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Chapter 37
Will stood towards the back of the crowd in the marketplace. Te
Will hadn't eaten and the smell of the roasting meat set his stomach growling. From time to time, the Outsider in charge carved choice pieces from the outside of the meat. Another tore pieces of flat country bread to use as plates and the meat and bread were distributed to the waiting crowd. A cask of wine and another of ale had been broached and the townsfolk were invited to bring theirmugs and tankards forward to be filled up. The atmosphere was a jovial one, almost like a holiday. The food and wine were good and it was a pleasant break in the day-to-day humdrum life of the town. The market ground buzzed with conversation and goodwill.
Then Te
They sang popular country songs that had their audience tapping their feet and swaying in time until, at Te
He was a skilful orator. He did it by degrees, first becoming wistful as he described the evil that had seemed to spread over Clonmel in recent months – a dark cloud that was so diametrically opposed to the simple, cheerful life espoused by Alseiass and his followers. His tone darkened into indignation, then anger as he described horrors like the massacre at Duffy's Ford, and others that had gone before. The details were unfamiliar to most in the crowd, but there had been rumours of evil-doing at half a dozen towns and villages through the south of the
Kingdom. The place names were familiar and since rumour is by nature imprecise, Te
Will sensed the change in the crowd's mood. There was fear stalking among them, unseen and as yet unrecognised, as Te
`The prophet Te
`There's evil stalking this land,' Te
He addressed this last question to the solid cadre of followers behind him and their voices chorused confirmation of the fact. Then Te
`He must be stopped! His evil followers must be crushed and defeated! And who will do that for you? Who will protect you from his attacks? Who will face thebandits, criminals, murderers and outlaws who flock to his ba
The crowd muttered restlessly. There was no answer that they knew to his question.
`Who has the power to stand against Balse
Once more, Te
`Will your King do it?'
Silence. An awkward, nervous silence as the crowd looked at each other, then looked hurriedly away. This close to Castle Dun Kilty, no one was willing to make the first step towards denouncing the King. Yet, in their hearts, they all knew that the answer to the question was no. Te
`Has your King -' the contempt in his voice was all too obvious as he said the word 'king' '- done anything to alleviate the suffering of his people? Has het'
The intensity of his voice, the passion that showed in his face, demanded an answer. From the rear of crowd, a few hesitant voices rose.
`NoP
And once the lead had been given, more voices joined in, until the cries denouncing King Ferris were coming from all sides, and the volume was growing.
`No! No! The King does nothing while the people suffer!'
`He's safe in his mighty castle! What about the rest of us?'
The first few voices were probably plants, Will realised. They were Te
Te
`Who was it who turned back the attack on Mountsha
Again, the chorus of 'No!' boomed around the market square. As it subsided, Te
`Then who? Who saved the people of Mountsha
And behind him, a group of villagers from Mountsha
`Alseiass!' they shouted. 'Alselass and Te
And the people of Dun Kilty took up the cry until it echoed back from the buildings around the market square, redoubling itself as it did so, becoming one long, rolling cry: `Alseiass-and-Te
This is getting very dangerous, he thought. He had never experienced mob hysteria before. Standing in the middle of it, he felt the full, ugly, unreasoning force of it.
Te
`Who stood against evil at the gate to Craike
`The Sunrise Warrior!' he yelled at the top of his voice.
Instantly, a hush fell over square. People around him turned to stare and Te
`I was there! He destroyed his enemies with a flaming sword! He drove them back! Hundreds of them defeated by one man – the mighty Sunrise Warrior!'