Neversfall (10 page)

The view through the northern window shifted, drawing in close and tight on a section of ground. Taennen blinked again, surprised by the closeness of the view. He could see individual rocks and flowering plants that dotted the plains.

“There—that large, light-colored rock,” Khatib said, pointing to the image in the window.

“Yes?”

“That rock lies approximately half a league away. Please use that spyglass of yours to locate it,” Khatib said.

Taennen drew out his spyglass and stepped toward the window. Khatib waved a hand and the closeup image shrank to consume half the window. Taennen stood next to the hovering image and looked out the unhindered portion of the window. He scanned the ground until he found the rock.

“I have it,” he said.

“Excellent. You have seen me use a spell before that emits small missiles of light?” “Yes,” Taennen said.

“Watch the stone carefully,” Khatib said.

Taennen held his gaze on the rock. Behind him, Khatib murmured arcane words for a moment. A low buzzing sound vibrated in his ears but he held his gaze on the rock. A few heartbeats later, darts of light plowed into the rock, tossing it on its side, and left a blackened hole in the ground where the rock had been. Taennen jerked back a step withdrawing the spyglass from his eye.

“By all the One,” he said.

Khatib chuckled. “Fantastic, isn’t it?”

“The tower did that?”

“Oh no. I cast the spell as you have seen me do. The tower allowed me to do it from this distance with that level of accuracy,” Khatib said.

“You could kill a man that far away,” Taennen said. “Oh, most definitely.”

Taennen turned to face the.man. “What else?”

Khatib pointed to a cluster of crystals on the right side of the table. “I can open, close and lock the gate from here. And,” he said, pointing to another crystal, “sound an alarm here.” He shifted to another set of the crystals, “This one is how we report to command in Estagund.”

“This is amazing,” Taennen said. “Does each table contain the same controls?”

Khatib nodded. “It was designed so that four masters of the Art,” he said with a slight bow, “could each defend one direction from the citadel. With these, I and three others could hold off an army trying to assault Neversfall without risking any of our soldiers in combat. Lucky me, I get it to myself for the nonce.”

Taennen gazed out the eastern window. “This is amazing. I would not trust it to be true had I not seen it for myself.”

“It is a powerful tool.”

“It provokes a frightening question,” Taennen said.

“Anyone can abuse power, Taennen, but I should hope you trust me,” the wizard said.

“Not that, Khatib. I mean, with all of this power at their disposal, what in the name of all the One could have possibly come to take the lost regiment?” Taennen said.

Khatib thought for a moment before saying, “Perhaps they too felt the price of hiring proper defenders was too high. Let’s hope we do a better job with what we’ve been allotted.”

Taennen gazed out over the Aerilpar, the dark space between the trees drawing his attention. He pointed to where he had seen the splash of color upon his arrival and said, “Show me the forest.”

+ + + +

The duty and sleeping assignments had been an easy matter. Adeenya was glad to know her guess about Loraica had been correct. The Maquar woman was not only a fine warrior but a well-organized and thoughtful planner as well. The two women had parted ways when Jhoqo had tasked Loraica with staffing the walls with guards and archers. At the same time, he’d asked Adeenya to check on the prisoners.

All around her the courtyard was alive with activity. Soldiers unloaded supplies and moved furniture from building to building to suit their purposes. Adeenya had left it to Marlke to spread the word about sleeping assignments. She strode toward the building that housed the strange formians and changed her mind, deciding first to visit the other prisoners.

The formians and goblins had been placed in Neversfall’s cells, while the humans resided in separate barracks under guard but not in cells as they had offered nothing but cooperation. Between the cell houses, Adeenya nodded to a pair of guards who manned a small patrol station. A small, round wall, looking like nothing so much as the top of a well, stood between each of the cell buildings. Guards could be stationed there to keep close eyes on the prisoners. Their presence, in spite of the intense security of the cell houses themselves, spoke volumes about the perceived dangers of the formians.

Adeenya accepted the salutes of the guards outside the small structure housing the humans and went inside. She paused a few moments to let her eyes adjust to the darkness, as the room’s tiny windows provided very little light. The place already smelled of sweat and felt twice as warm as

outside from the lack of airflow and the number of bodies occupying the small space. The handful of humans milled about, talking in small groups or sleeping, presumably exhausted after what must have been a grueling march for most of them.

“Good day!” came the high voice of the halfling Corbrinn. He bounded up from a bed and came to greet her.

“Hello. Are they treating you well enough?” she asked, having no idea what to say.

The halfling laughed but nodded his head. “Well enough for a prisoner who ought not be one, I suppose.”

Adeenya began to apologize but stopped short when a high-pitched, repetitive screech issued from outside. She dashed out the door to see a crowd of men scrambling away from the northeast corner of the courtyard. The guards near her could offer no explanation, but she needed none as she caught sight of a man plummeting from the top of the wall to the inner grounds, an arrow in his neck. Adeenya started off toward the center of the courtyard to find out what was happening.

“Let me fight!” Corbrinn shouted, staying back from the guards outside the door but looking eager to leave the confines of the prison.

A few of the humans behind him shouted their agreement and offered to fight as well. Adeenya offered the halfling an apologetic look and ordered the guards to stay their post and defend the prisoners should it come to that.

She put them from her mind and dashed toward the towers. Who could be attacking? How could they know there was anyone in the fortress for them to attack so soon? Not for the first time since they’d arrived, Adeenya wondered what had happened to the forces that had occupied

Neversfall. She hoped she’d stay alive long enough to ponder the question further.

The courtyard erupted with activity as soldiers poured out of the small buildings and piled into the center of the citadel. A Durpari soldier, whom she couldn’t see clearly enough to identify, fell from the eastern wall near her as she ran. His body tumbled through the air to land face-down, an arrow protruding from his side. Adeenya sprinted toward the staircase that joined the eastern and southern walls. She shouted for soldiers to follow her as she ran. A handful, Maquar and Durpari, fell in behind her as she took the stairs two at a time. As she neared the top, Adeenya looked into the courtyard to see that the invaders had already penetrated its area. They wore dark clothing with fabric masks covering their faces. She scanned the courtyard and discovered the gates had been closed.

Adeenya set the thought aside as she drew her sword, reached the top of the stairs, and found herself standing face to face with a man covered in animal skins. She muscled hard to her left against her opponent, pushing the man back, and feigned a high strike with her sword. She longed for her spear, but she hadn’t been carrying it as she explored the citadel.

The mustached attacker swung a slender sword up high to block, hopping backward. Adeenya twisted her wrist, changing her blade’s direction and sending it into the meat of the man’s thigh. His scream rattled in her ear but she ignored it. She stabbed the blade into his stomach as he screamed again and doubled over. She pulled the sword free and turned to find a new foe before the man had even collapsed.

She caught a Durpari soldier out of the corner of her eye. The man stood over one body and was driving hard toward

another enemy. Adeenya tried to size them up. All of the attackers wore animal hides, but they fought with obvious training and finesse.

An arrow flew past her head. She ducked low and saw the source of the shot. An archer was nocking another arrow some fifty paces away on the adjacent wall. Adeenya charged the man, knowing that he would get at least one more shot off before she reached him and that she could not let him loose another. She pumped her long legs hard and could feel the sweat trickling down her neck and back.

Running as hard as she could, she’d crossed only half the distance to the archer as he took aim, and she doubted the man would miss again. She pulled her arm back and threw her sword as hard as she could. It spun sideways through the air, a nimble hawk diving toward its prey, emitting a keening cry as it sailed. The blade bit into the man’s shoulder, knocking him to the ground, and she wasted no time. She ran for him, pulled her sword from his body, and slashed it across his throat.

More soldiers joined her on the wall, and all the barbarians there were soon occupied in battle. She scanned the courtyard to see it filling with more invaders. They simply appeared, not seeming to arrive from anywhere. A half-dozen invaders ran up the stairs. They ran in formation, using complex tactics to cover one another, reloading their bows in rotation while one in the front and one in the back of their line wielded melee weapons to defend the archers. For the barbarians they dressed as, they used masterful tactics.

Adeenya lunged forward and sank the tip of her reclaimed sword into the side of a man at the front of the line. The stab elicited a growl of pain from the attacker, and he turned his attention to her, bringing his mace to bear.

She pulled her sword from him and sent the hilt of the weapon flying upward to smack her opponents chin. The man stopped his swing, looking stunned. Adeenya balled the fist of her off hand and punched first his jaw and then his throat, causing the man to step back and swat at her weapon as he gasped. Angered and unfocused, the man charged toward her. His momentum did her work for her and he impaled himself on her sword.

The orir pulled her weapon from his chest and slammed the hilt into the head of the next man in the formation, an archer who was dropping his bow and drawing a sword. Adeenya shook her stinging hand and blocked his attack after missing her first strike against him. The man pushed her sword away and landed a kick to her stomach. The air blasted from her lungs, Adeenya stepped back into the arms of another attacker. Heavy, muscular arms wrapped around her tightly as her previous opponent spun into a kick that crashed into her hip. She held her cry of pain, turning it into a growl as the man punched her.

She felt hands jabbing and prodding around her waist and into her pockets for a moment. Adeenya’s adrenaline surged at the probing hands, surprised they would attempt to take advantage of her during a battle. She struggled harder, determined to make their efforts costly. Adeenya would not be the willing victim they wanted her to be. The probing stopped but she was still bound in the arms of her captor. The attacker before her drew back his weapon to strike. She threw an elbow into the man holding her and stepped back on his foot. His binding grip holding her loosened just enough, and she broke free. The swordsman came at her, blade low. He darted in to strike Adeenya with his sword.

She sidestepped the main force of his strike, but before

she could counterstrike, her opponent fell before her, a shortsword sticking out of his back. Behind him, Corbrinn threw a triumphant fist into the air and tossed Adeenya a wink. The halfling ran over the the fallen man and plucked his sword from the man’s back.

“Now, don’t go blaming those lads guarding us. I can be persuasive in dire situations,” he said, winking again.

Corbrinn shouted for her to move, and she did so, turning to her left. Her torso stretched over the edge of the wall over the courtyard. The halfling launched a whip around the neck of a man who had been coming to attack her from behind. Corbrinn yanked hard on the whip. His slight weight did not allow him to pull the man toward him, but instead the halfling crashed into the larger invader. Corbrinn looked as though he were scaling a mountain when he came to a stop with his feet on the startled man’s chest. The halfling plunged his shortsword deep into the man’s abdomen and pushed off with his short legs, releasing the whip at the same time and dropping to his feet on the walkway.

Two of the invaders remained on the wall while four times that many Maquar and Durpari continued to fight. In the courtyard, the fight was not going so well. The barbarians and citadel defenders looked to be evenly matched in numbers.

“Don’t stand there. Let’s go!” Corbrinn said, darting down the stairs.

Adeenya charged after him, glad for the assistance. In the back of her mind, she wondered what Jhoqo would say when he saw the halfling free. Adeenya stopped at the top of the stairs, her eyes insisting that something was not right. It took her a moment, but she realized that none of the bodies of the invaders she had slain remained where they had

fallen. Adeenya looked down to see several dead barbarians on the courtyard grounds, beside the wall. Somehow, they had been pushed off the walkway to land there. Adeenya continued after the halfling and bounded down the stairs. There was no time to worry about dead bodies when there were so many more to produce.

+ + + + +

At the sound of the signal horns, Taennen drew his weapon and made for the door. “Khatib, secure this position! Lock this door, sound the alarm and make sure the gate stays closed and locked!” Taennen shouted.

“Yes, Durir,” Khatib said, his hands already in motion over the crystals at one of the stations.

Taennen paused at the door and said to the man, “Do what you can from here—just try not to kill any of us.”

Taennen caught a flash of Khatib’s smile before the door slammed shut behind him. A low hum emitted from the door and the portal flashed momentarily, indicating it was locked. Taennen vaulted down the stairs. He imagined the formians escaping or the lost Maquar and Durpari company being found in some secret grave. His feet couldn’t keep up with his anxious curiosity. Taennen made the bottom of the tower and burst into the courtyard to find unfamiliar figures there. Men covered in hides were engaging the Maquar and Durpari.