“Yes, Your Highness,” the ambassador said, bowing as the door closed behind the two men.
*
King Calamidese jumped up. “Highness? Was that the Neuyokkasinian prince everyone is looking for?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, and it's he that's responsible for your rescue,” the ambassador said.
The king slumped down in his chair. All my life I’ve been told the Neuyokkasinian royal family was my worst enemy, he thought. Now a prince of that house saved my life and family from the very evil alliance I made to destroy them.
*
Saxthor and Tournak made their way up the street outside the embassy. Scattered remnants of citizens ran this way and that frantic to escape. Even those that stayed to loot, now abandoned their ill-gotten gains to get away. Orcs had pillaged, but now reformed into their cohorts. The orderly, deliberate way the invading forces took over the city was in sharp contrast to the panic that sent the citizens scurrying like darting rats. Some turmoil resulted in fires, and with the fire brigades gone, too, only a few orcs attempted to put out blazes to save the city for their winter encampment.
As dusk descended, darkness settled on Sengenwhapolis. No one lit street lamps and most houses, now abandoned, remained dark.
Only orc contingents patrolled the deserted streets. Avoiding the orcs, Saxthor and Tournak made their way in search of Bodrin and Tonelia. They went up two blocks and still no sign of the two staunch fighters, though they found the site of the skirmish.
“No sign of them here,” Tournak said. “If they’ve been taken prisoner, we’ll never find them in time.”
They began knocking on doors to see if anyone saw what happened to Bodrin and Tonelia. Tournak found an old woman who cracked her door. “I saw a man and a woman fighting with a group of orcs about an hour ago,” she said. “They both had black hair, his medium curly, hers long and straight. She was beautiful, those blue eyes against her olive complexion. He was handsome and well-muscled.” She was past the blushing stage, but her eyes twinkled above a missing tooth in her grin.
“Which way did they go?” Saxthor asked.
She shook her head and pointed toward the palace. Saxthor’s heart sank.
“The surviving orcs took the two prisoners, and dragged them off to the palace dungeon. I heard them mention the Sekcmet Palace, and that’s the direction they dragged them off to,” the old woman said. “That’s all I know.” She started to close the door then opened it again as Saxthor and Tournak turned away. “One thing, those two killed half a dozen orcs. Those savages were furious. The orcs will torture them in that dungeon. You won’t be able to free them.”
She shut the door and Saxthor heard a heavy bolt slam over. Saxthor was torn between his closest friends, and saving the ambassador and the royal family. I can’t abandon either, he thought, and turned to Tournak. “I have to try to save Bodrin and Tonelia. You go back to the embassy and get those people out of the city.”
“You’re wasting time,” Tournak said.
Saxthor pinched his lips and shook his head, but Tournak stood firm. They raced up the street in the direction the old woman pointed. Within minutes, they reached the palace, but now the gates were sealed and orcs stood guard there.
“We won’t be able to get back into the palace that way,” Saxthor said.
“We don’t have much time, Saxthor.”
Saxthor nodded and led as they slipped around to the back entrance, where vendors had delivered food to the palace kitchens. After checking to be sure that no one followed, Saxthor tested the door. It was as they left it earlier. He pulled the door open a tiny crack, holding his breath, fearing the door would creak, but it made no noise.
“No sounds or light,” Saxthor said.
The two slipped through the guardroom and into the kitchen, dark and empty.
“Looks like they ate all the food and left,” Tournak said.
Saxthor led Tournak up the small spiral stairs back to the corridor they’d come from earlier. “We need to find the dungeon.” He looked up and down the hall but saw no servants left to waylay for directions. He remembered as an unsupervised child he had tumbled down the stairs behind the formal staircase leading to the audience hall. Those obscure stairs led to the dungeons. Saxthor rushed to the grand staircase. Sure enough, behind the staircase’s right side was a door to hidden stairs. The two men slipped down to the vaults.
Bare-chested orcs in leather aprons hammered at forges and stoked fires used to make shackles or torture prisoners. Saxthor could see about a dozen orcs in this dungeon’s section. The room was windowless and the ceiling low. Straw strewn on the floor soaked up blood and gore from tortures. The mingle smell of smoke, blood, and gore was nauseating. Prisoners hung from the walls in chains. One was in a cage suspended from the ceiling and more were in a cell, facing the torture chamber.
There wasn’t time for battling their way out if discovered, so Saxthor took out the Peldentak Wand and surrounded Tournak and himself in the veil of invisibility. They crept into the room, avoiding the orcs at their forges, then moved on to the next room searching for Bodrin and Tonelia.
They found Tonelia in a cell at the room’s far end. Bodrin was stretched full length on a wooden table, stripped to the waist with bloody welts all across his chest. Relishing the thought, two grinning orcs stood ready to torture Bodrin.
“You fat, hairy orc, you look worse than a troll,” Tonelia yelled from her cell. “He doesn’t know anything.”
Tonelia’s nerve never wavers under pressure, Saxthor thought. Not wanting to get into a struggle that would only draw more orcs, he developed a plan.
At the next room’s edge, an orc was hammering a shackle at the forge. When the orc looked away, Saxthor moved, taking a molten piece of iron from the forge and tossed it into the animal skin clothing of the orc about to whip Bodrin.
Held in by the hide, the iron quickly burned the torturer and glowed still, as it burned through the animal skin. The orc bellowed, tearing at the burning hide. The other orcs, the one at the forge included, turned to see what the orc in the adjourning room was screaming about. Pain intensified rage, and the burned orc turned on the orc smith at the forge.
“What you doing, you clumsy fool?” The burned orc asked. His eyes flashed. He rushed the forge, grabbing a glowing poker from the coals and thrusting it into the smith’s stomach. The two fought with iron rods banging and sparks flying.
In the mayhem, Saxthor tossed another piece of iron at the orc by the table holding Bodrin. That orc joined the fight, and others joined in until most of the dungeon’s orcs were embroiled in the pandemonium. Saxthor would grab red hot metal from the forge and burn this one, then that one, to keep the fight going and make them all the madder.
With all orcs entangled, both men began dispatching orcs with metal forge tools. The orcs never caught on and continued to fight with each other until only one still stood, gasping for breath. Tournak sent him into unconsciousness.
Saxthor ended the veil of invisibility and put away the Peldentak Wand. He released Bodrin and tied an orc on the rack. Meanwhile, Tournak searched the orcs and got the key to release Tonelia. The four disappeared up the staircase just before an ogre came to see what all the noise was about. Saxthor motioned for Tournak to help Bodrin up the stairs, while he defended their retreat just inside the staircase, watching the ogre.
The ogre threw water on the few living jailers.
“What’s going on here?” The ogre asked the first conscious orc rubbing his battered head with his bloody hand.
“Look there.” The orc pointed to his burns and bruises. As the other survivors came to, they did the same and blamed each other for starting the fight.
“Why’s that fighter tied down on the table?”
The orcs looked around at each other for an explanation, but none was forthcoming. The ogre and orcs figured out that Bodrin and Tonelia were gone. By then, the four fugitives were in the kitchens about to escape the palace through the guardroom
.
* * *
The energy ripple of Saxthor’s invisibility veil jolted the drowsy wraith, just rising in the palace cellars. This mysterious power surge is coming from within the palace, he thought. Formed with the Dark Lord’s blood, the wraith knew his master sensed the nearby energy ripple’s source as well. The wraith didn’t take form, but flew through the palace, level by level, as a vapor, searching for the energy source. When it reached the dungeons, it saw the rubble and numerous orcs dead or crippled. It assumed a wounded orc’s substance and listened to the ogre’s story about the fight and two fugitives’ disappearance. “If you knocked each other unconscious, who knocked out the last one standing?” the wraith asked.
The wounded looked around at each other perplexed.
“We don’t know,” an orc said.
The ogre stepped forward. “The last two must have knocked out each other at the same time.”
The silent wraith glared at the ogre, who stumbled backward.
“You stupid oaf; then who released the prisoners?”
There was no reply and the wraith looked over the fidgeting, wounded orcs. The wraith screamed. “You all released the prisoners!”
With that, wizard-fire streaked through and incinerated every orc in the dungeon and their ogre captain. The wraith discarded the orc shell and returned to the audience hall above to analyze the situation and contemplate his own next move.
*
Crippled from the rack, Bodrin leaned on Tonelia, walking back to the embassy between Saxthor and Tournak, with swords in hand.
“We’ll encounter orcs at any time. I know you’re hurting Bodrin, but we must hurry,” It hurt Saxthor seeing Bodrin, straining to hobble his breathing heavy.
“I’m going as fast as I can,” Bodrin said.
“I know my friend,” Saxthor said. “Can I help you -- carry you?”
“Looks like you could move faster on longer legs now,” Tonelia said to her Bodrin. Her twitching lips grinned; she hugged him to her. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“That’s right, take advantage of a cripple,” Bodrin said. Obstinate, her humor seemed to spur him to move faster.
The group was able to move through the dark, deserted streets unobstructed until a detachment of orcs emerged from an alley. Tonelia pressed Bodrin against a wall and wrapped herself around him, kissing him for all she was worth. Saxthor picked up her ploy and started to sway begging them to move on in a drunk’s slurred voice. Tournak followed suit and they all appeared to the orcs passing by to be defenseless drunks. When the danger passed, the four resumed their trek to the embassy. Bodrin was silent the rest of the way, but Saxthor caught his smile in the moonlight.
As they entered the embassy courtyard, Bodrin turned to Tonelia, “It’s amazing what a man has to go through to get a kiss.”
“Don’t let it go to your head, big boy,” Tonelia said. Bodrin frowned and slumped to his most pitiful pose. Tonelia could hardly help herself. She kissed him again, this time, a peck on the cheek.
“Where’re the orcs, when you need one?” Bodrin asked.
Sweating, the ambassador appeared, having rushed to greet Saxthor as soon as the watch spotted them coming.
Before he could speak, Saxthor began his preparation’s checklist. “Have the king and his family eaten? Have you packed the essentials and assigned them to their respective carriers? Is everyone ready to travel?”
“Yes to all, Highness. We’re prepared to leave as soon as Your Highness commands.”
“It’s time as soon as Tonelia patches up Bodrin.”
Saxthor led Tournak, Bodrin, and Tonelia to the reception hall, where the royal family was resting. He bowed to the king and his family.
“There’s no time to lose,” Saxthor said, looking around the room. “Tonelia, take Bodrin, find someone that can get you bandages, and dress his wounds.” When they’d left the room, Saxthor continued. “I’m sure the master-wraith that attacked Your Majesty is in charge of the city. It’s dark, the wraith will be active. He'll know someone helped the prisoners escape. The wraith’s creatures will search everywhere, building by building, to find the prisoners and their accomplices. The vile specter won’t spare embassies.” Saxthor paused to let the ramifications sink in. “Now that Dreaddrac controls Sengenwhapolis, there’ll be no mercy for anyone opposing the Dark Lord.”
“Is there any chance of reinforcements reaching the city in time?” the ambassador asked. Saxthor looked at the king, whose head dropped.
“The kingdom is teeming with orcs and ogres,” Calamidese said. “The only organized resistance was here in the capital, but my army was neutralized before they learned of the attack. Most soldiers have fled the city with the civilian population. Our generals in the field may try to organize, but that’ll take time with the enemy entrenched throughout the kingdom.” The disheartened king looked down at the floor, having exposed the magnitude of his mistake.
“We must escape the city at once,” Saxthor said. “As soon as Bodrin recovers enough, we’ll leave. Prepare to depart at a moment’s notice. Take only what you can carry. The soldiers will carry the state documents we deem critical. They won’t be able to carry your personal items. The exception will be a small chest for each member of the royal family.”
“What about the rest?’ the ambassador asked.
“Bring all other documents and items of questionable content to the cellar. Cover the papers with oil and run a cord through candle wax several times. Put one end in the papers. Stretch the cord out to the doorway. Tie that end of the cord to a piece of pine lighter wood. Assign a soldier to light the lighter wood when the last of us is outside the gate and run to catch up with us. Tell him twice, he must close and lock the gate as he leaves. With luck, we’ll be out of the city, when they discover the fire.”
“As you say, Highness.” The ambassador nodded, bowed to both the prince and king, and left to make the arrangements.
Saxthor turned to the assembled personnel. “Does anyone know of a hidden way out of the city, so we won’t have to fight our way through the gates? If we slip out unseen, it would give us more time to escape before the enemy discovers our flight.”
Saxthor looked around the room, but to a man, they shook their heads and looked to each other.
“There’s a secret escape gate in one of the palace storehouse’s back wall,” King Calamidese said, standing up. “Unfortunately, it’s masked by magic, and my wizard was the only one that knew the spell to opens it. The poor man was killed in the wraith’s second attack.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Saxthor said. “We’ll take that route then and hope Tournak or I can open the portal.”
“Back to the palace again?” The princess royal said.
Saxthor nodded. Only then did he note her brilliant eyes. “We’ll pass through the city in groups of eight to ten so as not to alarm the patrols. Each group will leave half a block ahead of the next. Keep the group in front of you in sight to get to the palace. Go now, we leave at once.”
The ambassador returned, having selected the soldier to fire the lighter wood for burning the embassy. The man had changed into traveling clothes and had his pack on his back plus a satchel over his shoulder. With him were more soldiers to whom the ambassador had assigned baggage to carry.
“I’ve sent others to the kitchens to carry supplies. The remaining soldiers have gone to collect their personal belonging.”
Everyone assembled in the courtyard. Saxthor and the ambassador assigned the groups to leave the embassy and set their order.
“My group will leave first to find the portal and open it. This group of ten embassy guards will follow to protect those in front and behind. The dowager queen, princess royal, and the ambassador will leave in the third group with Tournak. Six more guards to protect them will be close behind.” Saxthor assigned the other groups of embassy guards and servants and their positions. “Move fast, the wraith will be awake and looking for us by now.”
; Saxthor opened the gate, when a sentry high up flashed the signal the street was clear. They crept out, then moved as ordinary citizens up the street. There was little traffic and a steady stream of groups moved along in succession. Saxthor’s group again slipped through a dark alley to the back of Sekcmet Palace, then to the rear kitchen doorway.
“Bad luck, the entrance is guarded by a group of orcs,” Saxthor said. “I guess our earlier escape with Bodrin and Tonelia has alerted them to the vulnerability of this entrance. The invisibility ploy won’t work this time.” He looked back at another approaching group. “There’re too many people for the wand to hide, sneaking through the palace.”
“What if we hid the others, and you and I pretend to be vendors, delivering food for the kitchens?” Tournak asked. “We could borrow that cart from up the alley and load our foodstuffs on it. It already holds several barrels.”
“Best idea we have,” Saxthor said. He turned to the others behind him. “There’s a change of plans.”
Tournak explained his idea. The king led the growing personnel into a lot next to the palace wall, whose shrubbery could hide them from passing patrols.
“You go up the street and keep the others out of sight,” Saxthor said to a guard. “You two bring that cart down here and load the supplies on it. Then hide in the shadows on either side of the door.”
Tournak banged his fist on the kitchen door. When two orcs opened it, Tournak pretended to be half-drunk. He wobbled a bit then said, “Good ethening,” he wobbled a bit more. “Coulth you genthlemen help me unload the ale from my cart?” He wobbled a turn and pretended to lose his balance, then caught himself. The scene tickled Saxthor.
I’ve got to talk to Tournak about his drinking, thought Saxthor, peering through a bush. He’s too good at this.
“What you got on the cart?” an orc asked.
“Oh juth some food, and a few kegs of ale,” Tournak said.
The grinning orcs looked at each other. “We’ll help you unload the ale.”
A young orc from the back pushed through. “We ain’t got no orders for ale.”
The Crown Of Yensupov (Book 3) Page 26