Basiyr: Chronicles of Nahtan: Book 6 (The Herridon Chronicles)

by Kramer, D. L.

  Calan led Garren around, watching for patrols that were separated from easy sight of the army. It took longer than he wanted before they found two church guards about the same size as them. Then it took even longer following them until they found an opportunity to knock both guards out without being seen so they could take their armor and cloaks.

  They left the unconscious guards tied up securely and hidden from sight, then went back for Korrie and Kenah. Calan made sure to use his cloak to hide his sword so it wouldn't be obvious, then the four set out once more for Basiyr.

  When they drew nearer, they stopped again so they could tie Kenah's and Korrie's hands. Korrie instructed them in how to tie a specific knot so they could easily free themselves if they needed to. Calan made sure both of them also had a small dagger hidden in their boots so they wouldn't be unarmed.

  With the last of their disguises ready, Calan and Garren took the lead on their horses toward the city. When they neared the outer edges of the camp, Calan left the three to wait while he tied their horses with the church guards' horses on the line. With any luck, they wouldn't be moved, but he also knew they wouldn't use horses to bring common prisoners into the city so taking them with would have only raised questions.

  After leaving the horses, they continued on, Calan and Garren pushing Kenah and Korrie ahead of them. Calan heard Kenah mutter curses more than once when she stumbled and was a bit surprised at the extent of her vocabulary, but he kept the amusement from his expression.

  The guards at the first two checkpoints waved them through without stopping them, but the officer at the main gate held up his hand for them to wait.

  "What have you got here?" he asked, walking over, his eyes moving over them all.

  "We caught these two trying to sneak through the camp, Sir," Calan said. "The Captain said to bring them to the keep."

  The officer hesitated, which was what Calan was hoping for. He'd deliberately used the term 'captain', knowing it would cause confusion. Where it had been Thorvald's previous rank, some in the ranks of his army still referred to him by the rank out of ignorance.

  "The Captain's never asked for prisoners at the keep before," the officer noted. "He usually has them sent straight off to the temple."

  "Those were our orders, Sir," Calan said. "I think he took a personal liking to these two. That younger one's got a mouth on her, though. He probably didn't want to risk her stirring up trouble with any other prisoners and figured she'd be better off secluded in the dungeon there." He ignored the glare Kenah gave him, but he noticed the church officer caught it.

  The officer nodded. "He's definitely not taking any more chances since that arrogant arse of a lord and his girl killed a dozen guards and took off," he said. "I knew we couldn't trust him. Any man with that much ego is only out for his own good."

  "That he is," Calan nodded, careful to hide his thoughts at that information. He knew he had to be talking about Lord Valin, though he had no idea who he might be referring to as 'his girl'. That the young lord had apparently killed anyone in his path to get out of the city told him he was either in a hurry, or the situation had been serious. "So are we good to continue on, or should I leave these two with you so we can get back to our posts?"

  "Take 'em in," the officer waved them through the gate. "I don't need to be putting up with anymore hassle here. It's bad enough he's got us checking every person and pack three times as it is."

  Calan nodded. "Yes, Sir," he saluted him and they turned to walk into the city.

  "I've got a mouth on me?" Kenah asked when they were a safe distance from the gate. Her accent was gone now, giving no hint she was from Olorun to anyone around them.

  "Yes," Calan nodded at her. "Yes, you do. I can see now why your father calls you the thorn in his side."

  "I happen to like my nickname," Kenah defended. "We can't all be pretty little flowers."

  "We've met both of your sisters," Garren told her. "I think your mother is the only flower in your house."

  "You're being awfully quiet," Calan noted to Korrie.

  "I'm just thinking about the best way to get into the keep," she said quietly. "Servants usually have their own entrance that's easier to get into. Most nobility don't want to see their help coming and going."

  "We can't just keep this up to get in?" Kenah asked, holding up her hands and indicating the ropes.

  "Probably not," Calan told her. "Most keep guards are more highly trained and won't fall for things like that. Prisoners are usually taken in through different entries as well that keep them far away from any nobility just in case they might escape and try to make some heroic attempt to assassinate someone important. Only very important political prisoners might get taken in through the front gates if they want to show them off as some kind of war prize."

  "Sounds like the servants' entrance will be our best way in then," Garren said.

  Calan nodded. "We'll need to watch for anyone important once we're inside," he said. "Then follow them to try to find where Thorvald might be making his plans."

  "The main study will be upstairs," Korrie said. "Keeps built around the same time as Basiyr all followed the same basic design. Court, dining halls and private offices are on the ground level. Larger studies and libraries on the mid level and private rooms and ballrooms on the upper level."

  Garren looked back at her. "How many have you snuck into?" he asked her.

  Korrie shrugged. "A few?" she offered, her tone hopeful that he'd believe her. "There's an old abandoned one northeast of Edgewind," she continued. "I used to sneak in there and explore."

  "I don't remember any keeps outside of Edgewind," Garren said. "I'm sure my father would have mentioned one."

  "It was a long, long time ago that anyone lived there," Korrie said. "It was called Theryl Hold."

  "And how would you know that?" Calan asked her.

  "Minstrels?" she returned. "There are all kinds of stories told about it if you talk to the right minstrel."

  "Of course there are," Calan sighed.

  "When you live in the southern villages, minstrels are the only way to get news and entertainment," Garren defended. "Trust me."

  "I'm not disputing the effectiveness of a good minstrel," Calan told him. "I love it when I can get one or two into Revenant. I've seen my business triple in a single night when I can get a good one in there."

  "I think he's jealous," Kenah said to Korrie and Garren. "Obviously we have better minstrels down here than they do up north."

  "I think you're right," Korrie nodded at her. "Have you ever seen the one with the feathers in her hair? She tells the stories about the 'bird people'."

  "She's got the little bird," Kenah nodded. "That sits on top of her head."

  "Halona, save me," Calan sighed, looking up at the smoke-filled sky.

  "If it's any consolation, I haven't seen that one either," Garren told him.

  "All right, act like prisoners," Calan ordered Kenah and Korrie. "Just in case someone's watching or comes up on us."

  They worked their way through the city, avoiding patrols when possible and ignoring any citizens they passed. Calan noticed that most of the people who lived there hurried to get out of their way, which told him a lot about the way the guards must treat them on a regular basis. He found himself grateful for being able to rely on the Mo'ani and city guards in Herridon and not having to fear them.

  They eventually made their way to the keep's main approach. Before they got too close and could be seen by any guards outside the keep, Calan led them down a side street, then they all ducked into a narrow alley.

  "How are you doing in the armor?" he asked Garren.

  "Stiff and slow," Garren replied. "I haven't had a chance to do much training in full armor when we've stopped at night."

  "Let's get it off of then," Calan said. "You and I both need to be able to move in case we have to fight, and we can't have you slowed down and don't need me making the extra noise." He turned to Korrie as she and Kenah untied their
hands. "Any idea where the servants' entrance is likely to be?" He unclasped the blue cloak from his own shoulders and stuffed it behind an old crate then took Garren's cloak and stuffed it back there as well. He started to help Garren remove his armor while Korrie rubbed her wrists and Kenah started unbuckling his pauldrons and breastplate.

  "It should be around toward the back, off a side street," Korrie replied. "It would be a plain double wood door with a lock." She sat down on an old barrel and pulled a wrapped cloth bundle from inside her boot. Opening it, she checked several long metal pieces of varying widths, some with twisted or curved ends. Arranging them in individual pockets in the cloth, she rolled them up again and stuck it back in her boot.

  Calan glanced at her, noting her change in tone. The further they'd come into the city, he'd noticed a subtle change come over her, as she'd seemed to gain confidence and focus.

  "We'll let you lead out of here," he told her. "Kenah, you keep your eyes and ears open. If any trouble comes up, you two get to the middle and let Garren and me handle it." He looked at Garren. "Don't worry about trying to kill anyone," he told him. He knew the young man hadn't joined the Mo'ani in any actual fights yet, and he wasn't about to ask him to kill someone now. "Just hold them back until I can get to them."

  Garren nodded. "I can at least knock them out," he told him.

  "Don't take extra risks," Calan ordered him. "Just hold them back and I'll get to them."

  "You're starting to sound like my da," Kenah noted.

  Calan looked down at her. "If anything happens to you, your father will have my head, and if anything happens to him," he pointed at Garren. "Nahtan will have my head, and if anything happens to her," he pointed at Korrie. "Then this whole trip was pointless."

  Kenah frowned slightly, but didn't say anything as Calan finished helping Garren then finished removing his own armor. Once they'd hidden the armor in the alley, Calan nodded at Korrie.

  "All right, Miss Korrie, we're following you."

  Korrie nodded and took the lead from the alley. She led them through the streets, weaving her way around the keep, staying out of sight of any guards on the walls. Every so often she'd pause, asking them to stay back while she went ahead a bit to check the route. When she came back, she'd sometimes lead them back a bit, then along a new route. Other times, they'd continue along the way they were going. For the most part they avoided anyone on the streets, and Calan noticed Korrie seemed to be extra aware of their surroundings. She seemed to have little trouble slipping in and out of alleys and side streets, knowing when to stop and when to move, and kept a close eye on each of them as well. He realized for as timid as she was with the army and as truly frightened as she was around Nahtan, she was, at heart, a true thief. He also noticed Garren seemed honestly surprised at the change in her, and he caught the young man staring at her back, his expression unreadable, more than once.

  After a couple of hours, she stopped at the corner of a side street. "It should be one more block over. The door will be locked," Korrie told them. "I'll be able to open it to get us inside." She paused. "But there might be at least one guard inside the door."

  "Then let me go in first," Calan told her.

  "What about priests?" Kenah asked. "If they've got priests from the temple in there with Thorvald, won't they cause a problem?"

  "We'll hope there aren't any," Calan said. "But in case you see any, stay as far away from them as you can."

  Kenah nodded.

  Korrie paused, staring in the direction of the keep. Calan couldn't begin to guess what else she might be figuring out. Finally, she let out a slow breath. "I guess getting inside is the first step," she said. She checked the wrapped tools in her boot again, then straightened her tunic. "You three wait here, I'm going to go make sure there aren't any patrols around the door." She slipped from the alley, disappearing around the corner without a sound.

  Calan glanced at Garren when she was gone. "You seem unsure about Miss Korrie now," he noted.

  "She's--different," Garren said. "Ever since we got here, she's become a completely different person. I'm not sure what to think about it, honestly." He shook his head and Calan could hear the confusion in his voice.

  "Ye knew she was a thief," Kenah pointed out.

  Garren nodded. "She's been stealing little things pretty much every day since Nahtan let her out of the wagon," he said. "Sometimes she'll steal something then go put it back a few minutes later like she's just reminding herself she can do it. She'll wake up at night and wander off through the camp and pick things up from people she walks past. Gaurel's been helping me keep an eye on her at night so she can't do that and get caught."

  "You three have become an interesting trio," Calan said. "Why are you not so sure about her now?"

  "Can I be honest?"

  "Of course," Calan nodded to him. He was surprised Garren wanted to open to him, but he supposed a certain amount of trust had built up between them. Calan had taught him a number of different defensive positions and attacks in the evenings when the army had stopped for the night, and there needed to be some level of trust for that to be effective.

  "I like her a lot, Calan," Garren said. "But because of Nahtan, I don't think we can be anything more than friends."

  Calan looked at him for a moment. He could see Garren's attraction, but he could also understand Nahtan's distrust of Korrie. "In all fairness to His Majesty, she is the reason Thorvald knew they'd be at the temple and Valry was taken, so his anger with her is justified, Garren. He may have expressed it too much in the extreme, and for that he is in the wrong, but she's at fault, too."

  "She didn't know," Garren defended her. "She feels terrible about it. She never would have told him if she'd known he was going to take Valry." He shook his head and Calan could see the conflict in his expression. "I want to protect her from Nahtan, but when I heard about what he did in the battle below the plateau, there's no way to protect anyone from him."

  "Can I say somethin'?" Kenah asked.

  "Could we stop you?" Calan asked her.

  She smacked his arm. "Maybe ye shouldn't worry so much about protectin' her from King Nahtan," she said to Garren. "And just figurin' out a way to let her be where she's happy."

  "What do you mean?" Garren asked her.

  "Da's been fightin' Basiyr for as long as I can remember," Kenah said. "He's always havin' to go chase 'em away from our borders or he and Lord Nivan 'ave to go chase 'em out of some other hold. Every time he leaves Olorun, he knows there's a chance somethin' could happen while he's gone. So instead of worryin' about what Aduran and Thorvald might do, he's made Olorun someplace that we can feel safe and we know he's done the best he can to protect us when he's not there. Maybe ye need to find somewhere that Korrie can feel safe, even when she's got ye're brother's shadow just off to the side of 'er."

  "Have you given any thought to what you're going to do when this is over?" Calan asked Garren.

  Garren shrugged. "Aralt thinks I should go back to Herridon. He said I could probably earn a cloak within a couple of years, if even that. I figured Nahtan would be taking Korrie there, since she is technically under arrest for treason."

  "Ye know, ye are a nobleman," Kenah pointed out. "Ye could petition for a hold of ye're own."

  Garren stared at her. "I'm not nobility," he said.

  "Aye, ye are," she argued. "Ye're the king's brother, that makes ye a lord at the very least and a prince at the best. Ye'd be entitled to ye're own hold."

  Garren was still staring at her when Korrie returned several seconds later.

  "What did I miss?" she asked, stopping.

  "I think I just scrambled 'is brain," Kenah grinned at her. "I pointed out to 'im that's he counts as nobility so he's got certain rights that his king and brother would 'ave to give due consideration to."

  "I admit, m'lady," Calan nodded to Kenah. "I'm impressed."

  Kenah winked at him and curtsied with a flourish. "Ye don't grow up with five brothers and sisters and not
learn 'ow to take what's rightfully ye're's," she told him.

  Korrie smiled at Garren. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

  Garren shook his head. "I don't know," he replied. "Did you find any guards?'

  "They've got a couple of patrols on top of the wall," Korrie answered. "If we wait until it's dark and go back a bit, then stay close to the wall up to the door, we should be able to get to it without them seeing us."

  "That sounds like what we should do," Calan told her.

  "Back this way then," Korrie said, leading them back the way she'd just come from.

  They waited in a secluded area between one of the houses and a low wall until after dark. Once she felt they'd lost enough light to keep them hidden, Korrie led them back out, then waited until she knew they had a clear path. Once they were all against the wall, it was a simple matter to move slowly along until they reached the doors.

  "I should have time to get the door open before any patrols come by,” Korrie whispered to Calan. “But just in case, keep your eyes open."

  Calan nodded to her and turned to pass the information down to Kenah and Garren.

  Korrie pulled the cloth roll from her boot and crouched down by the door. She unrolled the cloth, taking one of the tools and going to work on the lock. After several seconds, she put that tool back and pulled out two others, then went back to work. Putting one of the tools back, she seemed to have the other one lodged in the lock as she stood up. Tucking the cloth and remaining tools under her arm, she leaned against the door, pulling up and turning the tool, then twisting it downward. They all heard the bolt pull back as the door unlocked.

  "Not my best," she sighed, pulling the tool from the lock and putting it in the cloth, then rolling it up and putting it in her boot as she stepped aside.

  Calan drew his sword and motioned for her to take another step back. He slowly pushed the door open, letting faint lantern light from inside fall on the ground. He slipped around the door, using it as added protection.

  The guard inside was obviously surprised to see someone armed come in, and had barely picked up his weapon before Calan had knocked it to the side and backed him against the wall, his sword pointed at the man's throat. They were in a wide hall that led off to the left and the guard was sitting on a stool just behind the door.