Cavalry, spearmen, archers, engineers, siege towers and artillery troops armed with both stones and bolts, were all united under the banner of the Sun Chamber, a faming sun emblazoned on black cloth. Dredging up a cloud of dust, this slow tide of violence trickled across the landscape. The sky remained cloudless all day.
‘This is all your doing.’ Commissioner Tibus rode up next to me to admire the view, munching on an apple.
I opened my mouth to say something, but I didn’t know how to reply.
‘I was joking, Drakenfeld,’ she added. ‘Well, partially anyway. It takes one Sun Chamber officer to bring a common thief to justice, but it takes an army to force a king to submit, such is the nature of power. Two thousand soldiers is not that many, but we need to show the likes of Licintius that we mean business. If he protests, like he did with our initial envoys, we can always summon more. We’ll tell him that.’
‘Have our agents been at all successful inside the city?’
‘We’ve not heard back from them, so we must assume otherwise. Our envoys were turfed out without being given a proper hearing – that’s a slap in the face to the Sun Chamber right there. Licintius knows the law, oh yes. He knows what to expect.’ Tibus threw away the core of the apple and turned away.
Merchants – those who had not heard the news or noise of an advancing army – scattered from the roads to the city, drawing their horses across farmland at a rapid pace. A few people lingered to watch what was going on, unaware that their home city was about to be under siege. The gates to Tryum were closed and soldiers were lining the walls to the city. Behind us, the camp was being set up for a long stay.
Meanwhile, all the rest of us could do was wait.
A night passed while we waited for messengers to continue back and forth, for diplomacy to have its opportunity. The messengers had been perfectly clear: the king was to surrender himself for questioning on behalf of the Sun Chamber’s highest authority. The Senate would take charge of affairs for the matter to be resolved. Whether or not Licintius passed this message on to the Senate was another matter.
Day came again, and traders or travellers who wanted to flee the city were driven from the city’s gates without repercussion. Tryum was sealed. Small packs of cavalry rode around the city enforcing the blockade. Entry was forbidden by order of the Sun Chamber and it was at this point that Commissioner Tibus informed me that the river route towards the sea would shortly be blocked, too. All of this was to add pressure: to force Licintius to open the gates to the city and hand himself in.
Later, wondering vaguely how long it would take for a city to starve, an idea came to me. I rode over to find Commissioner Tibus, who was in her leather command tent along with Callimar, and I made a proposition to them.
The three of us walked back out to the viewpoint, looking down on Tryum.
‘I don’t want my people to go hungry,’ I said.
‘No one wants that,’ Tibus agreed. ‘What’s your idea, Drakenfeld?’
‘It’s in everyone’s interest for this whole thing to end as soon as possible. Well, that can be two ways – either Licintius hands himself in or we break down the walls or gates and march in to collect him.’
‘Stating the obvious, Drakenfeld . . .’ Tibus wiped her brow with her handkerchief, looking increasingly annoyed with the fact that I’d dragged her out into the heady sunlight.
‘Not entirely. The first point may never happen, but I believe there’s a short cut to the second version.’
‘Which is?’
‘The aqueducts.’ I gestured to the spectacular works of engineering that supplied Tryum with fresh water from the hills and mountains. ‘We can make our way into the city, through an aqueduct. There’s hardly been any rain around here over the past few weeks, except a storm that passed over Tryum – not the hills. There are access points throughout the structures, aren’t there? Admittedly it could be some distance between them – but there will be a way inside them. I know of at least one point where the walls were broken and in need of repair. A tiny force can sneak into the city while no one even realizes. I know those streets better than anyone here, and I know my way around Optryx, too.’
‘You want to lead a band of soldiers through one of those things,’ Tibus said. ‘I like it. General?’
Callimar smiled. ‘I’ll not let you go in alone and have all the fun. Who can we take with us?’
‘A unit to go after the king and a unit to open the gates,’ Tibus declared, commandeering the plan. ‘We could do with bribes being arranged where possible – and a couple of agents doing the dirty work. As young Drakenfeld keeps reminding us, nonviolence is the key – all of this is a gesture and a threat, nothing more. We don’t depose kings in these circumstances; we let the bodies within the nation decide on the best course of action.’
Callimar added, ‘We could arrange for a decoy on the opposite side of the city – move a few siege weapons into place, to look as if we are planning to gain entry from another gate. While the city’s forces are all looking in one direction, we’ll crawl in through the other.’
I took a deep breath, relieved that my whim was not as ridiculous as I had first imagined, and that the people of Tryum might not have to go without food after all.
We spent the morning resting in anticipation of the forthcoming operation, then later that afternoon Leana and I headed out on foot with fifty infantrymen and two of our engineers, short, cheerful and intelligent men who couldn’t stop arguing with each other. While the heat was beginning to fade, we set out on our route away from Tryum, heading along the largest-looking of the aqueducts, looking for a point of entry or a weakness that could be exploited. The aqueducts around Tryum were two centuries old, the engineers explained, designed at the start of the Detratan Empire, and formed the blueprint for the structures that today littered Vispasia. Each one was fundamentally the same and each shared precisely the same incline for the water to flow.
We only had to march for less than half an hour until our engineers located what they thought was the best way in. To gain access to the deck, which carried the water, we had to climb up onto the upper tier of two immense rows of stacked arches. At the top we would find one of hundreds of manholes, but it would not be easy for fifty-something people to climb up. Instead we marched to where the aqueduct collided with a hillside: there the tunnel would continue for a short way through the land itself.
The ascent took another half an hour, owing to the temperature and having to navigate past the overgrown gorse bushes that blighted the hillside. Eventually, we all made it. Tryum stood in the far distance and the square manhole was right before us. We shuffled forward in single file, the engineers, Callimar, Leana and myself at the head of the line. A small wooden hatch, about three feet wide, covered a slightly raised square hole. The engineers opened it up with so little trouble I wondered why we needed them to come along. Soon torches were lit and brought forward.
Leana volunteered to go down first. She did not take the rope she was offered, but nimbly climbed down and dropped the couple of feet until she made it to the water deck, where she made only a shallow splash.
‘It is all right,’ she called up. ‘There is little water down here.’
Callimar followed her down using a rope; I passed him down a torch while he was halfway, and he took it inside. After Callimar, I sat up on the side, dangling my legs in, then tentatively grabbed the rope, easing myself down onto the water deck.
Inside was aged stonework, a low curved ceiling above us and beneath our feet the flat bed where the water flowed. Unsurprisingly it smelled of damp, and a thick, viscous slime coated the sides. We moved forward to give room for the others as they climbed down, many of them bringing torches with them. Soon the tunnel had filled with soldiers, the clamour echoing for some way. Callimar issued orders for silence, which was not easy for those wearing armour.
I stared at the blackness beyond, thinking of the couple of miles of this we would have to negotiate, but Leana
nudged me forward, having acquired a torch of her own from one of the others.
‘Come,’ Callimar whispered. ‘It’s time you showed us around your city.’
The journey in the dark took much longer than I thought. We tried not to stumble or make too much of a noise. The darkness ahead was punctuated only by thin slivers of fading light that managed to work around the wooden manhole covers, but as dusk came we could rely only upon the torches.
A good hour into the journey, my pulse began to race: we could hear the noise of soldiers outside Tryum’s walls, or perhaps it was the noise from within Tryum; it was difficult to tell. All I knew was that we were nearing our destination, the heart of Tryum itself.
Callimar called back behind him and fifty short swords were at once unsheathed.
It took a little while until we reached the broken stonework of the aqueduct deep inside the city. There remained a shattered hole to one side and I peered through the gap up at the stars now starting to define themselves above the city. Immediately to one side was a rooftop, and down below the streets were eerily empty. Our torches were extinguished and left standing upright within the channel of the aqueduct. One by one we climbed down onto the next rooftop, jumped down onto a lower one, then down onto the street, where we immediately split into much smaller groups.
The plan was to go about the city unnoticed enacting three tasks. Twelve of us, myself and Leana included, would make our way to Optryx. Around twenty soldiers would head independently towards the gates of the city, while the remainder hung back should the first operation fail. They would then see that the gates could be set alight or bribes could be given to various members of the King’s Legion.
With spectacular professionalism, everyone disappeared into the night. Meanwhile, I regarded the streets, staring at the vacant benches outside a tavern, at the temples with their doors closed. There appeared to be so few people, and those who we passed were almost scuttling about the city with a furtive purpose, or were simply drunk.
Tryum’s silence permitted us to hear the roar of the soldiers outside. I hoped the commissioner would keep to her word, that the noise was a simple distraction and not an effort to gain entry into the city through violence.
I led the group through the Polyum district, and eventually Regallum. The huge Temple of Polla, with its torches either side of the wide staircase, was a beacon on a night like this. We hurried along under Polla’s gaze, keeping close to the walls and remaining as much as we could in shadow. A soothsayer shambled into my path and I nearly knocked her to the ground; her one eye regarded me as she let me know what she thought of me. I apologized and ran to catch up with the others.
The road to Optryx was devoid of life and, as hoped, there were few soldiers around. Many of them would have been required to attend to the threat from the siege. The four guards standing to attention on the portico walked out to intercept us, only to find themselves immediately overwhelmed. Callimar and another Sun Chamber soldier immediately gained the better of them. They were struck down before they could draw their weapons, bodies dragged to the other side of the street where their throats were cut to make sure. Blood seeped across the paving stones.
Another handful of soldiers from the King’s Legion came out to investigate. Seven of our group diverted their attention while Callimar, Leana, myself and two others slipped around the perimeter of the courtyard inside the gated entrance. Those engaged in combat drew the king’s soldiers well out of sight. Meanwhile, we headed around the side, avoiding the main entrance.
We breached the first of many ornamental gardens, careful to remain quiet. I checked back but it seemed no one had followed us. Starlight had grown brighter, and there was a beautiful fragrance coming from the plants around. Had it not been a mission of some urgency, it would have been pleasant to have remained longer to explore this place.
Needing any point of entry, we headed towards a slight glow from one side of the palace: it was an open door with a couple of candles lit inside.
We burst in and startled three people, two men and a woman, all of them naked on one of the tables in a dining room, alongside the light of a lantern. Callimar immediately claimed a position of authority and demanded that they answer for themselves. The woman sheepishly drew up her dress from the floor and begged forgiveness. One of the men slunk into the darkness in one corner, where he began weeping; the other stood trying to cover himself up.
The woman, who must have been a good ten years older than I was, was senior to the two, much younger, male servants. She pleaded with Callimar not to say anything to get her into trouble. The general kept his cool and ordered them to get to their own quarters immediately and say nothing, otherwise he would report them.
They all sprinted out into the gardens in various states of undress, leaving us with a way into Optryx. Callimar said, ‘The things people do to occupy themselves in a siege.’
I laughed, reached to put out the flickering lantern when that harsh smell suddenly came to me . . .
Leana was standing over me, explaining something to the other soldiers in the darkness.
‘What the hell is wrong with him?’ someone said.
‘Seizures,’ she declared. ‘An innocent thing. It is nothing to worry about.’
‘He’s cursed,’ one of the others called. ‘Tainted. I’ve seen it before.’
‘Devilry,’ said another.
‘He was like an animal.’
Callimar snapped back at them while Leana helped me to my feet. My muscles ached. ‘I don’t care what’s wrong with him – touched by a god or otherwise, right now we’re here to hunt Licintius.’
There it was: the glares of the soldiers, the deep look of distrust, fear. Even in the poor lighting of the room, it was obvious how their faces had creased up in disgust. The sense of shame was overwhelming. That same look in Callimar’s eye, too – someone who regarded me as a friend. A deep and awkward silence pervaded while I regained my composure.
‘We continue,’ I said.
Callimar nodded, but it took a moment until the others would follow.
‘Where do you think he’ll be?’ Callimar snapped.
‘He could be anywhere,’ I replied. ‘The temple, a room of contemplation, a war room – he might not even be here at all.’
‘He will be,’ Callimar said. ‘Someone like Licintius won’t be on the front line – he’ll be skulking here, biding his time. He’s probably too shocked to do anything.’
The residence was practically empty. What should have been a bustling place of servants, administrators, clerics, priests and traders seemed eerily silent. Voices echoed down the corridor and we would instantly look for an alcove to hide in. No lanterns had been lit and so Optryx remained in utter darkness.
We checked the various bedrooms and then those meeting rooms where I had conversed with Licintius. There was a small amount of activity in the kitchens, but when I noted several crates being carried down the corridor it occurred to me.
‘He’s planning to flee,’ I whispered.
‘Coward,’ Leana replied.
‘We’ll stop him,’ Callimar said. ‘Don’t forget, the rivers are blockaded out to sea, so he won’t get that far.’
We continued with even more urgency, working our way deeper into the heart of the royal residence.
A cluster of soldiers spotted us in the corridor: we tried to get out of sight but they sprinted after us, their armour clamouring down the passage.
‘We’ll keep them back,’ Callimar said. ‘You go on. We’ll catch up.’
I didn’t need telling twice. Callimar and his men formed a line, each taking a fighting stance, waiting for the king’s soldiers. Upon hearing their weapons starting to clash, Leana and I dashed through familiar halls that lined the way to the Temple of Trymus.
We paused as we saw the temple doors open.
Licintius.
He froze, just for a brief heartbeat, as he saw us. He dashed towards nearby doors. Two soldiers followed him out
of the temple and remained to confront us; Leana slammed them both to one side, before she cut one of them across his throat, and sliced the back of the other’s knee where there was no armour.
Sprinting across the dark, ornate hall, I called for Licintius to stop, but he continued to open the opposite doors and went through them.
Leana then caught up with me before running ahead through the doors and into the adjacent corridor, in pursuit of the king.
I turned the corner in time to see her whip her blade low through the air, clipping Licintius’ heels.
The king collapsed face forward to the ground. Leana stood back for me to descend upon him. I arrived at his sprawling form, pressed my fingers into his throat and looked fiercely into his eyes while heaving deep breaths. Sweat poured down my face. From the look in his eye, both of us knew all I had to do was squeeze on his throat and that would be the end of it. I wanted to – for all he had done.
But no. A violent resolution might have felt satisfactory for a fleeting moment, but I represented the Sun Chamber, and followed Vispasian laws, those of a dignified culture, and I would not regress to the ways of some northern savage.
‘Get him out of the way, in there.’ Leana pointed to the nearest door. ‘It is out of sight. I will check the other guards quickly before they recover and bring attention.’
I opened the door to a side room, which turned out to be an office of some description, then threw the king across the floor, gently closed the door, and watched over him, in an angry silence, waiting for Leana to return.
A Time for Answers
Eventually Leana came in and closed the door behind her. ‘Both now dead. I hid the bodies in the temple.’
She lit one of three candles on the desk, while I regarded Licintius once again. In his boots and a dark green outfit that seemed more suited for travelling than the business of state, he looked like a man who had other plans tonight. I reached down to grab his hair, pulled him up onto his feet and shoved him back into one of the fine leather chairs.
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