Benjamin Ashwood (18 page)

Tomas
frowned and leaned in closer, “we heard about the Conclave shortly after you
left.  Weeks after Argren’s messenger should have been there.  Something
happened to him and he never made it.  Sending you with little escort in the
care of Saala and Towaal was the right decision.  It’s dangerous for you to be
in public like this and we hoped I would catch you before you announced
yourself.  Your father doesn’t know who else to trust.”

Tomas
shot a dark glance at Ben and the nearby revelers.

“Oh
don’t worry about it Tomas!  Everyone knows I am here already and our decision
will be known from the Citadel to the docks by 10
^th
bell tomorrow. 
What’s the point of secrecy?  My father has made up his mind and there’s
nothing we will do from here to change it anyway.”

With
that, there was a sharp whistle followed by a massive boom.  The railing shook
and the entire night sky was lit a dazzling white as the first firework
exploded in the air.  Crackling streams of sparks descended towards the city
and the first blast was followed by a quick succession of increasingly large
flashes.  The first salvo of fireworks was an iridescent white and it bathed
the entire balcony, the face of the Citadel and all of the revelers in a stark
white glow.

The
grand finale of the fireworks show lived up to the name Spectacular.  It
started with a low flat explosion of green sparkles that lingered in the air,
drifting over the ships in the port far below.  Then, behind the guests on the
balcony a cacophony of horns sounded in a thrilling mixture of traditional
hunting calls and alarm.

Ben
looked back and saw the wall of Citadel was lined with horn players.  Argren
must have forced out the entire barracks and bought every instrument in the
city to put together that many of them he thought.  As he turned back towards
the blanket of green sparkles he saw Amelie smiling down at them.  The green
light of the fireworks reflected in the emeralds she was wearing and
highlighted the gentle curve of her neck.  He swallowed the lump in his throat
but the moment was interrupted when the tone of the horns changed and a
brilliant wave of red and gold arced into the sky.

The
fireworks went off with a roar and the entire crowd took a step back as the
entire vista filled with a red and gold beast swooping towards them with wide
open maw.  The creature would have been nearly the size of Whitehall itself. 
The crackle and hiss of the exploding lights added to the illusion that the
beast was imminently going to rain fire down onto the party goers.

“Wyvern!”
shouted an alarmed and slurred voice from behind them.

Ben
and Amelie grinned at each other but Ben had to admit, the fire and smoke
monster was frightening.  As it grew closer, the lights started popping and
crackling out until they flashed into darkness and a warm save of sulpherous
air drifted over crowd.

Across
the entire city there was silence until an enormous cheer broke out.  From the
bottom of the Port to the top of the Citadel, the citizens and guests of
Whitehall were screaming, clapping and banging whatever they could to make
noise. 

Amelie
took Ben’s arm and leaned against him, staring out down at the city and
celebration below.  Smaller fireworks shot up sporadically from below as the
citizens who could afford it put on their own version of the show.  It almost
felt like these hundreds of thousands of cheers were just for the two of them.

When
the smoke cleared and some of the excitement on the balcony began to fade, the
crowd turned to make their way back through the halls of the Citadel and into
the city.  For many, the celebration was just getting started.  Though Ben saw
several people he thought should start sleeping it off now.  The Conclave was
starting early in the morning.

Amelie
still had her arm hooked around Ben’s as they made their way towards the entry
to the building.  Ben caught Tomas staring at him with a blank face.  The man
was the right hand of Amelie’s father.  Ben thought he understood the look and
made a note to watch his back.

Suddenly,
a man pushed past Ben heading back out onto the balcony.

“What
are you doing?  I’m an important guest for the Conclave.  I’ll have the guards
on you!” shouted a tipsy sounding man.

“Two
drunks are about to go at it!  I heard they’re sending for swords.”

Several
more of the crowd turned to follow the man who had pushed through.  A duel was
more entertaining than what the taverns and wine shops in the city had to
offer.

Amelie
pulled on Ben to keep going.  “Stupid men doing stupid things.  There’s always
one or two at parties like this.  They probably stepped on each other’s toes or
someone took the last sparkling wine.  Such a waste, like there isn’t more in
the world to worry about.”

Ben
had to agree.  No one dueled in Farview of course, but the stories were full of
them.  In the stories, it was always over a girl.

Before
they made it into the entrance of the Citadel they saw Saala coming the other
way.  He nodded back towards the balcony and said, “you’ll want to see this.”

Ben
raised an eyebrow and they fell in behind Saala and joined the crowd gathering
around two shouting men.

“You
will die for this!” snarled a man as the sounds of a scuffle broke out.

“Fredrick,
wait until the man is armed or you’ll be paying for it also.”

Through
the pack of people they could see a short balding man being held back by two
grey haired men.  The grey haired men had the build of those who had seen their
share of battle but they were struggling keep the energetic smaller man from
rushing forward. 

Before
they could see the target of his wrath they heard a man slur, “whatcha holding
him back for?  The little sword he’s packing couldn’t hurt a mouse, least
that’s what I heard from his wife.”

Ben’s
heart sank.  He’d heard that drunken slur before.  Rhys.

The
short bald man redoubled his efforts to break loose and howled, “this is to the
death.  I will not stand for this!”

One
of the grey haired men holding him glared back at Rhys and demanded, “stop it,
both of you.  A duel has been agreed and you can settle your differences, but
we’re going to do this right.  I will make sure it’s done right or it won’t be
done.  Do you understand me?”

“Yes
General,” said the short man in a huff.  He was still extremely agitated but he
no longer fought to get to Rhys.  For Rhys’ part, he was swaying around at the
far side of the circle of onlookers and seemed to be having trouble focusing.

“How
many of you are there?  I see four.  I gotta fight all four?”  Rhys was
squinting towards the three men and holding up his hands in a boxing stance.

“Look
now,” said the man who had been called General.  “This fellow is too drunk to
see straight.  This is not right.”

The
crowd chimed in with a chorus of boos until an icy look from the man silenced
them.  They were here to see blood.  If it waited until tomorrow in the sober
light of day, this duel may not happen.

Saala
slipped from Ben’s side and stepped into the circle.  “I believe this man has
given Lord Fredrick cause.  This is a sensitive matter.  There is a Lady
involved.  We can settle it this evening.”

The
General appraised Saala, “and who are you?”

“I’m
the man’s travelling companion.  I can serve as his second.”

“Aye,
he’s my second.  Couldn’t have a better man for it either!” crowed Rhys.  “Although,
I’m not sure it’s the little fella’s woman I was with.  She’s a Lady right?  The
wench I was bedding certainly wasn’t acting like a Lady.  Ladies don’t have you
bend them over and make you call them a filthy whore, do they?”  Rhys peered
quizzically at Saala.

Lord
Fredrick lunged again towards Rhys and was barely caught by the other man
holding him.  The General’s shoulders visibly slumped and he stepped into the center
of the circle.  “It appears that despite my reservations that this will happen
tonight.”  He nodded towards Saala, “since you know this man and have agreed to
proceed as his second, I will take the same role for Lord Fredrick.  We will
continue until both parties are satisfied or one combatant is unable to
continue.  You may choose your weapons.”

A
heavy broadsword was passed to Lord Fredrick and a woman hurried forward.  The
same woman Ben had seen Rhys in the closet with.  Ben groaned, it seemed this
woman did have a dangerous husband.  The man did not appear to have the stature
of a warrior but his sword had telltale nicks in it that only came from use.

“You
don’t need to do this,” pleaded the woman.  “This man is nothing!  He’ll likely
be hung as a thief or worse by next week.  I was stupid!”

Fredrick
backhanded the woman across the face and sent her tumbling towards the crowd. 
“If the man was nothing it should have been left as a diversion while I was at
sea.  I will deal with you later.”  He swung his broadsword through the air as
if to reacquaint himself with the balance and turned towards Rhys, “you should
have left it as well.  I could understand you thinking you could get away with
this while I was away.  I could have understood it as a mistake and maybe just
left you a cripple.  But tonight?  That is too much.  For that you will die.”

The
General was slowly pivoting, keeping himself between Fredrick and Rhys.  He
turned towards Rhys, “do you have a blade?”

Rhys
just stared back at him.  An enthusiastic young man from the crowd stepped
forward proffering a slender rapier and smirking.  “Use this good man.  She’s
served me well.”

Saala
glanced down at the delicate weapon then back up to meet Rhys’ eyes.

The
crowd was turning nasty thought Ben as Rhys swished the rapier back and forth. 
They wouldn’t be satisfied until they got blood.  Ben grabbed Amelie and whispered,
“he’s going to get killed!  That rapier won’t stand against a broadsword.  It
will snap the first time they make contact.  I don’t understand why Saala is
letting this happen, we have to stop it!”

“I
think you’re about to be surprised,” answered Amelie in a hushed tone.  She
nodded to the opposite side of the circle.  “See Lady Towaal over there.  I saw
her gesture to Saala before he stepped in.  Rhys is her hired man and she’s
been with him for months if not longer.  She doesn’t look worried to me.  He’s
good enough to get hired by a Mage and I suspect he knows exactly what he’s
doing.”

“I
don’t know,” worried Ben.  “He doesn’t even look like he can see straight.  And
I’m not sure if Lady Towaal cares about anyone other than herself.  And
sometimes you,” he added.  He had to admit though, Amelie made a point. 

Towaal
was casual chatting with another woman next to her.  She held up her wine
glass, swirled it around, sniffed it and pointed to it.  The woman nodded and
did the same with her own glass before taking a sip and remarking back to
Towaal with a smile.

The
General brought everyone’s attention to the circle when he loudly declared,
“when I step away you may begin.  Remember, if one combatant becomes
incapacitated, it will stop there.”  He looked directly at Fredrick when he
said it.

The
crowd quickly shuffled back a few steps.  They may be drunk and blood thirsty,
but no one wanted to be too close when Fredrick started swinging that broad
sword.

When
the General stepped out of the way, Fredrick howled a battle cry and charged. 
Rhys was barely paying attention and staggered out of the way.  Fredrick’s
first wild swing whistled by where Rhys’ head had been a second before.

“Wanda,
Wanda.  I can’t believe he hit you.  I told you he was wrong for you!” 

With
a start, Ben realized that Rhys was talking to Fredrick’s wife.  A man next to Ben
started laughing.  “That drunk is about to get his head cut off and doesn’t
even realize it.”

The
man was right, Fredrick was slowly approaching this time and there wouldn’t be
another wild swing that missed the mark.  He walked up right behind Rhys who
was still imploring the Lady Wanda.  Fredrick raised the heavy sword above his
head.  This was certain to be a fatal blow and Rhys didn’t even realize the
fight had started.

“Damnit
man!” shouted the General.

Fredrick
started his downward blow and Rhys spun towards the sound of the General’s
voice.  Each heartbeat stretched into a minute as Ben watched in horror. 
Fredrick’s face was strained into a gleefully wicked mockery of a grin and Rhys
looked confused when his gaze caught the man preparing to chop him in two.  But
as Rhys turned, seemingly almost by accident, the thin blade of the rapier rose
in his hand.  Ben could barely see the glint of torch light on the narrow steel
as Rhys looked from Fredrick to the General.

Fredrick
was halfway through his stroke when the rapier pierced his chest.  Rhys wasn’t
even looking at the man but the motion of his turn had enough force to stick
the razor sharp blade deep into Fredrick’s chest and the crowd gasped in unison
when they saw the bloody tip slide out of his back.

Fredrick’s
broadsword clattered harmlessly to the ground and his body slumped onto Rhys’
shoulder.  Rhys pushed the man away, eyes darting around the suddenly silent
circle.  He blurted, “what the hell!  I think that man was trying to kill me!”