Wars of the Aoten

by Craig Davis

  Chapter XLIV

  “Aye, much have I heard,” continued the Raspar regent. “Ye have proven ye are not arrived within our walls for treachery. I have heard men of many words, and few words. Even the silence of the Koinoni expresses much, for they betray no interest in taking Raspar properties. Ye have shown too that ye care more for the many than for the one, for ye place the fate of all upon the fate of one. Ye have come as fellows, compatriots to a cause. And a woman among ye, no less,” and she nodded toward Sylva.

  The travelers listened silently as their surprise faded into wonder; and Raspars filed by, apparently neither noticing nor hearing. An awkward lull followed Mercedi’s words; then finally Theodoric spoke.

  “Good regent of the Raspars,” he began with a bow. “I am Theodoric, king of the Melics. We come on an errand to defend our people from the giants who have invaded from the west.”

  “Lo, have I not heard?” said Mercedi.

  “Indeed. My apologies. Though a bird flies from tree to tree, it remains the same, does it not? We all have our ways of speaking.”

  “Aye, and we Raspars do not much waste words.”

  “I have no desire to vex you. With whom would you confer, Regent Mercedi?”

  “Aye, I’d best talk with one I can understand. I will confer with your leader.”

  The body of men parted in two as Artur slowly hauled himself back to his feet, moving like a man on very short stilts. Even to advance only a few steps, he lifted his whole side, each in turn, to raise a foot off the ground and let it swing forward like a pendulum. Grimacing and grousing, he worked his way closer to Mercedi, under the worried eyes of Theodoric, Geoffrey, Dungo – in fact, everyone. One tower was down already; the city did not need an explosion of Artur’s temper.

  “You know me, eh?” he grunted.

  “Aye, ye have been under the care of Bryn,” she replied.

  “And why we’re here?”

  “Aye.”

  “How about it?”

  “Lo,” and Mercedi turned to Linus. “Ye see, this one does not talk too much.”

  She turned her attention back to Artur. “Aye, we will talk with ye about this matter. But we will not meet here. For reasons of my own, we must confer away from the crush of the people. We must find a place away from the press of the city.”

  “Lo, I know of a place,” said Rhodan.

  “Aye, indeed ye do,” said Mercedi. She snapped her fingers at a Raspar passing in the hall and ordered, “Send for Vespus.”

  Vespus arrived in the flow of traffic, and Rhodan led the group of travelers, along with Mercedi and Linus, through the dim labyrinth of tunnels leading to the city’s underbelly. Linus and Vespus looked about the strange surroundings uneasily, studying the damp walls and unfamiliar green moss. Gradually the number of milling Raspars dwindled, until Rhodan found a tunnel in which there were none. Expertly he reached into a niche in the wall and pulled out torches, and the flickering light revealed the glint of their sweat, and still-spinning Koinoni.

  Mercedi drew Rhodan aside and spoke with him confidentially. In a blink he disappeared into the dark in the direction from which they had come.

  “Nay, I cannot let my people know what I am about to do,” began Mercedi. “Generations of Raspars have lived and died trusting in the might of their city. Never have the walls failed them, and even though one tower now lies on the ground in rubble, still they believe. It is our first law.”

  “You know better, do you not?” asked Geoffrey.

  “Aye, when the giants tore out the first stones, I knew the lie of the walls. And when I saw ye kill the thylak against the tree, I feared. Then when ye survived our defenses, I could see our doom, if ye so chose. But ye did not attack the Eternal City.”

  “No,” said Artur.

  “Nay, and ye defended the city. So our first law, that all outsiders threaten the Eternal City, proved to be a lie as well. And as I took the crown, I knew Raspars must change to survive.”

  “You have reckoned well,” said Theodoric. “Acorns fall early, and leaves fall late, but only one takes root and grows.”

  “Aye,” said Mercedi, staring at him. “But Raspars still trust their walls. Therefore, to prevent the city from falling into chaos, I must tell nobody what I will do.”

  “And what will that be?” asked Artur.

  “Lo, Rhodan even now fetches our best marksmen. I can not call for all our fighting men; otherwise the people might notice the great numbers missing. They will all come from certain families, the most celebrated in our history, the bravest and best archers. And they will leave the city with us.”

  “Nay, ye will not!” bellowed Vespus suddenly. He grabbed the hilt of his sword in a threatening manner and made for Mercedi.

  “Lo, Vespus, ye know that I am regent. I decide what will be best for the clan. I will show favor to whom I will.”

  “Nay, these are outsiders that ye favor now! We should slay them now! Ye will take the Raspars’ best archers and leave the city open to attack!”

  “Lo, are we not open to attack already? Ye see not the end of your nose, Vespus. If ye support my judgment now, perhaps it is ye I will favor later.” She moved closer to him and slid her shoulder under his arm.

  “Nay! What is it —“ Vespus looked confused and released his sword. Mercedi turned so that her back was to him; she reached one hand back to cradle the knap of his neck and rolled her hips into his loins.

  “Lo, Vespus, surely even your one eye can see how alone I remain,” Mercedi cooed, sidling intimately and bending his face closer to hers. He in turn brought his hands to her waist, as the others, with the exception of Linus, stared in disbelief. But before Vespus could move his hands around and higher, Mercedi brought the back of her head sharply against his face, breaking his nose. As he crumpled to the floor and produced a small puddle of blood, her attention returned entirely to the business at hand.

  “Aye, as I say, Rhodan will bring with him a Raspar army.”

  Theodoric watched blankly, and stammered in reply, “Will Rhodan be returning here with the archers?”

  “Aye, he will, and with them they will bring what bows we have left, and the arrows, though they be few.”

  “There are many more outside,” said a Koinoni, probably Yarrow. “We have something of a collection that you fired at us.”

  “Lo, indeed,” said Mercedi. “But we must give them up. Anyone of us seen outside the walls will only raise suspicion.”

  “So you wish to leave the city in secret?” asked Theodoric.

  “Aye, I will survive no other way,” said Mercedi. “If we leave to fight the giants at the Rufoux village, I will either return with nobody knowing, or I will be dead. As ye have said, either we succeed or the Eternal City dies. In the meantime, the Raspars need not know.”

  “A problem remains, lady,” said Theodoric. “There is no exit for an army to leave the city without notice. How will your men escape without being seen?”

  “Nay, exits run all about the city, tunnels that spread underground just where we are now. But they empty out onto the land too close to the Eternal City. Our sentries would surely see us.”

  “Your man Hadrian is an excellent eye.”

  “Aye, that he does, the coward. It presents a problem for us. We will mull upon it.”

  Minutes or perhaps days passed – the gloaming darkness made it impossible to tell – and Mercedi quietly chatted with Linus, but nothing came of it. Vespus sat cowed against the wall. Faintly the clattering of a multitude of footsteps rang in the distance. Rhodan brought out the Raspar army from the shadows. Row after row, with bows perched on one shoulder and knapsacks filled with supplies on the other, quivers hanging alongside their tool belts, the men of the families of the Raspars, their captains and soldiers, stretched well back into the black hall.

  “Lo, men of war, I am your regent, Mercedi.”

  “Aye!” returned a chorus.

  “Aye. I ask ye to brave dangers no Raspar has faced
in generations.”

  “Aye.”

  “Aye. I ask ye to go places ye have never seen before. Places well beyond Raspar walls.”

  “Aye.” The voices were scattered.

  “Aye, but ye will not leave the Eternal City. For though ye will be outside the walls, your hearts will remain here, with the hearts of your people, in the defense of your people! It is our first law!”

  “Aye!” said the men, again with some strength, exhibiting years of Raspar discipline.

  “Lo, ye will follow the Zardracon! It is our first law!”

  “Aye!”

  “One more thing, Miss Regent, before we go?” inquired Artur.

  “Aye?”

  “I will require Kylie back.”

  “Lo?”

  “My sword.”

  Rhodan emerged from the lines of archers, bearing the Rufoux blade, secured in her scabbard, still attached to Artur’s leather belt.

  “Lo, Rhodan,” said Mercedi. “Do ye know a way to secretly leave the city?”

  “Aye, I know these tunnels as well as my fingers, in light and dark, and many open up in grottos outside the Eternal City.”

  “Aye, but do any caves open distant enough for us to emerge without notice?”

  “Lo, many tunnels extend far enough, but I know not where they exit.”

  At this moment Sylva took Dungo by the sleeve and drew him toward the wall that Rhodan had shown her. There on the surface was the mysterious fresco of the tunnel and the water. Dungo studied it quickly, and as Sylva drew in the air with her finger, a surprised look came over his face.

  “Haffa! The rocky soil, the grand trees — you are right! That picture looks like the River Gravidas!” he exclaimed.

  “Lo, is there really a river on the outside?” said Rhodan. “So what I have believed is true!” and he turned to Mercedi. “Lo, this drawing shows the tunnel that reaches toward the setting sun! Look, the ancients say it goes directly under the river our legends speak of!”

  “That would get us out of the city,” said Artur. “And spare us much of the hardest hiking of our journey.”

  “Lo, Rhodan, are ye confident?” Mercedi made sure, then to the travelers, “Aye, then, we are one now. Your traveling band has grown, for the Raspar archers now leave the safe comfort of their city, such as it is, and throw their lot with ye. And so do I. For better or for worse, ye have drawn the Raspars out of their captivity, into the wild world, where the danger is not less nor worse, only different. All here will accompany ye — all of us, including ye!” she said with flair, and she reached into a black corner and violently jerked Severus out into the light.

  “Lo, I will kill ye!” he seethed. “Ye would give away all the Eternal City’s secrets!”

  “Aye, ye may kill me,” Mercedi said as she pushed him into the grip of the travelers. “But not today.”