In addition, his people had nowhere to go except Amika. He and Queen Estie had planned for that—but only as a last resort. The early, apparently unnecessary arrival of Bellegerins by the hundreds and thousands would strain the resources of Queen Estie’s realm to their limits. It might prove intolerable. Dispossessed Amikans and starving Bellegerins might go to war with each other again—in Amika. Both realms would be lost.

King Bifalt felt calamities crowding toward him wherever he walked: fire and sorceries, blades and arrows, helpless people slaughtered. His people. Nevertheless he had to accept that the Open Hand’s destruction was inevitable. And he had to let his people remain where they were until the enemy’s approach was obvious to everyone. What else could he do?

To his way of thinking, Belleger’s Fist offered him his only possible advantage. If he could convince the enemy that he was prepared to sacrifice his city but not his keep—if he could convince his foes that he intended to make some kind of last stand in the Fist—

He had decided how to meet the challenge. His plans were fraught with dangers. Any mistake on his part, like any unexpected enemy tactic, would be fatal. But he was a man who did not hesitate to act on his own choices. He walked in the Open Hand again and again, reexamining every passage among the buildings for possibilities, searching his plans for flaws.

In its essence, what he hoped to accomplish was simple. He wanted to design and erect obstacles in the crucial streets, alleys, and intersections: barriers that would turn the enemy’s forces toward Belleger’s Fist. At the same time, those barricades would create open routes for the flight of his people. If he succeeded, the enemy would converge on his keep while his people ran for the northward road and Amika.

A simple plan. Its execution, however—

King Bifalt, Royal Surveyor Wheal, Land-Captain Erepos, and General Klamath had spent many days working on the answers to two questions. First, where should the barriers be placed to achieve both of their purposes? Second, how could a barricade be made strong enough to halt or at least deflect the hordes of the enemy? After all, it had to be either temporary or movable. Otherwise it would impede the city’s many activities before it was needed.

Together, the King and Wheal had chosen locations for the obstacles. During his predawn walks, Bifalt had adjusted some of those positions in his mind. Others could not be improved. The design and construction of the barriers, he left to Erepos and Klamath. Both men had a resource that their King lacked: they could consult comfortably with Magisters.