by Gerard Bond
“Where are the other men?” Night looked to Dark.
“They would be down in the soldiers quarters talking. Vaughn was saying he wanted to find out how things were going here.”
Wollfen decided he wanted to catch up with them.
“I’ll be gone for awhile, please try to keep out of trouble?”
Dark winked and Night let out a moan of intolerance. Wollfen grinned and shook his head as he walked out the door.
Wollfen found the two men in the nearest barracks to the castle courtyard and before he walked in he listened for a minute. There were calls and shouts he noted and upon listening for a bit he picked out Vaughn’s voice among them. He had a gambling game going on it seemed. Wollfen entered quietly without anyone noticing and took a corner out of sight. He watched proceedings for a while out of interest; you never could tell what you might pick up on.
Vaughn seemed to be a skilled operator and was working things to his advantage. It all pointed to Vaughn’s time working the wharves in Port Cholandra. So, why the infatuation with Dark? Vaughn was a man in his early twenties. He was certainly not naive like Justin had been and he was street wise too. He could have any young woman he wanted, yet he followed Dark around like some love struck puppy.
He decided to leave it for now, it wouldn’t get him anywhere to question Vaughn over it. Wollfen grunted and coughed a little, all the young soldiers stopped. They realized they were being watched and many moved off leaving Vaughn and Burkhard to collect their spoils.
“We need to discuss supplies for our trip and also ways of getting out without the Isogorreans finding out.” Vaughn spoke up out of the two,
“Yes Wollfen, I hope you don’t mind us making a bit of extra money.”
Wollfen shook his head.
“I have no problem with it as long as you don’t end up with a knife in your back before you leave.”
Burkhard gave Vaughn a look. From that reaction Wollfen deduced they might have made some enemies already.
“I need you to go to stores and collect enough supplies to last in the field a good month for five people. Also see what you can find out from the local criminal element how they smuggle in and out of the city. I know they will be doing it. They never let a war stop them from doing their thing. Do you foresee any problems with that?”
Vaughn shook his head, it amazed him how easily Wollfen was able to read him.
“I will do as you ask and will be able to report back within a couple of hours though I will need some bribe money.” Wollfen wasn’t surprised by his audacity.
“You have won more than enough this afternoon to cover your expenses, now get going.”
They both stood and bowed to him before moving off, playtime was over.
Wollfen walked back towards the castle. Before he reached it he took a left turn and headed towards a large stone building. It was the records center and library for the city. Inside he asked for directions on where the oldest records of the city were kept as he wanted to do research on its beginnings.
He didn’t tell them of his desire to find a secret staircase. The orderly took him into an alcove apart from the main collection. There were some adjutants poring over plans of the city looking for all of its weaknesses that they could find before the Isogorreans discovered any. Wollfen was left to his own devices and he moved to the wall of books. He focused on the most decrepit looking ones figuring they would be the oldest.
He must have been there an hour flipping through different volumes before he found one of interest. It was a book of tales, entitled, ‘Folklore’s of the Gods’ and it was in this one that he became engrossed. The different chapters mentioned dragons and warlocks of ages gone past, all fantasy to him. But the chapter that grabbed his attention was one dealing with ‘Pathway to the Gods’. It was very interesting reading.
‘Down, down, down, dark is the way and sure is the path for here lies the way of the ancients, hearken all mortal souls for travel within will spell your doom.
Let it be known for only those blessed with the blood of an angel may tread and be free, all are blessed but only few are guaranteed.
Find ye the path near the waterless flow, do not hesitate in passing from in to out for only from in may you pass.’
Wollfen looked up and stared, what the? He looked back to the passage and read on,
‘Take no heed of the dragons bite in the night sky and you shall see its reflection on the face of your desire.’
Wollfen looked up again, that was all of it, he read it a couple of times over, was it the answer? More like a load of gobbledygook to him. It would have been so much easier to find something with a drawing and an arrow pointing, but then that never happened did it?
He sat there and took a piece of parchment and copied the words down. He would go over it again from time to time and try to glean more understanding from it. Slipping the rolled piece of parchment into his jacket Wollfen went to leave and walked by the men poring over the plans of the city. He looked over one shoulder and realized the man was looking at the schematics for the culverts of the outer walls. These sewage drains were few but necessary for the outflows of the city.
“Tell me officer, that culvert showing on the north west corner there. How far is it from the forests to the north?”
The man looked him over before replying,
“I would say about nine hundred yards of open ground sir.”
“Is the opening obvious to the enemy?”
“No sir, it is normally a marshy ground against that wall there and there are many reeds, but right now it is frozen over.”
Wollfen could see it held great promise for escaping out of in the dark.
“Does it have a grate over the opening to stop personnel moving in and out?”
“Not sure at the moment sir. That is what we are trying to ascertain. No one seems to be interested in wading through the sewage down there to find out.”
“Very well, when you find out what it has I want you to report immediately and directly to Prince Fitzgerald with your findings, do you understand me?” The man nodded.
“The Prince directly sir? I’m not sure he will see me?”
“Tell the attendant that you are under express orders from Wollfen to see the Prince, alright?”
“Yes sir I will do as you command.”
He was going to get to see the Prince himself!
“Very good, I won’t hold you up any longer.”
Wollfen turned and left the room.
It was dark when he got outside and he decided it was time to get everyone organized and ready. He would expect all to have a few hours sleep before they headed off near dawn. He should have three options to leave the city. One was by the main gate, that would prove the most dangerous. Another way was via Vaughn’s contacts with the nefarious elements of the city. Or maybe this new one, through the sewage system. That last one would have to be a last resort he decided.
Wollfen found the room empty when he returned. They were all obviously busy. He didn’t need to keep an eye on them to get things done, he knew they would be carrying out jobs in preparation for the trip.
He looked out at the stars and began looking for something that looked like a dragons bite, what would it look like anyway? And then he had to pay it no heed? Maybe there was a key to the verses built in to the way it was spoken. If he knew more of the old language and its inflections and such he might have a better understanding of it. Studying the stars wasn’t doing any good at all. He sat down at the table and thought about what else he needed to do in preparation for the trip. Not much at all, his team was very efficient and right now he was a spare wheel. The door opened and Dark walked in followed by Vaughn, they were discussing supplies.
“Hello Dark, how are things?” Dark smiled at seeing him and approached.
“Everything is going according to plan my dear.”
She kissed him on the forehead and set down her bundles. Wollfen turned to Vaughn.
“Did you man
age to arrange anything with your local friends?” Vaughn shook his head.
“I’m afraid not. They tell me that a small contingent of them tried to get out two nights ago and they were all killed. They are feeling very cautious and have no interest in risking it again for at least another week.”
Damn, Wollfen had been counting on that being the way out with those with the most knowledge on finding their way through the enemy lines. Plus there was the fact that the Isogorreans would be more alert now for comings and goings from the gates. He didn’t like it but the culvert idea just went to the top of the options.
“Okay I want you lot to have something to eat and retire for the evening, I want everyone to have some sleep before we take off, I expect to be outside these walls and through the enemy lines before the first rays of light. In the meantime I have to go see the Prince about some final information. I will get something to eat for myself on the way back, until then I will bid you goodnight.”
Wollfen kissed Dark, nodded to Vaughn and left. He saw the Prince in good time and he was able to relay the information about the culvert for him, yes it was open with no grate in place. The Prince decided it would be a good idea to put one in place, something he would get done the very next day.
“Thank you Wollfen for bringing it to my attention. May the gods watch over you when you leave.”
Wollfen thanked him for the blessing and left.
The Prince turned back to his desk and sat down. Within a few minutes there was another knock on the door and he signaled for the officer to be let in. It was the same man who Wollfen had spoken to in the library about the culvert.
“Come in, now show me the book that Wollfen was looking in.”
The officer sat the old leather bound book titled ‘Folklore's of the Gods’ on the table and the Prince looked it over.
“You say this is the book he was looking at?” The officer nodded in reply, “Very well leave it with me. I shall have it returned in good time, you are dismissed.” The officer saluted and left.
He opened it and flipped through the pages of what was obviously one of the oldest books in the realm. Feeling them he didn’t think the pages were made of paper. They were thick and hard, not easy to bend. The more he felt them the more he thought he knew what it was, it came to him all of a sudden, it was dried skin.
After a couple of hours of reading and studying, the Prince set the book down and walked over to the window. He stared out deep in thought. Wollfen had not been entirely forthcoming with him and now he thought he knew why. Could it be possible that far below Kassandrea there was a staircase leading to a doorway to the gods? It would explain why the Isogorreans would be so desperate to get in, but what could they hope to achieve? Have a chat? What did Wollfen intend to do? What would happen if the door were opened? It was all very disturbing and the more he thought about it the more he realized this was something of great importance to not only Kassandrea but the whole Kingdom.
The Prince decided that whatever the prize was it should be the Kingdom that benefited from it and not the Isogorreans or any other group for that matter. He turned to an adjutant.
“Have Captain Erhard come to me immediately.”
He bent down, picked up the book and read the passage again pertaining to access, it was the same passage that Wollfen had copied. Erhard arrived soon after, he was the Princes most trusted officer.
“Captain, I have a special assignment for you. What I tell you is not to be discussed beyond this room with any other persons other than those I permit, do you understand?”
“Perfectly my Prince, it is to be dealt with the utmost discretion.” The Prince nodded,
“Yes Captain, under pain of death.” The Captain looked on very interested, “As you would know I have been playing second fiddle and even worse to the rest of the royal families here in the kingdom, but I tell you now, what I am about to divulge to you has the very real potential to be the most important asset to this Kingdom in its entire history.”
The Prince motioned for him to sit down.
“You will hear an incredible story from me and I can vouch that it is entirely true and when I am done I will expect you to take command of whatever resources you will need to carry out the assignment. I will not be able to take a hand in it at all. You will be totally in charge, do you understand me on this?” Again the Captain nodded.
“You want deniability should things go wrong.” The prince nodded in return, “I accept your preconditions and will carry out my orders to the best of my abilities sire.”
“Thank you Captain, I knew I could count on you.”
The Prince sat forward and spent the next while explaining to the captain just what he knew, what Wollfen had told him, why the Isogorreans were here and his discovery of the old book and its contents. The captain for his part managed to keep to widening his eyes from time to time. Once the Prince finished his story, he asked one more thing of the Captain.
“I am not going to give you a direct order officially, do you know what it is I am asking of you?” The Captain replied after a short pause.
“Find the staircase.” The Prince nodded.
“You are dismissed Captain. Keep me informed of developments on a regular basis.”
He stood to attention and saluted. The Prince handed him the old book before he left.
Sliding under the covers next to Dark, Wollfen noticed she was naked, had she been expecting to do something? He was a little sorry he had come back late now, the opportunity might not present itself again for quite awhile. Lying in bed he lifted the covers again to look at his lover. Her nude body was very attractive in spite of the scars and he never tired of looking at her. He knew she liked being looked at too. He lifted the covers a bit more. Night’s arm was draped over from behind and he wondered if she was similarly dressed. No, she had a nightdress on. He wasn’t threatened by how close Night and Dark were but he would have been upset if they had been doing something on the sly.
The next morning while it was still a black sky, the five of them could be found next to a manhole near the main outer wall. They had lifted the cover back and smelt the air. It appeared to be clean, that was a small mercy and they were grateful for it. None of them looked forward to having to travel through the sewer pipe, at least it wouldn’t be too far since they had managed to find this hole so close to where they wanted to get out.
The five of them lowered into the hole and they stood there in the pitch black of that pipe not being able to see a thing. Wollfen took out his teleportation crystal and it cast a tiny eerie glow. Dark looked down and saw that the water that flowed through had frozen over the top, she tested the strength of it by tapping with the heel of her boot and it cracked at the middle, she turned back to the others who were watching her progress.
“We should be fine as long as we stick to the edge, no wandering out into the middle otherwise you will punch through and have a boot full of raw sewage.”
They all nodded in understanding. Dark took the lead and moved slowly along making sure her footfalls were not too heavy on the ice. They got about eighty yards and found the intersection they were expecting. She turned right, this would take them through and under the outer wall. They walked about another seventy yards and Dark held up her hand.
Wollfen behind stopped and looked at her, she gestured to the crystal in his hand and whispered.
“You can put that away, only thirty yards to the opening.”
He slipped it into a jacket pocket and buttoned it shut. Dark moved even more slowly forward. Wollfen could see the palest of light ahead of them as they approached the opening. Luckily for them it was not snowing and they would be able to scan the surroundings. The only problem was it also meant the Isogorreans would be able to see too.
The opening to the culvert was heavily covered in reeds and Dark had to push quite forcefully to be able to squeeze out. She was making more noise than she wanted to but it couldn’t be helped. At least the enemy was four hundred yards
distant. It took about ten minutes for the five to wriggle out and lay amongst the reeds.
Wollfen scanned the panorama before him. It certainly looked different down here compared to his inspection from the top of the wall the day before. He realized there was a rise to the ground in front of them and it blocked the view of the Isogorrean forces for about two hundred yards, well that got them halfway at least. The problem would be getting across the last two hundred without being seen.
He wished it were snowing again. Wollfen looked up at the sky, there was no moon and some cloud but not enough that could close in, they were going to be stuck. Nevertheless he motioned them forward hoping that something would present itself once they got nearer. So for the next ten minutes they crawled on their bellies on that cold frozen ground. Stopping he lay there looking again. Then he noted with interest, Wollfen hadn’t really been able to pick it from up on the high wall but down here he could see that the ground was a lot more undulating past the first minor rise they were on. He pulled back, turned to the others and whispering he filled them in.
“This is dicey going, the ground past here is wavy. We can move forward and stop again at each rise, the only problem is we will be exposed for that short time going over, it is going to be risky. I can only hope their sentries have been on watch a long time and are half asleep.”
For the next hour the five of them navigated those rises edging closer and closer to the Isogorrean embankment. So far so good and soon they were close enough that they only need reach the embankment itself with their next effort. The tension in all of them was high, their nerves were stretched to their limits. If they were found now they couldn’t retreat fast enough before being cut down and they certainly couldn’t fight the numbers of men here either.
They had reached the point of no return. Light would come in the next hour and all would be revealed. Dark signaled and moved up, slowly and steadily so as to not catch any sentry’s eye with sudden movement. She lay against the embankment under a pole sticking out at an angle, its tip sharpened to a point. These defensive poles lined the entire embankment right around the whole city.