Tales of the Vangen: The Black Ministry's Betrayal (Book 1)

Chapter 60: A Wake Up Call

Dux ran topside the moment he'd felt the tremor in the barracks. He scaled up the curved staircase, gripping the wall for purchase as another tremor rippled beneath his feet. It didn't take a genius to recognize what was happening. It was a feeling he was all too familiar with at this point in his life.

Dux emerged from the stairs into a literal bed of chaos. Clerks, servants, and guardsmen tripped and fell over themselves in a panic as they scrambled to put out fires and assemble some semblance of order.

"Captain Dux," Lady Kent ran towards him, her hair disheveled, her tunic and breeches hastily pulled on. The sword belted at her hip hung crookedly to one side. "Just what in the seven hells is going on?"

"We are under siege," Dux moved past her without stopping. He turned sharply, making for the war room while barking orders at the guardsmen. "Get those fires put out! Assemble the men! I want every Tribune in the war room immediately! Tell every fecking soul you find. Go!"

"You can't be serious, Captain? How did the rebels get a hold of siege weapons?" Lady Kent dogged closely at his heels.

"You shouldn't underestimate Tyrannus. No doubt, the crafty bastard's been funding this little rebellion for years now. Funneling weapons piece by piece, and the necessary people to assemble them." The whole Palace trembled as another stone struck the nearby wall.

Dux grabbed Lady Kent's hand just before she fell. "But that doesn't matter right now. What matters is figuring out where that bastard's firing from and putting an end to it."

"My Lady. Captain," One of Kent's levies came padding over and bowed quickly. His surcoat was trimmed with gold stitching, his hat plumed in peacock feathers. His face was as white as a sheet.

"First String, what's going on?" Kent demanded.

"I have grave news, my Lady. My scouts have reported a large rebel force heading this way. Worse, they have a battering ram in their possession.

"Fecking shit," Dux muttered. Gods, this day was getting worse and worse by the minute.

"What do we do, my Lady?" The First String asked. Kent said nothing, staring at the ground instead, eyes wide, searching frantically for an answer. Dux could tell she was freezing up. The moment when the mind goes blank and all you can feel is panic.

"Get your men on the walls," Dux commanded the First String. "Slow down the rebels as much as you can, but don't overextend. Retreat if necessary." The First String opened his mouth to protest before a hard look from Kent gave him pause.

"Yes sir," The First String saluted begrudgingly.

"You're dismissed," Dux began his frantic pace once more towards the war room. Lady Kent kept her pace close beside the Captain.

"Thank you," Lady Kent said after rounding a staircase leading towards the third floor. "I shouldn't have panicked back there."

"It happens," Dux merely said. "There's no shame in being afraid. We are in a pretty fecked situation, after all."

"Yes. Yes, of course." Lady Kent muttered. Whether his solemn words had consoled her or not, Dux didn't know, but there was an abundance of more important things to worry about. He needed to know where the rebel siege weapons were coming from, needed to figure out how to stop the battering ram from breaking down Gate Tertius. He needed to think, needed time, but time was not on his side.

The war room was packed by the time Dux and Lady Kent arrived. Clerks and messengers moved in a mad dash about the place to relay information.

By the time they'd reached the staging grounds, Dux had been briefed six times by several various officers on the current logistics.