***
Nishga carefully made her way down the stony path leading to the Praetors residence. Shushy was a bustling thriving city. People were peddling wears on practically every street corner. In fact it was all Nishga could do to avoid being knocked into the road, and when crossing the road it was all she could do to avoid being run over by some coach racing past on urgent business. She decided the best way and the safest route to get to the large looking manor house was by cutting across the park areas when the opportunities arose. This she did quite smartly, and soon Nishga found herself standing outside the Praetors manor; she quietly edged the gates open, and unfortunately her grasp slipped as she closed them behind her, causing them to rattle, a Wrath guard came out to investigate the noise, he went up to the gate and pushed against it. He looked around, there was a strange smell in the air, he looked at the flowers and nodded to himself but it did not explain the noise he had heard, then a cat startled at the sight of him leapt from the bushes and through the bars of the gate. The guard laughed and stopped short, he felt something was wrong; he turned and looked right at where Nishga was standing, she held her breath a moment, waiting, but the guard stared past her and at the flower bed. He shook his head and went back into the guard house. With a sigh of relief Nishga crept forward, the stony paved path leading to the house did not give away her secret passage towards it. She glanced back every so often, to make sure no one had been alerted to her presence; she would have to be more careful on her return so as not to be discovered.
A horse near by jostled and stamped its hoof, sensing someone was close; fortunately no one was alerted by its unusual behaviour and as Nishga carefully slipped passed and made her way to the front door of the house, it settled. Then she carefully eased her way round the front of the building hoping to find an open window to climb through, unfortunately no one had been that accommodating. Her next move was to go round the back. On her way she noticed at the side of the house some stairs leading down into what must have been the kitchen or cellar area. Nishga tried the door, it was open slowly she pushed it forward and crept inside. There was a small hallway and some stairs that did indeed lead up to the kitchen. This was a hive of activity with a small child at the hearth turning a suckling pig. The chief cook was barking orders at some porter who had not used the correct herbs with a shank of lamb that was wrapped in vine leaves and being cooked in the clay oven. The smell of fresh baked bread was overpowering. Nishga gently made her way past a large central table, and a young couple that seemed more interested in each other than in what they were doing. She passed someone who was using a stool to stand on to reach the flour on one of the shelves. She almost collapsed backwards but for Nishga’s helping hand. She grunted her thanks, but did not bother to turn round and see who had helped her. Finally Nishga was out the other side and into a long corridor. At the bottom of the passageway was another doorway leading into a large atrium. She shut the door behind her and paused for a moment to admire the frescos on the walls, and the beautifully crafted cornices. There was a wide staircase with elegantly designed banisters and rails. Nishga could hear murmuring from the first floor level so she decided to investigate. Slowly she crept up the stairs stopping to catch her breath at one point, when she inadvertently placed her hand against the nearby rail, only to hear it creek at her touch. Her heart raced so fast she thought it would explode even though there was no one near enough to have caught the sound; still it was with a sense of relief that she moved on. Upstairs she was confronted by more opulence, a door opened and out walked a finely dressed man, he looked like he had just been hit by a storm, his long silver hair reached down to his shoulders, his tunic was made of silk, his brown breeches were tucked into long dark boots, he glanced darkly back at the door shook his head and strode grimly away. When the door opened again, Nishga took the opportunity to enter the room. Two men were at a desk facing each other, one slightly off centre.
“I think that will be the last time he tries anything like that Praetor,” said the man sitting in front of the desk. The Praetor smiled and nodded.
“What other news is there Aldair?” said the Praetor getting back to the work at hand.
“Well there has been no further seditious activity or elements in Quinn since we put down the rebellion at Shanty,” said Aldair. “Of course we are still monitoring the situation. I think the Quinnians have finally been brought into line. Jin’s still finding it difficult to get through to the Merchant Guilds that the army needs better funding. Wars are an expensive business. That last one in the west barely broke even. In fact if it wasn’t for carting off practically the entire population of Hecata from the Finns second City, and stripping it bear, it would have been a disaster for the Imperium. As it is with the new Canals and Carriage lines being built things have worked out well for the most part. Since the Merchant Guilds needed man power more than anything else to sustain their new building works, it's left them feeling quite happy. They’re also pleased that the war went on for as long as it did. It meant they have a stronger grip than ever on the affairs of the Imperium. Let's see, what do the other dispatches say. This one says we’ll soon have the Orochi back under our control. It's taken longer than expected but that’s because the sphere that Jin is using was originally meant for another purpose. Orienting its power for a different use has proved problematic for the most part. Don’t worry I understand he’s ironed out most of the kinks.”
Nishga saw the Praetor shift in his seat uncomfortably at the mention of the sphere.
“Spheres,” said the Praetor. “Orbs, crystals if you ask me nothing beats a good sword in your hand, and some well made armour and the bow. Why we are messing around with creatures that belong to a different age, I simply do not know. And as for my views on the Vendigo, they’re fanatical enough but they burn up inside. They’re good for establishing an empire but not for holding on to one. That’s why we needed the western peoples. You heard about the Victor of Marshal Ti. Now that’s what we need, people that are crazy, and mad enough to walk into an enemy camp and challenge someone like him, and still survive to talk about it. I wished I'd met him in combat. What a worthy adversary he is.”
Aldair laughed, “Yes and you never know you still might meet him in battle, you’ve already heard the rumours. The man had a magic sword that’s why he beat the Marshal; also he wasn’t even a man. Get this; the latest rumour is that he was a western Demigod like our Atrical.”
The two men laughed together.
“Well I’m sure it helps Marshal Ti to sleep better at night knowing that he was bested by a Demigod,” said the Praetor with a smile. “What news of the reconstruction of the wall at the south end?”
“I’m afraid it's moving slower than expected,” said Aldair. “The men are afraid to work on the wilderness side of it. To be honest I can’t blame them. When works began within a few days we’d lost ten men after the work detail had been attacked by a pack of hungry Roar Bears. All that were left were pieces of unrecognisable body parts.”
“I can certainly see why that would put the men off their work,” said the Praetor. “Offer anyone willing to work on the other side of the wall a reward, say a golden hexagon each per day. Nothing gives a man more courage than money.”
“I’ll get onto it,” replied Aldair. “There’s one final thing. When Jin resolves the current situation that’s arisen in Jinopolis he wants to make sure that all other preparations are in place.”
“I presume you’re referring to the 'night of the scythes',” said the Praetor quietly.
“Of course,” replied Aldair.
“Well the flies are already caught up in the web. So things are going to plan. It won’t be long before we here further news of what’s to come. Be patient is the motto. I know you're eager to get at it. And it's commendable that you are, especially with a rich reward going to the one who completes the task first,” said the Praetor. “If there’s nothing further I have some reports to read through, please keep me informed on how th
e building works are going, dismissed.”
Aldair stood up saluted and made to depart.
“One last thing Aldair from now on if there are any new people in town, inspect their documents,” said the Praetor. “Let people get used to stop and searches and spot checks. It’ll make them more submissive later on, less likely to ask questions when they see their neighbours under house arrest or taken away. We may as well prepare ourselves properly for the day when the legions have absolute control over everything. Remember a rebel is a treasoness foe and shall be dealt with as such.”
Aldair nodded and left. He disappeared off into a side room. Nishga sneaked through as the guard opened the door. She had heard enough. This Imperium of theirs was like all empires she had heard of. It was going to be a bad place to live in unless you were a bad person anyway. She rushed downstairs moved through the large hall and was already at the front doors. Looking both ways she turned the key that rested in the lock and opened the door. A draught of fresh clean air embraced her as she carefully stepped out into the sun, gently closing the door behind her as she went. On the stony path her soft footfalls could barely be heard above the murmur of the grounds men tending the gardens, as Nishga approached the mettle gates she could hear the guards chatting inside the gatehouse. Looking around she picked up some small stones and threw them at the gate. They bounced off with a clanging sound. Two of the guards came out to investigate. One opened the gate door and stepped out.
“What was that?” said another tall man standing at the gate and holding it open. He wore a helmet beneath which, jet black hair reached down beneath his shoulders. He was wearing a chain mail coat on top of which was a dark robe tied at the waist with a leather belt. There was an insignia emblazoned onto the robe that of a wolf’s face inset a full moon.
The other guard was similarly dressed except on the shoulder of his jerkin was a clasp with three diagonal stripes depicting his rank. He was an older man, with a small scar beneath one of his eyes. His hair was short cropped; he had not bothered to put his helmet on. He began waving the other man back through the gate.
“It's nothing probably some children passing by that’s all or another damn cat. I think you must have been in the wars too long. This is Shushy the only exciting thing that’s ever happened round here is when one of those creatures managed to get loose and make it over the wall, and the only time that’s actually happened was well before either of us arrived here,” said the older Guard as he re-entered the gatehouse.
His companion grunted locked the gate back up and joined him. Nishga had managed to sneak past both guards and was already making her way back to the Inn. She had not realised just how long she had been in the Praetors house; it was early morning and the sun had been up for some time, the City was bustling with people who could be heard shouting at one another, there was the hard clapping sound of horses. Nishga decided to cut through the parks at one point she took the wrong path and interrupted a young courting couple. It was all Nishga could do to keep from laughing, when she heard the man say that he would do anything for the woman if she would but kiss him. The woman’s demands were that he was to come back and meet her parents, and start up with her father as an apprentice in the family guild of tailors. He was taken aback by this as he wanted a career in the army. To which she replied that he obviously did not love her enough if he was not willing to make the appropriate sacrifices.
Nishga could barely contain herself youth behaved the same way, where ever you found it. She wandered across the freshly cut grass, slipped behind some trees and removed her cloak before venturing on. She made her way out of the park and down into the Agora, the large market place. She was drawn to a man who was at a wheel making a clay vase. Next to him was a man sculpting a block of marble with a hammer and chisel that looked too cumbersome for the task, but what he was producing was indeed quite elegant. Further over there was a stool covered with carpets with all types of colourful designs and patterns on them. The man was having an argument with the baker next door to him because the smoke from his kiln was staining his carpets and making them smell. The baker in turn remonstrated with him that he was the one who should move; after all it was easier to move his carpets than for him to move his kiln and the argument went on in-dispersed with moments of peace when either of them had to serve a customer. The Agora was quite long, to one end there was a meeting house for the council of Guild Merchants. Where anyone who had a grievance, could go and make their protestations known to the appropriate officials. Guards paraded up and down in ceremonial dress, keeping arguments from getting too heated and out of hand. Brawling was strictly forbidden. There was also a limit on all alcohol being drunk. Though there was no limit as to how much you could take and drink at home. So some people simply had a skin full of wine at their homes before going out to the stadium to watch the athletics or racing. Gambling whether legal or not was rife. Nishga passed the slave auction, old men bidding for young men and women for house and field servants. The Imperium really did have a nasty seedy side to it. She left the Agora and the commercial centre where the municipality of the city was, and made her way back to the large Inn. The concierge a different one from the previous evening doffed his hat at her as she passed him by. She smiled and took the elevator to her room. It was late afternoon by the time she had returned. Achil was sleeping on his bed, and Andreas and Nicholas were in the chairs by the cold hearth. They too had fallen asleep. She went over opened the window to let some fresh air into the room and sat back on the bed. Achil was the first to stir, on seeing Nishga back he sat up immediately and started to talk quickly enquiring as to how long she had been there. His movements then aroused Andreas and Nicholas.
Nishga put her finger to her lips and pointed at the window which was now open. Achil motioned to Nicholas to shut it and continued speaking in a whisper.
“So have you discovered anything worthwhile?” asked Achil.
“That depends on what you mean,” said Nishga. “I’ve found out that Jin is up to something, to seize complete control of the Empire. They are calling it the ‘Night of the Scythes.’ I didn’t quite understand what it was all about. More importantly there’s an opening in the wall leading into the wilderness. Apparently what’s happened is one of the pipes leading off the aqueducts burst, which in turn weakened the foundations beneath part of the wall, collapsing it. They’re having difficulty fixing it, so we should be able to access the wilderness through there. We should leave tonight; from tomorrow morning they’re going to start running spot checks on all new arrivals. I really wouldn‘t want to be around for that. We might be held up for days while they make their appropriate checks.”
“In that case Nishga you sneak out of the city, find out where the collapsed wall is and how many guards are there. And if it still proves impassable then we'll start looking for another way out.” said Achil.
Nishga nodded was about put her cloak back on when Andreas stopped her.
“Hold on a moment she’s already tired. Let her rest, we’ll all go tonight when she’s refreshed. If it's impassable then so be it. We’ll take a rope and go over the wall if necessary,” said Andreas.
Achil studied Nishga a moment, though she was willing to be on her way, the fatigue showing on her face could not be disguised.
“Very well, we’ll do that,” said Achil realising that Nishga would be better for the rest.
“I’m okay, I think if I go now it’ll save time later!” implored Nishga.
“Nishga,” said Nicholas. “Andreas is right you’ve done enough for one day. Rest up and we‘ll all leave later together.”
Nishga lay back on her bed, while Nicholas and Andreas left them to rest. She closed her eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep. Achil lay back on the bed staring up at the ceiling thinking about Jin’s planned Night of the Scythes and what that could mean, wearied by worry he too fell asleep.
When they woke evening was approaching, soon but for the street lighting it turned dark outside. They
would have to sneak passed the concierge there was only one way to do that. According to the plan of the Inn which was on the wall in the corridor they would have to take the stairs to the basement. There was a narrow passageway between the servants rooms, which led to an exit on the other side of the Inn, into the yard and garden area, which was walled off, except for a small gate entrance used by traders. That would be their way out.
By the time they left the Inn it was early morning, though well before sunrise. They had not wasted anytime, quietly making their way out into the yard through the gate which closed behind them a bit too loudly for comfort. Fortunately the staff were worked so hard it would have taken someone to shout in their ears to actually have woken them. The four of them made their way down onto the city street and through to the park areas. These were dark and unlike the well-lit avenues, afforded them some protection from being seen by prying eyes.
“How are we going to get passed the guards at the gate?” said Andreas
“We’ll have to rely on Nishga creating a distraction so we can slip through.” said Achil
“Once more Nishga is the one placed in danger,” said Nicholas.
“Look if anyone has a better idea then I’m all ears, otherwise she’s our best bet to get through,” replied Achil grimly.
They approached the gatehouse in silence. The thick wooden Gates were open and lit up by lanterns on either side. There was a small door that stood slightly ajar to the side. Wherein sat two burly guards playing a board game, a third more stout and rotund figure stood by the side watching the game unravel. The rotund one was laughing at the bad luck of one of the other guards. The dice happened not to be favouring him that night. The four conspirators could hear the guards voices as they rose and fell with excitement and disappointment.
“My turn let lady luck shine on me just once tonight,” said the burly guard, as he threw the dice.
His unshaven face and greying stubble suggested he was older than the other two. His long reddish hair was tied back. Unlike the younger guard he played against who had long dark hair, deep brooding eyes and was clean shaven. The third guard, who stood laughing at the older ones poor luck, had quite an amiable face with short blond hair. He too was clean shaven though there was a small scar beneath his right eye that did not detract from the warmth of his face.
Nishga wrapped the cloak around her told the others to wait while she went to have a quick look at what was going on. Once she sneaked a glimpse she quickly returned to the others. She removed her cloak and crouched down.
“This is what I’m going to do,” said Nishga. “They’re playing some board game, I’ll disturb the board, and while they’re distracted I’ll then gently close the door just enough for you to creep passed. They won’t even notice you. Agreed?"
They all nodded.
Nishga wrapped the cloak around her and made her way over to the gatehouse and crept through the door. As the man rolled the dice in the cup and placed it vigorously down on the board. She knocked the board over.
“Hey you did that on purpose,” said one of the guards.
“I swear I didn’t. The board must have been unsteady on the box,” replied the other one.
The third one who had watched what happened began picking the pieces up of the floor, he also responded sarcastically.
“Well if that's true then that’s the first bit of luck you’ve had tonight.”
An argument ensued as the guard who had thrown the dice became disgruntled with the other two. Nishga eased the door shut just enough for the others to slip passed. Nicholas just made it in time as one of the guards pulled the door ajar again. Nishga stood a moment a dry smile on her face confident in the knowledge that she could not be seen. She stepped out through the door and calmly walked away. Once outside the walled city they found themselves on a sharp incline leading to a dry moat. The four of them clambered across its edge. The guards at the top of the turret did not notice the four figures move furtively along the wall. Nishga directed them to where she thought the wall had collapsed.
As they moved along the large outer wall and further away from the city Achil whispered for them to slow and crouch down.
“We need to find the hole in the wall before it gets too light,” said Achil.
“I know!” replied Nishga none too pleased that he was stating the obvious. “It's got to be here somewhere.”
Andreas shook his head in frustration. “Perhaps we’re heading down the wrong side.”
“No, this is definitely the right side I’m sure of that,” she said.
“We’ll try a little longer but if we don't find anything we’re going to have to turn back soon.” said Achil.
They moved off sticking close to the wall, when it came to an abrupt end. It was a juncture where the wall swung off in a different direction. As they moved further round in the distance they could see something, a fire burning with figures silhouetted next to it. They had not been able to see the small encampment before, as it was in a small incline that was hidden by the angle of the wall.
Nishga went off to investigate. She soon arrived back with news that there were two guards on duty at the opening of the wall no doubt to prevent any creature getting through; the others were too distant to be of concern. There were two weak points one at their end of the wall and one at the other. The guards walked slowly back and forth at thirty pace intervals from each one, it would be possible to sneak through the wall where the breach was nearest to them, when the two guards met at the centre of the dreary vigil. The crack in the wall was wide enough to squeeze through, once through the person would have to wait on the other side. At the appropriate moment when the guard began to move off, the person could then quietly back away and move beyond the sight of the guards. They all looked a bit dubious except for Nishga who clearly believed the plan would work.
Achil went first, Nishga at his side. Slowly he waited for the opportune moment and as stealthily as possible dashed for the crack in the wall. Once on the other side he crept along the wall, and rolled to the bottom of the dry moat crawling back up the other end. He was soon accompanied by Nicholas who scrambled up after him. The two lay watching in silence waiting for the others to join them.
It was Andreas turn, as he jumped through the crack his foot caught on the craggy surface and he slipped to the floor with a thump. The guard turned on hearing the sound and looked through the crack. He was staring right at Andreas but did not see him. Nishga had quickly jumped on top of him to cover him from view. All the guard could see was the distant forest and feel the calm night air. The other guard shouted to him if something was wrong. He looked back at him and just shrugged. Saying it was nothing probably a rat or some such creature trying to escape the wilderness. He turned and headed back toward the other guard. Nishga jumped lightly up tugged at Andreas arm and the two of them made their way to the bottom of the moat and back up the other side where Achil and Nicholas were. The four shadowy figures raced across the clearing in front of the mega wall. Their only camouflage being the alarmingly reseeding darkness. Just as the sun began to rise and the mauve sky began turning more reddish, they were into the forest.