***
Caleb crouched down as they observed the coming and going into the castle. Looking to Greyson, who was staring with such longing at his home, he knew that they had made the right decision to help him.
“So, this insider, what has he told you about the watchmen of the towers and gates?” he questioned.
“They walk the perimeter every hour, which takes them approximately twenty minutes; the rest of the time, they sit in the gate house.” Greyson passed on the information that he had gotten. “The tower guards walk from tower to tower about every half hour.”
“That means that timing will be critical,” Caleb said to Kayne and Niall. “You’re sure that you can trust that your inside man isn’t lying to us?”
“As much I can trust anyone,” Greyson told him. “Our last communication with him was two days ago. He is to meet us at the back door of the kitchen entrance at midnight.”
“I know what he told you, Grey, but I’m asking you for your gut instinct: can he be trusted, because if you have any doubts we need to know now.” Greyson paused, thinking about Caleb’s question for a moment. “He hasn’t been wrong yet, so my gut tells me that he can be trusted. Besides, it’s not as if we have a lot of choice. This is our way into the castle,” he told them.
“Good enough for me; so we need some place that we can hide out for the next eight hours,” Caleb told him. “Oh yeah, we also need a detailed plan of the inside of the castle. I think I remember, but it has been a long time.” Greyson nodded, and moved away to talk to his men that had come with them. Caleb looked to Kayne, Niall and Roderic.
“So what do you think?” he asked, knowing that they would likely pick up anything that he might have missed.
“Other than a few men, most are farmers or herders. They only have the most basic knowledge on how to fight. Now, if I had a month, I might get them ready with the most basic ability. Greyson has done the best he could, but honestly, I don’t know how they will react when they are in the middle of a real battle,” Kayne admitted.
“So we’re screwed,” Niall grunted with disgust.
“Challenged. It sounds better,” Roderic conveyed.
“Roderic, don’t try and make it all politically correct; as enthusiastic as they are, they are relying on the four of us to take on the King’s Guards,” Niall grunted angrily.
“What is your problem, Niall?” Caleb challenged. This wasn’t like him; he was usually one of the first behind Kayne when it came to a fight. “You’re acting like a pompous ass, and that isn’t like you.”
“Have you looked at these men? They have no idea what they are getting into,” Niall told him. “And quite frankly, neither do we. We are about to trust a source of information we don’t know, and storm a castle literally to restore a man to a throne, and we have no idea if he should be there or not. We are taking an awful lot on faith, and I’m not sure that we really should.” Caleb scrutinized Niall, cracking a smile while he listened to his rant.
“Do you know who you sounded like just now?” Caleb kidded him. “You sounded like Marcus, because that is exactly what he would be telling us right now if he was here.”
“Maybe we should listen to your brother more often,” Niall complained.
“Niall, I hear your concerns, I do, but I knew Grey’s father, and he was a great king. I have nothing more to tell you.”
“I knew Tyrone also, Caleb, and I agree that he was a great king, but we don’t know this man. What if it is all a lie?” Niall pointed out.
“I need you to trust my instincts on this, Niall. Just like I had to trust Kevan when she told me that these were the good guys. Greyson reminds me of his father, and I know that we need to put him back on the throne. That is what is best for Elden, and I think that you know that, too.”
“I do trust your instincts, Caleb. I just worry that we are walking into another situation like before. We all know what happened the last we did something like this without having all the facts, and look at all the problems that caused.”
“Niall, this is nothing like then. We learned from our mistakes, and I know that this isn’t a mistake.” Caleb looked over his shoulder at Greyson, who was observing them, before he looked back at his friends. “Well, at least we are in this together. Now let’s go see what Grey’s got for us.”