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By Root 421 0

to the rebellion. Now, that key was being put to use. The tunnels beneath the citadel had gained them a silent access to the temple. From there, a select handful of men had made their way through the narrow passages which were set between the massive stone walls. Eventually, they had reached the balcony overlooking the main throne room doors, and there they waited for their rebellious lord, Hepesh, to make the next move. They hadn’t long to wait. Hepesh and his guard commander approached the throne room, pretending to be oblivious of the guards on duty there. Whatever it was they were discussing so seriously brought them to a halt. Hepesh bowed his head and seemed to listen intently to what his guard commander had to say. In fact, he was glancing furtively upwards to the balcony over the heads of the impassive Royal Guards. Yes, the commando scouts were there, ready and waiting. But, as he thought, the Royal Guards, half hidden as they were by the ledge of the balcony, were not an easy target. They would have to be brought forward for an attack to be properly effective.

There must be no sounds of fighting before the throne room doors were open.

Hepesh solved the problem with typical directness. Turning from his guard commander, he called to the two Royal Guards.

At his voice, they came to attention. In accordance with the customary method of addressing a person of high rank, they moved a full pace forward.

‘You men—’ called Hepesh, ‘come here at once!’

The step forward that the Royal Guards took gave the commandos above the chance they needed. A short leap and they were on their prey, ruthlessly using their short swords to silence the guards forever. The way to the throne room was now open and unguarded. But Hepesh waited. At his signal, the main group of attackers assembled on either side of the great doors. The next move involved hoisting the two handpicked

men who were to deal with the king onto the balcony. There, they would make their way down to the concealed entrance inside the throne room. The moment the doors smashed open, and the inner guards were engaged by the oncoming commandos, these two infiltrators would dash straight past the main conflict to the king—and hold him at sword point. Hepesh would do the rest. All was ready. At the command of the High Priest, the massive doors were thrown open.

Peladon rose to his feet in surprise and alarm As the great doors burst open, Peladon rose to his feet in surprise and alarm. He had seen Hepesh, his temple cloak barely hiding the light armour beneath, and, all about him his personal temple guards, evil and menacing in their familiar black helmets. His own Royal Guards reacted swiftly, forming a solid phalanx which blocked the way to the king. The fighting wedge formed by Hepesh’s men was soon blunted, and they were soon reduced to desperate hand-to-hand skirmishes with the king’s men. The king watched, amazed—yet with a touch of apprehension. For Grun was not with him, and Grun was the unconquerable defender of his royal master. The Kings fear was soon justified. Racing towards him, outflanking the Royal Guards which so valiantly defended the entrance, came two black-helmeted figures. Unarmed, the king faced certain death.

But the sword points thrust towards him halted at a hair’s breadth from his throat. Turning his head, he called out:

‘Hepesh—it is done! The king is ours!’

Until now, the king’s men, a bare six in number, had more than held their own. In the confined space of the doorway, their trained movements, ruthlessly executed, had begun to drive the black helmets back. The cries of dying men and the clash of armour and swords, in turn almost drowned by the fierce shouts of the victorious Royal Guards, almost swamped Hepesh’s clarion call. At first there was no pause, but he called again in a voice that had so often before proclaimed the message of Aggedor: ‘Surrender—or your king will die!’ The second command had a greater effect, and the captain of the Royal Guard turned his head to check whether what Hepesh had said was true.

‘Aggedor commands