by Joe Jackson
Erik glanced at Aeligos briefly before asking Maktus, “When do you plan to attack?”
Maktus let forth a sigh. “That will largely depend upon your plans,” he said. “I am not used to taking orders from any but my queen, but in this case, I understand the hands of the gods are involved. I will wait for several of the approaching provincial garrisons to arrive, but after that, I would like to move as quickly as possible. My armies grow impatient easily, and the longer we remain idle, the more likely our enemies are to discover that our forces will be larger than they expect. And to be honest, I do not like being away from my mate so long.”
Kari looked at Grakin briefly and he smiled, though he didn’t look directly at her. “Aeligos has an excellent plan,” Kari said, turning back toward Maktus.
The rogue pulled the map and notes from his cloak pocket. “I have a written explanation of everything I’m about to tell you, and I’ll give that to you after we’re done,” he said, to which the warlord nodded. “There was one major thing I didn’t mention to you and your queen when we first met, because I wasn’t sure it was true yet: we have someone inside Gaswell’s fortress. She was able to pass us a wealth of information on when and where to strike, but I’ll be honest with you: this entire plan of ours hinges on Gaswell sending out the bulk of his garrisons but staying in his fortress once battle is joined. If he leaves, it’s going to be entirely up to you and your allies to crush him.”
The warlord seemed impressed to hear that his guests had someone on the inside. “So you plan to remove him by means of subterfuge?” he asked, and he held up the map to study it. “Would you mind explaining your plan of attack? Perhaps I can help refine it should there be tactical flaws.”
“Of course,” Aeligos said. “The first thing we’ll need to do is agree on a day when your army will engage his – not just move, but absolutely engage. If his army is still milling about outside his fortress when we attack, we’re going to get pinned down and killed rather quickly.”
Maktus nodded and produced a rough map of the island around Gaswell’s fortress. He indicated an area and said, “If you are planning a covert strike, my scouts tell me this is an optimal spot for surveillance. It should take your group about four days to reach this point, and I trust you know how to get in once you’re within striking distance. Once you leave the camp, I will give you three days before I mobilize my army. This will give you at least one more day to reach your destination before my forces encounter his, though it will more likely be a day and a half or two days. I assume you will attack under cover of night?”
“Yes,” Aeligos said. “So you may want to march your forces so that you’ll engage his just before nightfall.”
Maktus grimaced; no commander liked fighting after nightfall, their soldiers’ night vision be damned. “Not my favorite time to engage in battle, but the situation will demand it,” he answered. “So once night falls and you are in position, what is your intent?”
“We’ll be splitting into two groups: two of our number will go in through a sewer access here,” the rogue said, pointing to the appropriate markings on the map. “The rest of us will be going to this second-story balcony. Our ally on the inside has indicated this is the weakest stretch of guard patrols, since there are no gates or ground-level entryways on that side of the castle. The second-story doors are easily worked from the outside, though, and our information indicates they’re dormitories, so they should be empty just after nightfall, especially if there’s a battle not far from the castle.”
“Excellent,” Maktus said, but his brow furrowed and he glanced at the sewer marking on the map. “Why do you have two going in through the sewers?”
“To free the prisoners,” Kari piped up. She hoped she wasn’t out of place speaking, but she felt like a fifth wheel and figured Aeligos would at least know she had paid attention when he explained the plan. “They have a kirelas-rir war wizard locked down there as far as we know, and there may be others. If we can release the war wizard, she may be able to help convince his army to surrender, or destroy them.”
Maktus gave an appreciative nod. “Very good point,” he said. “We had heard that he captured a kirelas-rir, but given how long ago that was and that we’ve heard nothing of her since, I assumed she had been killed. If not, however, she could indeed make a powerful ally as you’ve suggested. The might of the war wizards is well known even to our people. So then, I assume these young humans will be the ones going in through the sewers, since they cannot fly to your second-floor target entryway?”
“No,” Aeligos said, and Kari saw that she wasn’t the only one surprised. “Serenjols and Typhonix can carry the twins; the distance shouldn’t be an issue. I don’t think this is a good time to send them on their own to test them. There’s too much at stake. With apologies for sending them into a sewer, I was thinking of sending the girls. Kari will be able to take care of anyone down there, and Sonja’s magic should help with whatever they’ve done to subdue the kirelas-rir girl. There’s no way this kirelas-rir war wizard is just sitting down there in shackles; she’s got to be magically contained somehow or she would’ve freed herself by now.”
“Good point,” Sonja said. “Does that sound agreeable to you, Kari?”
Kari nodded. “As long as you’re comfortable without my help,” she said to Aeligos.
“I wouldn’t say comfortable,” he said with a wink, and Kari chuckled. “But I like our odds if we send you and Sonja to take care of the prisoners while the rest of us hunt down Gaswell. Even if we don’t have the manpower to overpower Gaswell, once you and Sonja free the war wizard, the scales should tip in our favor anyway. Grakin, I think it’s best if you stay behind, either here with Maktus and his people or else wherever we make our attack from. Any other time, I’d want a healer close at hand, but this is a do-or-die proposition. If it comes down to needing a healer once we’re inside, we’re pretty much finished.”
“I understand,” the priest said. “Is everyone in agreement on that, then?”
Kari nodded. She would never say so in front of his siblings, but she was much more comfortable with her mate staying behind where it was safe. Everyone else agreed as well, and Erik said, “Stay here with Maktus. I’m sure they’ll have plenty for you to do once the battle has been joined.”
“We certainly will,” the shakna-rir commander said with a grim smile. “So that leaves you…six for the invasion of the keep itself? How do you plan to go about that?”
“Even with our companion’s inside information, we’re going on a few assumptions,” Aeligos said, taking up his notes. “We’ll be attacking just after nightfall, so there shouldn’t be anyone in these bedrooms we’re targeting for entry. My plan is to get us inside, and then have the others stay put while I explore the castle a bit. I should be able to find our insider, and once we know exactly where Gaswell is, we’ll try to pin him down and capture him. But I have to find our insider first and speak to her before we go in.”
“Why’s that?” Erik asked.
Aeligos’ mouth tightened and he sighed through his nose. He pulled forth the original letter that Eryn wrote to him and gestured toward the end. “As much as Eryn said in this letter, it’s what she didn’t say that worries me,” he said. He looked around at each of his siblings and friends, and Kari got the impression he was actually embarrassed to say what he was about to say. “Eryn always kisses me over the heart after we make love, and the fact that she didn’t put that in her letter is a clear message that there’s something else at the heart of all of this. It could be the demon you and Kari killed, or it could be something else entirely, but either way, this map and my plan are not complete yet. I need to talk to her, or we could end up walking into a trap.”
“This is alarming,” Maktus said. “Does it change my role in this matter?”
Aeligos shook his head. “No. Regardless of what’s at the heart of this, our best chance of success still hinges on your people drawing out Gaswell’s garrisons. It could be s
omething very powerful in that castle or, like I said, it could’ve been the demon that Erik and Kari already killed. Based on timing, I think Eryn sent this letter before Kari and Erik finished their hunt, so if that demon was involved, that could be what Eryn was hinting at. In the end, as much as Eryn was putting me on alert for its presence, we can rest easier knowing that whatever it is, it’s still been tentative to move even with an army at its command.”
The warlord considered Aeligos’ words for several minutes while the others remained silent. “This is a risky plan, but I see few other options outside of simply trying to overrun his forces and begin a lengthy siege of his castle,” Maktus said. “Multiple battles or a lengthy siege may bring in further support for him from unknown quarters; this battle must be quick and decisive. With my queen’s wishes to avoid the notice of the northern kingdoms, I think this is an acceptable risk. In the end, if you fail, we will be in no worse a position than we are now.”
“We can handle this,” Serenjols declared. “There will be little difference between this and what we did to Curlamanx, except that this castle is not full of demons.”
“Curlamanx?” Maktus repeated.
Kari remembered the tale as she’d heard it during the Apocalypse and during the voyage on Karmi’s Sword. She looked to Erik when he spoke. “A minor demon lord whose keep we infiltrated during the Apocalypse,” he explained. “Jol is right, it’s a fairly similar situation.”
“I see. What are your plans once you capture Gaswell?” Maktus asked.
“We haven’t given that much thought,” Aeligos said. “We can turn him over to your people, or to the city council in Raugro, or even to the kirelas-rir to do with as they please. Ultimately, it’s not important what happens to him as long as we remove him from power and keep him from starting another Apocalypse.”
Erik regarded his brother curiously, and Kari wondered if he was thinking the same thing she was. Kari had been under the impression that Eryn was hired to assassinate Gaswell, but no one had ever said so outright. She wondered if it was possible that her slipping away to infiltrate Gaswell’s army had been her and Aeligos’ plan all along. It would certainly befit their devious natures.
“We’ll make an effort to capture him. We should find out if he was working for another or even the sylinth, because if he was working for the demon, we need to know why and toward what end,” Erik said. “After we capture him, we’ll try to use a catapult or such to send a fiery signal to your forces that he’s in custody and you can break off your attack. Then you can get in contact with his field commanders, tell them their leader and their home have been captured, and demand they surrender to you.”
“I should be able to create a magical signal,” Sonja offered.
The shakna-rir warlord stared at his guests, and by his expression he seemed satisfied with what he’d seen and heard. “See my quartermaster in the morning for any provisions you will need for your journey,” Maktus said, rising to his feet. “Get a good night’s sleep; you are perfectly safe while you are within our camp. In the morning I will receive updated positions on the coming garrisons from the provincial army, and then we will decide on a target day for you to leave and begin the final phase of your mission.”
“Good evening, warlord,” Aeligos said. Kari rose to her feet and saluted the shakna-rir warlord, and Erik and Typhonix did likewise. He returned their salute crisply and dismissed the companions out into the camp.
The Silver Blades were able to get hot meals from the cooks, and they chose a spot near the center of the camp to bed down for the night. The shakna-rir soldiers paid them little heed, and in the absence of their own campfire to provide light, the friends decided not to play cards. Instead, they passed the time chatting lightly, and made sure that all of them understood their roles in the coming attack.
*~*~*~*
It took only two days for three of the approaching garrisons to arrive in the war camp, and they submitted themselves to Maktus’ command. The warlord summoned the Silver Blades to his command pavilion and set them forth on their task, explaining that he was satisfied that he had enough men to confront the army his scouts had described. After gathering their things, Kari and her companions prepared to leave. Aeligos instructed the warlord that he should engage Gaswell’s forces no more than four days later, and Maktus agreed and began issuing the orders through his subcommanders.
Grakin followed his companions to the edge of the camp, and he and Kari embraced. “I will never get used to this,” he said.
“You’re not supposed to,” she replied, and she kissed the side of his snout. “Pray for us; we’ll be back before you know it.”
“You are always in my thoughts and prayers, my love, especially when you are far away,” he said, touching her face gently.
Erik stepped beside Kari. “Don’t overwork yourself trying to help everyone after the battle,” he said to his brother. “Do what you can, but don’t hurt yourself in the process.”
“Worry not,” Grakin said. He turned to the twins. “Be careful, and do as you are told. My siblings are experienced and will keep you safe as long as you let them lead you. Know that you go to protect others, and that what you do, you do for a righteous cause.”
“We will. Be safe, and we will see you soon,” Sherman said, and then the Silver Blades departed.
The group pushed themselves to travel quickly, and Sonja used a masking spell to keep them hidden from the few scouts that Gaswell had patrolling the lands around his keep. Erik deferred to Kari’s tracking instincts, and with Aeligos’ help she led them to the spot indicated on Maktus’ map. Kari was cautious to avoid Gaswell’s scouts completely, since she knew killing even one of the spies would alert Gaswell to the presence of a covert force. The Silver Blades traveled into the nights to keep ahead of schedule and pressed onward with urgency; they did not want to miss the chance that Maktus’ attack would grant them. On the fourth day, they came to the edge of a cliff looking down over a massive lake, from which a river ran south.
On the cliff face to the east of them stood the fortress of Braxus Gaswell – apparently the same one that had been occupied by his ancestor during his ill-fated campaign to invade the Isle of Kirelia. From their vantage point, Aeligos could see that the castle was close in appearance to the one he had drawn based on Eryn’s letter. Sonja continued to use a wide-area masking spell to keep their voices and firelights from being noticed. Despite Sonja’s lack of confidence in her magical abilities, the strength of the spell and the concentration it required to keep it active for hours on end impressed her companions.
As night descended at their temporary camp, Aeligos slipped closer to the fort to examine the sewer outlet and the light from the second floor windows. He drew closer to the wall, and he could see there were few patrols along the battlements, just as Eryn had described. He bit his lip for a moment in thought, and then made a choice. He watched the patrols for some time to get a rough idea of how much time elapsed between the passing of each, and after the next patrol passed, he mentally counted out the minutes and then took wing. Aeligos flew up and landed lightly on the smooth-cut stone.
None of the moons had crested the castle itself, so the side he perched on was blanketed in deep shadows between the torches placed here and there. Aeligos glanced from side to side but, as he expected, there were no further patrols along the western wall. He looked from window to window on the second floor and then down into the courtyard. There was no one about, so he glided across to one of the balconies. He tucked his wings tight to his back and folded his cloak over them, and he readjusted them until they fit snugly underneath so he would appear to be a terra-rir to the casual observer. He pressed himself against the wall and then looked through the large glass double doors into what appeared to be a bedroom. With his enhanced night vision he saw that there was no one inside, the bed was empty, and the only light within was coming from the crack under the door exiting into the keep proper.
Aeligos examined the latc
h on the balcony door and reached a finger under his right bracer to draw out a set of fine lock picks and tools. He scanned the battlements for signs of the next patrol, still some time away, and he crouched down beside the door and tested the latch. He was hardly surprised to find it locked, and since he knew he didn’t have the luxury of time, he set to opening it as quickly and quietly as possible. It wasn’t a complicated lock, but picking it from the outside was more difficult. As he counted out the seconds, he knew he would be inside well before the next sentry walked past across the way. Soon enough he heard the satisfying click that told him the door was open. He depressed the latch slowly and carefully to make as little noise as possible, and once the door was open wide enough for him to slip through sideways, he did so. He closed and locked the door, and then he put his lock picks safely back under his right bracer.
The room was deathly quiet, so he crept silently on his toes to the doorway, crouched behind it, and listened for a while. There were no voices; no sound at all came from the hallway except for the gentle lapping of torch flames. He prepared to venture into the keep itself and his features began to shift. Though he wasn’t as proficient with shapeshifting magic as Eryn, he was able to meld his wings into his back, lengthen his hair to a uniform warrior’s style, and change his coloration to appear like an average terra-rir. Satisfied with the scout guise that would hopefully attract little attention, he moved to listen at the door again. Once certain there was no one close by, he gently swung the door open.
The hallway outside was indeed empty, and ran north to south by Aeligos’ reckoning. The image of his map came up in his mind, and he guessed that Gaswell’s throne room was to the south and closer to the center of the keep. Aeligos took a deep breath; if he were discovered it would make their mission impossible, whether he escaped or not. He couldn’t afford to be detected at all and, thinking on that, he backed up and regarded a bookshelf in the bedroom. After a cursory glance, he found a promising title to take with him.
