by Jon Kiln
Berengar snorted and then looked back over his shoulder. “I’m just glad we finally convinced the King to move behind the front lines for this assault.”
“Yes, sir.”
Commotion started up near the gate and Nisero heard metal on metal.
Berengar shouted, “General Dreth, it’s upon us!”
Dreth stepped away from Arianne. “Take the city. Hold the gate!”
Berengar and other officers echoed the cry and their men drove forward in a column to enter through the gate and begin claiming control of the streets as planned.
Lieutenant Nisero turned and looked back through the advancing men for Arianne. Dreth and Berengar were already leading forward. The King was approaching in the middle ranks. Nisero did not see her. She was supposed to fall back to the support positions and he had no reason to believe she would not, but he did not see her. The men parted around him as they continued the advance.
Nisero thought of their retreat from the castle of Solag in the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Faithcore. He had Arianne and did not know the fate of her father. Berengar was fighting for his life, but Nisero had taken her out of danger, out of respect for the captain’s wishes. The captain’s wife and son were recently murdered and letting harm come to Arianne would negate the entire unauthorized mission the two of them had engaged in to rescue her. That instinct to protect her above all else had never really left Nisero as he searched the ranks for her.
The gate clanked loose of its holds and threatened to come crashing down on the heads of the King’s loyal forces seeking to enter through it. It locked again a few feet farther down. The men from both sides must have been fighting over the release lever.
Nisero charged forward between the lines.
The men were pushing through and fanning out into the city as they had been instructed. Nisero saw them taking positions on streets to control choke points until more forces assembled.
Even as more men flooded through, the gate jerked down a bit more before locking again. Within the gate arch, Nisero pushed through the flow of soldiers to locate the cranks and levers on the side. Men under the King’s command held the controls. Those serving Marlex were struggling to continue closing it even with blades held to their chests. If they served the correct King, their sacrifice would be admirable.
Nisero took a deep breath. “End them, if they refuse to end their struggle. We will not force them to be prisoners if death is the only end they will accept. Then, get that gate opened and locked. Now!”
The men pushed the traitors to the ground and drove their blades home. The others proceeded to raise the gate back to full open.
Nisero entered and surveyed the edge of the capital. Marlex’s forces in the first surprised wave threw down their arms and accepted captivity once the numbers flooding through overwhelmed them. The few that refused were cut down as Nisero watched.
As the King entered through the gate with a short sword in his grasp, the prisoners begged for mercy and forgiveness from their knees.
“Silence them,” the King commanded.
The troops made short work of the unarmed men, putting them onto the ground with the few opposing soldiers that had continued to fight.
Nisero stepped past the scene and toward Captain Berengar near the front of the advance. He heard Berengar directing the men. “Our advantage has been surprise. We won’t keep it long, if we don’t keep moving. Rally to your commanders and advance up your assigned path. The fight will grow harder closer to the center.”
The soldiers marched up the streets in their units, and the bulk of the force continued up the central avenue. As Nisero marched with the King and the main force, he knew that the street would narrow and split off as they drew closer to the palace. The force would have to split or funnel into a column that did not utilize the strength of their numbers.
General Dreth turned to Berengar. “Captain, let’s get our archers set at key outlooks on these buildings. I want our bowmen, not theirs, above our heads.”
“Yes, sir.” Berengar passed the message to the other commanders. Nisero watched the archers peal off the main force to enter doorways on each side of the street.
The King moved up beside Berengar. “Captain.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
“Do we have units posted at key buildings in the city?”
Berengar thought for a moment. “We have men at the drain openings under the wall in the event that any of Marlex’s men, the nobles, or the man himself attempt to flee the way we did.”
“And outside the other buildings I told you?”
“Not yet, but we are approaching those positions and men – trusted men – have been assigned to watch for anyone fleeing. We are coming up on the apothecary building ourselves soon.”
“I’m not even sure Marlex has discovered those tunnels out of the palace, but I do not want him to get away.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
“The men do not know what they are guarding?”
“No, sir, just who they are watching to possibly pass that way.”
“Your majesty,” Nisero said, “with all respect, if we could send a small force up one of those tunnels, we could possibly open the palace from the inside with minimal loss of life from this assault.”
The King shook his head with force. “Lives I can afford. Giving up the secrets of the tunnels might well cost me mine some day.”
Nisero pressed. “Myself and the captain already know of the one from the apothecary. You trust us with that knowledge. If he and I alone took on the mission of entering that way, you would lose no secrets and we would be taking our every advantage in this battle.”
The King considered this for a moment. He looked down at the street as they advanced with the center of the column. “I’ll allow it, but I want to come too.”
“The danger is already too great having you here,” Berengar protested. “If Marlex’s men found that pass after we used it to escape, they could have set a trap. This could well be a suicide mission.”
“Why would you push to attempt it, if you so feared death in it?” the King asked.
“Battle is risk,” Nisero said. “This is a risk worth taking for the lives it might save in comparison to the lives it might cost. That equation is off balance, if your life is one of the ones risked in it.”
The King relented. “I’ll allow it, but only you two. Keep the secret of the tunnel intact. Kill whoever you must to keep that secret on the other end before you allow us inside. Even the loyal troops must not know how you entered.”
Berengar was eager to get moving. “They know we climbed inside once to save you, your majesty. There is no reason they have to believe we got in any other way this time.”
“You must leave the nobles and Marlex himself for me to deal with, as I see fit. As for everyone else, there will be no quarter given. Take them all down, captain and lieutenant. They have forfeited their right to live in my kingdom any longer.”
“Yes, sir,” they both said together.
The man that had been on Dreth’s right inside the inn ran up beside them. Nisero did not know the man’s name, but he was some rank of officer within Dreth’s original double unit. “Your majesty, a message.”
“Yes, commander.”
“Battle has begun on the eastern border. Our forces have pushed into the territory of the kingdom of the east. They still believe they act under your command. Our forces outside the capital received the message.”
“Once we have the palace again,” the King decided, “they will, in fact, be acting under my command. No reason for most of them to think otherwise as we begin the purge of disloyal nobles and double agents within the army ranks.”
“Is there some message we could get out to delay that conflict until all the facts that led to it are revealed?” Nisero questioned.
“There is never a time when all facts are revealed. If a single message could stop wars, lieutenant, being King would be a task any man could do.
”
“Yes, sir.”
The King nodded to the commander. “Thank you. That will be all.”
As he started to leave, Berengar grabbed the man’s arm. “What of the city gates?”
“We control all the gates and perimeter of the capital. Fighting rages in the streets as we push Marlex’s forces closer to the palace.”
Berengar let go of his arm and inclined his head. “Thank you, commander.”
The King ushered them off. “You better go open the door for us soon, gentlemen.”
The sounds of swords clashing rang from the street ahead of them.
Berengar and Nisero advanced through the ranks ahead of the King’s position. Fighting broke out in all three avenues of the intersection ahead.
“Which fight do you prefer, sir?”
“The one that is over,” the captain replied. He pointed to the right. “We need to get to the cellar of that apothecary, so let’s assist with the advance in that direction.”
The exchanges of blows were rapid and heavy. Both sides of the melee wore the same uniforms and bled the same color of red. As they continued to battle, the King’s forces slowly pushed back step by step and one block at a time. The lines wavered even as they advanced. A few of Marlex’s soldiers dashed up an alley and a few more of the King’s men pursued.
Nisero reached out a hand as if to grab them and to pull them back into formation. They were already deep into the shadows and weaving through to other streets still up for grabs. Once they got there, the traitors would be hard to distinguish from the King’s forces except how they self identified.
Nisero drew his sword. “I think we are only winning by accident at this point.”
Nisero saw the line of fighting men was thinning. He stepped over the body of a felled soldier he assumed was one of them instead of one of his, but there was no way to be certain. The stench of death filled his nostrils.
After several rough and bloody skirmishes, the dwindling numbers of Marlex’s men turned and fled.
Berengar pushed onward. “Run them down, men. Don’t let them find a secure position or regroup to harangue us further.”
The men that were least injured charged ahead. Seeing their enemy flee fueled their adrenaline and gave them renewed strength.
Nisero and Berengar sheathed their blades without spilling any blood themselves. Berengar turned and walked the other way, facing the bulk of their ranks behind them. “Keep advancing. Take your assigned targets. Don’t leave any streets for our enemies to claim.”
As the men moved from block to block in a systematic way, Berengar and Nisero cut across and weaved to a different avenue. Along the roofs, Nisero saw men carrying bundles fleeing above the streets. He smiled, unconcerned for the escape of the smugglers with their black market goods.
Other than the echoes of metal on metal and distant shouts, they could be walking through the capital on any other day on any common patrol. Citizens peered from windows as Berengar and Nisero passed beneath.
They rounded another corner and Nisero spotted a group of seven men standing in the center of the street, out in front of the apothecary in question.
“I was hoping to get here before our men and slip in quietly,” Berengar said, displeased.
The soldiers turned their eyes toward the two men approaching.
Nisero narrowed his eyes at them. “Are you sure they are ours?”
“I chose them myself for these special guard positions. I think they are the same men.”
As they stopped in front of them, one of the seven said, “All quiet, sir. We confirmed the building was empty and we have remained outside since. No one in and no one out, as you said, captain. No sign of the enemy either.”
The soldier was short, and Berengar towered over him. “Have you watched the back and the alleys?”
The man nodded. “Another seven men in back and a pair watching the windows on each side in the alleys. We have a signal, if there is trouble, but all is quiet.”
“What’s the signal?” Nisero interrupted.
The man shrugged. “You yell that there is trouble and you need help, and we come running.”
Berengar chortled. “Seems clear as far as signals go.”
The fellow smiled. “It was a quick assignment and deployment, sir. We thought it best to keep things simple.”
“The lieutenant and I are going in.”
“You want some of us to back you up in your search?”
“No,” Berengar said quickly. “Your orders are the same. No one in and no one out.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Can you give the others a signal that we are inside and not to rush in on us?”
He turned to one of the others to pass the message along. The man nodded and ran around the building on the right side.
Berengar led toward the door with Nisero following behind.
The soldier gave a quick salute as they passed. “Happy hunting, sir.”
Chapter 19: A Small Price Paid in Blood
Captain Berengar raised the lantern as the two of them made their way back along the curved tunnel over cracks and leaking water. Nisero swore there were more splits and leaks than before.
“We spend a lot of time backtracking, captain.”
“That we do. Even being involved in war is a great backtrack for me. At least this time we are acting on behalf of the King as we break into the palace. We are also less likely to fall to our deaths.” Berengar sloshed through the murky water. “We might still die, of course,” he added.
“We enter the city as part of a great army,” Nisero said, “but we still end up on a mission with just the two of us against the world.”
“You sound like Arianne scolding me again. We are close now.” Berengar stopped to listen, and whispered, “Let us advance quietly from here until we know exactly what we are facing.”
They climbed the stairs and reached the back of the bookshelf, which was still closed. They stared for a moment. Nisero gave it a tentative push. “Did you think to ask how to open it from this side, sir?”
“This was your idea, lieutenant.”
He set down the lamp and they felt over every part of the surface, up and down the back of the shelf. Nisero eventually found a latch and the shelf shifted when he pushed it. Berengar put a finger over his lips. Nisero pressed the latch again and they pulled the shelf back from the wall. It bumped the lamp, shattering it and plunging them into darkness. They finished moving the shelf and stepped out into the light of the room.
The door was open and the furniture was overturned. Books had been pulled from the shelf and cast into the floor. The room had been searched, but then the search abandoned before they found the passage.
Nisero glanced around at the mess. “Did they just give up?”
“They probably decided we went out another way,” Berengar hazarded.
The men stepped out into the passage and made their way through the palace. Shouts and commotion echoed throughout, but they saw no one.
The men rounded a corner and a single, young soldier stood in the center of the hall staring at them. He dropped his sword with a crash. “I’m only a kitchen servant,” he pleaded. “They dressed me as a soldier and told me to stand here and raise alarm. I want no trouble, sirs.”
Berengar stepped forward and drove his pummel into the boy’s forehead. A small trickle of blood issued from the wound and he tumbled to the floor, leaning against the base of the wall.
“Sometimes no quarter has a price,” Nisero rued.
Berengar agreed. “Even if he was surrendering, he was doing so too loudly. He will live, but once the King’s men have him, he might wish that he hadn’t.”
They rounded the corner and crossed the hallway leading toward the main doors. Berengar pointed ahead. Forseth and three of the Elite Guard stood with a unit of regular army, facing the door. It was not a large force, but large for only two men.
Berengar pointed toward a set of stairs and they took them le
ading down. They followed a dark passage and came upon a single, wooden door with barred windows. Two soldiers stood facing it.
Berengar indicated at Nisero and they charged. The men turned and reached for their blades. One sucked in air and opened his mouth. Nisero ran him through with his sword and Berengar took the other. They fell to the floor and the air escaped the man slowly, without him releasing his shout.
Berengar unlocked the door and swung it open, waiting. After a few minutes, a group of men approached along the side of the palace. One of them said warily, “Captain?”
“Yes. You, go tell the others and bring them through this way. The rest of you follow me.”
The captain led them back up the stairs and they approached Forseth’s unit from behind.
Nisero turned his head and put a finger over his mouth, but Berengar shouted, “We are inside and we have the palace. Throw down your weapons!”
A few did just that. Others ran. A small group led by Forseth charged and they met blade to blade.
Nisero went for Forseth, but another man stepped in and Nisero took on that soldier. Forseth stepped back out of reach. One of the men opened the main doors and tried to flee that way only to be cut down outside.
Forseth howled, “No, you fool.”
Dreth entered followed by a column of men.
“Fall back,” Forseth ordered.
The small group of men led by Forseth made for the stairs. Berengar and Nisero pressed the pursuit themselves cutting at the men. Some fell while others took wounds as they continued to retreat higher into the castle.
“I was expecting more,” Nisero said to Berengar as they continued up another flight of stairs.
“Are you disappointed?”
“Disappointed that it took us this long to bring down a conspiracy with this little fight in them.”
Berengar took deep breaths as they ran. “Men who live in the shadows don’t do well when they are dragged out into the light.”
Captain Berengar and Lieutenant Nisero mounted the top of the stairs. They advanced along the final hallway toward the gold and platinum inlaid doors that Nisero assumed were the bedchambers of the King himself. Nisero wondered if they would burst inside to find Marlex hiding under the bed as his final refuge.