Fred, Hywel, and Pat stood in the doorway dumbfounded at the chaos a little levitation caused. Danto noticed them and drew his ax off his back, but Ned jumped forward, grabbed his staff from the captain's hand, and knocked him over the head. The dwarf sank to the ground, unconscious and with a stupid grin on his face. Ned strode over to the three and smiled at them. "You three have magnificent timing. Cells are damp places and I might have gotten my cloak wet." Ned looked Fred over and frowned. "And speaking of cloaks, you seem to be missing yours, my dear boy."
Behind Ned the chaos continued as the king stood only to be bowled over by his panicked men. Meanwhile, Ned smoothed the front of his cloak with his hand and straightened. "Well, if we have no other business here then we should perhaps leave." At that moment a half dozen guards raced into the room with dozens of crows close behind them. "Or perhaps we're not done," Ned added.
CHAPTER 21
While Pat and Fred waited for their distraction outside the gates, Canto, Percy, and the others were dealing with the consequences of their assignment. The two guards abandoned their room and ran down the hall. "We have runners!" Percy yelled.
"We can't let 'em get very far or we'll have more on our hands than we can handle," Canto told them.
"Get yer weapons! We'll follow them!" Shilo ordered him. She and Thino raced after their prey with the crows ahead of them pecking at the bared necks of the guards. Percy smirked and ran after the pair, but glanced over his shoulder at his two comrades.
"Find the weapons and follow the screams!" he yelled to them.
"Aye!" Canto replied.
Canto grabbed Ruth by the wrist and pulled her to the room the pair of guards had just vacated. The space was used as the guard room, and the confiscated weapons were placed against the far wall. The pair hurried over and dug through the wide variety of violent tools. There were maces, machetes, scabbards, swords, slingshots, and even a few pointed sticks. Ruth broached the assortment and her eyes fell on a few familiar items. "There!" Ruth spoke up. He followed her pointed finger and saw Pat and Percy's swords, and his ax.
Canto picked up his lovely weapon and smiled. His glistening eyes wandered over the other weapons at their disposal. "Now we'll have some fun."
While they dug through the weapons toy box their three companions chased the panicked guards. The guards screamed and waved their axes at the crows, but the birds dodged and came back for more pecking. The dwarves rounded a corner toward the courtyard with the companions at their heels. The pursuers became the pursued when the two guards ran into a half dozen of their comrades.
Percy and company skidded to a halt and the crows turned back at the sight of so many adversaries bearing weapons. The new guards recognized the intruders for who they were and brandished their weapons. Percy took a step back and nervously laughed. "You wouldn't happen to know the direction of the latrine, would you?" he asked them.
The dwarves yelled their war cries, raised their weapons and charged them. A thick-bladed ax flew past Percy's head and its blade slammed into the floor between the two groups, stopping the dwarf guards in their tracks. The three turned and saw Canto standing in the middle of the hall with most of the stock of confiscated weapons at his feet. Ruth stood by him with their own weapons in her arms.
Canto stepped forward and tapped the flat edge of a machete in his palm. "Who wants to play first?" he challenged them.
The guards glanced at each other and took courage from their superior numbers. They resumed their attack, and Percy whipped his head to Ruth and held out his hand. "Sword please!" Ruth tossed his sword to him and Percy turned back in time to block a blow from a battle ax.
Shilo and Thino ducked the first blows, and Shilo whistled. The crows dove into the guards, and pulled and pecked at the dwarves' beards. The men screamed and scattered, and Canto raced past his comrades and into the fray. He knocked their helmeted heads with a mace and sent them scattering. One of the guards managed to break from the pack and race around a corner to the courtyard. In a few moments he was back with the four guards from the drawbridge and with half the castle alerted to their breakout.
The numbers were now against them, but the width of the hallway was their advantage. The dwarves couldn't stand more than two abreast, and their armored shoulder pads clanked and scraped against each other. Canto and Percy held off the columns while the others retreated down the passage. Thino went for the Keep, but Shilo grabbed his arm and stopped him. "We can't leave yet! Not without giving those kids a good distraction!" she reminded him.
"We can't fight the entire castle!" he protested.
"We don't have to fight 'em, we only have to distract them," she countered.
"Do you have any more crows?" Ruth asked her.
Shilo shook her head, but her eyes widened and a wicked smile slipped onto her face. "No, but that gives me an idea." She put her fingers to her lips and gave a small, sharp whistle. One of the crows broke off and flew to her outstretched arm. "Find other crows," she ordered the bird.
The crow took off down a side corridor and Shilo looked to her companions. "Follow me, and that means ya, Canto!" she shouted.
"Ah'm a little busy right now!" he shouted back.
Shilo grabbed the mess of weapons off the ground, raced over to Percy and Canto, and tossed the whole pointy mess over her the heads of her companions and onto the heads of their enemies. The dwarves were pushed back by the heavy, sharp weapons. Percy and Canto took their chance and fell back. The group rushed down passage after the solo crow. The dwarves recovered from the weapon bombardment and went in pursuit of the intruders.
The companions ran through the maze of passages following the crow. The bird glided left and right to avoid the quick turns while their enemies kept close on their heels. Ruth was quite lost by the time the crow turned its head and slowed its speed. It made a sharp left and alighted on a nearby torch beside a door. Shilo hurried to the handle and yanked. "Locked!" she told them.
Thino pushed past her with chisel and hammer in hand, and bashed the chisel into the lock. It broke, and the door swung open just as their pursuers rounded the last corner behind them. Shilo's crows and Canto and Percy held them back while she rushed inside the room. Ruth would have followed, but Thino held her back. "Ya don't want ta be in there soon," he advised her.
Ruth peeked in and saw it was a small room ten feet by ten feet with walls covered in cages, and those were filled with dozens of crows. They cawed and flapped their wings at the intrusion of their sanctuary. Shilo rushed from one cage to the other opening them, but the crows were too well trained to fly out. One all the doors were open she hurried to the center of the room, stuck her fingers in her mouth and gave a great whistle.
Her birds abandoned their attack and rushed into the small room. They swarmed over the cages and frightened the other crows, who flew from their torment into a swirling circle of panic that engulfed the room. Shilo stood in the center untouched as her birds made an inner circle of protection around her. She raised her arms and spread them apart, and her crows mimicked her gestured by widening their circle. They burst through the panicked tornado of birds and the castle crows scattered and flew out of the room.
Thino pushed Ruth against the wall to avoid the claws and beaks of the frightened birds. Percy glanced behind him in time to see the birds barrel down on them. He grabbed Canto's head and forced them both to the ground. The crows flew over them and rushed the guards, who screamed as they were bombarded with more birds than they could beat. The men retreated, Canto and Percy stood, and Ruth hurried over to make sure they were unharmed. There were only a few minor nicks from the ax blades and crow claws.
Shilo stepped out of the room with her crows hopping on the floor beside her. The things were exhausted from the chasing and fighting. "Is that a good enough distraction?" Thino asked his wife.
She nodded. "Aye, and if it isn't that's too bad for the others," she replied.
"Ah'd like to make sure of that," Canto argued.
Ruth set her hand on his shoulder and smiled down at him. "I'm sure the others will be fine," she told him. Canto grumbled, but didn't argue.
"Then if that's settled, let's leave here and promise never to come back," Percy spoke up.
"Ah'll second that after we find our horses and git out of this city," Canto agreed.
"But we still need to destroy the stone," Percy reminded him.
Canto glared at the young man. "Ah don't think the king's deservin' of the savin'," he countered.
Shilo crossed her arms and scowled at him. "There's more than just the king in this city, ya know," she pointed out.
"Yer right. There's a bunch of fools," Canto growled.
"Canto," Ruth spoke in a warning tone.
Canto rolled his eyes. "Fine, but once the stone's gone we're gone." Ruth laughed and gave the gruff dwarf a hug. The blush could be seen through his thick beard.
"Now let's be off to the stone," Percy advised them. The group made their way out as they'd made their way in, through the rope hanging in the Keep. They were freed from the madness that they'd caused, but the other three were neck-deep in the chaos.
Pat and Fred dove to one side of the entrance with Hywel flying to the ceiling. Ned stood calmly in the center as panicked dwarves and crows alike swarmed into the room. The crow chaos clashed with the cantankus chaos and created a mess of screeching birds, howling dog-beasts, and dwarves waving their axes to ward off both kinds of beasts. Ned waited for the new chaos to sweep past him, and then strode forward to his young friends.
Fred had fallen onto the ground first on his back, and Pat fell forward atop him. They lay face-to-face and blushed when their noses touched. Ned glanced down at the two tangled teenagers with a small smile on his face and Hywel flitting over his shoulder. "If you two are quite done, I think it's time we left."
Pat pushed off Fred and scrambled to her feet. "I-I agree," she stuttered.
Fred stood and rubbed the back of his head where she'd pushed him into the stone. "I'm in," he concurred.
"And I will add a third vote to pass it unanimously," Hywel agreed.
Ned calmly walked away from the crazy scene with Fred, Pat, and Hywel following. Piako noticed their leaving and pointed at the strolling escapees. "Get them!" he screamed at his guards. They ignored him and heeded their own panic, allowing the three to escape.
Shortly after the companions left, the noise and trampling feet awoke Danto, who sat up and looked in bewilderment. He noticed his king pointing at the entrance and turned to find Ned gone. Danto stood, put his fingers to his mouth, and blew a whistle that echoed off the walls. Dwarf and beast alike stopped in their tracks and looked in amazement at him. "Get yerselves together, men, and get after them!" he ordered the guards.
With the crows and cantankus stopped, the troops scurried to grab their dropped weapons and helmets and rushed after the three. King Piako hurried around the table, waved away the last of the flying crows, and stood before his captain with a venomous glare. "What sort of display was that?" he growled. "Ya slept on the job and let 'em get away!"
Danto pulled out his ax and turned to the king with a dangerous eye. "But they won't get far. That castor already told us where they were going."
Piako stiffened and blinked. "He did?"
"Aye, and Ah'll catch 'em before they destroy it. Ah promise ya that." Danto strode from the room and after a moment's hesitation the king followed him.
CHAPTER 22
Ned, Pat, Fred, and Hywel hurried through the deserted halls to the courtyard. The battlements above them were empty. The guards had heard the commotion and rushed inside to see if they could help. The companions crossed the courtyard and drawbridge, and went out into the city. They found Fluffy where Fred had left him, and the three humans climbed aboard his back. The dog-beast bounded away from the castle.
Once hidden in the maze of streets, Hywel flitted in front of Ned. "I'm guessing the interview with Piako went as well as with Cadwaladr," he spoke up.
"Sadly, yes," Ned replied.
"And we're still going to destroy the stone?"
"Undoubtedly."
"You realize if Piako catches us after we destroy the stone he'll have us executed," Hywel pointed out.
"Possibly."
"You're very calm about that possibility."
"I merely have my priorities in a different order," Ned argued. "In order to be executed we need to first destroy the stone, so we'll do that first and worry about the execution later."
"What about the others?" Fred spoke up. "We don't know if they made it out."
Ned chuckled. "Were they the cause of that mayhem?" he mused.
"Along with Shilo and Thino, two friends of Canto's," Pat chimed in.
"Really? That would explain the excited crows," Ned replied. "But I'm sure they made it out."
"How can you be so sure?" Pat challenged him.
Ned stopped and pointed ahead of them. Hywel and the humans looked where he pointed and saw their friends waiting for them at the head of the road leading to the stone. Ruth's face brightened and she rushed forward to wrap her strong arms around Pat. She then pulled them apart and gladly handed Pat her precious birthday gift, the beautiful sword. Percy walked up to Fred and patted him on the shoulder while Canto shook hands with Ned. Shilo handed Fred's coat back to him, and he was glad to have the weight back on his shoulders.
Ned walked up to Thino and Shilo, and shook both their hands. "I understand we owe you pair for some help," he told them.
Shilo frowned. "Aye, and that means a great deal of crow food for ma pets. They've been worn ragged saving that dwarf's sorry ass." She jerked her head toward Canto, who scowled.
"Ah didn't ask for yer help," he countered.
"But ya got it, and Ah'm owed," she argued.
"We'll discuss the terms of payment later," Ned spoke above their voices. "We have unfinished business in the city."
"Ned's right, we still have a stone to destroy," Percy reminded them.
Pat glanced around the group and frowned. "Where's Sins?" Her question was answered when the assassin strolled down the road from the direction of the stone.
Percy raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing up there?" he asked him.
"The way is clear," Sins replied.
Ned chuckled. "I suppose that means we need to see his handiwork."
Ned led the large group up the street to the square. Like all the other crossroads in the city, calling it a square was adding one extra corner. Their street was one of three that connected with the wide area where resided blacksmith shops, a pub, and several residents. All were dark and empty by orders of the king except for a pile of unconscious dwarves slumped in their guarding positions. Sins' handiwork.
In the center of the square lay their final foe, the stone. For most of them this was their first view of the stone, and Pat for her part expected a large, smelling, blood-red ruby to compliment the crude nature of the dwarves. When her eyes fell on the stone she tilted her head to one side while the edges of her lips twitched upward. "Purple?" she snickered. "The dwarf stone, the one that represents their region, is purple?" She was right. The large rock that towered over the remains of a statue was a deep purple.
All three of their dwarven companions cringed. "Don't remind us," Shilo pleaded.
"A very beautiful, deceptive color for something that holds a great and deadly power," Percy philosophized. He turned to Ned. "Am I right?"
Ned's lips pursed together and he strode up to within five yards of the stone. "What are ya thinking?" Canto asked him.
"I'm wondering why this stone hasn't come alive," Ned replied. He reached up and hovered his hand over the smooth surface. "I can feel the power just beneath the surface. It's waiting for something."
"Let's not wait until that something comes," Percy advised.
"You're quite right." Ned pulled out the strange square triangle and held it aloft. Everyone held their breath as he raised the tip of his staff to ring the f
our corners.
"Stop!" a voice called out. The group turned to see Danto, King Piako, and four dozen guards standing behind them. A dozen of the guards were archers with their bows at the ready. Piako lowered his arm and strode to the front of his group. "Another move, castor and ya will drop where ya stand," he warned them.
"Ya don't know what yer talking about," Canto snapped at the king.
"He knows a traitor when he sees one," Danto countered. Canto took a threatening step toward Danto, but the ax-wielding guards scurried ahead of their monarch and fended him back.
The others in Canto's group stepped back closer to the stone. Fred tightly gripped his staff and glanced around them. They had the other two roads to take, but one false move and the archers would skewer them all. He wouldn't let that happen, but he didn't quite know how he was going to do that. Then he recalled the protective bubble he's tossed down over the Stars chasing him through the marsh.
Thinking about the magical shield forced his staff to glow with power, and before Fred knew what he was doing a light of energy spread out like a wave from his staff. It formed a circle around his friends and the stone, and then burst from the ground upward to create a dome over them.
Danto took the action as a step, and turned to his archers. "Fire!" he yelled. The archers released their arrows, and the pointed sticks harmlessly collided with bubble and fell to the ground at the base of the barrier.
The arrows hit the ground and the earth shook beneath their feet. Both parties looked confusedly at the small, light arrows, all except Ned. He whirled around and his eyes widened when he beheld the stone erupt in a glow of light. Ned raised the square triangle, but he was a half second after the stone released a wall of energy. It burst through Fred's shield and propelled the friends forward into Piako's men. The two groups were swept up together, along with the unconscious guards of the stone, and they were pushed down the street out of sight and hearing of the stone.
The Unwilling Ambassador (Book 3) Page 14