Necromancer by Jonathan Moeller

Author:Jonathan Moeller [Moeller, Jonathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-01-05T07:00:00+00:00

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Theseus led the way through the darkened streets of Trojas, and Ridmark, Third, Krastikon, and Calem followed him.

As before, Theseus kept to the alleyways, avoiding the main streets, since the dvargir mercenaries and the Bronze Dead patrolled the main streets. Given that the King’s Men sometimes ambushed the dvargir mercenaries in the alleys, their avoidance of the alleyways made sense.

It also permitted the King’s Men to use the alleys in relative safety, though there was always the chance they might encounter a dvargir patrol.

Still, their luck had been bad last night, but tonight fortune favored them. They encountered neither dvargir nor Bronze Dead, and moved in haste through the alleys, leaving the Outer Ring, descending to the Middle Ring, and then to the Inner Ring above the harbor.

The Blue Castra grew larger in Ridmark’s vision with every step, the vortex of twisting blue light writhing in the sky over its towers. From time to time he also saw a red glow within the castra’s depths, and he felt the constant anger from Oathshield in its scabbard. The dark magic was getting stronger as they drew nearer to the Blue Castra, and it was so powerful that Ridmark suspected even humans without magical ability would be able to sense something wrong.

He suspected that was why the Inner Ring seemed mostly abandoned. It was filled with the fine houses that had once belonged to the city’s nobles and knights, but Taerdyn had killed them all. Abandoned houses lined the streets that led to the Blue Castra, silent save for the sound of the waves in the city’s harbor.

“There is a dvargir patrol coming in the next street,” said Third, peering around a corner.

“Let’s wait here for a moment,” said Theseus. “That patrol will continue to the Outer Ring and back again. Once they pass, we’ll have an hour or so until they return.”

They moved several yards into the shadows of the alley, far enough that the dvargir would not notice them.

“This secret entrance,” said Ridmark. “It’s at the base of the crag?”

“Aye,” said Theseus. “In the side facing the King’s Forum, and it’s disguised. The engineers who built the Blue Castra in ancient days knew their business. You could walk past it a thousand times without seeing it.”

“Is the King’s Forum exposed?” said Third.

Even in the gloom, Ridmark saw Theseus’s grimace. “Very. Anyone who happens to be standing on the battlements of the curtain wall will see everything in the Forum. We dare not linger there.”

“No,” said Ridmark.

“We should be quiet now,” said Third. “The dvargir are getting closer.”

They fell silent and pressed against the walls. A moment later Ridmark saw a troop of black-armored dvargir march pass. A pair of acolytes in black robes led the way. Ridmark’s fingers tightened against Oathshield’s hilt. He didn’t want to fight two of those damned acolytes at once, especially with twenty dvargir mercenaries to back them up.

But neither the acolytes nor the dvargir even looked into the alley. Perhaps they had no desire to seek out trouble.

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