A Strange Song of Madness (Part 2)

By Wil Clayton

The concluding part of A Strange Song of Madness. It is recommended that you have read the part one.
For as long as he can remember, Shaol has been a servant to the masters of the stone city of Tarlnath. Each day he draws the water the city needs to survive the poisonous curse that has taken the kingdom but now, as his body starts to fail after the years of labour, he is presented with a chance at freedom by an old, mysterious friend.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wil Clayton
• Release date: Jun 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310305054

Book preview

A Strange Song of Madness

Part 2

Wil Clayton

Long Shadows on a Wide Plain series

Copyright 2015 Wil Clayton

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Chapter 14

Shaol held himself against the metal casing of the barrel as it rocked from the movement of the wagon beneath.

Two days had passed since Shaol had taken to the streets of the city in the early morning wrapped in the clothes of the dead. Shaol found his way to a dirt alley across from meat store and waited until Yor emerged from within carrying a large cut of salted meat for an Under. Yor’s bald head reflected the morning light, he had lost his ferret skin cap since Shaol had seen him last. When the deal was done and the Under was on his way home with the meat, Yor crossed the street and approached Shaol.

They said they got you, said Yor.

They did, replied Shaol.

Pysuun?

I need you to get me on the next run.

Yor sighed and ground his teeth.

Come inside, he said finally.

Shaol waited for the run amongst the carcasses. The hole in his side slowly mended, helped by the paste that burnt it clean and held it shut. The small amount of time Shaol had left was passing but there was nothing he could do to change that, so he sat on his stool and tried not to think on what was done. No one came for him, no one spoke to him, the silence only interrupted by the occasional appearance of Yor when he came to collect a lump of meat and salt that was needed.

The day of the goods run came and Yor entered the room in with a single barrel and Shaol lowered himself into it.

Thank you, said Shaol as he climbed into the barrel, I’ll be back for you.

Yor shook his head and handed Shaol a pry bar.

You’ll need this to get out, said Yor simply.

Shaol lowered himself into the space.

Its a good thing your small, sighed Yor looking down at him and then added, don’t end up like Pysuun, lad.

Shaol did not respond, he just lowered his head and positioned himself in the barrel. Yor placed the top on the barrel and hammered it shut. The world was dark as things shuffled in the room outside, then the barrel lurched to the side and up.

What’s in this? grunted someone as the barrel fell back to the ground.

Salt, said Yor, don’t spill it.

A hand, called the voice.

The barrel tipped again and Shaol held himself in place, the pry bar started to slip but he was able to grab it before it hit the metal. The barrel swayed as it was carried from the room then came the sounds of the street. The ones who carried the barrel grunted, the barrel dropped onto the wagon and then it started to roll, tumbling Shaol over as it went. The pry bar flew free and started to bounce around the small space, Shaol quickly grabbed the pry bar as it flew past him and held it tight.

Fix it with some bags, came Yor’s voice.

Shaol sighed to himself, no one had heard the pry bar. The barrel jolted as things were thrown against it. Shaol sat quietly in the dark with the cold metal gripped in hand as the rest of the goods were packed around him and then the wagon lurched forward, though the city and towards the gate.

The wagon came to a stop as it had reached the mouth of the gate. Shaol’s stomach dropped as the realisation came to him, it had taken so much to get here, he was alone, he was wounded but he would not fail the ones that still waited for him.

The barrel was rolled from the wagon and it tipped again, it rocked for a few moments and then hit the ground. A shudder went through the barrel and into Shaol’s body, his chested ached, still hurt from the blow he had taken from the metal pole.

Shaol heard someone grunt as the barrel lifted again, it did not tip this time as it was carried by a guard beyond the gate and into the tunnel.

Soon, the barrel was loaded onto the second the wagon, the ones who laboured outside made no sound as they went about their task and then the wagon rolled forward to its final resting place somewhere within the belly of the fortress.

Now, Shaol sat listened to the sound of metal wheels scrapping on the tunnel’s stone floor outside the barrel.

The world started to lean as the wagon made a long, slow left, then it suddenly swung back as there was a quick right and then it stopped. The goods were unpacked, the barrel was lifted and placed on the ground, then the wagon wheels started to scrap again as they were pulled away.

Shaol listened. He heard nothing for a good amount of time, so he took the pry bar in hand, put it to the edge of the top, tapped it and worked the pry bar between the barrel and the top, the metal bowed and the cover came free.

Shaol tilted the top and looked up through the small gap. All he could see were thin, stone pillars which soared above, capped by large arches holding a stone roof which reflected the soft, half light of torches. There were no walls in sight, the barrel was sitting in the open.

Shaol lowered the top still feeling unsure, he would give it some more time, the goods wagon may still be nearby, Unders may come to fetch goods for the Masters, guards may pass on a patrol.

Time passed and as it did Shaol grew more confident as nothing moved outside the barrel. He lifted the top and raised his head above the rim. The room stretched out in every direction, there were no walls, only the widely spaced, thin pillars between which sat countless piles of goods. Food, wood, stone, fabric, leather, tools and many other strange objects, which Shaol had never seen before. Each pile sat unattended and unguarded in the soft orange light of torches that had been secured to the pillars.

Shaol pulled himself from the barrel and looked for a place to hide but every pile was as exposed as the next. In the distance, Shaol could see the black wall and the large gate which started the path back to the city. The gate was as tall here as the one that towered over the city, but there were no guards, only two large, black braziers taller than three men which sat on either side of the gate, unlit and abandoned.

Shaol looked behind, away from the black wall, there he saw stone steps which rose from the floor and climbed all the way to roof and disappeared to the left and right into the half light. The piles of goods in front of the steps were unlit, a good place to hide and decide how to move forward. Shaol made his way toward the steps.

Shaol, called Raphtune’s voice, this way.

Shaol’s eyes scanned the space ahead, the young boy’s head stuck out from behind a pile of stone and bricks, crouched low to the ground. Raphtune did not wait for a response, the face disappeared, Shaol hurried forward and when he reached the bricks he saw the boy in the distance working his way through the room from one pile to the next.

Raphtune kept a good distance in front of the Shoal as the boy glided through the room like nothing Shaol had seen, each step seemed a continuation of the one that came before with was no hesitation in the motion . Raphtune would find himself behind a pile, he would have looked for what was ahead, be around the pile and across the floor without a single pause, without a single sound, without a sign of effort.

Shaol followed the small shadow which slip through the space and tried to be as silent as the boy but he had to move quickly to keep up and his heavy, metal boots only made the fast, hard steps louder.

Raphtune disappeared from sight, Shaol hurried to where he had last seen the shadow and there he found a small space dug into a pile of goods, the entrance hidden by some empty boxes that Shaol pushed aside and entered.

I didn’t expect to see you here, said Shaol as he ducked low and found a spot in the small space.

Raphtune the Missing is never where people expect him to be.

I’m glad you are, smiled Shaol how did you get in?

I have my ways, said Raphtune simply and pulled a bag out from under his shirt, I got here the day after you tore apart your Master’s house, the fortress seemed far safer than the city after that.

Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving the city?

I’ve decided it’s safer to keep a distance from you, said Raphtune finding a jar of black ink in his bag, I would still like to get out of Tarlnath with my life.

You think I’m dangerous?

I don’t take unnecessary risks, replied