Chapter 270: Two Commanders
The sound of heavy boots against the cobblestones broke the tense silence of the barricade. Draven looked down from the rusted iron gantry. Lord Commander Ashgar Vell stood in the freezing mud, surrounded by the battered remnants of his household guard.
The wealthy merchant king was stripped of his arrogant security. His expensive green silk was torn and stained with soot. He had come to the one fortified district he had refused to support, asking for shelter.
Draven did not demand a kneeling oath. He did not point out the tragic irony of the situation. He did not force Vell to admit he had been wrong about the Capital strike fleet.
"Open the gates," Draven ordered quietly.
The massive timber doors groaned open. Vell and his men stumbled into the eastern quarter.
Draven climbed down the metal ladder and approached the defeated ruler.
