Chaos
As the morning sun peeked over the Daylith mountains, a strange rumble echoed through the stones of the palace. The rumble continued down into the city. The citizens grew anxious as the small earthquake clattered their pots and pans and shook the glass in their window frames. When the rumbling finally subsided, a new noise could be heard across the city.
"What's that roar? Is it wind?" people murmured in confusion.
Twenty minutes later, the river that ran through the center of the city from the gorge began to recede. Then a frantic call rang out over the docks.
"TIDAL WAVE FROM THE GORGE!" screamed an old captain as he abandoned his ship and ran up the dock.
Panic erupted along the river as a ten-foot wave tore ships from their mooring and tossed them like toys downstream. Citizens scrambled for higher ground as water flooded the streets and seeped into their homes.
The palace guards watched in disbelief as the volume of the waterfall tripled in a matter of seconds. The roar of the water shooting out of the mountain cave made the lower corridors of the palace rumble like a herd of cattle was charging down the halls. Water quickly breached the flood markers in the gorge, sending everyone in search of higher ground.
Dienon raced with Irena through the lower corridors of the palace, alerting everyone to an emergency evacuation. Jamal and Tabitha hurried out of the slave quarters with Cindy. The courtyard on the south wall had a small road leading out of the gorge. Everyone was staring down at the chaos in the city as they hurried along. The river was already twice its normal size as it began swallowing up houses.
"I hope Rana made it out of the tunnels safely," Tabitha whispered as she hurried along behind Jamal.
"She's a warrior at heart. She'll be fine," Jamal assured her.
Dienon had sent every able-body guard out of the palace to assist the thousands of displaced citizens on the gorge wall. Irena made sure the lower slave quarters had been evacuated before she joined Dienon in the maintenance hall. They waited anxiously for Rana to return after she started the flood.
"Dienon, we need to be going soon. The people need to see you making a fuss over their safety," Irena said urgently.
"A few more minutes. I want an update from Rana to make sure the palace foundation is safe."
A few seconds later, they heard the distinctive thump of Rana's metal leg as she ran up the main tunnel. Rana appeared around the corner, dripping wet and scraped up rather severely.
"Rana! Thank the gods! Are you hurt?" Irena cried as she rushed to help her.
"I'm fine, Irena. I was swept away in the flood after I broke the wall. I had to find my way back through a different tunnel," she explained as she leaned against the wall to catch her breath.
"Do you need anything before we leave? You can have cake if you want," Dienon said with a smile.
"No, thanks. Before we go, I would like to discuss something with you, Master Dienon," she said as she straightened up and wiped the blood and water from her face.
"Please, speak your mind."
"When your father returns to find the city in shambles, what do you think he will do first? What is the most valuable thing here he would want to check on?" she asked.
"I would think... my mother."
"That's what I was thinking too. He will go to check on her in the spiral tower," she whispered as she stared across the hall in thought.
"What are you planning, Rana?" Irena asked impatiently. The continuous roar of the water resonating through the stone floor was making her anxious.
"You two, come with me. I have a plan," Rana said as she waved for them to follow her up into the palace.
Tabitha and Jamal were growing anxious as they waited on the gorge wall for Dienon, Irena, and Rana to make an appearance. They were already an hour late. The Shadow Guards were in position, waiting to ambush the palace guards.
Suddenly, a small explosion echoed over the gorge and caught everyone's attention. They turned back to the palace to see the top of the spiral tower on fire. All the guards rushed to the edge of the gorge to stare in disbelief. Smoke was billowing up from the tower's roof as stones and clay shingles crashed down to the towers below it.
"By the gods! What is happening to Daylith? Why is everything falling apart?" cried one of the guards.
"The wicked deeds of your king brought this upon Daylith!" Tabitha cried as she motion for the Shadow Guards to charge the men. One by one, they were overrun and pushed into the gorge.
"Ready your chutes. The rear guards will be here soon!" Tabitha called as thirty Shadow Guards gathered on the edge of the cliff. They quickly unfurled the cloth of their backpacks.
They all took running jumps off the cliff down into the gorge, sailing on parachutes made of bed linens. Once the group safely reached the water, they swam for the flooded city.
Dienon and Irena arrived at the evacuation site an hour later. They acted shocked to hear that over thirty slaves escaped. Dienon went about meeting and comforting the displaced citizens. Irena stayed by his side and helped him welcome and greet the droves of people walking up from the city.
Tabitha and the Shadow Guards recovered a small two-mast merchant schooner from the destroyed docks. Night was falling when they set sail for the Gulf of Leeriod. Tabitha's mind had turned to aiding Luria against Brimsly. She wanted to return to Lacustrine, but first, they planned to visit the enchanting City of Leeriod. Jamal was convinced his sister, Queen Nadia, would aid Tabitha in her quest to reclaim the Swaying Valley.
