From Across the Clouded Range (79 page)

Before he could hope to answer, they
arrived at the first gate. It was little more than a large set of
wooden double-doors that would not stand more than a couple of hits
from a simple ram. The wall that held the doors was no more
impressive – it did not stand more than ten feet and the mortar
that held the random jumble of stones was crumbling from age and
lack of care – but the buildings closest to that wall had been
demolished and formed into a pile of rubble ten feet from the
walls. The rubble stood almost as tall as the wall in a jagged,
uneven jumble of sharp rocks, glass and broken boards. Crossing it
would be a nightmare, but given what he had seen the night before,
the Darthur would never have to cross it. Their wizards, their
creatures would tear the city apart without breeching a single
wall.

Ipid and Härl passed through an
opening that had been left in the rubble, led their horses through
a corridor of jumbled stones that would no doubt fill that gap, and
stopped at the doors. A young man appeared above the gate wearing
an oversized helmet and a blue tunic with a green-striped patch to
mark him as part of the city garrison. White flags with three
angled green stripes, the banners of Oscante District, snapped in
the breeze on either side of him. He carried a long spear with a
scrap of yellow cloth skewered on its tip, and his eyes bounced
anxiously from Ipid to Härl then back again. Ipid watched Härl
nervously, unsure what he would do.

“
Who goes there, and what
be your business in the city?” The man on the wall – in truth he
was little more than a boy – tried to make his voice sound strong,
but the tension was obvious, and his high voice cracked several
times.

Ipid looked to Härl. The warrior
nodded, and Ipid responded in a steady voice, hoping to give some
of his own repose to the boy. “My name is Ipid Ronigan, First
Advisor to Chancellor Kavich and Member of the Thoren Directorate.
This man is Härl of the Cäthum Clan of the Darthur. The invaders
have sent me to speak with the city directors on their behalf. We
come in peace and ask that you honor the banner of the Church by
allowing us to pass.”

“
I’ve been told to admit
you to the city,” the boy yelled. None of the high-pitched nervous
energy had left his voice, and he scanned the buildings nervously.
“You must leave your weapons at this gate and proceed with me
blindfolded so you will not see our preparations for the
siege.”

Ipid let out a small moan. He could
not conceive of Härl giving up his weapons or wearing a blindfold.
He considered protesting but knew that this boy was not making the
decisions. He would have to seek approval from his superiors, and
Ipid did not have the time to spend on protracted negotiations over
petty issues. “We will do whatever is required,” he replied. As
soon as he said the words, one of the doors swung open to reveal a
dozen men with long spears at the ready.

Ipid said a quick prayer to the Holy
Order as he turned to explain the situation to Härl. “Most
honorable teacher, they take your weapons, bind your hands, and . .
.” he paused to think of the word for blindfold before realizing
that he did not have to use the exact translation, “. . . cover
your eyes. If you fight, our mission will fail.”

Härl grunted his apparent approval,
and they rode through the gates without anther word. The spears
split and surrounded them as they entered. The boys holding the
weapons looked terrified and ready to strike at the slightest
provocation. Ipid desperately hoped that Härl would not be the one
to provide it.

Fearing the worst, he watched his
companion. He deliberately placed the arrow he had notched back in
its quiver then fluidly removed the string from his bow and slid it
into a leather pouch at the side of his horse. Ipid gawked. He
could not conceive of a Darthur warrior who would drop his weapons
while in sight of an enemy. He would have been less surprised if
Härl had charged into the guards and killed every one of
them.

There was a collective exhale from the
guards, and the spears drew back to give them just enough space to
dismount. Ipid was so concerned with looking harmless that he
almost fell from the horse. Härl, on the other hand, leapt from his
mount and landed on the cobblestones with a resounding thump. The
aggressive dismount sent the guards clattering back. Taunting them
further, he made a mocking move toward them and growled ominously.
The gesture sent the guards back another step with their spears
rattling. The warrior laughed heartily at his joke, a deep rumble
that sounded like the beginning of an earthquake. From the reaction
of the guards, Ipid was not sure which scared them more, the sudden
move or the laugh it evoked.

As he laughed, Härl pulled a
spike-headed hammer from his belt and dropped it on the ground with
a clatter. It was followed by two long knives and a smaller one for
throwing. Those trinkets were accompanied by a huge axe that he
hoisted from a sheath at the side of his horse. The axe was half
the height of a man with a long, efficient head only a foot in
length. It did not look like much, but Ipid was sure that wielded
by Härl from horseback it would cut clean through the strongest
plate mail. Härl plucked it from the horse with one hand, held it
lightly as if considering something, then dropped it with a crash
that cracked one of the cobblestones.

Having surrendered his weapons, Härl
turned and placed his hands behind him. The guards did not hesitate
to make good on his offer. Two of them circled the warrior with
strips of leather and quickly bound his huge hands – the fact that
the tallest of the guards only came to Härl shoulder made the
spectacle look like children binding a willing adult as part of a
game of rangers and bandits. Another guard secured Ipid in a
similar fashion. The bindings were followed by black bags, which
were pulled over their heads to conceal their march through the
city.

#

Ipid squinted while his eyes adjusted
to the sudden absence of the bag. Immediately to his left stood
Härl, looking every bit his part: thickly muscled chest and arms
bulging from his rune-painted leather vest, blond hair chopped into
clumps, long mustache braided with black, and face generously
scarred. The guards that surrounded them seemed to agree because
their attention and spears were focused solely on the
invader.

As his vision cleared, Ipid realized
that they were in the courtyard of the Thoren Directorate Hall – a
thoroughly uninspiring name for the substantial keep that had once
been the Grand Duke’s seat of power. Ipid had been in this
courtyard countless times, but he had never realized how large it
was, spanning a good fifty paces from the outer walls to the
fortress-like building they protected and continuing for the entire
length of the long wall. Countless disorganized bands occupied the
courtyard, lunging back and forth across the cobblestones with
spears clasped in their hands. A uniformed sergeant worked with
each group, but those veterans looked like they were trying to spin
straw into gold, and Ipid suspected they had a better chance of
doing that than turning their students – peasants, merchants,
craftsmen, grandparents, children – into soldiers.

Ipid wanted to yell to the recruits to
run – the only thing that their efforts would add was to the length
of the death toll. At the same time, he knew that every hand would
be needed to prove the Kingdoms’ honor, and he was guiltily pleased
to see these few added to the effort.

Looking past the walls of the keep, he
scanned the array of towers rising above the city in their vanity
and opulence. The inner-most ring of the city had become more and
more extravagant since the kingdoms had united, and the huge towers
were the current trend in architecture. Though the towers varied in
size and shape, they all ended in large conical roofs so that the
inner ring resembled a colossal mushroom garden and reminded Ipid
why he kept an estate on the other side of the river.

His attention was brought back to the
courtyard by the appearance of a man in an extravagant uniform at
the portico that marked the entrance to the main keep. Captain
Alister Defours, the commander of the city garrison, had a markedly
one-sided discussion with the recruit who had brought them. The
captain cast looks of intermittent fear and curiosity at the
captives as he spoke, but once he saw that he had drawn Ipid’s
attention, he cut off the lecture, strode to face Ipid, and ordered
the guards to cut his bindings.

Captain Defours gave a slight bow that
Ipid barely noticed through his effort to restore some blood to his
hands. “I humbly apologize, Lord Director, for the actions of my
men in detaining you. I explicitly told them to treat you with the
utmost respect. If there were not such desperate need, these would
spend the remainder of their days guarding the pots in the company
mess.” Ipid thought the captain’s apology sounded half-sincere, and
he confirmed it as he rose. “I am sure you understand given the
circumstances.”

Ipid could not have cared less. “Of
course, of course,” he brushed off the apology. “It is for the
best, I am sure. I would appreciate it, however, if you would also
remove the bindings from my companion.”

Defours’ eyes popped. He glanced at
the giant then stared back at Ipid as if he wanted both of his
captives bound again.

“
Captain, this is an
official envoy of the invaders,” Ipid scolded – he did not have
time for Defours’ intractability. “Just because he is from across
the Clouded Range does not mean that he does not deserve the
respect we would show the ambassadors of any other
nation.”

Defours’ gaze continued to bounce from
Härl to Ipid then back again in disbelief, and it took a withering
glare from Ipid before he snapped his jaw back in place and
signaled one of his men. “As you say.”

The men around them tensed as the
guard moved to free Härl. Their spears came down, and their hands
tightened on their weapons. Even Defours’ hand moved to the pommel
of the sword at his hip, and he noticeably loosened it in the
scabbard. When Härl's bonds had been cut, the guard jumped back and
held his knife out as if he had freed a man-eating lion. The other
guards tensed as well. Their armor and spears rattled expectantly,
and Defours’ sword flew halfway from its scabbard before he was
able to stop it.

Härl slowly raised his hands and
rubbed his wrists as he assessed the situation. He stared warily at
the men around him. His concern appeared to be more with the
guards’ inexperience than with their skill, as if assessing which
guard was most likely to trip over his own feet and lung toward him
as a result. When the situation did not devolve beyond that,
Defours returned his sword to its scabbard and the guards
relaxed.

“
Captain Defours.” Ipid
had not waited for the excitement over Härl’s release to die.
“Captain Defours!” He nearly yelled to get the captain’s attention.
“We need to address the Directorate. I assume that they are already
in sessions given what is happening outside the gates, but I will
need some time to prepare myself. I think two hours should be
sufficient. Please inform them that we will meet them at that time
with an imperative edict from the invaders.”

“
I am certain that the
directors will get to you as soon as they can, Lord Ronigan.”
Defours spoke with half of his attention on Härl. “They are
understandably very busy, however, and I cannot guarantee that they
will have time today. I am sure that they will appreciate your
bringing in one of the invaders. We will have him taken to a cell
immediately, but you can trust me, he will never know what is
happening.”

“
Captain Defours!” Ipid
snapped. His finger rose and jutted toward Defours’ chest. “This
man is the representative of an invading army that is sitting
outside the gates of this city, a vastly superior army might I add.
I do not think that it is the best interests of anyone for us to
treat him as a prisoner. I can also assure you as a member of the
Chancellor’s Bureau that such would not be the policy of the
Unified Kingdoms. Further, I will address the Directorate at any
time I choose. I am a member of that directorate and have the
authority to speak for the Chancellor in matters of commerce. As
such, you will ensure that they are prepared to hear me in two
hours, or I will see that you are stripped of every rank and title
you have ever possessed. Do we have an understanding,
captain?”

By the time he was done, Defours was
back on his heels and nodding vigorously. “Yes, Lord Ronigan, sir,
I do.”

“
Good.” Ipid tried not to
show his relief that his bluff had worked. Though everything he
said would have been true weeks before, the invasion would have
thrown all that very much into doubt. And that was if he hadn’t
been captured by the invaders. “Now, where was I? Oh yes, I will
address the Directorate in two hours. In the meantime, I'll need a
room where I can gather myself, and I think a bath would be in
order. I will also need new clothes and a courier to carry a
message to my estate.” Defours nodded to each request as if marking
items on a mental list. “Give Härl a room near my own, bring us
both some food, and have me summoned when the directors are
ready.”

Defours took a second to process the
long list of commands then motioned to a man standing behind him.
The man ran to his side, and the captain whispered orders into his
ear without taking his eyes off of Ipid. “Lieutenant Nuffield will
see to your needs, Lord Ronigan.” He motioned to the handsome young
man at his side. “Please let him know if there is anything further
you will need. As you can see, I have many things to attend to. If
you will excuse me?”