Otto leaned his head on the stone wall near a window and found it cold. He tested the window with his knuckles. Glass. He had been told of the substance, but the description of its properties and the process the empire used to create it had sounded preposterous to him. But there it was.

Otto stared through the window at the stars revealing themselves in the twilight. He smiled. He thought of the flighty women and softer men who marveled at their beauty and pondered why and what those stars were. They pour their thoughts into nothing, and leave themselves empty.

He rolled his head on the stone wall until his back was against it, then leaned forward to smooth his oily black hair. It had grown too long. His attention went to Brennus, just to check in.

The Urzoth king paced the circular stone room with General Archaeus. The General was dressed in an ornate steel and leather raiment and walked with his arms folded in front of him and a hand rubbing his hairless chin. The Urzoth King wore the furs of a bear. His eyes did not leave the Novissime General.

"We spoke to a man who rode with them. He knows of their exploits in The Bryer."

"I have studied the accounts. Widely understood as a great failure by the Flavians. That is why they were replaced."

The hours-long conversation had gone nowhere. They had been made to wait too long as it was, and now this general proved to be an endless font of questions.

Otto began to survey the twelve Novissime guardsmen in the room. He towered over them, with the closest reaching the middle of his chest. These Novissime must have some skill or speed with their swords, he thought.

An even smaller man scurried behind the king and general. Time and time again he scribbled away on a parchment sheet until both sides were filled, then he would furiously exchange the sheet for a new one from a large, intricately carved darkwood desk. Perhaps it's not skill but preparation that has given them success. Otto thought them, but they were Brennus's words. Otto smiled, caught off guard by Brennus's influence on his musings.

A steel clad man burst through the heavy wooden door, sword in hand. "They are attacking, General! Kill these traitorous monsters!" The man charged and slashed at Gregor, one of the four Urzoth advisors. Gregor knocked the man to the wall and began to grapple furiously. He was not as massive as Otto, but more than a match in weight and strength for any Novissime. Alarm bells began to sound from Fort Annius below. Otto kicked the door shut and sent a full wooden bookcase crashing to the ground with a single heave to block the exit. He turned to see the dull sleepy meeting had exploded into chaos.

With the threat of reinforcement cut off, Otto found his king. Brennus and Archaeus were at a stalemate, each waiting on the other to make a move. Gregor had thrown his attacker's sword to the ground. Titus, knelt for it and a Novissime sunk the short blade of his sword into his back. A torrent of blood covered the floor as he roared his final breath.

Otto swung a heavy hand at an approaching guardsman, sending him crashing into another. Gregor had removed his attacker's helmet and was smashing it into his lifeless skull. A Novissime stabbed him from behind. He withdrew his sword from Gregor who turned and struck the man with his remaining strength. Gregor and both soldiers fell to the floor, dead.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Wait!" Brennus bellowed and the fighting stopped. "An entire kingdom of Urzoth await you outside this room. You will be killed at their hands!"

Otto saw the bodies of the four Urzoth advisors, along with six dead Novissime soldiers. The surviving six nursed themselves as they retreated toward the General. The note taker shook in terror beneath the large desk. Otto and Brennus stood on opposite sides of the room.

Archaeus waved to his men, "Sheath your weapons." They followed the General’s orders, but Otto picked up a fallen soldier's sword and prowled to his King. He stared down each man with unmatched confidence.

"I will hear your proposal" Archaeus forced the words through clenched teeth as the screams of the pillaging horde and their victims rose from the fort.

"We will take our people away, and leave you alive."

"I cannot allow the actions of your barbarians to go unpunished."

"Neither one of us knows what led to this. And it would be wise not to trap yourself in this tower."

"We are at war! Whatever the cause, your Urzoth have assaulted a Novissime fort! They have shed Novissime blood on Novissime soil!"

"Yes." Brennus said calmly. "But you and I are men. And we would like to live. Or at least die in a fair battle. Our people will overpower your garrison then come for you."

"And they will find their king butchered!" Archaeus warned.

Brennus did not flinch at the threat. "Or their king will unite them and lead them away. I am the only one. Perhaps you and I will meet in a more formal battle?"

Archaeus softened his stance. "The barbarian king may have the truth of it."

"Then we only need the king!" A soldier shouted and lunged at Otto, who easily parried the attack and used the sword's hilt to strike the Novissime with such force that he fell to the floor in a limp heap.

"Enough!" Archaeus screamed. His voice cracked. He paused to collect himself. "I will lead you to the gates of the tower at which point you will address your horde and withdraw from Fort Annius. You are to lead them west until you get to the road that runs along the base of the mountains. Follow it south to Oram where you will answer for your crimes! Make no mistake, Brennus, the Urzoth have killed themselves with this barbarism. There will be no rest for you! No safe harbor! No Life!"

Otto smirked as the six Novissime soldiers struggled to move the bookcase from the door. He would have openly mocked them, but he saw Brennus looking at the bodies of the four advisors. He placed a hand on his king's shoulder, but Brennus did not move.

"Let's go." The general barked. The men had cleared the path and surrounded Brennus and Otto as they descended the steps. At the citadel's door the Urzoth took the lead.

The wooden storefronts and workshops were in flames, the Urzoth had overwhelmed the garrison and were pillaging the craftsmen and supporting citizens. When Brennus emerged, the men who saw him first called to the others. A calming control rippled outward until most of the Urzoth came to their stone faced king.

With no resistance, the Urzoth people took back what they had come with, plus large stores of supplies, weapons, food and maps, and left Fort Annius.

As the sun rose Otto and his king rode at the head of the now well stocked, but bloodthirsty and at the same time fearful Urzoth caravan, "Where are we headed?" Otto asked.

Brennus pointed to a city on the Phillip Sea coast in the complete opposite direction of where the general had ordered them. "Adrianople."