The Wrath of the Great Guilds (The Pillars of Reality Book 6)

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Jack Campbell

  THE WRATH OF THE GREAT GUILDS

  Copyright © 2016 by John G. Hemry

  All rights reserved.

  Published as an ebook in 2016 by JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc.

  Cover art by Dominick Saponaro.

  ISBN 978-1-625671-40-0

  To my niece,

  Dr. Megan Meier

  For S, as always

  Chapter One

  “I will go to Dorcastle.”

  She said it, knowing that the mightiest military force in history would soon attack that city.

  She said it, knowing that the foremost target of the attackers would be her.

  She said it, because she had to. Because the daughter of Jules had been prophesized to someday unite Mages, Mechanics, and the common people to save the world of Dematr. And, according to the Mages and the common people, Master Mechanic Mari of Caer Lyn was that daughter. They believed in her. They needed her. If she didn’t do the job, no one else could.

  But if she failed, if she died at Dorcastle at the hands of the Great Guilds and the Imperial legions aiding them, then the common people would remain in bondage and the world would soon sink into chaos.

  No pressure.

  * * * *

  Alain walked with Mari out into the earliest morning twilight, the sky to the east barely brighter than the night above and to the west. Behind them, the walls of Tiaesun loomed. Far to the north, the walls of Dorcastle awaited.

  Mari’s black hair and dark jacket had blended with the fading night, but now began to stand out against the growing light of dawn. Alain remembered the first time he had seen her, emerging from the dust raised by the destruction of the caravan with which they had been traveling. The only outward difference between now and that day about two years ago was that Mari carried one of the new rifles.

  “What are you thinking?” Mari asked him in a hushed voice.

  “I am thinking that this day we are wearing the same clothing as we did the day we met,” Alain said. “You in your Mechanics jacket and I in my Mage robes. But though our appearance is nearly the same as it was then, both of us have changed, me much more than you. I have rejected much of what the Mage Guild once forced me to believe. I once again accept feelings, I once again believe that other people are real.”

  “Do you think I haven’t changed much?” Mari scoffed, an edge of tension riding her voice. “Aside from me falling in love with a Mage, do you really think the eighteen-year-old woman you met the day the caravan was destroyed would have seriously considered riding to confront the Great Guilds and the Empire?”

  “Yes,” Alain said. “Because she would not leave behind anyone who needed her, not even a seventeen-year-old Mage such as I was.”

  “Maybe. But she was running for her life, trying to get away from people trying to kill her. This time I’m running toward people who want to kill me. And in the last couple of years I’ve learned a lot more about how it feels when people are trying to kill you.” She stopped walking for a moment, breathing slowly, looking up at the sky. “I’m scared,” she whispered.

  Alain grasped her hand in his. “I will not let harm befall you.”

  “You’re an amazing man with amazing abilities, my Mage, but even you can’t promise that.” Mari inhaled deeply, squeezed his hand, and began walking again over the rough grass outside the city. “I can’t let anyone see how scared I am. I’ll get the job done. No matter what. Help me do what I have to do, Alain.”

  “Always.” Distressed by her fear, but not knowing what other comfort to offer, Alain followed Mari.

  They had expected to find Major Sten from the Confederation, who had carried the word of the danger to Dorcastle, waiting to accompany them back north. Instead, a large group of people and an even larger herd of saddled horses stood by the road. In the growing light, Alain saw that most of the men and women waiting for them were cavalry, swords at their hips, metal cuirasses armoring their chests, and helms topped with short plumes that nodded in the faint breeze. The lances held by the cavalry troopers formed a small, bare forest pointing skyward.

  “What’s this?” Mari asked.

  “An escort,” answered Queen Sien of Tiae. Dressed similarly to the cavalry but wearing a gold band set with a large emerald on her forehead rather than an armored helm, Sien had blended in with the others in the pre-dawn murk.

  “It’s too many,” Mari objected.

  Sien came up to Mari and embraced her. “Not for my friend. Not for the daughter of Jules who we hope will free this world.”

  “Sien—"

  “I owe you so much. Tiae owes you so much. My kingdom lives again because of what you helped make happen. Consider this a small return on that.”

  Alain looked over the cavalry. More than one hundred soldiers, their green uniforms new, their armor and helms old but shining, their sabers and lances sharp. The horses were a mix of breeds, but all strong and well seasoned. There were two mounts for every rider, and several wagons loaded with feed for their horses and provisions for the soldiers. From most places, the commitment would have been welcome but small. From Tiae, still recovering from decades of anarchy, it was an impressive and meaningful gift. “The company of these soldiers will be welcome to us,” he said. “If even a hint that we ride north reaches the wrong ears, there will be dangers awaiting us before we reach Dorcastle.”

  “Some of them will protect you all the way to Dorcastle,” Sien said. “And then remain to aid in the defense of the city.”

  Mari stared at her friend, and then at the cavalry again. “Do they know what’s coming to attack Dorcastle? The Imperial legions and the full force of the Great Guilds?”

  “They know,” Sien said. “They are all volunteers. When the Kingdom of Tiae broke and fell into anarchy, it had no friends to come to its aid because it had never concerned itself with the needs of others. But now the kingdom is reborn, and perhaps wiser. We have little to offer, but we will send what we can to aid our neighbors to the north.”

  “The Queen of Tiae is wise,” Alain said.

  “The Queen of Tiae wishes she could send an army with you. But she will accompany you part of the way,” Sien added. “I and the remaining cavalry will ride to Pacta Servanda.”

  “But the Syndari allies of the Great Guilds might hit other parts of Tiae—" Mari began.

  Sien silenced Mari with a gesture, leaning close to her and Alain. “Breathe not a word to others outside us three. The oldest obligation of the royal family is tied to Pacta Servanda. It is known only to the family and their closest advisors. I know of it only because one of the kingdom’s surviving advisors was able to tell me before he died. Pacta Servanda must not fall. I do not know why, but that is my duty as queen, and that is why I made what could have been the last stand of Tiae at that place.”

  “Why is this?” Alain asked. “Why is such an obligation placed on the rulers of Tiae? Pacta is only a modest-sized town.”

  “I don’t know,” Sien said. “But I know that with the crown comes the responsibility to defen
d Pacta. Let us waste no more time on this.” She stepped back. “The daughter must ride to Dorcastle, and the Queen of Tiae must ride to Pacta Servanda.”

  “Neither the Syndaris nor the legions will know what hit them,” Mari said, smiling, as Sien and Alain swung into their saddles.

  Mari slid her new rifle into the leather scabbard hanging next to her saddle, then mounted the mare, sighing. “This is going to be a long, painful ride.”

  “With the Syndaris threatening shipping, we could not risk a journey north by sea,” Alain said.

  “I know. And there hasn’t been time to get the steam locomotive tracks repaired and replaced in Tiae, and the trains in the Confederation will be under the control of the Mechanics Guild. None of that’s going to make this ride any easier on my backside. Did all the couriers get off at midnight?” Mari looked at Sien, whose stallion was looking about excitedly, head held high.

  “They did,” Sien confirmed, patting her horse’s neck to calm him. “To all cities along the coast of Tiae, and to the stronghold at Pacta Servanda, as well as to the Confederation and to your army south and east of us.”

  Mari looked to the southeast, where nothing could be seen but darkness building on darkness beneath the slowly paling sky. “The moment General Flyn hears of the danger to Dorcastle and Pacta he’ll start countermarching back to Tiaesun and then north.”

  “I will see that Pacta holds. With your help, Dorcastle will too, until your army arrives,” Sien said.

  “Yes,” Mari said. “Dorcastle will hold.”

  Alain, trained like all Mages to tell when others spoke lies, easily heard the worry under Mari’s self-assured words. But the others listening heard and saw only her confidence as Mari waved a farewell and then flicked her reins, Alain and Sien keeping their horses close to hers, the cavalry escort following.

  One of the cavalry rode up beside Alain, saluting him, Mari, and his queen. “Major Danel, commander of your escort by order of the Queen,” he introduced himself. Danel was old for his rank, tough and wiry with scars on his face, a survivor of the decades of anarchy in Tiae.

  “I could have chosen no better commander for the task,” Sien said. “That he volunteered immediately speaks of his quality.”

  Mari nodded at Danel. “Major, why did you do so?”

  “As well might I ask why you volunteered to go to Dorcastle, Lady,” the major replied.

  “There’s only one me,” Mari said. “But why did you and these others volunteer?”

  “You may speak plainly,” Sien told him. “Lady Mari and her Mage value straight words as much as I do.”

  Danel looked backwards for a moment, where his soldiers rode silently, only the sound of shod hooves on the road and the rattle of harness marking their presence. “I can’t be certain of all of them. I know that for me and many others, there is not much left behind. My family was wiped out long ago.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mari said.

  “You would have been barely a child yourself when it happened, Lady,” Danel said. “Even younger than Queen Sien was then. There was nothing you could have done to stop it. Many of the others also lost everything that mattered to them. Until the New Day began to dawn in Tiae. You, Lady—you and your Mage—have given us some things to fight for again. Freedom for everyone from the chains of the Great Guilds. A reborn kingdom, under a queen who is worthy of her rule. So, we will fight. We will fight in a foreign land so that those who have much more left to lose can stay close to their homes and defend Tiae.”

  “You do not worry about death?” Alain asked, surprised that a common person would feel that way. He kept his voice and expression free of emotion without even thinking about it. Even after two years with Mari he usually behaved in the manner in which Mage acolytes were brutally taught.

  Major Danel rode quietly for a long moment before answering. “I have seen enough of death for it to be a familiar companion. I stopped fearing it long ago. And if, as some say, those who have died await us on the other side of the unseen door, then perhaps I would find welcome there. But even if that is not so, I want my death to matter, Sir Mage. I have fought to save my kingdom, and now I will fight to free the world.”

  “Those are good reasons,” Mari said. “Thank you.”

  “What will that world be like, Lady? Will it be a world free from war?”

  “I wish I could promise that. I can’t. All I can promise is that when wars happen, they will be because the people and their leaders choose those fights, not because the Great Guilds are playing games with human pieces.”

  “Let us hope those people and leaders have wisdom,” Danel said. He half-bowed in the saddle toward his queen. “As much wisdom as our own.”

  Sien nodded in reply. “Like yours, Major, my wisdom was born of pain. Perhaps we can build a world where there is more wisdom and less suffering.”

  Major Danel smiled, saluted once more, then fell back behind Mari, Alain, and Sien.

  They rode through the growing light and heat of the day, stopping for only short breaks, changing to their spare mounts when the pace of the ride began to wear too heavily on their horses. They halted long after the sun had set. Alain, toughened as he was by his training as a Mage, nevertheless welcomed the too-brief rest. Mari, exhausted but already stiff and sore from the long ride as well as haunted by her worries, kept him awake for a while as she shifted restlessly in her sleep. Sien slept slightly apart from them. She had spent most of the day in silence, as if devoting all of her thoughts to the task ahead.

  Before dawn, they rode onward.

  * * * *

  Two days after leaving Tiaesun, following the path of the long-neglected Royal Road, they reached the spot where the new road from Pacta Servanda intersected it from the west. Two wagons and a string of fresh horses awaited them, as well as men and women who sprang to attention.

  Captain Patila from Mari’s army, standing by one of the wagons, saluted. “Your Majesty, Lady Mari, Sir Alain, it’s good to see you.”

  “How goes the work at Pacta Servanda?” Sien asked.

  “Well, Your Majesty. Colonel Sima and Lady Mechanic Alli are preparing a very warm welcome for the Syndaris. All were happy to hear that you will lead the defense of Pacta.”

  Sien nodded. “With commanders such as Colonel Sima and Lady Mechanic Alli, as well as fighters such as you, I have no fear of the outcome.” She turned to Mari. “I should not linger here, with the Syndaris possibly to strike at any time. I wish I could ride to Dorcastle with you.”

  “If I’m going to make friends with queens,” Mari said, “I have to accept that they have their own responsibilities. Alain and I will see you again once this is over.”

  “Of course,” Queen Sien said, sounding as if she truly believed that would happen. “Remember, Mage Alain, you have promised to bring Mari back to me.”

  “I will,” Alain said.

  Sien gripped his arm. “The common people have long used the saying a Mage’s promise to describe something worthless. But I know that from you a promise is more valuable than any jewel. Bring yourself back safe as well, my friend.”

  The cavalry had already sorted itself out, the sixty-one who would ride to Dorcastle separated from the forty who would ride with their queen to Pacta. Sien mounted again, looking down at Mari. “Fate chose a worthy champion in you. If the task can be done, I know you will do it.”

  “Thank you,” Mari said. She and Alain watched Queen Sien lead her cavalry west along the new road. “I should be going to help hold Pacta,” Mari commented to Alain.

  “If it can be done,” Alain said, deliberately evoking Sien’s words, “then she will do it. You are needed elsewhere.”

  “We are needed elsewhere,” Mari corrected him. “Can you tell me anything else about Pacta, Captain? I'm glad they could spare you long enough to bring us these fresh horses.”

  Patila smiled confidently. “Lady Mechanic Alli asked me to send you her regrets. She is busy fortifying and preparing her artillery to gree
t the Syndaris in the manner they deserve.”

  “How does Alli feel about the situation?” Mari asked wearily. She handed her tired horse over to the wranglers from Pacta, who were helping transfer saddles and other tack to the fresh mounts.

  “She told me that if the Syndaris had hit us by surprise, it might have been ugly,” Patila confessed. “But since the courier arrived with your warning and orders, Colonel Sima and Lady Alli have been reinforcing all of the seaward defenses and emplacing new ones. If the Syndaris come in great strength, we may be hard pressed. But I think we will hold them. Especially with Queen Sien at Pacta to lend heart to us. It surprised many of us to hear she was coming, but we were all happy at the news.”

  “I’m glad that Queen Sien is respected by everyone,” Mari said.

  “Second only to you and your Mage, Lady. You know that we of the Western Alliance, and those of the Confederation, regard nobility with great suspicion, but Queen Sien has the respect of us all.”

  “Good. Um…” Mari began awkwardly, “my parents and sister…and the other families at Pacta…”

  “They are all being moved to safe locations well away from where we expect any fighting,” Patila said. “Except for those who have volunteered to help defend Pacta, that is. Since they lack training, we’re using them to guard places behind the front and to protect the other citizens.”

  “Are there many such volunteers?” Alain asked, curious.

  “More than we can arm,” Patila said, smiling. “By order of Lady Mari, Pacta is a place where all have a voice and a belief in what they work for. They want to fight to protect that.”

  “It’s just common sense,” Mari objected. “Help people realize that what they do matters, that their efforts count and that everyone needs to work together, and they’ll work and fight better.”

  Patila shook her head. “Such sense is far from common.”

  “It shouldn’t be.” Mari, clearly seeking something else to talk about besides praise for her decisions, frowned at the wagons Patila had brought. “What is all this?”

  Patila waved her hand toward the farther wagon. “Feed and rations for beasts and humans going on north. We thought you might need them. This one,” she said, patting the side of the near wagon, “contains fifteen new A-1 rifles, ammunition for them, and three DKs.”