Richard Knaak - The Fire Rose

When he had first seen Atolgus, the young warrior had been standing atop a low, flat-roofed building waving his sword to signal his followers. Like magic, though, he had vanished from sight only a moment later. Yet, Khleeg was absolutely certain he had not imagined the image of the traitor.

A sharp pain tore at the calf of his right leg. Grunting, Khleeg drove off another traitor. He glanced down at the wound and was happy to note that the cut was a superficial one.

Wargroch must be dead. Atolgus could not have set the trap into play otherwise. Wargroch’s foolish dismissal of the hands protecting Garantha had signed his own death warrant.

What mattered was putting an end to the astounding uprising.

The officer with him grunted something unintelligible. Khleeg glanced his way and saw him pointing to their right.

Atolgus stood there watching the battle, the renegade’s expression almost gleeful. He looked mad, but not with blood-lust. His eyes had an animal wildness to them.

Khleeg urged his mount on. Atolgus saw him coming. The former chieftain grinned in greeting.

Another ogre blocked the Blodian’s path. Cursing, Khleeg swung at his new foe, trying simply to beat the other ogre back enough so he could go on after Atolgus. But the other warrior refused to give ground to the mounted Khleeg.

Golgren’s second in command finally cleaved the other’s skull. As he pulled the dripping blade up, he glanced toward Atolgus.

But once again, his quarry had vanished.

Another horn sounded, one from within the column. Khleeg looked over his shoulder to detect the hand commander trying to rally the loyal fighters. Meanwhile, the crowd of onlookers that had lined the way had vanished from view. Khleeg frowned. Ogres did not shy away from a fight. The populace should have chosen one side or another. And more than likely they would have chosen Khleeg’s, since he was the Grand Khan’s representative. Instead, though, they had, like Atolgus, disappeared.

Khleeg froze, uncertain where to go, what to do next. The hand commander was doing his best to keep his warriors together, but they couldn’t hold the ground where they had been forced to take a stand. They needed a far more defensible location.

Only one place came to mind.

With a snarl, Khleeg signaled to the other officer to turn around. As they returned to the column, he roared to Syln, “To the palace! Follow!”

It was a sign of the other ogre’s trust in Khleeg that the commander immediately obeyed. Under his guidance, what remained of the hand formed a square and began a slow but relentless move to the walled palace. Khleeg could not be certain the traitors were not already ensconced within, but if so, he could confront the guards at the entrance. Besides, they did not know all the hidden ways in and out of the ancient structure.

Golgren had hidden many secrets inside the palace that would help against an uprising. The Grand Khan was no fool; he had not ruled out such a dire event occurring during his reign.

The column retreated down the streets to the palace. The commander and his warriors followed Khleeg, trusting in him.

Khleeg only hoped their trust was not misplaced.

The palace walls rose in the distance. Khleeg rode up next to the officer. “Four riders with me! Your warriors fight to the gates!”

Syln slapped his fist against his breastplate and ordered four warriors to follow Khleeg. Golgren’s second in command led them down a side street.

They met no resistance. Khleeg’s eyes narrowed, but he saw no hidden threat. Atolgus had concentrated too much on his trap.

At a ruined structure southwest of the palace, Khleeg ordered everyone to dismount quickly. With reluctance, he slapped his horse on the flank, sending the animal racing off. The other horses chased after his steed.

The five loyal ogres silently entered the ruins. The official reason for the area still remaining in disrepair had to do with the precarious condition of the ground. The ruins had once been the villa of a valued ally of the predecessor to Golgren’s own lord, Zharang. A fire had supposedly destroyed the half restored villa midway through Zharang’s reign.

Only Khleeg knew the fire had been set at the Grand Lord’s behest. And that the villa had never been rebuilt in order for Golgren to disguise other work being done by his minions.

Khleeg knew exactly where to look for what he was seeking. It was hidden deep in a treacherous-looking section of the half restored villa, two levels below the surface. Anyone scavenging in the building would have had little reason to notice the pile of stone cluttering the section. Khleeg, ducking under a broken column originally carved by some skilled High Ogre artisan to resemble a living tree, made his way directly to it. As his warriors watched in puzzlement, he twisted a piece of marble near the top of the stones, before tugging hard on the entire pile.

The pile shifted as one. Stepping back, Khleeg pointed at two of his companions and at the pile.

With ease, the pair pushed the shifted stone aside, revealing a hidden tunnel. Khleeg went first, the officer bending to enter. A few steps in, Khleeg stood to survey a passage whose solid stone walls surely dated back to Garantha’s founding.

With growing eagerness, Golgren’s second in command led the four other loyal ogres along the narrow path. They came across some minor cracks in the stone, but for the most part the tunnel was clear of obstructions. Since discovering the ancient passage and having it repaired, Golgren had ensured that it would remain in good working order, just in case a hidden route was needed.

There was no light in the tunnel, but there was only one direction in which to travel. The only mark of their progress was a faint silver line drawn across the width of one part of the tunnel. Khleeg knew it to indicate the point where the tunnel crossed under the protective wall surrounding the palace.

At the other end of the tunnel, he encountered a marble wall. With no light to guide him, Khleeg ran his hand over the left side of the wall until he located a tiny lump. He pressed it and used his weight to push against the wall.

The wall gave way, sliding like a door until there was enough of a gap for the huge ogres to squeeze through. Sword in hand, Khleeg entered first.

He emerged in one of the lower levels of the palace, a place left in disuse for generations by Grand Khans who had acted more as squatters than as true lords of the ancient edifice. Again, it had taken Golgren, inquisitive of the nature of the ogres’ great ancestors, to discover the disused level.

The room was filled with dust and years of cobwebs. Khleeg cut through a dense curtain of silken threads, sending scores of thick, black spiders skittering away. Huge, shriveled rodent bodies hung in some of the webs, while on the ground lay bones of other creatures next to gnawed remains of the spiders.

Golgren had left the webs and bug creatures as another deterrent against explorers. Khleeg followed the narrow way his lord had shown him, without deviating from the recommended path. Khleeg knew there were other things in the supposedly empty chamber-things hidden from the sight of Khleeg and the others-that were far worse than rats or spiders.

With growing relief Khleeg led his small party through the rusting iron door at the far end and up a set of blocky steps to the next level. They were near their goal. Khleeg had confidence that Syln had in the meantime reached the gates.

They came through a newer heavy door, one with the sign of the severed hand of Golgren molded into it. Khleeg had one of the warriors cautiously shove it open.

One of the outer halls greeted the band. Khleeg paused, orienting himself. The faces and figures of High Ogres living their opulent lives filled his view from the opposite walls. Khleeg snorted at the lighthearted moments in some of the depictions that contrasted with his own tense emotions.