Siege of Stone

CHAPTER 86

The Norukai raiders caused tremendous damage to Serrimundi. Even though the people had succeeded in defeating the serpent ships, Nicci wished she could have prepared them better. But there had been no time.

Peace and prosperity left entire cities vulnerable because they let down their guard, but Nicci never underestimated the potential for hatred and evil in the world, since she herself had caused so much harm.

When she had left the People’s Palace on her mission with Nathan, Nicci had been convinced that Richard’s heartfelt code of freedom and independence throughout the D’Haran Empire would bring a true change for the world. But in her travels it had not taken long for her to see that the world was still a dangerous place.

She and Nathan had encountered many worthy men and women who would fight for what was right, hardworking farmers and craftsmen, even warriors who wanted a good life and a better world. But there were also many enemies, and it was Nicci’s job to fight them, to make a safe haven for those good people, and smother the ambitions of would-be conquerors, like the Norukai.

King Grieve’s large invasion fleet was out there, supposedly attacking Ildakar. Captain Kor had revealed the grandiose plans of the Norukai, and now Nicci knew she had another great enemy in addition to the threat of General Utros and his half-stone army.

Harborlord Otto and Captain Ganley had brought the damaged Mist Maiden back to the wharf, where final mopping-up operations were under way. Thousands of evacuated Serrimundi citizens returned from the hills and helped extinguish the dockside fires. The emboldened citizens also stood against the last of the raiders. The stranded Norukai showed little concern for their own lives and simply kept fighting until they were brought down by archers launching volley after volley of arrows.

Aboard the bloodstained decks of the Mist Maiden, angry and shaken crew members heaved Norukai corpses overboard into the harbor for the fish to feast on. The bodies of their own dead crew members, though, were lined up with great reverence, their arms and legs straightened, their faces smoothed, as the harborlord intoned the blessings of the Sea Mother upon them.

Nicci stood at the prow of the ship, covered with blood, her blond hair caked with red. She faced Harborlord Otto as the Mist Maiden tied up to the damaged docks and shouting people raced along the harbor’s edge. Captain Ganley waved as he saw his betrothed running toward him, laughing with relief. The harborlord looked as if he might burst into tears at seeing his daughter.

When they disembarked to a triumphant crowd of merchants and dockworkers, Nicci raised her voice. “I came here to warn you of an enemy threat, but the threat is even greater than I imagined. I hope you believe my warning now.” She gestured out to the harbor to indicate the burning ships, the bodies of the Norukai, and the Serrimundi dead that crew members solemnly carried off the decks of the returning ships. “Prepare yourselves for worse. It is not over.”

“Didn’t we defeat them?” asked a gruff and lanky man in stained captain’s clothes. His face looked similar to Harborlord Otto’s.

“This was just a raiding expedition, ten serpent ships,” Nicci said. “The Norukai have an empire, which has decided to go to war.”

Otto said, “This is my brother, Jared. He captains a kraken-hunting ship, like the one that burned at the mouth of the harbor.”

Jared scratched the back of his head. “We know how to kill tentacled monsters in the open sea, but we don’t usually worry about pirates. No one comes close to a krakener.”

“Maybe it’s the smell…” Otto joked.

“The Norukai will burn any ship they find,” Nicci said.

Jared shook his head. “They are not going to burn mine. From now on, all of my crew will be armed. The Norukai are just a different sort of monster to kill.”

“Every ship must be prepared to fight,” Nicci told the harborlord. “Spread the news throughout the harbor and to all the outbound ships so they can carry the word as well. Other towns have been preyed upon by the Norukai. Open trade will no longer keep you safe. Even if you have a strong city, someone will want to take it.

“I have already delivered a warning to Tanimura and asked Lord Rahl for his help. An entire D’Haran expeditionary force will be ready to march, but Serrimundi and all the cities along the coast will have to help themselves. The Norukai may have already struck several targets. Send messengers far and wide, even to the cities inland, because the armies of General Utros might be coming as well. Be watchful and ready. Build up your defenses.”

The people made promises. She could tell they wanted to be reassured that all would be well. Nicci couldn’t afford to let them grow complacent again. She unwrapped the pane of glass she had carried with her. “This is another enemy that awaits you, a vast army awakened from fifteen centuries ago. They have laid siege to Ildakar and already sent out satellite armies to ravage and pillage. They will conquer the lands in the mountains, then make their way to the coast.”

She needed to return to Ildakar if the Norukai were attacking, as Kor had boasted. She had to let the people of Serrimundi build up their own defenses without her. “I might not come back here for some time, so I leave the task to you. Rally the Old World.”

She turned slowly, showing them Elsa’s pane of glass, in which the image of Utros’s army had been imprinted. “This is proof of the enemy that is coming for you. Show everyone.” She intentionally dropped the pane onto the hard boards of the pier, and when it struck, the glass broke into eight uneven pieces. Each of the shards contained an identical image. She picked up one of the fragments and handed it to Harborlord Otto, handed a second one to the kraken hunter Jared, then distributed the remaining pieces among those who might spread the word.

“It is up to you now,” Nicci said. “I have to go back to Ildakar. You must all unite as part of the D’Haran Empire. Fight for your lives and your freedom.”

Seeing the look in their eyes, she knew she had gotten through to them. They would do as she asked. Nicci felt confident as she left the harbor and made her way back into the hills, where she would find the ancient temple of the Sea Mother and the sliph well.

At twilight, the temple was silent and peaceful, abandoned. After the Norukai attack on the harbor, the people of Serrimundi were picking up the pieces and putting out the last fires. There were hundreds of wounded to be tended. Nicci could have used healing magic to help them, but Serrimundi had many doctors and gifted healers. She was no longer needed here.

If the Norukai were attacking Ildakar, she was certainly needed there.

“Sliph, I want to travel. Now.” Nicci was sore, weary, and worried for her friends. She stood at the edge of the well and waited.

The shrubs and vines rustled in the evening breezes, and she smelled the gentle scent of blooming nightshade, but she heard nothing from the bottomless well. “Sliph, come!” She pushed out with her gift, felt along the threads of magic, the throbbing power deep within the well.

Somewhere infinitely far away, the intractable quicksilver began to move, roiling up the passage. Nicci was impatient, concerned about what might be happening in Ildakar right now. She had left Nathan and the duma members searching for a way to fight General Utros. How could they possibly battle King Grieve as well as a full Norukai invasion at the same time?

She shouted into the well. “Sliph, I require your services. I need to travel!”

Finally, the quicksilver surged to the top, like metallic acid boiling in a cauldron. The sliph’s face looked angry. “I serve the cause. I do not serve you.”

Nicci retorted, “You were created to transport travelers, and I need to travel.” She had no time to cajole the sliph. Lucy, the sliph that Richard commanded in Stroyza, had also been moody and petulant, but in the end Lucy had done as she was told. Nicci put one foot on the edge of the well. “Carry me back to Ildakar.”

“How will that serve Sulachan?” the sliph demanded.

“Sulachan is gone,” Nicci snapped. “We fight a different battle now. The cause has changed.”

The sliph recoiled at the revelation, and Nicci reached out with her gift, using Subtractive as well as Additive Magic. The sliph required both, and now Nicci proved that she was strong, her new master. “Take me to Ildakar.”

The sliph looked devastated. Her face distorted as the quicksilver re-formed itself. “Sulachan…”

Nicci released more of her gift, hammering hard to assert her dominance over the sliph. “Take me to Ildakar. I command it.”

“Ildakar!” The sliph lunged forward like an attacking wave of molten silver. “Breathe!” she commanded, then engulfed Nicci and pulled her down into a bottomless cold pit.…