by Sam Sea
"Have you not been warned?" he yelled at the guards who looked at him with the inquisitive look. They just shrugged their soldiers.
Inside the castle’s square people moved on as if it was any other day. He could not believe it. A young priest of his order spotted him and approached him instantly.
"Have you not received my message?" he screamed at him.
"Yes, yes we did, but father Zi came here yesterday and he explained to us that we are not to listen to it... That it could not have come from you."
How can this be? "Where is father Zi now?"
So he is the one involved in this. Right under my nose, my own people, how could I have been so blind? What am I to do now?
“You who decided to listen to Zi instead of me will go to the gate and see the hell you have caused for not following my orders! Arm yourself and go to the gate and defend the castle! You will go to the first line!" He ordered suddenly scared priest.
"And you, two of you guards! Sound the alarm, what are you waiting for!” his voice thundered over the square making everyone stop and look at him “Close the gate and get help. Get me your sergeant and your Lord, where is he?”
The horns were soon blown, and only then did people realize something unusual was happening. “I will skin Zi alive… Get me that trader!”
“Our Lord should be in the Big Hall, we believe,” answered the guard, realizing that something truly horrible was about to happen.
The sergeant of the guards came behind the corner, running with his rare guards, not understanding why the alarm was being raised. He instantly recognized the Grand Priest and ran toward him.
“Set the crossbows at the front gate. Anything that pass them by, you shoot them down. Including him if he decides to leave his post." Derran said pointing to his priest.
"Now, take me to see kings!" he ordered the sergeant.
"King Balaz and king Tormar are not here. They went to hunt in the Sirvir Forest..." the sergeant was trying to explain as he ran next to Derran’s horse.
“What?” Derran could not believe it. He instantly thought about Satorius. “When did they leave?”
“Two night ago… But we do not expect them back for another three days…”
“With how many men did they leave?”
“It was a party of five hundred, my Lord.”
“So our defenses are even thinner now…” Derran said to himself.
As they made the stairs to the Great Hall, Derran jumped down and with his staff in his hand, shining bright stopped to look at the sergeant straight in the eyes. "Listen to me, sergeant. We need to call them to come back... Their lives depend on it.”
"We can send the crow... But what am I to tell them?"
"That their lives and those of their kingdom depend on them coming back as fast as they can... And that the Grand Master told you so. Also, there is a priest traitor, Zi is his name… Do you know what he looks like?"
“Yes, my Lord”
“He needs to be caught and brought to me… Understand?”
“Yes, I understand, my Lord!”
"Also, tell your guards that the group of assassins are said to be already inside the castle, and to watch out for anyone they do not recognize.”
The old King Klin who was just a few weeks ago ready to die greeted him all healthy at the front door.
“In the name of light, what is going on, Grand Master?” King Klin asked while the group of lords led by the King Rabor of Sarta made it through the door.
“Where is the host of this castle and of Three Rivers, King Perozex?”
“I am here, Grand Master,” answered the man with a long white beard from the back, “What tidings do you bring to us, and why do you raise the alarm in my city?” he enquired in his guttural voice.
Derran, leaned heavily on his staff that suddenly lighted with a bright white spark, reminding everyone of who he was, tried to explain in as few words as possible as to what was happening and what he knew to be truth.
Hearing it all, they stared at him in disbelief.
“Is this really possible? Is something like this-“ Bartolomizus, the crown price was the only one that found words, but Derran cut him off instantly with raised hand.
“Yes, and yes. Great evil is coming our way. And all of you have to be someplace safe. Listen to me for I have no time to spare speaking twice. Close all the gates, to upper levels of the castle as well. You will soon seen things you have never seen before. Also, some of those assassins will certainly be in disguise... May be even wearing attire of some entertainer or a priest... All your personal guards have to be doubled. They will try to kill as many of you as they can. Your families have to be locked in their rooms, and the most trusted guards put to keep them safe."
Kings all nodded in understanding.
"How many soldiers do you have stationed around the city?" he asked Bartolomizus.
“About five hundred in the castle, and another two thousand in posts throughout the city and city posts…”
"Call all the soldiers, all the emissaries that you have come with to the castle. Let the riders ride through the city and bring everyone in. But, do not let them go to the higher lever. They may be poisoned already.. You do not want that they go crazy while they are already inside. If they do not get sick for a few days, then we will see what to do. Also, the supplies of wine and ale... where do you keep it?"
"In the grand caller of course?"
"Use only those that you have not got recently. Everything you brought in during the last ten, fifteen days, it would be best to throw away... Who knows if that has not been poisoned. And drink nothing with any odor at all."
"I received fifty thousand gallons of wine from Eirtinian island... Should be safe..." the old king Perozex muttered to King Rabor.
"Yes, but let a taster have a glass first. And see if he lives for a day. Also, guard those supplies with your life. They may offer the only thing you will be able to drink for a long while."
“My brother, he is on the road…”
“My family is…” soon the voice of all of them overpowered anything Derran had to tell them.
"I have no time to talk to you about your personal matters!!!" Derran's thunderous voice shook the windows.
"You have to listen. Or else, it will be the end of all of you." Derran looked at them. They all knew how to fight a war, defend their castle, but now, when they had to come up with an instant solution at hand, when they had to work together, that all seem too far out for them.
Derran knew he had to step up. "Listen,” he told them again. “We need to provide the defense to the castle and let as many people who are healthy inside the wall."
Two soldiers raced to the Great Hall, caring messages that had just arrived.
After reading them, King Perozex announced sadly. "You are right. The post on Zelu has just send us a message. They are being overrun by... the beasts... And it seems they are five thousand strong??? How can that be?"
"Unfortunately, that is only the beginning... More people drink that water, more will go crazy. It has already started. Listen to me, and obey what I have to say, and maybe then I can save as many of you as I can.”
"Sergeant Wilkison,” the crown prince Bartolomizus yelled, “Stop the water flow to the city completely... All the fountains are not to receive even a drop anymore... Everything from the spring... send it all to the main rivers...:
"That is a good idea. The poison will hopefully dilute itself and when it flows into the Great Sea, it will stop being so potent as to have the power over people."
"We have another message... From Firtman. They say that wildmen have sacked Twin Towers, and that the monsters are heading their way." One of King Rabor’s lords announced.
"That's impossible! We had over two hundred soldiers stationed there!"
"My Lord, you can read the report yourself. The hoard of over ten thousand had overrun them... The Capitan of Firtman is asking for instructions... Should he hold or not?"
The king turned to Derran.
"How many men does he have?"
"About five hundred."
"He cannot do nothing with such number. Tell him to retreat toward the north and gather the troops around him. Send scouts everywhere warning people to abandon their homes and hide wherever they can..."
"How can we trust you?” someone from the crowd asked out loud.
"You are asking me how you can trust me? Most of you or those closest to you I have healed before. Have you not trusted me than with your lives? Have I ever let you down? Why would you stop trusting me now?"
King Perozex raised himself to a wooden table, and lifted his hands up to quiet everyone down. “I have met Grand Master many times before, and I trust him with my life and those I hold dearest to me. So, under my order, you are all to listen to everything Grand Master has to say, and do as he commands… We are all under his command now."
At the same time, Mikka and the company reached the spring and found priests and guards slaughtered around. “The assassins had done this…” Les told them. “They had probably used the tunnel to go toward the castle.”
“We follow,” Mikka commanded them to leave their horses behind and move to the heavy iron door of the tunnel entrance. She approached Silent placing her staff in child’s hand. "If you need to fire, fire it smart and save the ammunition. You only have so much energy in it. So, save it for the worst."
"Are you going to go first this time?" Les interrupted Mikka behind her
"What, you scared you'll be eaten again?"
"No...” Les said, but Mikka could only smile looking at his undetermined face “Besides, I don't think they have big serpents here, do you?" Mikka laughed at his quivering voice.
"I do not know... Maybe they do…” She teased him. “Maybe even bigger ones. But I can go first. If you are scared. I understand. And to think you called me your goddess, your angel... that you were ready to die for me. And now, now you are ready to push me a dark tunnel, afraid of a dark.."
"No, it's not that..."
"Don't worry. If it makes you feel better, I’ll go up front,” Mikka said, not ready to let it go, the smile still lurking on her face. Even Ronnich had to giggle inside seeing it happen.
Mikka hopped that they would catch up with the assassins inside the tunnel, but they did not, and as they exited it, they found more dead guards there.
They ran along the castle wall, down to the Northern Gate which seemed closed. A party of entertainers with their flutes seemed in dire discussions with the gate guards to let them in.
“It’s them!” Les called from behind.
“Shoot them.” Mikka told the priests and soon scored of arrows made the air to bring the group of assassins down.
As they ran to the door, they were met with nervous guards greeting them with pointed crossbows.
“We have crown prince Satorius of Pehrezia with us!” Gorin yelled at them. “Open the gate and let us through, the Grand Master is expecting us.”
Soon, they were all led through the heavy lines of guards placed on every corner to the Grand Hall. Inside, two big tables were placed together with maps of all kinds covering their surface. Around the table was Derran, three kings and their closest advisors. One the one side of the hall were their closest families, sitting nervously around the food nobody dared to touch.
Satorius could not see his father among all the kings, and got very worried, but than his mother, sitting among all the woman, saw him.
“My boy!” her shriek echoed through the whole hall as she raced in tears to meet him with a hug.
Mikka and the others went to refresh themselves, smelling the brought water repeatedly, and then settling on drinking old, golden ale. It made Mikka remember the tavern of Old Mill when she emptied her first pint with Les.
As they were introduced to the kings, they joined their discussions. But in less than a minute, Mikka had enough of it and decided to walk back to the ale barrel and refill her oversized mug.
“She can drink like no man…” Les was telling Ronnich who was still half way on his first mug.
"You know, Derran,” she called on to him with loud voice as she finished her second mug. “This is not going to work out...”
Everyone stopped talking and froze their eyes on her. “She is said to be a she-god, some say she…” people whispered to their kings as everyone waited to see what else she had to say.
“You cannot defend this castle. Organizing defenses around it won’t do you no good.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve already seen what those assassins in here can do. We killed, what? Only five of them that I counted on the back north gate. There are supposed to be over twenty of them already inside then. So the safety of the castle has been compromised. And you know, there is not going to be an easy way we can find them. They are hiding, waiting to strike when we are the weakest.
“ So, you know we will face double assault. when the flood of wildmen breaks on our walls, they will strike at us from the inside. And that is to say only about the Black Claws. How about your priests? I bet from what I heard from Gorin, many of them are compromised as well. I do not see how we can hold this castle facing threats we cannot even see…”
"You cannot hold them here. You may have two thousand soldiers against what will be a crazy mob of over five hundred thousand? Beside, their army will grow, you know that... Don’t dare to dream it will not. Imagine the worst. For that is what you can expect. Isn’t that what you used to say?
“You know I am right. Every day they will get stronger, and not just in numbers. If it’s true that their body grows with each day, in a month, you will have an army of true monsters facing you.”
“So what do we do?”
“You need to go somewhere you can be safe, where your odds are much better and where their great numbers will not be their advantage. Where you can fight them one at a time.” Derran knew what Mikka was implying before she said it. “I think you should take them to your monastery, if you care to listen what I have to say.”
"Is it that you want to go there just because your ship is there!" Derran abruptly asked.
"That is besides the point… over there, you can heal your wounded in the pool of life, your numbers will grow stronger as more join in your fight. Your walls are thick and high. They will not be breached. But you need to do it fast. You should take them out of here while you still can. It's not too late."
"She is right. we need a place where we could regroup." King Klin liked the idea.
"Going to the monastery is not a bad idea..." Gorin stepped in as well "We could wait out over there to see what will happen after a few months. From what I know, we certainly have enough supplies there to feed a whole city. It could last us through the winter if needs be.”
"We could regroup there, and then come back to retake our land again..."
"And the people of the city? What do we do with them?" Derran asked. “I am not ready to sacrifice them, to let them serve as a bait, as a feeding ground just so few of us can save our hides.”
“Well, you take them with you… everyone who can travel. It is the only way to save them anyways. You know it.” Mikka said it. “If they say here, what water are they to drink? Even if you can protect them here, they will end up being either dead or being turned into orcs. Can’t really tell which one would be the worst of the two…”
Derran nodded his head. "Whoever wants to come, we will give them protection, the best protection we can. It will slow us down, but it will be maybe the only way to save whoever we can..." Derran was thinking out aloud.
“So, we will survive. Even if ten, twenty thousand come with us.” Crown prince Bartolomizus said.
"The trip over there with so many people... There will be more than that. Fifty thousand and more….” Derran warned them. “And I do not want to leave anyone behind.
"I'll need at least two days to prepare for such a journey." King Perozex announced it.
/> "No, my Lord, you have until the morning to do so. The crowds outside will only grow thicker with time. We cannot risk it getting too big. We have children and women with us. Set riders through the city to tell everyone to start moving to the north road already."
In the hours of the afternoon, the first of the half-orcs made it to the gates of the castle to be cut down instantly. The reports of crazy mobs were now coming from every corner of the five kingdoms. Mikka did not move from the chair she chose to rest in. She dozed next to Les after they split a half of a lamb between two of them.
Derran’s subdued voice brought her attention up. "I need your help. We have reports of Vi, the priest of my order who seem to be behind this all, he has been seen fleeting north.”
Mikka knew where this was going. “You and Ronnich can get him. We need him to talk. And he cannot make it to the monastery before us. I want him alive."
"If you haven't taken my ship, I would have had him in your hand within an hour... But no, you had to be smart! And fly my ship up north. Tell me how much energy did you use by doing that?"
"He thought he was doing the right thing..." Silent said from behind, trying to defend Derran.
Mikka nodded her head. "He did it because he didn't trust me. And now he needs me, to do his bidding for him... Now that he is old and getting helpless. "
Derran slowly raised his eyes from the ground and met Mikka's "Will you help?"
"You know I will... I have nothing better to do. But, you will give eternal life to Silent and Irkoniss once we find him. No questions asked. You know what that means."
“Anything else?"
"Yes... I want Val... That’s the favor you owe me for giving you Master Urko…"
"I cannot give him to you... Do not even know where he is..."
"He will get here. Sooner or later. I am sure of it. When he does, I want him."
"Giving him to you is not doing you a favor. He is faster and better than you, you know... if you start trouble with him, he'll finish you."
"If I wanted him dead, he would be dead already. He has some clearing up to do.”