by AC Cobble
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 and 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.
“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 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. But Lord Gregor is too hard headed to break just because of that, we need his daughter.”
Flight
Damnit. Damnit. It 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, it 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 like Henrick and their families, 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 and many of them were eager. Live by the sword and die by the sword he thought.
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 fast ground covering pace. Fortunately, the moon was only a few days away from full so light was not a problem and 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. After that, the Coalition men may be there. Jason would push his troops hard and 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 option but they were unlikely to believe Ben and 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 and 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 and he peered around the room nervously. He chastised himself though when he realized he didn’t know what a Coalition man would look like and 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?” asked 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 one other who was guarding me got away. I hid and overheard them 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 quietly responded and rubbed 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. A hook might 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 and muscles bulged as he propelled them towards 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 it 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 and this isn’t your fight. Worst case, you can alert the Consulate tonight and maybe they can do something.”
“Those political hacks? 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 Initiates Quarters were. For a boy used to navigating the woods and hidden 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 but he could not 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 Initiates 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 and 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 do have guards and they worked on patrols he thought. 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.
Staying on the path he found worked well. It was well maintained so there was no risk of noisily stumbling over something and it seemed to go in the direction he needed. Away from the river, the grounds became wilder with tall grasses and stands of trees similar to what he saw at the front gates. It made sense, if the Mages were interested in strolling on the grass they would do it near the fresh air at the north of the island by the water.
Luckily, the buildings of the Sanctuary were spread out and the place had more space than they needed. He encountered people two more times but these groups were carrying some small object in their hands that emitted a low, steady yellow light which they shined in front of them. It made it easy for him to move off into the darkness and avoid detection. The guards must intentionally be in the dark to not give away their positions or spoil their night vision.
The buildings he could see were non-descript and impossible to identify a purpose for from the outside. One did give him pause. It emitted a noxious sulpherous smell and an angry red light pulsed behind closed doors and shuttered windows. He stopped and observed for a few heartbeats then hurried past that one.
In only half a bell he’d moved all the way across the grounds and found his way to the Initiates Quarters. He was confident he was in the right place because the hedge-walled garden was the only one like it he had seen during his normal visits or this night.
Three stories of white stucco and the length of a city block. Staring up at the building he still couldn’t figure out how he was going to find Meghan and Amelie inside without alerting anyone else.
He began to circle the building, peering in the lit windows hoping he’d get lucky. Maybe both girls will be together and sitting alone in a room on the first floor. He ruefully shook his head at the stupidity of the thought but right now he didn’t have anything else.
After a couple of windows he saw that the first floor was all common areas. There were rooms that looked like they were for studying, a mess room, a large steamy washroom and other open rooms that he couldn’t easily identify a purpose for. Most rooms had the lights on still and he saw several young women going about their evening tasks. Many of them were reading books and he saw some small groups debating chalk writing they’d put on a blackboard.
He made it around one side of the building with no sign of Meghan or Amelie but he was hopeful. A lot of girls were awake so he might see them. If he could at least find where they were he thought a plan might materialize.
On the far side of the building he had to pass a brightly lit entrance. He counted to one hundred and hadn’t seen or heard anyone so he held his breath and walked through the light, hoping he looked like he belonged there.
Almost to the other corner of the building he thought he was safe until he heard a soft voice loudly and pointedly clear it’s throat. He paused mid-step.
“Excuse me. Do you care to explain yourself?” demanded a young female.
“I...”
“Don’t bother. I saw you looking in the washroom window. Hoping to catch a peek?”
Running wasn’t an option. She would simply raise the alarm if he did anything other than turn and convince her she didn’t need to.
“I’m sorry ma’am, I believe I am lost. Are the guard’s barracks near here? I wasn’t sure so I was trying to figure out which building this is.” Maybe if she thought he was trying to reach the guards she wouldn’t think she needed to call them herself.
She crossed her arms and scowled at him, “you are not out for a casual stroll deep in the night looking for the guard’s barracks. This is the Sanctuary, do you think I am stupid? Let’s try that again, and if you lie, I will know.”
She was standing in the light of the entrance and was a pretty young woman, close to his own age. She wasn’t screaming for help yet. That was something.
“I… I’m looking for my sister,” he stammered. Could she really tell if he was lying? He didn’t know but he did want to find Meghan in addition to Amelie. It was at least partially true.
“Your sister?”
Might as well go for broke. “Meghan Pinewood. She’s stopped answering my letters and I’ve heard stories about this place. I did a lot of asking around after she left. I came to see if she was Ok.”
“Meghan Pinewood is your sister?” The scowl remained on her face but her tone lightened. “Then know that she is Ok and that you shouldn’t be here. The Mages do not look kindly at trespassers. I suggest you go out the way you came in and thank the stars it was me instead of a guard you drew the attention of. You can visit her in the gardens on the next Newday.”
“I need to see her now, tonight,” implored Ben. “Do you know her? Could you send her out to talk to me?”
“You should go, you should go now before someone else does find you.”
“Please. I came all of the way here to make sure she is safe. I promise, I will leave as soon as I know she’s safe.” He was skirting the truth as closely as he could.
“This is a bad idea.” The girl was wavering.
“If you know her, she must have told you some about her family or her past. Ask me anything and I can prove I’m her brother.”
“Where is Meghan from? Wait, wait. That is too easy.” The girl flipped a twist of wet hair back over her shoulder then asked, “what caused her to come
to the Sanctuary?”
“I was injured in a demon attack. A Mage, Lady Towaal, came to our town of Farview to kill the demon and she healed me as well. She was with Lady Amelie, Lady Amelie’s handmaiden, a Blademaster named Saala and a Hunter named Rhys. Meghan and my adopted brother left with Lady Towaal as payment for my healing. Please, she is here because of me, I must talk to her to know she is safe.”
The girl sighed. “Very well. There is a hedge-walled garden on the other side of this building. It’s locked at night so you will need to climb in or wiggle through the brush. If you got this far without being detected that should be easy. Our curfew is in half a bell and Meghan will sneak down after that to meet you in the garden. I will tell her you came to see her, Brandon.”
The girl turned and disappeared back into the Initiates Quarters. Ben almost collapsed in relief.
The hedge wall turned out to be thick bushes surrounding an iron fence which Ben scrambled over then dropped behind a tangle of shrubs. He’d been lucky so far and he wasn’t going to risk a stray guard or Initiate peering into the garden and spying him.
The bells rang dutifully on time and he squirmed in the damp, slightly chill earth while he waited. He peered through the leaves and strained his ears to hear anything. There was nothing to see and no sounds.
Finally, he heard the scrape of a door and whispered voices. He remained still and silent, waiting for the footfalls to draw closer.
“Ben!” hissed Meghan’s voice.
He poked his head up from the brush and saw both Meghan and Amelie staring at him from near the building.
“Damn it Ben! I knew it would be you. What are you doing out here? You’re going to get us in a lot of trouble and yourself thrown in prison!” exclaimed Meghan in a low voice.
The girls were still standing near the door to the garden so Ben risked further wrath from Meghan and waved them deeper into the plants and flowers. They followed reluctantly.
“You’ve got us out here and violating our curfew. What are you doing here?” demanded Meghan.