Roo made his way back up to the main deck to find Quegan sailors being hauled up over the railing, then tied and forced to sit under the watchful gaze of armed Kingdom sailors. Sitting at the front of them, looking as much like a half-drowned rat as anything else, sat a dejected-looking figure familiar to Roo.
Roo came and knelt just beyond the guards, so that he was at eye-level with the man. “My Lord Vasarius, how pleasant to see you here.”
“Avery,” the man nearly spat. “Have the Gods selected you to personally plague me for some affront?”
Roo shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. You just happened to be the unlucky conduit whereby I could achieve some gains for my King. Nothing personal.”
“It’s very personal,” said Vasarius.
“Then you better rethink things, for you are in no position to make threats.” Roo looked up to where Lieutenant Akers stood, and said, “This is a very important Quegan noble; he’s a member of their Imperial Senate.”
The Lieutenant motioned to two guards to haul Vasarius up to his feet. They cut loose his bonds, and Lieutenant Akers said, “I’ll show you to private quarters, m’lord. You understand there will be a guard outside the door.”
With a curt nod, Vasarius acknowledged the courtesy and walked off behind the Lieutenant.
Roo took the moment to regard the captured Quegan sailors. The last time he had seen a lot that miserable had been in the death cell in the palace at Krondor. Turning to a guard, he said, “What will happen to them?”
The guard shrugged. “A work camp, I expect. If we ever get a treaty with Queg, maybe a prisoner exchange. Though the Quegans never release prisoners, so I guess we’re stuck with these.”
Roo walked to the railing and again studied landmarks: the way the road turned, the odd clump of trees near a large boulder overlooking the beach. He glanced over his shoulder, across the deck where the Quegan galley slipped under the water with a burst of bubbles. Yes, he was certain he could find this spot again. Hire a magician from the Wreckers Guild in Krondor to raise the ship and offload the treasure, and he’d be the Western Realm’s wealthiest man again. Roo grinned to himself.
Arutha ducked behind a door. An arrow sped through it, striking die hardwood floor of the main entrance to the abbey. Subai’s men had control of the abbey and Nordan’s invaders held the outer walls and the cookhouse. Subai had men on the roof of the abbey and they were exchanging bow-shots with those on the wall. So far both sides were being isolated.
Arutha said to Subai, “If we can keep them from getting out the gate, it’s as good as a victory.”
“If all is going according to plan, we need to hold them until dark.”
Arutha glanced at the sun in the sky and judged it nearly noon. “Six, seven more hours.”
Subai said, “I’m concerned, m’lord. I think I’ve seen some signals between those on the wall and those in the stable. If they risked lowering a man on the outside of the gate, he may already be down the hill asking for aid.”
Arutha knew that if reinforcements arrived at the gate, they were done for. The abbey was originally an ancient warlord’s fortress. The tower rose high above, seemingly touching the clouds. Kingdom soldiers were storming the tower from within, and once on the roof above, the abbey would be theirs. Around the tower a large citadel had been erected, with an outer wall and two outbuildings. Arutha had studied the plans alongside Captain Subai and Brother Dominic until he knew it like his own sons’ faces. He knew that from the outside, it was a nearly impregnable fortification. Only by taking it from within would they gain control. Otherwise a long siege would ensue, requiring that a substantial number of men be diverted from the coming campaign.
“I’m not worried about that,” said Arutha. “They’d have to risk getting shot to open the gate and let reinforcements in. Besides, if they can afford to strip men away from the defense of Sarth to rescue the men up here, we’ve lost this battle anyway.”
Suddenly a shout heralded a charge from the stable. Arutha stood shocked a moment, as armed men raced toward the main door of the abbey, a flight of arrows over their heads forcing him to retreat from the door. Many of the attackers went down from answering shots from the abbey roof, but most made it to where Arutha, Subai, and a dozen men crowded the entrance. Arutha met the first man at the door and cut him down before he could step inside. As the man fell, Arutha looked past him to see men risking broken bones by jumping from the parapet, so they could unbar the massive wooden gates.