From what Adan could see, everyone in the city had flocked to the great hall in order to attend the meeting. The massive chamber was full of men, women, and children, chattering and murmuring while they waited.
When Kian and Adan entered the main hall, a hush fell over the throng. Heads turned, eyes stared, and many people whispered to each other as the son of Lord Hathian arrived.
Adan surveyed the crowd and saw the village leaders sitting at a table near the center of the room. Kian saw them as well, and they began walking toward the gathered leaders. The crowd had already left a path open for the two of them to easily make their way to the table.
As Adan approached, he saw Layla sitting near the leaders with her Aunt Matilda next to her, and of all the villagers gathered in the main hall, Matilda seemed to be the only one who wasn’t fascinated by the two of them. The older lady sat still with her eyes ahead of her in a dead stare while Layla sat beside her with her hand on Matilda’s shoulder.
Layla waved when she saw Adan, and he nodded back to her.
Once they neared the table, Adan detected the aroma of hot food. A large platter of steaming eggs sat on the table, as well as loaves of warm bread, cheese and butter, and mugs of hot mead. Adan’s stomach growled at the sight, despite his meal the night before.
The leaders at the table stood as Kian and Adan approached. Adan noticed the same dark haired leader from the night before standing with the others. As before, the man was bare chested. The only change in his appearance was a double handed sword slung over his back. He also noticed the Chief Bard, Hurst, rising from the table as well.
“Good morning, Lord Kian,” the Chief Bard said. “We thought it fitting to give you a proper welcome this morning.”
He gestured to the table covered in food and Governor Fagus reached down and picked up a pottery mug.
“And we wanted to give you an official welcome to New Esta,” the governor said as he handed the warm drink to Kian. “The Welcome Cup.”
Kian nodded his thanks and drank deeply before handing the drink to Adan. The spiced mead warmed Adan insides as he gulped the sweet draught.
The leaders resumed their seats and left two places for Adan and Kian. Adan immediately began filling his trencher with food, as did Kian, although Adan noticed that Kian did not completely fill his plate. He only accepted a small pile of eggs and one slice of warm bread.
“Am I expected to recount the events that have taken place in the last few days during this meeting?” Kian asked.
Fagus nodded as he chewed a bite of cheese. “We’re very eager to hear what befel you two after you left our island, and if you have any useful information about our enemy.”
Kian nodded. “I am prepared to tell all, and I would prefer not to wait.”
The leaders exchanged looks before nodding their assent, and many of them stopped eating as Kian got to his feet.
He stood above the rest of the seated assembly and looked around at the eager faces of his listeners. Then in a loud voice, he recounted the events of the past week.
His voice echoed off the stone walls of the roofless hall as he spoke of the rumors that had reached Farel, and the Trust from his father to find their source. He spoke briefly of the voyage north and the visit to Enys Island.
Adan heard the anger in his voice when we spoke of the attack at sea, of the death of Captain Ryland and the other warriors. Kian spared no details as he described their capture and the journey to Undelma in the hull of Hugo’s ship. Adan saw looks of horror on the faces of those listening as he described the Black Spike, the priests of Undelma, and the giant serpent buried in the temple. When Kian described the Coralyd ritual, Adan heard exclamations of rage, grief, and disgust.
Kian told of the songs they sang in the temple, of the priest’s power being broken by the music, and their discovery of the plot to invade Esta.
“We greatly wished to escape that hellish temple when we discovered Hugo and Dias’s plot,” Kian continued, “but we had no notion of how to attempt such a feat. We would have died in that place, without hope, if not for the actions of our Captain’s second in command, Rocco.”
At the mention of Rocco’s name, Hurst, who had been staring at the table while he listened, looked up at Kian.
“Rocco?” He asked. “His name was Rocco?”
Kian nodded. “Yes. Did you know him?”
“If this is the same Rocco, then yes. I met him once,” Hurst replied. “I had heard his name before.”
“You will all remember his name after today,” said Kian. “For it was he who enabled us to escape. By stealing the key to the arena from the priests, he unlocked and released the drynth into the temple, slaying many of the priests himself as he led the beast to their quarters. We will never forget seeing him lift Dias over his head with his bare hands and throw the wicked priest into the jaws of the serpent.”
As Kian recounted the details of their escape, Adan remembered similar speeches and stories that Hathian used to tell. Kian’s choice of words, his posture, his mannerisms, everything about him reminded Adan of the deceased lord of Farel. Adan’s face hardened as he prevented tears from filling his eyes. He hadn’t known Hathian as well as Kian, but he had been a good lord, a kind man, and someone Adan had always looked up to.
Kian described their ascent to the Morkil, and their journey through the mountain, but Adan noticed that Kian made no mention of the black figure that had haunted them on the path up the hillside, nor did he mention the tree buried in the earth and its enigmatic guardian.
Rather, he summarized their journey south, traveling down the river to finally find Farel burned and destroyed. His voice never wavered as he recounted his discovery that his home and his family were both gone forever. Kian never spoke of the cairn that was built on the hillside that overlooked the city, nor did he describe his invocation of the Maker, and his oath before the Creator to destroy the Undelmans.
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“We guessed that there may be survivors in the eastern region, so we set out for Cellion to confirm or deny our suspicions, and that is how we came to find the men you posted at the tower, and eventually make our way here yesterday.”
Having concluded his tale, Kian sat down at the table.
A brief silence followed in which the faces of the listeners were downcast and thoughtful.
Then Governor Fagus got to his feet.
“What you have told us today confirms what we have heard so far from our bards, and it vindicates our actions in fleeing from our unprotected homes. We knew of Farel’s fall, and a few of our number have seen our enemies.”
Fagus glanced at the bare chested leader.
“But we had only heard of Undelma, and Hurst alone had laid eyes on the place, and only from a distance. I am thankful that you have brought a report that confirms what he has told us. But mostly, I am filled with sorrow for what you have endured, and for the loss of your home and everyone there.”
Many heads nodded at Fagus’s words, and Adan saw sympathetic faces in the crowd.
Kian nodded his thanks to Fagus, who sat down, and Hurst stood up.
Adan eyed the Chief Bard, who seemed to be watching Kian very closely as well.
If Hurst saw Undelma, Adan thought, then how did he get there, and how did he escape? Hugo said the only ways into that valley were either by river, or by the Morkil. Has Hurst been in that tunnel as well?
“You see, then, the bloodlust of our enemies,” Hurst said. “Their rebellion against the Creator has driven them to such depravity that they would kill us all to satisfy Sithril. We cannot underestimate them. We must contemplate carefully what must be done.”
The bare chested leader stood up from the table and crossed his arms.
“Do you have a suggestion, bard?” He asked, staring at Hurst. His tone registered scorn and annoyance.
Hurst stared at the larger man for a moment without speaking.
“That,’ he finally spoke, “is entirely up to you, Corthenu, and your fellow leaders.”
”Yes, we know,” Corthenu replied. “All that ‘a bard is not permitted to rule, but only to advise’ malarkey you’ve been giving us. But since you’ve succeeded in getting all of us to leave our homes and follow you here, then I thought perhaps you might have a some advice”
Hurst let out a sigh before answering. “Since you demand it, I advise that you do what has been discussed: Make Kian the lord of this fortress.”
“What?” Kian’s head snapped up.
“Of course,” Corthenu said, as if he had made some kind of point.
Fagus stood once more and addressed Kian. “Lord Kian, we have all been speaking with one another on this matter and come to an agreement, or at least, most of us have.”
Fagus glanced at Corthenu again.
“New Esta is in desperate need of leadership. What little food we brought with us is not enough to sustain us for long, and there isn’t enough time to expect a good crop from our growing to support everyone here. We can hunt for now, but that will become harder as the months continue. We leaders have had to make agreements on every issue and dispute that has arisen and it is not a good way to work. We need a leader we can all follow, but none of us have a better claim to lordship than you.”
Kian stood up and looked at the leaders before him.
“My claim to lordship went up in flames days ago. There is nothing left of it now.”
”But m’lord, most of the villages in New Esta were under Farel’s jurisdiction. Your father was our lord, and in his absence…”
Kian held up a hand to silence Fagus. “Fagus, please don’t call me m’lord, and don’t call this place New Esta. Esta still exists and we need to protect her, not give up on her.”
Kian looked around at the assembled crowd. “Why have I heard only.of hiding and surviving and nothing about riding against our enemies? We sit here in hiding, while our brothers to the South are in peril. Why have all the men able to go to war not left for Allgor, or the capital?”
Fagus and Hurst looked at each other, before the two of them looked at Corthenu. The black leader rose from his seat again.
“We sent riders to all of the Three Cities,” Corthenu said. “Which is how we knew about Farel’s fall. One of the men we sent to Allgor returned before you did yesterday. Allgor is already under siege, and has likely already fallen. If Hugo uses the same devices he used to destroy Farel, then Allgor will not survive long.
“What about the riders from Threcalax?”
“They have not returned yet, but it’s a two day’s hard ride from here to Allgor as well as Threcalax. If Allgor has already fallen, then Hugo may already be riding up the Great River to Threcalax. On foot, we could not reach either place in time.”
”I take it then,” Kian said, “that you do not have enough horses to mount a large number of men?”
”Less than fifty,” Cothenu replied. “By the time we would reach either city, it would be far too late.”
“Is our defeat so certain, then?” Kian asked, looking around.
“From what the riders have reported, the Undelmans can easily match our numbers in armed warriors, and Hugo’s mastery of the fire he used at Farel gives them an unquenchable advantage. I cannot see how the other cities will survive.”
Adan thought back to the size of the army at Undelma and the fleet that sat anchored in the river. Corthenu was right. The Undelman army would easily outnumber the warriors garrisoned at any of the Three Cities.
Kian looked down and shook his head. “I cannot give up so easily. Has the King not realized what is happening? Perhaps if he rode out and met the Undelmans, he could thwart Hugo’s plans.”
“The King may still know nothing of what is happening,” Hurst interjected. ”The survivors from Farel have come here, all except the riders we sent out, but I know the King will not believe their word.”
”How do you know?”
“Because he has chosen to listen to Rhonwyn, and that sorry excuse of a bard will tell King Selwyn anything to undermine what I have said. He will say that the riders were hired by myself in order to deceive him, or he will find some other way to discredit them. And he will likely do the same to any survivors that try to escape from Allgor. I’m sure the King will learn his folly before Hugo arrives at the capital, but by then it will be too late.”
“But we can’t simply sit here and hope that Hugo never discovers us,” Kian said. “If he takes Allgor and Threcalax, he will eventually find this place too. And this fortress is not fit to repel a siege.”
”We have no other choice,” Hurst said. “At least for now, we have no better plan than to try to help our people survive. Farel has fallen, Allgor will fall soon, and the King is unwilling to listen to reason. For now, it seems best to wait for the riders to return from Threcalax before we decide on a means of attacking the enemy. But even if we did decide to attack Hugo in some way, we would need someone to lead us against him.”
All eyes turned to Kian again.
Kian let out a deep sigh before speaking. “Give me some time to think about your offer. The thought of hiding and waiting while the Undelman’s ravage our land is too repulsive for me to accept.”
The leaders looked at one another and nodded.
”Of course,” Fagus said. “You only just arrived yesterday, and you have endured unspeakable hardship. We will eagerly await your decision.”
Kian, Corthenu, and Hurst all sat down at the table.
Fagus remained standing and eyed the watching crowd before speaking. “For now, we will content ourselves that two more able warriors and brothers have joined our ranks, and made us that much stronger.”
There were murmurs of ascent in the crowd.
“This meeting is over. We must return to the day’s work.”
A flurry of sounds filled the hall as the gathered crowd began to disperse. Adan saw reluctance on the faces of those departing, as if they wished to hear more. Or perhaps they had wished for a different outcome from the council.
As the hall emptied, Adan noticed Kian sitting perfectly still at the table, staring at nothing with a knotted brow.