The City Guard of Derig was recruited from the most elite mercenaries in the land. It was said that the Guard Quarter was almost as opulent as the Royal apartments, so well were they paid.
As they crested the rise that revealed the city, Chihon saw a cloud of dust approaching down the road.
"Let's get off the road before they reach us," Chihon said. "It's almost time anyway. We can camp for the night and enter the city in the morning."
They pulled off the road and staked out the horses. Chihon found a convenient rock and sat. She placed her pack on the ground next to her and unlaced it to provide her easy access. She checked her sleeve for the dagger she kept hidden there. It was secured against her arm, the razor sharp blade nestled snugly in its leather case.
The dust cloud turned into a pair of horsemen. As they approached, she could see that they were flying a strange banner. She gathered her power around her just in case there was any hostile intent.
As the men reached the spot where Chihon and Tass had pulled over, the lead horseman reined up and jumped down from the saddle. The second man took the reins from him but remained mounted.
The first man approached Chihon and firmly planted the banner into the soft soil. He knelt down on one knee. "Good evening, Mother," he said, rising. "You are a Priestess of Ran?"
"Yes, I am." Chihon watched as the man approached her. Something in his movements made her suspicious or else her senses were working extremely well. She gathered her power, ready.
The man quickly drew his sword and advanced on her. "Death to the Priesthood. Death to Ran." He swung his sword at her, trying to take her head off with his first thrust.
Chihon threw herself backwards. She rolled off the back side of the rock, putting it between her and the assailant. She reached out to him and called out "Prohibere ubi sunt," commanding him to stop where he was. She could feel the power flowing from her, but the man was not deterred. He stepped around the rock and took another swing at her.
Chihon rolled away, but he caught her robe with his sword. She could hear the cloth shred just before the sword clanged into the stone.
She rolled to her feet, hunching down to make herself a smaller target and faced her attacker.
"What are you doing?" she demanded. "The Temple is a place of service and healing." She weaved from side to side, backing away from him while still crouching.
"The temple is a den of thieves and purveyors of a false religion." He lifted his sword over his head in preparation for another stroke.
"Please grant me a moment to prepare myself," Chihon begged. "Let me say my final prayers before you take my head."
The man hesitated. He looked down at her, sword held high. "Make it fast then." He held his position waiting while Chihon folded her hands and let her sleeves fall across them. She bowed her head and mumbled the quick prayer that Tass said over her every night.
Under the cover of her sleeves, she carefully withdrew her dagger and prepared to throw. She planted one foot and tensed her body preparing to jump away from the oncoming steel. As she finished her prayer, she looked up at the man.
"I'm finished."
He pulled the sword back. "Now that you have said you peace, prepare for your eternal rest."
As the sword started to move, Chihon burst from the ground. She moved like lightning, thrusting the dagger under the man's ribs, plunging it straight into his heart. She slid past his undefended side even as the sword whistled through the air. She fell to the ground behind him as he toppled over. The only sound was that of his final gasping breath.
She lay there breathing heavily, mentally checking her body for signs of injury. She appeared to be whole and unscathed. As she gathered her wits, she remembered that there were two of them and sat bolt upright, expecting another attack.
She turned to see the second man lying on the ground. Tass stood behind him holding a knife and scowling. She was red with the man's blood. The rider gushed a crimson stream from the twin slashes in his back, deftly placed there by the old woman as he'd watched the fight.
"Who are these men?" Chihon asked.
"This is the banner of the Atenthi." Tass kicked over the flag the first man had jammed into the soft earth. She stepped on the decorated cloth and ground it into the dirt.
Chihon opened the saddle bags on the lead horse. She found a parchment authorizing the horseman to represent the Royal Governor of Derig. "I thought Derig was a ruled by a council of free men."
"It was. It looks like things may have changed."
"It doesn't look like they favor the Temple. I think I need to find a change of clothes before we head into the city."
"These look like they may fit," Tass said holding up a pair of pants and coarse homespun shirt. She kicked at the dead man. "I don't think he's going to need them."
Chihon and Tass reached the city gates late in the morning. The sun did little to lift the cold gray of the granite walls that surrounded the towering city. The wind that blew off the Ice Father was thick with mist and biting chill. Chihon drew the borrowed shirt tighter around her and leaned into her horse as they drew close to the gate.
"Halt," the guard called out. "Where from, and where bound?"
"We're bound for Calrick and we've come from Gwitney," Chihon said. She tried to make her voice as low as possible, hoping the guards would mistake her for a man.
"What's wrong with your son?" he asked Tass, rubbing his hand over his scalp, indicating Chihon's shaved head.
"Nothing, Sir. He likes to feel the breeze on his scalp. It's the latest fashion in Gwitney."
"He's not sick?"
"He's fine. A little slow, but healthy," she added with a conspiratorial wink.
He eyed their bundles. "If you're selling any goods in the market you need to get a permit. If you're staying more than a moon, you'll need to register with the Magistrate." The guard stepped aside to allow them entry.
"Thank you, we will certainly do that."
Chihon followed silently behind Tass as they passed through the gates. Once inside, Chihon was surprised to see, not the usual gathering of houses and shops, but a crowd of lavish mausoleums. The polished marble and rich ornate carvings had been defaced by chips and slashes. Some statues were thrown over, others arranged in suggestive positions. Several had been hacked until they were no longer recognizable. Many of the mausoleums stood open, the doors smashed in and contents looted.
"Tass, what happened here?"
"These are the famed mausoleums of Derig. The city is known for its grandeur and opulence. They take great pride in their ancestors and treat them well. Someone must have invaded the city. This looks like the work of an invading army."
"With such strong walls, I find it hard to believe that they were overrun," Chihon said.
"The city is protected by a mercenary army. They are loyal and fierce, and they have never been overrun in the city's entire history." Tass shook her head at the desecration.
The mausoleums soon gave way to more conventional buildings. There were homes and shops lining the street as made their way walked deeper into the city. Chihon noticed that many of the occupants looked up from their work as the two of them walked down the street, only to quickly return to their chores when she made eye contact.
They came to an open square that served as a local market. It was small and crowded with stalls where the merchants displayed their wares. It pricked a longing in Chihon for her Grandma'am and the market back home.
"Let's rest over there." Chihon indicated a portion of the market that was open grass with a few shade trees breaking up the grounds. A group of noisy children darted around the trees, playing a game of 'catch me if you can' and squealing with excitement as their parents scoured the market.
They found a spot where they could water their horses, and sat down in the shade of an oak tree. From there they could observe the market while they decided what to do next. The citizens were bustling around the market, haggling over the prices of everything from bread to beans.
A young mother walked towards the park carrying a sack of vegetables and bread. She stopped and called to a little girl who reluctantly abandoned her game. Just then, a rider thundered up the street and came to a halt next to the mother and child.
The rider was a large shirtless man with a long black braid running down his back and gold circlets around his massive biceps. He reined his horse to a stop and jumped off in one smooth motion. He walked over to the young mother, knocked the provisions out of her hand, grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her back towards his horse.
The little girl cried as her mother was hauled away. The woman screamed and struck the man repeatedly, but he easily overpowered her, laughing as he pulled her along. When they reached his horse, he took a coil of rope and quickly lashed her hands together. He threw the free end of the rope across his saddle and made it fast.
Chihon headed for the man. "What do you think you're doing? Leave that woman alone."
"Mind your place, boy," he said turning his back on her.
"I said leave her alone." This time Chihon held out her hand and focused her magic on him. "Prohibere ubi sunt" she said commanding him to halt.
She could feel the power flow out of her, but it didn't seem to have much effect on the man. She expected him to freeze in place, but he did not. He must have felt it because he turned to face her once again.
"Who are you to command me?" he demanded. "I am Dendar of the Atenthi warriors. We own this city and all who dwell within it."
He walked over to her, towering above her and planted his hands on his hips. "Are you going to try to stop me? Go ahead, I'll wait."
She reached out her senses again. This time she could feel his natural shields. He was no Wizard, but he had magic and he had shields. Something impeded her ability to attack him directly but she had to try something. She examined him with her magic, found a loose thread, and carefully unraveled the shielding he carried. It was easy, now that she knew what she was dealing with.
Inside his shield, Chihon felt his life force and his magic. She carefully pulled at them, separating both from him. His magic was wild and crude, yet powerful. She imagined what she could do with power like this. She drew it cautiously away from him, preparing for that final pull that would sever it and make it her own.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard her own thoughts shouting. "Don't do it!" She had a vague impression of Lorit fighting a Priest, and her calling out to him not to take the Priest's magic for his own. She hesitated. Why had that memory come up? Was it even real?
She looked back into the warrior. She could see his life thread clearly, now that she had separated it from his magic. She reached for that instead, and touched it as she'd seen Lorit do.
The man toppled over into a deep sleep.
"We'd better get out of here before he wakes up. I don't know how long he'll be out."
She untied the young woman as Tass comforted the girl and shepherded her back to her mother.
"You need to get out of here as quickly as you can," Chihon told her. "He'll wake soon and he's not going to be happy about this. Do you have somewhere to go?"
"I ... I have a sister. She lives outside the city on a small farm," the woman explained.
"Go there. Don't return. I have a feeling he'll come back for you if you do."
"I will." The woman turned to the man lying on the ground and spat on him. "Filthy swine," she said and kicked him in the ribs.
"These swine have been here since spring. They came when the snows melted and moved right in. It is said they bought off the city guard with enough gold to purchase the entire city. Certainly they think they own it." She kicked the man again. "But not me!"
Chihon watched as the woman and child left, hoping they would make it out of the city safely.
Chihon and Tass booked themselves into the Broken Dagger Inn. It was constructed from granite blocks and was cold inside. The fireplace in the dining room did little to chase away the shivers that threatened to overcome her. They had chosen the Broken Dagger for its location, far from the park. They sat quietly at the table listening to the conversation of the patrons and slowly pieced together the events that had led up to the capture of the city.
The Atenthi had bought off the mercenaries that made up the City Guard. They'd found a rich seam of gold beneath the face of the Ice Father and used that gold to buy their way into Derig.
They'd made the arrangements in secret and when the time came, simply notified the Guard of their arrival. The Guard had picked up their gear and departed, leaving the city wide open to the barbarians, who quickly dispatched the ruling council and took over in their place.
The population had been subject to random raids by the Atenthi ever since. They frequently carried off young women for their pleasure and young men for their slaves. The whole city lived in fear.
"How may I help you?" The serving girl was tall and thin and wore a clean white apron over her homespun dress.
"Do you have any meat?" Chihon asked.
"We don't often have meat in the middle of the week. But today we have lamb and fowl."
"How is the lamb?"
"Only a little tough," the girl answered with a wink.
"I'll have the lamb then." Chihon looked over at Tass who nodded her head. "Both of us."
"Two lamb. That'll be five silvers."
"Five silvers? That seems a little high."
"Prices are high ever since the Atenthi have moved in," the girl said. "That does include ale for each of you, and some bread."
Chihon reached for the silvers and placed them on the table.
"What are we going to do about these Atenthi?" Chihon hated to see anyone being taken advantage of. The Atenthi sounded like an intolerable evil. "We can't let these people become their prey."
"We're not going to do anything about them," Tass said. "We don't get involved in local politics. You should not have interfered today in the park. It's not our fight."