Clearing the Web

by Cary J Lenehan

  Despite it being winter, the air from Nameless Keep to Sasar gets warmer and warmer as the day progresses, and we fly rapidly over the way posts that had seemed so far apart when Theodora told of leaving Darkreach. Soon the air we fly through is warmer than Mousehole gets in summer and the cloaks are being put away.

  Even from a distance it is possible to see where Sasar is. The great gouge that is being taken from the hill behind it can be seen for many miles. Over many centuries, terrace after terrace had been driven back into the slope and then eliminated gradually from below. Although there is a long way for them to go, gradually the hill is being eaten away.

  We may have been glad to drop in at Sasar to eat, but we are also very glad to leave. The red dust from the great iron mine coats everything. It is like the dust from peat moss and flavours the food if the wind blows the wrong way…and it is blowing.

  Only the Alat-Kharl and Greydkharl people seem happy to be there. From what I can see, it is a place of hard work and hard drinking, and with little else to commend it.

  Now, Sasar looks good. The air grows even hotter and far drier as we move further into the Great Plain. I have never been this hot, even in a sauna. That must be the Great Bitter Lake to the left of the road. Aziz, with his eyes being more sensitive to light than those of the humans, has to travel with his eyes closed and Verily has bound a cloth around them to help him.

  To the right, the massif of the dead, which was crowned by the ancient barrows, and watched over by Deathguard Tower, came into view spread beneath them. Theodora had said it was large, but she did not tell half of it. The view from above shows you what you cannot see from the ground. There are over a hand of huge conical tumuli, each a large hill in its own right and countless smaller ones. Who built these? What happened to their people? Why do we know nothing of them? Why are there not even legends?

  They came to a stop before the gates of the keep and, again, Astrid flew on forward with their pass to have it inspected by the guards. This is easy. I am soon waving them all in. I note that the Princess and my husband are getting some second looks from the garrison. It seems that they are remembered by some.

  Bianca

  As we set up in the accommodation, and being more relaxed now than he had been at Nameless Keep, my husband wants to find the local priest for a ‘professional chat.’ I had better go with him, I suppose.

  The local priest, Father Theodorus Daphopates, is very surprised to see him. Christopher is the first priest from outside the Empire that he has heard of in Darkreach. Now that my husband has gone back and fetched my Bible, it will be the last I see of him tonight. They are already head down checking if they both use the same text. I suppose that it has to be done. I am going to get some rest.

  Theodora

  This is the first place where there is genuine curiosity about us and our mission and the fact that we have a Hobgoblin with us. What is more, he is dressed as the rest of us are and he has a Human wife. Probably due to being on continual combat alert because of where they are, the garrison (and almost everyone is a part of the garrison, even the innkeeper and the waitresses), are interested in anything that happens that might affect them.

  I have to be careful about letting on who Basil and I really are, and ask them to keep the tale quiet among themselves until they were told otherwise, but I need to tell them what is happening. I am sure that, if anyone in Darkreach will readily believe in the Masters and their actions, it will be the people that live here.

  After the tale was complete, Basil had to go with two officers to introduce them to Father Christopher. Apparently, they want an immediate check for any pentagrams in the area. Basil tells me that the fact that it was negative produced immediate relief on their faces. I suppose that they have enough to worry about.

  I noticed the looks that passed when I mentioned that the attack on us had probably been engineered by the Masters. Basil also told me that he saw the looks passing between the officers and is willing to bet that the intensity of patrols is about to be stepped up and that the seals will be more closely inspected for a long while, especially the ones that are far away from the Keep.

  Apart from the tale of what brings us here, I think that the garrison are disappointed not to see any entertainment, particularly seeing that we have only three males and we women are all so beautiful.

  However, as Fãtima, in her heavily accented Darkspeech, told one admirer, a huge dark-green Isci-Kharl sergeant, as big as Aziz and with his rank clearly tattooed on his bare arms: “if you wish to court us, you now know where we live, and it is not just us, there are other women there as well.”

  Basil

  3rd November

  The next morning, we have headed out while it is still cool. It won’t last, but this is so much more comfortable than on the ride out. The way stations laid out along the road across the Great Plain slipped below us, and Nu-I lake and the village of Dochra are in view in time for an early lunch. Again, just as at their last stop, it is impossible to avoid their past. The Princess is addressed as Salimah al Sabah by several people and the local garrison are deferring to me.

  Seeing several here knew at least a little about me, I might as well take advantage of it. He went up to the garrison sergeant: “Greetings, sergeant,” and saluted with his fist to his heart. The sergeant looked surprised.

  “You did not want to be recognised last time you were here,” he said.

  “That is true, but circumstances are very much changed now. I am Tribune Basil Akritas and I work directly under my Strategos on a special assignment.” The sergeant’s eyes have grown wide. I am probably the most senior officer of my Corps that he has met, or at least the most senior that has openly admitted his rank.

  “Salimah al Sabah is actually a Special Personage,” I hope that he heard the illuminated capital letters on front of the last two words. Ah yes, his eyes open wider. “one that I am tasked to look after. We have been out of the Empire since you last saw us and I know nothing about what has gone on here during that time. I need to know if anything unusual has occurred while we have been away.”

  “Unusual?” asked the sergeant.

  “Rebellions, strange rumours, peculiar crimes, unexplained mysteries…anything really. I will know what I want to hear of when I hear it.”

  The sergeant sat back. The question, particularly being asked in this quiet town, seems to puzzle him. “Sir, it has all been quiet, very quiet.” I can almost see him straining to find something to mention. He wants to find something…and there is a touch of relief in his voice to not totally disappoint a senior officer.

  “The only thing that I can think of at all was that one of the Navy’s great dromonds disappeared late in the spring, one of the fireships from Antdrudge going on the way to Ardlark. It had been refurbished and re-armed, and was on a training cruise in fine weather and it just disappeared. It didn’t even arrive in port in Pain. Apparently, a search was mounted and nothing at all was found, even by the mages.

  “It caused quite a commotion and there was a review of everything that had to do with flame weapons. All of the troops even had to go through all their training again with them in case it was due to an accident. Is that what you were after, Sir?”

  “It may well be,” Late spring would be soon after we took Dwarvenholme. Why a dromond? “In spring…yes it could be. Thank you, sergeant, it may well be exactly what I was looking for.” Yes, the more I think about it, the more that it seems quite likely.

  He returned to the inn and told the Princesses. “It could well be something fleeing our attack or with no place to go home to, but how they got the dromond or where they went, I have no idea.”

  The Princesses may thank me, but they do not see the relevance, do they? Basil sighed. They are really not used to looking for any conspiracies that might be around them. It is just as well that I am here to look for them.

  That nigh
t, for the first time since leaving home, Theodora urged them to entertain. “This is where Basil and I met, and it is important to me,” she said. “Besides, there is local Muslim presence here and we have to start thinking about the promises we have made to Bilqĩs and Fãtima and the others. We might even find someone for Ayesha.” She turned to Ayesha: “Wouldn’t you like a man, or a partner at any rate?” For some reason Ayesha blushed and is lost for words.

  To the sound of nay, oud, buzuq, and drum there was dancing and singing and storytelling. I can sit back, cuddle my wife, and just watch…although it seems that I may have to play some chess as well.

  The tale of the Mice is told and the position of the women explained. The women have had to refuse several offers on the spot, again taking the line that suitors had to come to the valley to be taken seriously. Several men looked at the women themselves and then at the jewellery that they are wearing, made more obvious by their attire, and have expressions of thought on their faces.

  Verily has complained that she is out of practice for dancing, her muscles are all sore and that Aziz will be caring for the children at least one night a week while she gets fit again.

  The Alat-Kharl who had played the hammered dulcimer at their last visit had made himself a new—and better—one. Verily immediately bought it off him, at what had to be a very handsome price, judging from the bemused expression on his face.

  She also got him to show her a bit of how to play it. “It is the one happy memory of my childhood,” she explained to the others as she sat there with it on a table in front of her, “sitting in chapel and listening to one of these. I want to learn to play it and this nice Kharl is making that possible for me.”

  Nice Kharl? From the expression on his face as he has noticed a few of his soldiers listening in. The sergeant is obviously not sure if he likes being called ‘nice’, but he is more than happy with the money he is receiving.

  Chapter XLV

  Astrid

  4th November

  We are on the final leg to Ardlark. We are high above a road with people going each way on it. The plains grow more fertile, and more and more settlements and farms appear, spreading out from the road. The temperature is staying mild for us as we fly into a cool breeze. Bilqĩs flew close to Astrid. “The air smells funny,” she said.

  “That is the smell of the sea. I hate to say it, but I have missed it. Look ahead. That must be Ardlark. God, Basil, you were right. It is huge. What are those big buildings?”

  “The really big one that looks like a hill is the Palace.” He is pointing as he talks; trying to call loudly enough that all can hear what he says. “That is where we are headed, and where the Princess grew up. That big round one is the Circus. That is where combats take place. It will hold most of the people of Ardlark.”

  “The very long one is the Hippodrome. That is for racing horses and chariots and other things in. Father, that building with the big dome is the main basilica, it is named after Sancta Thomaïs, she is our patron saint. I will take you there.

  “Ayesha, the one beside it with the towers is for you, that is the main mosque. All of those big buildings leading up to the Palace are where the business of Empire is done. They are Courts of Law and for people who collect the taxes, and the people who look after food, and pay the army, and train officers and all sorts of things.

  “There is a University, and the different Churches teach their priests in some of the buildings. That big mass of low buildings over there is the main market; there are lots of small ones. The huge round building with water in the centre near the sea is the Arsenal. It is where the Fleet docks. The big squares …there…there…there…and there, they are Army bases. Each house at least a tagma in a permanent base.”

  “Now, we had better tidy up and look sharp. They will be looking at us already. Bring us down near that gate there.” He is pointing at a huge gate, one of several set in the three lines of walls that made up the outer boundary of Ardlark proper. Outside the walls the fields begin, even though there are still some houses and small settlements along the many roads. So many people, so many farms.

  Astrid put them all into a flat arrow, with the carpet at the head behind her, while she sped ahead to the gate. She sped along the wall, stopped in front of the gate and hopped off with a flourish. I need to make sure all of the people gathered here can see that I have no weapons in my hands. Looking at me is a large collection of Insakharl guards. Several have bows, not just nocked, but drawn and the rest have shortswords out.

  “Hello, I am Astrid the Cat, and here are our papers,” she moved towards the only one there who had no weapon out. Like the rest of those with swords, he wears bronze lamellar armour with greaves, but his helm has a crest on it. He must be an officer. I wonder if he outranks Basil. Let’s not get us shot now, but this could be fun.

  She smiled and continued. “We are an Embassy from the independent village of Mousehole and we are here to speak to Hrothnog. He is expecting us, not necessarily now, but he did send us an invitation.”

  “I will send word to the Palace,” he waved his hand and the archers lowered their bows. They kept them drawn. Different hand signals to the ones we use. “You can wait here. Move your people off the road and near the wall where we can watch them.”

  “I don’t think so. It is hot here in the sun and we have babies that will need feeding soon. What is your name and rank?”

  “I am Ducenarius Monoastres Gabras,” replied the officer stuffily.

  “Thank you” She waved for Basil to draw nearer. “I don’t know exactly, but I think a Tribune is a higher rank isn’t it?” The guard commander nodded. “Then may I introduce my husband Tribune Basil Akritas.”

  Yes, from the expression on the officer’s face when Basil saluted him and produced his sigil, I am going to enjoy this visit a lot. Basil said he had been given a high rank. It must be a really high rank. I have difficulty with any rank above ship’s captain. “Husband, this is Ducenarius Monoastres Gabras and he wants us to wait here. Freya and Georgiou need feeding and changing. I think that we should go on to the Palace and do that. Don’t you?”

  I can see Basil sighing inside over my tweaking noses. He can live with it. “Ducenarius, Strategos Panterius wants to hear from me now. His Imperial Majesty will probably want to see us within the hour. You wouldn’t want us to have to explain why our children are present and crying during that audience, would you now? I think that it would be wise all around to let us in. Our papers are in order and it is up to us to behave ourselves and see our way to where we have to be. Isn’t it?”

  The officer is nervous. Basil may not be in a Darkreach uniform, but it is some sort of uniform and he has the right sigil. Basil said that those things are personal and changed to black in the wrong hands and he is dropping the right names to gain immediate attention. He is waving behind him again. “Let them in,” he commanded, as if it were his own idea.

  “Thank you for your co-operation,” said Basil and turned to his wife switching to Hindi. “Stop teasing everyone you meet, Puss. If you keep doing it, then one day you will accidentally do it to Hrothnog, and I love you very much and would miss you.” It is not as much fun when he pats my butt with mail on before he goes back to his saddle.

  “Form pairs, half in front, half behind. Basil, quick, come to the front and show me which way to go.” She looked through the series of gates at the packed streets and added: “Keep a tight formation just over their heads.” We pass into Ardlark, looking about us in wonder at the number and variety of people and at the buildings around us while below, as we fly, people are looking back up at us with the same expression on their faces.

  Basil led them through one huge archway after another, straight up the main boulevard. Even with my lack of experience in cities I would have been able to find the Palace unaided. It lies straight ahead, and everything leads to it.

  Three tim
es we have to pass under other arches. There are no walls attached to them, and it looks like there never have been. They just seem to be there just for the joy of having them. On one of them people, not guards, just people, are moving around watching us from the walled top and it looked like all of them have stairs inside.

  From our height as we fly, I can see over some of the walls along the way. In courtyards, fountains played. It looks like what Ayesha has described of her home.

  Below us are the people of Darkreach. There are several kinds of Kharl: Humans dressed either in Muslim dress and in long robes, or in trews and short tunics, and even some of the huge Insak-div. There are pack animals of nearly every sort as well as carts, sedan chairs, chariots, wagons and porters. The smell and the noise drift up to us.

  As we go up what Basil calls a boulevard, major streets join from both sides. In the centre of every of these intersections there stands a tall post with stairs winding around it to the top. At the top of each of them, in a fenced platform, there is a person in uniform with a whistle and a paddle in each hand wearing a big flat hat. We are flying at a level just above them. The people on the platforms are blowing their whistles and waving their paddles and trying to keep the throng of people in order. It doesn’t seem to work very well.

  As they went Basil leant across to Astrid. “Let me take the lead in talking to people from now on, Puss.” He can do that. I am not sure that I can say anything sensible anyway.