The Shattered Path

Chapter 29 - The Delegation

"You have brought us much trouble since you came here," Uth Arthgrin said, rubbing his beard with one hand and holding a torch before him with the other. His stout frame filled his blue robe, gold embroidery at his collar and cuffs glittering in the flickering light. "Things would have been so much easier had you never come."

Aerham clenched his jaw muscles. He sat in the cage wagon, listening as the Lord of Light lectured him. A dozen soldiers in red tunics stood in the darkness behind Uth Arthgrin. They were in the little yard; the smallest courtyard of the three within the Fortress of Light. It was large enough to hold several hundred soldiers. The thirty-foot walls encircling them kept the sanity of the real world far away.

"At first light, you will be escorted into the Faraway Hills. You will never return to these lands. If you come within sight of the fortress, you will be shot by bowmen. If a scout sees you, he will have orders to kill you." Uth Arthgrin's dark eyes were cold and piercing. "You will no longer have a name. Aerham Hathaen will be dead, even if you breathe for another twenty years."

At the mention of scouts, Aerham thought of Aryl. He still hadn't seen his friend in weeks. "May I be permitted to see my friend Aryl one last time?" he asked, daring to interrupt the Lord of Light. "He is a scout."

Uth Arthgrin paused in thought for a moment. "He is no longer here." He seemed to think Aerham did not believe him and he added, "Most of the scouts left our service recently. Your friend was among those who left. We have Randeil and some newer recruits. Have no doubts that they will kill you on sight."

"When did Aryl leave?" Aerham asked quickly. He knew his friend would not leave him, not if he could help it. He had to know something of the situation by now. He fought off the fear that the Brotherhood had done something to his friend. Surely they wouldn't go that far. Would they?

"A large group of scouts returned on the day of your ill-fated march," Uth Arthgrin explained. "They went to Arnich for some rest and never returned. I'm certain that Senator had something to do with it. Either paying them off or going as far as to have them arrested."

Aryl wouldn't have accepted some payoff and deserted Aerham. He had given his word that he would join the Brotherhood, though it had been reluctantly. It seemed possible that the Senator had arrested him and the others. Perhaps it had been something Randeil had said on the day of the march, because Aerham had had a feeling that something was going on. He had seen Randeil speaking with Senator Ferdaen that morning, which didn't necessarily mean a conspiracy. He just had an uneasy feeling about it all. Of course, he had spoken to Senator Ferdaen on that morning as well, so the same suspicions could be raised about himself.

"Has there been any word from Minogradia? About my father's estates?" Aerham asked, seeing it as his last opportunity to inquire. He still held a shred of hope that his father lived.

"Your lands will be confiscated," Uth Arthgrin responded and suddenly realized he had misunderstood the question. Very coldly, he added, "No, my boy, there has been no word. Your father is dead. Be certain of that."

Aerham had never seen his father's corpse. He wasn't sure how many days had passed, but he knew it was more than enough time for his father to make it known he had survived the attack. He looked toward the night sky. The four towers of the fortress rose around him, flames dancing in a wind that passed too high for him to feel. His father had once stared up at those same fires. He recalled his father reminiscing about that same view. A man could look up and feel like he was part of something glorious.

After frowning silently for a moment, Uth Arthgrin and eight of the soldiers marched across the courtyard and disappeared through a doorway.

A livery servant unhitched the horses from the wagon and guided them to the stable. The remaining four guards kept a casual watch over Aerham as they chatted about gambling and rumors they had overheard. They were part of the Saroken levy serving the fortress. They seemed to think that they would be recalled back to Sylvestyr very soon and they hadn't even heard of the most recent events.