“And the Captain’s,” said Erik.
“Which Captain?” asked Roo.
Greylock smiled. “I’m ‘a’ captain, Roo. There is only one man who’s ‘the’ Captain. Calis.”
“Of course,” said Roo as the second wagon was unloaded. He waved to the driver and shouted, “Take it back to the warehouse. I’ll be along shortly.”
The driver, one of the former soldiers of this very command, waved in reply and moved the mules ahead, turned them in a half circle, and headed back toward the gate.
“Where is the Captain?” asked Roo.
“In the palace, talking with the Prince,” said Greylock. At that, Knight-Marshal William glanced at Greylock and gave a slight shake of his head.
Roo looked at Erik, who seemed to be intently watching the exchange. After a moment Roo audibly sighed. “Very well. I won’t say anything. But when are you leaving?”
Knight-Marshal William took one step and put himself right before Roo. “What do you mean leaving?”
Roo smiled. “I may not be a student of the military, like my good friend Erik here, my lord, but I was a soldier.” He glanced at the mounting pile of goods in the warehouse. “This isn’t usual provisions for an extra garrison here in the palace. You’re mounting an expedition. You’re going down”—he glanced from face to face—“there again.”
Knight-Marshal William said, “You’d be advised to keep your speculation to yourself, Rupert Avery. You’re trusted, but only to a point.”
Roo shrugged. “I’m saying nothing outside these walls, so don’t worry.” Then he considered something and added, “But I’m not the only one who can figure this out, just watching what comes in and what doesn’t go out”
Knight-Marshal William looked irritated at that observation. Turning to Greylock and Erik, he said, “Take care of that. I think I need to speak with Duke James.” He snapped his fingers and pointed skyward, and the firedrake sprang into the air, his wings beating down with furious power. William said to the startled Roo, “I told him to go hunt He’s old and claims he can’t see as well as he used to, but the truth is he’s lazy. If I let the kitchen staff feed him scraps, he’d be as big as one of your mules and unable to get off the ground.”
The last was said with a rueful smile. The Knight-Marshal walked away, and Roo said, “He claims he can’t see as well as he used to?”
Erik laughed. “Don’t underestimate the Knight-Marshal. I’ve heard stories from the palace staff.”
Greylock laughed as well. “They say he can speak to animals and they can speak to him.”
Roo looked to see if he was being made fun of; Erik recognized his boyhood friend’s expression and said, “No, he’s serious. I’ve seen him do it, with the horses.” Shaking his head emphatically, he said, “Truth of the gods!” Looking after the retreating back of the Knight-Marshal, he said “Think of what a horse healer he would have been.”
Greylock put his hand on Erik’s shoulder. Erik’s gifts ir healing horses were what had brought him to Greylock’s attention years before, and had caused them to become friends. “It takes more than knowing the animal’s in pain, Erik. What’s a horse going to tell you about a bruised bone beneath the hoof or an abscess? ‘It hurts’ is about as much as Lord William gets, from what I’ve heard. You still have to know what to do to find the problem and heal it”
“Maybe,” said Erik. He turned to Roo. “Do you have any suggestions about ways to mask what we’re doing here?”
“Off the top of my head, no. Maybe if you let me pick up a few other shipments—and if you route a few false ones with the notation about the Knight-Marshal on them.” He pointed past his last wagon, toward the gate into the palace. “Route them through that gate, send them somewhere else in the palace, but let them see this.” He pointed to the front of the warehouse.
“Let them see it?” said Greylock.
“Yes,” said Roo. He smiled a smile familiar to Erik.
Erik’s own smile broadened until the two old friends stood grinning at each other. “Let them see it” He turned to Greylock. “Captain, let them see it! Yes. We’ll let them see what’s here, but it will be what we want them to see.”
Greylock rubbed his chin with one hand. “Perhaps. What would we have them see?”
Roo said, “Look, those lizard people know we’re getting ready for them.” He waved his hand around the fa?ade of the building. “Make this look like a new barracks. A place to house a large army inside the palace won’t get their attention much.”
Greylock nodded. “That might work.”
Erik shrugged. “We know they’ve got agents in the city. We’ve always assumed they have, anyway.”
Just then a guard ran from the gate toward them. “My lord,” he called.
Greylock smiled self-consciously. “I’ll never get used to that.”