‘No one has an image because we don’t need to monitor it,’ Renton objected.
Cyril raised an eyebrow.
‘I mean, it’s far too steep for horses and certainly any kind of heavy artillery,’ Renton hastened to explain. ‘An army couldn’t possibly cross and even if they did they’d be spotted before they got far.’
‘The image?’ He glanced round at the wizards and the man who’d volunteered the name of the pass raised his chin. Cyril strode over to the man and after a cursory request for permission, merged into the wizard’s mind. The image he’d asked for sat prominently for Cyril to find and Cyril now projected it into the vacant water in the centre of the pool. He released the man now he had the co-ordinates and watched as the image altered to reflect the current live view. Clearly the wizard hadn’t been to this place in quite some time for the features to have changed so much. The pass itself was simply where the run-off from the two flanking peaks came down and combined, carving a channel between them. The resultant gully was indeed steep and looked treacherous in places.
‘Do you see those scrapes in the mud? Someone’s been down that gully since the last rains.’ Cyril altered the view to bring the scene’s detail closer and huffed out a breath. ‘Those look like hoof-prints to me. Someone has brought horses over that pass and more than one animal too. So much for your impassable pass. This simply isn’t good enough. That lapse could cost Edmoston many innocent lives. How many enemies have crossed? The people are counting on you and this is an unacceptable failure any way you look at it.’
The wizards stared at the evidence in dismay. Many of them were covering “soft” targets, keeping an eye on movements well inside their territory. This however, was on the one border that was most at risk of infiltration by Prince Casper’s spies.
‘Prince Casper is already looking for weak chinks in your defences, have no doubt of that. If wizard Jim, who is a stranger to this part of the world, managed to find that route across, then it must be well-known on the other side. Someone must be telling people about it and Casper will hear, assuming he hasn’t already taken advantage of the breach. You all know wizard Jim came across undetected. Why hasn’t this gap been closed?’
‘I don’t know, but we’ll send out a team in the morning to investigate,’ Renton assured hastily. Sir Cyril was right. They all recognised this site’s importance. Why weren’t they covering it? Who had decided to divert their resources to watch things that didn’t really need it? The whole room was vibrating with Cyril’s anger, the scrying pools turning vividly coloured with the magic suffusing them from the white knuckled hand gripping the edge of the pool.
‘Good. Keep that image open and supervised. It takes precedence over any of those lord’s homes that are well within the borders. I want to hear the updates from the investigating team, as soon as they get back tomorrow,’ Cyril ordered and only waited long enough to get a chorus of affirmations before he strode from the room. Staying there in his present frame of mind wasn’t wise; he needed to calm down. He’d seen the waters turn choppy in response to his ire and that wasn’t good.
Renton watched the warrior wizard depart, with wide eyes. He knew the garrison wizards, each linked to the ones here at the pool, had felt the surge of power because they were calling in demanding an explanation. Most sounded scared at the power they’d evidently felt bleeding over into the link. He was glad it had only been moments before Cyril regained control and stopped broadcasting his anger so widely. Renton knew he needed to tell everyone of the breach so they could be warned to be on the lookout for strangers. If horses could cross, then so could an army.
‘Ok William, show us our rooms, unless dinner is ready?’ Cyril asked as they returned to the corridor. He could tell the steward was nervous; good. There was nothing like justified anger to get others to fall quickly into line.
‘You’ll have time to freshen up before dinner,’ William assured, although in truth they’d hold dinner for as long as it took Sir Cyril to make his way to the dining hall. He’d watched the wizards quail before this old man and knew his reputation was justified. When he’d first met Sir Cyril he hadn’t been certain he truly was the warrior wizard, even though he’d seen an image of him coming through the pass, because there’d been no hint of magic. Now however, hints of fiery tempest roiled through him, emanating from the old man. Damn, how much of his temper was he keeping under wraps? What would happen if he let it loose? He suspected the other wizards had been having the same concerns, judging by the fear in their eyes. William led them on the quickest route, which meant going up a couple of levels once more, but that was correct for the sleeping quarters.
Passing through yet another door, the wall on their left fell away, replaced by a waist height wooden railing. Cyril looked out into a brightly lit, large double storey cavern below them, which resembled a dining hall in any lordly manor. Probably a hundred people were milling around down there, some seated at the long tables set with silverware. Was the entire complex housed within the cliff? If so, that would explain why he had not sensed the signatures of people from outside. The cliff must mask their presence; useful to know.
Cyril noticed a wide staircase at the far end of this corridor, leading down to that hall from this level. William then showed him into a room with a number 6 on the door. He stood in his doorway to see his team were allocated the next four rooms along from his. ‘Five minutes,’ he called to them and receiving nods, they all headed inside to freshen up and change from their dirty travelling clothes.
Cyril conjured a bright ball of light, in preference to lighting the lamp; to inspect the windowless accommodation he’d been assigned. The room was small but adequate. Niches had been carved into the rock to serve as shelves for his belongings and another as a wardrobe. A separate alcove held a toilet and place to wash. It was all quite primitive but was at least clean. He’d certainly stayed in worse places.
He stowed his pack in a long niche and as he set out his things, he idly mused that these niches did mean the floor space wasn’t cluttered with things to trip on in the dark and nor was he likely to bump into the edge of a shelf.
Joining his men in the corridor, they headed down into the dining room.
‘Sir Cyril, a very warm welcome to you,’ wizard Mathias greeted from the bottom of the stairs. ‘Please come and sit down,’ he added leading them to the head table. Mathias didn’t make the mistake of casting Cyril’s entourage to the outer fringes of the hall as unimportant. He’d heard that they were not there as guards, but were investigative aides. As he made a point of meeting each now, he detected that each was a medium to strong wizard in his own right. Whilst they might seem diminished in Sir Cyril’s shadow, they were not to be disrespected. ‘Please, take a seat,’ he invited gesturing at the open seating by his side.
‘Thank you,’ Cyril responded, watching Mathias play host. That was clearly not a role he was naturally comfortable playing. Cyril kept the conversation light throughout the hearty but simple dinner, setting Mathias at ease. He suspected that was the best approach with this man for maximum co-operation, but if not he could grill him later, in private. Mathias hadn’t volunteered to lead Half Circle and was not military trained. The lapses Cyril had already found were not his fault, but equally things needed tightening up. Mathias undoubtedly did have strengths, to have been awarded the role; he just needed to find out what they were to best utilise his knowledge.
Cyril also took the opportunity to cast his gaze about the room at the students. He was surprised to find none were what he’d normally consider student age. Perhaps they were sensible not to house actual children here, so close to the border. The majority of these young men and women were probably recent graduates that were spending part, or all, of their indentured two years of guild service here. There were mature wizards scattered amongst them too. Were they teachers, or those on rotational duty? The pool sentries would certainly need to be rotated to keep them covered at all times with fresh eyes.
; After his inspection of the ready room, he suspected he was going to have to poke quite carefully to unearth further problem areas. Things that had been overlooked and therefore posed a gap in the east’s defences were by their very nature, difficult to identify. Hopefully Mathias had kept meticulous records of what they used to do here; he did seem the type. At least he had his own team with him who could start looking into that kind of thing.
He needed to understand how the guild was handling the physical security aspects of their duty as soon as possible. Only when he understood what procedures were already in place could he help bolster them. He’d get Mathias to give him a brief overview after dinner. Tomorrow was soon enough to start the rest of the investigation, when they were rested and refreshed. He also couldn’t wait to receive the report from the team going out to investigate the Huntsman’s Pass. Securing that pass was his first priority. Unfortunately, he rather suspected that those who’d come across would not be easy to find.
8. Planning Ahead
Natalya sat out on her veranda with Cassy while their men rushed around over at Drako’s. Drako and Freddie had already met up with Lord Trent and Darius to put them in the picture with regards to Jack’s news. What was happening now, neither of them were too sure. Whilst they, as wizards, could easily pick their animus men’s brains, they had set an unspoken rule against prying into Clan business.
‘I’m not sure why they’re rushing about,’ Natalya observed. ‘Even if we were able to breach a prison and mount a successful rescue, it would be folly to do it so soon.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘The sheer numbers of animus that have been taken over the years means there’s likely to be far too many in there to escape unnoticed. We have nowhere prepared or safe to take them to either, with the castle still in ruins. How would we explain hundreds of animus turning up here, when they were last seen hundreds of miles away? As soon as the prison is attacked troops will be sent in force to round them up. Then what will we do?’
‘You’re right, there will be harsh retaliation. It wouldn’t be right to endanger the school and jeopardise the animus students. We have few enough places to house people here as it is,’ Cassy added, noticing Daniel, the wolf newcomer, come out of the only spare cottage they had just down the lane. That cottage was only empty because Tosker, Jason’s father was dead, fallen prey to a wizard attack just outside the school walls in the forest. It was a stark reminder of what might happen should they do anything to make the inquisitors suspicious. ‘That reminds me, I was going to jot some ideas down to build us an Inn. Jasper will need guidelines of what we actually want before he can draw up detailed building plans. Want to give me a hand?’
‘An Inn is a very good idea. I’d forgotten about that. Didn’t you tell Lord Aubrey we were planning one?’
‘Yes. It was the first thing to come to mind when he was asking what all the building materials were being assembled for! I could hardly admit they were going to be sent through our very own Portal, into occupied lands, in order to rebuild and retake the clan’s ancestral castle!’
‘No! That’d put him in an awkward position knowing something like that, especially if it came out that he knew and didn’t report it. I suppose Drako will need to tell him at some point, but farther down the road I think. Preferably on the day the clan moves back in! Having said that, I have no idea how long it’s going to take to rebuild that ruin.’
‘I know,’ Cassy agreed ruefully. ‘They certainly made a mess of the place. It doesn’t help that we can’t use magic in large quantities without being noticed. It’ll take a long time to do the work entirely by hand. Anyway, I digress. Lord Aubrey thought having an Inn onsite was a good idea, especially as there’s only one guest suite up at the school. I understand he was a bit put out to be asked to limit his entourage on his last visit. With proper accommodation elsewhere, it would certainly take the pressure off Jim and the school staff. Having recognised rooms for hire would have been handy many times already with parents turning up. It’d give us temporary space for refugees too. Most of the Clan homes already have lodgers and it’s a burden on everyone concerned.’
‘Too true. I know an Inn was the first place I looked for when I came here,’ Natalya admitted.
‘Come on, I need to grab some paper,’ Cassy said and they walked quickly up to her house just a few yards away. She could see that her husband was alone right now, in a chair on the veranda, looking over a sheet of paper with some kind of list. ‘Perhaps you should tell Drako of your reservations, before he gets too far into his planning. He’ll listen to you,’ Cassy added meeting his eye.
‘Reservations about what?’ Drako asked and gestured for Natalya to join him.
‘Jack’s news and the timing of any action,’ Natalya said succinctly. ‘Whilst I understand that finding and releasing your people is of vital importance, the timing of that action will make all the difference as to whether it’s going to be successful or not.’
‘True, but what do you mean specifically?’
‘There could be hundreds of people in that prison, if not thousands. So, say you are successful in storming what’s probably a well-defended prison and breaking them out. Then what? Where would you take them? They can’t come here. Troops will be hot on their heels and such numbers of people will be slow to move and difficult to hide. Your castle is of course close by and the ideal place to take them, but it isn’t yet defensible. It certainly couldn’t withstand any kind of concerted attack. Until its defences are rebuilt, you’ll be inviting attention and a war you cannot hope to win.’ She paused to glance about them, at the peaceful village, making sure they would not be overheard. The clan living here had worked hard to become self sufficient and prosperous. They were content now and this action, unless carefully planned, would hit them hard.
Drako frowned, but he was listening.
‘Releasing captives, who may not be in the best of health, needs consideration too,’ she went on when he remained silent. ‘There’s no point doing it if the best you can do for them is ask them to hide in the forest and fend for themselves. You will probably cause them more harm, acting in haste, than if you left them a bit longer in the prison.’
Drako eyed her, meeting her calm level gaze. She was named a warrior wizard for a reason; she saw consequences of aggressive action clearly. He’d be foolish to discount the points she’d made, especially as they were valid advice.
‘Thank you Natalya. I appreciate your honesty. I suppose we’re just too close to this. Whilst I know it’s sensible to discuss plans with someone who isn’t emotionally involved, we’re just not used to having someone we can trust. Keeping attack plans secret avoids panic and is just what we’ve always done. It’s just that we’ve been waiting years for this particular news. Wondering how our friends and family are faring is always at the back of our minds. I suppose the thought of leaving them to suffer, any longer than absolutely necessary, is rather colouring our priorities.’
‘I understand that, but you have everyone else’s safety to consider too. Premature action will cost lives.’
Drako nodded wearily and met Cassy’s gaze; she’d been right to bring Natalya to him. ‘We have managed to keep the news under wraps so far, but once it becomes common knowledge, our people will be demanding immediate action.’
‘That’s why it might be best to start by sending scouts that can remain undetected. Obviously, the prison location is just a rumour at this point and needs confirming. We also can’t rule out the possibility that Jack was meant to overhear that place name.’
‘You think it might be a trap?’
‘Perhaps. Or maybe one of those guards was a sympathiser.’
‘Sympathiser?’
‘Consider what Jack is. If any animus had a chance of successfully escaping, it would be a leopard. Kidnapping a man’s family and then letting slip where they could be found? Of course he would do his utmost to escape and left to his own devices he’d be making a beeline there already.
I just wish I knew whether that person let the information slip deliberately. Was it malice or were they actually trying to help him?’
‘I guess we won’t know until we get there,’ Drako said. ‘I’ll go and find Darius and Dad. What you’ve said has helped put all this back into perspective. We do need to be planning, but it’s the rebuild that has to have priority. In the meantime we should send scouts to check it out.’
‘I don’t mind volunteering,’ she told him. ‘Freddie already knows this news and the location. He can take me to the right place. Once I’m close I’ll be able to feel if there’s a concentration of animus magic there.’
‘Are you sure? It could be dangerous and Freddie would have my hide if I put you in danger. You’re not long recovered from that wizard attack and you’re pregnant.’
‘He can’t complain if he’s with me, in control of how we handle it and where we go,’ she said and glanced round feeling his familiar presence rapidly approaching. ‘I’d rather not be going today though.’
‘You’ve to help me design the Inn and then put together a team to build it, remember,’ Cassy interjected. ‘Besides, I imagine it’d be safer for some birds to check the immediate castle area is otherwise clear before we send out scouting parties.’
‘Good point,’ Drako remarked and noticed Freddie glancing at each of them with a frown. ‘Sit down Freddie. Our ladies have done their usual thing of reorganising our priorities. Let me fill you in while they go and fix another problem we didn’t know we had.’
‘You knew; you just didn’t want to be bothered thinking about the Inn we promised Lord Aubrey,’ Cassy chided, but leaned down to give him a quick kiss and ruffled his hair. She then led Natalya back down the steps, notebook in hand, leaving them to it.
***
‘Jim, I’d like to show you the plans we’ve put together for building the Inn,’ Cassy said waving the rolled plan in her hand.
Forging Alliances: Wizards of White Haven Page 10