Shadowheart

Chapter 13

They had travelled for around two hours, hidden in low brush and scrub and always at least half a mile from the walls of Xetesk. Hirad had kept up an easy stride. Being neither as fit nor as fleet as the TaiGethen he had accepted that he, like the rest of The Raven, would fall slowly but steadily behind.

Periodically, one of Auum's Tai cell would appear to direct them or run with them. Their faces would betray nothing but Hirad could guess what they were thinking just the same. He smiled to himself. It was true, The Raven weren't used to running any distance. But they had other strengths and he was determined to make them very apparent.

Now, they were facing the first major risk,to the enterprise. Underneath the blanket of heavy cloud, which had just disgorged one heavy shower out of an almost constant mist of fine rain, they sat looking out at the four-hundred-yard wide stretch of open ground that ringed the walls of the Dark College. They had travelled slowly and quietly into the edge of the rough scrub and now all that kept them from a mage with augmented sight was patchy thigh-high grass and the night itself.

A ClawBound panther padded into their circle and nuzzled Thraun before eyeing the rest of The Raven with something verging on contempt and moving to its partner, who squatted next to Rebraal and Auum. Animal and elf gazed deep into each other's eyes, their silent communication flowing between them. Hirad watched them intently, seeing nothing but the occasional flicker of their eyes. The ClawBound elf, the white half of his painted face unnaturally bright, turned his head to Rebraal and Auum only when he was ready.

Both warriors asked him questions, their elvish rapid and incomprehensible. Mosdy, the ClawBound would reply with a nod, shake of the head or a hand gesture. Very occasionally, he would utter a single word, voice rough and unused to speech. And finally, he stood abrupdy and led his panther away.

'So what's the verdict?' asked Hirad.

'There are more guards patrolling the walls than on previous nights,' said Rebraal. 'We will not get in without confronting some.'

'That's not good,' said The Unknown. 'We can't afford our cover blown until we're inside die college.'

'We don't see a choice,' said Rebraal. 'The TaiGethen will handle it. At least then we can ensure silence.'

Auum began to speak, lost his words and asked Rebraal a question which the leader of the Al-Arynaar translated.

'Denser, your entry point to the college. Does it involve travel near the walls?'

'It does not,' said Denser. 'I'll show you the best route when we get inside, just like I said. If we die getting in, at least you know where you're headed. Just as we agreed.'

Rebraal held up his hands. 'Auum just wanted to know. In that case, our entry into the city being discovered at some point before we reach the college may work in our favour.'

'You've lost me there,' said Erienne.

'No, he's right,' said Darrick. 'If they know we're inside the city but not yet in the college, they're bound to increase patrols on the streets and strengthen guards around the college walls. Only we aren't going in the front door and all those men will be outside.'

'To begin with, at least,' added Denser.

'Any advantage we can gain is good enough for me,' said Hirad. 'So what's the plan?'

'You wait here with me until the TaiGethen have cleared passage to the base of the walls,' said Rebraal. 'There'll be a diversion as well and we'll make a run. If you get seen and challenged it's down to you.'

'And what about you, Rebraal?' asked Hirad.

The elf shrugged. 'I'm Ilkar's brother. I owe it to him to help you get there unharmed.'

'Thank you.'

'Believe me, I'd rather not have to. You are putting yourselves in great danger and risking our mission.'

Hirad bridled but The Unknown spoke up quickly.

'We understand your feelings but we have to do this as much as you do. Those we love are at risk.'

Rebraal nodded. Next to him, Evunn and Duele had come to Auum's sides. The cell bowed their heads in prayer, acknowledged Rebraal with the briefest of hand contact and ran away into the dark towards the walls of Xetesk.

Hirad sighed. There wasn't even going to be anything to see. Bight now, all he could do was wait.

Auum led his Tai into the thick stalks of the plains grass and dropped immediately to his haunches. Evunn was five yards to his right, Duele the same distance left. The rest of the Tai cells were spread in a loose arc with Auum as the centre point. All had the same brief. Reach the walls unseen, unheard. Once there they were temporarily safe; the outward slope of the walls ensured that. It had made climbing a little more tricky but nothing a TaiGethen elf couldn't deal with. About certain members of the Al-Arynaar and the Baven, Auum wasn't quite so sure.

While he wouldn't normally give chance any credence, Auum confessed to himself that they had been lucky thus far. Tonight was as perfect a night for the raid as they could have wished. Above, the cloud was deep, lowering and unbroken. The rain that fell light but steady added to the gloom and a breeze ruffled the grass around him, further masking his progress from watchful eyes on the walls.

He became still and listened to the sounds around him as he knew his Tai would be doing. He tuned into the low ambient noise that surrounded him; the rustle of the wind through the grass, the movement of animals within it, the buzz of night's insects. He concentrated on the movement of the grass itself, the waves that spread across it, their frequency and scale.

And then he began to move himself, matching his low crouched steps with the grass, and stopping as it stilled. All the time, his eyes never left the walls as they grew closer, rearing into the sky, bleak and tall. He could see the light from torches and lanterns hung on their parapets or carried by guards. Away to the left, one of the dozens of small guard towers that studded the circumference was lit up by braziers within, luminescence spreading out from the narrow arched windows and the open door, picking out the mist of rain.

The ClawBound had been very accurate in their summation of the extra presence on the walls. He could see lights moving at intervals more regularly than at any other time. There was no doubt that there would have to be an entire stretch cleared to allow them all enough time to lower themselves to the other side and get to the relative safety of the muster point which was an empty house crushed between a bakery and a small disused stable block.

Closing on the base of the walls, Auum slowed still further. His pin-sharp eyes could make out the features on the faces of the guards walking seventy feet above. He could hear snatches of conversation above the susurration of the grass all around his head. And he could smell the stone and the city beyond. It was a mix of age and smoke, cold and fire, life and death. Ahead of him, shapes moved against the dark grey stone. ClawBound. The panthers padded noiselessly up and down the base of the wall, their partners shifted minutely, noses sampling the air, eyes sweeping the grass, watching the TaiGethen approach.

Soon, Auum was standing with them. They had briefly acknowledged his presence. Two of three pairs had set off along the walls, one left, one right. The third remained, the panther now sitting, licking its paws, growling quietly in its throat. Evunn and Duele emerged from the grass.

'Climb,' said Auum. 'You know where the fastenings are.'

Duele moved immediately to the base of the wall. He took the coil of rope from his shoulder and tied one end to his belt. Pausing only to check his route, he began to climb.

Auum watched him go, seeing his sure movements make nonsense of the seemingly smooth surface of the wall. Age had forced small cracks in the stone cladding. Most were covered by moss but Duele's fingers found them all, digging in and holding firm. His feet did likewise, fine leather boots edging their way into tiny crevices. One toe was enough to give him purchase enough to push further up.

Of course it was a climb he'd made many times before but Auum enjoyed watching him. Tual, lord of the forest denizens, had blessed him with a skill few could match. Auum had never seen him so much as hesitate.

The coil of rope unwound steadily. Evunn dropped to his haunches and bound his own length to Duele's. It was the best they could do. The Balaian rope was coarse, thick and heavy. Strong enough, but cumbersome. Two lengths of something over thirty feet left enough play to loop it over the fixings they'd driven into the base of the overhang on previous visits and leave the bottom end at around head height. Simple for an elf to climb but Auum wondered, not for the first time, how the humans would fare.

Above him, Duele clung to the walls like a lizard on the underside of a branch. He was at the steepest angle of the overhang now, one move from the nearest hook that they'd had fashioned by Lystern's battlefield smiths. He said a quick prayer to Yniss to keep Duele safe. He need not have worried. Duele untied the rope from his belt with one hand, swung deftly out to the fixing, looped the prepared rope end over the hook in the same motion and lowered himself easily to the ground.

'Well done,' said Auum. 'We'll use three ascent points tonight. Check your weapons again now. You won't get another chance.'

The Tai tested blade edges, bowstring tension, arrow feathers and jaqrui throwing crescents, ensuring the whisper blades were foremost. Every heartbeat, more TaiGethen appeared from the grass, emerging as if from underground tunnels, the movement in the open was so slight.

Duele and Evunn took ropes from four Tais, Evunn binding the lengths, Duele attaching ends to his belt. Swiftly, he climbed the first rope, hand over hand, his movements strong and smooth. A few feet below the fastening, he stopped. Locking his feet on to the rope from which he was hanging, he took the free end of another rope from his belt and leant out at arm's length, balanced like a dancer. Below him, Evunn began to swing the rope like a pendulum. In total control, Duele swung closer and closer to the next hook, looping the rope end over on the fourth pass and switching ropes to repeat the process. He finished on the furthest right of the three ascent points and hung there, waiting.

Auum turned to the assembled Tai cells clustered under the overhang out of sight of any Xeteskian guard.

'Climb in Tai order,' he said. 'Wait for those above you to clear the rope and only complete your climb when you are cleared from above. You know your moves. The walkway will be secured left and right before we begin our descent to the muster point. Tonight, we go to reclaim the Aryn Hiil. Tonight the wrongs that have been done to us will be avenged. May Yniss keep you safe, Tual guide your hands and Shorth take your enemies quickly.

'Tais, we move.'

Auum swarmed up the centre rope, Evunn to his left. From the hooks, it was an arm's stretch to the edge of the overhang. The architects had indulged themselves with a narrow ridge and simple carvings which rested below the crenellations. They were a great help.

Auum led the way, pushing off from the wall and establishing a finger grip on the stone ridge. He let go the other hand and hung for a heartbeat over the seventy-foot drop before swinging to double his grip and immediately hauling his body upwards. He reached up and grabbed a carved motif with one hand, one foot now on the ridge. His other foot joined it and he straightened, hugging the wall tight, waiting for Duele and Evunn to join him. Looking right, he saw Duele had beaten him to it. He smiled.

And now it began.

Not six feet from him, Xeteskian guards walked by, their voices soft, their boots echoing off the stone walkway. Between them and the TaiGethen was a last pull up onto the battlements, a slide across the outer wall, four feet thick, and a drop down to the parapet.

Auum could not deny he was tempted. Surprise alone would probably be enough. But he was a born rainforest hunter and instead employed one virtue that above all others kept him alive and ensured his success. Patience.

As though hanging from strangler vines high above the forest floor, the Tai waited. Each prayed to Yniss, each to Gyal, to keep the rain falling and the cloud dark. And each counted the patrols as they passed. The density of footsteps, the distance between them, and their direction.

Experience told them that the walls were sectioned for patrol between guard posts but tonight there was much increased activity. Whereas before they had had enough time to cross the walls and lower themselves down the other side between patrols, tonight, Auum counted three on their section alone. Two each of two men, one of three. And with the distance between the guard posts only a little over two hundred yards, their attack Would have to be without error. So be it.

The Tai were ready. A patrol of two walked by, left to right. Auum counted thirty in his head and moved on to the top of the wall between two batdements. Evunn was Reside him and both elves crouched hidden between two batdements, invisible from both sides of the walkway.

The second two-man patrol approached from the opposite direction. Auum could hear them talking. They paused to look out over the darkened land. Same place as before. They walked on, strides out of step, passing the two TaiGethen.

Now the shadows moved. Auum and Evunn dropped to the walkway, took 4 single running stride and grabbed their victims. One hand went over the mouth, the other clamped to the side of the head. They pulled back hard, heads snapped round, necks cracked and bodies fell limp.

They dragged the corpses back to the wall, boots dragging on the stone. Auum listened hard. No alarm. Not yet. Behind them, the two-man patrol walked on unconcerned, while ahead, the three-man patrol continued on towards their guard post and the end of their section. Along the well-lit walkway, he could see they had just a few yards to go. This was going to be close.

Duele waited for them on the sloping wall, grabbing the collars of both dead men while Auum and Evunn leapt up beside him. They arranged the bodies as best they could in the moments available, torsos leaning on the wall, legs straight and arms laid on die wall, hoping to project the illusion of two men looking out into the night. While Auum and Evunn hung onto the corpses, Duele unslung and nocked his bow.

The wait was long but it was always so when the trap was baited. They heard the voices before the footsteps. Auum could make out the odd word but the tone was jocular, at least to begin with. The urgency came when the dead men failed to reply or to make any move.

An order was barked. Pace increased and angry words were exchanged among the patrol. They were scant paces away. Duele tensed his bow. Auum and Evunn readied themselves, knives in their hands.

A hand clamped on the shoulder of Auum's dead man. The TaiGethen leader blurred, swinging round the battlement and plunging his blade into the throat of the guard in front of him, bearing the man down and out of line of sight. Evunn leapt too, knife catching the torchlight as it whipped home. Duele stood and fired, his arrow taking the third guard through the mouth. There was the chink of metal on stone as he fell.

Immediately, Auum and Evunn took off after the last patrol. Still oblivious, the wind over the wall and their own words masking what had happened behind them, they were about to make their turn expecting to see their comrades walking towards them. How different it would be. Auum unclasped his jaqrui pouch and plucked out a whisper blade. In his other hand, his knife dripped blood. The patrol paused at the open door to the guard post, taking a cursory glimpse inside before turning.

Auum's jaqrui flew, cutting through the night air, chopping over the smoke from a bracketed torch, the sound of its passage sibilant and menacing. Simultaneously, Duele threw his knife, the blade twirling end over end.

Fifteen yards away, the guards only had time to raise their hands in defence. Duele's knife flew true, striking his target in the chest, piercing his loose-tied leather armour. He grunted and stumbled forwards. Beside him, his companion lost three gloved fingers to the jaqrui which chopped into his cheek.

For an instant, both were silent, disbelieving eyes locking with their assailants who were coming on at frightening speed. The fingerless man began to emit an agonised wail, the sound choked with blood and fear. The other made a grab for his sword. Duele drop-kicked him in the chest, driving the knife through his back. Auum cut off the wail with a blow to the throat and a hand clamped hard over the enemy's mouth.

Silence again. Auum waited over the bodies, straining for any sign that they had been heard. At a nod, Duele edged to the guard post and looked inside. He closed the door and stood guard, shadowed from any casual glance up from the streets.

Auum trotted back down the walkway, waving Evunn to the other guard post. Only now did he consider the city. The walkway was perhaps five feet wide with a sheer unprotected drop to the black streets and buildings below. Across the city only watch fires and a few house lanterns burned against the darkness but he could easily make out the shapes of Xetesk's college towers against the clouded backdrop.

The stench of the city was much stronger here and would be worse once they'd descended to the muster point, which had been chosen for its relative lack of surrounding population, sleeping or otherwise. The cloying odours of packed humanity mixed with the reek of fires, sewers and foundries. It was an affront. Only by turning away could Auum smell the open ground and distant trees. How these people could live this way was beyond him.

He crouched for a while at the edge of the parapet. Nothing untoward could,be heard. He rose and ran to the access point on the wall. Ahead of him, Evunn had reached the other guard post. Again, the door was closed and his Tai stood sentinel. Auum tapped his knife on the stone and waited for the next Tai cell to join him on the walkway. Each elf carried a coil of rope.

'Marack to the ropes; Ataan, put the bodies over the wall; Uvoll, I need these lights doused. Work fast.'

The cell split. Auum knew darkening the wall section would eventually draw attention but he couldn't risk being seen from the streets now. Soon, the parapet would be full of elves. He tapped the wall again. The next cell joined him.

'Ropes,' he said. 'Quickly.'

A third strike and the fourth cell made the walls.

'Down to the streets. Secure the muster point.'

Auum turned back to the open ground and struck the wall a fourth time. The second stage was about to commence.