At the pace Lydia set, the run back to the outskirts of the capital, along well maintained roads, took scarcely twenty minutes. They passed no capital guards, only the occasional person or mob of persons fleeing inland. Those they passed were dressed in plain and workmanlike clothes, which bothered Drake. Why were these people running away from the city?
When they finally reached the city walls, he realized why.
There was a mob of panicked people outside the back wall of Korhaurbauten screaming to be let inside, but the city gates were closed. Of course the capital city would protect itself before those caught out in the open. Worse, the panicked mob was blocking the gates.
He felt for these people, he really did, but they weren’t his responsibility. He had his own people slowly being asphyxiated by kromian paralytic poison. As he, Emily, Lydia, and Robin all slowed to a stop at the back of the mob, he looked up to ferrocite-armored guards standing atop the wall. There was no way he could flag them down from way out here.
After he set Anna down beside him so he could figure out their next move, he glanced at Lydia. “I know you’ve been through a lot, but can you flutterstep up there?”
She shook her head. “It’s too far, lord.”
Robin stepped up beside him. “I can get there.”
Drake glanced at her in surprise. “You can get to the wall?”
“I can. But what should I do once I’m there?”
Drake decided it was time to pull their privilege card. “Tell those guards Steward Lydia Estoria, a friend of the noble court, is trapped outside the walls and must be admitted immediately along with Lord Gloomwood. Have them send an escort out to us if they have to.”
“Got it,” Robin said. She looked to the wall, took a deep breath, and leapt.
Drake stared wide-eyed as Robin rocketed upward and then sailed over the crowd. Many in the crowd stopped screaming as they stared up in shock. Yet Robin’s first leap hadn’t been nearly far enough to reach the walls. What if she injured herself when she fell into the crowd, or worse, injured one of them?
Then Robin leapt again, in midair, and Drake remembered that airstep allowed her to do more than take one leap without landing. She was literally stepping on air. Her rarity was a lot more useful than it seemed at first glance.
He watched as Robin double, triple, and quadruple-jumped before finally bursting into the air one last time. When she landed on the wall, she did so with the spear of a capital guard pointed at her from either side.
Drake could only watch with clenched teeth. He could see her speaking to the angry capital guards on the wall, but didn’t have a hope in hell of hearing what she was saying, especially over the mob. They were now even more upset. Fortunately, none of the mob had yet connected Drake, Lydia, Emily, or Anna to Robin.
The spears pulled back. Robin turned to look out over the crowd and offered a nod to no one in particular. She didn’t wave, and Drake appreciated her savvy.
If Robin had waved at him, even all the way out here, someone might have realized that Drake was going to get himself and his thralls admitted to the capital while leaving everyone else outside to rot. That could get him and his people into a bad situation. Yet if he didn’t flex his manor lord privilege, a number of his people would die.
A commotion near the wall assured him a gate was opening, and the sight of panicked people being panicked made him reflexively reach for Anna’s hand. “Hold tight to me.” If they needed to run, he’d yank her into his arms and carry her.
Not long after, he spotted a quartet of capital guards pushing their way through the crowd. He didn’t think they were trying to hurt anyone, but a mob filled with people terrified they were about to be speared by kromians wasn’t easy to manage. The panicked people stuck outside the walls had friends, relatives, and children they wanted to protect as well.
“Make a hole,” Drake quietly ordered Lydia and Emily.
His battle maids marched forward and, despite wearing nothing but ripped and bloody swimsuits—or perhaps because of them—their shouts caused people to stumble aside.
“Make way for Lord Gloomwood!” Emily roared. “Make way, right now, or all of you are going to taste my axe!”
She sounded serious. Drake hoped she wouldn’t murder anyone who got too close or who she felt was a threat to him. Then again... it was Emily.
People pushed in. One woman clutched desperately at Drake’s arm before he reflexively shoved her away. Others were all around them now, and all of them were so loud Drake couldn’t focus on anyone’s words. He just knew they were as desperate as he was to get inside.
Just when he felt the crowd was on the verge of turning on them, they met the escort of capital guards. As four tall soldiers in full ferrocite, carrying shields and spears, marched around them, even the most desperate people fell back. No one wanted to challenge capital guards, as the capital guards were the noble court... and the noble court was all powerful in the capital.
With the addition of the four capital guards, Drake, Lydia, and Emily were able to force their way through the increasingly angry mob. People began throwing things, rancid fruit or worse, and Drake immediately picked Anna up and carried her in his arms, against his chest. That way, he could shield her from anything the crowd tossed.
Finally, they reached the gate through the wall. The portcullis cranked up as more capital guards with shields and clubs emerged, forcing an opening in those who chose to crowd the gate. It was only once Drake and his battle maids were safely inside the walls of Korhaurbauten, with Anna, that he understood why the portcullis remained closed.
There were hundreds of people, men, women, and children, already inside the walls. This street was packed like the worst rock concert ever. The capital had closed its gates because it had already admitted everyone it could without risking a stampede. That made Drake feel a tiny bit more sympathetic to the silent capital guards who’d escorted them inside.
The streets were packed with people, which was going to make it even more difficult to reach the temple. Thank goodness they hadn’t tried to bring their wounded through here. They wouldn’t even have gotten this far.
Fortunately, he had capital guards to aid his battle maids in parting the crowd now. Robin dropped to the street beside him, sweating from using her rarity but still ready to fight. That was good, because he would likely need her to use it again.
As the guards moved to return to the gate, Lydia stepped in the way of the guard captain. The red spike on his shoulderpad marked him as such. He paused and frowned at her.
“We have already gotten you inside, steward. We have a wall to guard.”
“We must reach the Temple of Eidolons at once,” Lydia said calmly. “Many from Gloomwood Manor were wounded in a kromian assault. They are dying from poison.”
“If that’s true, you’ll never get back in time to save them.”
“You let us handle that,” Drake said. “Now, can you get us to the temple or not?”
“Are you a friend of the noble court?” the captain demanded.
“No.” Drake narrowed his eyes. “But I’m Lord Gloomwood, and the Judge is a personal friend of mine. So I wouldn’t recommend you give me a reason to complain about you.”
That boast gave the guard captain pause. He had no idea Drake could lie, and Drake wasn’t lying. Not exactly. The Judge did like him... he hoped. He had to save his people.
He looked to one of his subordinates. “Lead them to the tunnels.”
The man saluted and looked at Lydia. “Follow me, miss.” He cut effortlessly through the crowd simply by being a capital guard dressed in ferrocite. The people inside the capital were less panicked and more deferential, likely because they considered themselves safe. No one wanted to risk getting kicked out for defying the capital guards.
Drake was only mildly amused that the guard had addressed Lydia instead of him. In other circumstances he’d have been more entertained—it was Lydia, not him, who was a friend of the noble court—but knowing the walls behind them could be attacked any moment killed any humor he could muster. If an attack came, the people outside would be slaughtered first.
“I don’t like this, lord,” Anna whispered in his ear. She still rode on his back. “Everyone’s so scared. What if the kromians attack before we reach the temple?”
“Then we’ll stomp them,” Drake assured her. “Absolutely no one is getting you.”
“I know I’m safe, lord. I’m worried about them. All these people.”
She was so thoughtful. “The capital guards will keep them safe.” Once again, he was so glad he could lie.
It was slow going through the crowd, but at least the pace was steady. Even so, two blocks later, Drake was on the verge of lodging a complaint. He held his tongue as the guard diverted into an alley and led them up it, then stopped a closed door.
The guard fumbled with his key ring, glanced around for onlookers, and then unlocked the door. He pulled it open and motioned them inside.
Emily marched in first, and Drake knew her ability to see souls would warn him if anything hostile waited inside. He ground his teeth and stood his ground.
“Clear!” Emily shouted.
Drake hurried in first with Anna on his back, followed by Lydia, Robin, and the capital guard. The man slammed the door and then hurried past them. Drake realized they were in the back of a restaurant of some sort, made obvious by the open counters and glowing ovens.
The guard reached a wine rack that lacked any wine, gripped it, and pulled it open. That revealed a narrow spiral stairway leading down into the dark. He turned to them.
“This stairway will lead you into the noble court’s tunnels. Tell the guards down there who you are and one will escort you to the temple. I need to return to the wall.”
Going below ground would be perfect! They could avoid the crowds entirely by using the tunnels reserved for visiting manor lords and important nobles. Drake should have thought of this immediately, but he’d been too busy worrying about getting attacked by a mob.
“This way, lord!” Emily fearlessly led the way down the stairs.
“Thanks,” Drake said to the guard. “Sorry if I bit your head off, and your captain’s. I can’t lose any more people today.” He hurried after Emily.
“I know the feeling, lord,” the guard said to his back. “Safe travels.”
Drake descended on Emily’s heels, with Lydia behind him and Robin hopefully behind her. The sound of a wine rack being pushed into place echoed from overhead. That dropped the stairwell into darkness, but it was so narrow Drake was able to simply feel his way forward by keeping a hand on the wall and measuring his steps.
Soon the wall and steps became visible again, likely due to the faint torchlight ahead. Emily gasped from ahead. “You put those down! Don’t make me chop you!”
“No one chop anyone!” Drake bellowed from behind her. “I’m Lord Gloomwood, and I order you to stand down!”
He couldn’t see around the corner, but he suspected Emily had just alarmed some already on edge capital guards. He also had some more to privilege to sling around.
“The woman about to chop your souls in half is my blood thrall, Emily, and with me is Lydia Estoria, a friend of the noble court! We seek immediate passage to the Temple of the Eidolons! Stand aside so I can show you who I am!”
There was murmured conversation, followed by the sound of armored boots on tiles.
“They’re moving, lord!” Emily called happily. “Thank you for handling that!”
Drake hurried down the rest of the steps and emerged into a tall torch-lit tunnel. He found four capital guards forming a ring of spears and shields just wide enough to allow him to step out of the stairwell. They looked rather pissed off.
He eased Anna behind him and checked on Lydia and Robin, then looked back to the guards. “Who’s in charge, here?”
“You are Lord Gloomwood?” a woman asked. “Why are you dressed like that?”
“Because I was supposed to have a pretty good day,” Drake said. “Then a bunch of kromians killed my people and poisoned a bunch more, and if I don’t get medicine back to them before they die, I’ll lodge a complaint and then kill someone. So take us to the temple!”
The female guard eyed him warily. “You’ll never get back to your people in—”
“We can teleport!” Drake interrupted angrily. “Now lead us to the Temple of the Eidolons before you get my people killed!”
“I am Lydia Estoria, and I am a friend of the noble court,” Lydia added smoothly. “Please, do as Lord Gloomwood asks. Many lives hang in the balance.”
Her soft touch was better. He should have gone with the soft touch. Even so, he’d already lost people today. The thought of losing more was intolerable.
The woman looked to her soldiers. “You have the hall.” She turned and walked away without a look back. “This way, Lord Gloomwood.”
Her irritation with him was obvious, but Drake was all too happy to let it slide so long as she did as he asked. He resisted the urge to order her to run. She was already moving at a brisk walk despite her heavy armor. With only these almost empty tunnels to navigate, they would still reach the temple in time to get medicine and get back in time to save everyone.
If another wave of kromians hadn’t already found and killed them all.
At the pace Lydia set, the run back to the outskirts of the capital, along well maintained roads, took scarcely twenty minutes. They passed no capital guards, only the occasional person or mob of persons fleeing inland. Those they passed were dressed in plain and workmanlike clothes, which bothered Drake. Why were these people running away from the city?
When they finally reached the city walls, he realized why.
There was a mob of panicked people outside the back wall of Korhaurbauten screaming to be let inside, but the city gates were closed. Of course the capital city would protect itself before those caught out in the open. Worse, the panicked mob was blocking the gates.
He felt for these people, he really did, but they weren’t his responsibility. He had his own people slowly being asphyxiated by kromian paralytic poison. As he, Emily, Lydia, and Robin all slowed to a stop at the back of the mob, he looked up to ferrocite-armored guards standing atop the wall. There was no way he could flag them down from way out here.
After he set Anna down beside him so he could figure out their next move, he glanced at Lydia. “I know you’ve been through a lot, but can you flutterstep up there?”
She shook her head. “It’s too far, lord.”
Robin stepped up beside him. “I can get there.”
Drake glanced at her in surprise. “You can get to the wall?”
“I can. But what should I do once I’m there?”
Drake decided it was time to pull their privilege card. “Tell those guards Steward Lydia Estoria, a friend of the noble court, is trapped outside the walls and must be admitted immediately along with Lord Gloomwood. Have them send an escort out to us if they have to.”
“Got it,” Robin said. She looked to the wall, took a deep breath, and leapt.
Drake stared wide-eyed as Robin rocketed upward and then sailed over the crowd. Many in the crowd stopped screaming as they stared up in shock. Yet Robin’s first leap hadn’t been nearly far enough to reach the walls. What if she injured herself when she fell into the crowd, or worse, injured one of them?
Then Robin leapt again, in midair, and Drake remembered that airstep allowed her to do more than take one leap without landing. She was literally stepping on air. Her rarity was a lot more useful than it seemed at first glance.
He watched as Robin double, triple, and quadruple-jumped before finally bursting into the air one last time. When she landed on the wall, she did so with the spear of a capital guard pointed at her from either side.
Drake could only watch with clenched teeth. He could see her speaking to the angry capital guards on the wall, but didn’t have a hope in hell of hearing what she was saying, especially over the mob. They were now even more upset. Fortunately, none of the mob had yet connected Drake, Lydia, Emily, or Anna to Robin.
The spears pulled back. Robin turned to look out over the crowd and offered a nod to no one in particular. She didn’t wave, and Drake appreciated her savvy.
If Robin had waved at him, even all the way out here, someone might have realized that Drake was going to get himself and his thralls admitted to the capital while leaving everyone else outside to rot. That could get him and his people into a bad situation. Yet if he didn’t flex his manor lord privilege, a number of his people would die.
A commotion near the wall assured him a gate was opening, and the sight of panicked people being panicked made him reflexively reach for Anna’s hand. “Hold tight to me.” If they needed to run, he’d yank her into his arms and carry her.
Not long after, he spotted a quartet of capital guards pushing their way through the crowd. He didn’t think they were trying to hurt anyone, but a mob filled with people terrified they were about to be speared by kromians wasn’t easy to manage. The panicked people stuck outside the walls had friends, relatives, and children they wanted to protect as well.
“Make a hole,” Drake quietly ordered Lydia and Emily.
His battle maids marched forward and, despite wearing nothing but ripped and bloody swimsuits—or perhaps because of them—their shouts caused people to stumble aside.
“Make way for Lord Gloomwood!” Emily roared. “Make way, right now, or all of you are going to taste my axe!”
She sounded serious. Drake hoped she wouldn’t murder anyone who got too close or who she felt was a threat to him. Then again... it was Emily.
People pushed in. One woman clutched desperately at Drake’s arm before he reflexively shoved her away. Others were all around them now, and all of them were so loud Drake couldn’t focus on anyone’s words. He just knew they were as desperate as he was to get inside.
Just when he felt the crowd was on the verge of turning on them, they met the escort of capital guards. As four tall soldiers in full ferrocite, carrying shields and spears, marched around them, even the most desperate people fell back. No one wanted to challenge capital guards, as the capital guards were the noble court... and the noble court was all powerful in the capital.
With the addition of the four capital guards, Drake, Lydia, and Emily were able to force their way through the increasingly angry mob. People began throwing things, rancid fruit or worse, and Drake immediately picked Anna up and carried her in his arms, against his chest. That way, he could shield her from anything the crowd tossed.
Finally, they reached the gate through the wall. The portcullis cranked up as more capital guards with shields and clubs emerged, forcing an opening in those who chose to crowd the gate. It was only once Drake and his battle maids were safely inside the walls of Korhaurbauten, with Anna, that he understood why the portcullis remained closed.
There were hundreds of people, men, women, and children, already inside the walls. This street was packed like the worst rock concert ever. The capital had closed its gates because it had already admitted everyone it could without risking a stampede. That made Drake feel a tiny bit more sympathetic to the silent capital guards who’d escorted them inside.
The streets were packed with people, which was going to make it even more difficult to reach the temple. Thank goodness they hadn’t tried to bring their wounded through here. They wouldn’t even have gotten this far.
Fortunately, he had capital guards to aid his battle maids in parting the crowd now. Robin dropped to the street beside him, sweating from using her rarity but still ready to fight. That was good, because he would likely need her to use it again.
As the guards moved to return to the gate, Lydia stepped in the way of the guard captain. The red spike on his shoulderpad marked him as such. He paused and frowned at her.
“We have already gotten you inside, steward. We have a wall to guard.”
“We must reach the Temple of Eidolons at once,” Lydia said calmly. “Many from Gloomwood Manor were wounded in a kromian assault. They are dying from poison.”
“If that’s true, you’ll never get back in time to save them.”
“You let us handle that,” Drake said. “Now, can you get us to the temple or not?”
“Are you a friend of the noble court?” the captain demanded.
“No.” Drake narrowed his eyes. “But I’m Lord Gloomwood, and the Judge is a personal friend of mine. So I wouldn’t recommend you give me a reason to complain about you.”
That boast gave the guard captain pause. He had no idea Drake could lie, and Drake wasn’t lying. Not exactly. The Judge did like him... he hoped. He had to save his people.
He looked to one of his subordinates. “Lead them to the tunnels.”
The man saluted and looked at Lydia. “Follow me, miss.” He cut effortlessly through the crowd simply by being a capital guard dressed in ferrocite. The people inside the capital were less panicked and more deferential, likely because they considered themselves safe. No one wanted to risk getting kicked out for defying the capital guards.
Drake was only mildly amused that the guard had addressed Lydia instead of him. In other circumstances he’d have been more entertained—it was Lydia, not him, who was a friend of the noble court—but knowing the walls behind them could be attacked any moment killed any humor he could muster. If an attack came, the people outside would be slaughtered first.
“I don’t like this, lord,” Anna whispered in his ear. She still rode on his back. “Everyone’s so scared. What if the kromians attack before we reach the temple?”
“Then we’ll stomp them,” Drake assured her. “Absolutely no one is getting you.”
“I know I’m safe, lord. I’m worried about them. All these people.”
She was so thoughtful. “The capital guards will keep them safe.” Once again, he was so glad he could lie.
It was slow going through the crowd, but at least the pace was steady. Even so, two blocks later, Drake was on the verge of lodging a complaint. He held his tongue as the guard diverted into an alley and led them up it, then stopped a closed door.
The guard fumbled with his key ring, glanced around for onlookers, and then unlocked the door. He pulled it open and motioned them inside.
Emily marched in first, and Drake knew her ability to see souls would warn him if anything hostile waited inside. He ground his teeth and stood his ground.
“Clear!” Emily shouted.
Drake hurried in first with Anna on his back, followed by Lydia, Robin, and the capital guard. The man slammed the door and then hurried past them. Drake realized they were in the back of a restaurant of some sort, made obvious by the open counters and glowing ovens.
The guard reached a wine rack that lacked any wine, gripped it, and pulled it open. That revealed a narrow spiral stairway leading down into the dark. He turned to them.
“This stairway will lead you into the noble court’s tunnels. Tell the guards down there who you are and one will escort you to the temple. I need to return to the wall.”
Going below ground would be perfect! They could avoid the crowds entirely by using the tunnels reserved for visiting manor lords and important nobles. Drake should have thought of this immediately, but he’d been too busy worrying about getting attacked by a mob.
“This way, lord!” Emily fearlessly led the way down the stairs.
“Thanks,” Drake said to the guard. “Sorry if I bit your head off, and your captain’s. I can’t lose any more people today.” He hurried after Emily.
“I know the feeling, lord,” the guard said to his back. “Safe travels.”
Drake descended on Emily’s heels, with Lydia behind him and Robin hopefully behind her. The sound of a wine rack being pushed into place echoed from overhead. That dropped the stairwell into darkness, but it was so narrow Drake was able to simply feel his way forward by keeping a hand on the wall and measuring his steps.
Soon the wall and steps became visible again, likely due to the faint torchlight ahead. Emily gasped from ahead. “You put those down! Don’t make me chop you!”
“No one chop anyone!” Drake bellowed from behind her. “I’m Lord Gloomwood, and I order you to stand down!”
He couldn’t see around the corner, but he suspected Emily had just alarmed some already on edge capital guards. He also had some more to privilege to sling around.
“The woman about to chop your souls in half is my blood thrall, Emily, and with me is Lydia Estoria, a friend of the noble court! We seek immediate passage to the Temple of the Eidolons! Stand aside so I can show you who I am!”
There was murmured conversation, followed by the sound of armored boots on tiles.
“They’re moving, lord!” Emily called happily. “Thank you for handling that!”
Drake hurried down the rest of the steps and emerged into a tall torch-lit tunnel. He found four capital guards forming a ring of spears and shields just wide enough to allow him to step out of the stairwell. They looked rather pissed off.
He eased Anna behind him and checked on Lydia and Robin, then looked back to the guards. “Who’s in charge, here?”
“You are Lord Gloomwood?” a woman asked. “Why are you dressed like that?”
“Because I was supposed to have a pretty good day,” Drake said. “Then a bunch of kromians killed my people and poisoned a bunch more, and if I don’t get medicine back to them before they die, I’ll lodge a complaint and then kill someone. So take us to the temple!”
The female guard eyed him warily. “You’ll never get back to your people in—”
“We can teleport!” Drake interrupted angrily. “Now lead us to the Temple of the Eidolons before you get my people killed!”
“I am Lydia Estoria, and I am a friend of the noble court,” Lydia added smoothly. “Please, do as Lord Gloomwood asks. Many lives hang in the balance.”
Her soft touch was better. He should have gone with the soft touch. Even so, he’d already lost people today. The thought of losing more was intolerable.
The woman looked to her soldiers. “You have the hall.” She turned and walked away without a look back. “This way, Lord Gloomwood.”
Her irritation with him was obvious, but Drake was all too happy to let it slide so long as she did as he asked. He resisted the urge to order her to run. She was already moving at a brisk walk despite her heavy armor. With only these almost empty tunnels to navigate, they would still reach the temple in time to get medicine and get back in time to save everyone.
If another wave of kromians hadn’t already found and killed them all.
