The Last Citadel

by Kevin Ashman

  He took a deep breath and returned his gaze to the handkerchief.

  ‘I’ll try, Petra,’ he said ‘but it’s not something I am familiar with.’

  A loud knock made them spin around to face the door.

  ‘It’s the clerk,’ he said. ‘He has brought the evening meal. Would you like to stay and share it with us? It will be humble, but the clerk is an excellent cook.’

  Petra stood up to leave.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ she smiled, ‘I will leave you to your supper.’

  She stood at the door as if waiting for something.

  ‘Oh,’ said Pelosus coming to his senses and rushing past her to open the door, ‘please forgive me, I forget my manners.’ He fiddled with the door handle before retrieving his keys from within his tunic. ‘Silly me,’ he said, ‘still locked.’

  Petra placed her hand on his arm.

  ‘I cannot over emphasize the importance of this, Pelosus,’ she said. ‘Please give it your utmost attention.’

  ‘I will try my best, Petra,’ he said staring into her eyes.

  ‘I’m sure you will,’ she said gently, the warmth returning to her voice. ‘Especially when you consider the reward you will receive.’

  ‘Reward,’ he said, ‘what reward?’

  ‘Me!’ she said quietly and opening the door, she walked out of his chambers.

  ----

  Chapter 8

  Amber and the knife-wielding stranger stared at each other in the darkness.

  ‘Who are you?’ she asked, ‘I don’t recognize your face.’

  ‘Why do you want to know?’ the boy responded, ‘did they send you?’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘The Watchers, if they did, I warn you I will not be taken back. I will die first.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ asked Amber.

  ‘You’re not a Watcher?’

  ‘No, I am not.’

  ‘Are you from the Brotherhood?’

  ‘I have no idea what you are talking about,’ said Amber.

  They stared at each other in silence before Amber took a deep breath and spoke again.

  ‘Right,’ she said, ‘this is getting us nowhere, let’s start again, though do you think you could lose the knife?’

  Crispin hesitated a few moments but placed the knife down on the floor, though as Amber noticed, still well within reach.

  ‘Okay,’ she said, ‘my name is Amber and I am from the Red-door gang. What gang are you from?’

  ‘Gang? I know nothing about gangs,’ he answered. ‘my name is Crispin and I am from the Watcher’s tower.’

  Amber’s eyes widened. A Watcher! She had only seen Watchers as they wheeled their macabre cargo back to their tower on Moon-day.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ she asked.

  He stared back in silence.

  ‘Crispin, are you okay?’ she asked.

  Slowly his shoulders started to shake and within a few seconds, his body followed suit. Amber looked on alarmed, thinking he was about to have a fit but within seconds she realized he was sobbing; his head held in his hands and unable even to speak.

  Amber was shocked. She had never seen a boy cry, it just wasn’t done. She hesitated for a moment before crawling across the divide to sit alongside him. Hesitantly, she placed her arm around his shoulders and jumped nervously when he fell into her lap, his whole body shuddering violently in time with his sobs.

  ‘There, there,’ she said awkwardly and started to stroke his hair as she had seen some of the older women do, though truth be told, not quite as rough as Amber’s well-meant but robust technique, ‘everything will be alright.’

  ----

  Ten minutes later, the two new companions sat next to each other in awkward silence.

  ‘I’m sorry about that,’ said Crispin quietly.

  ‘That’s okay,’ she answered, ‘why are you so upset, Crispin?’

  ‘The Watchers,’ he said, ‘they are looking for me and if they find me they will take me back to be killed.’

  ‘Why?’ she asked. ‘What have you done?’

  ‘Nothing,’ he blurted, ‘I have been locked in a cell all my life, but now they want to kill me.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  Crispin quickly recalled his meeting with the man from the Brotherhood and how he had come to be in this place.

  ‘So what are you going to do now?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t know, I suppose I have to try to find this Brotherhood but I don’t know where to start.’

  ‘Well, you can’t do anything tonight,’ she said. ‘There are all sorts of groups out there looking for someone to beat up. It is Moon-night after all.’

  Crispin looked up at her before lifting his gaze to the heavens, his whole demeanour changing.

  ‘Is that what you call it?’ he whispered. ‘Moon-night. It’s such a beautiful name.’

  ‘Steady on, Crispin,’ laughed Amber, ‘you’re beginning to get creepy now. Right, let’s start making plans. First, we have to hide you and you have come to the right person. Not only do I know every hiding place in Bastion, but you are less than a few yards from one of my best places, follow me.’ She stood up and made her way back up the lane, closely followed by Crispin. Within a few minutes, they both sat at the bottom of the disused sewage pit.

  ‘You will be safe here,’ she said. ‘If they look into the lane, they will see its empty and won’t come up this far.’

  She looked at his scared face, hanging on her every word.

  ‘When was the last time you ate, Crispin?’ she asked.

  ‘Yesterday.’

  She searched her wrap for her last crust and gave it to him, watching with interest as he silently savoured every small piece.

  ‘It tastes nice,’ he said. ‘What is it?’

  ‘Surely you’ve tasted bread before,’ she said.

  He shook his head.

  ‘Is there more?’ he asked hopefully.

  ‘No, but I will go and get some. I won’t be back until dawn, so you stay here and I will return as soon as possible.’

  He nodded and watched as she climbed out of the pit and replaced the grille.

  ‘Don’t forget,’ she said from above, ‘stay here. Nowhere in the city is safe for you tonight. I will return in the morning.’

  ‘Okay,’ he answered hoarsely from below.

  ‘Right, I’ll see you soon,’ she said and disappeared from view. Not that he noticed her leave, he was too engrossed by the sight of the giant moon being unveiled from behind its curtain of clouds far above. Amber hurried down the lane. If she was quick, she still had enough time to hang her abusive flag from the pole of the Cobbler’s shop before dawn.

  Back in the quiet lane, Crispin’s deformed hands were visible on the bars of the sewer grille, as he gazed longingly up toward the night sky. A long, quiet moan whispered from the darkness.

  ‘Moon-night,’ he sighed to no one, ‘such a beautiful name.’

  ----

  Chapter 9

  Amber arrived back in her house just before dawn. She smiled to herself and wished she could see the faces of the Cobblers when they saw the flag she had hung from one of their balconies. Usually she would be out and about at first light with all her friends, walking the city to see their achievements and of course, ripping down any that had been left in their own quarter, but today was different. Today, she had more important things to do.

  Hurriedly, she raided the food box for whatever she could find. There was never much there usually, but today was the day after Moon-day and her uncle would have bought whatever he could afford in the market.

  She opened the lid, pleased to see that it had indeed been stocked. She had to be quick as her uncle would be back from the keep soon and she didn’t want to be caught. Her uncle was a kindly man, but like everyone else in the city had a taste for ale. She moved two skins aside and rummaged beneath. She wouldn’t take the Narwl steaks, for there was only one for each week until next Moon-day. They woul
d be missed and anyway, it was their weekly treat when her, her uncle and cousin Kenzo, all sat down and ate together.

  She paused for a second, realising that what she was doing was wrong. Food was hard enough to come by at the best of times and the thought of stealing from her own family to feed a stranger felt uncomfortable to say the least. Not that she had a problem with stealing food, she was quite good at it on market day but stealing from your own family was wrong!

  Suddenly her face lit up with an idea. She was allowed breakfast, so if she just took that and gave it to Crispin; then everything balanced up. Quickly she searched for the large bag of dried Narwl biscuits she knew would be there and took the two that would have been hers anyway. She heard a noise and spun around guiltily to see Kenzo entering the house, looking a bit worse for wear.

  ‘Hangover?’ she asked.

  ‘It’s not a hangover,’ he replied,’ I just have a bit of a headache. It’s all that music.’

  ‘Nothing to do with the ale then?’ she said with a smile.

  Kenzo was very fond of his cousin having grown up alongside her since her parents died when she was a baby.

  ‘I only had a few,’ he said. ‘It must have been off. I’m going to bed.’

  Amber’s mind raced as she spotted an opportunity.

  ‘Aren’t you having breakfast?’ she asked. ‘The Narwl biscuits are lovely and fresh this morning.’

  Kenzo groaned. The thought of eating chopped Narwl offal, dried and baked into palm-sized biscuits made his stomach lurch.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ he answered.

  ‘Why not?’ she continued, ‘they are still warm… and moist… and aromatic.’

  ‘Oh God,’ he said putting his hand over his mouth, ‘I feel sick.’

  ‘You must have a bug,’ she said sweetly, receiving a scowl in return. ‘Well if you don’t want them, can I have them? I was up all night in the Cobbler’s quarter and I’m starving.’

  ‘Whatever,’ he said and made his way to his bunk behind the curtain.

  Amber heard her cousin collapse onto his cot.

  ‘Kenzo,’ she said as soon as he had settled.

  ‘Go away,’ he mumbled.

  ‘Can I ask you a question?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Have you ever heard of something called the Brotherhood?’

  ‘No,’ he said, ‘now leave me alone.’

  Amber quickly retrieved her cousin’s two biscuits and made her way out of the house and back toward the Cobbler’s quarter, eating a biscuit as she went.

  ----

  The silent lanes of the night before were busier now, as the previous night’s revellers staggered back to their respective homes. Amber nodded at occasional familiar faces as she passed, making a mental note of who looked like what and who was with whom. Everyone knew everyone in Bastion and the city thrived on gossip. She worked her way against the human flow of traffic and soon entered the Cobbler’s quarter, waiting for quite a while before the street was clear enough for her to enter the lane. Finally, the people cleared and Amber ran quickly up to the drain cover.

  ‘Crispin?’ she called quietly, ‘are you awake?’

  Receiving no answer, she peered down into the darkness, trying to spot his sleeping form.

  ‘Crispin!’ she called again, ‘are you there?’ As her eyes became accustomed to the darkness, her heart sank as she realized that the sewer was empty. Crispin had gone!

  ----

  She spent the morning wandering around all the hidden alleyways in the vicinity, looking for any sign of the frightened boy, eating a second biscuit as she went. Now Moon-night was over, there was no problem mingling with the locals and life continued as normal. A familiar face appeared around a corner and called her name.

  ‘Amber!’

  She paused, and groaned quietly as she recognised one of the Cobblers. She didn’t like Flip. He was sneaky, nasty and a bully.

  ‘Hello, Flip,’ she said.

  ‘What are you doing up here so early?’ he asked, looking around, ‘and where are your ugly friends?’

  She smiled at him.

  ‘Oh you know me, Flip,’ she said, ‘I like to work alone.’

  ‘No luck last night?’ he asked with a smirk.

  ‘I wouldn’t be so sure,’ she smirked back, ‘I’d take a look above your shop if I was you.’

  Flip’s smirk changed and was replaced by a scowl.

  ‘So what do you want up here?’ he asked.

  ‘Nothing from you, Flip,’ she said, ‘I’m just looking for a friend.’

  ‘I’ve seen none of your smelly group around here,’ he said, ‘perhaps they’ve gone down to the gates to see the water.’

  ‘Why would they want to do that?’ she asked.

  ‘Oh, you haven’t heard? The water is still low and in fact, it’s getting lower.’

  ‘What do you mean getting lower?’ she asked.

  ‘Getting lower,’ he repeated sarcastically, ‘I can’t make it any clearer than that, the water level has dropped lower than it has ever done in the past.’

  ‘Perhaps it is just late,’ she said

  ‘Maybe,’ he said, ‘but the thing is, it is so low at the moment, you can see right to the bottom and there is something underneath.’

  ‘Something underneath?’ she asked, ‘what do you mean?’

  ‘Oh for Saint’s sake,’ he said, ‘stop asking stupid questions and come and see for yourself.’

  Amber thought for a moment. She was having no luck finding Crispin, but the thought of spending any time with Flip did not appeal. Still, she was intrigued.

  ‘Okay,’ she said, ‘let’s go.’

  They went toward the outer city wall, joining others that were heading in the same direction, most the worse for wear, it had to be said, but all eager to see this strange phenomena. As they neared the gate, the crowd got thicker and soon they had to weave their way between the throng, jostling for position. Eventually, they were through the gate and were astonished to see the causeway crammed with people. And not just this causeway, the two others they could see were similarly crowded.

  The crowd hummed with noise as the conversation passed back and fore.

  ‘What is it?’ asked a voice.

  ‘Hell,’ someone answered.

  Amber was fascinated and renewed her efforts to get through the crowd to reach the edge of the causeway. Finally, after crawling through some legs she hauled herself up the perimeter wall and leaning her arms on the edge, looked over to see what everyone was staring at.

  At first, she struggled to make anything out in the water as the occasional breeze made the surface ripple, but as the wind died and the surface stilled, her eyes widened in amazement. Not only was the water more than thirty feet below, but visible just beneath the surface was the outline of the top of a building, and not just one building, she realized, but many streets of buildings disappearing into the distance.

  Amber found herself wondering who used to live there. In all the stories she had ever heard and in all the weekly lessons she had ever had when she was younger, no one had ever mentioned another level of the city. They had always been taught that the Citadel was all there was and their ancestors had reached there on the back of the great Narwl.

  There was no one, or indeed, anywhere else in their history. That was what they had always been taught and the tutors should know, after all they knew everything. Unless of course, they had lied!

  ----

  Chapter 10

  Pelosus woke up on his cot in the corner of his room, his consciousness fighting against his body’s need to stay asleep.

  ‘What time is it?’ he asked groggily.

  ‘It’s almost midday,’ answered the clerk, pouring cold water into a washing bowl. ‘You must have worked late last night.’

  ‘Yes, quite,’ answered Pelosus, his memories coming flooding back. ‘After you left I had a lot of work to do.’

  ‘Aaah, preparing for tonight’s meeting of the counc
il, I suppose?’ answered the clerk over his shoulder

  Pelosus stared at the clerk’s back. He had forgotten about the meeting.

  ‘Yes, that’s right,’ he said, ‘though what they expect of me I don’t know.’

  ‘Well, first thing,’ said the clerk, turning around with a plate of Narwl biscuits and warm wine, ‘is I suggest you get yourself down to the gates of the city and see the water.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘The level has dropped dramatically, and what’s more, it has revealed another city under the surface.’

  ‘Another city?’ gasped Pelosus, ‘I never knew.’

  ‘Me neither,’ said the clerk, ‘it’s not in any of the archives.’

  Pelosus took a bite of a biscuit, his brow furrowing in thought.

  ‘Why not?’ he asked. ‘Why would it not be in the archives, I mean, the records go right back to the start of the city, right?’

  ‘As far back as the arrival of the great Narwl,’ answered the clerk, ‘though the details of that event are conveniently missing.’

  ‘Mmm,’ mouthed Pelosus through a mouthful of biscuit, ‘not surprising though, there’s not many who believe that fairy tale, but surely something as important as the building of our city would be documented.’

  ‘I suppose they were too busy,’ said the clerk.

  ‘Possibly, anyway, pass me my robe, I need to see this.’ He dressed quickly and munching the last of his late breakfast, made his way out of the keep and into the streets.

  ----

  Within fifteen minutes, Pelosus stood on one of the eight causeways, absolutely amazed at the sight before him. The water was far lower than he had predicted and lay more than thirty feet below. More amazingly, the water had dropped so far that the stone routes that had always been referred to as causeways, had been revealed as an age-old misconception. They weren’t causeways at all, they were arched bridges!

  Pelosus looked down at the submerged city, visualizing how impressive these bridges would have looked to the people down below as they looked upwards, heaven knows how long ago.

  It was interesting to see the reaction of the other Citadel inhabitants as they too saw the scene for the first time, wondering who or what lived there. The more imaginative, favoured a strange theory involving a species of fish people who had built the submerged city around Bastion without them knowing, while others got an attack of religion and prayed to the Six-fingered Saint for protection.