‘That’s not true,’ said Leisha.
‘Aye,’ said Carrie, ‘it’s like the western version of Stretton Sands, except it deals in coal and iron instead of wine. There will be folk from all over living there; Kellach, Holdings, even some Rahain. Once we’re inside, it should be easy to blend in with the locals. And besides, we’re only passing through. We’ll be on the southern side of the town in a couple of days, and then we’ll really be on our way.’
‘We should get there in time for winter,’ Leisha said. ‘It’s meant to be proper cold down where we’re going. Colder even than the mountains in Southern Rahain. Do you remember training there that time in the snow? Pyre’s arse, we nearly froze to death.’
The four of them fell silent, each lost in their memories.
‘I wonder what happened to the old hedgewitches,’ said Carrie. ‘Do you reckon Sable took them all the way to Rahain?’
‘Who cares?’ said Cain. ‘The important question is, did Thorn tell the imperials that Lennox was the fire mage?’
‘We’ve been over this,’ said Lennox. ‘She couldn’t have. If she had, then the marines would have come after us, but they didn’t. She knew where the Seablade was tied up, but no ships or soldiers came looking for us. If the worst happens in Westport, and they find out we’ve deserted the Army of Pyre, there’s no evidence tying us to what happened in Rainsby.’
‘They might still hang us, and we’ll have no weapons or armour to protect us.’
‘If we try to walk in with Army of Pyre maces,’ said Lennox, ‘then they’ll definitely catch us.’
He quietened as another wagon drew into sight on the road ahead, heading north. He nodded towards it and the others fell silent. As the wagon approached, the two Holdings up on the driver’s bench became visible, their cloaks keeping out the chill wind blowing from the east. Leisha guided the oxen to the right of the road, where a passing place had been cut from the hillside. She pulled on the reins and the wagon slowed to a halt. Lennox put his hand to his belt, then remembered he had no weapon.
The other wagon lumbered forward, until it reached the passing place. The Holdings driver veered over to the far side of the road, while his companion stared at the four Kellach Brigdomin.
‘Good morning,’ said Carrie.
The two Holdings grunted as their wagon squeezed by, then they were past. Neither looked back as their wagon continued up the road.
‘See?’ said Leisha, pulling the reins. ‘Easy.’
‘I feel naked without at least a crossbow by my side,’ said Cain.
‘Me too,’ said Lennox. ‘We’ll buy weapons in Westport.’
‘I thought we weren’t soldiers any more?’ said Carrie.
Lennox shrugged. ‘Even peasants need to be able to protect themselves.’
‘That’s the most sensible thing I’ve heard all day,’ said Cain, as the wagon was pulled back out into the middle of the road and they continued southwards.
Two hours later, the coastal strip between the cliffs and the sea widened, and the high walls of Westport appeared round a slow bend in the road. The walls went down to the edge of the Inner Sea, and stretched westwards over the steep slopes of the hills. The road led to a tall gatehouse, where an imperial standard was flying from the highest spire, its gold and white fluttering in the strong breeze.
Lennox felt his nerves rise. They had been over the plan a hundred times, and despite his complaining, even Cain had agreed that it was their only option, but the sight of the high stone walls froze his blood. They had experienced two thirds of freedom since escaping from Stretton Sands, and now they were risking everything; relying on luck to get to the next stage of their journey. All roads from the northern Plateau went through the town of Westport; a bottleneck between the hills and the sea. Unlike the land near Stretton Sands, which stretched away in broad plains, the geography of Westport made it almost impregnable. Surrounded on three sides by cliffs, and bordered by two rivers, it sat astride the sole road connecting the northern and southern halves of the Plateau.
‘Here we go,’ muttered Leisha as the wagon approached the gatehouse. Imperial soldiers were on duty by the half-opened gate, with more up on the battlements. Several were watching as Leisha urged the oxen on.
Two soldiers stepped forwards as the wagon got to within twenty yards of the walls.
‘Halt,’ said one, a Holdings trooper in grey leathers and steel armour, a crossbow pointing at the ground in front of the wagon. ‘Get off the wagon and line up.’
The four Kellach clambered down from the wagon and stood in front of the trooper, towering over him. A Kellach officer approached. She signalled back to the gate, and more troopers came forwards.
‘Arms above your heads,’ said the officer, eyeing them.
Lennox lifted his hands into the air, and the others did the same. His heart was racing, but he tried to keep calm.
‘Search the wagon,’ the officer said, nodding to the troopers.
‘Is this normal?’ said Carrie. ‘We haven’t done anything wrong.’
The officer glanced at her. ‘This your first time in Westport, aye?’
‘Aye.’
‘Thought so. This is standard practice. All wagons and arrivals are searched before being allowed in. Up until now, not a single terrorist has managed to carry out an attack in our town, and we mean to keep it that way.’
The four travellers watched as the imperial troopers went through the contents of the wagon, opening the crates of supplies and oxen-feed.
One nodded at the officer. ‘Nothing boss. No weapons.’
‘Alright,’ she said. ‘Their turn now.’
Troopers approached Lennox and the others, and began patting down their clothes. One of them pulled a knife from Cain’s boot and held it up.
‘Come on,’ said Cain. ‘One little blade?’
The officer shrugged and the trooper handed it back to Cain.
‘What’s the purpose of your visit to Westport?’ the officer said.
‘Passing through,’ said Lennox. ‘We’re headed south.’
‘Back to the homeland?’
‘Aye.’
The officer frowned. ‘Why?’
‘To settle,’ said Lennox, gambling on that being a reasonable answer.
‘I assume you know that attempting to evade the new conscription laws is an offence?’
Lennox swallowed. ‘Conscription?’
‘Aye. If your names are on the list, and you’re thinking of running, then you won’t get far.’
‘We’re not on any list,’ Lennox said. ‘I swear.’
The officer nodded. ‘You’ll be required to report to the Imperial Mission during your stay, and they’ll check your names. If you’re telling the truth, they’ll give you the travel documents you’ll need in order to leave Westport. Do you understand?’
‘Aye.’
The officer nodded, and Lennox and the others lowered their arms as the troopers drew back from them.
‘Are we free to enter?’ said Lennox.
‘Aye.’
‘Do you know anywhere good to stay?’ said Carrie. ‘Anywhere with hot water and decent ale?’
The officer glanced at them for a moment. ‘Try the Bugle by the cattle market,’ she said, then turned aside as Leisha climbed back up onto the wagon and pulled the reins.
Lennox, Cain and Carrie walked as the wagon rolled forwards. The troopers watched them from under their helmets as they passed through the high, stone archway. Lennox tried not to explode in relief. They went through a dark tunnel and re-emerged into the streets of the town. To their left Lennox could see the masts of the ships in the harbour, while brightly-painted houses and buildings rose up in tiers on their right, the sunlight picking out the pastel green, blue and orange tones. The roads were narrow and cobbled, with high stone tenements on either side that almost blocked out the sky.
Leisha lashed the oxen, the wagon taking up half of the road as they rolled towards the centre of town. To
their right, steep alleyways ascended the hillside, threading between the tall houses and walls. Ahead of them reared up a large fortress, built by the edge of the sea.
‘We did it,’ said Carrie, as she gazed around at the town. ‘We’re in.’
They came to a crossroads, and the noise of the town increased. A small marketplace was laid out on the left of a square, on the other side of which the entrance to the harbour was visible. Traders and sailors mingled by the colourful stalls and shops that lined the street. The scent of roasting meat rising from an open-air kitchen reached their noses and Lennox felt his stomach rumble.
‘Bugle first,’ he said, as the others stared, ‘then food.’
‘It’s so pretty,’ said Carrie. ‘I didn’t know places like this existed.’
Lennox nodded to a passer by. ‘Excuse me, sir. Could you tell me where the Bugle is, please?’
The Kellach man glanced at them for a moment, then pointed onwards in the direction they were going.
‘At the next square, turn right,’ he said, then walked on.
Leisha guided the wagon down the busy street, as Lennox and Carrie walked by the oxen, with Cain lagging behind to watch their rear. After fifty yards the road opened up into a wide square, with a grove of trees in the centre. Round it sat six-storey buildings, with high balconies decorated with pots filled with flowering plants. Each front was painted in a different shade, and the colours shone in the morning light. They followed the road to the right, and began to climb. The street wasn’t as steep as the narrow alleyways they had passed by the gatehouse, but the oxen slowed, labouring up the side of the hill. The passed an enormous building, the largest they had seen, faced in white marble and towering over the town. It had an elegant spire that seemed to pierce the sky, and Lennox almost twisted his neck trying to get a good view of it.
‘There it is,’ said Carrie, pointing to the other side of the road.
Lennox glanced at where she was gesturing, and saw the Bugle on the corner of a junction. The ground floor was taken up by a large tavern, with tables and chairs spilling out onto the road. Above rose five storeys painted in a pale green.
‘Wait here,’ he said to Leisha and Cain, then nodded to Carrie.
He walked up to the entrance of the tavern, Carrie by his side. They passed by the empty tables and entered the building. It was dark inside, and quiet, with only a handful of patrons by the bar. An old woman in an apron nodded at them.
‘Travellers?’
Carrie laughed. ‘How did you guess?’
‘I saw you gawping at the buildings outside,’ she said. ‘Is that your wagon?’
‘Aye,’ said Lennox. ‘We’re looking for a room for four of us, for a couple of nights.’
‘Do you have hot water?’ said Carrie.
‘Oh aye. You’ll need two rooms, though, three gold a night for each; includes breakfast.’
Lennox nodded. ‘Alright.’
The woman rubbed her hands on her apron and nodded. ‘Best get that wagon off the road first, before soldiers move it for you. Come on, I’ll show you where you can park it. The Bugle has space round the back for a dozen wagons.’
They followed her out onto the road, and Leisha manoeuvred the wagon down the narrow side street that ran by the tavern. The woman opened a set of iron gates, and they went through into a large courtyard, where several other carriages and wagons stood in a row.
‘Put it over there,’ the woman said, ‘and I’ll have the porters take care of your beasts.’
They pulled down their luggage from the back of the wagon, and went into the Bugle through the back door. The woman left them in the hallway by a small desk while she went to collect the keys.
‘We’re getting two rooms,’ said Lennox. ‘Who’s sharing with who?’
‘Boys in one, girls in the other,’ said Leisha.
‘I thought we were pretending to be couples?’ whispered Carrie. ‘Aren’t we supposed to be going down to Kellach Brigdomin to raise our children? Isn’t that what we agreed?’
‘She’s right,’ said Lennox. ‘Do you want to share with me, Carrie?’
‘Aye, alright.’
Cain and Leisha frowned at each other as the woman returned with a large book.
‘I’ll need you to sign in,’ she said, laying the open book out onto the desk.
Lennox took the offered quill and glanced at the book. The writing was in Holdings, and asked for hometown as well as name. He wrote ‘Lennox’, then ‘Milltown, Northern Plateau’ next to it. He had no idea if it was a real place, but thought it sounded like it might be. The old woman smiled as he passed the quill to Carrie.
‘While we’re here,’ he said, ‘we’re supposed to check in at the Imperial Mission. Do you know where it is?’
The old woman laughed. ‘It’s right across the street from the Bugle. You can’t have missed it, it’s the huge white building with the spire.’
Lennox caught Carrie’s eye as she was signing her name.
‘That’ll be twelve sovereigns,’ the old woman said.
Lennox pulled the money pouch from the folds of his cloak and handed over a dozen coins.
‘Right, then,’ she said, as Leisha and Cain signed the book. ‘Let’s get you to your rooms.’
Lennox could hear Carrie singing from the bath as he stood out on the balcony, a mug of ale gripped in his hand. His view was dominated by the giant Imperial Mission, but to either side he could see the narrow, cobbled streets stretch away. The sun was overhead, and the town was resplendent with colour. On the left the tall battlements of the fortress over-looked the busy harbour. It was smaller than the port at Stretton Sands, and divided into two separate areas. On one side were the merchant and fishing boats, while across from them, under the shadow of the fortress walls was a long pier, blackened with coal dust and grime, where half a dozen large ships were moored. A wooden crane was lifting great baskets of coal from a huge pile on the quayside and dropping its contents into the hold of the closest ship.
On the other side of the Bugle, away from the water front, the streets rose steeply up the hillside, with buildings tiered and stacked on narrow terraces cut into the cliffs.
Carrie came out onto the balcony wrapped in a towel.
‘That was the greatest bath in history,’ she said. ‘Clean at last. Hey, where did you get that ale?’
‘I went down to the bar to get away from that awful noise I could hear you making.’
‘Cheeky bastard. My voice is as sweet as honey.’
He pointed to a mug on the balcony table. ‘I got you one.’
‘I knew I chose the right room. You’ll make an excellent husband.’
‘I wonder how Leisha and Cain are getting on.’
Carrie glanced at the balcony of the next room along. ‘Well, I don’t heart any screaming.’ She turned back to gaze at the view down to the harbour. ‘Our past seems a million miles away,’ she said, her voice low. ‘Almost like it was all a dream.’
Lennox nodded. ‘Let’s hope it stays that far away.’
Carrie got dressed while Lennox stayed out on the balcony, and then they collected Cain and Leisha and went down to the bar. They found a table by the window and sat.
‘Are we going to the mission soon?’ Carrie said. ‘Should we get it over with?’
‘Not today,’ said Cain. ‘Let’s eat and get drunk. We can worry about the official shit tomorrow.’
‘That officer at the gates knew what she was doing,’ Leisha said, ‘sending us here.’
‘Aye,’ said Lennox. ‘We should be fine, though. Our names aren’t going to be on any conscription list.’
Cain chuckled. ‘Milltown? What was that about?’
‘I had to think of something.’
‘It’s a beautiful little village, forty miles west of Plateau City,’ said Carrie. ‘Well, it is in my imagination.’
‘Then that’s where we’re from,’ said Lennox.
They fell silent as a serving girl approached thei
r table. ‘What can I get you?’ she said.
‘Everything,’ said Cain. ‘Food, ale, whisky.’
‘Red meat,’ said Leisha.
‘Wine,’ said Carrie.
The serving girl raised an eyebrow. ‘We’ve got steaks, will they do?’
‘Aye, and plenty of bread,’ said Cain.
‘And the whisky? How pricey are you wanting it? We’ve got three-year-old right up to fifteen-year-old. All genuine Severton; no knock-off shite here.’
‘Fuck it,’ said Lennox. ‘This is our first and only night out on the town – give us the good stuff.’
The girl nodded and went back to the bar.
‘How’s the room?’ said Leisha to Carrie.
‘Fine.’
‘Fancy a swap? Cain’s already annoying the fuck out of me.’
‘Eh, no thanks.’
‘Don’t you worry,’ said Cain, ‘you be having the room to yourself tonight.’
Leisha frowned. ‘Why?’
‘Cause I’ll be getting laid. Cain’s on the prowl this evening, and some lucky lady’s going to be getting some action.’
‘Oh aye?’ laughed Leisha. ‘I can’t wait to watch you try.’
Cain glanced around the large tavern, but it was still mostly empty. A few Holdings and Rakanese merchants were occupying a long table by the fireplace, while a handful of off-duty soldiers were drinking at the bar.
The serving girl returned with a tray of ales and a bottle of whisky. She unloaded four small glasses and placed them in front of the travellers.
‘Food’ll be ten minutes,’ she said, then returned to the bar.
Lennox picked up the bottle of whisky. Severton Distillery – Fifteen Years Old – Oak Barrelled, read the red and gold label. He cracked open the seal and poured out measures for himself and the others.
‘To our journey,’ he said, raising his glass.
They clinked glasses and Lennox took a sip.
‘Mother of Pyre,’ he muttered. ‘Whatever that costs, it’s worth every coin.’
The afternoon flew by, with courses of food arriving regularly, along with more ale and white wine. Steak, pork sausages, roasted vegetables, bread by the loaf – all were devoured by the four ravenous Kellach Brigdomin, who washed it all down with the brown ale brewed by the Bugle. The tavern began to fill up as the sun set; the shadows cast by the steep hillside lengthening. The windows were closed and lamps were lit, and Lennox pushed his plate back and glanced around, as if awakening from a food stupor.
The Magelands Epic: Soulwitch Rises (Book 7) Page 6
