Khollo paused on the wide top step, breathing in the crisp winter air. A fresh blanket of snow coated the fortress, unbroken save for three deep trenches. One led to the main gate, one to a flight of stairs leading to the top of the wall, and the third to the barracks. Each was a half-meter deep, the bottom coated with a slippery substance halfway between snow and ice. Khollo descended the steps of the keep and began carefully making his way towards the wall.
The young warrior slipped and slid on the slick ground, regained his balance, and kept moving. We should stick torches in the courtyard, Khollo thought as he nearly fell again. Maybe it would keep the worst of the snow at bay.
An owl swooped low over the fortress, shrilling its hunting cry across the land. Khollo was surprised to see the bird out and about at this hour of the day. Maybe it hadn’t been successful hunting during the night. Khollo pushed the matter of the winged predator aside and struggled up the steps to the ramparts. A brazier was lit at the top, and the landing was covered by a thin puddle. There were two sentries beside the small little fire, trying to keep warm.
“Any news?” Khollo asked.
“None,” a sentry replied in a hollow voice, shifting slightly. “We just took over for the night watch. They didn’t see anything either.”
Khollo nodded. He had expected as much, but it never hurt to be sure. “Keep it up,” he replied. “If you see anything, yell out and we’ll all come running.”
“ ‘preciate that,” the sentry muttered.
A gust of wind blew over the ramparts. The brazier brightened momentarily, then the coals returned to their dull orange glow. Khollo’s cloak flapped about him, and the sentries grabbed at their hoods to keep them from blowing off.
I’m not a fan of those winds, Khollo thought warily. They give you a feeling something is coming. Something that you won’t expect. Something hidden.
Khollo shuddered. “Keep a weather eye out,” he said to the sentries. Then he made his way towards the gate, where he could see Janis peering southwards, flanked by guards.
Clouds slid across the sun, casting the fortress into shadow. Khollo increased his pace, moving quickly towards the gate. Janis was looking up at the sky now as well, frowning. Khollo trotted up to where his uncle was standing.
“The weather’s taken a turn again,” Janis observed.
A low rumble of thunder rolled across the land from the south. Khollo glared up at the clouds. We get it, trouble’s coming. Now shut up.
“My lord!”
Khollo whirled around to look south, down the approach to the fortress. A party of horsemen was making its way up the trail at a canter. Janis turned away without a word and moved down to the gate, Khollo close behind.
“Open the gate,” Janis said quietly to the soldiers below. Two men leapt forward and removed the locking bar, pushing the wooden doors open.
The patrol crossed the threshold with a clatter of hooves. The gate boomed shut at a word from Janis and the men began dismounting.
“Janis.”
Khollo turned and saw Ondus advancing towards them. He was limping badly, a bloody bandage around his upper leg. His battle axe was stained with black blood.
“What happened?” Janis asked quickly, stepping forward, eying the axe. “That isn’t – ?”
“You’ve spilled enough of it to know,” Ondus replied grimly. “We stumbled on this during the patrol.” At a signal from the warrior, two soldiers hauled a blanket-draped burden over and deposited it in front of Janis and Khollo. Ondus leaned down, grimacing, and pulled back the covering.
A face out of nightmare leered up at them, the mouth hanging slightly open, revealing large fangs. The horns were larger and thicker than Khollo had imagined. The monster was clad in black plate armor.
“He surprised us,” Ondus continued. “Took Wilt Harren and Sam Kifer with him. We’ll sorely miss the two of them. I finished the beast.”
“Then they are here, and nearby,” Janis observed. He scanned the assembled warriors. “Two of you, with us. It seems that Ondus has brought a gift for our guest from Etares.”
Khollo backed away as two soldiers bent to lift the corpse of the vertag. Blood dripped from a gaping wound in the beast’s chest, in a place where the armor had been rent.
And so it begins, Khollo thought numbly as he followed the small procession up to the keep. They are coming. That was a scout, it had to be. What will happen when the scout doesn’t return? Will they attack immediately? Send another? Melt away and try somewhere else?
Somehow Khollo didn’t think that the vertaga would give up and go away. He had realized there was something here at the West Bank that the vertaga could not obtain anywhere else. By defeating the West Bank, they would defeat Janis Kurkan, the man who had thwarted them in the first war.
Khollo stumbled over the first step up into the keep tower, distracted as he was. The soldiers in front of him were struggling with their unwieldy burden. Janis was climbing on impatiently. Behind Khollo, Ondus limped along painfully. Khollo glanced down at the older man’s wound.
“Is it bad?”
Ondus shook his head. “Just a scratch. Not too deep or wide, just long. Stings a bit though. I’ll get it looked at after I see how Clemon reacts to all this.”
Khollo nodded. “I don’t blame you. Where did you find it?”
“Rocks flanking the southeastern hills. I’d guess he was watching the front gate, trying to decide if a frontal assault
