The sun was up a ways into the sky, sunrise having only started an hour before, at the very most. It took Akorsa a few moments to get her bearings straight and to remember exactly where she was. Upon recalling her task she decided to break her fast with some of the bread she had in her pack. When she was done eating she refilled her water skin with the fresh lake water. She gathered up her things, and, staff in hand, headed for the Walled Cities�s Eastern Gate.
The gate was positively humongous in size; Akorsa had never seen anything like it in all of her days, for Arimythia had no grand structures of that sort. The walls stood so high that it would only fit to have a big gate as well. Standing several hundred paces away from the gate itself, Akorsa looked for anyone who might be up on the walls. She was fortunate enough to see a man, a guard by the looks of him, standing keeping watch.
�Hail, Guard!� she yelled up at the man. He was several hundred feet above her, but he did hear a peculiar sort of sound coming from below. Looking out over the wall the guard caught sight of a small spot of a person waving up at him.
�Who goes there?� bellowed the guard, slightly unnerved. No one ever came in the gate and no one ever left through it. Thus, the man still could not comprehend why he was always ordered to stand watch atop of it. On this day, however, there was some one standing outside the gate seeking his attention.
�I am Akorsa of Arimythia!� she yelled. �I have business within your great walls.�
�An Arimythian?� said the guard out loud to himself, thoroughly perplexed. Arimythians never came to the cities, ever.
�Who are you talking to, soldier?� queried a deep voice from behind the guard, who spun around in salute.
�Captain-General! My lord, there is a young woman outside the gates. She is claiming to be an Arimythian with business inside the walls,� responded the guard nervously.
�An Arimythian you say, eh?� said the Captain-General. �The Arimythians have no business here. Tell her she will not be allowed in.�
The guard nodded and leaned over the walls again. �You may not enter!� he bellowed.
�What do you mean I may not enter?� Akorsa yelled back. �I have traveled far!�
�I mean you may not enter! Yours was a wasted trip. Good day to you!� hollered the guard back, then turning away from the wall to face his lord.
�Well done, soldier, very well done, indeed. She shall be gone soon enough, so get you gone. You may take the rest of the morning off from your duties,� said the Captain-General, walking away. The guard grinned in enthrallment at his reprieve.
�Thank you, my lord!� he thanked as he ran down from the walls into the city.
- - - -
Meanwhile, Akorsa was positively fuming outside the gate. Not to be allowed within the city was something she had not been entirely expecting, but to be told that her trip was a wasted effort made her quite irate. She was not about to give up without so much as a fight, not after coming all this way. She paced about for a while trying to come up with an idea of how to get into the city. She decided that because the she could not go through the walls by gate, she would have to go over them.
She surveyed the walls for a bit before she finally came across a great tree that grew alongside the stone wall. The tree was nowhere near as high as the wall, but she figured that if she tried climbing to the very top of the tree she might just be able to scale a part of the wall until she reached the very top. So, she fastened her staff to her back next to the great axe and started to climb up the tree.
She climbed as high on the great tree as she could be certain the branches would still support her weight, and then moved in as close to the wall as she could and began surveying it closely. The wall was old and, conveniently enough, there were enough crumbling and uneven stones for her to use for footing until she got over the top of the wall. Putting one foot on an uneven section of wall and grasping another part with her hands, she began to climb.
It may have looked somewhat odd to anyone who had actually seen her climbing up the side of this gigantic wall, but due to the fact that everyone was inside the Walled Cities, no one could or would see her. The climb proved to be quite easy, and within a manner of minutes, Akorsa had reached the top of the wall. With a groan of exertion, she pushed herself up atop the wall, and throwing her legs over the top, she landed on the stone walk on the other side.
She smiled to herself as she brushed the dust and dirt off her clothes before taking a look around. From atop the wall the city looked endless, with hundreds of streets and stone houses. It was early yet and she saw no people, save for the few moving specks that she set her eyes upon in the distance below. Realizing that both morning and surprise were on her side, she started moving around the wall.
She saw, in the middle of the city, there was a great gate. She assumed that was the gate that separated the city of Ilyana from the city of Uljaya. However, atop this gate and dividing wall, there was a great building, set high above all the others in the city. Akorsa realized this must be the Hall of the Proctorage, where the Proctors gathered and worked. This was probably not mentioning the fact that it was the place in which they lived.
She figured that it would be guarded heavily from the city people, but she knew that if she could get around the city from atop the walls without being seen then she might be able to sneak in. Though this was an extreme measure, she knew that they had not let her in because she was an Arimythian, therefore there was no chance she could win an audience with the Proctors unless she did something audacious and unexpected before she could be caught and arrested.
Since she was already located on the northern section of the elliptical wall, she decided it would be prudent to head that way instead of walking all the way around to come in from the south. She saw no one on the wall in front of her so she crouched down and walked slowly. She did not dare to run; for she feared that such sudden movements would actually catch some guard or early rising citizen�s eye. Several times her breath caught in her throat at the sound of what she assumed to be a person coming up on the wall. Fortunately, these noises were no more than birds that lived within the rooks in the wall.
The center of the northern wall was divided by yet another wall that protruded into the middle of the city, thus creating the Ilyana-Uljaya Gate. Above the gate sat the aforementioned edifice, so Akorsa made a turn leftward onto that other section of wall. Though it seemed like nearly an eternity, she did eventually reach the large building-type structure that stood in the middle of the city. All she had to do now was uncover some plan or way by which she might get inside of it. Upon a closer observation, Akorsa realized that the gigantic edifice had hundreds of large glass windows, any one of which she could probably open and enter through. The true and trying task would be getting to one and slipping inside without killing herself.
Every single one of the windows were gigantic sheets of glass, none of which were fit for actually being opened; they served only to allow light to filter in and to provide for a decoration. Therefore, her plan to open one and sneak in would not work; she would have to break a window and jump down into the large hall below. There was also the fact that if she did not die after hitting bottom she would be killed immediately for breaking and entering, with weapons, no less, into the most sacred building in the world. Though the odds were greatly against her, this was one risk she was entirely willing to take.
Just by looking at the windows at the side of the building, she knew she wouldn�t be able to break them, jump in, recover, and make a run for it before she was caught by whatever guards were present. She figured that if there were this many windows on the walls, then there had to be some on the ceiling, so she started to climb the side of the building. This proved to be far more difficult because the stone walls were relatively even and maintained, but the frames and ledges to the large windows provided the extra footing she needed for the climb.
Akorsa needed to move with a careful and planned slowness; for fear that someone inside the building might make a glance out the window and see her. She was not actually climbing on the window ledges outside, however. She was climbing where the frames to the sides of the windows met the building�s stone walls, all the way to the side, and, hopefully, out of sight, but she did not want to take any chances. When she finally reached the roof of the building, she was pleased to discover a giant arched window; one that appeared to sit directly above the Hall of the Proctorage. There also appeared to be a small group of people within the great room.
Throwing all caution to the wind, Akorsa took a firm hold her staff and pulled it from its secure place on her back, and then ran with all her might towards the window, jumping up into the air when she reached the very edge of it. The one end of her staff pointing downward, she hit the center panel of the circular arched window, and, with a crash, the glass shattered into a million small fragments.
The sound of breaking glass rang loudly in Akorsa�s ears, yet in the midst of it all, she could have sworn she still heard screams. The feeling of falling seemed to last forever, that was, until she actually hit bottom. She landed on a stone-tiled floor with a thud, a sudden and dreadfully sharp streak of pain running through her body. Without any doubt, that had most definitely been one of the more painful experiences of the young shepherdess�s life.
She had landed awkwardly on her side, and was unable to roll onto her back because her pack and the gigantic axe were still firmly fastened there. Opening her eyes she saw her staff a few paces away, so she pushed herself up to sit, brushing the small shards of glass off of her clothing. Around her she could clearly see the mess she had made. What really caught her attention were the robed figures crouching behind pillars and pieces of furniture in absolute terror.
Akorsa shrugged the heavy pack off her shoulders and shoved it to the side. She tugged the gigantic Maseriff axe from its holster on her back and laid it down upon a table that stood to her right. She brushed a bit of glass out of her slightly curly brown hair as she stood, looking about the room and the people in it. To her left, she saw two women behind a great potted plant, another behind the pillar to the plant�s right. There were two men hiding behind overturned chairs.
A woman and a man back behind that pillar were lying on their bellies on the floor, hands over their heads, not daring to look up. Behind the pillar on the right side of the room there were hiding yet another man and a woman, while another man hid behind another potted plant that was symmetrically placed just to the pillar�s right. Sitting on his rear end in the back of the room was a final man, looking wide-eyed at her.
There were ten in total, and judging by both their numbers, their form of dress, and their current location, Akorsa concluded that these people were none other than the almighty Proctors themselves. The situation was now incredibly awkward, seeing as when Akorsa had intended to drop by and have a word with the Proctors she had not meant it in such a literal sense. Yet here she was, having just broken into the most sacred and secure places in the known world, now with the ten most powerful people in existence under her power.
�Good morning,� she said with a surprising cheerfulness, at a total lack of what else one should say in such a situation. The lot of the people in the room visibly flinched at the sound of her voice. She knew she had given them quite a fright, but they were all nearly two and one half times her age, herself only being a lass of sixteen winters. She had been expecting some type of fierce opposition from them, or that they would have recovered from their shock and had her arrested by now.
�I have no intentions of causing you harm, I assure you, if that is what you are so terribly afraid of,� she said, grabbing the axe as she climbed up upon the large curving table, then looking upward and surveying the extent of the damage she had caused. Fortunately for the window, the large center pane of it had been broken in her jump.
�Who are you?� stammered the man behind the potted plant. He and the others in the room could not help but gape at her. From her stance upon the table, she looked fierce goddess of judgment and retribution, glowing in the rays of sunlight. She looked from the window to the man behind the plant through her clear green eyes.
�I am Akorsa of Arimythia,� she said simply, returning her gaze to the ceiling. The room really was quite nice, but Akorsa assumed that was one of the luxuries of being the most powerful and by far the richest people in existence.
�Why have you come here?� the man queried again, his voice beginning to waiver with his apparent unease.
�I have come here because the Proctorage and I have a great many things to discuss,� she said, leisurely hopping of the table. �I am terribly sorry about the window, by the by.�
The man that hid behind the potted plant was nearly about to cautiously assure her that it could be replaced when there was a large bang that came from the back of the room. The giant double doors that provided entrance into the very room in which they all were standing were suddenly thrown open, and a series of armed guards came rushing in.
�What has happened in here?� said the foremost guard, taking notice of the shattered glass that covered parts of the floor, the disarrayed furniture, and the Proctors taking cover in various places about the room. More importantly, he noticed the stranger with the colossal axe standing in the midst of it all. It was then that the woman who had been lying on the floor pushed herself up.
�Put that Arimythian under arrest this instant!� ordered the woman. It then became dreadfully apparent to Akorsa that the Proctors only had strength when there were others to act for them. In this case it was the guards who were there to defend them. This was one fact she would not dare to forget during her stay.
�Arrest me? Oh, aye, indeed that is a wonderful idea,� scoffed Akorsa. �Keeping me under lock and key shall not solve a single man�s problems.�
�You have dared to break into the most scared place within the Walled Cities! This is unprecedented, but still punishable by death all the same,� said the man behind the potted plant.
�Very well, then,� said Akorsa, slipping the gigantic axe back into the holster on her back. �Kill me this very instant! I have nothing to fear, for come this winter it shall be you who starve, not I.�
The guards looked with hesitance and a great confusion between the intrusive Arimythian and the Proctors in the room. It was their duty to arrest and then execute her, but an Arimythian bearing news of starvation so soon before the harvest was not something to be taken so lightly. Though they valued obedience to their rulers, many of these men had families for which they feared on a daily basis. The male Proctor who had been hiding behind the potted plant stepped forward suddenly, approaching Akorsa with a strange gleam in his eyes.
�You would do well not to make threats here, girl,� he growled, stopping but a few paces in front of her.
�I do not make threats, my lord, only promises,� Akorsa said, remaining calm, staring at the man directly in the eye. �Three days past the village of Arimythia was attacked by the Maseriff. The band of the monsters that came killed, slaughtered, burned, and ransacked whatever they could. A substantial part of this year�s crops were lost.�
The Proctor looked at her skeptically through his now narrowed eyes, which were finally burning with the indignant rage Akorsa had been expecting. �Guards, wait outside!� he barked. The guards stood still for but a moment, not wanting to leave their adored leaders with a madwoman. But they finally complied, turning with uncertainty and walking out of the room, closing the doors behind them.
�What sort of a jest is this?� demanded the man, clinching his fists at his side; another detail Akorsa did not dare miss. �Perhaps your sense of childlike humor ought to be adjusted.�
�I would not come all this way for a jest, my lord,� Akorsa answered, resisting the urge to add a twinge of sarcasm to the last part of her reply. She would accomplish less if she stooped to their level, but at least so far she had caught their attention. �My sense of humor is quite fine, though I do thank you for your gracious offer.
�Why have you come hither?� he queried again.
�I have already told you the purpose of my coming here once already. I thought it might be wise to visit the most astute and highly revered Proctorage, bearing news of these troubles. The Arimythian people, my people, are in need of your great aide,� she said. The man�s eyes gleamed at her words; a gleam she recognized as arrogance. Akorsa then realized that to get anywhere she would have to do it by flattery or by sheer force, and for now flattery seemed a fitting route of travel.
�I see,� he said, moving to the curved table that occupied the room. He sat in the center of it and beckoned the other Proctors, who were still seeking a sort of refuge out of the room�s two pillars and potted plants, that they might join him. They then moved from their spots of hiding and joined him at the table with a great and visible timidity in their movement as they passed by Akorsa. When they were all seated, he clasped his hands and looked at her with a mock look of interest. �What would the Arimythian people have us do to aide them in their weakened state?�
The Proctor was trying to get on her nerves with his mock sincerity, and she was fully aware of it. She was now forcing herself not to just pull out the great axe and lop his head off with it. Were she to do that she would be no better than the Maseriff she had taken it from. She just stared at him with a fierce intensity.
�We request military aide, my lord. We cannot fight off the Maseriff on our own; we are but weaponless farmers. Should they decide to attack us again there will not be enough food left to even be rationed out to the people, come wintertime,� she explained. �Surely you can help?�
He thought to himself for a moment before he spoke. �I believe we shall need a time to deliberate on this matter. Until a decision is made, you will be kept under guard, as we have determined that you are potentially dangerous to the people of these two cities.�
Akorsa nodded. �Very well, Your Excellencies. Deliberate as you wish, but do it with haste, as the lives of all our people do depend most desperately on it,� she said as she turned, grabbed the rest of her belongings, and walked out the door of the great hall.
