The Beacon: Blayne (4)
Episode 27: "Into the Storm"
“I’ve decided I’m taking my crew into Blayne,” Adon announced to Sir Lyle when they met that afternoon. The latter had reported that the soldiers had dug all the graves behind the fortress and planned to conduct a mass service at sundown, which Captain Manton would oversee. “We’ll pretend we’re taking Mat to see a doctor,” the captain continued. “If there’s a problem, that should get us past the gate. We’ll stay overnight at the old barracks.”
“What would you like us to do in the meantime?” Sir Lyle asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
Adon ignored the other captain’s disapproval. “Get the garrison organized and keep the troops busy. Clean the place up like the king is on his way for a visit. He may be, for all we know. Don’t give the men any time to think about what happened today. Some of them will soon suffer from terrible guilt and grief, if they are not already. We can’t help them much, but we can take their minds off it for a while. But make sure the First is ready to leave at a moment’s notice. I’m not sure of the reception we’ll get.”
Sir Lyle pursed his lips. “So, you have decided to leave the garrison half-manned? Is that not risky?”
“Very,” Adon replied with a weary nod. “I don’t want to do it, but in the end, I have no choice. The king’s orders are that our mission takes precedence. We must stop these emanations before they can cause havoc on the battlefield. The garrison should be safe if they lock themselves in until the king sends relief. A couple of companies can be here in a few days.”
Frowning, Sir Lyle nodded slowly, accepting Adon’s order but clearly not liking it.
“How fares the garrison commander?” Adon asked, switching subjects.
Captain Manton’s face brightened. “I have good news on that front, sir. It looks like he will pull through, but it will be a long recovery.”
“That’s encouraging!” Adon said, smiling broadly. “Finally, something good happened.” The captain scratched his gray beard, wanting a shave. “One last thing, Lyle. Don’t be surprised if a raven or hawk or some other bird drops a message into your hands.” He grinned. “That’s how we’ll communicate with you while we’re in town.” Without explaining further, the captain left him there, chuckling at the other man’s bewilderment as he walked away.
Leaving the fortress immediately, he and his crew reached Blayne’s north-side gate in a quarter-hour. A bored town constable stood watching nearby, hands behind his back, stopping no one. Seeing the man’s dirty-blond hair protruding from under his cap, marking him as Margonni, Adon dismounted a few yards away and led Renegade in his direction.
“Afternoon, constable!” the captain called cheerfully. He reached into a shirt pocket and pulled out his royal commission, handing it to the man.
Seeing the royal seal, the young constable stood straighter as he returned it to Adon. “What can I do for you, sir?” he asked, giving the captain a salute.
“I just need some information,” Adon answered in a low voice. “Act like we’re old acquaintances. Someone may be watching. By the way, I’m Captain Adonis Santinetta of the Palace Guard and an agent of King Lorens.” He made a show of enthusiastically shaking hands and slapping the constable on the back. “Are you aware that we’re at war?” he asked, still smiling.
The man’s eyes went wide. “War, sir? I had no idea! With who?”
The captain’s face sobered, his mouth a grim line. “A Leitani uprising, I’m afraid. Their warriors seem to be gathering in Essela, and my gut tells me that Blayne will be an early target. What can you tell me about any recent movement of young Leitani men through here?”
The young man gripped his chin in thought, looking into the distance. “Well, now that you mention it, sir, there have been more than usual coming into town the last few days. They come alone mostly, but sometimes in twos or threes. I reckon I’ve seen more coming than going, if you know what I mean, sir.”
“I think I do,” the captain said with a scowl. “Are they carrying weapons?”
The constable nodded. “The usual. Bows. Long knives. I’ve seen a few axes and hatchets.”
“Any riding horses? Wagons?” Adon queried.
This time, the young man shook his head. “Not many rode in that I noticed. A few wagons.”
“Any idea what was in them?”
He gave Adon another shake of his head and an apologetic frown. “No. We usually don’t check, not unless we get a tip about some kind of criminal activity.”
“Any educated guesses?” the captain prodded.
“I can’t say I saw anything suspicious, sir,” the constable said after another long moment of thought. “They were covered—I know that much. Most are. People transport things in and out of here all the time ’cause we’re the only market town for miles around. ‘Don’t get in the way of commerce,’ our sergeant always says. ‘We don’t want the Town Council on our backs.’ So, our job is mostly to keep the peace—you know, break up fights, arrest vandals, clear out the drunks, keep the traffic flowing, that sort of thing.”
Adon sighed, which he was aware of doing a lot of lately. “I understand, constable,” he said. “You had no reason to suspect otherwise. But now you do. Keep your eyes open! Tell your superiors what I told you, but no one else. I don’t want rumors to frighten people into doing something foolish. I’ll be staying overnight at the old barracks if you or your superiors need to ask or tell me anything. Ask for me directly.” He vigorously shook the young man’s hand again, saying in a whisper, “Don’t salute! Just smile as I leave!”
The rest of the crew had continued toward the barracks, and Adon soon caught up to them. Riding next to Ren, he said, “As I expected, Leitani have been filtering in lately. They probably bought in weapons, too, but the constables don’t check the contents of the wagons.”
His son-in-law nodded. “You know, they could hide a lot of warriors in this town. There are a lot of empty buildings since so many people moved out to the new town across the Highwater.”
“And I heard there are caves under the town,” Adon said, “the oldest part of the ancient settlement. Hundreds or even thousands could walk in here and just disappear.”
“And rise up at any moment,” Ren finished the thought. “We’d better make our stay as short as possible.”
“I agree,” the captain said, worry etching lines between his brows. “We’ll do a bit of shopping and scouting this evening and leave first thing in the morning. I want to be riding under the portcullis as it’s rising.”
“I’ll tell the others,” Ren said and trotted forward.
Thunder rolled overhead, echoing off the adobe walls of the old town. The rain will come soon, Adon thought, looking at the dark gray, lowering sky. Ahead of them, people were doing the same, scurrying toward shelter. At least the rain will settle the dust for a while. But then, we’ll have to deal with mud.
As the wind picked up, unfurling the Margonni flag over Blayne’s Town Hall, Ren rode back in haste. “Mast will get the provisions, or at least try to before it rains. Gamila is going with him. Bandrick gave his horse to Mia and said he’ll snoop around a bit. Artema will lead us to the barracks.”
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Adon nodded, pleased that his crew took decisive action. I’ve trained them well. Slackening his reins, he let Renegade follow Ren’s horse, Breeze, without paying much attention, lost in imagining what the Leitani might do over the following days.
As their small procession turned onto the nearly empty Garrison Street, the sky darkened further, and a few fat raindrops fell, causing the captain to look up. From the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a man squatting beside a brick chimney on the opposite rooftop, watching him. Lightning flashed suddenly, momentarily illuminating the storm-induced dusk. Turning his head to get a better look, Adon saw the man’s teeth shine in a sneer as he rose and fluidly disappeared over the roof’s crest.
“Genubah?” Adon said to himself, sitting up straight in his saddle. Then he called ahead, “Ren, did you see that?”
“See what?” Ren replied as thunder pealed.
“A man crouching on the roof over there!” Adon pointed across the street.
Ren shook his head. “Sorry, no,” he said, grinning. “I was keeping an eye on my wife.”
“Newlyweds!” the captain huffed, shaking his head. More loudly, he said, “Maybe I’m seeing things, but I thought I saw Genubah watching us. Then, when I spotted him, he scuttled over the roof.”
His son-in-law’s face instantly turned serious, a hand dropping unconsciously to grip his sword hilt. “Inside these walls, we have to assume our enemies are everywhere. We’ll take shifts keeping watch tonight. If he’s here, we must expect an attack.”
They turned into the overgrown barracks’ yard, following the old, still-visible ruts to the stable in the rear. Pulling a couple of pins out of her hair, Artema quickly picked the lock that fastened the chain on the stable door. Cobwebs festooned every corner, and a fine layer of dust covered every surface, but the place was otherwise in good shape.
Tying Thorn and Sugar to Artema’s wagon, Mia found a broom and began clearing the webs she could reach. Before she had finished the first stall, rain pounded on the roof, accompanied by more lightning flashes and claps of thunder. “At least we don’t have to worry about water for the horses!” she called cheerfully over the din.
Adon grunted. “I hope the rain lasts all night. It might discourage any nefarious activity. But these storms usually pass through quickly.” He called them closer to fill them in on what he thought he saw and set up a watch rotation. “We’ll eat and bed down as soon as the others are back. It’ll be an early morning wake-up.”
About a half-hour later, Mast drove his sodden covered wagon into the stable, followed a few minutes afterward by a silent Bandrick. With a twinkle in his eye, the cook reported that the merchants he dealt with were eager for royal gold, making his job easy. For her part, ensuring her Nuha tattoos were visible, Gamila had attracted a small crowd of Leitani women, who had spoken to her openly about the gathering of warriors at Essela. “One woman said that the warrior-priest now had ten thousand at his back,’ she reported, “and the others agreed they had heard the same thing. By the way, they said his name is Baktron Nekhesh.”
At this, Bandrick softly cleared his throat, and everyone gave him their attention. “I heard the same,” he said in confirmation. With grave eyes, he looked at each of them in turn, stopping when he locked eyes with Adon. He swallowed involuntarily before speaking. “We’re in big trouble, captain. The young Leitani men were speaking openly in their tongue, spreading their ‘good news,’ as they called it. They are in high spirits, and I can’t blame them. Not only have ten thousand warriors gathered to their cause, but they expect most of those ten thousand to descend out of the hills just east of here sometime tomorrow morning.”
A note:
As Adon mentioned, Blayne was an ancient settlement. The Leitani claimed it as their own, almost as a birthplace, but various peoples before them had inhabited the site for many ages. The original community had lived in a series of caves overlooking the convergence of the two rivers, and later residents built surface dwellings nearby. Although its location was ideal for trade, the town always possessed a strange, almost palpable lethargy that discouraged ambition and energetic activity. To explain it, the Leitani told an old tale that the caves were the home of a listless, depressive spirit who hated human industry. The story ended with their god, Azuri, driving the evil spirit away so his people could thrive on the land, but clearly, the spirit lingered there, radiating his torpor to its residents.
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I'm really liking this story. It's moving along nicely, never a dull moment! Keeping us on our toes! Can't wait to see what happens next.
Oh no! They're in a tight spot!!!