A Tribute at the Gates

by C. J. Aaron

  Captain Le'Dral stood frozen for only a moment before snapping back into action. The expression on his face returned to its impassive norm as he barked out orders to the guards within earshot. Jeffers shouted out orders of his own and was already running toward the common house before the captain finished dictating his instructions. Le’Dral followed closely in his wake.

  Guards scattered with the commands of the captain and mender. One sprinted toward the main gate, a pair toward the clinic another pair followed their retreating superiors, stopping outside the door, barring any further entries.

  Noting Zed’s head towering above the crowd, Ryl took a step in his direction. Cavlin’s hand reached out grabbing him by the shoulder, the guard shook his head slowly.

  “Not now, Ryl. There’ll be time for your friends later,” Cavlin said softly, bringing his head close to Ryl’s ear. “The captain desires a word with you, ordered me to stay by your side. I have a feeling he’ll be even more interested to speak with you once the smoke clears.”

  Ryl swallowed uncomfortably at the statement. The thought of being interrogated by the captain was a distressing proposition. It was suspiciously coincidental that everything had happened so soon after Ryl had returned in secret to the common house. Even so, he doubted that there was anyone that would believe that an unarmed tribute was capable of what they were to discover inside.

  The pair of guards that the mender had sent to the clinic rushed past, carrying a makeshift stretcher between them. Ryl smiled knowing that Sarial would soon be under the care of Jeffers. He knew the mender wouldn’t rest until he was certain she was stable.

  The thunderous creak of the gate opening cut through the commotion of the crowd. The right gate swung open, into The Stocks poured a steady stream of guards. The tributes who had gathered outside the other common houses were quickly corralled back into their dormitories, guards remaining stationed outside their doors.

  The reinforcements rapidly reached the tributes gathered in the plaza, surrounding them in a loose circle. Ryl guessed that a force of close to two hundred guards had entered before the gate slammed shut with a hollow boom. Orders were called out, slowly the confused, frightened tributes were split into two groups each one hustled to one of other common houses.

  Cavlin grabbed Ryl by the shirt, pulling him out of the mass of tributes toward the clinic.

  “Not you, Ryl,” the guard ordered. “You stay with me.”

  Cavlin ushered Ryl into the clinic. There he took up position standing with his arms crossed leaning against the door frame. Realizing just how exhausted he was, Ryl dropped himself into one of the wooden chairs against the wall leaning his head back.

  His mind wandered back to the events in Sarial's room. First, there was the overwhelming emotion that had burned through him at the horror of what the master and his bodyguard had done, at what they were planning to do. Then the excruciating pain that rolled throughout his body. There was a sudden clarifying release, as if the dam that had been holding back his progress had suddenly burst, freeing the flood of power pooled within.

  The agonizing pain had revealed a clarity that he'd never before experienced. In that moment, he'd seen a glimpse of the true power hidden away within his blood. Triggered by his raw emotion, it exploded from him with a sheer force that excited and terrified him. The master and his henchman had never stood a chance.

  His introspection was cut short by the stomp of heavy boots from the entranceway. Cavlin remained in his casual lean against the door, foregoing the formal salute with a nod of his head as Captain Le'Dral entered the room. The captain crossed to the mender’s desk, sitting behind it with a sigh.

  “Welcome back to Cadsae, Ryl,” Captain Le'Dral said politely. “Seems every time you're here lately, I'm left with quite the mess to clean up.”

  “Sir, I don't see how the master sending his assassins to kill me and possibly every other tribute while risking the lives of your guards is my fault,” Ryl said more forcefully than he intended. The captain held out his hands in an attempt to defuse the situation.

  “No one's saying anything was your fault,” Le'Dral said calmly. “I've been aware of what was happening on the road since sub-master Millis sent his messenger the other day. Cavlin here was filling in the pieces when the alarm was raised. I need you to tell me what happened in the common house.”

  Ryl's heart began to race. He concentrated on steadying his breathing.

  “Yes, sir,” Ryl said. “After Cavlin left to seek you out, I entered the common house. No one was in the common room, so I followed his orders and burned the uniform and baton.”

  “Baton?” Le'Dral asked, looking from Ryl to Cavlin. The guard merely shrugged his shoulders. Le'Dral angled his head downward slightly massaging his temples with his hand.

  “Carry on,” Le'Dral said.

  “I watched them burn until they were unrecognizable,” Ryl said, pushing out the feeling of honesty. “From there, I went to the kitchen to see if I could scrounge any food. I’ve barely had a bite to eat over the last day. I was in the kitchen when I heard the shatter of glass from outside. I ran to look out the door. That’s when I saw the fire and called out the alarm.”

  “Well that answers one question,” Le'Dral said, sitting forward in his chair. “So it was you who called out the alarm.” The captain leaned forward resting both his elbows on the table.

  “Mender Jeffers told me that you ordered him to search the common house, to search for Sarial in particular,” Le'Dral quizzed, his eyes boring into Ryl. “You gave the mender quite a fright. Why did you think it was so urgent to search for her in particular?”

  Ryl repressed a momentary panic, focusing his mind, sending out the feeling of confusion.

  “Not sure if Cavlin got to the point in his tale where the master’s men tried to drug and burn us all in our sleep,” Ryl said forcefully. “There's no reason to believe that old wooden building wouldn’t go up like a pyre as well. And as to why I was looking for Sarial, she’s as close to a mother to me as I’ll ever have in this world. Of course I’d notice her absence.”

  Ryl stared into the captain’s eyes without a hint of backing down. They remained locked together, unblinking for what felt like an eternity. Le’Dral broke away first, looking to Cavlin. The guard merely shrugged his shoulders again in response.

  The captain sighed, looking back at Ryl. This time, there was anger in his eyes.

  “Well, luck seems to follow you. It’s good you had the mender send someone looking for her,” Le’Dral said, pausing to collect his thoughts. “The next thing I have to tell you will come as a shock to you, to you Cavlin, and to the rest of The Stocks. I ask that you keep this between us until I can sort through a few things.”

  Ryl nodded his head, then stopped, sending out a sensation of worry.

  “Wait, did something happen to Sarial?” he demanded.

  “I’m sorry to say yes, Ryl,” the captain confirmed. “Mender Jeffers is with her now though and he’s optimistic. She was beaten badly and hadn’t yet regained consciousness when I left.”

  “Who did it?” Ryl blurted out. The captain held out his hands to calm Ryl.

  “The culprits have paid for their crimes, Ryl,” Captain Le’Dral explained, his voice growing angrier with each passing word. “It seems there must have been some disagreement over who was going to defile her first and they settled it with their knives. Their bodies are in her room, both partially undressed. Master Delsith and his bodyguard are dead.”

  Before Ryl could react, Cavlin leaned forward from his position on the wall.

  “Which bodyguard?” he demanded.

  “Skelick,” Le’Dral said. Cavlin let out a low whistle.

  “Something just doesn’t feel right though,” the captain continued. “His throat was cut through to the spine, yet he still had the strength to plant a knife in the master’s skull.”

  “The master was at best an amateur fighter,” Cavlin grunted. “Skelick, on the other hand, was
one of the best. No way a tribute, or even another guard, gets in there and cuts them up like that without waking the whole of Cadsae.”

  “I agree. Though they got what they deserve,” Le’Dral spit with uncharacteristic honesty. “There’s going to need to be a culling of the guards in light of the events of this evening, along with your report of their drunken behavior. Seems we rid The Stocks of one snake only to find the nest right under our noses.”

  Cavlin nodded his head in agreement. Ryl sat in silence as the two men carried on their conversation.

  “As of now, I’ll be acting as the Master of The Stocks,” Le’Dral announced.

  Ryl fought to hold back his smile.

  He only had an instant to bask in the significance of the statement as Mender Jeffers burst through the door to the clinic. His normally calm tone and demeanor were animated with a scathing intensity. Jeffers barked orders to the pair of guards carefully carrying a stretcher between them. On it, the bruised, unmoving body of Sarial was draped in a sheet with only her head showing. Young Elora followed the group, her head down, tears streaming down her face.

  “Put her over there, on the first bed,” Jeffers ordered emphatically as he hurried toward his immaculately organized shelves for supplies.

  The guards gently placed the stretcher down on the bed as the mender returned with the necessary supplies. Seemingly noting the presence of the captain, Cavlin and Ryl for the first time, he stretched out his arm, finger pointing toward the door.

  “What are you staring at,” Jeffers snapped. “Everyone out. Now.”

  The two guards willfully hurried for the door. Cavlin approached, placing his hand on Ryl’s shoulder steering him toward the door. The captain backed his way out of the room.

  “If you need any help, Mender,” the captain said kindly. “I’ll have men waiting outside the door.” The tone of the captain’s voice diminished the fire in the mender’s disposition.

  “Thank you, sir,” Jeffers replied in his normal even tone. He gestured calmly for Elora to approach. The intensity was gone from his voice, replaced with caring sincerity.

  “Please, young lady, I promise to I’ll take good care of her,” the mender said softly to the frightened young tribute. “But I’ll need your help.”

  49

  Ryl followed Cavlin out into the square, the captain close at their heels. There was still an unusual amount of activity in the square considering the late hour.

  “Cavlin, please escort our young friend back to the common house now,” Captain Le'Dral ordered the guard before turning to Ryl. “You've had an eventful day today. Remember, do not yet reveal the truth of what happened tonight. All will come to light soon. Now, get some rest. We'll talk again tomorrow.”

  “Yes, sir,” Ryl said, stifling the yawn that surfaced at the mention of the word sleep.

  The captain headed back in the direction of the gate while Cavlin led Ryl toward the second common house down the line. He stopped in the middle of the road before reaching the dormitory.

  “I'll have guards I know and trust stationed outside the door,” Cavlin said quietly so as to not notify the current guards. “No one will get in or out until Captain Le’Dral gives the word. There'll be a lot more commotion when word of the master gets out. Not to mention, Sub-master Millis, Lieutenant Moyan's cavalry and the rest of the tributes should be making their entrance soon, too.”

  Cavlin put his hand on Ryl's back, gently pushing him toward the common house.

  “Get some rest, Ryl,” Cavlin said as Ryl walked toward the common house. He watched until his charge had entered before hastening his way toward that gate.

  The main room inside the common house was wrought was a mix of confused and frightened tributes. Those temporarily displaced from their home were granted the use of spare beds, however with the vast majority of the tributes back in Cadsae for the Harvest, not all could be accommodated. Even with the commotion, there were a few already asleep on the floor of the main room. The tired tributes were rarely, if ever, driven from their beds at such a late hour.

  Heads turned to the door as the creak of the rusted metal hinges announced his entrance. Ryl was immediately surrounded. The startling news of his early Harvest had been a shock to all. None could remember a time where such an occurrence had taken place. He was immediately bombarded with sympathetic greetings and well wishes.

  On one hand, the added attention made him uncomfortable. He was treated differently now that he was on the verge of his Harvest. He had experienced it with the tributes at Tabenville and he braced himself to be enveloped by it here in Cadsae. The added attention did serve as a welcome distraction from the questions surrounding the activities that had roused them all from their beds. Ryl replayed the arduous events of the trip from Tabenville to the assembled tributes, stopping at the evacuation of the common house.

  Cutting through the crowd to reach Ryl’s side was Laj, one of the tributes bound to this season’s Harvest. He pulled him aside to the complaint of none of those gathered in the main room.

  “Sorry to hear the news, Ryl,” Laj said with a commiserating smile. “Looks like it'll just be the two of us and Narisi. Still an unusually small Harvest.”

  Narisi was another like Ryl, abandoned by her family to better their standing in life. She was small in stature, but worked harder than most two tributes combined. Her tenacity extended to every action and her stubborn attitude was off putting to some. Although she and Ryl had always been friendly, she had a tough time finding friends early on in her sentence to The Stocks.

  “Well, they'll still have their hands full then,” Ryl said with a devious smile.

  “Oh no, Ryl,” Laj pleaded. “You’re not planning any stunts like Elias, are you?” Ryl chuckled to himself at the thought.

  “No, I'm afraid I won't be doing anything like that,” Ryl said reassuringly.

  “It’s a shame,” Laj said. “The look on the master’s face was priceless.”

  Ryl nodded in agreement. The look of sheer embarrassment on the master’s face as it turned redder and redder by the moment had been the only sliver of enjoyment from that day. Right now, there was an entirely different look frozen on the image of cruel man's face in Ryl’s mind. The look of a man who was watching his own death. The vicious master who’d preyed on the tributes for cycles, whose cruel smile was the harbinger of ill tidings had the look of pure terror in his eyes. Ryl replayed the instant that the life disappeared from those hateful orbs.

  “Do you know if there’s an empty bed for me to sleep in?” Ryl asked, happily changing the subject. “It was a long journey here, I'm exhausted.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure you are,” Laj agreed. “Unfortunately, I think all the beds are full, especially if the rest of Tabenville will be here tonight. You’re more than welcome to the floor in my room though, Osi won’t mind either. It’s on the second floor, number three.” He gestured to the other side of his room, where his roommate was speaking with a small group of tributes by the warmth of the small fire, quietly burning in the hearth.

  Ryl thanked his friend, excusing himself as he moved sluggishly to the stairs. The effects of the lack of sleep, the grueling trip with Cavlin and the events here in Cadsae descended on him in unison. He staggered as he ascended the stairs, thankful for the railing that arrested his fall.

  He found Laj’s room with ease, letting himself in to the meager abode. The room was virtually identical to his, little more than a cell with pallets for beds, a small chest for each tribute and a tiny table. Using his pack as a pillow, Ryl collapsed to the empty floor between the two pallets. He was asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

  The morning arrived quickly. Although he’d only been asleep for a few hours, Ryl’s body had been conditioned over the cycles to rise early. He lay awake staring at the ceiling for a short time, the only sound in the room the soft rhythmic breathing of Laj and Osi. The entirety of the common house was most likely still asleep after the events of the previous evening. Ryl clo
sed his eyes, focusing on the telltale signs of tributes. A myriad of glowing orbs of differing intensity shown throughout his vision, all however, remained still. Ryl quietly reached into his pack, silently strapping the sling back to his arm. The touch of the Leaves on his skin was comforting.

  His temporary roommates stirred at the hammering sound coming from the first floor. The noise was followed shortly by the sound of heavy boots on the stairs.

  “Time to get up tributes. Everyone up,” a voice projected down the hallway. “Report to the square immediately.” The call was repeated again on the second floor before moving on the third. The guards seemingly losing interest in calling, resorted to what sounded like them pounding their batons on the thick wooden frame of the hallway. Ryl could feel the reverberation of each impact in his body as he lay on the floor.

  “What do they want now?” Laj groaned with a yawn. Ryl had been so deeply asleep the night before, that he hadn’t even heard Laj or Osi enter the room.

  “Is there ever any telling what they want?” Ryl responded sarcastically.

  Laj nodded his head and Osi choked back a brief laugh as the three filed out of the room, slipping into the line of tributes already streaming down the hall. The flow of bodies quickly washed down the stairs before pouring out into the square.

  The sun had barely crested over the top of the eastern palisade, the shadows of the tributes stretched out long before them as they exited the common house. There was a breeze blowing from the south bringing with it the briny smell from the ocean. The steady stream of bodies filing from each of the three buildings quickly filled the small plaza. Guards lined the exterior of the plaza cordoning off the area.

  Ryl spotted Zed over the growing crowd, painstakingly making his way through the throng toward him. The big man’s head was scanning the crowd, surveying all the faces, trying to locate one in particular. Ryl was only a few paces away when Zed saw him, a large smile spreading across his face as he found who he was looking for. Looking down, Zed spoke to the unseen tribute at his side.