"How can there be so many of them?" Amber asked.
"I don't think they're all Gokani. See, the Gokani wear fitted clothing, carefully stitched. The women often wear those pointed hats with tassels, like that woman over there. A lot of these other people must be from Narea. They would be the ones with the furs. The Emir said Narea was a large nation, with Gokan small in comparison."
"So the people of two nations are heading south."
"It looks that way."
The healers had said they would be at Wengwai before nightfall, but Miro hadn't asked how far away that meant they were. Then, around noon, directly ahead he saw a large hill in the middle of a plain, with irrigated farmland on all sides.
As he grew closer he saw it wasn't a hill; it was a city.
"I think that's it," Amber said. "It must be Wengwai."
Wengwai, capital of Gokan, had obviously been built with defence in mind. A thick wall the height of ten men encircled the city, while round towers were interspersed regularly along the wall's length. The buildings within the walls rose on tiers, an effect caused by each inner ring of structures being a story higher than its neighbouring ring. In the centre of the city rose an immense tower. It was the tallest tower Miro had ever seen.
Miro and Amber were forced to walk through farmland while the fleeing people thronged the road. In the distance Miro saw Wengwai's huge gates standing wide open, facing onto the main road. The gates were feet thick, made of hard wood bound with iron.
"What do we do now?" Amber asked.
"The Alchemists' Guild has its headquarters in there," Miro said. "We go in."
At that moment a horn blasted, the sound reverberating through the distant hills, so low Miro could feel it in his stomach. The sound came from the city.
"What was that?" Miro asked when the horn blast finally faded away.
"Lord of the Sky," Amber breathed, grabbing hold of Miro's arm. "Look!"
Miro saw a distant dust cloud in the north, unmistakeably caused by the steps of a great many feet. The cloud grew larger and closer, and Miro now saw the tops of siege towers poking above. The billowing dust came from the north, extending from one end of the horizon to the other, moving to encircle the city within its arms.
The barbarian horde was here.
The horn sounded again, the intensity of the blast setting Miro's teeth on edge. The city's massive gates began to close.
Instantly the people on the road began to scream. They were too late to get away now; anyone heading south on the main road would be caught in the horde's grip.
"Can we make it?" Amber gasped.
"We have to. Run!"
The road was now the scene of chaos as the mob turned around, fighting each other as they tried to reach the city before the swinging gates closed. Miro pushed and weaved, his muscles tensed as he held Amber's hand in a grip of iron.
A little girl fell down in front of them and Miro bent down, encircling her chest with his free arm and picking her up. He looked around for the girl's parents but all he could see were desperate faces twisted in fear, eyes wide and staring at the closing gates.
Miro held the girl to his chest and ran with the mob, holding on to Amber with all his strength. Through the crowd he saw a man go down, tumbling and screaming as he was trampled by the feet of the throng. There was nothing he could do.
The gates were more than half closed, and they had only halved the distance to the city.
"We need to go faster," Miro gasped, turning to Amber. "Get back onto the side of the road."
Still holding the little girl to his chest, he pulled Amber through the crowd until they popped out onto the muddied remnants of farmland. The mud sucked at his feet, but with his long legs and the improved space Miro was able to make faster time. He felt Amber struggling behind him — she didn't have his height — and used his strength to pull her through the more difficult parts.
They were now a hundred paces from the huge gates, and then fifty. "Back onto the road!" Miro shouted.
He pushed once more into the crowd and saw there was now only a thin crack between the gates.
If they didn't make it into the city, Miro knew they would never find the Alchemists' Guild.
He lunged and shoved, holding the little girl close and keeping his grip on Amber tight. The distance between the gates was less than two feet.
Miro gave a great push, and turned sideways, sliding through the open gate. Amber! He felt her grip on his hand loosen but he held firm and pulled, heaving her through the tiny gap, feeling her make it only the barest instant before the gates pushed together.
Miro felt rough hands pull him forwards as soldiers cleared him away from the gates.
They'd made it.
"Lora!" he heard a cry, and a thin woman with a tasselled hat came running towards him, her arms outstretched. Miro held the little girl out to the woman, who swept her up as tears ran down her face. "Thank you!" the woman said.
Miro gave the woman a shaky smile.