Lord of innis torr, p.18
Lord of Innis Torr, page 18
part #3 of Bridge Quest Series
“But, Sire,” Lomen protested. “The road is safe during the day, but who knows what lurks there during the night.”
“We’ll take our chances.”
“What do we do with him?” Caryn ticked her head at Cambul.
“Release him.”
“What?” Caryn blurted, giving Karl an ‘are-you-crazy’ stare.
Karl turned his focus to Cambul. “Where is your loyalty, Cambul?”
“To you, Sire,” he replied without hesitation.
“And you believe him?” Caryn scoffed.
“I swear on the heads of my children,” Cambul asserted.
“Those are all just words,”Caryn sneered. “As soon as we’re gone, you’d be tossing that bird in the air telling the world where we are.”
Ignoring her, Cambul focused his attention on Karl. “I can help you, Sire. I know Avnoch like the back of my hand. I was born there. I grew up learning the back-alleys and hiding places.”
“Now you’re really laying it on,” Caryn mocked. “First you want to kill us and now you want to endanger your own life to help us. Puh-lease. Someone get me a bag before I throw up.”
Suppressing a grin, Karl said, “She does have a point. Why are you so accommodating now?”
Cambul paused, his gaze solemn. “My Lord, if I can help you regain your throne, would you release me from having to spy on my neighbors and friends?” He twisted his head to look at Lomen. “I always reported nothing happening here, even when you brought in that wagon of black market ale.”
Lomen flushed and swallowed hard. Even Elspa suddenly grew quiet and introspective.
“I did the same for others,” Cambul continued. “I kept everyone’s secrets.”
“Then why the poison blade, here and now?” Caryn accused.
“Because they demanded something to prove I was worth their trust,” he answered, his confidence growing. “I saw you all in the distance when you suddenly appeared as if from nowhere. I could tell from his size that he was not local, so I grabbed the blade and came here to wait, figuring you would come here.”
“So what stopped you?”
“When I heard Lomen call him ‘Sire.’ I knew then who you were. I was hoping that you would leave so that I could put that away.” He nodded at the blade in her hand.
Caryn studied him. “You weave a good tale.”
“I tell the truth,” he stated.
“You mean like spying on your neighbors and friends,” Caryn retorted, “that kind of truth?”
“I cannot undo what has been done,” he responded. “Yes, I kept hidden who I was, but I never betrayed my friends and neighbors.”
“Untie him,” Karl said. When they hesitated, he bent down and began untying the knot until Lomen stepped in and took over.
Once free, Cambul rubbed his wrists and stood. “To prove my trust, Sire, you can take one of my children and place them in Lomen’s care. If I fail in my word, he can do with the child as he wishes.”
“That’s no pledge,” Caryn ridiculed. “Lomen would never hurt the child, no matter what you did.”
Cambul turned to Karl. “I have nothing else to offer other than my word.”
“Which doesn’t mean squat,” Caryn noted.
“OK, OK,” Karl intoned. “We’re getting nowhere here. You,” he said to Cambul. “Tell me about the city. Can we get into the city after the gates are closed?”
“Yes, Sire. I know a way.”
“I don’t believe this,” Caryn moaned. “You’re actually going to trust him?”
“Yes, I am,” Karl replied. “Now can we move on?”
Recognizing she had lost the battle, Caryn begrudgingly nodded.
“Good. I want you to find out what you can from him while I see if I can contact our mutual friend.”
Caryn frowned in confusion then remembered. “As you wish.”
While Caryn interrogated Cambul, the others watched Karl close his eyes as though going to sleep.
Uafas? Are you out there?
“What’s he doing?” Lomen asked.
“Shhh,” Caryn fussed. “Don’t interrupt him.”
Uafas? Can you hear me?
Yes, faintly. Where are you? Where did you go?
Long story. Where are you?
I’m in the forest half a day’s walk from the city you call Avnoch.
Which side? Karl asked.
Which side?
Yes. Sunrise side or sunset side?
Sunrise side.
Good. We are too.
We?
Caryn, Raquel, Annabeth, Dieter and I.
There was a pause before Uafas said, Let me guess. You’re going back to Avnoch.
Yes.
Uafas paused again before sighing and asked, Where do you want me?
Standing by, but I need to know exactly where you are. We’re in the small town called Kinlich midway between Contyn and Avnoch.
Except for the place you call Avnoch, I don’t know where any of those places are.
Hold on a minute. Opening his eyes, he caught Caryn’s attention. “I need you to send an eagle or hawk or something to track down Uafas and bring him here.”
“Where is he?”
“Somewhere between here and Avnoch.”
Caryn turned to Elspa. “Is there a back door to the kitchen?”
“Yes, follow me.”
The two women headed to the kitchen, the daughter tagging along.
“Who is Uafas, Sire?” Lomen asked when the kitchen door closed.
“My friend,” Karl answered, “a wolf.”
“The giant wolf that now roams free?” Cambul said. “I was told to keep a lookout for him, though it seems foolish to do so. By the time I told anyone, the wolf would be long gone.”
“Still, he is rather hard to miss,” Lomen said. “How do you know where he is?”
“I don’t,” Karl replied. “That’s why I’ve asked Caryn to send someone.”
“She can talk to birds?” Lomen asked, his eyes filled with wonder.
“And more,” Karl added.
The kitchen door opened and the three women returned, the daughter bubbling with excitement.
“O Da,” she exclaimed. “You shoulda seen it. This big hawk comes down and lands on her arm. And she talked to it.”
“I told him to get some help. Hopefully they’ll spot him.”
Karl closed his eyes again. Uafas.
Yes.
We’ve sent some hawks to find you. Go somewhere safe but visible.
Easy for you to say, Uafas replied.
Let me know when they find you.
Karl opened his eyes and glanced around the otherwise empty tavern. “You may want to resume some sense of normality.”
“I was hoping you’d say that, Sire.”
Shifting his attention to Cambul, he said, “You too need to resume your normal behavior. We leave when it gets dark.”
“Yes, Sire. I was just telling Lady Raquel here that we’ll need to make speed if we’re going to get into the city before daylight.”
“You don’t have to worry about us,” Karl replied.
“What’s the plan?” Caryn asked then turned to Lomen and his wife and daughter. “This might be a good time for you three to let us plan in private. The less you know the better.”
“Understood,” Lomen said with a smile then headed to the door, unlocked the bolt, swung the door open and poked his head out. “I’ll be glad when someone we all know is back where he belongs. This latest fella is bad for business.”
Uafas showed up midafternoon, far enough outside the town to be unobserved. Karl went to meet him, leaving Caryn in town to keep an eye on things.
It’s good to see you again. Karl scratched the wolf’s cheek and chin.
I know, Uafas chuckled. Where have you been?
Caryn and I were whisked away by two sorcerers, Karl said, already feeling guilty for concocting such an outlandish story then having to repeat it, even to NPCs who had become friends.
Ah. I understand. Well… you have three of them to deal with now. I escaped just in time before they put a hex on me.
What happened?
You were gone and Raquel was in charge. Things seemed to settle down so I decided to leave the city to hunt for my own food for a change. I communicated with both Annabeth and Raquel. I like Annabeth. I like them both, but she has a sense of humor.
Then what happened?
I was tracking down a buck when I felt the commotion. Annabeth warned me to stay as far away as possible. I left off hunting and headed deeper into the forest. I’ve been there ever since. Annabeth said they were caught by surprise by a man called Kevin. He had managed to free the sorceresses who were now helping him. There is one name you will remember, the man you called Chet.
Yes, I know, Karl replied with a scowl.
You should have let me eat him when I had the opportunity.
Karl nodded. You’re probably right
What’s the plan?
For now, I want you to remain outside the city acting as a scout. I’ve got an army close by. The five of us are going to sneak into the city and open the gates so that when Kevin wakes up in the morning, he’s in for a surprise. In the meantime, I need to know what’s going on beyond the city area so that we’re not surprised ourselves.
Easily done.
Thanks. Be careful.
I usually am. Uafas gave Karl a gentle bump of affection and trotted off.
Dusk has just begun to sift across Kinlich when Cambul led Karl and the others to the edge of town before setting off on a brisk pace. He was more than surprised when he realized that Karl and his team could easily move faster.
Two hours out from Kinlich, with the moon full and the night clear, Karl guesstimated they would arrive in Avnoch in another two to three hours, giving them plenty of time to sneak into the city and work their way to the main gates. The forest edging both sides of the road gave it a tunnel-like feeling, moonlight illuminating the way.
They moved in silence, their senses on edge as they swept the landscape around them. The road curved gently shortening the distance they could survey. As they rounded a wider spot in the road, Uafas let out a deep throated howl.
There’s a road block ahead with four guards. Their attention is probably on me now.
Thanks.
Karl spread his hands and stopped the team. “Road block ahead,” he whispered. “Four guards.” He pointed to Annabeth who grinned with immediate understanding.
Two minutes later, there were four guards sound asleep.
Giving Cambul no time to marvel at Annabeth’s powers, Karl urged him on. Thankfully there were no further obstacles and they made good time, arriving outside the city walls little after midnight. Cambul pointed to the sentries making their rounds high above behind the crenelated walls. They moved in perfunctory motion, bored with the monotonous repetition of walking the rounds in the middle of the night, especially when the city gates were locked tight.
Cambul curled his fingers motioning the others to follow as he led them around the city towards the cattle pens where livestock were kept prior to slaughter. Weaving through the numerous fenced off areas of pigs, sheep, lambs and a few steers, he worked his way towards the caretaker hut, a small, single story, two room affair where the watchperson stayed during his or her assigned times. A chute of wood fencing bypassed the hut and ended at a small portcullis within the city wall.
Karl frowned at Cambul. “We’re supposed to go in through here?”
“Nobody’s watching it on the other side. It leads to the slaughterhouse.”
“There’s no winch here to raise it,” Karl pointed out.
Cambul ticked his head at Dieter. “I bet he can lift it.”
Dieter strode over to the iron grating and grabbed a bar. With a grunt, he pressed the gate up, surprised that not only did it make no noise, it lifted up rather easily.
Caryn and the rest pushed through, Karl bringing up the rear to hold up the door for Dieter then silently lowering it into place.
“How’d you know about the door?” a suspicious Caryn asked Cambul.
“I used to sneak out this way all the time,” he said with a smile. “They grease the door grooves so it’s pretty quiet.” He took a step off to the side, bent down and lifted an oak stave about half a meter in height. “It’s still here. I used to use this to hold the door open when I snuck out. It’s oak, so it’s pretty solid. It gave me enough space to crawl under.”
Caryn gaped at the stave that seemed too brittle now to holdup anything. “You were either young or stupid.”
“I was both,” he agreed. “But that was long ago. Come.”
He led them past the interior pens, the butchering tables and meat hooks. Flies swarmed the offal left in the butchering pits. Annabeth held her hand over her mouth and tried not to breath in the rancid air. It wasn’t until they were outside the slaughter house that she sucked in a deep breath of air.
“How can anyone breathe in there?” she complained.
“You get used to it,” Cambul replied.
“Yeah, right,” she answered, unconvinced.
Cambul stepped over to Karl. “With your permission, Sire, I think it best that I not be here in the morning. I wasn’t here last night and it wouldn’t take long for folks to figure out that I had a part in this. It would also add to the mystery as to how you got in.”
“I agree,” Karl answered.
“You’re going to let him go back?” Caryn objected.
“I know what you’re thinking, M’Lady,” Cambul stoically replied, “but you all are going to win. What purpose would it serve me to interfere for a losing cause? I have given my oath and loyalty to the King.”
“Just like you did to Kevin,” she parried.
“No, m’Lady,” he quietly answered. “There you are wrong. I never gave my oath or loyalty to Kevin.”
“Yet you were willing to follow him,” she retorted.
“That’s enough,” Karl interjected. “We don’t have time for this. Dieter. Help me lift the gate for him.”
“Sure Boss.”
In only a brief moment, Cambul was gone.
“I can’t believe you’re letting him go,” Caryn said, shaking her head.
“He has nothing to gain,” Karl said. “Besides, he’d only be in the way. C”mon. We got a front door to open.”
He had yet to take a step when a body materialized before him. “Dammit Sakura,” he griped though pleased to see her. “I hate it when you do that.”
“Sakura,” came the enthused response from the others. “Where’ve you been?”
“I’ve been hiding, waiting for you. When I heard that you all were no longer in prison, I knew it was just a matter of time before you came back here.” She grinned at Karl. “When did you get back?”
“A little while ago,” he said. “We were in the elf city to start then worked our way here. I’ll explain later. At the moment, we’re headed to open the gates and let my army come in.”
“Works for me. I do have one request though.”
“Yes?”
“I want Kevin.”
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t care who kills Kevin, but that’s not the end result we need at the moment. I don’t want him respawning to create more havoc. If I knew where his respawn spot was, I might be persuaded otherwise. In the meantime, let’s get an army in here.”
“What do we do with the guards on top of the walls?” Dieter asked.
Karl smiled at Annabeth.
“I know, I know,” she replied, pretending annoyance. “One of these days I wanna use something other than a sleep spell, something pure fun.”
“You’ll get your chance,” Karl soothed. “Remember, there are some sorcery folks here that need reminding of who’s in charge, especially in the sorcery department.”
Annabeth fingered the Delf Stone around her neck. “Trust me,” she coldly replied. “I haven’t forgotten.”
This time Sakura led the way. They travelled unseen and unheard as she crept down dark alleyways and back paths avoiding the roving city patrols. Forty five minutes later, they approached the gatehouse.
“We need to work quickly,” Karl softly reminded them. “Maddoc and the rest of them should be here in an hour or two. Annabeth will take out the guards and give us the heads up when Maddoc gets here. Raquel, you go with Annabeth. Stay partially visible so that other guards can see there are still two guards on top of the gate house. In the meantime, the rest of us will deal with some gate guards.”
While Annabeth and Raquel climbed the stone steps to take care of the two guards, Karl led the way to the gatehouse, which he was surprised to find empty.
“That’s odd,” he commented, gathering every one inside the small room containing a thin legged table and two chairs. “There should be two guards here.”
“They’re not always that diligent,” Sakura said. “Some guards will stay here, while others who live close by will sleep at home until an hour before they have to open the gates. There’s an older guard who’s been here so long that it doesn’t matter who is on guard with him, he always goes home to sleep. No one seems to object.”
“How do you know that?” Caryn asked.
“People talk,” Sakura deadpanned, “and I listen. And I’ve seen him shuffle off home once the gate is closed. I didn’t see who was on duty tonight, but my guess is that they’re not going to be back until they have to open the gates.”
“All the better for us,” Karl said.
“How did you manage to evade Kevin?” Caryn asked.
“As soon as I heard he was in town, I knew it wasn’t going to be good,” she said, though looking at Karl. “You and Karl were gone and the odds were suddenly stacked against us. There were just the four of us against the six in Kevin’s group plus the two sorceresses. I decided to split while I could.”
“Why hang around here then?” Caryn wondered aloud.
“I may be a bit of a loner,” Sakura replied, “but I am a loyal teammate. I figured something would happen sooner or later and I wasn’t going to abandon you all.” She shook her head. “Then I find out that you’re all gone, disappeared. When I learned the truth, I knew it was just a matter of time before you all ended up here again.”
