[Mkguild] New Beginings part 5 the last part!

[Christian Okane]

   William Dupré and Nestorius stood at the end of the street. A short walk
out of the castle and through the town itself had brought them to the wall
that surrounded the town. At this section, the exact center of the east wall
was a large, squat tower. In the center of the ground floor was a large
passage that cut all the way through the tower and wall. The gatehouse had
two sets of doors. One on either end of the passage. Both were made of thick
wooden beams and sheathed in iron. William and his troops had entered
Hareford through a similar gatehouse on the south wall.

   The soldier examined both doors and the passage in between. "Very solid
construction."

   "It is," Nestorius added as he walked through the passage to the outside.
"The door was rebuilt when we retook the town. And since then I have had the
gatehouse itself rebuilt and strengthened significantly." He pointed out the
outer door and the drawbridge and the ditch that it crossed. "The ditch is
twelve feet deep and twenty feet wide and of course surrounds the entire
town. Beyond that we keep the ground free of trees, brush or any other cover
for a distance of three hundred yards."

   The feline mage stepped closer to William and when he spoke again it was
in a whisper. "There has been lot of magic cast on and against this place.
The Seuilman cast some very powerful spells and I have renewed and improved
them. It keeps anyone from being able to see into this fortress without my
specific permission and I've given that to no one. What this means is no one
can spy on us or teleport in. The wards cover a limited area and they stop
at the inside edge of the ditch. Also all underground passages are warded
and guarded. No one is going to sneak in through the sewers. During the
battle of Three Gates wraiths slipped into the Keep and slaughtered many
people. That will NOT happen here," the mage explained with a snarl.

   William bristled at the lion's nearness and nodded vigorously enough that
one of his spiraling horns clipped the lion on the nose. that caused the
lion to step backward a short way. “Very good, Sir Nestorius. I am impressed
with your diligence in adding to this town's defenses.  I will make sure
that we have enough men guarding each of these entrances. You'll forgive me,
but I do not trust magic to protect me. I trust good steel and stouthearted
men who know how to use it.”

   Nestorius rubbed his nose with one paw. “You may trust my magic, Sir
William.”

   “Of course.” His eyes roved the bailey as he let the lion regain his
composure.  Just inside the curtain wall was an open area free of any
buildings or structures of any sort. It was paved with the large, heavy,
well worn stones that William knew to be Seuilman construction. It was some
twenty feet wide and looked to be well cared for. "This road follows the
wall all the way round?"

   The lion's mane shook as he nodded in agreement. "Oh yes and it's kept
clear all the time. Also it is patrolled constantly too. Two groups on foot
walk its entire length constantly. In addition to the guards on the wall
itself."

   William and Nestorius turned and started walking along the road with the
ram examining the wall itself as they moved.

   "This is the curtain wall," the lion explained as they walked. To his
right the wall loomed over them. "It's twenty feet tall and twelve feet wide
at the base. It's made of a mix of stone and brick held together with very
solid mortar. It has been rebuilt several times over the centuries but all
of it has been very carefully examined and is equally strong."

   William surveyed it with a studious eye.  There was no question in his
mind that Nestorius, his overseer and keeper for the Duke, was very proud of
his town.  He was both a surprise and a comforting affirmation. But there
was still much he did not know, and he may as well start learning.  How much
could he trust this lion? So as they continued making their way along the
wall, William leaned close to the lion. "Forgive me for asking something so
personal but what species are you? I have never seen a lion colored as you
are."

   Nestorius laughed. "I would be surprised if you had. My species is the
noble lion but my coloring is the result of a duel I fought some years ago.
It was during the time we were retaking Hareford. I fought a duel with a
necromancer and this coloring was the result."

   The tower the lion and the ram were now standing in front of was a
duplicate of the eastern gatehouse. At least it had been at one time. The
stonework was the same as was the height, width and other dimensions, even
the placement of the arrow slits was the same. But there was one difference;
the passage through the tower was gone. Where in the east tower there had
been a passage closed by doors was a solid wall on the north tower. William
could easily see the pattern in the stonework where there had been such a
passage at one time. But it had been carefully filled in. The only thing
remaining of the once massive doors was a single, small, door barely large
enough for a solitary person to pass.

   William pushed open this small door and stepped into the dark interior.
"What's in here?" he asked as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the
darkness. Soon he could make out a large room filled with a variety of
benches, tables, barrels and boxes.

   "Storage," Nestorius answered.

   The ram slowly walked through the room skirting around the various
barrels and boxes that littered the floor. "Nice, solid and easily secured.
We will make this an armory and store a good supply of weapons and armor. So
all our weapons and armor will not be in the castle."

   William walked to the far wall which had once been the gateway to the
outside. He carefully examined the stonework.

   "That wall is solid," the mage said. "There is ten feet of solid stone
between us and the outside. Also I have reinforced the wall magically."

   He looked down at the floor and he saw where the stones had been worn
smooth by the passage of countless wagons, animals and people in the past
when there had been no wall just an open gate. Having strong empire walls to
use as a base was a great stroke of luck. "Are there any other Seuilman
fortifications? I've heard rumors of a wall closing off the entire valley."

   "There was such a wall," the mage answered. "But little of it remains
now. Although there are two towers that still stand to about ten feet in
height and the great ditches are still there."

   William nodded. "I would like to see that sometime soon but first let me
see the rest of our town."


*************


   The view from the top of the keep was beautiful. Stretched out below him
was the entire town and beyond that the fields and hills of the surrounding
countryside. All were colored bright red by the slowly setting sun as it
cast it's rays about. "An amazing view," Nestorius commented.

   "It is," the ram answered as he looked at the setting sun.

   Nestorius leaned against the battlement. "What do you think of our fine
town?"

   "This is a fine place. I am impressed with what you have done here. "You
have strong, thick empire walls and good soldiers to man them," Dupre'
commented.

   "Do not let the seeming strength of the walls fool you, Sir William.
Twice in the fortresses history it has been taken in spite of the tall,
thick walls and the brave men behind them."

   “Given what I know of the history of this land, I am surprised it has
only been taken twice.” Dupré continued before Nestorius could object. “Not
to slight the bravery of the men defending these strong walls.  But only to
recognize the history of warfare that this portion of the world has beheld.
Barbarian forces from the north, 'Civilizing' armies of the south.  All of
them have sought to claim this pass.  Having only been taken twice is a
compliment to Hareford.”

   Nestorius's frown turned to a laugh. “Well spoken, Sir William.  It is
good to have a man here who knows something of history.”

   And that was all the opening he needed. "Since we are speaking of
history, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" William asked.

   "Of course not. I'll answer so long as it is not too personal," Nestorius
replied.

   "You came to Metamor recently?" was the ram's question.

   The lion mage nodded. "I came just before the battle of the Three Gates."

   "Did you come voluntarily?" William asked calmly without looking at the
lion.  His eyes kept to the south, surveying fields of snow cast red by the
evening sun as it disappeared beyond the brackish peaks.

   "No," Nestorius answered sharply. "I was exiled here. Like you were."

   "Do you miss your old home?" William said, turning to stare at the lion
with a surprisingly sharp gaze. "Do you miss your family?"

   The lion shrugged. "Metamor is my home now and I have a family of my own.
Something I did not have in Sathmore."

   William turned back to looking out over the ground below and sighed. "I
did have a family.  And I miss them."

   This news seemed to engender true sympathy in the lion's beastly
countenance. "If you wish I could use my magic to look in on them. Be sure
they are safe."

   But Dupré shook his head sharply. "No. I promised not to have any contact
with them and I will honor that promise."

   Nestorius wrapped an arm around William's shoulders. "An honorable thing
to do and I can understand that. I also know that here you have the chance
to start over and make a new life. when I came here I could have wallowed in
anger and pity at being so far from Sathmore and the power I craved. But I
realized that this was a chance to start anew. I found a fine woman who
would take me as her husband and a fine cause to fight for: protecting the
people of this valley."

   “Then as one exile to another, standing here on the edge of human
civilization – whether our forbears would consider us human or not – I thank
you for welcoming me here and offering me the hospitality of your home.  It
was not your choice, nor mine, but for now, we are stuck with each other.”

   The lion nodded, his eyes shrouded as if probing for a deeper meaning
behind the ram's words. “That is very true.  But this is now my home, Sir
William.  In time it will also be yours.”

   “Perhaps that is so.”

   “And in time,” Nestorius ventured, “it will heal the wounds in your
heart.”

   The sun vanished beyond the mountains and the valley was bathed in the
soft violet of twilight. William felt cold and drew his cloak over his
chest. “That is something that will take a bit more than time.” The lion
said nothing. “It has been a very long day.  Let us find something to eat
and you can tell me more of Hareford's history.  Tomorrow is also going to
be a very long day.”

   Nestorius nodded and smiled, gesturing with a large paw toward the
stairs. “Aye, that it will.  That it will.”  Together, the two of them
returned to the warmth of Hareford castle and the promise of a meal.
William took one last look around before descending into his new home.


   The end!

*********************

   I hope you enjoyed our story! Please feel free to send your comments and
thoughts!

   Chris O'Kane
   Charles Matthias




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