by AC Cobble
Henrick gestured to Ben and the young guard who’d been speaking the other night. “You two, stay back at least a hundred paces. Soan, make sure Ben doesn’t engage.”
“What!” exclaimed the young guard with a scowl on his face. “I’m supposed to be at the front with the rest of the squad.”
Ben had never seen a heavily armed and armored man pout before. It wasn’t very becoming.
“You’re supposed to do what I say,” growled Henrick. “How about this? You keep Ben out of it, and you get City duty for a month when we get back.”
Mollified, the young guard looked at Ben and shrugged. “Sorry. Guess we walked up here for nothing.”
Ben knew where Henrick’s orders were coming from but he didn’t know what he could do to change them. Ben had been the voice of reason before. He’d argued to keep Red alive and he’d hesitated about some of Reinhold’s methods of interrogation when they were still looking for Gulli. He suspected Reinhold wasn’t interested in hearing a voice of reason today.
Fair enough, he thought. Gulli’s men had tried to injure or kill Ben and Renfro. If they were too stupid to see how outnumbered they were today, they’d pay the price. He hoped they threw down, but this situation was out of Ben’s control.
His thought was confirmed when Reinhold made his rounds to encourage the men.
Reinhold placed a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “After today, Ben, you will become a wealthy man. The ale trade in the City is going to be wide open and we’re positioned to take advantage. Whether it’s with a quill and ink, or a sword and spear, there is nothing like beating an opponent and relishing your success. I’ll teach you this. Tonight, we drink the finest wine and ale Arrath has to offer, and we discuss our partnership. You’re a little soft, but I like you. I see a young me in you. We’re going to do great things together.”
Reinhold’s glassy eyes spoke to the fine wine he’d already been enjoying that morning. The perfectly polished silver pommel of his sword peeking from above his shoulder spoke to how little he was involved in real combat. One thing Reinhold said was true, though, he didn’t care if it was quill and ink or sword and spear. He just truly enjoyed beating someone. Today, he was going to beat Gulli and he was already celebrating.
Soon after he spoke to Reinhold, Ben saw a rider come into camp. Suddenly, shouts went up for everyone to get their gear and get moving.
Henrick jogged back from a meeting with the other squad leaders and explained, “We sent a man into town last night and he spotted Gulli at the inn. Our man says Gulli is holed up there and seems to think no one will notice him. We’ll be done with this by lunch,” he finished with confidence.
The troop started marching. Ben and the young guard dutifully fell back a hundred paces. Ben decided he was fine with that. The men were psyching themselves up for blood, and whatever Gulli’s men did, their lord was unlikely to survive this day. The certain and unnecessary bloodshed made Ben queasy. He, Renfro, and Evan had been the victims of the attack, but Reinhold had taken to the cause like it had been him. The situation had escalated too far on both sides to turn back now. It had never needed to come to this place.
“I hear you brew an excellent ale,” began the young guard. “Maybe when we get back you can show me around to some good taverns. These older guards just sit around the barracks dicing all evening. I want to go out and meet some women. You’ve got to be in the taverns all day, right? You can show me which places have the pretty girls.”
“Sure, when we get back.” Ben sighed.
The terrain around Arrath was heavily wooded. The rolling hills near the river turned into steep ridges and valleys. The road to Arrath humped over the ridges as it skirted the foot of a small mountain range. Arrath itself, according to Henrick’s sketch in the dirt the night before, was located in a narrow valley. It was a small tin mining town. Business couldn’t have been very good, thought Ben. They hadn’t seen another traveler or a merchant in two days. All the better for their purposes, though. They needed the element of surprise to prevent Gulli from running away into the forest.
A hundred paces back, they started losing sight of the troop as the road climbed and dropped over the ridges. Ben wasn’t worried. There was only one way to go and no one was getting around all of Reinhold’s men.
If it weren’t for the mission they were on, it would be a pleasant walk. The early fall weather was refreshing after summer in the City and the woods around them were peaceful.
“Hurry up,” pressed the young guard. “We may not be able to engage, but I want to watch.”
They crested a hill and saw the troop strung out on the road before them. Reinhold and the other rider, his scout, were in the lead. Everyone else was marching in rows of four. The household guard was making a good show of looking like a real army unit, thought Ben.
Then he paused. He caught a glimpse of movement in trees below them on the ridge. Ben grabbed the young guard’s arm and pointed down.
“What?” asked the guard.
A dark grey clad man stepped out of the trees and flapped a bright red handkerchief.
“Who is that?” continued the guard.
“I don’t…”
An animal cry broke the quiet of the forest. Ben saw Reinhold’s horse buck upward, sending the lord tumbling over its back.
Instantly, the forest became alive with swarms of grey clad figures bursting from the undergrowth and charging into Reinhold’s men. A volley of arrows arced over their heads as they hit Reinhold’s line.
Ben swept his blade from his scabbard and stepped forward, but the young guard pulled him back. Without saying anything, they both saw the fight was over before it started.
Reinhold’s men were outnumbered, surprised, and overwhelmed quickly, but they didn’t all go down without a fight. Ben saw the axe man Gra step out of the line and meet the charge head on. Muscles bulging, he cleaved through the first wave of the grey-clad men like they were blades of grass. Within heartbeats, though, he was surrounded and sprouting several arrows from his back. He kept churning and surged forward into the midst of his enemies to cut down several more.
“Oh shit,” the young guard mumbled. “Lord Jason.”
A pony-tailed blond man walked up to Gra and smoothly ducked under the spinning axe. He then casually sliced the big man open from groin to neck. Without pausing, the newcomer plunged into the thick of the battle. Reinhold’s men perished in his wake.
Ben turned to the young guard but the man had broken into a full sprint back down the road and away from the battle.
“Lord Jason?” Ben asked himself aloud. “The Coalition’s Lord Jason?”
He looked back to the battle and quickly realized he needed to move too. Reinhold’s men, in the span of a few breaths, had been wiped out. The grey-clad men were covering the road and ruthlessly dispatching any survivors. Ben jumped to the side of the road and sank down amongst the tall grasses there. He started wiggling closer to the forest but could still clearly see the road below.
The man who must be Lord Jason was dressed the same as the others, but he stood out like a wolf amongst a pack of lap dogs. Even if Ben hadn’t seen how easily he put down Gra, he would fear this man. Lord Jason moved to the head of the column and knelt beside a body before rising again, holding a scabbarded sword with a flashing silver pommel. Reinhold didn’t even draw his weapon realized Ben.
Ben slid on his stomach into the thick undergrowth just in time. A handful of the grey-clad men appeared on the hill where he had been standing. One called out, “Look. Someone dropped a sword.”
Ben cursed himself until he realized he was still holding his own sword. The damn guard must have dropped it to run faster.
“Go tell Lord Jason one got away,” called another voice.
Cringing down amongst the low-lying bushes and grasses, Ben was afraid to move. The men were close enough that they were sure to hear him pushing through the leaves and branches. He could only hope he was deep enough that they wouldn’t spot him.<
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“Someone got away?” asked a strong, even voice.
“We think so, sir,” answered the original speaker. “We found a sword and belt in the middle of the road. They could have dropped it to run.”
“Strange,” replied the voice. It sounded like silk whispering over steel. “They didn’t have scouts out, so why a rear guard? Regardless, we must move quickly for the City now. Brons, send a runner to alert the Sanctuary we’re coming and let them know someone got away. Whoever it is, they probably aren’t stupid enough to return to the City, but if they do and they start talking, well, that will be handled by the mages.” The voice trailed off ominously.
“Should we dispose of the bodies, sir?”
“No, there isn’t time for that now. We must move faster than planned. It makes me nervous that this person wasn’t part of the column. I don’t like not knowing who it was. If somehow they understand what they just saw, they could alert the girl. Without Reinhold in the way, Gulli can take our gold to lock up the arms supply from Venmoor then cut off Issen and the rest of the Alliance. Lord Gregor is too hard headed to break just because of that, though. We need his daughter.”
18
Flight
Damn it. Damn it. The words ran through Ben’s head over and over as he followed behind the Coalition forces. He had stayed in hiding while they gathered up and started marching. Now he was as close behind them as he dared. He had to get to the City and warn Amelie before they got there.
He knew he could pass them in the night, and one person could move faster than a party of hundreds. His biggest concern was how to contact Amelie and Meghan once he made it to the City. Lord Jason had mentioned sending a runner to the Sanctuary so they must be in cahoots. The Sanctuary was at Argren’s Conclave, but apparently that didn’t mean much to them. Being involved in a kidnap plot for one of their own members was unexpected but not surprising given what he’d been finding out over the last few months.
The slaughter of Reinhold’s men weighed on him also, but not as much as he thought it would have. It was a tragedy, and he couldn’t help but think of the men he’d gotten to know and their families. Henrick and others had been friendly to Ben, but they were the ones who had marched and they had intended to engage Gulli. None of Reinhold’s men that Ben met were unwilling to do violence. Many of them were eager. Live by the sword and die by the sword, he figured.
That evening brought his first chance to get around the Coalition men and nearly got him caught. As the sun set, he started moving more cautiously, but not enough so. It was only a flick of light on top of a nearby hill that alerted him to a sentinel. These men were professional soldiers behind enemy lines. They had sentinels stationed around the camp and were eschewing fires or other signs that would give them away. The lone sentinel lit a pipe just in time for Ben to see him before drawing too close.
He looped wide into the countryside and walked well clear of the boundaries of the Coalition camp. It cost him a bell to get by, but caution ruled over speed.
Once in the clear, Ben set a ground-covering pace. Fortunately, the moon was only a few days away from full so light was not a problem. The open road was easy to navigate for a single person. The solo hike through the darkness reminded him of when he left Farview. The sense of dangerous excitement he felt that night wasn’t too far different from what he felt now.
Two nights of long marches and cold camps later, he made it back to the City in the afternoon. He shaved a day off the time it had taken to get to Arrath with Reinhold’s men. Whatever he was going to do had to be finished by morning, though. After that, the Coalition men may be there. Jason would push his troops hard. Once they made it to the Sanctuary, there would be nothing Ben could do.
He thought about going straight to the warehouse to enlist the help of Renfro and their men, but attacking the mages would be futile and likely a death sentence for anyone he spoke to. Stealth was the only option, and more men couldn’t help him with that.
He would have gone to Saala of course, but he was out of town escorting Tomas. Rhys had left with Lady Towaal. The Issen Consulate was another choice, but they were unlikely to believe Ben. If they did, they’d probably send a representative for an official discussion with the Sanctuary. The Consulate would also be the first place Jason checked if Amelie escaped.
That left Mathias. The barkeep was his friend. He may be willing to help. He wasn’t directly tied to Amelie, so no one would suspect, but what was Ben even asking him to do?
The Flying Swan Inn was crowded as usual when he arrived. He peered around the room nervously. He chastised himself when he realized he didn’t know what a Coalition man would look like. They wouldn’t know him either.
Mathias approached him and instantly saw something was wrong. “The kitchen or my room? Let me get some ale.”
“Your room,” replied Ben tersely. “And no ale tonight.”
Mathias frowned, but led Ben through the common room without further questions. “Tell me what’s going on,” said the barkeep when they were out of earshot of the common room.
It burst out of Ben in a rush. “Reinhold and all of his men are dead. There are Coalition forces within half a day of here intending to kidnap Amelie or worse. And somehow, they are working with people in the Sanctuary.”
“Wait. What?” The war-scarred veteran fell into his chair and stared incredulously at Ben. “Are you sure? How could you be sure? Never mind. You wouldn’t make this up.”
“I am sure. I saw the ambush on Reinhold and saw all of his men killed. Just me and the one other who was guarding me got away. I hid and overheard the Coalition men talking about their plans. One more thing. Lord Jason is the one leading them here.”
“Damn!” exclaimed Mathias. “We have to get that girl out of there tonight.”
“I know,” Ben responded quietly, rubbing his hands over his face. The pace to get back had been punishing and he was exhausted. “But how?”
Four bells later, full dark had descended on the City. Ben and Mathias were bobbing in a small dingy in the river just north of the island.
The gates to the Sanctuary were heavily guarded and not worth considering. The walls surrounding it were high and smooth as glass. Even with a grappling hook, it would be noisy and maybe not even possible to climb up. The hook could just slide off. Getting back out with Amelie and Meghan would be even worse.
Once Mathias calmed down, he pointed out that the water side was the only option for stealth. There were parks open to the water, which rarely had people in them during the day, and they both hoped would be empty at night.
They rowed closer. Mathias silently dipped the oars into the water. Muscles bulged as he propelled them toward the bank. The small boat glided through the slow-moving current.
“I don’t see any guards,” whispered Ben. He was perched at the bow and scanning the grounds intensely for any signs of life.
“They must think no one is stupid enough to assault this place. That, or they have some magical ward we’re about to trip,”
Ben stared back at Mathias. “A magical ward?” he hissed.
Mathias shrugged as the boat bumped up against the thick grass of the island. He whispered back, “I don’t know. I’ve heard about them in stories.”
“Shit.” Ben cursed his friend for not saying something sooner, but what other choice did they have? No other entry point was feasible.
“If I trip some ward, if you see something happen, get out of here,” instructed Ben. “There’s no use both of us getting caught. This isn’t your fight. Worst case—you can alert the Consulate tonight and maybe they can do something.”
“Those political hacks?” Mathias snorted. “I’m sure they’d manage to get a meeting called by the end of the week. This is it. I will wait out here as long as I can.”
Ben nodded curtly and slithered off the bow of the boat onto the gently sloped riverbank. He had a good idea of where the Initiate’s Quarters were. For a boy used to navigating the woods and h
idden landmarks around Farview, it would be no challenge to keep that fixed in his mind. The problem was that neither he nor Mathias knew what else was in the compound, or how he would find Meghan and Amelie once he got to their building.
Worry about that later, he told himself. For now, he was in an open park with three squat buildings visible. It was late evening, so lights were still on in some windows. He didn’t see any people. They hoped that coming now instead of the middle of the night would disguise any noise he made as normal activity.
He set off in a low crouch for a wide gap between two of the buildings that he thought would lead in the direction of the Initiate’s Quarters. So far, so good. No alarms were raised and no rush of guards with weapons drawn.
Well into the park, he found a path and started following it, but quickly jumped off when he heard the telltale jingle of a man in armor.
Ben squatted down next to the thick trunk of a tree and waited. Near two of the buildings he’d been about to pass between, two figures popped in and out of the intermittent light from the windows. Two guards on their rounds. From their pace, they were in no hurry. They drew closer and he heard the low rumble of their voices in conversation. Before they came close to his hiding place, they turned around another building and kept walking into the darkness.
So, they did have guards and they worked on patrols, Ben realized. It would make it easier to see them coming, but he had to be aware at all times.
With the guards out of the way, he scuttled forward and moved between the two buildings right where they had passed.
Halfway there, he stopped and stood upright before continuing at a normal, if somewhat hurried pace. If anyone caught a glimpse of him it would be better to look like he belonged than sneaking around.