The Line of Illeniel

Chapter 27

Lord Hightower’s home was easy enough to find. We had ridden right by it on our way into Albamarl earlier. As the commander of the king’s guard and the city garrison he occupied the large bailey that guarded the capital’s largest gate. As homes went it was a veritable fortress in and of itself, nearly as large as the main keep of Cameron Castle.

From what James had told me I knew his family kept their residence in the top two floors of the bailey. Below that were primarily defensive structures and housing for the guards that defended the city, as well as the mechanisms that controlled the two great portcullises and the gate. Looking at it from the outside I had to pity any invader that might try to force their way through it.

There was a large door that served as an entrance to the interior of the bailey on the left hand side of the inner portcullis. Since there was currently no threat to the city I presumed it would be unlocked, but naturally enough it was still guarded. Two men stood at attention outside the door. Unlike guards I had seen at other points in the city these two looked alert and not the least bit bored. Lord Hightower was known for stern discipline.

I could feel Penny tensing as we drew closer, like a cat preparing to pounce. We were no longer sharing my cloak so I had to lean over to whisper to her, “No need, just relax.” Her eyes darted back to meet mine but she said nothing. The tension went out of her stance but I could sense her hand still gripping the hilt of her sword beneath her cloak.

Without pausing we walked directly toward the guards. “Who goes there?” one of them called as we drew close. I didn’t bother answering… a whispered word and they both slumped to the ground unconscious. I stepped up to the door and knocked while Penny stood behind me scanning the street.

“You know the drill, you have to identify yourself before you knock!” came a muffled voice through the wood of the door.

“Open up, there’s someone here to see Lord Hightower!” I responded.

A small wooden door set at head height opened up revealing a face covered in a very poor example of a beard, “That’s not the call sign… honestly the sergeant will have your hide…” I didn’t bother with further discussion and a moment later the man slumped down behind the door, soundly asleep.

“Now how are we going to open the door?” Penny hissed at me.

“Watch and learn sweetheart,” I replied.

“Last time you tried to force a door you nearly got blown up,” she said snidely.

“I doubt that will be a problem here.” I put my hand on the door. It had an actual lock which made things easier. A simple bar would have been slightly more trouble for me to move, though not by much. “Grabol ni’shieran,” I said softly. With an audible click the mechanism released the bolt and I pulled the door wide. I started to step through but Penny stopped me.

“Fool,” she whispered and went ahead of me with her sword drawn. As luck had it only one man was within, and he was already asleep. We dragged the other two in and laid them carefully beside him. “How long will they stay like that?” Penny asked.

“Unless there’s an earthquake or someone shakes the hell out of them… several hours at least,” I judged. We left them there and moved further in. A wooden stair to the left led us to the second floor. No one seemed to have spotted us yet so we kept going. On the landing to the third floor we saw two more men. They took no notice of us for a moment, seemingly involved in their conversation. I put them to sleep just as one looked at me… a question still on his lips as he collapsed.

“I have to admit, this is a lot easier than I thought it would be,” Penny murmured. I had to agree but I thought it was unwise to count ourselves lucky yet. We went on to the fourth floor and seeing no one there continued to the fifth. I was getting distinctly more nervous but I tried not to show it.

The fifth floor seemed to be the final one, so we left the stairs there and started down a wide corridor. The doors on either side looked distinctly more domestic, but I wasn’t sure where to look for Rose. I doubted her father would put her in a cell, so my best guess had been he would confine her somewhere within the family quarters. I paused for a moment, stretching out my senses, trying to feel the layout of the floor and locate whatever people might be nearby.

By pure chance the door next to us opened before I could do anything and a startled nobleman’s face gaped at us. Strangely he had a black eye. “Who the devil are you?” he asked in a loud voice. Before I could do a thing Penelope put her hand on his chest and shoved. He fairly flew backward, landing in a sprawl inside the room he had been about to vacate. She followed him in, moving too quickly for him to evade her.

“Guards!” he yelled. I was left in awe of his magnificent baritone voice. Every able-bodied soldier within the bailey must have heard it.

“Grethak denu keltis taret,” I said quickly. It was a variation of the spell Devon Tremont had once used on me. Unlike his spell I had included an exclusion to let the target breathe. The man went rigid while Penny held him to the floor.

She looked back at me, “You’re really taking all the fun out of this,” she said, and then her eyes went wide. “Look out!”

I felt something moving toward my head but it was far too fast for me to do anything about it. A guardsman who had been standing just inside the doorway hit me with a heavy mace before I could react. My shield saved me from serious injury but I was sent flying sideways across the room. I struck a heavy chair and fell over, stunned.

From my position on the floor I saw her move, though that word hardly does her credit. She fairly flew across the room, the man who had struck me barely moved before she was on him. He managed one swipe at her with his mace and because of her charge she wasn’t able to dodge it. Instead she caught it with her left hand, much as you or I might catch a stick swung by a small boy. Her right hand came up and she slammed the hilt of her sword into his jaw. I thought I saw a look of surprise on his face before he fell back to land heavily on the floor.

I struggled upright and made my way over to her. “Goddammit!” she cursed, nursing her hand. “I think it’s broken.”

“Let me see,” I suggested.

“You’re both going to wind up in the king’s dungeons for this!” said the nearly forgotten nobleman on the floor. Another drawback of my version of the paralysis spell is that it also allows the victim to speak. I ignored him and reached for Penny’s hand.

“Wait,” she said. She shut the door and leaned back against it. “There’s more coming, I can hear them on the stairs. Whatever you do had best be quick.”

I held her hand and closed my eyes, focusing. Two of the bones in her palm had snapped, but fortunately they were clean breaks. Working rapidly I fused the ends back together and as a finishing touch I blocked the sensory nerves at the wrist. Even with what I had done it was badly bruised and would begin swelling rapidly. Hopefully now she wouldn’t have to feel the pain, at least not until later. “How does it feel? Can you move it?” I asked.

She flexed it carefully. “It hurts a bit still, but I can move it.” The door behind her moved slightly as someone tried to open it.

“Lord Hightower! Are you in there?” a man’s voice shouted from the hallway.

Before Hightower could respond Penny answered, “One moment, let me get my clothes back on!” She turned around and put her left hand on the handle.

Beyond the door I could hear them talking, “Was that a woman’s voice?”

Penny opened the door calmly, “Do come in, we were finished anyway.”

Two men stood there, seeming confused for a moment at the sight of a beautiful woman. One seemed downright embarrassed, till he noticed the sword in her hand. Lord Hightower yelled at them from the floor, “You fools! Seize her!”

“Shibal,” I said, and they both slumped to the floor.

“Hey!” Penny snapped at me, “I had that under control!”

“I don’t want to have to fix anymore broken bones. Not to mention it was much kinder, that other fellow probably has a broken jaw,” I replied.

“In case you’ve forgotten, he tried to put your brains on the floor, not to mention what happened to my hand,” she said sarcastically.

“You’ll have worse than broken bones once I’m done with you,” said Lord Hightower from his exalted position… lying on the floor.

I helped Penny drag the two guardsmen fully into the room before shutting the door. Then I addressed our prisoner, “Lord Hightower, I am extremely sorry for this. I hope you understand that in better times I would never have dreamed of insulting you like this.”

“Are you about to surrender? Otherwise you should save your breath,” he answered me. I had to admire his nerve; most men in his position would have been ready to bargain. Being paralyzed was a terrifying sensation, I knew firsthand.

“Quite the contrary, I’m here to release your daughter.”

He snorted, “I thought you looked familiar, you must be Mordecai. I saw you at the hearing a few months back.” He was probably referring to the case put before the Lord High-Justicer.

“I am. Where is your daughter held at?” I didn’t see much reason to waste time chatting.

“Two doors down, the key is in that jewelry case over there… by the desk,” he couldn’t move but he rolled his eyes in the direction he was referring to.

Penny walked over to find the key, “I didn’t figure you for a man who would give up so easily,” she remarked.

“Well, we’re not exactly enemies. I locked her up before the king decided to. Besides, would my men be able to stop you?”

“No,” I replied honestly. “Did you really need to lock her up? She’s your own daughter.”

He laughed ruefully, “You must not know her very well. How do you think I got this?” He winked at me with his black eye. I decided he was right. I couldn’t imagine Rose punching her father in the eye.

“How do you suggest we proceed from here?” I asked him. He had become so reasonable I felt it couldn’t hurt to get his opinion.

“Lock me in her room and walk out with her. I doubt the guards would try to stop you with her ordering them otherwise.” He began scrunching up his face suddenly. “Would you mind scratching my nose… it’s got a terrible itch.”

I laughed and spoke a word, “Keltis.” His body relaxed as soon as the paralysis vanished. Lord Hightower sat up and began scratching. “Are you sure we need to lock you up?” I asked him.

“If you don’t I’ll be accused of helping you. I’m still mad at you for giving me this…,” he pointed at his injured eye. I was confused for a moment till I understood he was referring to his planned cover story. I was beginning to understand where Rose got her keen wits.

A few minutes later we were marching him down the corridor, at sword point. He had insisted on the sword, claiming it would be easier to explain later if one of his men happened to see us. Soon enough we had the door to Rose’s room open. Penny marched Lord Hightower in ahead of us.

As he stepped in a heavy wooden club swept out, catching him in the stomach. He folded over at the waist and sagged to his knees. “Oh Daddy! Oh gods! I’m so sorry!” said Rose, dropping the makeshift weapon.

Penny and I looked on, aghast at the scene. I quietly applauded Penny’s decision to lead with the prisoner. I was still slightly shaken from the mace that had struck me earlier. I looked around the room as Rose fussed over her wounded father. On one side was a large four post bed. It looked to be a beautiful piece of furniture but it was now listing oddly to one side. Glancing down I realized Rose’s weapon had been the fourth post. I was beginning to wonder how Hightower had survived her childhood.

Rose finally took notice of us, “Penny! What are you doing here?”

“I heard you needed a rescue, but it looks like your captor might have the worst end of this arrangement,” Penny said, giving Lord Hightower a sympathetic look.

“I thought it was one of the guards,” Rose said sheepishly. “Even so I aimed for the mid-section so I wouldn’t hurt them too badly.” Hightower groaned where he lay on the floor but he still hadn’t gotten enough wind back to talk.

“Where would you hit them if you did want to hurt someone?” I asked aloud.

“Pray you never find out Mordecai,” said Rose as she helped her father stand up. “Oh! Look at that eye! Did I do that?” I was gaining endless amusement at Rose’s startled exclamations. What did she expect to happen when she hit him there? It was a good thing she hadn’t become my Anath’Meridum, there would have been a string of bodies between here and the outer door by now.

Several more men came pounding up the stairs. Given the length of time since Hightower’s last yell I had to assume these had found the men we had left sleeping below. I stood in plain sight and waited until they had cleared the stairs fully before I put them to sleep. It pays to be careful. A friendly rescue might turn ugly if we ‘accidentally’ murdered someone in the course of it.

I stuck my head back in the door to Rose’s room, “We need to hurry or I’m going to have to put everyone in the place to sleep before we leave.”

Her father was able to speak again and he waved for me to come closer, “I want you to realize I don’t agree with what you’re doing. I think it’s foolish and wasteful, but since I can’t stop you or my daughter I thought I’d give you some advice.”

“What’s that sir?” I asked politely.

He leaned close and spoke softly in my ear, “Make sure you have a good escape route planned for my daughter. When the enemy is knocking on your door and you have nowhere else to run she had better not be there with you. If anything happens to her and you somehow survive… I will spend my life hunting you down. You can count on it.” There was no humor in his face now. A chill ran through me, for I knew he meant every word.

I looked at him squarely to let him know I took him at his word. “Sir, if something happens to her and I survive there will be no need to hunt for me; I’ll present myself to you personally.” I turned and left with Rose and Penny close behind.

“What was that about?” Penny wondered.

“Most likely my father gave him one of his ‘have my daughter back by nine o’clock’ speeches,” Rose replied with a laugh. Penny didn’t understand the reference at first… not having been courted as Rose had, but Rose explained it to her. Soon they were both laughing behind me. Personally I didn’t think it funny; I had meant every word I had said to the man.

We walked with Rose between us until we reached the outer door again. Along the way we met several more guardsmen but had little trouble. I put them all to sleep. Rose protested after the first one, “There’s no need to do that.”

“Would it be more effective to beat them with a bedpost?” I asked with a chuckle.

Rose grimaced, “I’m sure they’ll stand aside if I order them, and that was an accident.”

I didn’t feel like taking chances, I put every person we met on the way to sleep. Soon enough we were outside and walking carefully away. Running might have attracted attention, so we kept our pace brisk and steady. “How do you plan to get us out of the capital?” Rose asked. “The king’s men will be scouring the city for us by morning. They’ll probably seal the gates once they know you’re here.”

“First I plan to recover our property, and then make a leisurely stroll back to Washbrook,” I said nonchalantly. Penny sighed.

“Surely you jest Mordecai,” said Rose. “Penny, tell me he’s joking?”

Penny snorted, “Oh no… he’s quite serious. What’s more I’m half convinced he’ll succeed.”

Rose’s eyes went wide, “Only half? The alternative might be quite unpleasant.”

“We don’t have a happy ending ahead of us Rose, so it’s hard to worry about unpleasant alternatives. We have a goal ahead of us, that will have to be enough for now,” I told her.

“You were never so grim before Mordecai… I’m not sure it suits you,” Rose opined.

“It will suit the king even less,” I gave her a feral grin. “Where are the men you hired? James said they were all taken away.”

“Those who could afford to pay a small fine were paroled, the rest were locked up in the Crown Tower,” she informed me. “Surely you don’t plan to attempt a break out?”

“I’ll need them to load the wagons. Speaking of which… where would they have taken my goods?”

Rose was alarmed, “Mordecai, this is insane. There’s no way this can work. The king will have your head!”

“The goods Rose… you can stay behind if you don’t like the plan.”

“By now he will have stored them in the royal warehouses. He’s been stockpiling grain and other materials there for the spring campaign. All the same things we were buying, it was his primary motivation for seizing the goods at Lancaster’s house,” she replied. “And I’ll be damned if you leave me behind.”

I ignored her declaration of loyalty, “I need directions to the Crown Tower. How far is it from there to the warehouses and how far from those to Lancaster’s home?” Any other time I might have been less rude, but the stress and anxiety of our situation had begun to wear on me. Our foray into Lord Hightower’s home had been nerve-racking, and I had two more places left to force my way into.

It turned out the warehouses were only a few minutes’ walk from the Lancaster residence, a fact that would be very convenient for my plan. The Crown tower however was a bit over twenty minutes from the warehouses. I wasn’t sure how quickly it would take the city to respond but I had a feeling things would get hairy.

“Rose I want you to go back to the Lancaster residence alone. Joe is there. Tell him to get ready, I want him to have the wagons and drivers ready and close to the royal warehouses,” I told her.

It was to Rose’s credit that she never even considered complaining about returning alone. Instead she worried about my plan, “Even as late as it is now people will notice if we park a line of wagons in the road.”

I had to admit she had a point, “Then have them wait within the Lancaster’s yard. I’ll come by there first. It should be close enough. If it isn’t then I’ve already attracted too much attention.”

She nodded, and a moment later we had split up. I worried for her, walking alone in the dark. Then again after a moment’s consideration I decided I should be more concerned for whoever might try to interfere with her. Penny and I began our own walk, striding quietly down darkened streets.