Guardian of Heaven and Earth
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New Yogo
Part 1 - War
Chapter 4 - Abandoned City
Balsa placed her palm on the trunk of a tree, observing the scene before her from the cover of the woods. Far in the river valley below her, a fortress was being built along the road. Balsa remembered this road as being a busy one, but there were no signs of people traveling along it now.
Balsa had thought to travel south from the Misty Blue Mountains straight to the Tarano Plains. This was easier said than done. Many common roads were blocked or sealed off. She hadn’t wanted to detour around the blockades, so she’d cut through the mountains instead. There were many fortresses in the mountains now that she’d never seen before. She always felt a vague sense of unease--and a burning sense of impatience--whenever she passed by another fortress or blockade.
All of Balsa’s detours pushed her further west than she wanted. She was close to the city of Shirogai now, which was close to the border of New Yogo and Rota. She was irritated at having gone so far off-course. She wanted to arrive at the battlefield before the war started, but that was probably impossible now. It had been three days since Balsa had heard that the Talsh offensive would begin on the Tarano Plains.
Balsa didn’t know what she hoped to accomplish by reaching the battlefield before the war started. It wasn’t like she could stop a war on her own. Coming to Shirogai first might work out for the best. She could ask the merchants there if they knew any roads that would avoid all the fortresses and blockades. Asra, Chikisa and Martha also lived in Shirogai. She wanted to make sure that they were safe.
There was no way to Shirogai that didn’t connect to the fortress road, so Balsa was forced to pick her way through the mountains again to avoid both the fortress and the patrolling soldiers.
Balsa took one last look at the fortress before continuing on her way. There weren’t terribly many soldiers guarding it. She saw only two lookouts standing at the top of a tower. The construction of the fortress was also slapdash and unsophisticated. It might not be obvious from the ground, but most of the walls were formed of logs all piled and woven together with grass and straw: not as tough as stone would be, or even tightly packed clay.
Balsa couldn’t help but compare this crude fortress to others she’d seen. There was one to the south of the capital along New Yogo’s border with Sangal that was solid stone and strongly constructed. This fortress wasn’t even built to take advantage of the high terrain. She had seen a few fortresses with solid construction during her journey, but most of the ones she’d seen looked a lot like the one in the river valley below. Many hands had scrambled over the past two years to build these fortresses, though Balsa doubted they would do much good against an enormous, well-equipped army.
I’m sure the Talsh spies know about these fortresses, Balsa thought, frowning. They probably know that they’re shoddily built and poorly manned. That didn’t bode well for the future.
Balsa was familiar with Talsh spies--and assassins. She knew that the Talsh had been gathering information on New Yogo for years before they’d decided to invade. New Yogo was at a serious disadvantage in many ways. Balsa didn’t doubt that the Talsh army could map a route to the capital that avoided all these fortifications and checkpoints; their information network was probably that good.
This road cuts through the Tarano Plains, so controlling it right now is strategic. The Talsh will come marching up it if the Yogoese army is defeated. If the Yogoese army stops the Talsh, though...
If the Yogoese army was, by some miracle, successful in stopping the Talsh invasion at the Tarano Plains, then the Talsh army would have to take a different, more circuitous route to Kosenkyo.
Balsa gritted her teeth. She hated not knowing what the outcome would be. She tried not to think about the war, but she had nothing else to occupy her thoughts.
Tanda’s all right, she thought. He’s always been lucky. She didn’t even consider the possibility that he was dead. He couldn’t be.
Balsa climbed down the mountain through the trackless forests, out of view of the sentinels at the fortress. Horses couldn’t pass through the mountains, but experienced hikers and climbers certainly could. She stayed out of sight in the trees for about half an hour, watchful for any other travelers, then walked the rest of the way to Shirogai on the road.
By the time Balsa reached Shirogai, it was dusk. The road was blocked by a large wooden gate whose doors were barred firmly shut. There were armed guards standing a little away ahead of her; Balsa could see them because of the watch-fires set to either side of the gate.
When the firelight passed over the face of one of the guards, Balsa gasped in recognition. “Obal?”
Obal turned away from the gate and faced Balsa, spear in hand. “No, it can’t be--Balsa?”
“I had no idea this gate was here,” Balsa said. “It looks like it’s shut for the night, but could you let me pass? I really can’t wait for morning.”
Obal laughed. “Well, sure. Just give me a minute.”
Balsa waited in front of the gate’s large wooden doors. She’d known Obal for a very long time. He was still young, but he was an excellent guard. They’d guarded caravans in Rota together. The men guarding Shirogai weren’t Yogoese soldiers, but hired guards; the city must have decided to pay for its own protection.
There was a muffled click from the other side of the gate. The wooden doors opened, letting Balsa through. Obal shut the doors behind her.
The gate didn’t lead to the city road, but to an interior space that looked like a merchant’s warehouse. There was a large fire set in the very center of the dirt floor. Spears, swords, bows and arrows lined the walls. There were men around the fire, ten or so, all eating and talking.
“What is this, some kind of trade fair?” Balsa said with a little laugh. “Are you guarding the place or having a party?”
“Who says we can’t do both, Balsa?” Obal said. He ladled out some rice wine from a jar and passed a full cup to Balsa. “Here, have a drink. We’ll talk later.”
“Aren’t you on duty right now, Obal?” Balsa asked. “You shouldn’t be drinking on shift, you know.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Obal said. “One drink won’t kill me. That’s not even enough to get me drunk.”
The other guards chuckled; they were all old friends of Balsa and Obal. She’d worked with many of them before while traveling in Rota. The irascible merchant Tachiya arranged for caravan guards in Shirogai; Balsa had met many of these men through Tachiya.
Balsa pulled up a chair and sat down, but she refused the offered drink. “Sorry, Obal, but I don’t drink on an empty stomach. Is there anything to eat?”
“For you, Balsa? Of course there is.” He slugged the rice wine in the cup down in a single gulp, then fetched Balsa a wooden bowl of bird meat stew.
Balsa thanked Obal. She asked him and the other guards some questions about what they were doing here while she ate. “What is that gate for, anyway?” she asked.
“All the towns and cities have gates like this now, Balsa,” one of the guards said. “There’s a war on--haven’t you heard?”
“I’ve been away in Kanbal,” Balsa said.
“Ah, I heard that,” Obal said. “There was talk of you sneaking people over the border, out of New Yogo and back in again. You’ve got balls. The soldiers kill anyone crossing the border these days on sight.”
Balsa listened to the guards as they described New Yogo’s current situation. What she heard chilled her blood. The Yogoese army had been pulled back to protect the capital, leaving the Nayoro Peninsula and the southern villages entirely defenseless. The West Imperial Highway and North Imperial Highway were blockaded; many fortresses and fortifications had been built along both roads to help defend Kosenkyo, the capital. Guards were in high demand; soldiers had been conscripted from every family in the nation. Despite this, many men would not be defending their homes--the entire southern half of the country had been given up for lost before the war had even begun.
Balsa had approached Shirogai from the northeast. She’d seen the fortress along the road there. The fortress must have been built to protect against attacks to Shirogai coming from the south.
But there were many ways into Shirogai besides the main road. Balsa had just proven as much herself. The shoddy fortresses built along the main road would do little to protect the Shirogai, or any of the other towns and villages near the border. If the Talsh army made a concerted effort to reach Kosenkyo, they would de facto conquer the country as soon as they captured the capital. Even if the Talsh didn’t capture Kosenkyo immediately, they could occupy the defenseless towns and villages and use their resources to resupply.
One of the guards frowned deeply. “The Imperial Army isn’t protecting much. I’ve heard rumors that they intend to burn down all the villages along the Talsh invasion path to prevent the Talsh army from stealing food and supplies.”
“So you were hired by the townspeople to protect them from New Yogo’s soldiers?” Balsa asked.
None of the guards said anything in reply.
Obal spoke up. “We don’t know what will happen yet,” he said. “If us being here gives the townspeople a little peace of mind, then that’s probably the best we can do.”
“I don’t want to fight off the Yogoese army if we don’t absolutely have to,” another guard said. “No one wants to be drawn up on treason charges--or executed as a traitor. But the Talsh will be coming from the south, and the Yogoese army will be coming from the north. Who knows which one will get here first. We have no safe place to go, in any case--Rota’s right behind us, and they’re at war, too.”
Balsa was about to ask about the war in Rota when a door opened behind her. Several merchants entered the room. From their clothes, Balsa guessed that they were wealthy and influential in Shirogai.
“Good work today again, men,” one of the merchants said. “It’s started getting colder, so we’ve brought you more wine to help keep you warm at night.”
“Oh! Thank you very much.” The guards bowed their heads in appreciation.
One of the merchants recognized Balsa; his eyes went wide. “Balsa!”
“Toun!” Balsa stood up to greet Toun, who was Martha Samada’s son. Martha was a very successful clothing merchant in Shirogai. “I’m so glad you’re here. I know it’s short notice, but could you take me to the Samada Store? I can’t linger here very long, I’m afraid.”
“You know you’re always welcome at our store.” Toun grinned at her. “Mother, Asra and Chikisa will be delighted to see you. I never expected to meet you here.”
Before they left for the Samada Store, Toun took a seat. Balsa sat across from him. “I can’t imagine you know what’s going on here,” Toun said.
Balsa nodded. “I came here to learn more. I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to help, but I’d like to try, at least.”
Martha owned the Samada Store; she had taken in Asra and Chikisa after their parents had died. Martha was also the closest thing Balsa had to a mother; Balsa and Jiguro had spent a great deal of time with Martha and her family while she was growing up. Balsa couldn’t possibly abandon Martha and her family if their lives were in danger.
And yet, Balsa was impatient. She had so little time left to get to the Tarano Plains. “Toun,” she said, “I meant it when I said that I can’t linger here. I need to get to Tarano Plains.”
“You’re joking, right?” Toun asked. “That’s where the battlefield is, Balsa! The war’s already started!”
But Balsa wasn’t joking. Toun shook his head sadly. “So you’re worried about Tanda,” he said. “Isn’t he in the army?”
“So you know about that,” Balsa said.
“Yes, I heard from Chikisa that he was drafted. Many people were drafted in the city, too, though they were all strangers.” Toun leaned forward and said in a low voice, “The opening battle was a few days ago. I don’t know much, but it was a slaughter. Half the soldiers stationed between here and the Tarano Plains are dead. I hear they’re abandoning the dead and wounded along the sides of the Imperial Highway. There’s no place left to bury them.”
A full-body shiver went through Balsa. She put her hand to her mouth in shock and faced the fire. “There must be survivors,” Balsa said in a trembling voice. “Where are they?”
“Probably in the normal army camps. All the survivors I know of are holed up in the fortresses around here.”
Balsa dropped her hand to her knee. “But what if he was wounded and couldn’t make it to a fortress...” What if Tanda had been wounded and left on the side of the road somewhere?
“I can see that you still intend to go to the Tarano Plains,” Toun said sadly.
“Yes,” she said, “but I also have Asra and Chikisa to consider. And I can’t be in two places at once. I have no idea where Tanda is right now--a fortress? The Tarano Plains? I’ll search when I can, but...”
Balsa was torn over what to do next. She stared into the fire with the flames flickering across her face.
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