Fall of Angels

CXX

“EASY, EASY …” THE three new guards, led by Ydrall, eased the heavy section of log into the hole.

Nylan nodded. “Wedge it in place with the heavy stones.”

Two of the guards began to roll a round stone toward the hole while the other two braced the log in place.

Nylan surveyed the two lines of holes. Each hole was about eight cubits from the next, and the first line lay just short of the top of the ridge on the tower side, below the narrowest point between the rock outcroppings that constricted the open space on each end. Still, the distance was over two hundred cubits, and that was a lot of engineering in what might be a very short time.

If he couldn’t complete the pike line he had in mind, perhaps a cable that could be raised at the last moment would provide some carnage. Nylan massaged his temples. Ryba’s thoughts about power notwithstanding, designing destructive systems still gave him headaches.

A single horse broke away from the mounted drills and started up toward Nylan and his crew. After leaving the paved lower section of the road by the tower, Saryn turned her mount from the packed clay trail and rode up across the grassy slope toward Nylan.

“The marshal said you were going to try something else,” Saryn said as she reined up. “Are you putting up a fence?Those posts are more than a half cubit across, and you’ve sunk them nearly two cubits deep. Isn’t that a lot of work? A fence isn’t going to stop a horde of armsmen, not for long, anyway.”

“It’s not a fence.” Nylan offered a wry smile. “And it is a lot of work. If I get time, there will be two lines of these posts, and what goes with them.” Nylan wiped his damp forehead.

“Do you want to explain?” Saryn surveyed the lines of holes, turning in the saddle.

“Not really, except that I’m trying to put something together to cause trouble for any attackers. If I can get it in place and it works, then I’ll let you know. If I don’t, then I won’t feel so stupid for promising something.”

Saryn shook her head as she rode back toward the road.

Ydrall watched the exchange with a puzzled look.

Nylan hoped everyone stayed puzzled.

The idea was simple enough-semiautomatic pikes-a whole line of pikes attached to stringers or crossbeams, weighted to slip up at the right angle and set to ground if a horse and rider impacted them.

Nylan had set them on the flat just over the crest of the hill. All an attacker would see would be a line of squat pillars, with nothing between them until the last moment-he hoped.

As the crew finished wedging the second post in place, he nodded to the third hole. “Let’s try for another.” He picked up one section of the harness, and they began to drag the log toward the next hole, while behind them, two of the guards tamped soil in between the wedging rocks.

Below them, another crew supervised by Weindre was building a fortified platform for the weapons laser-to the east of the road leading down from the ridge. The platform would allow the laser a sweep of the entire downslope.

Lasers and semiautomatic pikes-what a strange combination of weaponry. Would it be enough against thousands of attackers?

Nylan doubted it, but what choices did they have? The localsseemed enraged enough to tear apart anyone from Westwind if they tried to flee, and most of those on the Roof of the World, for one reason or another, could not survive elsewhere.

“All right,” Nylan said. “Let’s get this one in place.”

The sound of stonework drifted up from below, along with those of practice wands, and horse drills, carried by the wind that bore the faintest hint of fall.