Ironroot (Tales of the Empire)

by S. J. A. Turney

  She had never been happier that at times like these, living roughly by a campfire with a constant threat of danger and puzzles to solve. Except for the ever-present knowledge that Varro was going to be taken from her. As soon as the thought occurred to her again, she pushed it back out of her mind. Every time she let her guard down, she risked being washed away by the turbulent emotions that pounded her. She was too strong for that. And Varro was refusing to let it get in his way, so she had to be all the more strong to keep him from despair.

  The man behind all this…

  Something behind her made a snapping sound. Her mind raced for a fraction of a second. Twigs popped and crackled in the flames, but there was something different about this sound. This was not a burning twig.

  Gritting her teeth, she held her breath and listened as hard as she could.

  Very, very quietly, she heard a footfall. Good. Between the crack and the quiet step, she had enough information to see it all in her mind’s eye. The man was directly behind her, and perhaps two paces away. She held her breath a moment longer and heard the next footstep, slow and soft. This one was close enough that she felt the faintest vibration on the ground.

  Her eyes hardened as, without moving any other part of her, she swung the needle-pointed knife up with her right arm straight behind her until her arm reached back as far as it could, but not before it met resistance. There was a horrible noise and a trickle of warm liquid down her hand and wrist as she immediately released her grip on the knife handle and, turning, leapt to her feet.

  She had only a moment to take in the scene. Her aim had been precise and unfortunate, the height of her seated form having driven the blade as far as the hilt into the man’s crotch and up through his bladder. His eyes were wide with shock and his mouth formed an ‘O’ as he fought to find his voice. The arm out to his side that held his sword twitched and the blade dropped from his fingers.

  Panic hit her momentarily. Varro and Salonius had been so careful to remain quiet and this man was about to scream and ruin it all. Instinct took over and, pulling her arm back at the shoulder, she threw a solid punch directly at the man’s face. The low groan as he began to howl was cut short and ended in a crunch as the blow broke the man’s nose and two of Catilina’s fingers simultaneously.

  He spun, his eyes rolling up into his head, and collapsed heavily to the ground.

  She stared down at him for a long moment, stunned by the sudden violence and then, slowly, the pain in her fingers began to make itself known. Shaking her head to clear it, she stared out into the darkness past the fire. Even with her hampered night vision, she could see the gap where the attacker had removed a single board in their fire shield. He had been alone.

  Grimacing, she stepped out of the gatehouse and edged round the corner into the darkness where she would be less visible and scanned the gloom for a further sign of her two friends. After a long moment, she saw Salonius creeping along the wall of the central building and then he disappeared around the far corner and into the darkness. She heaved a slow breath and then settled down to wait, her ears pricked for any sign of movement.

  Varro and Salonius clambered to the top of the wall walk. The flight of steps they had found was missing a number of stones and covered with creeping undergrowth, rubble and dust. Slowly and carefully they approached the battlements and peered cautiously around the merlon.

  “Shit!”

  Instantly, the pair ducked back into the protection of the walls. Below and perhaps fifty yards from the walls scattered soldiers sat astride their horses.

  “How many d’you reckon?” Salonius whispered.

  Varro shook his head.

  “I’d say about ten down there, but you can bet we’re surrounded, so we’re looking at forty or so. Shit, shit, shit!”

  Salonius nodded.

  “Shit indeed.”

  They stood crouched for a moment, deep in thought, and then raised their heads in unison.

  “Catilina!” they both whispered.

  Moments later they were scrambling down the stairs and running across the rough grass towards the gatehouse, all concerns over being observed forgotten.

  As they approached the great defensive structure, Varro’s heart leapt into his throat. The archway, lit by the flickering flames, was empty. He and Salonius slid to a halt just as Catilina stepped out from the shadows by the gate.

  Varro visibly jumped at her sudden appearance.

  “Shit, don’t do that!”

  Salonius flexed his shoulders.

  “Varro…”

  The captain turned to find his companion pointing at the blood-soaked body lying next to the fire. He turned to Catilina and raised his eyebrows.

  “Lucky.” She said, flatly, cradling her sore fingers in her other hand.

  “I think our luck might be running out” Varro replied. “Looks like there’s several dozen men out there, waiting for us.”

  Catilina frowned.

  “Do you suppose Cristus is there with them?”

  “I doubt it,” Varro grumbled. “This is dirty work. His sort doesn’t do dirty work.”

  Salonius nodded.

  “Then we’ve got to get away from here” Catilina replied, scratching her neck carefully and noticing once again the blood trails across her hand. “I think we can distract them.”

  She crouched near the fire and found a patch of dry, dusty ground. Retrieving a stick from the grass with her good hand, she drew a rough square on the floor and marked their location with an ‘x’.

  “We’re here, yes?”

  Varro nodded.

  She used the stick to draw a line of dots around the square, marking the presumed location of the soldiers.

  “I assume they’re all round us?”

  Salonius sighed. “We haven’t actually checked, but they’d be stupid to concentrate on one side and leave the others empty.”

  “Alright then.“ Catilina cleared her throat. “Before we do this, you need to check all four walls. We’ll need to know all possible ways out, and where their cordon is weakest.”

  “What’s the plan?” Salonius muttered quietly.

  “They sent men in here to get us. We need to distract them. I suggest we dress three of them in our clothes, strap them to horses and send them running out of one of the exits.”

  Varro frowned.

  “And what happens if they manage to stop the three ‘riders’ just outside the walls?”

  Catilina shrugged.

  “Then we’re in the same amount of trouble as we are now.”

  Varro stared at her and then shrugged.

  “I suppose it’s better than just fighting our way out. Salonius? We need to check the lay of the land from each wall.”

  He paused for a moment.

  “Salonius?”

  Turning at the continued silence, he regarded the young soldier with a raised eyebrow. Salonius was staring off into the distance thoughtfully, his index finger pressed against his chin.

  “Salonius?” he repeated, slightly louder.

  “Huh?” The young man shook his head and focussed on the captain.

  “Sorry… Thinking. There might be a better way.”

  The other two waited expectantly and after a moment, Salonius removed his finger from his chin and used it to point at the ruins at the centre of the complex.

  “What we need is a distraction.”

  “And?” Varro was becoming frustrated.

  Salonius shrugged.

  “We need to get them to come here. If most of them are inside, they’ll be thinly spread out there and it’ll be easier to slip past them.”

  “Granted,” Varro nodded, “but they’ll try and cover the perimeter anyway, and with so many of them milling about within the walls, how would we get outside? And what are you planning for your distraction?”

  Salonius frowned in concentration.

  “It’s all nice and logical. There are large sections of the central villa that are on the verge of collap
se. A good tug with a rope and we could start around a quarter of the structure imploding, I reckon. That should bring them running. In the meantime, we need to head over to the section of walls near where I used the sling. I checked the wall out while we were over there and there’s a postern gate that’s caved in. Just off to the side is a section of fallen wall that collapsed inwards. We can hide in the overhang of the postern while they come to investigate. Then, while they’re busy, we nip out, over the fallen wall, and off into the countryside.”

  Varro growled. “And what if we cross the wall and they’re covering that spot?”

  Salonius shrugged.

  “I don’t believe they will be. If they’re spread thinly, they’ll be concentrating on the gateways and the holes in the walls. That section will still have a drop at the other side maybe as high as ten feet. They’ll likely assume the inside is equally vertical. We’d be crazy to try leaving there, so they’ll write that off.”

  “You mean we’ll have to jump the horses down a ten foot drop?” Catilina queried, staring at him. “You’re quite right we’d be crazy!”

  “I’m afraid so; maybe even more. But within the next ten feet there’s what’s left of the defensive ditch too, so if we do it right we can land on the ditch slope and save the horses. It’s a long shot, but then that’s why I don’t think it’ll be watched.”

  Varro and Catilina exchanged glances and their shoulders sagged. Varro cleared his throat. “You really think it’s feasible?”

  Salonius shrugged. “I believe it’s a better option than faking our escape. Whether it’ll work depends a little on skill and mostly on luck or whether the Stag Lord is really watching over us.”

  Varro nodded and the two men focused their thoughts on the task ahead, failing to notice the curious expression that crossed their companion’s face as she regarded the young engineer. Catilina allowed her smile to pass and then cleared her throat.

  “Alright then. Salonius, you and Varro go and get this ‘distraction’ of yours organised. I’ll pack up and get everything ready then I’ll find you.”

  “We’ll take the bodies and leave them among the ruins.” Salonius agreed. “They should get a proper burial if all this works. When you’ve packed away, could you bring the horses over to the ruins?”

  Catilina nodded and, as the two men untied their horses, surreptitiously tore a strip from the hem of her dress and broke her drawing stick in half so fashion a splint for her two damaged fingers. Tying the material off tightly with two of her fingers held uncomfortably straight, she set about the task of collecting their gear, carefully and wincing regularly. Damn it. She was still suffering general aches and pains from the wound in her shoulder and even the odd sharp pain when she turned wrong. Chuckling to herself, she realised she was beginning to sound suspiciously a little like Varro.

  Varro grasped the reins of his horse and led it away into the darkness alongside Salonius, who checked over the strength and quality of a coil of rope as they walked.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing” muttered Varro, giving the young man a sidelong glance.

  “So do I” muttered Salonius fervently.

  A little more than five minutes of frenzied activity later, three figures moved slowly and quietly away from the jagged broken mass of the central range toward the outer wall, leading their horses and stepping carefully to avoid unexpected hazards among the long grass. Catilina and Varro’s horses stepped lightly and quietly; Salonius’ moved slowly, its rider spending much of his time walking backwards and facing in the direction from which they’d come. Behind him a length of rope snaked out among the grass, one end knotted tightly around the horn of the young man’s saddle, the other anchored among the ruins with the precision of a career engineer. The curtain walls were now only twenty yards distant, and the three of them could just make out the shadowy arc that denoted the presence of the postern gate. Varro glanced back once more to check their progress, hoping his young companion’s calculations were correct.

  Finally, very slowly, the waves of rope on the ground behind them began to straighten. Salonius gestured to Varro and then pointed back down behind them. The two men watched, Varro in relief, Salonius in satisfaction, as the rope gradually pulled tight and started to lift from the grass.

  Salonius coaxed his steed onwards as the strain began to show in the horse’s manner, stamping its feet in frustration. The rope, having reached shoulder height, strained and creaked and the horse snorted its irritation.

  Salonius looked up to find Varro giving him a concerned glare.

  “Nothing else I can do now but trust to luck and judgement.”

  “Huh.” Varro turned away and moved ahead, catching up with Catilina. The dark arch of the gateway loomed ahead and, grasping the steed’s bridle, he urged her on. The groaning and creaking behind him grew in pitch and volume and for long moments, as he plodded slowly forward one step at a time, he wondered whether he had misjudged the breaking strain of the rope or the condition of the walls.

  The result when it came was so sudden and surprising, even for the one who planned it, that Salonius suddenly found himself jogging forward to try and restrain the horse. For a moment, he truly believed he had failed and that the rope had snapped somewhere along the line. The horse had shot forward and the rope whipped away in coils behind it.

  He hurriedly brought the horse to a worried stop and turned just in time to see the tallest section of interior wall begin to move. A high section that would have supported the dormer windows at the very centre of the complex, replete with cornice and moulding, swayed for a moment towards him. Very slowly it rocked back to upright and, as Salonius held his breath, he watched it continue on past the vertical and rock out away from him. Once more, the tall spire of shattered wall reached a critical point and swung back with enough momentum that it continued on past the apex, picking up speed and falling with ponderous grace against the lower wall opposite. The domino effect began and, with a grin of sheer satisfaction, Salonius turned his back on the cacophony and jogged with his horse to catch up with the other two, just as they reached the dark archway.

  Varro was grinning from ear to ear in the shadows as he turned to face his young companion.

  “Nicely done. They probably heard that all the way back at Vengen!”

  Salonius nodded. “Now keep your eyes peeled. As soon as they start to gather we need to be up and away.”

  The three of them mounted ready and lurked in the shadows, keeping their horses as quiet and still as possible while they watched the dust begin to settle in moonlight, a strange and otherworldly sight. Almost unbearably slowly the cloud began to clear and almost immediately they became aware of figures moving around and of dulled conversation.

  “Come on.” Varro whispered, and very slowly and quietly they walked their horses out of the shadows and into the bright moonlight. It was a gamble, certainly. Three mounted figures would be plainly visible in the moonlight and the wall cast no shadow on this side. Likely, however, the men would be too busy examining the collapsing central range and that, combined with the confusion, the settling dust, and the fact that the three of them only had to cross around twenty yards of open ground, meant discovery was at least not a foregone conclusion.

  Nervously, Salonius rode alongside Catilina at a steady walk, with Varro in front, almost at the point where the fallen wall created a steep bank. He held his breath, his eyes locked on the figures moving around at the centre. After what seemed an eternity, they reached the embankment and began to guide their horses slowly and painstakingly up the slope.

  Once again, Salonius found himself wondering what in the heavens had given him this idea. The fact that they’d survived even the last ten minutes astounded him. That they might survive the long drop into a ditch, evade a small army and get away seemed such a farfetched proposition that it almost made him laugh.

  “Hey!”

  A sudden commotion behind them announced that they had finally been spotted.


  Varro looked back over his shoulder.

  “Run for it!”

  The captain kicked his horse into action and ran up the steep slope as fast as the beast could manage. As he reached the top he disappeared from sight with a last cry that tailed off:

  “Cernus!”

  Racing now for his life, Salonius glanced across at Catilina. A confident rider, she bounded on ahead and over the crest. Swallowing nervously and painfully aware of his own lack of equestrian skill, he followed on, his heart racing. As he reached the top of the embankment of fallen wall, he had to fight the urge to haul on their reins and stop the beast. To stay here would be a death sentence. Forcing himself forwards, instead of slowing he picked up speed and charged ahead into the unknown.

  The ground disappeared sharply before him and as he launched into his jump, he unintentionally clamped his eyes tightly shut. His heart skipped a beat and he was almost unhorsed as the beast landed heavily and awkwardly on the slope. His eyes shot open as he panicked, but as he glanced about wide-eyed, he realised that the beast was slowly walking in the shallow ditch. Varro and Catilina sat astride their horses at the top of the other side.

  Salonius gave them a shaky smile and, turning, stared in amazement at the wall behind him, at least eight feet tall.