Firebrand

Saint Marcellus

The battle for Morcaster went in favour of the rebels. Taking the bridge gate next, another legion swept in to join forces with the Twentieth. With such numbers compared to the garrison scattered across the city, their assault could not be beaten back or resisted. The remaining gates fell, the last of the legions joined, and when noon came, the fortress of Saint Marcellus came into their hands as well. Apart from the Imperial palace, the whole of Morcaster belonged to them.

Receiving these news, Martel and Eleanor went to the fortress and set up their headquarters. Once it was certain that their own soldiers had taken complete control of the keep, guaranteeing their safety, they found a flat surface and fell asleep.

***

When Martel woke, he noticed sunlight outside. Unless he had slept through an entire night, it was still the same day. The former was possible, but if so, Martel would have expected to feel better. Instead, he still felt worn, both in body and mind. The travails of their subterranean journey had left a mark on him, but at least being above ground, he could keep it together. Most importantly, he felt his spellpower had returned to him. In all that mattered, he was at full strength.

He looked around. He had slept on a cot in the barracks of the complex with a handful of other legionaries, most of them wounded and brought here. But Eleanor had also slept nearby, and now he saw no sign of her.

He felt a pinprick of concern, but dismissed it. She would have alerted him if something important was amiss. Most likely, she had simply woken up before him and gone to eat or something like that, allowing him to continue resting.

Standing up, Martel grabbed his staff and walked out of the barracks, glad to have it for support. He asked a few times until he found a legionary who had trained at this fortress and could point him towards the offices of the legate. As he stepped inside, he found Lara already moving in.

"Captain! My congratulations on your victory! You have taken Morcaster in a single night with fewer casualties than any could expect!"

"She came by earlier, not long ago. I am preparing this study to serve as a place where we may do our administrative tasks. I assumed it would be the best suited for it," Lara explained.

"Sure, that's fine. Did she say where she was going?" This question became moot as Eleanor walked in.

"Captain. How are you feeling?"

"Tired. You?"

"About the same."

Lara, watching their exchange, chimed in to say, "Legate, I discovered what you are looking for." She held up a ledger. "It says here that the previous legate – of the First Legion, that is – has been placed under house arrest." Martel looked at the two women in confusion.

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"I was in the dungeons," Eleanor elaborated, "looking for my father. I suppose house arrest is good news. He has not suffered."

"I guess we can set him free now," Martel remarked.

His officers both looked at him. "Captain," Lara said cautiously, "although not currently serving, Lord Fontaine was a high-ranking commander with a good reputation. Any remaining resistance will gravitate towards him, including future attempts of insurrection."

"Right," he mumbled. For some reason, he found it hard to think straight. "So what do you want done?" He directed his question at Eleanor, leaving her father's fate to her.

"House arrest will suffice," she decided. "As long as we control whom he may see."

Lara bowed her head. "I have already dispatched several princeps to that purpose. The same has been done to every residence belonging to a member of the High Council."

"Good."

The legion prefect looked at her captain and her legate. "Sirs, may I propose that you rest further? The other commanders will gather here eventually, and we may bring you up to speed and discuss our next step. Until then, there is little for you to do."

Martel felt too worn to complain, which suggested that her proposal had merit. While he doubted that he could fall asleep again, just lying down and doing nothing would be good. "Alright. Fetch me the moment there's something to tell."

"Yes, sir."

***

Evening had arrived when a legionary came to find Martel. As he returned to the study, he found Eleanor and every legion prefect waiting for him. They all stood up as he entered, and after saluting him, they applauded along with loud cheers.

Martel still felt like a haze had wrapped itself around his mind. Rather than please him, the noise just felt disturbing, and he raised his hands to demand silence, which finally came. "Alright. We can celebrate later. What's happening in the city?" He took one of the seats, and the others sat down as well.

"All fortifications are under our control. A number of elemental mages had been conscripted to defend them, but as they clearly had little military training, it did not change much."

"The streets have been swept of enemy troops. Hundreds upon hundreds have surrendered – we have them in empty warehouses under guard."

"Three cohorts guard the harbour. No ships have attempted to set sail so far."

"Our forces have surrounded the Imperial palace. Fresh soldiers are ready to assault when need be."

Martel exhaled. "Alright. The soldiers who surrendered, they're not our enemies. Release them, little by little. Let them go home."

Lara cleared her throat. "Not the officers, I would assume?"

"Ah, no. Keep everybody with the rank of optio or higher." Martel rubbed the bridge of his nose. "As for the Imperial palace…"

As his voice trailed off, they sat in silence, all of them waiting. "We should assault immediately," Eleanor finally spoke. "No doubt come nightfall, they will attempt to escape with the emperor under the cover of dark. We should not afford them the opportunity."

"We ought to offer them a chance to surrender, right?" asked Godwin.

"Sure, but no negotiations. They take our terms or reject them. Do not let them drag it out," Arianna warned.

"What terms do we offer?" Martel asked, blinking before he looked at his subordinates.

"Guarantee that all their lives will be spared in return for a peaceful surrender? A promise they will not incite insurrection against our control of the city," Eleanor suggested.

"Good. Yes, let's do that." Martel looked out the window. The sun had nearly set. "We should move, in that case. It'll be nightfall soon."

"Captain, nobody expects you to participate. We have two dozen mageknights and three cohorts assembled," Lara explained. "The Praetorian Guard has no chance against us."

"I've seen you fellows fight each other, it takes you ages to get past your defensive spells. And the legionaries will die in droves to the praetorian knights. I'm going," Martel declared. "Just tell my knights to stay in front of me and keep me protected."

The legion prefect of the Tenth looked at her legate for support. "The captain is going," Eleanor agreed, "as am I. Get us horses. We leave immediately."