The Brazen City

by Torsten Weitze

  The thought of facing an even more dangerous form of Sicklehopper, and on a battlefield without any pillars for fleeing was difficult for Ahren to imagine. Then it struck him that he might have to face these Dark Ones in future battles. Bungled or not, the present version of the grotesque grasshoppers was enough to make his heart sink.

  ‘When am I going to receive my magic Paladin armour’, he asked as he thought of the ease with which the Sicklehoppers had sliced through the dwarf’s chainmail.

  ‘We’ll see if I can get hold of the right material and a suitable blacksmith’, growled Trogadon cheerfully. ‘But I think you’ll just have to be patient until we reach Thousand Halls. Deep Steel is not easy to work and difficult to find outside the dwarf territories.’

  Ahren nodded and let his fingers glide along his Elfish armour. The apprentice was not even sure he wanted to get rid of it so quickly. He had become so used to his armour that he only took it off when he was bathing or when he believed himself to be perfectly safe. The light leather plates, which moved so easily, had become a second skin to him, and when they were travelling, he could even sleep in the armour and still wake up refreshed. Trogadon was the only other one of them who managed to do that in his chainmail, but Ahren believed that the indestructible dwarf would be able to rest squeezed in between two jagged rocks, and still belt out a rowdy drinking song the following morning. Uldini relied totally on his magic to protect himself, and Jelninolan took off her ribbon armour at night. Falk would sleep in his leather jerkin and generally only put on his knightly armour when he was expecting trouble and was preparing for close combat. Then his eyes fell on Khara, who was walking beside him on the other side of the canal. She was only wearing a thin green tunic of Elfish material.

  ‘But wouldn’t it be good for Khara to get some armour too?’ he suggested. For some reason the thought that the girl might be injured, perhaps badly, made him uneasy.

  Jelninolan nodded vigorously. ‘Because of the trouble with Sven I completely forgot to make something or to send out an order.’ She looked at Khara apologetically, and the young girl blushed.

  ‘Not necessary, mistress. I have to be very quick anyway. Armour would only slow me down’, she said quickly.

  ‘Fiddlesticks!’ replied Uldini, interrupting the conversation and causing general consternation. ‘There are enough things out there that are faster than people or take more than a thrust of a sword to make them breathe their last. And anyway, you’re a distraction for one or other of us if we have to be worrying about your safety.’ And he glanced over at Ahren, who made every effort to appear impassive. ‘There are any number of merchants in Waterheart. One of them is bound to have something that will satisfy your requirements.’ The Arch Wizard was speaking one again in a tone of absolute authority, and Ahren turned to his master.

  ‘Am I imagining things, or has he become very decisive recently’, he whispered to the old man as quietly as he could.

  Falk smirked and pointed out towards the farms and the roads that were beginning to give the area an air of civilisation.

  ‘We’re here in his country. He is the Chief Advisor and Arch Wizard to the Sun Emperor and strictly speaking the second most powerful person in this enormous empire. The surroundings are doubtless reminding him of just how important he is.’ He pondered for a moment, then bent down conspiratorially towards Ahren. ‘Did you know that he has his own tower? Tall and slim and very white and with a golden roof?’

  ‘A tower?’ asked Ahren in surprise and far too loudly.

  Uldini stared daggers over his shoulder towards them, and Falk quickly straightened up and gave an amused grimace.

  ‘We’ll talk about it another time’, he said sardonically, and within a few heartbeats the Arch Wizard and the Paladin were having one of their regular verbal duels.

  They travelled southward along the waterway for another week. The land became greener and greener, the farms larger and larger, and the fields broader and broader. They were stopped four times by patrols who ordered them to clamber down immediately, but every time Uldini floated down to them and subjected them to such a barrage of orders that they bowed deeply and carried them out immediately.

  The sun was growing stronger, and the afternoons were so warm that they now stopped at regular intervals to cool down by the artificial river.

  One morning just before noon Uldini raised his hand and turned back to face the others. ‘This evening we cross the Sword Path. From that point on we should be safe from the Glower Bear, and also from other Dark Ones. And anyway, I have given instructions to every patrol we’ve met. At this point there’s bound to be a whole legion with long spears and heavy crossbows hunting the beast. It’s time we were travelling like normal people.’

  By this point the stone canal was over fifty paces high, and so Uldini created a Floating Charm which brought them all safely down to the ground.

  ‘How can you be so sure we won’t meet any more Dark Ones?’ asked Ahren, who had been made uneasy by the open use of magic after they had been followed for so long.

  ‘The Sword Path is the main trading route from the Sun Palace to the deep south of the Plains’, interjected Trogadon. The dwarf had hummed nervously during the downward float and he seemed quite relieved to be back on firm ground. When the Sunplains began to expand past Thousand Halls in a southerly direction, it was nothing more than a simple army track, but the bigger the empire became, the broader the road got. Now it’s the main artery of the Sunplains. Whole legions and enormous supplies of provisions such as food, tents, boots or spare pieces for armour are sent southward, while expensive, exotic goods make their way up north. I’m talking about dates, spices and cotton. There is no road in the Plains that is better protected.’

  ‘That sounds good’, said Ahren cheerfully, but Falk smiled and gave him a box on the head.

  ‘Don’t be cheerful too soon, lazybones. We’re only crossing the Sword Path. Waterheart is ten leagues further south.’ When the old man saw the disappointment on his apprentice’s face, he softened and added: ‘Uldini’s escort party will be waiting for us there, and if the present Sun Emperor is anything like the ones I knew, then it will be very comfortable for us from that point on.’

  The Arch Wizard rubbed his hands. ‘Then we’ll have civilisation at last. I can hardly wait’, he called out, and for once sounded just as young as he looked.

  Jelninolan snorted scornfully. ‘What you call civilisation is pure decadence to us.’

  ‘I had to put up with your cloth houses, so you’ll just have to bear the occasional silk cushion’, countered the Arch Wizard benevolently.

  Ahren listened as Uldini described the advantages of his culture, and he felt a tickly sense of pleasant anticipation. If only half of what he was hearing were true, he would be in no hurry to leave it again.

  The night was beginning to set in, and the first stars could be seen in the evening sky. And not for the first time, Ahren was standing staring like a clodhopper. He thought back to Three Rivers, and then to King’s Island. Those two places had impressed him, but nothing compared to the Sword Path. It was neither ostentatious nor lofty, but rather simple and, well, big. The apprentice was looking at a ribbon that was at least fifty paces wide, constructed of hardened clay tiles, that stretched in a straight line from east to west. Tower-like constructions lining the colossal supplies route at intervals of ten or fifteen furlongs could be seen in the fading light of the sinking sun.

  ‘Sentry towers’, whispered Trogadon to the speechless apprentice. ‘If there’s trouble anywhere, then horns are blown as signals, and they are passed from one tower to the next. Every ten leagues there’s a little garrison, whose soldiers immediately march into action if they hear the alarm. You could set up camp here and now and you’d be safer than anywhere we’ve been over the last two moons.’

  Uldini turned around to the dwarf. ‘I had hoped it wouldn’t be necessary’, he said in a disappointed voice. ‘There are comfortable lodgings for travell
ers near the garrisons, but it’s too dark already so we really are better off staying here the night.’

  The Arch Wizard gestured to the others to follow him, and they crossed over the road with its narrow well-tended slab-joints, and the stone felt surprisingly even under Ahren’s feet. He was familiar with a similar road quality from King’s Island, but he had never expected to find something similar in the middle of the Steppes. He studied the road in both directions. ‘There’s nobody to be seen apart from us. Is it used so little?’ he asked.

  Trogadon shook his head. ‘The law states that merchants may not use the Sword Path at night.’ He pointed at the Arch Wizard, who was floating ahead of them. ‘Which is why we’re crossing the road now, when it’s empty.’

  They arrived at the other side of the tiled surface, and Uldini pointed at a path, eight paces wide, that ran along the waterway towards the south.

  ‘The way to Waterheart’, he sighed wistfully. ‘So near and yet so far.’

  Falk laughed and slapped him on the back, so hard that the Arch Wizard flew forward. ‘We’ll get there tomorrow and then you’ll have all your luxury again. Grant Jelninolan and me one more night in the fresh air, you old fox.’

  The robed figure nodded reluctantly. ‘It’s better this way’, he said, more to himself than anyone around him. ‘It would be a big how-do-you-do for them if they had to open the gates for us at night.’

  Jelninolan took out the last of her supplies and created a sumptuous meal for them. When they arrived in Waterheart she wouldn’t need to be providing for the travelling party for some time. Fire was allowed again, and so Ahren enjoyed toasted bread with melted cheese, into which the elf had cleverly rolled the rest of their dried fruit. The whole thing was perfected by the addition of herbs that Falk had gathered along the way that afternoon, and the food was more full-flavoured than anything Ahren had ever eaten before.

  If the wild plants were already that tasty, then the cultivated fields of the Sunplains surely had to result in more culinary delights. Ahren was munching yet another piece of bread when he suddenly experienced the familiar feeling of joy, hunger and the urge to hunt in his mind.

  Ahren? he heard Culhen calling and when the apprentice answered, he was overwhelmed with a sensation of joy. He could sense the wolf racing along to be with his friend as quickly as possible. The young Forest Guardian was about to tell Falk that their companions were approaching, but he could read from the overjoyed look on the face of the old man that Selsena had announced herself too.

  Ahren waited for the moment when he would embrace his true wolf and glanced over at the little that was left of the evening meal. Culhen might well have missed him too, but it would take him a while to forgive Ahren for having eaten all around him.

  Ahren woke up in the middle of the night to the ground vibrating. He was immediately awake. He freed himself from Culhen in his panic, who was lying and growling, his nose towards the Sword Path.

  The sensitive nose of the wolf had already picked up the source of the vibration and Ahren, images of another herd in flight or an attack of Sicklehoppers filling his imagination, was relieved once his eyes followed where the wolf was looking, and he recognised what had caused the deep rumbling noise. Dozens of torches lit the night sky and cast a flickering light on hundreds of soldiers, marching in ordered rows along the Sword Path. The sight was awe-inspiring but there was no threat in the disciplined quiet and calm regularity of their marching. Ahren would never dream of standing in the way of this ever-advancing mass of bodies, but he was certain too that the army would take no notice of him or his like as long as he left them in peace.

  The steps became louder as the armoured soldiers came closer, and soon his fellow travellers too had woken up. Trogadon and Uldini simply turned away again. Jelninolan and Falk stayed lying down too, but they watched the performance with thoughtful looks. Khara however, just like Ahren, had sprung up and stared in terror at the approaching fighting force. Ahren realised in a flash that the one-time slave could still, in theory at least, be seen as the enemy, since she came from the Eternal Empire, with whom the Sunplainers were at war.

  Instinctively he went over to her and put a reassuring arm around her shoulders, turning at the same time so that her face was hidden in his shadow. For a moment he feared that she would break his arm for this approach, but the girl remained still and joined him in watching the soldiers as they passed the travellers.

  Ahren saw men and women in leather armour which went down to the knee and was surprisingly thick. A steel plate was sewn onto the chest, protecting the vital organs, and their leather helmets encompassed their whole faces, and also covered their necks. Broad wooden shields with metal rims were tied to their backs and each soldier held a spear in one hand and a short sword on their belts. Row after row of soldiers marched quietly and determinedly past, their eyes facing forward, their feet moving in unison. The travellers felt the ground quake as the troop, one enormous unit, passed their encampment, marching on until they disappeared into the night.

  When the soldiers were no longer visible, Khara quickly released herself from Ahren’s arm, not without twisting it painfully, and went silently over to her sleeping quarters. He looked after her somewhat irritated, but then Falk distracted him.

  ‘Quite impressive, a legion like that. Don’t you think?’ he asked in a conversational tone. He pointed with his chin towards where the army had disappeared. ‘That’s why the Sword Path is taboo for merchants at night. In this way the troop movements can be carried out unhindered, and with the armour they have on, marching at night makes more sense than during the heat of the day.’

  Ahren imagined that there over fifty of these enormous units, and the realisation that the army of the Sunplains was really that big made him dizzy. Then he raised his voice. ‘If we have that many soldiers, then the Dark Days will be over quickly, surely?’ he asked hopefully.

  Falk raised his eyebrows. ‘You really should know better by now, Ahren. Firstly, most of these soldiers are stuck in a dogged war of attrition, and secondly, we need the Thirteen Paladins. Everything else is just decoration.’

  Ahren blinked in disbelief, and after a moment of thinking, Falk corrected himself. ‘That was a little bit of an exaggeration perhaps, but it does hit the nail on the head. If we have many warriors on our side, we’ll find it much easier to contend with Dark Ones, who might appear in greater numbers in the future. Tlik gave us a breathing space, but in half a dozen winters HE, WHO FORCES will finally awaken, and then everybody needs to be ready, armies and Paladins alike.’

  He looked firmly into Ahren’s eyes. ‘But don’t fool yourself. If necessary, we can manage without the armies, even if it means large tracts of Jorath will be devastated. But without the Paladins we will lose, no matter what our military strength is.’

  Ahren curled up under his blanket again and pulled Culhen in beside him. He listened to the powerful heartbeat of the wolf and thought perhaps Falk was right. But if he had the choice, he would still rather have the legions supporting him when he went into battle against the Adversary, rather than have to cut his way alone through the enemy ranks.

  Chapter 11

  As soon as Ahren woke up the next day he noticed the little table mountain to which the waterway led.

  From which it springs, he corrected himself mentally. The elevation before him had to be Waterheart, the settlement which was the source of the water they had been following for the previous few weeks. He stretched up his neck curiously, but couldn’t make out any houses or other buildings from this distance.

  He gobbled down his breakfast excitedly and quickly set to work doing the little tidying jobs so they could break camp more quickly, whether it was rolling up the mattresses or quenching the fire.

  ‘Your apprentice is very lively this morning’, said Trogadon teasingly.

  ‘There was too much talk about luxury. No wonder he he’s got off his backside’, said Falk, taking the same tack.

  Ahren bi
t his tongue and continued packing his rucksack. Then he belted it on pointedly and looked at the others serenely.

  ‘Shall we?’ he asked innocently, and when the others saw that he wasn’t going to react to their jibes, they relented and packed their own belongings. Ahren smirked inwardly and decided to remember that tactic. Maybe in that way he could put an end to the endless teasing which, in his opinion, he was far too often subjected to.

  He walked alongside his master and decided to ask a few questions that had been weighing heavily on him for some time now.

  ‘How far do the Steppes that we are travelling on now extend?’ he asked. He started with something innocuous. He’d ask the trickier questions once the old man had warmed up a little.

  ‘We can hardly call them steppes really, can we?’ suggested Falk mischievously, and pointed at the farms surrounding them, whose occupants were working the fields. There were only a few brown patches here and there, where the land had retained its barren form. ‘These are the offshoots of the Dead Hills. Further east the earth is wet, fruitful and easy to work. The spell that created the Dead Hills didn’t reach that area.’ He looked over at the table mountain. ‘The spell ended there and also, of course, the steppes. The rock that you see there is actually not that old for a mountain. All the water that was flowing underground that time had to come out somewhere, and so the mass of rock was pushed upward. The result is Waterheart.’