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Kalen was probably the most noticeable with his pale blonde hair that looked silvery in the sunlight since he'd hung his helmet on his saddle.
“King Kalen! King Rhys! King Kalen! King Rhys!”
Oriel saw someone close by point at him, and it wasn’t long before a new chant started.
“King Oriel! King Oriel! King Oriel!”
The city was a madhouse when they fully entered. In every direction, citizens screamed, pumped their fists, waved their wings and tails if they had them, and pointed. One fairy with long, pointy ears wiggled them like he was trying to fly. Soldiers kept the people back, but hands stretched out toward Oriel as they kept chanting his name with the title.
Parents lifted their children so they could see better and say that they had laid eyes on the King. His horse gave a little shake of its head as if proud to be carrying the proper ruler of West Bay.
For a moment, Oriel’s throat tightened. The people here wanted him. They weren’t ready to give up and kneel to King Taven. They might have decided same shit, different ruler, and gotten on with their lives like many did after a war, but they had remained loyal to him.
A guard hung from a signpost with his tongue sticking out. The cushy job of being a guard had probably been rethought while the man had choked to death. One of his horns had been broken off, and only a bloody stump for a tail remained.
The citizens parted on the main road ahead and followed the best they could as the procession moved through. The Castle was at one end and surrounded by a massive wall. It was completely devoid of guards, and the gate was down.
Citizens ahead ran to it and climbed up the gate as they shouted. A few started to climb the wall and a flier lifted someone up. Some citizens had already climbed in and were beating at the door to the gatehouse.
They must have already attacked the guards earlier, but one or two had locked themselves inside the gatehouse. The iron door was resisting fire and lightning so far. Someone with yellow energy tried, but they had no results.
“Death to Lord Taggert! Death to Lord Taggert! DEATH TO LORD TAGGERT!”
The chant grew deafening, and the procession had to stop as there were too many citizens clustered around the gate and the wall. The Knights were trying to convince them to move without force, but nobody was listening.
A different cheer rose from one side as a tall, buff fairy who looked like he ate nails for breakfast and lifted mountains for fun came through. He shouldered aside a Knight who got too close and tried to tell him to clear off, approached the gate, and pushed up his spectacles.
It wasn’t hard to guess what this fairy's ability was. He squatted, gripped the bars of the gate near the bottom, and lifted it. With a screeching grate, it went up as if it weighed nothing, and he stood to the side as he held it up.
Citizens poured in like water and rushed for the Castle itself. Oriel’s group finally made it over, and the fairy adjusted his spectacles as he managed to make himself heard over the insane shouting.
“The trick is to lift with your legs,” he bellowed at Oriel. “Not your back. That’s how you hurt yourself.”
Like Oriel would ever manage to do what this fairy had done, but he nodded. “I’ll remember that.”
Citizens were throwing things at the Castle windows. Glass tinkled and rained down. Others were pounding on the massive doors. To Oriel’s surprise, they opened, and the servant inside was nearly bowled over as several people stampeded forward.
Kalen’s army could barely do a thing with the citizen’s single-minded goal. Oriel dismounted in the yard once they were close enough, and Lord Taggert was dragged out moments later. He had burns on his clothes, and someone had bloodied his shoulder pretty badly, but he was still alive. Amazingly, he had a collar around his neck which meant someone had robbed the local guardhouse for it and likely had the full intention of getting around his neck.
For a moment, Oriel froze as he looked at the orange-eyed lord who’d coldly told him that his entire family was dead.
On that night, Lord Taggert had been calm and sure of himself in the way of a man who is on the winning side and thinks no harm can come to him. He’d also been that way on the ship when he said something special awaited Oriel. Now, real fear flashed in his eyes as those holding him threw him down. The rest of his new people who hadn’t been brought to heel roared their displeasure.
“KILL HIM! KILL HIM!”
Oriel approached him. “Do I look like a slave to you now?”
Lord Taggert glanced at Roth and must have known who he was. Roth’s sneer wasn’t pleasant.
“Traitor!” spat the lord.
Oriel kicked Lord Taggert in the face and was pleased to see blood gush from his nose. “Don’t you ever speak to him. You’re not even worthy of looking at us. You two, strip him and hold him on top of the steps so everyone can see.”
Two Knights complied. Even when Taggert was naked, he still wore his defiant expression, although Oriel planned to strip that off too. Those in the yard quieted a bit as they waited to see what would happen.
Several citizens were crowded inside of the entrance hall to the Castle, and Oriel entered. The fairies stared at him like they expected him to take his sword and run Taggert through, but he had something else in mind. If he simply requested for someone to fetch what he wanted, there would probably be a mad rush to get it, so he pointed at a particular fairy and asked.
Oriel stood at the top of the stairs to look out over the massive crowd. Many had gotten up on the wall to see better, and the mass spread out into the city streets. A lot wouldn’t be able to hear, but they’d get the gist.
