Grimwulf was angry, furious. He had come to Pozzelby castle with only good intentions and this is how he was repaid? He knew that someone had orchestrated the attacks and was unsurprised to find out about the Pulgh man—a suspicious character if there ever was one, and the other two men. But he was disappointed to learn about Dexter’s involvement. Regicide for personal gain was one thing, heinous yes, but it paled to regicide compounded with patricide and fratricide. The boy must be truly nefarious. But if Grimwulf ever doubted Till’s words, he could not doubt the evidence of his eyes. He had seen Dexter actively ordering the guard about. It had been Dexter who had come and personally arrested the duke and his men. Dexter was intimately involved with this plot, Grimwulf had seen it for himself.
“General, do you have a plan?” Grimwulf asked.
Tabor Till’s mouth twitched upward; it was what he called a smile. “I do. I am going to take the castle and arrest the usurper and his co-conspirators in the name of the true king—you, Sire.”
****
I was awakened after four hours by the guardsmen who were standing watch over me. It was still dark outside, but morning now and I felt better after having slept some.
“Corporal Billik, I need for messages to be sent to the castellan, Captain Talon, Francis, and Myrick. I want them to be in the conference room in thirty minutes. Send another messenger to the kitchen and have them send breakfast for seven to the conference room.”
The corporal left and I dressed and washed quickly in a basin. I woke my mother and Brin up and told them that I wanted them to both come to the conference.
Thirty-five minutes later we were all together seated around the table. I was hungry and took some ham and bread and invited everyone else to eat. I asked Myrick to report what he had seen in Grimwulf’s quarters.
“There was little to see. I checked the hidden passage, but the only tracks visible were those left by Sergeant Serria’s squad and the previous squads that had been on duty,” he said.
“Alright,” I said. “Myrick what is your advice on how to proceed now? Not just with regard to Grimwulf, but your thoughts on Tabor Till as well?”
“There is still no direct evidence that Tabor Till is involved, only suspicion. I think there is enough evidence to question Colonel Tholla though,” he said. “As for Grimwulf, we keep up the searches. He is bound to surface.”
“Okay. Castellan, your thoughts?”
“I don’t think it’s wise to openly challenge Tabor Till until we have more troops here. Porknoy should be back in a day or two. We could try to get aid from Litford as well. That could take some time though. I think we should be diplomatic about this until we are reinforced, by the Earmund troops at the very least. As for Grimwulf, I agree with Myrick—he’ll surface.”
“Captain Talon, how many of Tabor Till’s men are actually inside of the castle?” I asked.
“About one hundred, I believe, about five squads, various officers, and many of his men who have administrative functions are headquartered inside of the castle. The bulk of his soldiers are housed in the southern barracks,” said the captain.
“Francis, mother, Brin? Do you have any thoughts?”
“I might be able to help you find Duke Grimwulf and his advisor,” Emily said.
“Don’t forget Doctor Ahem,” said Brin.
“How can you help?” I asked.
“I have some talent at scrying. If you have any personal items of theirs, I might be able to locate them.”
“We have Grimwulf’s sword and the other items taken from their rooms, their saddle bags, and whatever has been left in their rooms. Take what you need and try it,” I told my mother.
“The burnt parchment that Brin found might give us a clue to their whereabouts,” said Francis. “If we can determine what the key is, we might be able to use that information to find them. I would like to go to Nightshade’s library and do some research.”
“Okay, but I want you to take no less than a squad with you. I have heard all of your advice and have been carefully considering what to do next. I do not feel that we can wait for reinforcements. The situation has become critical. Despite the lack of solid evidence connecting Tabor Till to the attacks, my instincts are telling me that it is too dangerous to let things continue as they are. Captain Talon, find Colonel Tholla and have him arrested. Send a messenger to General Till. Have him report to the audience chamber. I intend to temporarily relieve him from command.”
And so I made my move. I did not know at the time that while I moved, so did my enemies. There was indeed a foreign enemy force in Pozzelby. Three days ago they had come down the Silver River by boat and landed in Arrington. The outpost at Groz had sent a warning, which had naturally come to General Till. Of course, General Till was expecting the troops and allowed them to proceed unhindered. Even as I was planning to remove Tabor Till from command, the army of the Twelve Sect Order approached Mount Crowl from the north. They were three thousand strong and at their head was Garegon’s champion, Garris Stone.
****
After the conference, I went to the audience chamber to wait for a response from General Till. I had not intended to actually give audiences, but when Layred Vu informed me that Earl Ardbeg was requesting my time I felt inclined to give it. The Earl entered the chamber, bowing formally as he came in. Erwin accompanied the earl, standing to one side as his father approached me.
“Good morning, Earl Ardbeg. What can I do for you this morning?”
“King Dexter, we were not able to talk yesterday as much as I would have liked. One thing that I felt that you should know was that I did not leave to come here immediately. You see, I received word that one of your men was mustering soldiers to help you here at the castle. My family has been in vassalage to yours for centuries. We are neighbors and your father and I were good friends. I would be remiss if I did not do everything in my power to help you in this time of need. So before I left, I selected three hundred of my best soldiers and sent them to Earmund Castle. They should be arriving with the rest of your men.”
“Thank you, Ardbeg. That will be a great help. Earl, my father always spoke very highly of you. He valued your friendship tremendously and I am grateful for your presence here. I feel like I have to tell you, things here are much more tenuous than I let on yesterday. Pozzelby Castle is an extremely dangerous place right now.”
“Sire, I am aware of that. The attack last night was a sure sign. This morning, I arranged for Gwendolyn to stay in Dunlevy until matters here are resolved. Erwin and I are staying and are at your service.”
“Thank you. At least I know that I can trust you.”
The doors of the audience room opened. The Duchess of Albemarle entered, along with Earl Horace. Apparently, the other visitors wanted an audience as well. I had been happy to talk to Ardbeg, but did not really feel like discussing marrying one of the Duchess’ daughters, or breaking treaties with the dwarves. I was saved from doing either by the entrance of General Till.
From the hall there was shouting and then the doors were thrown open. Two columns of General Till’s men streamed through; their bearing prompted my own guards to form a protective ring around me. I was flanked by Ardbeg, Layred Vu, and Myrick; and that was a real comfort. Tabor Till strode in boldly between the ranks of his men. He came forward until he was about ten feet from me. His entrance had taken me off balance and I paused to consider my words. General Till did not hesitate.
“Usurper! King Ardwulf was killed by four conspirators and three of them are before me.” He was addressing his words to the spectators, the courtiers and the visiting nobles. He was putting on a show—a good one.
“Tabor Till, you are a liar and a traitor!” I yelled. My voice, I am afraid, did not ring out with the same depth of authority that his held. “You are relieved of command for conspiracy to murder the king and my family.”
“Myrick of Pulgh, you are a traitor and a murderer! Layred
Vu, you are a traitor and a murderer! Dexter Davin, you are a blood-murderer, conspiring in the deaths of father, brothers, and uncle!” Till continued.
“Guards, arrest Tabor Till!” I shouted.
“Arrest the traitors!” said the general at the same time to his men.
“Stand fast! Protect King Dexter!” said Layred Vu, moving in front of me with his sword bare.
Myrick grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me up as Tabor Till’s soldiers rushed the throne. Earl Ardbeg stood by, his sword at the ready. I drew my own weapon, though I was uncomfortable in my skill. The two sides met at the bottom of the dais, while the nobles and courtiers screamed and huddled in the corners. The castle guardsmen that surrounded the throne were outnumbered and were being pushed back, but through the main entrance, Captain Talon rushed in with maybe three dozen more men. Now Tabor Till had enemies to his rear, and if Tabor Till was anything, it was an able strategist. He knew that his position had just become untenable. He ordered his force to retreat. Now his frontline attackers became the rear guard as his men turned and fought their way through Captain Talon’s men. Captain Talon ordered some of his men to try and bar the door, to trap General Till inside of the throne room. But the castle guards were still outnumbered and Till and most of his soldiers managed to escape.
“Come on,” said Captain Talon to his men. “Keep after them until they are out of the castle.”
The guardsmen who remained immediately began attending to the wounded. There were about a dozen dead on my side and nearly twenty injured. Fifteen Pozzelbian soldiers lay dead on the floor—Tabor Till’s men, yes—but still my countrymen. It saddened me. I doubted that most of his men would follow him if they knew the truth of things. But how to convince them and the others that were present for the general’s show? He had played his part well. One person who seemed not to have been swayed was Earl Ardbeg. His blade was still out as he scanned the room anxiously for any new threats.
“Earl, do you still mean what you said?” I asked.
“More than ever, Sire. I don’t believe a word of what I just heard.” To the room he shouted, “I know this boy who is our king for a good, intelligent lad. There is no truth to the allegations made by Tabor Till. If anyone believes those lies then they can go and join the general.”
No one moved, though I don’t think it was because they were all convinced of the truth. Mostly, I think that they were still in shock. Duchess de Venie was crying and looked like she might faint. Her oldest daughter too appeared inconsolable. Only her younger daughter, Dahlia, seemed unaffected. Brin’s father looked green, and I was afraid that he might vomit on the floor. There was enough blood and gore on the floor though that some puke would have made little difference. Not for the first time, I was glad that only a handful of nobles had come for the funeral.
“Duchess de Venie, Earl Horace,” I said. “I apologize for your having to see that. Unfortunately, it is what we have been dealing with since the death of my family. I won’t trouble you with the details at the moment, but a coalition from Bleakmoor and Pozzelby Province were responsible for the death of Ardwulf and my father and brothers. Tabor Till was part of that conspiracy. I have evidence to that effect but that is neither here nor there. Here and now, this castle has to fight or a real usurper will sit on the throne.”
“King Dexter,” said the Duchess of Albemarle. “My daughters and I cannot stay here in the midst of a war! It is unheard of.”
“I will try to parley with Tabor Till to arrange for your passage out and that of the women and children as well.”
“What about me?” Earl Horace asked in a high pitched squeak.
“What about you Earl Horace? You came here proposing I start a war with the dwarves to line your pockets. Surely the prospect of a little fighting does not bother you,” I said. I heard Ardbeg snicker.
“No, of course not,” he said. “But I have a responsibility to my people, to my retinue to lead them out of danger. They are not fighters. Though you can rest assured that as soon as I get back to Scrytch, I will muster a fighting force to come to your aid.”
“I am sure you would. I’ll consider it. In the meantime, I will try and arrange for the women and children to leave.”
“Listen everyone,” said Layred Vu. “We will evacuate all non-essential residents to the north dining hall. It is set up for siege and the wing is well stocked with supplies. Go there as quickly as you can.”
“Lord Dexter,” said Myrick. “Let’s get you out of the audience chamber.”
I left through the room’s rear door with Ardbeg, Erwin, and Myrick. Erwin was a quiet young man, but physically favored his father with his large frame, square face, and confident bearing. Francis and Brin had gone to the library to research the meaning of the parchment. My mother was trying to determine the location of Grimwulf, Callis, and Doctor Ahem. I wished all three were with me right then.
In a few minutes, I was back in the conference room. Captain Talon was giving us his report.
“General Till’s force went straight out of the castle. My guards could not stop him. The problem was that many of my soldiers did not realize who the enemy was until it was too late for them to be effective. The guards at the gate did not even think about closing it until it was too late to do anything to stop them. My officers are briefing all of their men now.”
“Layred Vu is working on getting the civilians to a safe location,” I said.
“Yes, the northern dining hall and the adjacent rooms off of it are set up to quarter many people and are in the last ring of defense,” Captain Talon said.
“The last ring of defense?”
“The castle defense plan is set up to allow us to defend and then retreat in five progressively smaller rings. The last one is fairly deep into the mountain. I know that we are short handed, but I don’t think Till has enough men to take the castle.”
“I hope you are right, Captain,” I said. “What is the best place from which to observe Tabor Till’s forces?”
“Probably the Purple Tower. It is well positioned to see the western barracks,” he said.
“Let’s go have a look then,” I said.
****
Myrick, Talon, Ardbeg, Erwin, and I had an excellent view of Tabor Till’s soldiers from the Purple Tower. I wondered where it had gotten its name; it wasn’t purple at all, but was constructed from brilliant white marble stones. If I lived through this I promised myself that I would look it up.
From the tower I watched Till’s soldiers take the guards on duty on the outer walls prisoner, about forty men. There was no fighting, it would have been futile, forty against several thousand. It did not appear as if the enemy was preparing for an immediate assault. However, a column of about one thousand men was formed. But rather than attack us it looked like they were getting ready to leave. That turned out to be exactly what they were doing. About an hour after they began to form ranks in the yard, they began to march, not toward the castle but right out of the gate. I watched as they headed east around the north end of Lake Marie.
“Porknoy,” I thought. “He’s going after our reinforcements. I said as much to the others.
“I believe that you are right,” said Myrick.
“But how does he expect to get into the castle?” I wondered. “Even with his full brigade you both agreed it would be very difficult for him.”
“I am not sure, Sire, but Tabor Till would not have acted as he did without a plan,” Myrick said.
“Does he know the secret entrance that you brought us through when I first arrived at the castle?”
Myrick considered. “I am uncertain, though I think that we have to assume that he does. That entrance is kept guarded at all times though.”
What now? I thought about my promise to see if Tabor Till would allow the women and children to leave the castle. The more I considered it, the less likely it seemed. He couldn’t be certain of wh
at they might know. It would be safer for him to keep us all contained until he won. If some innocents died in the process he would just blame it on me. What was his plan? He had superior numbers, but not overwhelmingly so. My position was stronger than his—I had the castle and all of its defenses. Even as I stood there, the castle guard was heating pitch and stockpiling arrows, getting ready to fend off an assault.
Captain Talon was watching something in the distance beyond the walls. I squinted against the sun to see what it was. It was dust, lots of it.
“Is that the force he sent off already returning? They haven’t been gone half an hour,” I said.
“It’s coming from the wrong direction if it is,” said Ardbeg.
Soon, we could see the dark lines of columns of men—it looked like an army of several thousand, at least three, maybe four. They must have approached from the west in the shadow of Mount Crowl. I instantly knew what they were—the promised aid. As they drew closer, I could make out various the various standards—a red sword pointed down on a black field, the triangular emblem of the Blackthorn Huntsmen, a black fist on a white field, an unadorned solid black standard, and a twisted, black, heart-shaped device on a red field. They were all symbols of the various sects of Garegon’s cult. This was his army. At its head was a nightmare.
When I first observed Garegon’s general, I was certain that my eyes were deceiving me for such men do not exist in the real world. He was taller than Layred Vu and wider than Grimwulf Morbrick. Clad head to toe in black armor, which was mirrored and shiny like obsidian. His mount was the largest and darkest horse I had ever seen—light seemed to be drawn into it and trapped, making it difficult to focus on. This had to be Garris Stone. If he was the same being who had fought King Coenbrand in the past, then he could not be any ordinary man.
“General Till’s plans are suddenly clearer,” Captain Talon said.
“Aye,” Myrick agreed.
“Let’s head back down. I think I want my mother.” It was a joke, but no one was smiling.
****
They had not attacked by dusk. I hoped that the enemy would wait until morning. I had pledged to give the slain members of my family a proper funeral ceremony and I still intended to do so—with a few changes. Instead of in the courtyard tomorrow morning, the rites would be observed and the funeral pyres burned on the top of Sunrise Tower at midnight, the exact start of the thirteenth day since the murders. The tower was wide and made to admit people to the top. It had originally been built about eight hundred years ago by King Conric who climbed to the top every morning to watch the sunrise, until the morning when he leapt or was blown off during a violent windstorm caused by a hurricane on the coast. Makeshift pyres had been built on the top of the tower and the bodies moved. The guards would have to stay at their posts of course, but anyone else who desired it was invited to attend.