Relam stepped forward, buying a little bit of space, and trod on the head of the grapnel. He stumbled, slipped, and fell awkwardly, just managing to avoid impaling himself on his own sword. One of his opponents’ blades swept harmlessly overhead, but the other opened a long, shallow wound across Relam’s left thigh. Relam grabbed at the wound, yelling aloud in pain, and struck at the guards’ ankles with his sword, covering himself with the shield as best he could.
Then, a dark figure blocked the sky as it soared over Relam and bulled into the two guards, driving them back. A second quickly followed the first, wading into battle with sword and shield at the ready. Relam watched in awe as Tar and Yavvis cut down the Citadel guards in a matter of seconds.
“Sorry it took so long,” Tar said, kneeling beside Relam while Yavvis kept watch. “How bad is it?”
“It’s not deep, but it hurts,” Relam said through clenched teeth.
Tar tore a strip from his own shirt and bound it tightly around Relam’s leg. “There, can you walk?” he asked hopefully, looking around. “We have to get you out of here.”
“No, we have to get D’Arnlo,” Relam muttered, standing shakily, using the battlements for support.
“We’ll handle D’Arnlo,” Yavvis replied. “Tar, Oreius and I, that is. You need to get to safety. This place is full of the finest warriors, lad.”
“I’ve fought and killed some of them already.”
“Yes, but there are hundreds more. Word will be spreading, we could hear the fighting from Tar’s training ground.”
“Is any more help coming?” Relam asked hopefully.
“We’re it, for now,” Yavvis replied, shaking his head.
“Then we need to get to D’Arnlo and capture him, before he can muster all his forces and crush us,” Relam muttered. “Narin, Cevet, Sebast, Jatt, Delan, and Knet are in the seventh level courtyard, guarding a few prisoners we took. Or, at least, they were when-”
“Narin?” Yavvis interrupted. “I thought he was dead. Your father had him executed.”
Relam shook his head. “I helped Narin fake his death. He’s been in hiding since then.”
“You faked an execution?”
“We can discuss this later,” Tar interrupted. “Where are Oreius and D’Arnlo now?”
“Battlements on the other side of this tower,” Relam replied. “But a few dozen guards are that way too. They came running through a door that lets out onto the walkway.”
“That would be a barracks,” Yavvis replied briefly.
“That explains a lot,” Relam muttered, wincing.
“And that’s another one, there,” Yavvis added, pointing to a door further along the walkway.
As he spoke, the door flew open and armed men came tumbling out, looking around wildly.
“Run,” Agath said briefly, shoving Relam towards the southwest tower.
“To ground level,” Yavvis said, covering their retreat. “That gives us more options.”
Relam shoved through the tower door and stopped abruptly. In his haste to escape the new threat out on the walkway, he had forgotten that he had come through this tower earlier. Most of the guards seemed to have gone straight through, but five still lingered. As Relam and Tar entered, they had drawn their swords and advanced.
Yavvis shoved through the door behind them and slammed it shut, ramming the bolt home to secure it. “There,” he panted, turning around. Relam heard a sharp intake of breath, then the sword master spoke again.
“I thought we left them all out there,” he said mildly, looking around at the five unfamiliar faces.
“Not quite,” Relam muttered. “These are the ones that followed me earlier.”
“And Oreius is through that door there?” Tar asked, raising his sword.
“Last I saw,” Relam agreed.
“Then we’d better get through to him,” Yavvis said, stepping forth. “We’ll handle this, your majesty.”
“Two on five is hardly fair odds,” Agath observed.
“For the five,” Yavvis agreed. The Citadel guards took an involuntary half step back at that, looking around nervously. “Are you ready, my old friend?”
“Thought you’d never ask.”
Yavvis and Tar leapt forward, striking with the speed and ferocity of a pair of snakes. The Citadel guards backed away, towards the door. They quickly ran out of space though, and were pinned up by the two sword masters with nowhere to run. Yavvis and Tar fought with brutal efficiency, striking left right and center, trading off opponents seamlessly. The Citadel guards, utterly bewildered, did not put up much of a fight. The first two fell in seconds, closely followed by their comrades. In less than a minute, a mound of dead and wounded men was heaped in front of the door.
“That was terrifying,” Relam said, stepping forward now that the fight was over.
“They were scared,” Agath said, shrugging. “Scared men are easier to beat. But they’re still in our way.”
“We can pile them by the other door,” Relam suggested. “Delay those guards a little longer.”
“Good idea,” Yavvis said, sheathing his sword. Reaching down, he grabbed a wounded man by the ankle and began dragging him to the opposite end of the room. The injured guard whimpered and moaned, crying out piteously, but Yavvis paid him no heed. Meanwhile, Tar grabbed two of the slain and dragged them over to the far door as well.
As soon as the guards had been moved, Yavvis and Tar put their shoulders to the door, Relam behind them. “When we get out there, let us handle the fighting,” Tar instructed, looking at Relam. “You’re the best student I’ve ever had, Relam. But D’Arnlo is a master. You’ll never stand up to him in a fight.”
“Even with you three distracting him?”
“Yes,” Yavvis said, nodding gravely. “He’s tricky that one. All it takes is one mistake. Now, let’s go.”
Tar shouldered the door open and the two masters bounded through the opening, swords drawn, Relam
