Unsuspecting Mage

by Brian S. Pratt

  James and Miko race for the far door in the opposite side of the warehouse and reach it before anyone can get close. Bolting through it, they quickly lose themselves in the crowd of people outside. They don’t get far before the fire consuming the warehouse is noticed by the crowds on the streets around it.

  “Fire!” they hear someone shout and then it becomes total pandemonium. The crowds of people suddenly surge in panic as they try to get away from the flames now engulfing the warehouse. People begin shouting, and those that fall are trampled to death by those behind.

  James glances back to the warehouse and sees ol’ One Eye standing at the door they just vacated looking through the crowd for them. “Move!” he hollers when Miko suddenly pauses in front of him to avoid being trampled by a group of frightened people running by. Pushing him forward, they race down the street away from the warehouse behind them, dodging through the panicking crowd. After putting some distance between themselves and the fire, James grabs Miko by the shirt and pulls him through a door into a dark and empty warehouse. They shut the door and sink down against the wall to rest as they listen for any pursuit.

  Miko scoots closer to James and whispers, “Maybe we should rest here for awhile, at least until you’re a little better.”

  James nods his head and leans against the wall, trying to get comfortable. The adrenalin rush he experienced when escaping from the warehouse is quickly wearing off.

  “I’ll keep watch if you want to get some sleep,” he offers.

  Closing his eyes, James lies down on the floor and soon soft snores are telling Miko that he’s fallen asleep.

  Miko worries about his friend as he sits there in the dark. He listens to the noise outside, the sounds of people running and screaming. He remembers back to the times before he met James when he would sit in the dark, hoping not to be found by the constables or some street tough. He smiles at his memories, even though not all of them were good ones.

  He sits there in the dark for quite some time, the only light being that of the fire coming in through the window. He goes over and peers through the window and sees several buildings adjacent to the flaming warehouse have now caught fire as well. He watches as crews work to put out the fire and after a while they seem to have managed to stop it from spreading.

  Suddenly, horns begin to sound in the night, dozens and dozens of horns. All the people out in the streets stop what they are doing and raise their heads for a moment, listening to the horns blaring all over the city. Then all hell breaks loose when the people begin racing off in different directions, bumping into each other. Some get knocked down and trampled by the panicked mob while others run and cry out in search of loved ones.

  Feeling this may be too important to allow James to continue sleeping, he gently shakes his friend, rousing him. “James!” he whispers urgently, trying to wake him up.

  Consciousness is slow in coming back to James. His head still throbs and he is unable to shake sleep’s hold on him.

  “What?” He asks groggily, trying to retain his tenuous hold onto consciousness.

  “There were horns sounding,” he whispers to his friend.

  “Horns?” James asks, slurring his speech.

  “Yeah, lots of them. Then it got all weird outside,” explains Miko.

  James looks at him, giggles a little and then lapses back into unconsciousness.

  “Damn!” swears Miko. Realizing his friend will probably be out for some time, he makes his mind up to go and get some food and perhaps find out what is going on. Making James as comfortable as possible, he slips out the door and joins with the people outside.

  “What’s going on?” he asks one of the passersby.

  Looking at him like he’s stupid the man asks, “Didn’t you hear the horns?”

  “Yeah, but what does that mean?”

  “It means the Empire’s forces have been sighted nearing the city and now the gates have been sealed and barred. Now the only way in or out is by ship but some idiot set fire to a warehouse near there and took out a good portion of the docks before it could be put out.”

  “What are we to do?” Miko asks.

  “What are you, stupid or something?” the man asks incredulously. “We’re under siege boy! Not much to do but wait it out and hope for the best.” Shaking his head, the man walks away, muttering about the idiots of the world.

  Miko makes his way to a market of sorts that has sprung up near the docks. People are selling all kinds of stuff along with food. Miko goes to a seller of breads and purchases a loaf of bread for an exorbitant price of a silver and a half for one small loaf. When he tries to haggle, the man says, “Pay it or go away”. Knowing James will need it he buys it as well as a jug of ale for five silvers.

  “Extortion, that’s what it is,” he mutters to himself as he makes his way back to the abandoned warehouse. To his relief, he finds James exactly where he left him, undisturbed and still snoring softly. He sits down next to him and eats a little of the bread for himself, drinking a small portion of the ale to wash it down. Then he settles in to keep watch for as long as he needs to.

  He manages to stay awake all night, keeping watch over his friend. When the morning sun begins to lighten the sky, to his immense relief, James begins to stir.

  Moaning with the pounding in his head, he sits up and puts his head in his hands in the hope of keeping it from bursting apart. “Oh my god,” he moans. “What I wouldn’t give for some aspirin right now.”

  “We don’t have any of that,” replies Miko, wondering what an aspirin is. He offers the bread and ale to James and says, “But we do have this.”

  Seeing what he’s offering, James takes it and slowly nibbles on the loaf and drinks the rest of the ale. “How long have I been out?” he asks between bites.

  “All night,” Miko replies. “And I’ve got bad news.”

  James looks at him questioningly as he continues to eat the rest of the bread.

  “Apparently sometime last night the Empire’s forces were sighted nearing the City,” he explains, pausing a moment to see what effect his words are having.

  “Go on,” James prompts him.

  “And they’ve shut the gates, no one is allowed in or out,” he tells him. “We’re under siege!”

  Nodding, James says, “I was afraid of that. When I’m done we’ll look around the City and see if we can figure our way out of here.” Eating the last of the bread and beginning to feel better, he goes over to the bags and begins to dump out everything.

  Miko comes over and looks oddly at what he’s doing.

  “We’re getting rid of everything but the most important stuff,” he explains. “One bag each.” So they begin to sort through what they have and finally narrow it down to just enough items to give each of them half a bag. James takes the money and divides it equally between them.

  When he hands Miko his half he says, “Just in case we either get separated or one of the bags gets lost.”

  Miko nods understanding and puts his money pouch within his bag.

  “Now,” James says as he gets shakily to his feet, “let’s go see what’s happening outside.” He goes over to the door and looks out the small window next to it. Seeing no one close by he opens the door and they make their way quickly into the street. Smoke still rises from the charred remains of several buildings and about a third of the wharf area.

  “Man what a mess,” James exclaims, shaking his head.

  “At least we’re alive,” asserts Miko.

  “True,” agrees James.

  They walk down the street, away from the smoldering wreckage. They can hear the sound of horns on the fields outside of the walls along with the whisk of arrows being fired by the defenders atop the walls. All the townspeople are strangely absent, the streets vacant of the usual mass of people.

  As they continue along a member of the city guard takes notice of them and says, “No one is allowed on the streets. You will have to return to your homes.”

  “Alright,�
�� James responds, “we didn’t realize.”

  The guard stands there and watches as they turn around and head back the way they came. After going down a ways, they turn down a side street and James comes to a stop. “Damn!” he swears. “I hadn’t figured on there being a curfew.” He stands there thinking for a second before saying, “Makes sense though.”

  “Should we go back to the warehouse where we were?” Miko asks.

  Nodding his head slowly, James replies, “Probably would be the best thing to do. I doubt if they are going to breach the walls anytime soon,” he reasons. “So we’ll try again tonight when we are not so conspicuous.”

  They return through the streets to the warehouse where they discover a stairway inside along one wall leading to the roof. Hoping to get a good view of what is happening in the city, they climb the stairs and pass through the trapdoor to the roof.

  Atop the roof they have a fair view of the city, the walls still rising higher than the warehouse’s roof. Several thousand men line the walls, archers fire arrows down at the attackers. They see a crossbow bolt strike one of the archers on the wall and watch as he plummets off the wall and lands with a squishy thud on the street below.

  The roofs of many buildings throughout the city have a number of people upon them as well, apparently having the same idea as they. Looking toward the remaining docks, James sees a ship disembarking soldiers and supplies. With the curfew in effect, there is no longer a mob at the docks, fighting to board the approaching ships. However there are several squads stationed in and around the dockside just in case of trouble.

  “James, look!” Miko says as he points to five wagons making their way toward the dockside. They can see that the wagons are loaded with many boxes and crates. An old man sits on the lead wagon, “I guess Ollinearn finally got all his books packed. Glad he’s going to make it out of the city.”

  “Maybe if we could get to him, he would take us with him?” Miko asks, looking hopeful.

  James gazes out over the city at the many squads patrolling the streets between Ollinearn and them. Turning to Miko he says, “I doubt if we’d make it that far.”

  Feeling disappointed and mad, Miko watches as Ollinearn trundles to the docks and begins to load the last of his books on one of the waiting ships.

  The clash of swords draws their attention to a section of the wall somewhat close to where they stand. Several attackers have managed to gain the wall and reinforcements are running to beat them back.

  The fighting on the wall where the enemy has achieved a foothold is fierce, but the attackers are outnumbered and it isn’t long before the last one falls. A cheer rises from the defenders as the wall is once again secure.

  “That was close,” Miko comments.

  “I’d hate to be up there,” says James, watching as men remove the dead and wounded. The enemy soldiers they simply toss over the side to land on their comrades below.

  The rest of the day progresses pretty much the same. The Empire’s army storms the walls, the defenders fight them back, and occasionally the attackers gain a foothold on the wall only to have the defenders cut them down, securing the wall once again. There were two brief respites in which the attackers withdrew, regrouped and then commenced their assault all over again.

  They both take turns sleeping while the other keeps watch and by the end of the day, James is feeling much improved.

  As the sun begins to sink toward the horizon, horns are heard from the field outside the walls as the attackers withdraw. When it becomes apparent that no attack is imminent, the men on the walls begin to be rotated off in shifts for meals and rest.

  People begin to emerge from their homes and the streets once more become crowded. Many make their way to the Keep to see about loved ones who had been manning the walls.

  “It seems the curfew has been lifted while the assault has stopped,” observes James. “This may be a good time for us to see about getting out of here, if that’s even possible.”

  “Do you feel better?” Miko asks.

  “Some,” James tells him. “My headache is only a dull throbbing now.” He feels the bump on the side of his head and says, “I think the swelling’s gone down from where they struck me. Being able to rest for a day has sure done wonders.”

  They come down off the roof, grab their bags and leave the warehouse to merge with the people now back on the streets. They make their way toward the docks and find that the east side has been cordoned off and is guarded by several squads of the city guard. They are told that area is for the unloading of supplies and men.

  They make their way to the western side of the docks where a mass of people have gathered. A man stands upon a wagon and is addressing the crowd. “…are going to come and help evacuate the City. They will pull up to the dock and at that time, in an orderly fashion, those at the head of the line will board quickly. Anyone, and I do mean anyone, who causes trouble or becomes a nuisance will be dealt with severely.”

  Looking behind him, the man on the wagon sees the first of the rescue boats pulling up to the docks. He raises his hands to get the crowds attention. When they’ve quieted down he says loudly, “The first boat is here and more are on the way.” He signals to a squad of guards on the docks and says, “Start loading.”

  When the crowd hears that, they surge toward the docks, pushing and shoving to be first to get on the boat. “Do not push!” the man says to the crowd, “the boats will be coming all night long and as long as needed to get everyone out.”

  One man pushes an old lady down and runs for the boat, a guard sees him and moves to intercept. The man starts to fight with the guard, but is soon clubbed senseless. “Take him away,” the man on the wagon yells to the guards. Raising his voice even further he yells, “He will be the Last one allowed on the boats!”

  When the people hear that they become a bit more orderly and soon an orderly line is formed as they wait for the first boat to fill. Other boats are waiting their turn to approach the docks to help evacuate the populace.

  “Let’s get in line,” James says. “Looks like we’ll make it out of here after all.”

  The boats are those of private citizens from neighboring cities. None of them are able to carry a lot of people, but slowly and surely, the line continues to move.

  The sun drops behind the horizon and torches are lit to provide light for the people and the arriving boats. At one point a boat loaded with evacuees sails from the docks and no new boat takes its place. Several minutes pass and still no other boat approaches to continue the evacuation. A low murmur can be heard developing within the waiting crowd.

  The man gets back up on the wagon and addresses the increasingly restless people. “Do not worry!” he yells out over the crowd. “They will return when they have dropped off their passengers at a safe port. More boats than what you’ve already seen are on their way. They must travel from farther away, but they will come!”

  The crowd quiets down and settles in to wait patiently. Several more hours pass and more boats appear to take on passengers and then quickly sail away, making room for the next one in line.

  Ta-TOOOOO Ta-TOOOOO

  The sounds of many horns can be heard coming from the eastern wall, as well as faint sounds of swords exchanging blows. The crowd around James and Miko begins growing restless and the look of fear can be seen on many of their faces.

  A rider approaches at a gallop and halts near the man who addressed the crowd. “My lord!” the rider cries out to him, “they’re in the city!”

  “How!” demands the man.

  “Someone poisoned the guards at the gate and then released the lock!” he explains.

  To the guards the man yells, “To the east gate!” as he jumps from the wagon and breaks into a run. The guards fall in behind.

  When the crowd hears that the enemy is within the city, all thoughts of orderly evacuation vanishes. As one, the crowd surged forward toward the boat that’s currently loading passengers. They swarm over it, knocking each
other out of the way and into the water. A knife flashes and a woman screams as she falls into the Sea. They overload the small pleasure craft past its limits. The mass of people upon the craft cause it to tip over, spilling everyone into the water as it sinks to the bottom.

  The other captains waiting in line to pick up refugees, after having witnessed what just happened, turn their boats around and sail away, not willing to risk their boats or their lives with the panicked mob.

  The people on the dock cry out for them to return but to no avail. Then absolute panic sets in as they realize that rescue is no longer forthcoming. People jump into the Sea and try to swim while the majority of the people just run in every direction, trampling to death many of their neighbors.

  James and Miko flow with the mob until they can get away from it down a side alley. “What are we to do now?” Miko asks, fear evident in his voice.

  “Maybe we can swim out around the walls and past the armies,” suggests James.

  Miko brightens at the idea and says, “Let’s go!”

  They slowly make their way through the press of the crowd until they come to the water’s edge. The Sea is full of swimming bodies, many having the same idea as James. They get ready to enter the water when screams begin coming from out in the water.

  Crossbow bolts are flying into those in the water, striking all who are trying to escape. James can barely make out dozens of enemy crossbowmen lining the shores, firing at the helpless people in the water.

  “Not this way,” he says and they race off into the city.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  _______________________

  The sound of fighting increases as the enemy continues to gain more and more ground within the City. People are running every which way, no one seems to know where to go. James and Miko continue racing through the streets trying to stay clear of the fighting.