Heima: Challenge to the Crown

by S. W. Gunn

  Viga and Anderskoti nodded at him. Daell began the walk towards Kunnadi, with his friends following closely behind him. He dreaded whatever would come next. It had taken a bit longer than he thought it would to walk the distance needed to begin to really identify what was happening on the walls of the city. He could now see several dozen Vindiri moving around on the wall. Oddly, he did not see any Jordlings, either on the walls here or back on the walls in Hellir. He decided that it was probably due to each city keeping the Jordlings in the dark. His kind would just show up for work each turn and work until they had finished. Then they would go home and repeat the work again the next turn. Daell had to imagine however that the city would be quite crowded since they could not import Jordlings from the nearby villages as they had before. Of course they might have only started bringing everyone into the city as Daell and his Aldarnari host approached. He was just guessing since he was not within the walls themselves. They stopped once they arrived close enough to be heard by the guards who stood at the gate.

  A voice called out from the gate, “Be gone, you are not welcome in Kunnadi.”

  Daell replied, “You deny the King of Heima right to access one of the cities of Heima?”

  There was a long pause before the same voice replied, “You are no longer King in this city.”

  Daell shook his head before saying, “Call forth your leadership, I wish to speak to them.”

  The voice replied, “Very well, wait there.”

  There was a long pause of silence before Daell heard a loud sound that almost reminded him of a tree in the forest around Bygod crashing to the ground.

  Anderskoti said, “I do not like this Daell.”

  Daell was uneasy as well. The time it took to get the city’s leadership was going on too long. Suddenly a large shadow began to cast on them. All three of them looked up into the sky. It was then that pure terror stuck Daell. Somehow the Vindiri managed to find a way to launch a massive boulder at them. It was already above the gate and directly heading at him.

  Daell reacted in the only way he could think, he called on the earth. This time instead of trying to protect himself and his friends, he used the earth itself to shove both of his friends a dozen or so paces from himself. He then steeled himself and focused on making a shielding bubble around himself completely, as small and as compact as he could make it. The boulder landed directly on the bubble around him. The impact was much more than Daell had been able to handle as it slammed his protective bubble into the earth itself. Daell felt as though he was smashed by a carriage moving at full speed. He could sense that the boulder had actually forced Daell and his bubble directly into the ground. Daell’s body was pushed deep enough into Heima itself to measure his full height. He strained with difficulty to concentrate on keeping the boulder from crushing through his bubble. The effort became such a strain that Daell was overwhelmed in darkness. He could feel the boulder crushing down on him as he passed out.

  * * * * *

  Daell awoke to extreme pain in his legs. His vision was blurry at first, but eventually he was able to see clear enough to identify a very dull light coming from some thin lines nearby. As he shifted, his legs screamed out in pain. Daell was not sure how badly his legs were injured, but he felt they might have been broken. The little light around him was not enough to see very far. As he reached out with his hands to feel around, his right hand bumped into a thick metal bar. Continuing to feel around, he discovered that he was surrounded by some bars. His stomach sunk when he realized that he must have been imprisoned. He tried to call out for Heima but received no response. He was saddened when his call to Heima went unanswered. Trying to not move his legs, he reached below himself and he could feel that the padding below him was solid. As he shifted his body a little bit, he felt everything around himself rock slightly. It was unusual. The pain in his legs was constant. He reached towards his legs with both of his hands and he felt several hard metal bars were bound to each leg. Someone had splinted his legs, which meant his legs must have been broken by the boulder. Daell was desperate to discover who had put him within this prison and splinted his legs. With no choice he continued to just lie in place for quite some time. He could only guess perhaps half a turn had passed since he awoke. A bright light appeared below him, which he was able to identify as a door opening into his dark room.

  A voice called out, “False King have you waken yet?”

  The voice sounded slightly familiar to Daell.

  Daell asked, “Who are you and where am I?”

  Laughter was the initial response to Daell’s question.

  There was another pause before the voice yelled, “Open the windows!”

  In response to the voice’s command several panels dropped and light came flooding into the room Daell was in. Daell was blinded for a moment as his eyes adjusted to the sudden change in lighting. Once his eyes adjusted he was able to see his predicament. He was suspected in a metal cage above large pool of water. The cage he was in hung from a metal ceiling and the walls were solid metal also. The only exception was the barred windows that brought light into the small room. Daell turned to the person who was speaking. Standing at the door on the only area beneath him that was not the pool of water, was Skyansam Smidasson. He had an evil looking sneer across his face.

  “Welcome to your prison, false King. It is here that you will live out your final cycles. Either until your friends outside my city either leaves, or I become bored with you.”

  He then turned around and exited through the door he entered. Daell could hear him laughing as the door closed.

  Daell glanced at his legs and could see that they were indeed splinted. He tried to get a view out the newly opened windows. Unfortunately all he could see were the twisted trees of the Myrr. This led Daell to believe that he was not within Kunnadi itself. He heard rumors the last time that he was in Kunnadi that they planned to expand the city out into the Myrr. Perhaps they did it far enough to allow this special prison for Daell. He strained to listen; maybe if he could hear others, he might be able to call out to them. The only sounds he heard were the light movement of the water in the Myrr itself. As he lay there he noticed a movement in the water below himself. Turning his head, he caught sight of what had moved. It was a beast very much like what had attacked Viga when he had fallen off the bridge! Skyansam had somehow captured one and included it as part of this prison. Daell realized that he would not be able to escape for some time, at least until his body healed well enough to call on Heima properly. Suddenly the windows of his prison closed and he was again left in darkness. Daell rested his head down on the thin padding beneath him. His stomach turned in hunger. He was unsure how long he was unconscious, but it had to at least have been half a turn. His mind began to wander to Astir as he had longed for nothing more than to be with her. He continued laying in his spot for a long time, alone in the dark. Much later the door of his prison opened and a Vindiri man entered. Daell did not recognize him. He had the same black hair, which was shortly cropped, as his kind. His almond-shaped brown eyes seemed to be settled with firmness in them. Daell knew this man was sent here for a specific task. The man turned to a knob along the wall. He loosened a rope that was attached to the wall and began to spin knob. Daell’s cage slowly lowered and as the man pulled it moved closer to the man. He continued to lower Daell’s cage until he had it close enough to reach a slot built into the side of the cage. Daell had not noticed the slot before, which was most likely because of his pain. He had a hard time concentrating on anything due to the intense pain of his legs.

  Hoping to get the man to speak to him Daell said, “Who are you friend? What are you doing? Can you free me?”

  The man tied the rope to the latch on the wall and then stepped out the door. He returned quickly with a tray. Daell could see that the tray had a small amount of food and some water. The man slid the tray into Daell’s cage and then reversed the process that he made in lowering the cage, this time raising the cage back into its origi
nal position. The man then exited the prison and slammed the door shut behind him. Daell reached out with his free hand to try and grab the tray. It was a few pieces of meat, some braud, and a small cup of water. It was evident that Skyansam intended to keep him alive long enough to ensure his fullest entertainment. Daell grunted through the pain as he attempted to sit up. His legs screamed out at him in fury but Daell forced himself to sit up. Leaning against the metal bars of his prison, he grabbed the tray of food. He did not know how much or how often they planned to feed him but he was starving so he had to eat when he could. The realization that his body would probably not recover enough to regain control over Heima from this distance struck him. Daell just hoped that his wife took the news of his demise well, he would hate for her to suffer because of him.

  Chapter 35

  Astir’s eyes flickered open, which revealed the palace ceiling and several people looking down at her. She was not sure how she ended up on the floor of the throne room. All of her family and councilors looked very concerned as she slowly sat up.

  She asked, “What happened?”

  Her mother answered before anyone else could, “You fainted.”

  She was confused. Why would she have fainted? The last thing that she remembered was standing beside her throne. She suddenly realized exactly why she had fainted, Daell had been killed. Astir had never wondered in her youth what it felt like to be heartbroken but now she knew the feeling all too well. She sighed heavily. She could feel the energy drain from her as her shoulders slumped while sitting on the floor of her throne room. She had no idea what to do now. How could she live without Daell? She had only known him for less than a harvest and yet he had become completely intertwined within her heart.

  “Your Majesty let us help you from the floor.” Her father said.

  He reached out and took her arms. Astir pulled herself up with his aid. She smiled weakly to attempt to cover her sadness. She looked at each of the people nearby. She could see that they were tentative to speak. A sudden and overwhelming desire to be alone struck her. She turned towards her throne and slowly walked back up the steps of the pedestal.

  Once she sat down she said solemnly, “All of you leave.”

  Without a word everyone slowly shuffled out of the throne room. Astir saw her mother looking sadly at her as the doors closed. Once the doors closed fully tears began to flow from her eyes. She half fell and half slid out of her chair and onto her knees before crumpling to the hard floor of the throne’s pedestal. She cried uncontrollably, she could not stop her tears and did not care to try. Staying there on the floor she cried continuously until she stopped when she felt as though she no longer had tears in which to cry. She pulled herself from the floor as she tried to compose herself. Searching about she found several kerchiefs. She started to wipe her face but she quickly realized that it would not matter what she did, her despair would be evident to all who saw her. She tossed the kerchiefs aside and walked to the doors. Reaching out with her left hand she opened one of doors. Everyone that had left the room was milling around just outside the doors waiting on her. She could see her father talking with the man who delivered the news. Her father tucked away a scroll as he saw her looking at him.

  “Come.” She commanded them and then walked back to her throne.

  Once she sat on her throne she saw everyone that had left was back within the throne room. The doors of the throne room closed. She glanced at them and could see varying levels of sad emotions written on their faces. It was clear to her that many of them were very upset about her husband’s death. Astir’s despair had suddenly shifted. She was now angry. Angry at the man who killed her husband so she decided that she would crush Kunnadi beneath her heel. With a hard glaze she stared down at her father.

  In a stern voice she said, “Marshal, I wish for you to explain to me the new plan that you have formulated in order to bring Kunnadi back under my control.”

  Her voice had a hard edge that she could tell slightly surprised her father. He looked at her mother as if unsure how to answer. She became slightly irritated, no doubt caused by a combination of her condition and the loss of her husband.

  She said even more firmly, “I await your proposal Marshal.”

  He turned back to her as he answered, “Your Majesty I have yet to fully review the report from the battle site, however it would seem that they have erected a wall that surrounds Stydja, the bridge, and cuts into the Myrr before going around Kunnadi. There is also some type of artillery based on the walls at frequent intervals. I do not believe a full frontal assault will provide much success and could cause significant damage to our forces.”

  Astir thought about his words for a moment. It would do her no good to throw her own forces into a death trap.

  She then asked, “So I assume that you wish to propose the original plan of a siege?”

  “Eventually they would run out of supplies and would either starve to death or surrender. We could form a force strong enough to prevent all attempts at escaping.”

  Gisa spoke next, “What of the Myrr? Certainly we cannot surround the city through the Myrr? It would allow them the opportunity to utilize a route through the Myrr that they know and we do not.”

  Astir had to admit that she did not think of the Myrr. Gisa was right however, they would need to encircle the Myrr somehow. There was a knock on the doors. It was four solid knocks which indicated a guest. Astir was unsure who it could be, but she would not be surprised if it were her Hyggja guests. She nodded at allow the doors to open, which revealed immediately that she was correct. Daell’s friend Hollurn entered the throne room with the three Hyggja. She could tell by the look on Hollurn’s face that he had no idea about the news of her husband. He looked quite happy.

  He entered and bowed deeply before saying, “I apologize for interrupting your Majesty, our guests wished to see you again before they headed to their assigned quarters for the turn.”

  She watched him closely and after he finished speaking he glanced around the room. Once he did, his facial expression immediately changed. She assumed that he must have realized that something was very wrong. He was right but she had no desire to be the one to tell her husband’s best friend of his demise. It only made her pain strengthen to even think about delivering the news. She knew that the man loved her husband as dearly as she did. Skemmra ran to him and wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could. She began to cry, which only forced renewed tears from Astir.

  He asked cautiously, “What is going on?”

  Astir did not have the heart to say it. She would not so she sat silently, trying her best to look away from his friend.

  Finally between sobs Skemmra said it, “Daell is dead.”

  Hollurn’s reaction could only be described as utter shock and after a pause he yelled out, “WHAT!”

  He stepped away from Skemmra. Astir could see the disbelief in his eyes.

  “What did you say about Daell?” As he shook his head before anyone could respond before contining, “It is not true.”

  He slowly backed away from where he was initially standing.

  Finally Astir could not hold herself anymore so she said clearly, “It is.”

  Hollurn looked at her. She had no doubt that he could see the truth in her words from the expression on her face, which must have read as clearly as any scroll-book. Her tears spoke loudly. Hollurn’s eyes locked with hers.

  He shook his head again before resolutely saying, “It cannot be true.”

  Astir was shocked by what he did next. He spun from his position, running to the door before grabbing the handle of the door and with a show of pure brute strength he pulled as hard as he could. The door’s hinges strained and then gave way to him. He literally tore the door from its hinges! He cast the door aside and ran from the room. The room sat in silence and shock. She had never seen such brute strength in her life. She had no doubt that he was as upset as she was. After a long moment of pause, Skemmra ran out the throne room, right t
hrough the spot where the door once stood. Astir glanced to the Hyggja.

  They stood quietly throughout before Viisaus finally spoke, “You say that the Hyvantekija is dead?”

  Astir nodded at him. He looked contemplative but she was horrible at reading their expressions.

  “I do not believe this is true.” He stated.

  Her father spoke, “Our men saw him struck down with a massive boulder.”

  Viisaus nodded slowly before announcing, “I must return to my Kyla, word must be spread to the Lisko.”

  He turned and slowly shuffled out of the throne room. Astir was unsure what to do with the Hyggja, and she did not care at this point.

  “Please put in a request to have my door repaired as soon as possible,” Astir told Ofriki before turning to her father and stating, “I do not believe a siege will be possible due to the Myrr.”

  “Indeed Your Majesty, I believe we must modify our numbers back to the proposed amount of Araedi. We will need as much manpower as we can get. We might be able to find some way then.”

  “No,” Astir replied angrily, “We need more, I am uncertain we can rely on a simple siege to force their hand. It would take too much time and drain our resources heavily. Instead we should march on Kunnadi with an overwhelming force and crush them beneath our heels. They took my husband from me. I shall have my vengeance quickly.”

  She paused for a moment to look at them and with a harsh voice she continued speaking, “I propose we go to each city and request the leadership of each city provide men. It will go much further than simply calling the Aldarnari to our cause. I wish to recruit citizens from Heimili, Hellir, and even ask for aid from the Hyggja.”

  “Very well your Majesty, I will call forth a carriage immediately and I will go to each city and request aid.” Her father said.