The Tales of Neroman: The Silver Savior

by Tom Burton

  “Once they see you, they will come after you,” Jaylen explains. “You need to know how to defend yourself.”

  King Edmund nods his head to show he stands in agreement with Jaylen.

  After a short while Sam and Kamara walk into the courtyard. They see two birds chirping away, but the birds then fly off into the distance.

  Sam looks at Kamara.

  “I’m surprised Jaylen did not mention you. After all, you are his only family.”

  Kamara scoffs.

  “He doesn’t mention me because he wants to protect me.” Kamara replies. “Isn’t that what you want?” Sam asks.

  Kamara takes a breath before replying.

  “I want to fight alongside the best fighters in the country. That’s what I am good at. But I can’t do that if I’m under someone else’s protection!”

  “Well…you really are a Vance,” Sam says.

  Kamara laughs.

  “Shall we take a seat?”

  She points toward a bench by the sidewall of the courtyard. Sam nods. The two walk to the bench and sit down.

  Kamara lets off a stressful sigh.

  “I still see them,” she mutters.

  “You see…who?” he asks.

  “Everyone at Rylom…those men, women, and children going about their normal lives, hunted and slaughtered like animals. It all happened so—fast,” Kamara whispers.

  A moment later she begins to cry.

  Sam simply sits on the bench for a moment. Then, he puts his arm around Kamara’s shoulder. He strokes her shoulder with her hand.

  “There was nothing you could have done.”

  Kamara rests her head on Sam’s shoulder, and the two sit in silence on the bench.

  Before long, Jaylen, Aaron, Daniel, and Laura walk out into the courtyard.

  “There you are!” Daniel shouts.

  Kamara lifts her head from Sam’s shoulder and quickly wipes away her tears.

  The four companions who have just arrived then approach Kamara and Sam.

  “How did it go?” Sam asks.

  “We begin training at the barracks in an hour,” Jaylen tells Sam and Kamara. “I have sent soldiers out to find as many able-bodied fighters to train as possible, so you both go and get ready,” he instructs.

  Sam and Kamara rise from the bench. They walk back into the royal castle.

  Jaylen turns to the others.

  “Laura and Daniel, you are to help train the archers.” He turns to Aaron. “You and the king will be trained by me.”

  Aaron looks at Jaylen in agreement. Jaylen then leaves the court to go to the military barracks. The other three quickly follow Sam and Kamara into the castle.

  Across the city, soldiers of Dellmoor begin to requisition able-bodied fighters, instructing both men and women from houses and workshops to follow them. Some of these civilians initially refuse to follow the soldiers—so they are dragged instead. The families that witness their relatives getting dragged away protest and cry out; ultimately, however, there is nothing they can do.

  At the appointed time, Daniel and Laura meet with the archers outside the military barracks. A line of targets has been set up for the new recruits. As the recruits begin shooting at the target, Laura, Daniel, and other experienced archers show them the steps involved in aiming and shooting arrows.

  “They won’t be ready,” Laura tells Daniel. She watches an older woman miss the target with every shot.

  “Maybe not, but it’s better to train than hope for mere luck.”

  Just then, he sees a young man hit the target for the first time. He looks over to Laura smugly. Laura rolls her eyes.

  Together, they continue to watch the trainees.

  “I’m going to check on the fortifications—keep your eye on everyone here,” Laura instructs Daniel.

  She walks out of the barracks.

  Within the military barracks, hundreds of soldiers spar with hundreds of civilians. Kamara watches the sparring, observing the slow progress of both soldiers and trainees. She sees Sam walking aimlessly with a sparring sword, looking for someone to partner with. Kamara walks over to him.

  “Have you sparred today?”

  Sam looks at her then nervously shakes his head.

  Kamara draws her sparring sword.

  “I will train you,” she informs him.

  Sam smiles uncertainly.

  He raises his sword with both hands.

  The two begin to spar.

  Up in the royal chambers, Aaron and the king sit and wait for Jaylen. The two sit on the opposite sides of the table, facing outward: toward the walls. King Edmund then turns to Aaron.

  “Look, Aaron,” King Edmund begins, “About the West—”

  But he is interrupted as Jaylen walks into the room. He greets them curtly.

  “Your grace. Aaron.”

  Jaylen carries three sparring swords in his arms. He takes two of the swords and places them on the table.

  “The reason I am training both of you is because Luke Snow and Mutaro are aware that a Pioneer and a king are living inside the castle’s walls. And once they get inside these walls, they will hunt for you first.”

  King Edmund reluctantly picks up one of the sparring swords. Aaron, however, is less reluctant to do so.

  “You go first,” Aaron offers.

  King Edmund takes a step forward and begins to spar with Jaylen.

  Laura walks down to the streets by the walls of Dellmoor. She sees soldiers rolling drums of oil across the front gates. She approaches a pair of soldiers rolling one of the barrels.

  “How many barrels of oil do we have?”

  The soldier stops rolling the barrel of oil and faces Laura.

  “Not many…say fifty.”

  Laura then moves out of the way to let the soldiers keep rolling the barrel. She walks on and observes soldiers barricading the front gate. One of the soldiers approaches her.

  “We still have people coming from all over the Crown Lands seeking refuge, but we need to lock the gate if we are to properly barricade it.”

  Laura takes a moment to think to herself before addressing the soldier’s dilemma.

  “Lock it first thing in the morning. Then have a guard posted outside to refer any more civilians to a side entrance. When the bells ring, lock that side entrance too.”

  The soldier nods then rejoins the others in barricading the gate.

  Laura walks away, heading back to the royal castle.

  Hours later, in the royal chamber, Aaron finishes his sparring session with Jaylen. His exhaustion forces him to sit down next to King Edmund, who has also completed his sparring session.

  “You’re still lacking that conviction, Aaron,” Jaylen tells him. “You need to have confidence in your own ability.”

  Aaron desperately drinks a glass of water. Jaylen then picks up the sparring swords from off the floor and places them on the table.

  “Your grace, when the time comes, you’re to be in this room, where it’s safest.”

  King Edmund nods. Then there is a knock on the doors.

  “Come in,” King Edmund permits.

  Laura enters the room.

  “Lord Commander, the front gate will be sealed at first light,” she informs Jaylen.

  “Very good, let’s take a look at the weapons at the ready.”

  The two walk out of the royal chambers. They close the doors behind them.

  Aaron looks over at the king disgustedly.

  “Sealed?” he asks, bewildered. “Your grace, we need to be seeking the aid of the West.”

  King Edmund stares at Aaron.

  “What would you have me do?”

  “Send scouts to the West, bring more soldiers to the capital. We’ll stand more of a chance with them than we will without them.�
��

  But, King Edmund shakes his head.

  “You heard me read the letter? Orcs have attacked the West. If we send scouts across the bridge they will be slaughtered by the orcs who currently occupy the villages. We cannot afford to lose any more men.”

  “We cannot afford to not send them out…you think we can win this fight given the numbers we have?”

  “I believe we can win and without the help of the West,” King Edmund remarks deliberately.

  Aaron slams the table with the palm of his hand.

  “My family could still be alive!” he shouts.

  The king gets up and looks down at Aaron.

  “That is my decision…and my decision is final,” King Edmund says quietly. He walks to the doors. He then opens one of the doors for Aaron, signaling him to leave.

  Aaron glares at the king. Then he gets up, grabs the table with both hands, and violently flings it across the room. The table slams into the wall next to the balcony.

  King Edmund does not blanch. He remains holding the door open for Aaron.

  Aaron slowly walks to the doors, angrily staring at King Edmund on his way out. King Edmund slams the door behind him. In the corridor, Aaron leans his back against the wall and slides down to the floor. He begins to cry uncontrollably.

  King Edmund hears Aaron’s crying from the other side of the door. He chooses to ignore it, and walks away from the door.

  That night, Jaylen watches as the last of the wooden slabs are placed on the front gate. Suddenly, they hear a horse neighing from outside the walls.

  “Open the gates! Open the gates!” a man shouts from outside.

  “Open them, hurry!” Jaylen barks.

  The soldiers groan and open the gate. As the gates open, a fatigued man on a horse gallops into the city.

  “Lord Commander!” the rider shouts.

  “What news?” Jaylen asks.

  “It’s the orcs, sir. They’re coming…in numbers far greater than our own,” the rider says.

  “How long do we have?”

  “A day at most, probably less.”

  Jaylen closes his eyes, taking a moment to soak in the news.

  “Go to the barracks, rest,” he then instructs the rider.

  The rider gallops into the city. Jaylen watches the rider gallop away while the soldiers close the gates of Dellmoor.

  The next morning, Kamara, Jaylen, and Laura walk atop the walls of Dellmoor. They see that someone has placed baskets of arrows all along the wall. As they walk over the front gate, they observe that it is locked and barricaded, per Laura’s instructions. Once they cross over to the other side of the front gate wall, they look beyond the city limits.

  “When the bells ring to signal the orcs have come,” Jaylen says, “Laura, Daniel and I will be on top of the walls to manage the archers; they are our first line of defense.”

  “What am I to do, lord commander?” Kamara asks. She leans on the wall.

  “You’re to fight in the infantry. If the orcs get inside the walls, I need to know that they are met by a good frontline.”

  Kamara continues looking out into the plains. Jaylen then looks to Laura.

  “Have all of the civilians around the city made it inside?”

  Laura nods.

  “We have an emergency side entrance open for anyone who arrives today,” she explains.

  Jaylen nods.

  Kamara then lets off a stressful sigh.

  “Do you think we will win?” she asks.

  Laura answers her. “We have the highest walls in all of Neroman. We have the best fighters inside the walls. And we have two Vances…I fear for them, not us!”

  In spite of Laura’s reassurance, Kamara remains unconvinced.

  Jaylen turns back to Laura.

  “Could you give us a minute?”

  Laura takes her leave quickly, allowing the two to be alone.

  Jaylen looks to Kamara.

  “I’ve known you since the day your mother gave birth to you… you’ve never been scared of your own state of affairs. Which means you’ve grown fond of someone, and you now fear for their survival.”

  Kamara remains leaning against the wall, her eyes gazing out at the plains. She does not react to her brother’s comments.

  “Does he know?” Jaylen asks.

  Kamara’s eyes now fill with tears, but the tears do not fall.

  “He is the last person on this earth who deserves to die in this fight,” she observes.

  Jaylen nods.

  “Those who fear death…are those who fail to live in the moment.”

  Kamara is surprised at the comment. She recoils and looks toward Jaylen.

  “Have you been reading?” Kamara jokes.

  Jaylen begins to smile.

  “Maybe…”

  After a moment, the two embrace. “If you think today is your last day on earth, then make the most of it,” Jaylen advises. Kamara nods. The next moment, they let go.

  Silently, the two start down a staircase to the street.

  As the sun slowly sets on Dellmoor, Jaylen completes the final weapons check in the barracks. A soldier approaches him.

  “Lord Commander,” the soldier says, “all of the shops and stores have closed for the night. We have increased soldiers on guard duty tonight, and we have advised all families inside the city to know their directions to the keep.”

  “Very good. Do we have guards in the bell tower?” Jaylen asks,

  “Two, my lord.”

  “Thank you.”

  The soldier then bows and walks out of the barracks.

  Jaylen looks around the barracks. He touches the hilt of some of the sparring swords and smiles to himself. Then he looks out of one of the windows and watches the sun set on the day. He walks toward the window and sees Sam, Daniel, and Aaron in the training court.

  In the training court, the three sit up against one of the walls. They remain there for several minutes, sitting in complete silence as they stare at the ground beneath them. Distraught, Sam holds his hands over his head. Then Jaylen comes out of the barracks and enters the grounds of the training court.

  “How is everyone feeling?” the lord commander asks.

  Aaron raises his head to look at Jaylen. Jaylen notices Aaron’s hands are trembling.

  “I’m not ready to die…” Daniel mutters. He keeps his head firmly facing downward.

  Jaylen pauses then slowly sits by Sam. He presses his back against the wall, just like the others.

  “You need to stay strong. You look after those around you and you keep pushing through,” Jaylen tells them.

  Aaron looks directly at Jaylen. “You think there is hope?”

  Jaylen nods at Aaron.

  “There is not a night that can defeat sunrise, and there is no darkness that can defeat the light. That’s why there is always hope.”

  The others remain silent. Daniel then gradually lifts his head.

  “How do you deal with a battle? People, friends dying all around you…innocents getting slaughtered and blood spewing everywhere. How can you stay strong during something like that?”

  Jaylen turns his gaze away and focuses it in the distance.

  “As lord commander, you grow tolerant of that sort of thing over the years. But, this is something else entirely. So much is at stake when the orcs arrive,” Jaylen warns. He then locks eyes on Aaron. “The wall has to hold. If the orcs get inside Dellmoor, their numbers alone will devour the capital.”

  “We have the royal forest,” Aaron replies.

  “That is a very short-term solution,” Jaylen replies, “and it exposes us in the future.”

  Sam, who has remained silent during the whole conversation, gets up and walks away.

  “Sam!” Daniel shouts.

  But Sam
continues walking into the barracks.

  “I’ll speak to him,” Jaylen says.

  He quickly gets up and heads after Sam, leaving Aaron and Daniel alone at the court. Aaron watches Jaylen walk out, but Daniel calmly looks at Aaron.

  “Have you spoken to the king since your argument?”

  Aaron ignores Daniel’s question. He continues to watch Jaylen.

  Daniel sighs in frustration.

  “You cannot hold a grudge against the king, especially for putting the capital before one man’s request.”

  Aaron turns his head toward Daniel.

  “I was thinking about my family,” Aaron replies contentiously.

  “Then, Aaron, use that to fight the battle that’s coming to our doorstep. In the meantime,” Daniel says, “go to the king and sort things out, because you may not know how much time you have left.”

  The two sit in silence again. In the peace and calm of the training court, Aaron’s subtle aggression slowly dissipates; finally, he smiles at Daniel.

  “What would I do without you?” he asks. “Are you with me?” Aaron says.

  Daniel nods. The two place their arms around each other.

  “To the end, brother,” Daniel whispers back.

  Soon after, Laura walks in on the two with their arms around each other’s shoulders.

  “Should I come back another time?” she jokes.

  Aaron and Daniel quickly remove their arms from each other.

  “No, we’re okay, don’t worry,” Daniel says in a panic.

  After a few moments, Aaron rushes onto his feet. “I’m going to take my leave,” he tells them both.

  Daniel and Aaron then shake hands.

  Good luck! Aaron mouths silently to Daniel. He then proceeds out of the training court, leaving Daniel and Laura alone.

  Away from the training court, the rest of the city remains silent. The citizens of Dellmoor lock their doors for the night, keeping off the street in case the orcs attack. Sam slowly walks down the streets. He soon comes across the public library. He smiles bitterly, and approaches the staircase leading to the front entrance. He looks over to the west and sees the sun disappearing behind the walls of Dellmoor.

  Sam begins to cry. As he hangs his head in sadness, the tears roll off his face.

  Finally, Sam raises his head. He sees Jaylen walking toward him. He hurries to wipe the tears from his face. When Jaylen reaches the library, he sits next to Sam on the staircase.