Lady Asea of the First, his ambassador.”
“Most assuredly, sire. I have the humble duty of extending to the Lady Asea, and such retainers as she may wish to bring for her comfort, an invitation to call upon my Lord at her convenience. I am to await her gracious pleasure and convey her response to my master.”
“I will see that your master’s invitation is given to the Lady Asea.” Sardec turned and gestured to the Sergeant. Hef nodded to show his understanding. Since it was beneath the dignity of a Prince of the Realm to communicate with the human lackey of even so exalted a Terrarch as Lord Ilmarec, Sardec waited in silence for the response. The courier waited, totally at ease with the situation, which showed that Ilmarec trained his servants well if nothing else.
The Sergeant returned bearing a note sealed by Asea. Sardec opened it and read it and said. “The Lady Asea is pleased accept Lord Ilmarec’s invitation and asks his leave to call upon him at noon.”
The servant bowed and said: “I shall see that my master is informed of her Ladyship’s decision. With your leave, sire, I shall set out upon my duties.”
“By all means,” said Sardec, wondering exactly how many men Asea would want for her bodyguard.
Rik yawned despite his trepidation as they approached the Tower. He had not slept much last night. First there had been his encounter with Tamara, and then his limited explanations to Weasel and the Barbarian. Even after their return to the House of Three Swans, walking along streets bathed in the eerie green light streaming from the Serpent Tower, he had not been able to sleep.
He had kept turning over what Tamara and Asea had said in his mind, trying to sift out the truth of what they had told them, and see if there was any way he could use it to his advantage. He decided that he did not trust either of these two fine Terrarch ladies.
And there were other things to consider. Should he tell Asea what Tamara had said?
He had not had the time yet, and he was not sure he wanted to anyway. On the other hand, what would be the consequences if he did not, and she had, by her arcane means, already found out?
The approach road was narrow and winding, snaking appropriately as it approached the Tower of Serpents. It was just wide enough for a cart to go up but there was no room for one to turn without going over the edge. By the time it was halfway up the road that would make for a very long drop.
The Foragers marched two abreast, ten in front of Asea’s palanquin, ten behind. Sardec led from the front with Corporal Toby bringing up the rear. He was not surprised that Asea has insisted on bringing the half-breed and his two friends. She seemed very attached to them. Well, he supposed, they had saved her life in Achenar.
He wondered how the human girl Rena was taking his note. He supposed she would be keen enough. The protection of an officer like Sardec was something that most camp followers could only dream off.
Glancing over his shoulder he could see that there were people waiting on the road beneath them. The Serpent Tower commanded a fine view of all approaches. If Ilmarec had really mastered the green light, it would be unassailable.
All traffic on the road had been stopped while Lady Asea made her ascent but there was no mistaking the dozens of cartloads of provisions that waited at the bottom of the cliffs. Lord Ilmarec was preparing for a siege and a very long one.
In one way that was reassuring. It argued that he was not entirely confident in his powers. If his command of the Elder World weapons was so great he would have no fear of being starved out. Perhaps there were some limits to the power of the green light, perhaps it was like a cannon, and he only had a certain number of charges, or perhaps it was not entirely reliable.
The Tower itself looked ever more invincible as they approached. The outer wall was smooth as glass and abutted cliffs an ape might have trouble scaling. It was three times the height of a man and there were no handhold anywhere. No way to get ladders up, either, and even if you could there was very little space between the wall and the cliff edge. There were redoubts at each corner of the wall from which the defenders could shelter from dragonfire and devil wind and still shoot back. The gate had an odd look. It was like an oval cut off at the bottom. Sardec had heard that when it was closed it was as if the wall itself was sealed. There was no way through.
And there were defenders on the wall, more soldiers in green tunics, carrying muskets. They moved along in regular patrols and Sardec did not doubt that there were other eyes watching him from the guard towers. Dragons might be able to drop troops into the courtyard behind the gate but it would be a tricky business. Only a small number could be lifted in at a time and they would be under constant fire from the defenders. And there was no way a dragon could force itself through the entrances of the building themselves. The beasts were too large, the entrances too small.
Perhaps one or two men might be able to take and hold the gate and open it, assuming they understood the mechanism, but not if it were strongly held, and everything pointed towards the fact that it would be.
Sorcery might be the answer: elementals or demons such as the Crimson Shadows, but sorcery would only work if it could overcome the defensive spells on the Tower, and those had been millennia in the making. By all accounts Lord Ilmarec was a mage fully as formidable as Lady Asea so doubtless they would be all but impregnable. And undoubtedly he would have his own sorcerous retainers to call on.
Sardec considered alchemical weapons. You could lob spheres of poisonous gas over the walls, but such were always tricky weapons to use. Gas was heavier than the surrounding air. The defenders on the walls would most likely be safe unless the spheres landed exactly on the landings where they stood, and at the ranges involved it would be a tricky shot for even the best siege engineers. Supposing the shots hit, the bulk of the defenders could simply withdraw inside the tower itself, ands wait for the gas below them to disperse.
Gas was the only method Sardec could think of that might be effective, and it still left the problem of getting over those high outer walls. Unless the gate was open, men would have to get over those slippery smooth barriers and inside the courtyard. They would be doing it in the teeth of their own poison gas.
Putting all his thoughts together the best plan Sardec could think of would be to bombard the walls with alchemicals then drop a crack unit of dragon riders in to seize and open the gate; if you had a column of troops waiting at the foot of this road that would be the moment to rush in. A swift calculation told him it might just be possible. The dragons’ wing-beats might be able to disperse the gas. Their riders could be protected by filter masks. Such elite troops might be able to take the gates while the dragons held the courtyard against a sally from the Tower.
Sardec smiled ruefully. The plan might just work if he had access to every dragon in the realm of Talorea, and sufficient dragon riders and siege alchemists to support them. Even then it would be a terrible risk. If there were wyrm hunters or sufficiently powerful weapons in the Tower, the dragons might be crippled or killed and their riders slain before they ever reached the gates. The cost of failure would be catastrophic.
And Lord Ilmarec would be prepared. He was of the First and had had centuries to think of all these possibilities. Even if Sardec’s plan were successful it would only get his troops into the inner courtyard of the Serpent Tower and that might very easily be turned into a killing ground. And then there was still the Tower itself to be taken.
Even with a much larger force than Lord Azaar possessed it would be a difficult task. Such an attack could only succeed if everything went perfectly and it was Sardec’s experience that in matters military, as in life, nothing ever went that way.
They approached the gates. They were intricately moulded into an arch of coiling serpents. Over the centre of the archway a massive snake-like head gazed down. Its eyes were gem-like and they glowed. Sardec felt a chill settle on his soul as he looked at them. There was a malign intelligence in those gem eyes. A wave of sorcerous energy swept over him, sending chilly fingers up and down his spine. As far as he could tell nothing happened but he felt certain some potent magic had touched him. Briefly he had sensed the presence of a cold, furious intellect studying him. He dropped back to speak to Asea about it.
“It’s some sort of chained demon, possibly an Intelligence from the Pit,” she said. “Doubtless it watches for intruders and weaves spells on the unwelcome ones.”
“What sort of spells?”
“Most likely binding spells to hold them in place.”
“An interesting guardian.”
“Its demonic vision catches things that mortal eyes might miss. It would see those cloaked in spells of invisibility or those who came at night. It would give the alarm if there were stealthy intruders. It is perfectly possible the Intelligence controls the operation of the gates too.”
