I watched the men, saw the change in them as fresh confidence filled them. For a moment only they were silent, then they began to talk of skills with the blade. Who should go, who should stay? From fear-born indecision they were now vying for the right to accompany the Morningstar.
I held the smile from my face and approached Mace and Wulf. ‘You have them,’ I told him. ‘That was well done.’So easily swayed,’ he said, contempt in his voice.
‘It is a valuable lesson to learn. Men will always follow confident leaders – even if the way is fraught with peril.’Well, it is that,’ said Wulf. ‘Ten men walking into the enemy’s fortress. I think you are insane.’In that moment I felt the terrible weight of responsibility upon me. It was my plan, and on it rested Piercollo’s chance of life. I cared little for Brackban or the woman, since I did not know them then, but the giant Tuscanian was my friend and my fears for him were great.
All my nervousness returned, with doubled force. I have said that I had little interest in matters of strategy, but that was because my father and brothers were masters of the art. Young Owen, on the other hand, was a simpleton in such matters. I thought of the plan again, imagining my father examining it. Its one strength was in its simplicity, but the weaknesses were many. I tried not to think of all that could go wrong.
But if I was worried at that moment, it was as nothing compared with the nervousness I felt as we approached the keep. The sun had vanished behind the great peaks to the west, and the sky was the colour of blood as we walked slowly up the hill. The round tower with its gates of oak was a simple structure, no more than sixty feet high and perhaps one hundred and fifty feet in circumference. I had seen many such. On the ground floor would be the dining-hall, on the first the sleeping area, with its double-tiered rows of pallet beds. On the third was situated the home hearth of the captain and his lady, usually two rooms – a small bedroom and a dining area. Above that was the roof, from which archers could send down arrows, spears or hot pitch on any invading force. The small dungeons, perhaps two cells, would usually be dug into the hillside below the keep.
I guessed that Lykos would see us in his rooms on the third floor.
We could see a single sentry up on the roof, leaning over the battlements looking down as we approached. He shouted an instruction to the gatekeeper; we heard the bar lift and the gates opened.
Two armed men stood beyond them. ‘AH weapons to be left here,’ said the first. We had expected this and Mace unbuckled his sword-belt, followed by Jairn and the other men, most of whom were Brackban’s militia soldiers – none wearing armour now but
loose-fitting tunics and leggings of wool. The swords and knives were left on a bench inside the doorway. One of the sentries moved forward to search Mace; as he did so I sent a tiny Sound-spell into the man’s right ear, a buzzing like an insect. He jumped and twisted, then the sound moved behind him and he turned swiftly. ‘What’s the matter with you?’ the second sentry asked.
‘Cursed wasps!’ said the first.
‘Are we to stand here all night?’ asked Mace. The man swore, for the buzzing had sounded by his left ear now.
Take them up!’ he ordered the second man. Slowly we filed after the sentry, into the dining area where several soldiers were seated at a bench table, eating soup and bread, and on to a winding stone stair that led up through the sleeping quarters where around twenty warriors were lounging on their beds. Something about the scene aroused my fears, but there was nothing overtly threatening and I forced myself to stay calm.
At the next floor, to the right of the stair, was a door upon which the sentry rapped his knuckles.
‘Enter!’ came a muffled voice from within. Just as the soldier laid his hand on the catch, Jairn slid a short iron bar from his sleeve, cracking it down on the man’s neck. The soldier fell back without a sound and Jairn caught him, lowering him to the floor. Mace and the others drew the daggers they had hidden within the folds of their tunics and prepared to enter the room.