Arutha’s hand hesitated. He then said, “I must concede I lack my father’s gifts.” Smiling, he stood and said, “My grandfather tells me I have more of my mother in me than my father. Perhaps he’s correct.”
“That’s a trap, almost concealed. Over there is the true release.” He moved to a small recess and put his hand inside. Feeling around he grasped a small latch, then moved it. “Now pull that rock.”
Arutha did as he was bid and discovered the rock was attached to a steel cable, by a large bolt at the back. The rock traveled only a few inches, but as soon as he pulled it a deep rumble could be heard from the other side of the door. The door moved, ponderously, but it moved. Slowly it retracted to the left, leaving a narrow dark passage leading upward into the mountain.
Arutha turned and said to Captain Subai, “It’s open. Send a messenger and bring up the men!”
He followed Dominic into the passage. The cleric pointed to a lever. “Don’t touch that. It will close the door behind us.” He continued walking up the passage. After nearly a hundred yards, the passage widened into a large gallery, where footprints and signs of recent passage could clearly be seen. Arutha inspected them and said, “These aren’t boot marks. These look like sandals.”
Dominic said, “We kept books, scrolls, and other tomes stored throughout the mountain, even this close to the escape route.” He pointed upward. “But nothing was taken out that way. My brothers quit the abbey in good order, so whatever was kept here was hauled up the mountain, put aboard wagons, and taken to our new abbey, That Which Was Sarth.”
“Where is the new abbey?” asked Arutha.
Dominic smiled. “For reasons that you may understand more than most, my order has decided that the information contained within that particular abbey is too dangerous in the wrong hands. Therefore, only those within our order know the exact location of That Which Was Sarth. All I may tell you is that while it is in Yabon, it is safe from Fadawah.”
Arutha said, “As an officer of the Royal Court, I am not pleased to hear of this. As the grandson of Pug, I understand.”
Boots upon the stone heralded the approach of the first band of Subai’s raiders. The man in the van carried a torch and behind him came others holding bundles of supplies.
The timetable was critical. Greylock would begin his approach to Krondor in a week’s time, but just before the city gates, he would wheel to the north and launch a flying attack up the road to Sarth, striking the first two defensive positions without stopping. They were relatively light positions, from Duko’s information, and would provide scant resistance. It was at the southern border of Sarth they would meet the first major resistance.
From there the fight into the town would be difficult, but if Nordan’s forces up in the abbey were to sally forth, Greylock’s army would suddenly be caught between a stout defensive position and an army charging down a mountainside. If Greylock turned up the mountain road to attempt to seize the abbey, he would be fighting up a road that at several places narrowed so that only a single wagon or two men on horse could pass, with the town garrison at his back.
The Kingdom’s only hope was for Subai’s force inside the mountain to seize the abbey, or at least tie up the forces within long enough for Owen to take the town. Once the town was in Kingdom hands, the abbey could be isolated and its garrison starved out, or it would have already fallen to Arutha’s forces.
Arutha considered this as the men started to filter into the chamber. It was possible they would be facing odds as high as four to one. No one knew how many men were billeted within. Nordan had not seen fit to share that information with Duko. Their only advantage was surprise.
The night before Greylock’s assault from the south, the Kingdom forces below the abbey would launch their attack. Arutha knew he had the Kingdom’s best men for the job, handpicked by Subai. The Pathfinders were trained for resourcefulness. To a man they were tough, resilient, and efficient. The Crimson Eagles were veterans of a series of brutal campaigns, men who would do exactly as needed and without hesitation.
At an hour past dawn in three days’ time, they must either be in control of the abbey, or creating enough trouble the garrison would be unable to respond to any call for help from the town below. Arutha found a spot near the next tunnel leading up and sat down, conserving his energy until it was time to move. The balance of Subai’s forces would be hours in reaching the cave, so there was nothing to do but rest, and wait.
Erik grunted and made some notes. John Vinci said loudly, “I’ll need a larger storage room back here, and probably want to widen the gates so I can get bigger wagons in and out!”
Softly, Erik said, “Keep it down, John. We’ve been doing this for three days and no one has questioned us so far. Unless they’re starting to think you’re getting hard of hearing.”
With a pained grin, Vinci said, “Just trying to be convincing.”