrid
Aldo doubted any tower spy master had the misfortune of delivering so much bad news to a Consul in such a short space of time as he had in the last few days. He also doubted any of his predecessors would have had to force themselves to repress the elation and glee he felt now.
”Dokra has the capital, Consul. The Queen is dead."
Jaro appeared to Aldo like a broken man. His eyes seemed to stare past the spy maste
r without focus and he said nothing.
He could feel it crumbling. All of his dreams cracking, about to tear apart and come crashing down. This was something he could not hide or spin. Carrid has lost an ally. The Naru empire would double in size and he couldn’t do a damned thing because unlike what he told his cheering people, the desert is neither at peace nor under his control. He will have to beg the Shaa to allow him through.
The Shaa will let us through. I can stop Galtus.
And fate will take its course regardless for the Shaa has plans of his own.
"Sir, did you hear me?"
"Yes" Jaro said quickly snapping out of his own thoughts. "Yes Aldo, Drorea has fallen. I heard you."
"And?"
"And what?"
"Is it war then?"
"War? I must talk to the Assembly."
"Sir if we do not defend our ally the others will have no confidence in our protection. We have a defensive pact."
"We will stop him Aldo, but we need to work out the logistics. The capital has fallen so we are in no rush to save Drorea. Merely retake it. I assume her children have been killed or captured too?"
"I don't have that information yet."
"In any case, this conversation needs be continued with the Assembly."
"Yes, sir."
"Send more agents south, we need more information from Drorea. Find out what his plans are."
"Yes, sir."
"I will talk to the Assembly immediately."
Aldo left the Consul alone, walking out through the government building’s ornate courtyard to his awaiting driver that would take him to the central lift shaft back to his suites.
I don't need to send any more agents to know what Galtus' plans are Jaro. It is plain as day. He saw you caught in a trap of your own making and took what he wanted. No, I think they are better placed following you and your partners around to make sure you don’t make matters worse. I've almost got enough evidence to finish you today, but I promised the monk I’d wait.
Jaro waited for Aldo to leave before calling one his assistants. Get Adderock in here as quickly as possible.
"Toma.” He shouted to another aide. “Get in here too."
"Sir?"
"Close the door." The Consul said and then grabbing the man by the shirt, he shook the youth and shouted. "Find Koh Deras. Tell him we must talk."
“Where is he to meet you?" The aide asked with terror in his eyes at the crazed behaviour of the Consul.
"He will know. Four bells."
Jaro watched him leave too as his mind raced.
Calm yourself Jaro. Perhaps there is opportunity here. Galtus tests me, but he is not ready for war. I am though. We can march south. I will send Cillius to talk to the Shaa again and he will let us through, he would not dare to challenge me. I'll send another army from Riam and cross the Gulf of Dror. If I act quickly the people cannot but respect that. They won't elect Annick, an unknown if we are at war with Narubez. Yes... Opportunity.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Ja Deist
"We can do it, but it's going to raise questions pretty quickly."
"Damn that man, his mess is contaminating everything. If we wait Kellick, it's going to be too late. None of this won't come close to being enough."
"If Azon is right about the numbers we can't hold for that long anyway. Even if I had few months to prepare I don't think we could hold out indefinitely. They just have too many. And we don't have the men. Or the weapons for that matter."
"You just need to buy us enough time for me to bring the 4th down from Rand"
"A week?"
"Ten days, probably longer Kellick. It rests on how quickly the Assembly act. Once the Shaa makes his move, Azon can tell them. If we're lucky Jaro and his lapdog Adderock will be relieved of duty quickly and someone with some sense can send us what we need."
"So how do we play this?"
"Do what you need to do to make this place as defensible as possible.”
"And when they start to ask why we're tearing down streets of buildings?"
"Say nothing. They will know what it means, just not why." Mak paused at that before correcting himself, "No in fact they will know why. They're not stupid. It doesn't matter now in any case, no one is going anywhere. It's contained."
"The civilians?"
"They are in the army now. Recruit as many as you need for the work."
"Would be nice to have a mage with us."
Mak smiled before saying "I've already asked Azon to get one from Carrid."
"They will allow it?"
"Of course not, but I’ve never seen a mage put too much stock in their orders. Azon just needs to hint at a fight and they will be lining up to compete with him."
"That is good news. We might just survive this yet."
"Let's hope so Captain. I'll leave the city in your hands."
"Good luck. Bring me back some soldiers. And Sir?"
"Yes?"
"Weapons and Ammunition. Rations. We can make arrows here easily enough, but not swords or much forged steel. At the moment, my best ideas for the civilian recruits is for them just to arm themselves with whatever and hope for the best. But if we had a few thousand swords or spears, crossbows too, we can make a few effective units out of them. There's enough time for some minor training if we drill them daily."
"I'll see what I can do. The generals in Fort Rand aren't going to part with their toys easily."
"At least not without a proper reason."
"Bastards."
"They are that. Good day, Captain."
Kellick watched his General descend the steps from the city’s southern wall. He had been preparing the plan for its defence in his mind ever since Azon had told them about the Shaa’s intention to betray Carrid and attack Ja Deist. He knew Mak would be called back to Fort Rand. This was just a border city after all. No place for a senior officer. Unimportant. Safe in a land of new found peace.
Exactly. And Azon didn't have to persuade us that hard either. We knew about the ghost that was the 7th army already but had thought that was the extent of his crimes. Profiting from the war. Nothing new there. But this... Dealing with a mad death cult. Trusting them? Handing the whole desert to the fanatics and expecting some sort of reliable trade partner. Selling arcane minerals, leaving us out here virtually defenceless. The worst part is we can't say anything. Can’t ask for help. Time for dealing with that traitor later though, I need to turn this city scape into a killing ground. The mayor isn't going to be happy. In fact, I better get that over and done with first.
Kellick held zero confidence in Ja Deist's walls to hold out for more than a day or two. He had done all he could to fill in holes and seal up cracks, but they were too low and he didn’t have the soldiers to defend the whole line.
If we had a full garrison then maybe, but with this, five thousand Ravens, a monk, hopefully a mage and whatever Mak can pry loose from Fort Rand we can barely occupy one side of the battlement. The city has a population of forty thousand, fifteen thousand of them at best can swing a sword. Or a sharpened spade more likely. Even so they are just as likely to rout than fight. Maybe I’m being unkind there. This is their home. And there's nowhere to run to. Three hundred thousand though. I still struggle to believe that number. God help us.
Kellick planned to defend in depth. The wall would be taken quickly, he was sure of that. He needed to create paths for the invading army to be funnelled from the breaches directly into prepared streets. If they had the chance to spread out, regroup in unguarded areas, setup any kind of strong point within the city to coordinate street fighting, all would be lost. Most of the steps down from the walls would be removed. Bricks recycled into barricades deeper in the city. The remaining steps would force the attackers to descend at prepared points before being forced to travel through Ja Deist's main highways toward the centre. He had first thought to use the narrow back streets, but there were too many. The limited space would make it easier for his men to stall the
horde, but also harder for them to thin the Shaa’s ranks before they enveloped the position.
They cannot be allowed to organise within the walls. We keep them running, under fire and pushed forward. Coral them. Whether they come through the battered gates or down from the walls, they will mass on south or perhaps main street depending where they hit us. We can block access to any side roads and let their momentum push them forward.
Kellick planned to deal with the Shaa's horde like he imagined an engineer would attempt to handle a massive flood. Split it into more manageable channels and deal with each separately.
We need to dig pits as deep as we can in the junctions. Every building along their path will be fortified. Doors to be locked and re-arranged to open outwards, windows barricaded, roof tops linked together with planks. We'll rain arrows, stone, fire, oil, anything down on them. If we can get the mage here we'll have some other options. Fire... Yes, even without the mage here we can have ourselves a fire. A bloody big one.
Kellick forced himself to stop obsessing about the work ahead and traced Mak's steps down from the ancient walls.
Need to tell the Mayor I’ll be taking over his job and half the city’s buildings are going to be torn down. I can't even tell him why. Well, that's not true. I'll tell him we need bricks. A lot of bricks. It won't be enough though, we'll probably all be dead by the end of the moon.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Drorea
Citalley had been wise to send mounted scouts back towards Lagoni, giving him early notice of the inevitable. He had expected to have more time.
Hoped anyway. The capital can't have fallen this quickly. Perhaps they went around it and came directly for us. But why?
No one in West Drorea would know what had happened to the capital, and indeed the reasons for Naru aggression for some time. In any case Dokra's lancers were ordered off their sweeps around the city and at this moment were escorting one hundred and fifty war wagons filled with Naru's heavy shock troops and archer battalions. Behind them marched the two legions and a train of supply wagons. The Field Marshall had kept about a third of his strength in the capital and intended on them staying there until the Prince and his sister were dead. Those numbers would rise as Galtus had sent another legionary battle group to relieve Dokra from the task of managing Narubez's new province. Galtus wanted Dokra to continue his campaign westwards. Hundreds of administrators, bureaucrats and spies had joined the twenty thousand soldiers already on the road to the Wirrow river. They would soon start up the second front. Integrating the kingdom into the Naru empire. Another third was on its way to the coast to clear the ports and finally allow access for the Naru navy who still couldn't access the few deep-water harbours Drorea had.
The Ravens of Carrid Tower Page 20