Chapter Fifty-One

The Breach

Back at Fort Guardian, Jack and Sidney trudged through the crop fields in the direction of the keep, making their way to the war council after Amekot sent out his latest summons. The sun was still above the horizon but it was already deep into Felling.

“What do you think this is about?” asked Sidney, her shaven head of hair beginning to grow out again.

Jack gave the barest of shrugs as he set down a basket of cherries at the collection shack, nodding to Syon as she washed fruit in a barrel of fresh water. “Not sure. Hillborn calls a council every time he loses a sock, but usually he doesn’t invite me to the damn things.”

Sidney looked about the fortress and tightened the strap on her back to secure her quarterstaff. She had a tendency to put it down and not pick it back up again, and had Avery come up with a fairly simple solution. She looked over the docile fortress and wondered exactly how many were planning on staying and how many would be gone the night before the Seventeenth. That was the trouble with Legacies. They were natural survivors, but often that meant their most proficient strength was knowing when to run.

Sidney and Jack made their way into the keep and down the Paladin corridor. The door to the War Council at the end of the hall was left ajar and noises of distress could be heard from within.

Jack pushed through the door to find Amekot sitting at the head of the table, seemingly bored, as the rest of the fort officials were in uproar. Jack was tired already.

“What on Draendica is goin’ on here!” Sidney shouted.

Archie and Lain, representing the armourers and smiths in Fort Guardian looked to her rather helplessly, and Lain shouted above the noise, “Amekot gave us all some rather bad news and no one is taking it very well!”

Jack rolled his eyes at the madness of the situation, drew his mace and slammed it onto the table like a judge’s gavel.

The room was startled into quiet.

“What news?” asked Jack, ripping a massive chunk out of the table-top as he pulled his mace free.

Amekot sighed, as though he’d rather been enjoying the insanity of the moment before and drew out a small scroll of paper, clearly a note he’d written only a moment before. “This is a list of the sensitive documents from the Priority Archive.”

Jack shrugged. “And?”

“Stolen. All of them. And recently.”

Sidney looked at Jack, aghast, and Jack knitted his brow. “Only two souls know how to access the Priority Archive, Hillborn. You and your predecessor. And given that our former Fortmaster is buried in the graveyard, I’d say our list of possible suspects is pretty slim.”

Amekot smiled nastily and laid both hands on the table. “Yet, every single person in this fortress knows where the archives are. And this,” he pulled out a mangled iron lock and dropped it onto the table with a loud thunk, “is how they chose to open the hatchway behind the bookshelves. Now, I’m just thinking out loud here, McKennedy, but if I wanted to steal from the Priority Archives, I could have... I don’t know... just walked in and taken anything I fancied. After all, as you so eloquently pointed out, I’m the only one here who wouldn’t have to break in.”

Jack and Amekot glared at one-another for a long moment until the Fortmaster cleared his throat. “Now, I know I don’t have to inform everyone, but I thought it would be best. So, would you both sit down?”

Jack gritted his teeth and nodded to Sidney to take a seat on the other end of the table with him. He looked down the row and noticed Flinn, Lillian and Avery were also present, as Captains of the Ballistae, Medical Bay and Fort Maintenance divisions. Being the Warden of the Murk, and Sidney, the Captain of the Quick Response Teams, they all made up the younger side of the fortress staff. Jack also recognised the other department heads, a collection of old, sour faces who spent most of their time licking Amekot’s boots.

Amekot sat up in his chair and smoothed the list out in front of him. “So, far as my catalogue of documentation can tell, the thief was able to get away with a number of papers which outlined our current strength.”

“Such as?” Jack asked.

“Legacy numbers, ballistae and bow munitions, defences in place, food stores and other less important but still devastating pieces of information. They were also able to make off with a map of our old tunnel systems, which luckily are all caved in, but it means we should probably reinforce their entry-points. They also stole a set of reports concerning our latest missions and assignments.”

Archie looked sharply to Amekot. “Does th-that mean th-they know about Michael and th-the others?”

Jack’s eyes went wide with panic. “Does it, Hillborn?”

Amekot shook his head and chuckled, making slow, patronizing gestures with his hands. “I was unable to document said-venture, due to Mister McKennedy’s refusal to allow me to examine the Legacy company in question last night. As such, I was meaning to document the mission today, hence why I was visiting the Priority Archive in the first place. So, no, assuming the spy took the information to Nikereus or intends to, they won’t be able to pass on any specific details about your team’s quest.”

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Jack visibly relaxed.

Amekot watched his reaction and his cynical smile returned. “You all seem to be ignoring the obvious.”

Jack looked up at the man and frowned as Sidney asked, “And what’s that?”

The Fortmaster huffed and leaned back in his chair. “If I were a thief, I’d probably come up with a convenient way to make my getaway as soon as I’d stolen everything I needed to steal. Such as... feigning interest in a quest, giving them every excuse to leave the fortress and even make a bee-line straight for their employer.”

Jack’s eye darkened and he flattened his hand against the table. He wanted to reply but he was convinced if he opened his mouth, poison would flow out instead of words.

In his place, the grim-faced blacksmith, Lain, asked, “Got any proof to back up that accusation, Amekot?” much to everyone’s surprise.

The Fortmaster looked at her and slowly said, “We will be conducting a thorough investigation. And until we know which of them it was, we will not be disclosing any of this information outside of these doors.”

Sidney frowned and said, “You don’t know that it was any of them, but if it was one of them, then the others should be alerted to that fact!”

Amekot scoffed at her and began to speak when Flinn cut in front of him, saying, “Wasn’t it you who ordered Magnus along with them? If it's him, then we absolutely need to tell them! We all know what that sick Paladin is capable of...”

“Enough!” shouted Amekot, standing abruptly from his chair, buttoning up his jacket. “We will know soon enough who is responsible. Those Legacies are due to return in a spell from this scouting mission. If one or more of them does not, we will know precisely who is to blame. They are not to be alerted to this situation, for if the traitor among them is tipped off then there is every chance they will drop their charade and put every other Legacy in danger... if, of course, they are not all in on it.”

Sidney glared at the man and shook her head. “And if it turns out that none of them did anything?”

The Fortmaster straightened his cloak and looked over the group of seated fortress officials. “Then we shall have to expand our sphere of suspicion.” His eyes landed on Jack, and his cold face melted into one last seemingly polite smile. “Meeting adjourned.”

Everyone slowly filed out of the room, leaving Jack and Sidney alone at the end of the table.

The tall warrioress looked at Jack, heavy with concern and said, “It can’t be any of them. Well, I suppose it could be Magnus...”

“Maybe.” Jack idly ran his thumb along a scar with lined the left side of his jaw.

“What’s your plan? Because I hope you’re damn-well not listening to that prick, are you?” said Sidney, worry-lines already forming beneath her eyes.

Jack tapped his fingers on the splintered wooden table as he thought. Ba-da-bum, ba-da-bum. They deserve to know. Ba-da-bum, ba-da-bum. Especially if it might be Magnus. Ba-da-bum, ba-da-bum. What if- no... What if- I said no.

He stopped tapping and couldn’t keep the question at bay any longer.

What if Amekot’s right?

An old memory flashed in Jack’s mind. He saw steel swords clashing before the doors of the emperor’s palace. Blood raining down his face. Bodies falling beneath the imperial flag. Screams and pleas. Amekot’s polite smile at the end of the table.

“Who deserves your trust more?” he heard Sidney say at last. “Them or him?”

Jack blinked away the images and found Sidney looking concernedly into his eyes. He gritted his teeth and reach into his pocket, drawing out a Kosadi gemstone and a scribing pen.

*****

Michael woke to see his Kosadi glowing in his pocket. He frowned and pulled it out, looking confusedly to Carter, who was busy getting dressed, and his own Speaking Stone was nowhere in sight.

“Slick, did you send me something?” Michael asked, his eyes too groggy to see the message clearly.

Before Carter could answer, however, a chill began spreading across Michael’s sternum, quickly becoming piercingly cold.

“Sweet Rii!” Michael ripped the pendant away from his chest and held it aloft to see the bronze monster tooth pulsing with frost, swinging hypnotically back and forth. He was so focused on the Kosadi that he almost didn’t register what it meant.

“Oh no.”

Carter looked to him, still buttoning up his shirt. “What was that? Shit that’s cold!” he grimaced and pulled out his own pendant, and one by one, from those deepest down the cave to those farthest back, they all leapt and winced in pain, like startled dominoes.

Rose pulled the entire necklace off and slowly came to the realisation which had Michael frozen to the spot. “Hot means run, doesn’t, it?”

A monolithic screech then came echoing down from the darkness of the chamber with the force of a hurricane-wind, knocking every Legacy back a pace before they found their footing.

When the noise stopped, they each glanced to one-another and looked into the endless dark of the cavern ahead.

James drew his great axe from its holster on his back and said, “Fifty paces.”

Aroha drew an arrow onto her bowstring.

Michael looked to them all, one by one. Those were the options, fight or flee. If they ran, they’d probably live, but they’d return to the fortress empty-handed, with one less day to figure out Nikereus’ plans. If they fought... the dice was being cast. No more illusions.

“We can still go home.” Michael finally said aloud. “Anyone who thinks we should, speak now. Whatever is down there… Archie and Lain and Avery think we can handle it.”

Rose rolled out her neck with a tight crack. “Then let’s handle it.”

Michael nocked a silver arrow to his bowstring, as the shadows of the firelight danced in the harrowing dark. So be it, he thought, as his heart started pounding.

Another screech blasted down the cavern. It was like some hideous concoction of the scream of a vampire bat and the croak of an alligator, echoing every which way off the cave walls. This one was much closer.

Sarah glanced at Michael as her veins came to life and tongues of fire began sprouting from her knuckles, licking up the blade of her curved sword. “Hey, Sparky. I think we can drop the subtlety.”

Michael took a deep, trembling breath as the blood beneath his skin burned with magical pain, and like a broken dam spilling water, light exploded from his eyes as yellow energy coursed down his arms and into the tips of his fingers. He gripped his bow tight as the shadows of the cave were all cast away, leaving them in a soft golden light for one last moment as the ungodly screech bellowed out once more.