Guild Wars_ Ghosts Of Ascalon Part 12

Kranxx sneered at that. "She didn't mention me by name? That sounds like Soulkeeper coming and going. She is too clever by half, sometimes. Thinks she's running the Order of Whispers or something."

"The what?" asked Killeen.

"Tactician Kranxx, of the Vigil," said the asura, quickly introducing himself with a small bow. Returning to Riona: "You're a crusader. Almorra recruits people like you."

"We are both crusaders of the Vigil," said Ember. "I am Ember Doomforge. The human female is Riona Grady. And she speaks the truth: our mission is on behalf of the queen of Kryta."

Kranxx nodded. "Soulkeeper warned me you people might not be too sharp, but when I joined the Vigil, I had no idea that it might ever sink this low. Smuggling a charr into Ebonhawke! Has she lost her mind?"

Killeen opened her mouth to point out it had been Dougal's idea, but Dougal raised a hand and silently pleaded with her to keep her helpful truths to herself.

"What did General Soulkeeper say in her message?" said Riona.

"Very little," said Kranxx. "Very need-to-know, she is. 'Expect visitors that will need to leave Ebonhawke quietly. Some may be problematic.' Problematic! She is a master of understatement. And she provided the date and time to reconfigure the gate. That That was some mighty arcane kludging, by the way. They're going to have to recalibrate an entire bank of crystals after that one. Don't touch that, either." Gullik had found a pack hanging on a nearby peg intriguing, and looked at the asura sheepishly as he edged away from it. was some mighty arcane kludging, by the way. They're going to have to recalibrate an entire bank of crystals after that one. Don't touch that, either." Gullik had found a pack hanging on a nearby peg intriguing, and looked at the asura sheepishly as he edged away from it.

"Very well," said Riona, "you have gotten us here and past the Ebon Vanguard. Where do we go from here?"

"I have to go out and make a few final arrangements," said Kranxx. "Plant a few false leads and wrap up some personal business. Then we will go out by way of the sewers."

"Sewers?" said Riona.

"We?" said Dougal.

"We," said Kranxx. "After this, I'm burned as an a.s.set. And there will likely be an investigation and some changes regarding using and protecting the asura gate as well. Once Commander Samuelsson gets up and the lieutenant talks to him, I am going to become a person of interest. So, like it or not, I am coming with you. Where are we going?"

"Ascalon City," said Dougal.

Kranxx let out a low whistle. "Almorra," he said, "you never do anything in halves. Very well, then, get a bit of rest-you're going to need it. I will be back. And in the name of the Eternal Alchemy"-he looked at Gullik-"don't touch anything."

Gullik looked disappointed and collapsed onto a pile of sacks in the corner. The sides of one of the sacks split and potatoes rolled out. Killeen lowered herself down next to him and tried to make herself comfortable using the norn's pack as a pillow.

Ember held out her manacled hands and let out a low growl.

"Not yet," said Riona. "We aren't out of Ebonhawke."

"You must be kidding," snarled the charr. "We're in a bas.e.m.e.nt. If the Vanguard finds us, we're better off if I can pull my own weight."

"I don't think-" said Riona.

"Do it," said Dougal sharply. "Ember's right."

"We're taking all sorts of risks-" Riona started again.

"Unlock her," said Dougal, "or I'll fish out my tools and break the locks myself."

Riona shot Dougal a hot flash of anger but pulled the keys from her pouch and tripped the tumblers in Ember's wrist and neck manacles. The charr immediately stretched herself out to her full height, raised her arms, and let out a powerful growl. "You have no idea how good that feels," she said.

"You'd be surprised," said Riona, but Ember ignored her and joined the other two on the pile of potato sacks.

Riona turned to Dougal. Her face was bunched with anger and, Dougal thought, a little confusion. Instead she said, "You going to get some rest? I'll stand watch until Tactician Kranxx gets back."

"You froze," said Dougal. "At the asura gate. You were willing to hand over Ember."

"You would have thought of something," said Riona, but Dougal shook his head.

"You could have handed over your magic purple-stamped letter," Dougal said pointedly. "Orders from the queen of Kryta and Logan Thackeray."

"Thackeray's name doesn't hold the weight around here it once did," she said. "And as for Queen Jennah, you know that most of us here think that she is distant authority at best."

Dougal ignored her and continued, still keeping his voice down. "But instead you would have handed one of your fellow crusaders over."

"A charr crusader," said Riona, her voice low but her face flushed. "And she knew the risks."

"Beside the point," said Dougal.

Riona was angry now. "You remember the other night, when Crusader Doomforge said she would do anything to make sure the mission succeeded-even if it meant the death of one of us?" Dougal nodded, and she continued hotly, "I feel the same way. If we were going to fight and die there at the gate, the mission would have failed. You know that. Ember knew that. She would have sacrificed herself if she had to: that's how the Vigil operates."

"We were lucky," said Dougal.

"You are lucky," said Riona, calming herself. "That's why you've survived long enough to come along. And are you are lucky," said Riona, calming herself. "That's why you've survived long enough to come along. And are you really really one to lecture me about sacrificing allies?" one to lecture me about sacrificing allies?"

Dougal opened his mouth but nothing came out. Riona nodded in triumph. "Now, if you don't mind, I could use some time away from all of you." And with that, she retreated to the far side of the room and wrapped herself up in her cloak, watching Ember and the others. Gullik was already snoring loudly.

Dougal let out a long breath and looked at the brooding Riona at one side of the room and the three nonhumans on the other side. He walked up to the low asura-height table and tested it. It seemed strong enough to support a full-grown norn. Dougal lay down on the tabletop, wrapped himself in his cloak, and was asleep in moments.

His sleep must have been dreamless, because the next thing he realized, he was being shaken by the shoulders by a small child.

"Wake up, you bookah!" snapped Kranxx, rolling off him as Dougal sat up, blinking back his slumber and wondering if he was ever again going to sleep through an entire night.

As Kranxx's angry face came into focus, he managed a mumbled "What now?"

"Where is she?" said Kranxx, and looked over at the others. Killeen was pulling herself to her feet, and Ember was shaking the norn from his deep slumbers.

"She?" was all Dougal could manage.

"The girl, Riona!" said Kranxx. "While you've been sleeping, she's wandered off!"

We should leave her behind," said Ember. In his heart, Dougal knew the charr was right.

However, what he said was: "How long do we have to find her?"

"An hour, at the outside," Kranxx answered, irritated. "One thing I did while I was out was to prepare a small incendiary in my old workshop. The smoke should alert the guards, but by the time they put the fire out, I was planning to be long gone."

"One thing?" said Ember.

"I also thumped on the ostler's door and demanded he have a large wagon with supplies ready to go for me by noon," Kranxx replied sharply. "I have no intention to pick up that wagon, but it will delay them further. And I also also left a note for my a.s.sistant that stated I was leaving for Elona and putting the Ebonhawke gate and all attendant responsibilities for dealing with the authorities in his care." He paused a moment, then added, "I don't like my a.s.sistant that much." left a note for my a.s.sistant that stated I was leaving for Elona and putting the Ebonhawke gate and all attendant responsibilities for dealing with the authorities in his care." He paused a moment, then added, "I don't like my a.s.sistant that much."

"Okay," said Dougal. "Let's figure a half hour at best." He looked at the others. "Killeen, any idea where she went?"

"I was asleep," said the sylvari. "And if you're asking about the Dream, it doesn't work that way."

"Fine. You come with me anyway," said Dougal. "Ember, brief Kranxx on the whys and wherefores of what we're doing. Gullik should understand what we're facing as well. We should be back within a half hour."

"And if you are not?" asked Ember.

"We go with your plan," said Dougal. "You leave without us. We'll catch up if we can. Killeen, with me."

Dougal stepped out of the building above the warehouse and cursed inwardly. The sky was already starting to lighten in the east, and the city was coming awake. Already the heavy shutters against the night air were swinging open, and a honey wagon drawn by a heavy dolyak was rattling along the street. No Vanguard in sight, but that was only a matter of minutes. Far in the distance he could hear bugles sounding reveille.

"Right. We split up," he said. "You go into the city, I'll head toward the Hawkgates. Ten minutes, then turn back. Don't get lost."

"She is up on the battlements," said Killeen.

"I thought you said the Dream wouldn't tell you where she was," said Dougal.

"I still have eyes," said Killeen. "She's up there." And Dougal followed her pointing hand to show Riona, in her traveling cloak, up on one of the city's interior walls, looking out past the gates.

Dougal set off at once, Killeen following him. He knew the mazework of stairs and streets that was Ebonhawke. The nearest stair up was close at hand The city itself had been a small fortress, nestled in the southern juncture of the s.h.i.+verpeaks and the Blazeridge mountain range. The steep mountains on several sides provided an ideal location just north of the Crystal Desert. With the Searing, its location grew in importance, and King Adelbern of Ascalon saw it as an ultimate bastion against the charr incursions. In the end, before the Foefire, he dispatched the Ebon Vanguard here to reinforce it.

And reinforce it they did. They spread the initial fortress walls outward, continuing to build as they took more territory against the regular charr raids. They erected the mighty Hawkgates at the northern entrance to the city. They mined the hills behind the walls for stone and made more living s.p.a.ce for the refugees from the abandoned human cities to the north. And they trained their growing populace in the dangers that stood right outside their gates, from the siege engines of the charr.

Dougal knew where Riona stood, and why she was there. From that internal wall she could see over the lower walls, past the Hawkgates and all the way to the Fields of Ruin beyond. He climbed the stairs three at a time, leaving the sylvari far behind him.

"Riona," he said, and she jumped at the sound of his voice. She had not heard him approach.

"Dougal!" she said, her voice confused for a moment, almost weak. "I didn't hear you."

"We should go," he said. "Kranxx is back, and we don't have much time."

"I know," she agreed. "But look."

He followed her stare and could see it as well, and the sight stopped him in his tracks, as it always did.

Far to the north and west of the city were the front lines of the charr siege of Ebonhawke. They were positioned at the exact range of the human defensive ballistas-not one foot closer or farther away.

The front line of the charr entrenchments was a line of war wagons, parked in their positions for so long that trees had grown up next to them, providing shade for their crews. The war wagons were mobile walls of metal, each crowned with a spearlike palisade. Joined together in the field, they were an instant fortification for the charr military camps.

Behind them were the camps themselves, and with them a variety of siege engines and military units. Here were siege devourers, living engines of destruction, also equipped with ballista and cannon. In years past, when the charr improved their range, they pelted the walls and closer human districts with heavy stones and burning pitch. When the human machines could reach them, they pulled back farther and established new lines. The Iron Legion, the legion that had the most interest in engines of destruction, had been in charge of the siege for over a century, and used the city as a testing ground for its latest developments.

There were flames along the line: bonfires and forges and cooking fires for the awakening military units. There was the sound of distant horns-loud, blaring trumpets-and drums. The charr were waking to war as well.

Dougal looked out and saw what he had seen in his youth: the front lines of the war with the charr. In his days and nights here, in the cauldron of war, every day there had been sallies from the fortress and a.s.saults on the walls. It was a hard, brutal life, and one became hard in return.

Or one left, as he and the others did. Leaving Riona behind.

Killeen had caught up with them. "We were worried," she said to Riona. "The others are waiting."

Riona shook her head and said, "I don't know."

"We should go," Dougal repeated, tearing himself away from the sight of what had for so many years been the enemy. And still was.

"I think I have to stay," said Riona. "I have doubts about what we're doing. I thought I didn't, but now that I'm back here, I feel myself falling back into what I once was-that we should be here, not at the Vigil or trying to find lost treasures. We should be here to protect Ebonhawke."

"Riona, that's wrong," said Dougal.

"We have guards coming up," said Killeen, suddenly and clearly. Dougal looked to his left and saw a pair of Vanguard moving along the battlement toward them. They were moving with the slow, relaxed pace of two soldiers near the end of their duty s.h.i.+ft. They were not actively seeking charr who had broken into the Fortress City, or the humans that had aided it.

For that, Dougal was thankful, but when he turned back to Riona, he saw that her face had fallen and she seemed on the verge of falling apart.

"I will delay them," said Killeen. "You talk to her." Before Dougal could stop her, she moved toward the guards, letting her hood drop to reveal her long, vegetative braids.

Dougal turned back to Riona. "This was all your idea," he said firmly.

"I know," she said, and sighed deeply, her forehead furrowing. "And when it was just finding you, and then sneaking into an ancient human city, it seemed doable. Now we have picked up a menagerie of castoffs and volunteers. And the more our numbers grow, the less likely we are going to succeed."

Dougal shrugged in agreement. "The less likely we will succeed without losing people."

Riona lowered her chin to her chest. "We could go off on our own."

Dougal started, but Riona continued hurriedly, "Two humans could sneak out of here easier than our clown carnival. Norn, charr, sylvari, and now an asura. Hardly the easiest party to conceal in open fields. We could reach Ascalon City, retrieve the Claw, and return it here, to Ebonhawke. Then we could keep it here. It would be a coup, a rallying point for our people."

"And for the charr as well," said Dougal. "If the charr thought that the Claw was here, they would stop at nothing to regain it. It would be worse than the worst of the a.s.saults of seventy years ago, when the charr reached the base of the outer walls and undermined the outer district."

"You think so?" said Riona, and slid closer to him, her eyes never leaving the quiet battlefield.

"Look at it this way," said Dougal. "The charr want the Claw so badly that they are willing to talk about peace with the humans. What do you you think?" think?"

Riona nodded. "If this peace faction-"

"Truce faction," said Dougal.

"Truce faction," repeated Riona. "If they get the Claw, they will be able to force the rest of the charr to at least lift the siege and start talking. That's the theory."

"And then maybe we'll finally get a better view from here." Dougal kept his voice light, but Riona just scowled and stared at the charr front lines. Then she said, "You were right."

Dougal looked at her and she continued. "I froze back there, at the gate. I thought I could come up with a way to get us all past the guards if there was trouble, but when the time came, I found myself empty. I'm just rattled. Second-guessing myself."

Dougal's lips became a thin line, and he chose his words carefully. "This is about Ember."

"Do you trust her?" asked Riona. "Really?"

Dougal said, "She is part of your order. She is a crusader for the Vigil."

"I know," said Riona. "And I don't feel that way about General Soulkeeper. She's a charr, too, one that fought our people for many years. But the way Ember acts, she reminds me so much of ... them." She pointed a chin at the distant war wagons.

"If it helps, I feel the same way," said Dougal. "After five minutes with Soulkeeper, I could forget she was charr. She commands naturally, and everything else just flows from that. Ember is part of her people, just like we're part of ours. You can see her struggle when she talks to us."