by Dan Decker
The main floor was lit by lanterns that had been hung along the brick walls. On either end was an archway that was two stories tall. Helam had heard stories about elephants using the hallway. He’d never seen one himself but they were said to be large animals with snouts that could be used to pick up things. He hadn’t believed the stories but tried to keep an open mind.
The archway to the south led to the southern gate and the one to the north connected to a hallway that went to the central tower. Two other smaller arches led to hallways that went to the western and eastern gates as well.
From his vantage point, Helam could see that the southern gate stood shut against the night but one of the side doors was open. There were five men on the inside but there would be at least ten outside.
On either side of the southern arch were steep staircases that led to a room that was above the entryway of the gate. There would be another ten men to man the arrow slits and the murder holes.
When Helam had first conceived of this plan a decade ago, he’d been hesitant to kill innocent people, even the lackadaisical palace guards. As time had continued and the approach of the Hunwei had drawn ever closer, he’d realized that sparing innocent life might not be a luxury that he could afford.
But without the Hunwei hovering in ships overhead, it would undermine his authority if his overthrow of the Rahids was seen as a bloodbath. This plan of last resort had been put into place for the express purpose of protecting Rarbon. People would forgive a little bloodshed if it meant they had a way to fight the Hunwei and survive.
That wasn’t the case here today.
While Helam didn’t doubt the ability of his men to kill if they saw a need, there was a large difference between the Kopal and guards who were just protecting the Rarbon Palace. That was why the almost transparent powder made from the laely flower now dusted the various baked good Helam had stolen from the bakery.
He had spent years researching various poisons and drugs, needing something that would be fast acting but would take hours for the effects to wear off. In the end, it had come down to the juacan root and the laely flower.
Juacan root had the benefit of acting in under a minute but its effects began to wear off after less than an hour. With the laely flower, it took anywhere from two to five minutes for the victim to lose consciousness. They still had their wits about them and could move easily right up to the time it began to work. After they went down, it would be half a day before they started to stir again.
Helam had considered making a mixture of the two but the healer he employed had recommended against it because there was a good chance the victims would die.
Juacan root would have been ideal, but Helam didn’t know how much time he would need to secure the Portal so he had decided to use the powdered laely flower instead.
Helam sent Tancum Melder up to the guardroom above the arch with a basket of pastries and Garri Hanset to the roof to find anybody that might be on patrol.
Tancum had been one of Helam’s early recruits and Helam had a level of trust for him that Hanri or Briggs had not been able to match. Tancum would have risen higher in the ranks of Paroke army if he wouldn’t have been illiterate. Garri was recruited more recently but he’d proven his worth and trust on multiple occasions.
As Tancum and Garri disappeared, each with a handful of men, Helam led some of the others to the gate, leaving most to stay behind with Elaire. The story he was going to tell would be hard enough to sell without having to explain his bound wife and a large number of soldiers as well.
As they approached, he recognized Captain Enar Harmer. Enar was of average height and the same age as Helam. Many years ago, they had enlisted in Paroke army at the same time. Enar hadn’t been the worst, but he’d been nowhere close to the best. Helam hadn’t been surprised when Enar didn’t take the oaths after fulfilling his three-year requirement.
It spoke volumes about the Rarbon Palace guard that they employed substandard men like Enar. It was a facet of the Rarbon politics that Helam found fascinating but alarming. The Rahid inhabiting the palace, even though he commanded his own army, was forbidden to use enlisted men from that army or any others to protect the palace. The guards had to all come from the civilian population.
It was the Rarbon Council’s way of reminding the Rahids that they were not kings.
Abel Rahid did, however, keep personal guards that came from his army, much to the chagrin of some of the council members.
“Captain,” Helam said coming to a stop before the man. Enar had lost most of his hair and somewhere during the passage of time had managed to collect a hideous scar on the top of his head. “How goes the night?”
“Meh,” Enar said, shrugging his shoulders. If Enar felt any jealousy about the differences in their positions or how he had fared in life, Helam was unable to read it on his face. “Morning can’t come fast enough. Coming from the ball?”
Helam nodded his head, glad that Enar had provided the word for him. He had known that there had been an event of some sort going on in the palace tonight, but he’d been unable to recall the specifics. He’d received the invite but had declined the invitation without consulting Elaire. She loved those things and it irked him to see her socializing with the wealthy and powerful of Rarbon when he knew her secrets.
He could have accomplished much while at these parties, but his wife had enough platforms without giving her anything more. He avoided looking back down the hallway towards where he’d left her under guard.
“I’m sorry to tell you this,” Enar said, shifting to avoid eye contact. “This isn’t the proper exit. You’ll have to use the eastern gate.”
Helam laughed. “My good man. We’re not on our way out. I’ve grown rather bored of the party. If I have to hear another drunken merchant brag about his glory days while fulfilling his requirement, I’m going to gag.” He pointed back at his men with the baskets of food and lowered his voice. “I’ve brought sweets from the party.”
Enar looked back at Helam’s men, a smile forming on his face. “My men and I could use something to get us through the last couple hours of our shift.”
“Well, there you have it.” Helam slapped Enar on the back as he summoned forward his men. Enar pointed through the open side door and asked if they wanted to go to the men on the outside as well. Helam was happy to oblige.
It wasn’t long before all the guards were eating. Now came the more difficult part. Waiting for the powder to take effect.
As Helam chatted with Enar, he avoided looking around at the other guards for signs that the powder was starting to work. He felt like a snake ready to strike. His men had set down the baskets of food and were conversing with the guards so that they could be prepared for a struggle once it became apparent to the guards what was happening.
Enar was midway through a story about his time in Paroke army that Helam knew to be an embellishment when the guard next to them keeled over. Enar looked at the guard as several others began to sway.
Helam put his hands on Enar’s shoulder and the hilt of Enar’s sword as another guard fell.
Several more dropped as Enar looked over his shoulder at Helam. “A knife in the back is more honor—” His eyes rolled into the back of this head and Helam caught him, lowering him to the ground.
Several of the men cried out at they fell, but there wasn’t much danger of being overheard because the towers were separated by enough distance and concrete that the sound wouldn’t carry far. That, combined with the fact that the guards tended to congregate at night by the gates made it similar to catching pigs in a pen.
Helam had known for years that the palace guards weren’t following proper protocol but he’d sat on the information, in case it turned out one day to be useful. It was fortunate that the guards had become lazy, allowing Helam to avoid confrontation; otherwise, he would have needed more men. And more time.
As it was, he was pushing it with some of the men that he’d decided to bring. There were several that he
’d recruited to the cause in the last few months that hadn’t finished their testing.
He would have preferred to only bring the people he’d fully proven, but that hadn’t been an option. That was why he was ending up with issues like the one he had to deal with earlier. Both Clift and Hael had been among his newer recruits. He should have put some of his more experienced men in charge of the girl.
Stupid. Helam had let his anger at Elaire cloud his judgment.
Most of his recruits had not known the names of any of the others until tonight when he’d assembled them all together for the first time. Helam hadn’t explained to them that they were all part of a select group because he had hoped to avoid putting into motion this final plan.
He had his men fetch the poisoned guards from outside and then instructed them to lock the side door. It would now be difficult for Adar to enter through this gate unless he knew of another hidden entrance, which was possible but a risk Helam had to take.
Tancum and Garri returned within a few minutes of each other as they all joined with the men they’d left in the tower chamber. Tancum had taken care of another fifteen guards in the room above the gate. That was more than Helam had anticipated. It was a good thing that he hadn’t tried to win each gate with battle.
After a moment’s hesitation, Helam ordered eight of his men to stay with the gate. He wouldn't need them for capturing the others and that many men would be able to send enough arrows down at Adar to convince him there was a whole platoon here.
Less than an hour later the other gates were all captured without a problem.
The guards weren’t suspicious and in one instance, Helam had found several asleep on the job. And to a man, they had all assumed that Helam had a genuine purpose to be in the palace so late in the evening because of the party.
As the last men fell from the effects of the laely powder, Helam decided he wasn’t going to go along with this foolishness of employing secondhand soldiers as guards even if that meant he had to pick every member of the Rarbon Council himself.
As he waited for his men to lock the side door at the northern gate, he prepared himself for what they would have to do next. When he’d left five men at each of the others gates, Helam had been careful about who he’d chosen, selecting men that he wasn’t as sure about.
He gave a quick speech commending his remaining men for what they had done and reminded them that they had heard it from the mouth of Elaire herself that the Hunwei were close at hand and that the drastic action they were taking was to protect Rarbon.
Elaire held her tongue while he spoke but the dark brooding glare he received from her filled his heart with regret and sadness. He did his best to keep it off his face as they headed to the middle tower while using the lower levels to avoid observation.
It wasn’t too long before the central tower was overhead. A few minutes later, Helam paused at the stairway that would take them down to the Rarbon Portal. He could hear the music from the party above. Abel was somewhere up there.
Helam hesitated. If he sent somebody up to the party, they might find Abel in an inebriated state.
No. Abel had always been good about keeping loyal guards. They would have pulled him away long before he got too drunk if that was what was happening. It was better to take the Rarbon Portal first. He would need every man to take out the Redd Guard because they weren’t slouchers like the palace guard.
Once Helam controlled the secrets of their fathers, he would have time enough then to deal with Abel.
The tune from the party changed as he hesitated and while it was too distant to know for sure, it sounded like The Scarred Man from Colonipo.
Helam smiled. The words told the story of a man who had been maimed and banished by a king. The Scarred Man wrought his revenge over a twenty-year period that left the king destitute and the Scarred Man married to the king’s daughter.
Helam found himself humming along as he descended the stairs. When the partygoers awoke after sleeping off their hangovers, they would find that the government had changed while they’d been drunk.
Chapter 20
As the Rarbon Palace came into view, Adar had to push away a flood of memories. His mother singing to him as a small boy, laughing at his silly boyish jokes, even the recollection of wrestling with his father came to mind. That was something he hadn’t thought about in a long time. He’d become so used to the ever present war with his father that he never allowed himself to remember the happy moments of the past.
His father wasn’t in much danger today; Abel’s guards knew what they were about. With the early warning that Adar had sent, Abel may have already been pulled from the ball and hidden in a room that Helam would never find.
The tall grey buildings that made up the palace disappeared into the night sky. There were a number of gardens and statues surrounding the palace. In some place, tables and chairs had been set up for the use of anybody that wanted. To Adar, the beautiful lush foliage and flowers along with the well-crafted statues were at odds with the stark architecture of the sharp lines of the palace.
The Rarbon Palace didn’t have its own separate protective wall, but the palace walls themselves were more than enough protection. Walkways lined the roof and allowed guards to look down into the courtyards and the gardens. The four outer towers were aligned with four of the city gates, so as they approached from the south, the southern tower rose overhead and hid all but the top of the central tower from view.
The gate doors, both here and in the Inner and Outer Walls, were made from a substance that the current city architects had never been able to identify, let alone reproduce. Adar had once seen a man break a sword on one of the gates and not leave as much as a nick.
Leaving Nelion at the back, Adar moved to the front of his men as they approached the southern palace tower. Right away, he realized that something was wrong. This time of the night, the guards should have been outside one of the side doors beside the gate, standing at attention. There should have been ten men where he saw none.
Adar called a halt and motioned for Lucas to join him. He had noticed Lucas among the men as he’d made his way to the front and would have expected Lucas to be resting.
He’d have to sit down and have a discussion with the man about the importance of getting rest, but at the moment, he was glad to have a lower ranking officer on hand with whom he was familiar and who he could trust to follow orders.
“Take twenty men and run ahead as if you are going to the gates,” Adar said once Lucas had joined him. “Run hard and then stop right there.” He pointed to one of the statues that lined the road up to the palace; it was of a man with two crossed swords held up to the sky. “Turn back when you get there. Shields up. Expect arrows.”
Lucas nodded as he made a fist, ordering the men he led to join him. Adar was surprised to recognize many of the same men that had been on patrol with him earlier in the day. He had expected that they would have taken the opportunity to get some sleep. On the one hand, he was glad to see that his soldiers were developing a sense of loyalty to him; but on the other, he needed well-rested men when he went into battle.
The men in the group held their shields in front and ran is if they were going to rush the gate. Adar studied the arrow slits above the gate, looking for movement, even though he wasn’t likely to see much as most of the slits were built at an angle and he was looking at them from the front. He focused on one that he knew from experience had a direct view of the street below the palace. A head popped into view but then disappeared.
When Lucas and his men were almost to the spot that Adar had marked, they pulled to a halt, crouched and put their shields before them just as arrows cut through the air. From Adar’s vantage point, it looked like several of the arrows might have hit one or two of the men in the legs, but the shields had taken the brunt of the attack. Adar counted five or six arrows in the initial volley. Another of the same number followed it.
Six men, eight or ten at most.
If it wouldn’t have been for the impregnable gate and side doors, Adar might have commanded his own men to continue, so few wouldn’t pose a problem to him once they got through.
He’d been hoping to find that the palace guards had slipped inside or were switching their morning rotation early. Now that he’d confirmed that Helam’s men had control of the gate, it didn’t make sense to continue when he had a better option.
Lucas called a retreat and they pulled back as arrows continued to come. It wasn’t long before they were out of range and could turn their backs to the gate. The arrows stopped coming shortly after that. Whoever was in charge of Helam’s men didn’t have experience with this sort of thing. He should have stopped before then because they had wasted many arrows trying for shots that they weren’t going to make.
Lucas and his men returned with multiple quills sticking out of their shields. Adar was glad to see that other than a few minor leg wounds, everybody had survived. He would have skipped this ruse altogether and gone straight for the hidden entrance but he’d been hoping that Helam would not have made it this far so quick.
Adar pulled Lucas to the side and gave him orders to rush the gates when they opened. Adar had been expecting a verbal response, but Lucas nodded.
Adar cracked a small smile. That man hated to speak; he should have been a Redd Guard. Adar had assumed that Helam would leave more than a handful of men to man the gate and had planned to sneak all of his men in through the secret passageway. That wasn’t necessary now that he knew what he was up against. It was better to keep knowledge of the hidden door to as few as possible.
When Adar asked Lucas to recommend four trustworthy soldiers for a special assignment, he was surprised when one of the men turned out to be Corben Braun. Adar had assumed the man was a fresh recruit. He took the time to look Corben over and saw that Corben’s uniform was more worn than he’d thought. There were also several scars on Corben’s neck that had healed well and hadn’t been visible earlier because of the dark.