Kingdom's Fall

Chapter 25, Part 2

The Sparrowhawk sailed out of Wall's Shade, its cargo a full complement of men from the north and the Islands. Both Erlend and Carolin had lobbied for more room at the expense of the other, but the captain's word had been final when it came to the management and safety of his ship. The sea-wall passage had not yet cleared fully, and he was loathe to take too many of either through in a crossing that was potentially more perilous than sailing inland. He made them wait a full day past their intended leaving date for the wind to turn in their favour, and even then had a small fleet of Island ships follow them to the passage mouth in case the worst should happen. Over the course of their voyage Kara had gone from a figure of mild mistrust amongst the crew to a talisman of good luck, and when the crossing came she was given pride of place up at the bow, where every hand could see her.

That the crossing went off without a hitch seemed only to cement the crew's conviction that she was the source of their luck, the Sparrowhawk catching the tail end of a swell that drew them out past the remains as neatly as anyone on board could have hoped for. Once word got out amongst the crew that she would be leaving to go ashore once they reached Marr's Cove on the southern coast, the grumbling began. Aradan intended to take full advantage of his knowledge regarding the new Islander settlement in the north; he had already earmarked half his cargo space for items to ship up through the passage for exclusive trade. That half of his crew suddenly seemed determined to sit on the docks and wait for Kara to return was a hard blow to him. In the end he offered Kara a job, to sail the coast with the Sparrowhawk and share in the profit they were bound to make. Kara was flattered, and tempted, but turned it down. She was determined to see the queen finished, and Siv and Einar restored to their son. She had come too far to turn away from it now.

The Sparrowhawk docked at Marr's Cove, and the men disembarked. What had been a busy harbour was deserted, and few people turned out to see the spectacle of the Islanders making their way off of a Kingdom ship side-by-side with the northern soldiers. The harbour-master was ashen and still on the quayside, as though the Sparrowhawk was a ghost ship summoned from nightmare.

"Harbourmaster!" Aradan called out to him as they approached. He didn't seem to hear. "Saul! Ho there!" The sound of his name seemed to shake the man out of his reverie, and he turned to look at Aradan and the others. Aradan put out a hand to the man, and the harbourmaster took it as though expecting his own hand to drop off. "What news, Saul? Where is everyone? You look as though you haven't slept in a month."

"You have the right of it," Aiden said. "How are things? Why is it so quiet?"

The man looked from one man to the other, bewildered. "Do you not know, my lords? The Carelians have invaded."

"We know," Aiden said. "That's why we've come. We bring news of reinforcements from the north."

"The queen, she... She came and took them."

"Who?" Kara asked. He turned to face her and she was taken aback by the unbridled horror in his face.

"Everyone," he said. His voice was hollow. "Everyone."

"Everyone not smart enough to hide," Aiden said. The harbourmaster nodded vigorously in agreement.

"There was no call for volunteers, my lord. They came and pulled people out of their beds to march south for her."

"Did she come here?" Kara asked. "The queen? Did you see her?"

The harbourmaster did not reply, but it wasn't needed. The cruelty that the queen's visit had brought down on him was writ large across his face. That he had escaped it was no blessing. Just the mention of her was enough to set him to trembling in fear.