Plague of Tyrants

by M. J. Sewall

  The soldiers began to press into the crowds, trying to get closer to the stage. The people locked hands and made a chain of people all around the stage.

  Rolem continued, “King Asa has tried to serve us. But he is still just a boy. Let him return to his childhood. Let us rule with wisdom and experience. Don't swallow the lies of outside invaders. It is a trick to confuse you.”

  Asa didn't know what to say. Beads of sweat poured down his face, he whispered to Mantuan, “What do we do?”

  “We must fire on them. End this uprising here and now.” Mantuan motioned to arrowmen hidden around the courtyard. They appeared and aimed their arrow guns at the stage, “If that doesn't work, I have two airships ready to use the rainmakers on the stage.”

  Stathen rushed to them. “A massacre in the courtyard? You can't be serious.”

  Mantuan was building to a rage that Asa and Stathen had never seen. “We have to end this now! I didn't… we didn't work so hard to let a few troublemakers tear it all down!”

  Asa was horrified at the idea. “We can't! Won't that make them angrier? Killing their new heroes?”

  Mantuan turned grim, “They are here in one place. I see no other choice.”

  “Not all of them!” Stathen reasoned, “If we kill them here, the rest of this Council will have the loyalty of the people.”

  Mantuan ignored Stathen, “Just give me the signal, my King.”

  Asa went back to the amplifier, “Good people…. Good people of the kingd…”

  But now the crowds were wild, uncontrollable. Stathen stood near Asa and realized that many in the crowd had weapons. Most were primitive kitchen knives, rocks and the like, but weapons still. They were chanting “Thirteen!” louder and louder. Some were attacking the guards in the courtyard.

  “I'm sorry, you give me no choice…” Asa grabbed for Mantuan, “No fire, but aim the arrowmen for the stage.”

  Stathen insisted, “Don't do this! Mantuan, my king…”

  Asa tried one more time, “Good people, please, don't make us do this!”

  But Mantuan gave the hand signal the archers were waiting for. They aimed their arrow guns. The crowds reacted quickly, large shields appearing out of nowhere and floated onto the stage. The members of the Council were under rows of shields as the arrowmen fired. Some arrows bounced off. A few punctured the shields, but even worse, some went astray. Screams could be heard when regular people in the crowds were hit by arrow fire.

  Asa listened in horror at the sounds of the crowd.

  At the edges, the crowds were growing violent. They attacked guards. Mantuan watched as one of the white statues of the three sisters was rocked back and forth. It was the statue of Justice, a woman holding a longknife. It toppled over and Mantuan's fury came to life, “That's enough! I'll burn them off the stage!” He gave the signal and an airship began to float over the crowds.

  Stathen whispered, “Mantuan, this is madness!”

  “What's happening?” asked Asa, his voice drowned out by the rotators. Then he realized, “Mantuan, you can't!” The others stood nearby, frozen and shocked. No one moved.

  More screamed as stray arrow bolts flew. Asa's ears thrummed. His heartbeat mixed with airship rotators and the sound of panic below. The airship's rainmaker weapon was over the stage, and ready to pour fire. The shields would not save them.

  Mantuan stood with both hands on the balcony, about to give the final signal.

  Asa shouted at Mantuan, “That's enough! Mantuan, call off the airship!”

  “My King, it's too late. They must be stopped.” said Mantuan grimly.

  “Mantuan, stop this!” screamed Stathen, and put an arm on his shoulder. Mantuan turned and pushed Stathen to the floor of the balcony.

  He turned back and looked through his good eye at the chaos in the courtyard. He saw stray arrows hit regular people. Mantuan looked up at the airship. The fireman was ready. He thought of all the crowds Trunculin must have spoken to over him many years. Looking down at his hand on the balcony, he recoiled from the stone railing. Trunculin touched this wall, I'm standing exactly where he stood.

  No, I will not turn into him.

  Mantuan signaled for the airship to leave the courtyard. The shadow over the crowd began to slowly move away. The look on Mantuan's face told Stathen he knew he had almost gone too far. Mantuan rubbed his hands absently, as though they were soiled, and helped Stathen to his feet.

  The great warrior turned from the crowds and quietly said to the king, “We have to get you inside.”

  Asa began, “Maybe I should say something…”

  The shouts of the crowds grew louder as the airship flew off. Mantuan bowed his head, “It's too late, my king, the war is here.”

  Chapter 39: Bleeding Tower

  It had rained most of the night in Ossmalan. On the shore next to the cliff wall, they had slept under thick tents that Danette and her people had brought for them. They kept the rain off their heads, but the pounding was like music to Gordon's sleeping mind. Just as the rain was trailing off to a trickle, he had another dream.

  He was the Jhalgon fish again, the giant shadow fin. He was deep under water, rocks all around him. He should have felt closed in, but he could see perfectly in the dark. And the feeling of speed and power pushed him even faster.

  Then he splashed through the surface of the water, actually feeling his giant jaws snap open and shut. The cliff walls sped past him, until his great leathery wings held him up, flapping and hovering over the tall stone tower. He looked up to see giant spider webs over his head, everywhere he looked. Before he could find out where he was, a man appeared on top of the tower. No, not a man but a human skeleton brought to life. It stretched its arms wide, then opened its mouth, “Help me, Gordon.” Then it began to scream, and blood flowed from between its bones. Then the tower exploded…

  Gordon awoke with the sound of the explosion in his dream, and realized it was only thunder. The rain had stopped, but the thunder continued. Ellice, Gordon, Brenddel, and, Ardrell all bolted awake and looked back at the floating city. It was no thunder; the exploding weapons were raining down from the cliff. They landed only on the closest houses to the shore, but they did their damage. Some hit their mark and blew holes in the platforms. Some splintered holes in the roofs of the round houses. Others hit the water, sending the biting fish flying onto the decks. Brenddel began to think this weapon wasn't very accurate, but then the fire arrows began to fly.

  Dozens of arrows rained down. A few hit the decks and the houses, but since it had rained, they did little damage. They all looked at the cliffs. They could not see any attackers clearly, and the attack hadn't last very long. Brenddel began to puzzle over the clumsy attack, when he turned back around to the cave opening they had found. Facing them were six men with arrow guns. It was all a distraction, Brenddel thought as he pulled his longknife.

  One of the men said, “Drop your knives.”

  Aline already had their knives out as well. Ardrell had her bow primed and ready, aimed at the men.

  “I said drop them!” shouted the man with the arrow gun but seeing these newcomers would not be intimidated. “Who are you and why did you attack our men last night?”

  “They attacked us in the middle of the night. We defended ourselves,” said Brenddel.

  The lead man replied, “All men and boys must serve the living god. They all know that.”

  Brenddel did not put his knife away, “Well, we are only visitors.”

  “Is that why you take them in the night, cowards?” Aline asked.

  Ellice came forward, putting her knife away, “We are from the Kingdom of the Thirteen. We will see your living god.”

  The man shook his head, keeping his arrow gun on Ellice, “He sees no one.”

  “Then we have a problem,” said Ellice calmly, “He sent a man to kill one of our Kings. We need to know why.”

  The man wavered. “You are Thirteeners?”

  “From the Kingdom of the Thirteen, yes.�
� said Ellice.

  “Have you come to kill our god with your airships?” The man looked up, scanning the sky.

  “No,” said Ellice.

  “What do you want then?” asked the man again.

  “We are envoys. I am Ellice, this is the Firstman of our kingdom Brenddel, Aline, and Ardrell…”

  “You are the one that rides the beast,” said the man. “Our god fears you.”

  “He should,” She replied, her bow still aimed.

  Ellice continued, “And this is my son, also known as King Gordon, hero from the battle of Thure.”

  Gordon was still embarrassed to be introduced that way. His part in that battle was only a small piece. “I came myself to ask why we were attacked.”

  The men looked at each other uneasily. The leader of his men shook his head and motioned for his men to lower their weapons, “I'm sorry. They were supposed to go to you in peace. I didn't know.”

  Danette arrived on the shore. Her companions helped her ashore and she walked to them. She spoke to the man in charge, “Are you ready to end this Weldon?”

  “You know these men?” asked Ellice.

  “Yes, Weldon helped us broker the peace, and send the envoys to you,” said Danette.

  “So, they betrayed us after all, Danette,” said Weldon, the lead Ossmalan guard.

  “Yet I had to find that out from these strangers,” Danette replied. “The time for talk is over. It's time for us to end this.”

  Weldon rubbed his face wearily. “I know. I know. We should have ended this long ago, but Queen Crys is as mad as her child.”

  Danette said, “You mean children. What has happened?”

  Weldon shook his head, a tear forming. “No one has seen Brill. I asked the Queen myself. She only looked at her son and said, 'No one questions the will of the gods.' I think… so many have gone over the cliffs…”

  Ellice couldn't imagine such an evil act, “His own sister? You think he…?”

  “Then they both die.” Danette's kind manner changed. A tear of rage threatened her cheek, but she marched through the other guards to the cave entrance.

  Weldon looked to Gordon. “Will you help us?”

  They all looked uneasy, and Gordon asked, “You want us to help you kill your god king?”

  “He is a no god, he is a petulant boy of punishment,” said the man, “he has cast many men off the cliff that displease him. He works men to death building his great tower.”

  Brenddel asked, “Why don't you kill him yourself?”

  “There are less of us every day. He's growing madder. But his inner guard are true believers. No one sees him anymore. But if we had the excuse of envoys, they might let us in.”

  Ellice asked, “Can we get close?”

  Weldon replied, “If we are careful. But she's expecting an attack, for us to turn on her. She's nearly as mad as her son. We would have to surround them. She might not suspect women and a young man, even if he is a king. If she saw you coming, though, she'd know it was an attack.” He pointed at Brenddel.

  “No.” He shook his head, “I go, or no one goes,” said Brenddel.

  Ellice said, “Wait, there may be another way. Ardrell, I have an idea.”

  They grouped together and discussed a dangerous plan. Brenddel was suspicious at first, but soon they all agreed. The men escorted Danette, Ellice, Gordon, and Aline through the caves that led up to the cliff. Ellice slipped the pipe- like tube Ardrell had given her into her belt.

  Brenddel watched them go, then Ardrell produced another small pipe tube from her belt. It was made of wood and had holes at odd places. She played the pipe, her practiced fingers working the holes.

  “How far away can it hear you? What if it's under water?” asked Brenddel.

  “She has heard me from twenty miles away. She will be here soon, and then we can take flight.”

  Chapter 40: Help from a Friend

  “Report please,” Asa said with a heavy sigh, rubbing his eyes. The dark shapes played over his vision. He felt like they were mocking him, like the dark things were actually shadows of bad omens dancing before his useless eyes.

  Lozarian reported, “We have pushed back the crowds to a manageable space around the palace.”

  “Anyone hurt?” asked King Asa.

  “Two were seriously hurt by arrow fire. One woman and a young man. They were taken to the healing rooms before the crowds could object. Both will recover. They are sleeping comfortably now. We had to knock a few heads to get them out of the courtyard, though. We arrested over two hundred.”

  “Any from this Thirteen Council?” asked Vance.

  “No,” said Mantuan bitterly, “the crowds protected them like they were all kings.”

  Lozarian said, “They put five of our guards in the healing rooms. But no deaths, as you commanded, my King. I wish you would reconsider a harder response.”

  Asa said, “No. If we start killing our own people, we lose.”

  “The prisons are filling quickly,” said Lozarian, “we only have enough room for a few hundred more here at the palace.”

  Asa said, “We will find room. I don't want even one of our people killed.”

  “Even if they start killing our guards?” asked Mantuan.

  King Asa paused, “Yes, Mantuan, even then.”

  There was an awkward silence.

  Devver asked, “Have the scout airships reported back?”

  “Yes,” said Lozarian, “It's all true. Cayne's army has around fifty ships, some very large, with what looks like large arrow guns that can fire heavy ball as well as arrow. There are three Extatumm airships just as you both had said.”

  “How far away are they?” asked Kett.

  “That's the strange thing,” Lozarian said, “They are only half a day out at sea. But they have stopped.”

  “Stopped? Why?” asked Lyrra.

  Lozarian said, “We don't know. It's as though they are waiting for something.”

  “Why are they attacking us at all? What do they want?” asked Asa, rubbing his eyes harder in frustration, pacing in a small circle.

  “They think we are weak,” said Mantuan. “They have heard about the unrest among our people. They think this is the best moment to strike.”

  “They're probably right.” said the king.

  “If they start attacking from the sea,” asked Vance, “how long do we have?”

  Mantuan sighed. “As you know, we have an aging fleet of waterships. Our navy was stronger once, but we relied heavily on airships for defense in recent years. A fleet of airships could easily defeat a water fleet. Now that we only have a handful of airships, we have begun hiring any free ships that want to fight. The problem is, most of the ships have gone elsewhere to trade. They have heard of an impending attack. News travels quickly on the water. Bad news even faster. We have some heavy weapons ready to defend the sea, but we are spread thin. A war on two sides will be a challenge.”

  “Any word from Thure?” asked Asa hopefully.

  “Just came in, my king. I couldn't spare an airship for communication between our kingdoms, so the process has been slow. A Thurian scout ship arrived a short time ago. Here is a note from the queen of Thure.”

  Lozarian handed the letter to Asa, forgetting his lack of vision. “Oh, sorry, my King.”

  Vance took it instead and read the letter aloud:

  “My dearest King Asa,

  I am sorry to hear of your troubles.

  I was hoping you'd sent me a poem.

  A force of twenty war ships and two of the airships we captured after the great battle are on the way to help you.

  Use them as you will.

  Darion and I know you will prevail.

  Queen Eyonna of Thure.”

  She must really like you, little brother.”

  Ignoring the gentle jab, Asa said, “Good. Let's hope they're not too late.”

  “The message arrived only a day or so before the fleet,” said Lozarian, “They will be here soon.”
>
  Mantuan scratched his patch, “My King, there may be another reason Cayne wants to attack.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Asa.

  “The haunted forest,” Mantuan said.

  Lyrra tried to control her anger, “They were the tallest trees in the world, they say. They were the pride of Aspora and so sacred to some tribes that they could not set foot in the forest, or the gods would swallow them.”

  “There is much you don't know about the forest.”

  “Why did your airships burn it down, Thirteener?” asked Kett, not hiding his anger.

  “I didn't burn it down, but the airships that did hoped to find something hidden in the forest… so did Cayne.”

  Lyrra said suspiciously, “You knew Cayne?”

  “I had heard of him for years;” said Mantuan, “some minor fighter in a distant corner of Aspora. Cruel, thirsty for blood, and hungry for power.”

  “That's him,” Kett said.

  “He came to me. Told me that he knew people were living in the forest. That he would tell all of Aspora, that we would be plagued on all sides by invaders. Every little king is looking for an advantage in Aspora, he said. He had a point.”

  Lyrra asked, “You mean there really were people living in the forest?”

  “Yes,” said Mantuan, “Everyone else called it the haunted forest. We called it the fortress. A great many people lived there.”

  “What did Cayne want from you, Mantuan?” asked Asa.

  “Two things,” said Mantuan, “One, secrecy. He didn't want anyone knowing what he was doing. Two, he wanted to hide his weapons in our forest. He knew they would be safe there. The heavy siege weapons we hid for him could only be used for one thing. I knew he meant to take Aspora.”

  “And you helped him?” asked Lyrra, standing abruptly.

  “He thought I did. We hid his weapons in pieces. Large siege weapons in parts he could assemble later; also great stores of knives and arrow guns, hidden in places all over the forest. I used his siege weapons on Brenddel, in fact. The other thing he wanted were some of the great trees. He wouldn't tell me why. I assume it was for more weapons, or maybe wood for new ships.”