‘Four might not be enough if we meet their main force, my lord.’
‘Damn these tunnels,’ Agang spat. ‘It’ll have to be enough, Commander.’
Mandalecht nodded, and began issuing orders while the warriors took a moment’s rest. It was cold in the tunnel, the heat from the fires in the cavern far behind them. Agang felt a chill from the cold damp sweat permeating his clothes. He noticed a few warriors light up smokesticks, and took an offered one.
The keenweed calmed him, and he forgot the cold. After a minute, they were ready to go again, and Mandalecht ordered a trot, and the four regiments bounded down the main tunnel.
They descended a huge, wide set of stairs, with parallel ramps on either side for carriages. At the bottom Agang saw the aftermath of a disturbance. Bodies lay bloody, littering the ground, along with wagons on their sides, and stray gaien wandering. Crates and boxes spilled out of shop fronts on both sides of the wide tunnel.
‘What do you think?’ he asked Mandalecht.
His old commander surveyed the scene.
‘Snake soldiers and civilians,’ he said, ‘killing each other. I’d guess that the soldiers came across these guys looting the shops, and they had a disagreement.’
‘Their own people are looting?’
‘That’s the way it looks, my lord.’
Warriors walked through the devastation, ending the life of any Rahain they found injured.
Mandalecht took out the map.
‘We’re close to the centre,’ he said. ‘There’s a cluster of three great caverns that make a triangle, right in the middle of the city, and we’re coming up to this one.’ He pointed.
Once all of the warriors were down the steps, they began trotting again, racing through the heart of the city. Smaller tunnels led off to their left and right, but they ignored them. Agang got a sight of a few groups of civilians, fleeing as fast as they could, running down the side alleys.
Ahead of them through the dim light he saw another barricade. Rahain soldiers stood in a long line, with their backs to the Sanang, watching the tunnel in front of them
‘Fuck,’ Mandalecht cried, as the barricades were swept aside by a surging horde of Rahain civilians, thousands of them, fleeing in a mass stampede towards the Sanang, trampling the line of Rahain soldiers in their way.
Agang saw the looks of terror on the faces of the civilians as they realised they were running right towards the Sanang forces, but the pressure from behind was pushing them onwards like a river in spate, and any who tried to turn were swallowed by the mass of bodies.
‘Shield wall!’ Agang shouted as loudly as he could. ‘Stand fast!’
His warriors obeyed in an instant, the front companies forming a line that filled the entire width of the tunnel. Other companies rushed forward, until the line was eight deep, each warrior with his shield held in front of him, and each line bracing itself against the men ahead.
Agang stayed back with the reserve companies behind the thick line of Sanang flesh, watching as the flood of Rahain hit the shield wall with a sickening crunch of breaking spears, and bodies crushed, gored and trampled. The wall of Sanang was pushed back a yard, then two, the boots of the warriors sliding over the smooth flagstones on the ground. The momentum of the civilians’ surge peaked, and began to ebb, the shield wall grinding to a halt, their combined muscle holding back the flood. Their spears flashed out from behind the wall, dealing death to the front rows of Rahain.
Agang leapt onto an overturned crate to get a better view. Civilians were fleeing down side streets, but more were arriving from the far end of the tunnel. There were thousands packed in, each new arrival adding to the pressure in the centre of the crowd.
‘Rotate the wall,’ he heard Mandalecht cry, and warriors ran forwards to relieve the front lines.
Hedgewitches pulled exhausted and broken Sanang out from the wall, healing them so they could be ready to fight again as soon as possible.
The noise became almost unbearable as masses of Rahain were crushed to death in the tunnel, their cries echoing off the high, painted ceiling.
‘This is insane,’ muttered Mandalecht, staring at the back of the straining shieldwall.
They rotated the lines at the front every few minutes, sending more men to any spot that weakened, and after what seemed like hours the pressure eased. Agang climbed up onto the crate again. The tunnel was emptying, the inward flow had ceased, and the remaining civilians were crowding down the side alleys.
‘Advance!’ he cried, raising his sword. ‘Push them back!’
His shield wall moved as one, taking a step forward, climbing over the heaps of slain Rahain.
With each pace, more civilians fled, and soon the Sanang were the only ones left standing in the tunnel.
Mandalecht stood the entire front lines down, and sent them to the rear to recuperate, while the reserves moved up and formed a new line.
Agang and Mandalecht walked forward, their eyes wide. Hundreds, maybe thousands of bodies lay heaped in piles, the majority crushed to death, though many had been dispatched by the Sanang.
‘Four warriors dead, my lord,’ a captain said to them. ‘Asphyxiated. Another few dozen have injuries that will put them out of action for a while. We’re sending them back to the crossroads.’
‘Four?’ Agang said, gazing at the carnage all around. ‘What were the snakes running from?’
Mandalecht shook his head.
Agang tried to summon some sympathy for the mass of people lying dead before him. Many looked poor, and were dressed in identical cheap brown clothing, like a uniform. But their faces seemed so similar to each other, and their eyes, with the vertical pupils, turned his stomach.
He looked down one of the side streets, and saw a crowd of Rahain, watching from fifty yards along the tunnel.
‘Let’s get going,’ he said to Mandalecht.
‘Yes, my lord.’
‘Issue a command,’ he said. ‘Leave the civilians alone, unless they attack. Focus only on any armed forces we meet, until we get to the centre.’
Mandalecht shot him a glance.
‘There are too many,’ Agang said. ‘We are in the middle of a den of snakes. We must be wary.’
Mandalecht relayed more orders, and the regiments formed up.
They began moving again, at a slower pace than before, keeping a watchful eye on the mobs of Rahain civilians lurking down every side street.
Agang stayed with the front ranks at the head of his army. After twenty minutes of marching, he could see the tunnel ahead open up into a vast space.
‘We’re here,’ Mandalecht breathed.
They upped their pace, then halted when they reached the entrance to the cavern. It was enormous, dwarfing the chambers they had seen before. Great buildings were cut into every available space on the curving cavern wall, and a massive complex of structures towered upwards from the centre of the floor, like a termite mound, its uppermost spires brushing the cavern’s ceiling. The rock was shot through with pink granite, and deeper reds and browns.
Agang wanted to stand and stare at it for hours, but the cavern churned with movement. On the ground level before them crowds of Rahain were running, while Holdings soldiers attacked the gates to their left. A standard of the realm was flying from a tower, and ranks of armoured troopers were carving their way towards the central structure. On higher levels, where graceful bridges arced across from the cavern wall to the centre, there was more fighting.
‘Drums and horns,’ Agang said to Mandalecht. ‘Time to make our presence known.’
His commander nodded, and turned to a captain.
The drumbeat began, a slow pounding, rising in volume as each regiment’s drummers picked up the rhythm. Then the horns wailed, a long eerie moaning.
The crowds in the cavern turned to stare, and a cheer went up from where the Holdings troopers were fighting.
Agang nodded, and the army began marching into the cavern, making straight for the main complex in
the centre. Rahain civilians fled at the sight of them, screaming, and running for any way out. Agang made no attempt to stop them, and a flood of bodies drained out of the cavern. The soldiers facing the Holdings troopers broke, and joined the exodus, trampling civilians to death as they fled.
The noise in the cavern quietened as it emptied.
Agang hailed the ranks of Holdings troopers, and a group of officer emerged from their lines.
‘Lord Agang,’ a major said. ‘Exquisite timing. There were so many people crammed in here, I was starting to wonder if we would ever be able to cut our way through.’
Agang stared up at the enormous edifice towering over them in the centre of the cavern.
‘What is this place?’
‘Merchants’ Hall,’ the major said. ‘Heart of trade and commerce.’
‘Is this the first central cavern the alliance has reached?’ Agang asked.
‘We now occupy two of the three great caverns, this and the Hall of Learning. The Kellach Brigdomin are assaulting the Council Hall as we speak.’
‘Do they require assistance?’
The major shook his head. ‘Let them have their vengeance. Did you have much trouble on the way here?’
‘There were some barricades that delayed us,’ Agang said, ‘but those defending them withdrew.’
‘The whole Rahain army is leaving,’ the major said, ‘or has already left.’
‘Why? Our attrition rate in the fighting was awful. If they had defended every tunnel they way the did when we first got in, they would have bled us dry.’
‘Tahrana City was never designed for defence,’ the major said, ‘and we attacked it from three sides at once. Their army knew it was only a matter of time. The peasants started looting, and they lost control.’
Agang nodded. ‘What will we do with the civilians?’
‘There are far too many for us to police,’ he said. ‘We’ll set up a secure area for the alliance forces, and let the Rahain devour each other.’
Agang had Mandalecht clear and guard a route out of the city, through the main boulevards and tunnels, and brought the rest of his army into the Merchants’ Hall. He set up his headquarters in a ransacked row of large gilded offices on the ground floor of the central building, while his regiments took over whole blocks of plush accommodation. Vast stores of supplies were found, a mountain’s worth compared to the haul they had captured at Rainsby, and Agang let his men take their pick of the treasures.
All Rahain were kept out of the great cavern, and away from the safe routes out of the city, but Agang could hear the looting continue through the unguarded districts. After hours of work in the offices organising the occupation, Agang yawned and walked outside for a break.
He blinked in surprise, as he saw daylight come streaming through great apertures in the ceiling. The sky was a deep blue outside the cavern, and Agang longed for a glimpse of the sun, realising he had lost all track of time underground.
‘It’s about noon,’ Mandalecht said, coming out after him. Following behind was a servant with a tray.
Agang took the small cup of coffee, and drank it in one gulp. He picked up a stick of keenweed, and held it to his lips as the servant lit it.
‘I’ll pay for this later,’ he said, as his tiredness vanished.
‘We all will, my lord,’ Mandalecht said. ‘We’ll sleep well tonight.’
Drechtan and Lomecht approached.
‘Congratulations, my lord,’ Drechtan said. ‘A great victory. The boys have enough loot to last them a lifetime.’
‘And the fighting,’ Lomecht said, shaking his head. ‘How did these snakes ever become so rich and powerful? They’re even feebler than the Holdings folk.’
‘Is Hodang here, my lord?’ Drechtan asked.
‘No,’ Agang said, ‘not yet. Echtang was bringing him and the others in from the old camp once the route was secure.’
‘He’ll want to attend the gathering in the Council Hall, my lord.’
‘I know,’ said Agang, ‘but we’ve waited long enough for him. The Clackdomyn sent word over an hour ago that they had secured the last central cavern.’
‘Shall we then, my lord?’
‘Mandalecht, you stay here,’ Agang said. ‘Lomecht, Drechtan, let’s go.’
A detachment of guards peeled off and accompanied them as they walked towards a great tunnel that linked the three central caverns. The wall carvings and statuary were of an epic scale, with towering figures of Rahain warriors and leaders lining the tunnel. At the end was a round chamber, with a fountain marking the very centre of the city, and two other great tunnels, one leading to the Hall of Learning, the other to the Council Hall.
A troop of Holdings soldiers were stationed by the fountain, and they saluted Agang as he passed.
By now he was getting numb to the over-sized grandeur of the city, and barely skipped a pace as they walked through to the Council Hall. The rocks here were grey, from light to charcoal, a heavy brooding architecture of power. The buildings were square cut and sharp edged, unlike the sinuous twists and curves of the Merchants’ Hall.
A perimeter of Clackdomyn was guarding a great crowd of Rahain in the square before the most impressive building, which had a dome so large it would have covered the whole of Broadwater. The captives within the circle were well dressed, with no cheap brown tunics visible.
Agang walked to where a massive Clackdomyn woman was talking to a Holdings captain.
‘Greetings, allies,’ he said.
The Clackdomyn nodded, a look of satisfaction on her face.
‘My Lord Agang,’ the captain said. She too looked content, though tired.
‘Who do we have here?’ he said, nodding at the crowd of captives.
‘The councillors of Tahrana City,’ the captain said.
‘What are we doing with them?’
‘Almost every councillor is a mage, or is related to one,’ the captain said. ‘We have orders to isolate them, and send them back in chains to Plateau City.’
‘How are you distinguishing the mages from the rest?’
‘Mage-priests have been checking them,’ the captain said. ‘They can see it in their eyes.’
Agang frowned.
‘As for the rest, our friend Councillor Laodoc has already identified and picked out those he feels might be sympathetic, the others will be executed as warmongers.’
‘Laodoc is building up his own rule?’
‘He’ll be installing a new council for the city, once it’s calmed down.’
‘That might be some time,’ Agang said. ‘It’s anarchy out in the caverns where our soldiers do not patrol. Their peasants are taking out their revenge on the old elite.’
‘And the slaves too,’ the captain said. ‘As of now, there are no slaves in Tahrana City, all have been freed by proclamation. The King’s word has been nailed up all over the city, in three different languages, for all to read.’
‘Already?’ Agang said. ‘Without any transition? Is that not a little hasty?’
The captain frowned. ‘Slavery is abhorrent. It will not be tolerated in any area we control.’
Agang said nothing.
‘My lord,’ Lomecht said. ‘Over there.’
He pointed at a group of officers walking towards them, Field Marshal Howie among them.
‘We were coming to see you, Lord Agang,’ she said as they got closer.
Agang nodded to her.
‘I’m afraid we won’t be able to rest long,’ she went on. ‘The Rahain army has regrouped on the highway leading to their capital city. They’re digging in. The council of eight has decided to send the King’s Combined Battalion ahead, using Rahain winged gaien to get them behind the enemy lines.’
‘But Hodang wasn’t present,’ Agang said. ‘He still hasn’t arrived in the city.’
‘Under the circumstances,’ Howie said, ‘I gave two votes to your mage Badolecht. The decision was unanimous.’
Agang frowned.
‘I
t’s imperative we keep the momentum going,’ Howie said. ‘The council also decided that the alliance armies should move up and engage the Rahain front lines as soon as possible.’
‘Tomorrow?’
Howie nodded.
‘Very well.’
Howie raised an eyebrow. ‘For us perhaps. For Tahrana City? Councillor Laodoc has his work cut out for him. Mobs will be ruling this place the moment we leave.’
The Holdings officers nodded at Agang and his entourage, and departed back across the square.
‘They speak to us as if we were servants,’ Lomecht said. ‘What’s the point of having a council, if they’re going to take decisions without us?’
‘I too have some complaints,’ Agang said, ‘but we have to consider the whole alliance. It can’t be easy trying to get a quorum together if one of us is late. It would be different if I disagreed with their decisions, but their logic is sound.’
Lomecht frowned, and the Sanang began walking back towards the Merchants’ Hall.
As they passed the central fountain, they saw a pair of warriors running towards them.
‘My lord,’ one gasped, ‘Chief Minister Hodang has arrived. He’s wounded, and so is your nephew, Lord Echtang.’
Agang picked up his pace.
They reached the hall, and saw a line of wagons in front of the main structure, where a crowd had gathered. Several hedgewitches were present, tending to a line of injured warriors. Chane was talking to them, a sword in her hand, the front of her tunic covered in blood.
‘What happened?’ said Agang.
Chane blinked, and he could feel Lomecht bristle beside him.
‘Where are Hodang and Echtang?’ Agang said.
‘I’m here, uncle,’ his nephew said. Agang turned and saw Echtang lying on the ground, a hedgewitch administering to his leg. ‘We were attacked in the tunnels. Swarms of Rahain swept over us. They got into our carriage, and I was wounded. So was Hodang.’
‘We lost seven warriors,’ his chief minister said, hobbling towards him, using a spear as a crutch.
Hodang came up to Agang.
‘I was wrong about Chane, my lord,’ he said. ‘When Echtang fell, she picked up his sword, and fought off our attackers.’
The Magelands Box Set Page 79