The Epic of Garthel- Parts I-III, page 23
part #1 of The Epic of Garthel Series
“You best watch your tongue, Icquariouse, lest I find it treasonous.” Preandor said angrily, finding it easier to deny the truth than face it.
But Icquariouse knew that he was gaining no ground in his attempt to reason with the lord—he’d accounted for such a scenario already, so he began to pursue a different avenue. “Forgive me if I have insulted your lordship, but let me say one more thing.” Preandor gave a brief nod of his head, and Icquariouse continued. “Clearly in all your wisdom you still see no need to prepare for war. I would try to understand your thinking, but I am only a commoner, and can undoubtedly not even fathom the mind of a great lord such as yourself. But, there is perhaps one thing that might yet change your mind, my lord. Perhaps you would welcome a slight donation from me, say, a hundred gold pieces, and then if you see it fit to prepare for war, I would understand your wise choice.”
Preandor furrowed an eyebrow at the mention of gold. He looked at Icquariouse’s unfeeling face, and then he looked out at the sea. “You know, Icquariouse, I always did feel it would be safest to prepare for war—just to be sure.” He said smiling, and took the pouch of gold Icquariouse offered.
“I’m glad we see eye to eye, my lord,” Icquariouse said. “I also ask that you put my brother in charge of the preparations.”
“I must say that Harrec strikes me as the right man for the job.” Preandor agreed.
“Excellent. Then let us go to your general at once.”
“Very well,” the lord agreed, concluding the discussion.
They walked back down the stairs to the main chambers and the general was summoned. Preandor publicly command that it was in Seaport’s best interest to prepare for war from an evading army of barbarians.
Harrec, Icquariouse and the general begun to discuss things like setting up an elaborate barricade along the frozen ocean, beginning a patrol and training program for the city guards and volunteers. They even wrote several letters to nearby cities in request for more soldiers.
To Arovehar, it sounded like Seaport was in good hands. He stood to the side as he watched the preparations take place. He felt satisfied. He had done his part in securing Seaport’s future. Sure, that might mean that it would remain under Preandor’s incompetent rule, but if an even greater cataclysmic war was brewing in the far east of the world as Icquariouse said, perhaps it was for the best.
Soon, Arovehar began to get bored, and he knew that there was not much more for him to do anyway, so he slipped out of the citadel and passed the outer wall to make his way to Biah’s house. The streets were busy, and thanks to Preandor’s public speakers there were already people talking about war and the preparations taking place for the impending invasion. Arovehar watched as guards marched through the streets making their way to the harbor or heading for basic war training tactics. All of this confirmed to Arovehar that his part in the tale was, indeed, done. He felt very pleased.
He reached Biah’s house and knocked on the door. After receiving no response, he opened the door and found that she wasn’t home. Perhaps she’s out looking for me.
He concern himself thinking about where she could have been for too long, instead he lay down in his pile of blankets and slept…
…He awoke after not nearly a long enough rest to Biah entering the house and screaming, “Arovehar! You’re alright!”
“Grumphhh.” He responded to Biah leaping on him and giving him a long hug. So she was off worrying about me because I hadn’t come back to her house last night… shoulda figured she’d panic. Blasted woman’s got herself running in circles of concern.
Still though… it’s rather touching.
“What happened?! I couldn’t find you anywhere!”
Arovehar sleepily told Biah his story about the haunted mansion and how Preandor had been bribed into preparing for war. When he was finished, they got some food to eat and Biah led him to a place where he could sell his stolen silverware. He walked away from the general goods store with a few more coins than he had expected. Apparently, even Sham’s silverware was high quality.
They walked through the streets together and made several leisurely observations. They watched as the barricades were being constructed across Seaport’s harbor, and as the sun began to set, they strolled to Icquariouse’s tower and climbed up it to the top.
They enjoyed the view together, both commenting on the odds of Lord Preandor surviving Gothor’s attack.
Arovehar was at an advantage because he had a long look at Gothor’s war plans, so he knew that it would be a close call, however, Gothor was relying on the element of surprise—a luxury that he would no longer have.
Overall, he considered it to be an even battle—a roll of a die six and aiming for a three or less. But he reserved his right to change his mind once the battle started. Biah, being more naive in the ways of war and more faithful in her cause was considerably more optimistic.
As the hour dragged on, eventually Icquariouse and Harrec came home and they all met on top of the tower.
They drank and smoked as they discussed the day’s events with both laughter and disgust.
Arovehar sat on a comfortable chair with his drink, deep in thought. It was strange for him to think that an army of northern barbarians was approaching the city at this very moment, marching across the ocean. Everything seems so calm in the city below. The streets were empty, and the houses were slowly growing dim as families went to bed for the night. Nobody is acting like they have a good chance of being dead a week from now—which they all do.
“Tell me about Lord Gothor, Icquariouse. You must know more about him than I do, and if he is to be our enemy, I would like to learn all there is to know about him.”
“Truthfully, I wish I knew more than I do. Gothor is a most fascinating person. But he has also been very secretive of late, so the little knowledge I have was hard to acquire. But I will tell you all I know, because you are right—it is best to know your enemy, even if it may cause you to sympathize with him. Many pieces of the puzzle I have only recently pieced together… you should understand that a lot of my theories are based on speculation and assumptions.
“Most of what I have learned is common knowledge, or was eighty years ago. At that time, Lord Gothor was a young man, and he, like his father, never appreciated joining High King Aradon’s regime as the fourth province. Regardless, he got along well with the high king. They considered each other to be friends and advisers, and for quite a few years the four provinces of Aradon coexisted in harmony. Trade flourished, the northern barbarians were driven out of Marr, and even Terthland began to enjoy some of the cultural marvels of civilization. But then, without warning, Aradon the Third saw it fit to impose a restriction that Lord Gothor could not abide. Aradon felt as though the provinces had too much freedom in governing their own people. He was afraid that there were too many foreign cultures across the land. So he changed regulations so that any law or decree that a province made had to be passed through one of his advisers before it could be put into effect, and any law his advisers came up with absolutely had be put into effect.
“This did not sit well with Lord Gothor. He talked and argued with the King about it, but in the end, Aradon the Third had made his choice. Lord Gothor was said to have left the capital city in a whirlwind of anger, cursing the King’s name and calling him a traitor to the people. A great war broke out. Gothor refused to accept the high king’s restrictions and in result, Terthland was labeled an enemy of the crown.
“The war ended quickly. The major turning point happened as the third skirmish was waged at the northern end of the Detar Desert. Gothor had his main army split up into four segments. The brunt of the army was controlled by General Silus. Gothor himself commanded the first flank. It’s said that he might have won that battle, but he was betrayed. General Silus was bought out by Lord Aradon, and as Aradon’s army charged in upon them, he signaled for his army to retreat, leaving Gothor alone with only a small portion of the army. Gothor was quickly surrounded and nearly all of his men were slaughtered. They didn’t stand a chance without the rest of their army.
“So the final battle ended and Lord Gothor was taken prisoner. He was found guilty of all the accusations against him; yet, (perhaps for the sake of their former friendship) Aradon did not have Gothor killed. Instead he was exiled, with scarcely more than a rowboat, he, Lord Gothor, was cast into the Arancean Sea. It was considered little more than a death sentence, and he was suspected to have died at sea. For who could survive the ocean’s waves in such a poor craft?
“The puppet ruler, Preandor, was appointed the new Lord of Terthland by Aradon. But apparently the sea was not the end of Gothor. For an island ascended up out of the ocean on that very day, made of lava and ash. There he waited for days on end until he nearly died of hunger. But, from all that I can gather, he was rescued by the northern barbarians. How they found him or if they were even looking for him, I don’t fully know. I suspect that they were arranged to pick him up by way of one of his friends’ pocket books, but this is just a theory of mine.
“Over the years that followed Gothor rose up among the Salvabard Islands, he became a great leader of the southernmost barbarians, the Saljari. With only the occasional long boat to work as transportation, Gothor made his base of operations on the newly arisen island, Iglissies as he named it, or in the common tongue, Retribution. For the Salijari barbarians too wanted vengeance on the King. He forged his army with his wits and strength, but he was not alone. Gothor was joined by many minor lords and rebellious men from the provinces of Terthland and Marr. They were people who wanted to see the downfall of Aradon’s new laws. I know this because Dryden—the man you mentioned earlier, was, in fact, one of the barons from Marr.
“Apparently he was extremely successful in rallying the Salijari Clans. He has also seemingly discovered a way to slow down his aging, but you know all of this better then I, it was you that met him in person.
“Had he never gained the magical amulet, my guess is he would have marched on Seaport discreetly from the north, but the Amulet of Stationary Waters changed everything. Now, with his army marching across the ocean, he is going to charge Seaport head on. But he was planning on catching the city off its guard. Thanks to us, he will instead meet a city ready for battle.
“And that is all I know of Lord Gothor and his plans. If you ask me, I would say that he is a noble man trying to fight for the freedom of his nation, or at least negotiate away some restrictions by winning back his title as Lord of Terthland. I admit that in another circumstance, I would rather be fighting with him, not against him.” And with that Icquariouse took a puff on his pipe and looked out across the ocean.
“But there is a bigger war brewing in the east, Arovehar. You can rest assure of that. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but rumor has it that the land of the Sidae are already overrun, the Great Genyack Curve, taken over, and now even Dunar is said to have been attacked. They say that it is a large war-like race that is at the heart of all the battles, some still dismiss it as rumors, but I suspect something more sinister, and if I am right, and if they do take over Dunar, what’s to stop them from setting their sights on Aradon? What we need right now is to be ready for a cataclysmic war, not starting a civil war that’ll leave us divided and unprepared.”
“You might be right, Icquariouse.” Arovehar said with a nod of his head, it was the same speech he had been told before. He let out a large yawn and walked with Biah into the tower’s guestroom, and together they spent the night.
XVII
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The Siege of Arancea Bay
Arovehar woke up next to Biah. They bathed in cold water, and dressed in the guestroom of the tower. Then they descended and ate breakfast with Harrec and Icquariouse. It was a good meal of eggs and fish. Arovehar ate until he was content and listened to what his hosts had to say.
“We still need to work on the barricades. We’ve created little more than some fortified scrap wood, and once the war breaks out, it won’t suffice.” Harrec said.
“Yes, and I’ll be very interested to hear what our scouts have to say.” Icquariouse replied rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Arovehar noticed that he was wearing dark leather, and had a long sword strapped to his side. Harrec was completely ironclad, he had on a chain shirt and at his side was a boiled leather cap. They’re expecting Gothor to attack today, Arovehar realized.
“Sure, but they won’t be back by now unless Gothor is literally on our doorstep.”
“I suspect that Gothor is on our doorstep. By my calculations, this is likely the last day we will have to prepare.”
“Then we need to make the most of it.” Harrec said and stood on his feet. He stacked his impressive pile of dishes on the center of the table, “I’m off to gather up the guards—with the whole damn garrison at my side we’ll see if I can’t build a wall.”
“You do that. I’ll try to rally more civilian recruits. Arovehar—how about you?”
“I’ll follow Harrec and see what help I can be in making the sea wall.” Arovehar replied. He had debated going back to bed for more rest, but he was too thoughtful to get much more sleep.
“Sounds good, I’ll meet up with you and Harrec later, probably around midday. Then we can survey the situation.” Icquariouse said and left the tower.
“We might as well get going, Arovehar. Gothor’s army isn’t getting any further away.” Harrec said.
“I’ll join you too.” Biah offered.
“Good, I have a feeling that I’ll need your company just to survive this day.” Arovehar said seriously.
Manual labor—like building a wall—wasn’t exactly his expertise. At the moment he was more worried about being stuck lugging around wood all day then Gothor’s approaching army. Hopefully having Biah around will give me an excuse not to help with the manual labor.
They followed Harrec to the citadel’s barracks where all of the guards, soldiers and builders were awaiting their command.
Seaport’s entire army was crowded into the barracks yard. There were hundreds of men facing a wall where one man stood, and that man was Captain Treet. He was ordering the men to go to the harbor and continue their work. He spoke with the sergeants organizing who would haul the wood, who would create the first barricade, second barricade and the wall; they were splitting up the regiments into many different specified divisions. The craftsmen would oversee the construction of the wall and tell the soldiers how to construct it while they performed their task as quickly as possible.
Harrec, Biah, and Arovehar approached Treet as his large circle of sergeants dispersed throughout the crowd to tell each squadron what its task was.
“It’s good to see you up and about again, Treet.” Biah said, running over to him. But Treet’s eyes were grim. His face was glazed over with stern sorrow. He looked unkind, combative and powerful. Biah took a step back as she looked at him. “Are you alright?” She asked meekly.
Treet looked up at her lovely face, but said nothing. His bearing was hostile. Arovehar and Harrec shrugged to each other as they looked back at him. An uneasy silence between the three followed. Arovehar couldn’t help but say something.
“Treet, I know that the last time I saw you, you tried to cut my throat, but that doesn’t mean there has to be any hard feelings between us.” He said with a forced chuckle.
Treet slowly looked up at Arovehar. He shook with swelling rage and then he suddenly burst out in his powerful voice. “Why did you not warn me earlier?!” He roared, “Why did you not tell me that an army of three thousand Salijari barbarians were marching towards us?! Why did you not tell me that Gothor was their commander?! Days of preparation were wasted! All because you didn’t tell me, and now hundreds will die in payment for your lust for glory, that’s why you waited to inform Lord Preandor instead of me, isn’t it?! You knew he would glorify you if you told him!” Treet fumed. He pulled out and gripped his sword tightly, his muscles bulging with anger.
Harrec glanced at Treet with a puzzled look. Feeling threatened, he also pulled out his sword to defend himself. But he realized that he was ill-informed, so he looked to Arovehar to make the next move.
Biah backed away from Treet as he drew his sword and hid behind Arovehar, only poking her head over his shoulder to see what was happening. She also looked to Arove to make the next move.
However, they would have all been disappointed to learn that Arovehar was very confused.
None of what Treet said made any sense to him. He knew that something didn’t add up and he intended to find out what it was, but first he had to ease the tension before violence ensued.
“For Shagular’s sake, lower your swords!” Arovehar cursed, “We are all friends here, and friends do not speak in impulsive anger.” Neither Treet nor Harrec lowered their sword.
Again Arovehar cursed to himself at Treet’s rashness.
He tried to figure out why the captain was so angry. “Clearly there is some confusion here… Treet—I don’t know for certain why you’re so angry, but you should remember that I did tell you that an army was approaching, but you forced me and Biah out of your home at sword-point before we could explain the details.”
“That’s right we did tell you about an army coming to invade as soon as we figured it out, two days ago.” Biah agreed, still standing halfway behind Arovehar.
Treet’s look of anger faded as he heard what they said and his sword wavered. “So…so you did. I am sorry for not remembering. I was drunk that day. My son had died. I was not myself then as I am not now. Forgive me.” Treet said and he sheathed his sword, his anger vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. “But why didn’t you try to tell me later? This was vital information that you had, and Preandor is not the right type of man to go to, I hate to say it, but he’s not the shiniest jewel on the royal crown. I’m surprised that he even listened to you.”
