“You dare judge me, you hypocrites,” he screamed, virtually foaming at the mouth as he spat his words. “I am ruler of the city. I control the streets! I have the real power. You cannot tell me what to do! You cannot strip me. I have the power!” His eyes were wild now.
“You have but one chance to save your miserable lives and leave this Tower alive,” he continued. “Declare me ruler of Taslea, then disband yourselves and I shall spare you. Refuse and my men will cut you down.”
The man was insane. No city was ruled by a dictator and none would tolerate one. Even should the Council vote Zagos his demands, the Guilds would unite against him.
By way of reply to Zagos’s demands the Master rose and said, “Those in favor
of stripping this man known as Zagos from the High Caste say yes.” The vote was unanimous. Zagos screamed and ran from the Chamber.
“All charges against the Urak Rahdon are dismissed,” the Master pronounced
allowing himself a smile. As the Council cheered its approval, Urak Rahdon pulled me near, his lips to my ear.
“I need you now, Hunter. We are surrounded and Zagos’s men control much of the city. The Council must be protected and the city wrested from Zagos. I depend on you. All our lives rest in your hands.”
Nodding, I dashed for the doorway. The Council had voted but only steel would insure its victory over Zagos. Once again the power of the Sekers of Taslea was required.
Words were but words, steel was steel.
22. BATTLE FOR TASLEA
Taking up my weapons at the Council Chamber doorway, I issued orders that the ten Sekers there enter the Chambers, bar the door and guard the Council with their lives. Then, steel in each hand, I flew down the stairs, attempting to reach Lonnan and his hundred below. A floor above the ground level, I dashed to a window and looked to the street. All was peaceful, deceptively so I thought, considering the words spoken just moments before in the Council Chambers. I ran down the last stairs and was greeted by Lonnan.
“Where is Zagos and his men?” I shouted.
“He and his Sekers ran past us a few moments ago. His men outside the Tower are grouping with others across the square. From the direction he took, he is heading for the House of Khonos,” Lonnan replied.
“He has been stripped of High Caste,” I said for all to hear, “and removed from position by the elder Khonos. He seeks to rule Taslea and will now strike by force to seize it.” I turned to Lonnan. “Leave fifty Sekers to hold the Great Tower and safeguard the Council whose lives Zagos has threatened. Seal the Tower until reinforcements arrive. Lonnan, you must take the remaining Sekers to the House of Khonos. Zagos cannot be allowed to harm the Khonos family which is held in their own dungeon. I will return to our Great House and marshal all our forces. Hurry! The Sekers of Khonos move already.”
As I spoke, we could see the Sekers across the square start towards us. Lonnan and I departed with fifty Sekers running away from the advancing forces, leaving the rest to hold the Tower as ordered. It was the best I could manage under the circumstances. We fled towards the House of Khonos in Zagos’s footsteps but shortly, bidding Lonnan good fortune, I parted from the Sekers and made my way alone to the Great House of Rahdon.
I faced a formidable obstacle. No doubt I could muster the Sekers of Rahdon to fight but Zagos had the Council trapped within the Tower, and I doubted if without the express orders of their own Urak, the Sekers of the other Houses would join us. They could not receive orders as long as the Council was trapped.
By the time each House realized the danger for itself, the Council would have been put to the sword or held as hostage and Zagos might well have seized effective control of the city. Revolt would be inevitable but the price for overthrowing him would be paid in the blood of valiant Sekers and innocent citizens.
No Sekers of Khonos were about the street as I entered the main door of the Great House of Rahdon. Zagos had already begun uniting his forces. Soon all the patrols from the countryside would return as would any outlaws in the forest still under his command. Shortly he would possess the single largest force in all Taslea. Together, several Houses could defeat him easily but they would not act as the situation stood until it was too late.
I thought that perhaps I had a means by which the Sekers would unite long enough to spare Taslea a bloodbath and save the council.
The moment I entered the Great House I located Tonak, Master of Arms, and told him what had happened and what must be done.
“Do you swear this, boy? Upon your life?” he demanded, gripping my arm.
“I do Tonak,” I replied. He nodded, satisfied.
“I feared as much or worse. But even if we march this moment we cannot defeat the House of Khonos. Already it outnumbers us and is prepared for battle. There is no way with the Council trapped and the Uraks cut off from their Sekers to unite enough of the Houses and prevent the murder of the Council or its use as hostage. Zagos has seen our weakness and has the advantage.”
I explained my plan to him. Slowly comprehension spread across his carved face and then he said, “Yes, yes! That just might work. What an opportunity. Yes, it’s the only way.”
“Sekers of Taslea!” I shouted to the Rahdon Sekers assembled in the hall. “We must now move to save the Council of the High Caste from slaughter by Zagos, the upstart, who has been stripped of High Caste. He seeks to plunge our beloved city into bloody civil war. Only we, the Sekers, have the power to prevent it. But we can do nothing divided as we are, each House from the other. It will take a unity of Sekers from many Houses to win victory this day.
“The time to strike is now! Go forth, unite all Sekers in a common brotherhood, then march against Zagos at the Great Tower of the Council of the High Caste. Save the Council from this vile usurper and then we will submit your demands.
“We will demand be taken into the High Caste and that we control entry into the Seker Subcaste. We will set our own code of honor. No longer will Sekers of Taslea be set against each other. We shall be acknowledged the true power in Taslea. Spread the word and march on the Great Tower!”
Brandishing my sword in the air I led the throng in mighty cheer. Too long the High Caste had refused our right to a Guild, now they would pay an even higher price for their lives.
I sent the Sekers of Rahdon forth into the city with the cry, “Freedom for Sekers, Death to Zagos!”
The Sekers sallied forth in groups, first to the small shops to solicit the support
of Sekers protecting one shop. These men were employed at the bottom rung and almost any change in their status was welcome. Their numbers thus swelled, the Sekers marched through the streets singing, cheering, brandishing their glittering weapons. Soon, Lesser Houses were joining in as well, an intoxicating mood permeating the enthusiastic throng.
I led a detail towards the House of Khonos on a mission of equal importance while a force was formed against Zagos. Lonnan, if still alive would be in desperate need of help. With luck, we might come upon Zagos in the streets, I thought, and settle this matter now before any further harm befell the city. Arriving at the House of Khonos I found it virtually abandoned, no living Seker of any House visible.
Slaves sat about listlessly, the House in disarray. After we stormed through the doorway, I dispatched Sekers to locate Lonnan and his men, alive or dead. Bodies of Sekers from both the House of Khonos and of Rahdon lay about the floor in pools of murky blood.
I seized a male slave by his tunic and demanded, “Where is Zagos and the Sekers.”
The slave quivered in fear and whispered, “They are gone, Master.”
“Of course they are gone idiot,” I shouted, venting my anger and frustration on him. “I asked where they are!”
The slave shook his head and cowered before me.
“Bring me the Slave Master at once,” I ordered in disgust. Relieved, the slave scurried from the room. Shortly thereafter he returned with an elderly man.
“You are the Slave Master for the House of
Khonos?” I demanded.
“Yes, I am,” he replied, rather subdued.
“What happened here?” I demanded.
“Zagos entered the House, enraged at something that had occurred at the Council of the High Caste. He ordered all Sekers mustered and prepared for battle. Runners were dispatched throughout the city and into the countryside. I was summoned and ordered to have slaves kill everyone in the dungeon. I told him that slaves are not killers and that in any event they would not slay Free Men. He struck me but just at that moment Sekers dressed in the Rahdon tunic stormed into the House. There was a brief fight but the intruders were intent on reaching the Khonos family held below. Though badly outnumbered they cut their way through to the stairwell. Zagos’s superior force could have defeated the intruders but he had no stomach for the fight and permitted the invaders to descend to the dungeon. He was intent on getting his troops elsewhere.”
“Very well,” I said. “Take care of the dead and wounded.” The Slave Master bowed and departed.
Lonnan entered the room as the Slave Master left. “I see you have survived,” I said, much relieved.
“Yes, but many others have not. We were fortunate that we arrived before Zagos had sent Sekers below. When we breeched the doorway he sought only to allow us to pass so he could depart. By now he is already at the Great Tower of the Council of the High Caste.
“We took the dungeon with ease and held it until just now. Zagos was too well protected for my fifty to reach him. The senior Khonos lives. His grandson had been thrown to one they call Gerick, the lover of men and after being much abused, he was slain. We found Gerick eating the poor wretch’s flesh. The Urak’s daughter was strapped to a bed rack and made available to anyone who wished her. She is dying even as we speak.”
I ordered Lonnan to gather together as many Sekers as possible, seize the main gate and seal the city to all comers. Only unarmed Sekers from the House of Khonos and its allies were to be permitted out. He left at once to do his duty.
With the remaining men I made my way through the streets of Taslea towards the Tower. There was much to settle with Zagos. Along the way we were joined by Sekers from many Houses united now briefly this day, cheering mightily as we marched on the square before the Tower.
We arrived to find Zagos’s Sekers assaulting the Tower’s base. Sekers from throughout Taslea were milling about watching the mismatched battle. In only minutes, I realized, Zagos’s force would breach the doorway.
Sekers continued arriving and standing aside to witness the action even as we entered the square. No one had taken charge. Mounting a fruit stand, I called out for all to hear.
“Sekers of Taslea! Today we are united in a noble cause. We have business with the Council of the High Caste but to win our just demands we must first save the Council. The upstart Zagos seeks to slay the Council and declare himself ruler of Taslea. This moment we must kill him and any of his men who refuse to yield. I will then submit our demands to the Council and they will have no alternative but to grant them, here and now.
“Victory to the Sekers!” I cried, brandishing my sword above me. “Death to Zagos!”
With that I leaped to the cobblestone and led what I hoped was a charge across the square against Zagos. I heard a mighty roar behind me and saw Sekers, several times more than Zagos’s force attacking with me, shields at the ready, spears leveled. Only a few of Zagos’s force resisted such overwhelming odds. Most threw down their weapons, knelt on one knee with head bowed and submitted.
They had been on the verge of success when the tide of battle had turned against them. My assault had not come a moment too soon. The doorway had just been breached and Zagos was leading his personal guard in a floor by floor fight up the stairwell of the Tower to the Council Chamber.
The fifty Rahdon Sekers I had left behind were yielding ground slowly as they
retreated to the Chamber there to take their final stand. Zagos had seriously miscalculated the outcome of the Council hearing earlier and had not been prepared to move at once with force against the Tower. This mistake had proved his undoing.
He and his men were at the Chamber door as my overwhelming forces cut his men down from behind and reached him. His Sekers recognized the futility of further struggle and threw down their weapons but Zagos, unwilling to surrender and now unable to seize the Chamber, fled along the corridor. In the excitement only I gave pursuit.
We ran to a narrow stairwell that led atop the Tower commanding a panoramic view of the city and lush valley beyond. There, under the bright midday Doridian sun we faced each other.
“You think you have won,” he snarled, slightly out of breath. “But a victory is not
a victory if you are not there to enjoy it.”
I said nothing as I caught my wind. He had nowhere to go and I was content to let him speak.
“I cannot imagine how you managed the impossible and united the Sekers throughout the city against me. I believed that impossible. My mistake was in allowing you to live.”
Actually he had never allowed me to live, having always done his best to slay me but I saw no reason for correcting him. I would make my point with him shortly.
“I much used the daughter of Khonos as I would have used the Lady Shelba. You
prevented that.”
At last I spoke. “But I thought you prefer men?”
“I do whatever I must to achieve my ends. Now I will kill you!” With that he advanced.
My short Doridian sword was already in my hand and as he stepped towards me, I pulled the Khashan knife from my left hip. We moved about each other, seeking advantage over our enemy. Steel rang on steel and we circled again, tentative and cautious. My skills were much improved since we had last met but Zagos was a master swordsman. My left hand held my knife, a fighting technique with which I had enjoyed great success but my opponent now was no common Seker. He was a highly skilled and cunning craftsman.
He first drove me back along the wall placing me entirely on the defensive. I struck once or twice with my knife but he easily evaded my thrusts. I launched an offensive of my own and surprised him with my newly acquired skill. We circled now near the center of the Tower. I bled from a wound at my side, Zagos was as yet unscathed.
He attacked savagely, seeking to end the bout immediately. With all my skill I narrowly escaped death several times and drew another wound, this to my left arm. So we continued for some minutes but I was weakening rapidly. The end would come soon.
Then Zagos pressed me toward the wall and with a brutal stroke forced the knife from my hand. Another parry laid me against the stone wall. He blocked my feeble sword far to my right with his left arm.
In that instant I was defenseless and had he slashed across my throat with his sword, I would have died. Instead, he sneered taking a heartbeat to relish his victory and only then pulled his sword back to plunge through my body.
The moment he had pinned my sword to the side, I had slid my now empty left hand to the small of my back, clasping the dagger there by its handle. As he smirked I pulled the knife free and unhesitatingly plunged it upwards through his throat, burying the blade deeply into his brain. His eyes never registered realization of death. He merely stood rigidly erect for a long moment, then collapsed as a puppet whose strings were all cut at once.
Sekers burst upon the roof. Seeing Zagos at my feet they cried, “Hail to Hunter! Hail to Hunter, Warrior of Doridia!”
I retrieved my dagger from the dead, black figure, cleaning it on his robe. I placed my sword and knives in their sheaths as well, and left the roof top.
I had learned two valuable lessons that day. Never assume a Seker defenseless and never relish a victory not yet won.
###
There was much cheering and striking of weapons against shields as I descended
the stairs to the floor of the Council Chambers. The Sekers of Khonos had been bound and taken out of the Tower. They were being detained until a decision concerning them was reached.
Battle weary Sekers shouted my name as I strode through them to the Chamber.
Considering the bedlam without, the Chamber was remarkably calm as I entered, sweat and blood dripping from me. I had intentionally worn weapons in the Chamber of this august body, the better to remind them who held the true power. The old men in rich garments were silent as I stalked to the head of the table.
Unsheathing my blood stained sword I threw it crashing across the finely polished top, gouging the finish as it skidded to a stop.
“Your lives have been saved this day by steel and the blood of valiant Sekers. This sword slew Zagos, the usurper and fought to save you as did the swords of many others. Good men lay dead that you might live. My men...” I paused to let what I said sink in, “… my men, control the city and this Tower. Those who but a few moments ago spared your lives, now through me, name their price. Refuse it,” I glowered leaning forward on my bloodstained hands, “and face our wrath.”
The looks of relief upon their faces as I had entered were now gone, replaced with apprehension. The sounds of battle had been heard not long before just the other side of this very door. These men knew fear, perhaps for the first time in their lives.
“Before you leave this Chamber this day, you will approve our demands. You will vote all Sekers of Taslea into the High Caste and your vote is not reversible. No longer can House set its Sekers against those of another House. We shall establish our own code of honor and judge our own members. You will now vote without debate or discussion.”
I turned to the Master to put the question to the vote. He was uncertain but turning to the Council said, “Those in support of elevating all Sekers of Taslea to High Caste, say yes.”
Slowly each man said yes. I retrieved my sword and sheathing it, left the Chamber. I led the men in the Tower to the square and there announced the vote. The cheers rolled in wave upon wave across the city as it saw the dawn of a new age.
23. I FREE A SLAVE
The celebration filled the city that day and would for many to follow. Much wine was consumed and many tavern slaves pleasured by lusty Sekers new to the High Caste. I resisted the urgings of my friends to pass the goblet with them following the Council vote and instead went to the Great House of Rahdon to wash the sweat and blood from my body and have my wounds bound.
Hunter: Warrior of Doridia (The Saga of Jon Hunter Book 1) Page 19