The Tower of Bashan

by Joshua P. Simon

  Rondel’s mouth opened and shut. At least a dozen questions were on the tip of his tongue. All but one could wait for a more opportune time. “And she’s coming with us?”

  “Yes. Where are we going?” She threw him his pack.

  Good question. This changes my original plan. “All right. I assume that when Beladeva discovers us gone, he’ll start sweeping through the High District expecting us stay in the area to keep up appearances. So we leave it and head toward the Low District. Then we find a place to hole up for the night. Come morning we go to the princess, tell her about the lies in the city that Beladeva has started against us, and ask for protection.”

  “Works for me,” said Andrasta.

  They headed downstairs, Lela at the rear. Rondel and Andrasta each took a side of the chest. He threw a few coins to the innkeeper on their way out to settle his bill.

  Three steps out of the building, they froze. A dozen men brandishing spears and khandas walked toward the inn from the right. The men halted.

  “Beladeva wants to see you,” said the one out front, scowling beneath a thick beard. He wore a white, collarless kurta and a simple, white turban.

  Well, no uncertainty about who they work for at least.

  “Four on the roof across the street with crossbows,” whispered Andrasta.

  “And what if we don’t want to see Beladeva?” Rondel called to the man.

  “You don’t really have a choice.”

  “There’s more coming up behind us,” said Lela.

  “Which means they probably have the back way out of the inn covered too,” muttered Rondel.

  “Likely,” added Andrasta.

  Always the hard way. “All right. They have numbers and the better position. On the count of three, we drop the chest and run,” said Rondel.

  “Run where?” asked Andrasta.

  “Through them. I doubt they’d expect that.”

  “True.”

  “One.”

  They dropped the chest and surged forward.

  * * *

  Princess Mira sat beside Brahma in the carriage angrily drumming her fingers against her thigh. They rolled noisily down Bashan’s streets surrounded on all sides by armed men. Several of her personal guard had joined Brahma’s force.

  “I really wish you would reconsider coming along, Your Majesty,” said Brahma.

  “Worried I might get hurt?”

  “Among other things.”

  “There are only two of them. I’ll be fine. Besides, I could say this isn’t the most ideal situation for a man of your maturity either.”

  Brahma chuckled. “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything more than point a finger and issue orders.”

  “And I can’t do the same?” she asked.

  “Yes. I just wonder if it’s best for you to stay away from something so public, all things considering.”

  You mean considering they’ve made me look like a fool.

  Shouts rang out. The carriage came to jarring halt. Her guards and Brahma’s men closed in to protect them.

  “What’s going on?” demanded Brahma.

  “It’s Gulzar, my lord. He’s got a few dozen men with him. One claims to be the prince.”

  “Minander? Impossible. He won’t return for days,” said Mira.

  “I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, but it sure looks like him.”

  “Step aside,” said Mira swinging the door open. She heard her brother long before she spotted him.

  “And there she is, my beloved sister. Or dare I say the failed usurper.” Her brother stormed toward her with a smirking Gulzar in his wake.

  Nothing else to do but play stupid. She bowed. “My prince. This is a surprise.”

  He stopped, feet from her. “I bet. Gulzar told me about your meetings.” He looked over to Brahma. “I never thought you’d get the old man to make such a dumb move.”

  “If you must know, Brahma came to warn me about Lord Rickar.”

  “What about him?”

  “He discovered Lord Rickar is not who he says he is. He’s been trying to deceive you.”

  Minander laughed. “I heard you met with him at the tower earlier tonight. Did you try to win him over, and he turned you down? Have you raised false accusations against him in revenge, hoping that it would also slow my plans?”

  “No, Your Majesty. Princess Mira is right,” said Brahma easing himself out of the wagon. Lord Rickar and his bodyguard are actually Rondel and Andrasta.”

  “The people in the stories from the west?”

  “Yes. At your sister’s command, we were on our way to arrest them. I promise that once we put them to the question, the truth will come out.”

  Minander’s face twisted. “For your benefit Lord Brahma, let’s hope there is no doubt about the truth.”

  “Good, then let’s get back on our way,” suggested Mira as she turned to the carriage.

  “No, Sister. Gulzar, take several men and escort the princess back to the palace.”

  “But Minander, I mean, Your Majesty,” said Gulzar, “I think it would be much safer for both of you to return to the palace. Let my men go with Brahma’s to arrest these frauds.”

  “No. I’m going myself. I want an answer right away to these accusations.”

  “But the danger—”

  “They are but two foreigners, one a woman. I think I should be safe among so many,” he said, gesturing to those around him.

  “But again I—”

  “The matter is over, Gulzar. See to my wishes. I’ll speak to you later.”

  Gulzar bowed begrudgingly to the prince’s retreating back. He whispered something to one of his men who hurried off. Then he spun to Mira. “You heard the prince. We must be going.”

  * * *

  “Left!” shouted Rondel.

  The charge against Beladeva’s men had been successful, killing four while throwing the others off balance amidst a small barrage of crossbow bolts from the roof.

  “Left again,” Rondel said as Andrasta ran point.

  Distant footsteps and panicky shouts tickled their ears. The rain had stopped, but that mattered little to Rondel. He was soaked to the bone.

  “Straight and then one more left,” he huffed moments before reaching an intersection.

  They entered a wide street near a small park. Andrasta stopped abruptly. Several dozen armed men stood around a carriage. Rondel recognized members of the royal guard as well as those from several of Bashan’s major houses. Among the group, he glimpsed the princess speaking with her brother.

  I thought he was out of town. What’s this all about? Though he hated entering any situation without fully understanding the intricacies of it, he could not be picky given their need for protection.

  His partner gave him a questioning look. He smiled. “Get into character.” He tried to catch his breath as they approached the group. Lela stayed in Andrasta’s shadow, hesitant about going with them. Because she betrayed the princess too . . . He frowned at her. “Say as little as you can and defer to me.”

  He cleared his throat loudly. Dozens of guards turned with either spear or sword pointed in his direction. He smiled wider, not unnerved in the slightest by the situation. He had been under greater pressure before.

  He looked past the guards. “Your majesties! Fate has been kind to me. We were just on our way to meet with you regarding a matter a grave importance. It would seem that—“

  “There they are,” shouted the prince. His voice held an edge to it.

  Rondel looked to the princess for help but she seemed angrier than Minander.

  Aw, crap.

  “Seize them!” shouted Minander.

  The guards rushed forward. The prince joined their charge.

  “I don’t think talking is going to get us out of this one,” said Rondel.

  They spun around just as Beladeva’s men appeared from the opposite direction half a block away.

  Crap again. “New plan. Break for the tower.”

  Rondel an
gled right, hoping to reach a side street before they got cut off.

  Why is nothing ever easy?

  CHAPTER 23

  Mira knelt on the cobbled streets, uncaring that her sari was soaked in death. She cradled her brother’s limp head in her lap. She stroked his cheek with the tenderness she had for him when he was a boy. It had been too long since either displayed such love toward the other.

  Everything happened so fast.

  One moment Rondel had appeared like a gift from the gods, making their need to arrest him all the easier. The next, men in nondescript attire brandishing devilish weapons charged toward her brother and the men under his command. Somehow Rondel and Andrasta, with Lela in tow, escaped down a side street. Some pursued the outlaws. The rest participated in a bloodbath.

  The aftermath of the conflict sickened Mira.

  The dead lay everywhere. Blood flowed, running down lifeless bodies and coalescing into the puddles from the earlier rain.

  Bashan had been everything to her. She loved the city as did her father. But now, that love seemed like a waste. Her brother was dead and though her actions were done with the best of intentions, they had led to his death.

  If I hadn’t tried to betray him, if I hadn’t involved Brahma, if I hadn’t met with Lord Rickar . . . Rondel . . . behind his back, none of this would have happened.

  Many of the survivors from the other side stood around Mira, holding terrible wounds with one hand while tightly gripping their weapons in the other. Guarding me. But why? They won. They killed the prince. They killed or bound everyone else. Why not do the same to me?

  The men parted. Mira looked up as a man dressed in white with a black turban and a thin beard walked toward her. Her lips parted when she noticed Gulzar at the man’s side.

  The man in white spoke. “Princess, we haven’t met. I had hoped to keep it that way. Being in the public is not my preference. However, a minor setback at the docks involving one of my best men has caused me to change my plans. My name is Beladeva.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “Good. You know who I am. That will make this easier. As it stands now, due to carelessness,” he glanced to Gulzar briefly, “the prince is dead. That makes you sole ruler of Bashan.” He gestured around. “You and those in your party who managed to survive this . . . mess are my prisoners. Please come with me.”

  She thought better of arguing when she realized how helpless she was. Just play along for now.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “The tower.”

  “Why?”

  “Because that is where our common persons of interest are heading.”

  Rondel and Andrasta? What do they mean to him? Did Beladeva hire them?

  “Gulzar, please get the princess to her carriage. It’s obvious that she’s in shock and not herself.” He paused. “And please keep this ruler safe.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  * * *

  A crossbow bolt struck the street inches from Andrasta’s foot. She swore, jumping aside as it ricocheted upward. Several of Beladeva’s men had managed to avoid the fight with the prince’s men.

  “You all right?” Rondel asked, looking over his shoulder as they ran.

  “Fine. Can you get to your crossbows?”

  “No,” Rondel huffed. “They’re deep in my pack.”

  “That was a dumb place to put them.”

  “I didn’t think Lord Rickar was the kind of person to walk around with them strapped to his belt. Besides, how was I supposed to know that our cover would be blown with the princess as well?”

  She grunted, looking over to Lela who jogged between them. Absent the heavy packs her and Rondel bore, she moved pretty easily.

  Mechanical though. No emotion. Blood caked the girl’s feet. No pain either.

  It’s like she died in that warehouse. Despite the immediacy of their situation, Andrasta wanted to say something encouraging, but as usual, nothing came to mind.

  Maybe Rondel can think of something after we get to the tower. That raised a different point.

  “I thought we weren’t ready to break into the tower,” said Andrasta.

  Rondel banked right, into an alley. He ran through a pile of rotted crates, and climbed over an old fence. They followed, close.

  “We’re not,” he whispered, slowing down to the edge of the alley before peering out into the street beyond.

  “Then why are we going there?”

  “Because with everyone looking for us we have nowhere to safely hide in the city. And at the least, Beladeva knows our intentions. After tonight, Mira is likely to figure it out as well. They’ll be watching the tower closely with the expectation of catching us once we make our move. Our best chance to get inside is tonight before they position themselves to stop us.”

  “What about the key to the glyphs we still need to find?”

  “I guess we’ll just have to find it fast. At least we have another set of eyes to help this time.”

  Andrasta looked back to a blank-faced Lela. She wasn’t sure about that.

  “What about getting out of the tower?” she asked. “It’s likely to be guarded more than before now.”

  He sucked his teeth. “True. That could be a problem.”

  “And you still want to go in.”

  “Considering how badly you want the jewel, I never considered not going in to be an option.” He paused. “Is it an option?”

  “No. We have to get the jewel,” she answered without hesitation.

  “That’s what I thought. Don’t worry, I’ll figure a way to get us out.” Rondel snuck out into the street, gesturing for them to follow. “I think we finally lost them.”

  “There they are!” came a shout.

  Rondel wheeled. “Or not. C’mon!”

  * * *

  Rondel stared at the four dead guardsmen outside the tower’s entrance. He glanced over his shoulder at the three sprawled out on the path from the gate to the tower. If he squinted in the moonlight, he could just make out the additional two slumped at the gate itself.

  “When you told me you had a plan to get past the guards, I wasn’t expecting this,” he said.

  “It worked, didn’t it?” asked Andrasta.

  “Yeah, but—”

  “But what? You didn’t have an idea ready and we didn’t have the time to wait for you to think of one. I did what was necessary.”

  “They were just doing their jobs.”

  “One filled with potential dangers they all knew about before signing up. Don’t give me that look. We’re trying to steal a jewel, remember? We aren’t exactly on the most moral ground to begin with.”

  Rondel frowned. He never claimed to be a saint, but at the least he tried to hold himself to a higher standard than most in his current line of work.

  “If it helps you sleep at night, remember I made sure they attacked us first. So we really just defended ourselves.”

  “That’s a poor argument.”

  Andrasta pointed to the closest guard lying in a pool of his blood. “What about him? I bet you remember him from when we used to pick up trash, right?”

  “Yes. His name was Shastri.”

  “Remember how you hated the way he used to grope the young girls passing into the gate?”

  Rondel’s frown deepened. “Are you saying I shouldn’t feel that bad about us killing him because he wasn’t that great of a person to begin with? Fine, what about the others?”

  “Dig deep enough, I’m sure you’ll find something awful.”

  Rondel looked up, staring at the night sky where the Warrior constellation shone brightly above. He shook his head. “I can’t believe the cynicism I’m hearing from you. You sound no better than you did when we first met. I thought you had grown some. Especially after the risk you took in saving Lela, but I guess all bets are off when in proximity to the jewel.”

  “I guess so. Just remember that you pick and choose who you do right by as well. You just might not be quite as selecti
ve as me.” She turned away and walked toward the entrance. “You mind if we finish this little debate some other time?”

  Rondel wanted to say more, but thought better of it. There was some truth to her words. He liked to think he did right by many, certainly more than her.

  But is that enough?

  Rondel didn’t agree with everything Andrasta said, but he saw her point even if he hated the way it tasted going down. “Fine. Another time.”

  Once inside the entranceway, Andrasta barred the exterior door with collected spears and swords looped through the handles. They removed their packs and got to work.

  Rondel tasked Andrasta to look at the left wall, while he started on the right. He instructed Lela to examine the floors. Though no glyphs were etched there, he thought something might be hidden.

  Time moved rapidly in the enclosed space, as did Rondel. He found himself back at the massive granite doors much faster than he would have thought and still not in possession of the key.

  “Any luck?”

  Andrasta shook her head.

  “Lela?”

  The girl looked up from the floor. “Nothing.”

  He swore, turning to Andrasta. “All right. Let’s switch sides to make sure nothing was missed.”

  A loud thud shook the door. The spears and swords Andrasta had jammed into the handles rattled. Shouts from outside followed the first impact as well as the next.

  Rondel swore. “Nevermind. Andrasta, keep looking for the key. Lela, drag our packs over here. I’ll have to get started with what we have.”

  He fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, cursing his bad hand. He reached inside and grabbed the notes against his chest, flipping to the information about the frame and lock.

  “Isn’t it dangerous to start without all the information?” called Andrasta as she ran to the wall he’d checked, frantically searching.

  “Could be deadly,” answered Rondel. A boom sounded, followed by another. “But that is certainly deadly.”

  The pounding at the door fell into a rhythm. Rondel blocked it out as he began working the door’s frame. He touched glyphs in a way that probably appeared random, yet there was nothing random about the process. In fact, he couldn’t touch the applicable glyph just anywhere and expect them to activate. Each had to be tapped on a certain portion of the picture, otherwise the sequence would not take. Rondel knew he pressed correctly when the golden granite briefly twinkled like a distant star.