Age of War

Chapter 42

It had been late afternoon when they’d climbed the same rise Jonis and Huldane had weeks earlier on their long flight from Talos. This time, the view was different. They’d all halted their horses, staring at Atlas as it sprawled by the sea in total darkness. Jonis’s first instinct had been to assume that they were too late: the city had fallen and the inhabitants slaughtered. But she realised her error when she saw the black stain that lay across the unnaturally white landscape – an army, vaster than any she’d seen before, tens of thousands strong, was moving into position. Smoke rose from hundreds of campfires, and even from this distance of several miles, they could hear the clamour of so many people readying themselves for a siege.

“By the gods,” Calas had breathed, staring at the horde. It was hard to disagree with her sentiment.

“There’s no way in,” Tayne said, “they have the city encircled…”

She was right, but it had only taken a few seconds for Jonis to think of a plan. And that’s how they found themselves here, now, with dawn glimmering on the horizon and a freezing wind battering them from the direction of the sea. Jonis leant closer to the edge of the cliff, daring to put her foot out into thin air. She swallowed hard. “Well…everyone ready?”

Tayne stared at her. Her face was a pale circle in the dim light. “We can’t get in via the docks, Jonis. Have you seen the engines there?”

She had. The seaward side of Atlas was the most heavily defended, with ballistae and trebuchets looking outward, ready to smash any attacking fleet. That network of defences was also in evidence to their left. They stood upon the north side of the wide bay that encircled the city. The open sea was a league or more from Atlas, and up to that point both coastlines were protected by towering grey cliffs on which were constructed walls, bastions, more engines, lookout points, lighthouses and many more defences that made the Great City by the Sea into an impregnable fortress. Of course, it was all wasted now, and the walls here were almost deserted with only token garrisons. That’s how they’d been able to sneak past. They could have just marched up to a gate and presented themselves, but Jonis had no idea who was in control of these fortifications now – it was very possible that Saffrey had stationed soldiers loyal to him there – and besides they’d still be outside the walls. That’s why this was their only choice.

“We’re not going through the docks. There’s another way in.” She began to strip off her boots.

Huldane was already shouldering out of his cloak and starting to tug off his mail. Tayne looked at him. “You can’t be serious? Can’t we steal a boat?”

Jonis gestured across the empty bay. “Do you see any boats?”

Some of the soldiers looked a little ill as they stared over the edge of the cliffs. She’d chosen this spot because it was high, paradoxically. A long way down, but at the bottom was deep blue water. “You can all swim, right?” It wasn’t a joke – a lot of lowborn folk never learned, despite living so close to the sea. “Well?”

Everyone nodded a little weakly and, with a sigh, Tayne began to remove her armour. “What are we going to do with this?”

“You can’t take it with you,” Jonis shrugged.

“I don’t like just leaving it here.” She held out her breastplate, looking at it forlornly.

“There are plenty of spares in the armouries, I’m sure.”

The soldiers looked a little funny with just their uniforms on. Their high-collared jerkins were marked where their armour was usually strapped in place, and there was something about their bearing that made them seem thin and gangly, as if they were used to having more bulk. They certainly all looked smaller. Huldane had no uniform of course; he just wore his Talosi woollens. She gave him an appraising glance.