Colin Tabor - The Fall of Ossard

Ossard was doomed.

There was nothing left to do, but to try one last time to find my family and then leave.

Rumours were already running of a new wave of kidnappings. It could only be the spike Felmaradis had warned of: The cultists were getting ready to sanctify the city.

Many of Newbank’s Flets laughed at such stories coming from across the river, but I couldn’t. I knew what it was to have my loved ones stolen away.

Word had also come of the Inquisitor sending a ship south. It had cast off to seek aid from Greater Baimiopia and summon the rest of the Black Fleet. It wouldn’t get through. The unnatural storms Felmaradis had spoken of would be waiting for it. The simple truth was that whoever had worked to ruin Ossard had done a masterful job -and all the while remained hidden.

A knock sounded at my door.

I turned. “Yes?”

It was Sef. “We’ve just heard news from our returning people.”

He meant the packs of Kavists who’d crossed the river.

“What news?”

He strode in wanting to be close.

I grew worried. “Pedro and Maria?”

“No.”

I sighed with relief. “What then?”

“Juvela, it’s you! The Inquisitor has declared you responsible along with Kurgar for the woe that has taken the city. He’s demanded your head and body to be salted and burnt separately.”

I laughed. What a fool Anton was. He was as lost at finding the real power behind the city’s troubles as I was, so now he looked for excuses.

Well, that did it. Even with my emerging power, it‘d now be a needless risk to walk Loyalist streets – unless I had a definite location for my family. He’d confined me to Newbank, as the districts of the new saints were already unsafe for me. I thought about it for a moment; in truth, with the growing number of people moving between Newbank and the city, I wasn’t even safe here.

I sighed.

Sef asked, “Are you alright?”

“Compared to Ossard, I’m fine.”

He gave me a weak smile.

I said, “I want to see Kurgar.”

“We should wait until morning.”

He was right, but how many more mornings did the city have? “I suppose it can wait. Sorry Sef, I’m exhausted and not thinking clearly. I must get something to eat and some sleep.”

He nodded. “What do you want to see him for?”

“I should share what Felmaradis has told me.”

“He’ll laugh at you, as any Flet would – taking advice from a Lae Velsanan.”

“Would you?”

Instead of answering, he said, “You’d be better off asking Kurgar for protection, for a secure place to stay. This house is too open and well known.”

“I’d not thought about it.” And I hadn’t.

“You know, Kurgar has authority over the Guild’s buildings and also owns several himself. He even has an unused tower, its five levels high and defendable.”

“A tower?”

“It’s in the middle of Newbank’s slums, it was part of the old city wall.”

I still felt safe with Sef, like a child in the arms of its father. “I think I’m alright here, there are scores of people downstairs.”

“Juvela, it’s not just the Inquisitor’s declaration you need worry about, remember you carry a divine mark.”

As if I could forget.

“I’ll think about it. Perhaps it is a good idea.”

He turned for the door. “I’ll have some supper sent up and then you should rest.”

“Yes, thanks, Sef.”

He left, closing the door behind him.

I turned back to look out upon a city dotted with fires and haunted by the rising tones of Schoperde’s long and sad song. While it wasn’t being sung as strongly as it had been in earlier days, it still rose to be heard.

Food came quickly. I was so tired that I barely remembered eating it before lying down. In my bed I embraced a pillow while thinking of Pedro and then all but passed out.

I rose early to use the celestial to search the opposite shore for the souls of my family. I stayed there standing on the balcony in the crisp grey before dawn. My perception wandered every street, every alley, and even drifted through the sewers.

I didn’t find them.

When Sef came I’d been crying for a good while, so long in fact that my eyes glared red-rimmed and sore. He didn’t have to ask why.

I said, “Could they’ve been taken out of Ossard?”

“No, they’re here. They need to be for the ritual.”

I wiped at my tears. “Of course.”

He nodded. “We’ll find them, it’s not too late. They’ll be shielded by magic, something strong that they can’t be seen through.”

“You’re right.”

He offered a smile. “I know this hurts and that you suffer, but remember there are always others who’ve endured more.”

“Like poor Marco.”

“Yes, and Baruna, they’ve both had to walk hard roads.”

He was right. In comparison I was lucky, at least for my loved ones there was still hope. And that thought sparked another. “And you, Sef, what of you? I know you’ve suffered in the past, but you’ve never spoken of it.”

He paled, seeing me regret my prying.

“I’m sorry, you needn’t speak of it.”

He shook his head. “No, I know I needn’t, but I will.” And he paused as he gathered himself, “I was a priest of Kave tending to the needs of his warriors where the lakelands, forests, and plains meet. It was a calling I’d not looked for, but earned after the siege of my home village.

“I grew up there, a small place called Kaumhurst. I’d been a farmer and carpenter, and even married…”

“Married!”

He smiled at my surprise. “With a daughter as well.”

And in an instant, the hardness of the man I knew melted.

“In Fletland it’s everyone’s duty to defend their village from raiders and bandits through service to their local militia. It was the only time I handled weapons, something I’d never felt comfortable with.

“One day Kaumhurst was besieged. They’d been seen coming through the dark before dawn, a gang of brigands crossing our fields. They were brazen, carrying torches and their battle colours high, some of them were even singing and blowing on field horns. By the time they arrived our village was roused and ready behind our stockade, and then began the strangest siege I’ve ever heard of.

“It started as a standoff, with them making little in the way of demands. On occasion they’d call out insults and fire off arrows. We had enough food and water so we were content to wait. To be honest, we were bemused about the way they’d gone about it: They drank as they sat about a bonfire, singing through each night, they seemed more intent on enjoying themselves. It was the strangest thing we’d seen, and not the kind of raid any of us had ever heard of.

“Others came to join them – and that was the only thing that worried us. Their numbers grew from two dozen to four score before…” and then his words trailed away.

I said, “You don’t have to go on, Sef, I can see your pain.” And I could imagine the outcome; of a final battle and the death of his family.

He shook his head. “I’m alright, and I’ll finish what I’ve begun.

“As you can imagine, we were getting more anxious as their numbers grew – and them more foolhardy. They taunted us by firing arrows, building greater bonfires, and holding nightlong feasts that served up our own livestock.

“Then came a long day of argument that divided the village as our patience ran out. We couldn’t agree on action, yet it would only take one more incident to make blood flow. Sure enough, the fools gave it to us: That dusk the bandits took flaming brands from their bonfires and began torching our fields.

“We let two bands of archers out to catch our foes by surprise. Still, they’d come for a fight, so after some success we were forced back to our stockade and back inside.