Savants of Humanity

Chapter 3: The King's Summons-1

Chapter 3: The King's SummonsThe rest of our journey was blessedly uneventful after the excitement of our encounter with Bojangles the Third. Part of that had to do with us giving a wide berth to any ruins we came across from that point on. It added quite a bit of time to our travel, but we didn't want to risk any more half-crazed former nobles with bizarre powers.

Eventually, we found our way to the Astral Road that connected all major cities of the Old Kingdom together. Formed from huge chunks of granite that had been fitted so tightly together they could be mistaken for one uncut slab of stone, the road stretched all the way from Damkarei to the western edge of the Madness. Hawke told me that long ago, they had planned to build the road completely across the Madness and all the way to the eastern shore of the Fertile Lands. I wished that they had; it would've saved us a lot of trouble now.

As direct as the Astral Road was, we made sure to keep well off the main path to avoid travellers, electing instead to travel through the surrounding hills and fields, though never straying far enough to lose sight of the landmark. After a few days, we saw something that made us diverge our course even further.

Val'Hala was the largest city in all of Astra, possibly larger than Damkarei itself, and its size represented the power behind its walls well. The largest military force in all of humanity resided there, drilling and training daily. Some knew the city as the Lonely Kingdom, for it was the only city that didn't swear fealty to the Old Kings. In fact, several smaller cities in the Old Kingdom swore fealty directly to Val'Hala and its ruler, Lord Othenidus.

Known by many as Othenidus the Great, the self-styled lord was a fierce and powerful man who held himself as an equal to both Old Kings. I had never met this man - few who lived outside of Val'Hala did - but from what I heard of his brutal nature, I decided that was for the best.

On the other hand, I had made acquaintance with his wife and co-ruler, Lady Lheona. When Hawke and I first set foot in Val'Hala during our quest for Hawke's scattered essence, I ended up being taken hostage for a brief time, before Hawke used his immense power to allow us to escape.

Even after some six years, neither of us found it likely that that event had been forgotten, especially by Lheona. So just like last time, we made sure to give it as much space as we could.

That ended up adding another two days to our journey, and all of our detours were making Hawke visibly irritated. After our run-in with Bojangles, he had become much more interested in meeting with Uraj than he had when we first set out. Hawke may have had a lot of disagreements with Uraj in the past, but underneath his obvious dislike, it was clear they had been through too much together in the past for him to not be concerned.

Finally, we managed to put enough distance between ourselves and Val'Hala that we felt safe turning back to the main road and riding it the last leg of the journey. Once on the Astral Road, we made much better time, and it only took a couple of days after that before we caught sight of the ocean.

Damkarei was one of the few cities in Astra that rested at the edge of the continent. Hawke had told me cities were rarely built on the coast to keep people from falling victim to grinel pirates, who sometimes sailed vessels along the coastlines in hopes of finding easy plunder. The idea of grinel pirates sounded terrible enough for me, but when Hawke made an offhand remark about worse things that lived in the ocean, I decided that I wasn't as crazy about visiting the beach as I was the first time I had gone.

Immediately, I noticed that there had been some sizable renovations to the city since our last visit, namely the massive wall that had been erected around it. When we originally came here, the city had been wide open to any travellers who wanted to taste what the capital of Astra had to offer. Now we found ourselves queueing up behind a fair-sized crowd that waited before the gate, a sturdy barricade of wood that had yet to see the marring of time.

“We could be here all day,” Hawke muttered at the sight of the throng. Tents could be seen scattered around the base of the walls, suggesting that some of these people had possibly been waiting days to get in.

“I don't mind,” I said. Sir Brown Horse snorted in agreement under me, and I gave him a pet. He'd started going a bit grey, but he was as trusty now as he had been when we made our first journey to Damkarei.

Hawke's horse, though, stamped impatiently and champed at his bit. Hawke had picked him up when I had grown big enough to ride a horse by myself. He was a good, strong horse with a fine coat the color of cream, but tended to act a bit unruly and temperate around others. Hawke had taken to calling him Restless, though I couldn't help but feel the beast was just picking up habits from its owner.

“I'm with Restless,” said Hawke. “First Uraj's summons, then that freak meeting with Bojangles, and now we show up to find Damkarei remodeled for a siege. We need to get in there.”

Hawke cast a look around, easily able to see over the heads of the crowd from horseback. After a moment, he urged Restless around the people and towards an armored figure holding a lance.

“Excuse me, sir!” Hawke said loudly, his voice cutting above the murmurs of the refugees. The guard turned his head, scowling at my companion, but Hawke only pulled himself up straighter and lifted his chin.

“Tell whoever mans the gate that King Morau has returned to Damkarei!” he declared in his most regal sounding voice. I had to hide a snicker behind my hand, doubly so at the guard's blank stare.

“Uh, you're joking, right?” the guard said. “Lord Hawke hasn't been here in over a decade.”

I was about to argue that we'd been here more recently than that, only to remember that no one knew he had returned when we last saw Uraj. Hawke's reply was to shoot him a glare so fierce the man visibly wilted.

“Do I look like the type of man who would joke about that!?” he barked. “Does Captain Dagon of the guard still hold post here?”

“Y-yessir,” the guard replied meekly. Even with his skepticism, he didn't look keen on challenging Hawke's claim.

“Then bring him here at once! He'll vouch for me!”

Hawke waved his hand in dismissal, and the guard turned and scurried through the crowd, towards the gate.

A buzz of conversation had started spreading through the people, all of them casting furtive glances at Hawke. He kept his composure, but a slight flush of red crept up his face. Hawke was never one who liked to flaunt his old position, so much did he enjoy his privacy, so for him to do so now meant he was dead serious about getting in as quick as possible.

It took about fifteen minutes before the guard reappeared with a small squadron led by a grim fellow with a shaved head that gleamed in the sun, a short-cropped graying beard framing his scowl. The other guards mostly wore leather armor with iron helms, but the man I took for Captain Dagon was decked out for war, with full steel plate and chainmail. He forwent the spears of the footmen in favor of a longsword sheathed at his side. His hand rested on the hilt as if expecting trouble.

“Captain, it's good to see you again,” Hawke called out. The soldiers stopped at attention while Dagon continued forward until he stood right next to Hawke. The old captain squinted at my companion for a moment before letting out a grunt.

“So, it is you,” Dagon said, his voice scratchy from years of giving commands. “I half-thought Noel was making some fool's joke when he told me you came strolling up to the gates and demanded entrance.”

If Hawke took offense to the casual manner with which the captain spoke to him, he didn't show it. “Uraj sent me a missive requesting my aid,” said Hawke.

“Where is it then?” asked Dagon.

“I burnt it after I got it.”

“A likely story.”

“You think I'd chance letting something like that fall into enemy hands?” Hawke leveled a cool gaze at the captain. Dagon squinted again, his lips curling back slightly to reveal clenched teeth.

“Hmph. Fortunately for you, Lord Uraj has informed me of his summons,” he said through his grimace. “Come with me quickly, or I'll inform the king that you've changed your mind and left.”

“Charming as always, Captain. Lead the way.”

The guards began clearing a way through the crowd for us. Some of them looked confused and affronted, but many more still gladly stepped aside as they looked at Hawke with wonder. Doubtless, they were awed at seeing one of the Old Kings in the flesh.

When I reined up beside Hawke, Dagon shot me a dirty look.

“Who's the girl?” he said.

“My ward, Micasa,” replied Hawke. “Uraj knows her already.”

“The king made no mention to me of your 'ward.' ” The captain said the last word as if he had something else he wanted to call me.

“If you have a problem with it, Captain, you can address it to me personally.” Hawke grabbed hold of Symphony's hilt and loosened the sword in its scabbard. Dagon's face reddened, and his hand twitched towards his own hilt. After a second of awkward silence, he let out a hiss.

“As you will, milord,” he managed to choke out.

With an impatient gesture, Dagon bade a couple of his soldiers to open the gate. We hurried our mounts through as the guards struggled to hold back the crowd trying to get in, and the moment the captain and we were inside, the gates were promptly slammed shut and barred.

It was just like visiting Val'Hala all over again. What had changed that made Uraj so paranoid about outsiders?

“The king will be expecting you immediately,” said Dagon. He started at a brisk pace down the main thoroughfare, but Hawke made no move to follow. When the captain realized, he turned and scowled again. It seemed to be his answer for everything.

“We've just made a long journey, and I think Micasa and I would both be better for the meeting if we had a chance to make ourselves presentable,” said Hawke. Dagon's brow furrowed.

“The king said to bring you at once,” he insisted.

“Need I remind you that I am also a king here, Captain?” Hawke said with a hint of chill to his voice.

“Are you truly?” Dagon asked. A snarl passed his lips. “It's quite convenient that you disappear for years on end, only to show up when strange things start happening in the countryside.”

“Strange things?” Hawke said, surprised. “What exactly has been happening around here?”

“I'm sure that's what the king - the real king - wishes to discuss with you,” said Dagon. “Go then, get yourself ready. I'll be expecting you at the castle portcullis in an hour.” Dagon started to leave but paused and glanced over his shoulder. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only shook his head and stomped away, his armor rattling with every step.

“Does everyone you used to know have a problem with you?” I asked when I was sure the captain was out of earshot.

“Seems that way,” he said, “though I have no idea what he suspects me of. I guess we better freshen ourselves up quick. As much as I'd like to just march into the castle, I don't want to drag half the Old Kingdom in with us.”

It was true, we were packing a layer of grime that would make a dirt road blush. Whatever may have happened to Uraj, the militia was still clearly devoted to him, and they might've not taken it well if we burst in accusing him of being manipulated while looking like a pair of homeless vagabonds. I mean, we were a pair of homeless vagabonds, but that was beside the point.

It didn't take long to find a nearby inn, but it did take some work to get ourselves free of the throng of people that had started to congregate around us. Word of the return of the missing Old King appeared to have spread, and everyone was looking to show their excitement. The poor stable boy looked ready to pass out when we handed him the reins to our horses, and the mob nearly took the door off the hinges as we fought our way inside.