'Think it'll work?' Coilla said.
Stryke shrugged. 'What do you think? You're our mistress of strategy.'
'It's a smart plan, but it's complex. The more parts to a scheme, the more to go wrong.'
'What would you change?'
'I'd like us to have a good fallback. You know, a better escape route. Maybe more than one.'
'Any ideas on that?'
She nodded. 'But it'd take a few fighters out of the front line, and mean some hard work for us overnight.'
'Sort out the details soon as you can. I'll talk to Brelan about it.'
They were sitting on a weathered, low stone wall in a small inner courtyard of the house the resistance had commandeered. It was one of the few places they were able to find a little privacy.
'Are you sure about Wheam?' Coilla said. 'Him coming on the raid, I mean.'
'No, I'm not. But we need to make a good show of numbers. Brelan reckons they'll be a couple of hundred humans in that fort. We'll be lucky to scrape together as many on our side. Besides, he's never going to shape up if we don't put him in the field.'
'Unsupervised?'
'I'll get somebody to keep an eye on him.'
'And tie up a fighter.'
'Then I'll put him in some support role.'
'Is it worth the risk?'
'Look, if Wheam gets himself killed… well, too bad.'
'You mean that? Despite what his father said?'
'Fuck it, Coilla, I won't be cowed by threats from Quoll or anybody else. I thought we got away from all that shit when we left Maras-Dantia. If Quoll ends up with a beef we can settle it with blades. Nobody stops me getting back to Thirzarr and the hatchlings.'
'I'd go along with that. But you're being too hard on Wheam. It's not his fault he's in this fix.'
'Maybe.' He sighed. 'Guess I'm feeling a bit snappy.'
'Reason?'
'I didn't think things would be this knotty. I want to cut through it all and get to Jennesta.'
'You're not alone in that, Stryke. We all want it. But meantime we can help some fellow orcs. That's not bad, is it?'
'Suppose not.'
'Tell me something. You've been uneasy about Pepperdyne, but now he's in on this raid. Why?'
'I could say I prefer to have him where I can see him. Truth is, I'm not sure about him. But we need his skills, so…'
'I think you can trust him.'
'So you keep saying. I reckon you're a bit partial there.'
''Cos he's saved my life a couple of times? You bet I am.'
'Don't forget he's a human, Coilla. Blood will out.'
'Maybe we shouldn't judge others the way we've been judged.'
'And maybe some should be. Or would you prefer trying to reason with Peczan's army?'
She smiled. 'Looking out for tyros and humans you don't trust. You're going to have your hands full tomorrow.'
Several hours later, with most resistance members away preparing for the morrow and the shadows lengthening, a human furtively approached the safe house. Despite the clement weather he was bundled in a cloak, and wore an expansive hat with its brim pulled well down to hide his features. Looking to the right and left, he pushed open the door and slipped inside.
There was a room close by the entrance, its door half open. As the intruder crept past, Pepperdyne leapt out of it. They crashed into the opposite wall and a struggle ensued. The man's hat was ripped from his head.
'You!' Pepperdyne exclaimed.
'Take your hands off me!' Standeven demanded.
'In here!' Pepperdyne growled, dragging his master into the empty room. Ignoring his protests, he flung him into a chair. 'You're lucky I happened to be the one on guard duty. Where the hell have you been?'
'I have to account to you for my movements now, do I?'
'You do when you disappear for hours on end without a word. What's going on?'
Standeven dusted himself off with an exaggerated gesture. 'I had to get out.'
'What, for a stroll?'
'You've seen something of this place. I've only been shunted from one stinking hideout to another.'
'My outings haven't exactly been pleasure trips.'
'That's your choice. I needed air, and the sight of other faces. I wanted to get away from these creatures you're so fond of.'
'So you took a walk in a city full of them.'
' Yes. And how might that imperil this sordid little enterprise?'
'You fool. What if you'd been picked up by the authorities?'
'They're only interested in orc insurgents. Humans have privileges in this place, I saw that much.'
'They know a human's working with them!'
'So you can have free run of the outside but I can't. You're not my jailer.'
'It seems you need one.'
'If we ever get back home, I'll…'
'You still haven't got it through your head, have you? Things are different here. They're different between you and me.'
'Which might not last forever.'
'You wish.'
'And in the event of things going back to the way they were, your fortunes are going to depend on how you behave now. You'd do well to keep that in mind.'
'I'm doing my best to keep us alive. Isn't that enough?'
Standeven adopted a conciliatory tone. 'And I appreciate it, Jode. I really do.'
'You've a strange way of showing it. How do I know what you were up to out there?'
'Wouldn't I be stupid to do anything that might jeopardise my own safety? My wellbeing's tied to this ragtag bunch of rebels, same as you.' He spread his hands and added reasonably, 'I've nowhere else to go.'
'You know the thing about you, Standeven? I can never be quite sure if you're a knave or an idiot.'
'On this occasion, probably the latter. I was foolhardy. I'm sorry.'
Pepperdyne considered his master's words, and said, 'If you ever do anything like this again…'
'I won't. I give you my word. Now forget my stupidity and save your anger for tomorrow.'
Pepperdyne expelled a breath and relaxed a little. 'Yeah, tomorrow. It's going to be an interesting day.'
'I'm sure of it,' Standeven agreed.
26
The fort was old. It was built in times long forgotten as part of Acurial's border defences. The pacifistic orcs of the present epoch had allowed it to fall into neglect, and its restoration was undertaken by the human invaders.
It stood on the edge of a rock-face, some thirty to forty feet high, and looked out over an expanse of open land that ran to the distant sea. Below the fort, nestling at the foot of the cliff, was a line of wooden buildings. They were of much more recent vintage, having been erected by orcs of the current era to store grain from nearby farms and to over-winter their cattle. With the coming of the humans these buildings were abandoned and left to rot.
The opposite side of the fort, where its entrance was situated, faced a grassy plain that stretched to the city
