Fate of the Free Lands

by Jack Campbell

  Jules walked next to Nico, who was stroking the neck of one horse to calm it. “I remember that a cell wagon like this would travel at night sometimes. Is that right?”

  “Yes,” Nico said. “If we needed to be somewhere quickly enough. We were just supposed to suck it up if we had to travel all night. But if we do that, we’ll have to change the horses sometime during the day tomorrow, or let these rest for a long time.”

  “I’ll decide how to handle that later. I’m going to ride beside you on the front of the wagon, and if you do or say or even think anything that might betray us, you’ll feel my dagger before you finish. Understood?”

  “Yes. Where are we going?”

  “Back to Landfall.”

  Nico frowned. “The guards at the gate will recognize the wagon.”

  “I’m working on that. Let’s go.”

  Nico got up onto the seat at the front of the wagon, Jules climbing up beside him, while Artem and the other two disguised pirates sat in the back where the guards would be to keep an eye on the prisoners. Flicking the reins, Nico got the wagon moving back toward the road.

  “Hey!”

  Jules tensed at the angry hail, turning to see one of the inn’s staff had run out of the doorway.

  “You didn’t settle up!” the woman yelled.

  “Tell her Emperor’s service,” Jules said to Nico.

  “Emperor’s service!” he called out.

  The woman growled an inarticulate cry of anger, making a very rude gesture toward the cell wagon. But that was all she could do, since those in the Emperor’s service could demand free of charge things like meals and rooms from inns. “We didn’t usually claim Emperor’s service,” Nico said to Jules, “because we knew we might have to stop there again, and inn keepers have long memories. The next time we visited they’d find ways to get even without giving us enough cause to report them.”

  They fell silent then, moving down the road, which was almost deserted at this hour of the night. The wagon moved at a slow but steady pace as Nico tried to get the most he could out of the horses. Jules listened to the waters of the Ospren River rushing alongside, wishing she was riding them in a boat rather than on the uncomfortable seat of this wagon, a dagger in one hand ready to stab Nico in an instant.

  A low rumbling sounded, growing in volume.

  Nico slowed the horses even more, bringing them and the wagon to a halt. “It’s best they’re not moving when a Mechanic train goes by,” he said. “They can panic and bolt otherwise.”

  Jules saw one of the unnaturally bright and steady Mechanic lights growing in size as it drew nearer at an amazingly rapid pace, the rumbling sound growing louder and louder, a rattling of metal on metal becoming apparent as well as the train got closer.

  Yesterday she’d walked over the “tracks” the train used, twin strips of steel set into rectangular lengths of wood that supported them. Tonight, Jules watched with awe as the Mechanic train thundered past five or six lances from the highway, the first part of it puffing out smoke, roaring in a way that reminded her of the Mage troll she’d fought in Landfall, the impossibly bright light shining on the front. The ground itself seemed to be trembling from the movement of the Mechanic monster, and the horses harnessed to the cell wagon shifted nervously.

  Jules watched it go past, feeling an odd sense of familiarity. Of course. “That smoke. It does look like the smoke that comes out of the chimney on Mechanic ships.”

  “I wouldn’t know,” Nico said.

  A moment later an incredibly loud, piercing scream tore the night. Jules clapped her hands over her ears, staring at the Mechanic train as it rumbled off into the night.

  The horses snorted, heads high and their eyes wide so the whites seemed much bigger than they should. Nico worked to calm them, finally getting the pair to relax enough to be urged back into a walk.

  “They probably did that on purpose,” Nico complained as the wagon rolled slowly west.

  “The Mechanics?” Jules said.

  “Yes. That noise. They probably did that on purpose to make the horses panic.”

  She nodded. “You’re probably right.”

  Nico glanced at her. “You sound like you’ve dealt with them.”

  “Much more than I’ve wanted to,” Jules said. “You?”

  “Yes. That’s why I was in debt. Mechanics simply took my stock. They said they needed the furniture. I was left with bills and nothing to sell to pay them with.”

  “That’s Mechanics,” Jules said.

  “Do you think it’s true?” Nico sighed. “The prophecy? I’d like to think that someday the Great Guilds wouldn’t be able to do whatever they wanted.”

  “The prophecy is true,” Jules said.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.” Jules looked over at the Ospren River, grateful to hear the natural sound of its waters rather than the roar of the Mechanic train. “Someday, a daughter of…her line will overthrow the Great Guilds and free the world.”

  “It can’t come soon enough for me,” Nico said. “Do you think she made it out of Landfall? That was the gossip when we left, that she’d slipped out somehow, because no one had seen her for a while and most of the Mages were leaving. We saw a lot of Mages on the north side of the river today. Maybe they thought she was there, or was going there.”

  “If so,” Jules said, “something might have happened to change her mind. How far are we from Landfall on this road?”

  Nico frowned in thought. “At this pace, only a little more than a day.”

  “Really?” Her days and nights of walking across the countryside had added up to a depressingly small distance from the city.

  “I doubt we’d reach the city gate tomorrow before it closes for the night,” Nico added. “The horses won’t take it.”

  “That’s fine,” Jules said. She looked over at the river. They were passing a stretch where the river banks were high. In this time between midnight and dawn, no one else was visible on the road. “Stop us here. Hey, back there! We’re getting rid of the bodies.”

  Those confined to the cell came out gratefully, hauling the four dead guards with them. “Fasten manacles on their ankles,” Jules said. “For the weight.”

  Once that was done, pairs of the pirates grabbed each former guard by the head and the feet, swinging them one by one out over the river to fall and vanish with a splash. The pirates confined to the cell got back inside with much more cheerfulness than before now that they had room to breathe. “There’s still blood back here,” one warned.

  “Nobody will worry about that,” Nico said. “It wouldn’t be the first time a prisoner didn’t make it to the end of a trip.”

  “Captain?” Artem said from the back. “I know we’re heading back to Landfall. What’s the plan when we get there?”

  “We’ll get through the city and get onto a ship heading out to sea,” Jules said.

  “How we gonna do that?”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “All right.” Artem and the others seemed to be satisfied with that response. She wondered if that was based on a natural desire to believe in someone who seemed competent, or on the fact that so far she’d managed to avoid getting them caught again. Either way, it didn’t give her any good ideas of how to get this group through Landfall.

  Traffic on the road began slowly picking up as dawn approached. By late morning, Nico didn’t have to be careful to drive slowly. There wasn’t any other choice as other wagons clogged the road this close to Landfall.

  Jules kept her leather helm on and pulled as low as she could to help hide her face, but fortunately no one bothered looking closely at a prison guard. She kept an eye out for Mages, but the only ones she saw were on the other side of the river. The Mages seemed have known that Jules had been planning on crossing the Ospren somewhere around here, but not that she’d changed those plans at the last moment. Other times, the Mages had known where she’d be, but not exactly when. Prophecies were always supposed to come
true, but whatever insight was allowing the Mages to predict her movements was less accurate.

  Fortunately. Otherwise, she’d have long since been dead.

  A column of legionaries appeared ahead, marching from Landfall. Jules slumped in her seat, her dagger hidden but ready in case Nico tried to betray them. However, Nico did nothing as the legionaries tramped past the wagon with the long-suffering attitudes of soldiers who knew they’d be marching a lot farther before the day was done. Jules followed with her eyes the movement of the officer riding at the front of the column. Dark red uniform, insignia gleaming in the sun, straight sword at his side. About two years ago, that could’ve been her. About two years ago, being that Imperial officer had been her only long-term goal in life, because it had seemed the highest an orphan like her could aim for to prove herself. The prophecy had changed that, and as much as she hated what the prophecy had done to her life, Jules had to admit that she was happier as a pirate and explorer than she ever would’ve been as an officer in the Emperor’s service.

  Traffic on the highway slowed even more as the legionaries crowded other travelers to the other side of the road and the wagon even stopped at one point, but their pace slowly picking up again after the soldiers had marched past.

  Nico suggested they stop at noon to rest the horses, pulling the wagon to the side clear of other traffic. Jules walked a bit to stretch her stiff legs. Why was it that traveling by wagon or by walking both had to hurt her legs? At least walking didn’t also make her butt sore.

  The pirates in the cell had to stay there, because letting them out to move around would’ve spoiled the illusion of them still being under guard.

  As they waited, watching the riders and wagons and travelers on foot using the highway, Jules noticed another line of travelers walking off to the side of the road. As they grew closer, she could see the manacles on their wrists and the chain running between them that held the entire group together. About thirty, she guessed. Five guards dressed and armored just like Jules walked along with the line of prisoners, one guard in the lead and two on each side, the last pair near the end.

  Nico saw her watching. “They’ve probably been sentenced to labor.”

  “Why are they heading toward Landfall?” Jules asked. “Aren’t the big farm estates north and south of here?”

  “They could be intended for work gangs in the city,” he said. “Digging out basements and foundations for repairing buildings, clearing old debris, that sort of thing. But from the look of these they’re probably going to be put on a ship and taken north to one of the estates north of Sandurin. There’s been several groups sent north like that lately. I heard it was because one of the Imperial princesses is expanding her estates around Umburan and needs the workers.” Nico paused. “Supposedly, a lot of the prisoners sentenced to labor in the north have been escaping into the Northern Ramparts. But a lot of others are probably dying. They get worked hard, I hear.”

  Jules watched the column of miserable men and women shambling west toward Landfall. “It’s not all that surprising that so many people want to escape the Empire.”

  Nico shrugged. “People are cheap and plentiful. So they get used up. These days it’s less expensive to run a man into the ground than it is to lose a horse, or so I’ve heard.”

  “You said Mechanics ruined you?”

  “Yes.” He dug into the grass beside him with one hand, frowning. “That was bad enough. But then Imperial law came after me for my unpaid debts. They should’ve understood, right? We’re all victims of the Great Guilds. But no. No mercy, no bending, no exceptions. The Mechanics ruined me, and then the Imperial bureaucracy enslaved me to pay off my debts. I have a lot more in common with those in chains than I do with those who guard them. I guess the fact that I ended up a guard makes me lucky.”

  “I guess that’s so.” Jules watched the end of the column of prisoners pass, a sudden thought catching her. “They won’t make it to the city before the gate closes tonight, will they?”

  “Huh?” Nico shook his head. “No. Not at that pace. They won’t even come close.”

  “And you say they might be on their way to a ship to be sent north?”

  “Likely, yes.”

  Jules smiled. “Hey, Artem, how much money did that guard leader have on him?”

  “Money?” Artem asked, looking over from where he was sitting a couple of lances away.

  “Yeah. Money. I didn’t bring it up before now, but we need it. How much?”

  Artem sighed. “Three silver galleys.”

  “What was that?” Jules asked.

  “Did I say three? I meant five. Five silver galleys.”

  She paused. “Are you sure?”

  Another sigh from Artem before he spoke. “Six. Six silver galleys.”

  “See those carts selling food and water alongside the road? When we pass one selling booze I want you to buy some bottles. Cheap wine or brandy.”

  “Are we going to have a celebration?” Artem asked.

  “Sort of,” Jules said. “Because I know how to get us into and through Landfall.”

  Chapter Four

  Once they got going again, the wagon rolled along at a sedate pace suited to the weary horses, Jules watching the sides of the road as the afternoon wore on. Artem picked up four bottles of wine at a cart, as well as some food for everyone. Jules let the rest eat, but forbade any from touching the wine. “That’s for later.”

  The sun was close to the western horizon, glaring into her eyes, when Jules finally spotted what she’d been looking for. About twenty lances off the road to the south was the group of prisoners she’d seen pass by earlier. Their chains still in place, they’d been sat in a circle, all thirty slumping with fatigue. One guard stood watching them, the other four sitting to one side. “Pull us over next to them,” Jules told Nico.

  The wagon rolled to a halt a few lances from the chained prisoners, Jules directing Nico to take care of the horses before she called aside Artem and the two other pirates dressed as guards. “The sun’s setting. As soon as it’s dark, get out the wine. Don’t drink any yourselves, or just a little. When I give the word, I want those five guards to die as quickly and quietly as possible.”

  “Why are we freeing these people?” Artem asked. “Isn’t it going to be hard enough for us to sneak into Landfall as it is?”

  “We’re not freeing them. They’re our ticket into Landfall. We’re just replacing their guards with us.”

  As night fell, Jules led the three pirates to where the four prisoner guards were lounging. The real guards had shed their leather armor while they relaxed. “You guys want a drink?”

  The one who must be the leader of the new group laughed. “I wondered what you were up to. Sure. What’ve you got?”

  Jules nodded to Artem and the others, each of whom picked a guard to sit by. She sat down next to the leader, who grinned at her.

  Jules raised her wine bottle, pretending to take a big drink but only wetting her mouth. Passing the bottle to the guard, she watched him guzzle down several swallows before pausing to catch his breath.

  “That’s not bad,” he said before belching. “You guys have got it easy, riding in that wagon. We’ve gotta walk.”

  “The job still sucks,” Jules said. She’d kept her helm on to partially hide her face, but in the dark that probably didn’t matter.

  “It’s got its benefits,” the leader said, laughing. “We’ve got some decent looking women in this bunch. Not as good looking as you, of course!”

  “Thanks,” Jules said, offering the man another drink.

  He took a few more swallows, lowering the bottle afterwards with a contented sigh. “There’s a couple in this lot who act like they were high class. Every time I pass them I get in a grab, and there’s nothing they can do about it. How about you? You like getting grabbed?”

  “Depends on the guy,” Jules said, wondering why any man would think a woman would be attracted by that kind of talk. “Come here.”

/>   He grinned and leaned close, but before their lips came into contact Jules clapped one hand over his mouth. Her other hand drove her dagger into his heart.

  She watched his eyes widen with shock, felt his body tremble, then shifted her grip as he died to keep him from collapsing. Looking over the dead man’s shoulder, she gestured to Artem and the others nearby.

  One of the guards managed a strangled yell before he died.

  “Cas?” The fifth guard, standing watching the prisoners, had turned their way, his silhouette only a vague shape in the dark.

  Artem strolled to the fifth guard, holding out a bottle. “Choked on the wine a little,” he said, slurring his words a bit. “You want a swallow?”

  The fifth guard died with a mouthful of wine that blocked his cry of pain.

  Jules went over to the cell wagon, opening the cell. “There’re six of you,” she told the pirates inside. “The five closest in size to these guards take their clothes and their armor. Be quiet about it.”

  Nico came over, gazing toward the huddled circle of prisoners. “What’re are we going to tell them?”

  “Not a thing. Tomorrow, they’ll have ten guards escorting them into the city. Get rid of the horses.”

  “Get rid of them?”

  “Can’t you make them run away?” Jules asked.

  Nico unstaked the horses and pulled off their harnesses, but afterwards the tired animals refused to escape. He managed to shoo them off a little ways, but they wouldn’t move any farther. “They should wander off by daylight,” he said. “Are we just going to leave the wagon here?”

  “We’re going to burn the wagon,” Jules said. “Get everything we want to save off of it. Artem! Get the others and let’s move this thing into that hollow. Who’s got a flint?”

  It took a while to get the flames going, but by the time the moon rose the wagon had become a bonfire. Other groups camped alongside the road for the night had their own fires for cooking and warmth, so the blaze stood out only briefly for its size. The old, dry wood burned quickly, leaving glowing ashes amid the grass, the iron bars of the cell in the center, bent a bit by the heat of the fire. Once the iron had cooled enough, Jules had eight of the pirates pick up the remnants of the cell and carry it across the road to the river, where they dumped it. The portions remaining above the surface were masked by reeds growing along the river bank.