“I guess we’d better go and see what Leon has to say,” Khollo decided. “Who knows? This could be something else entirely.”
“It could be,” Sermas agreed doubtfully.
Khollo led the way into the keep and up the stairs to the council room. The guards waved him in with hardly a glance. Inside the council room, Leon and Janis were waiting. They both stopped talking when Khollo entered.
Khollo swallowed nervously and made his way to his customary seat. “Sermas said you wanted to see me, Leon?”
“We found it,” Leon announced. “The fortress you were looking for.” He leaned forward over a map and pointed to a tiny notation. “Here, just east of the pass. Tucked into a little valley surrounded by high mountains. It’s always in the shadow of those peaks. And my man saw vertaga pacing the ramparts.”
Khollo nodded slowly. “Thank you, Leon. I’ll take it from here.”
Leon nodded and rose. “I should be hearing more from the capital any day now,” he said to Janis. “I’ll let you know as soon as anything comes in.”
The spymaster left quickly, his staff clacking on the stone floor as he moved.
Janis turned to Khollo. “Well? What’s the plan? Are you going after the voice?”
Khollo could feel the pressure of Sermas’ eyes on him. He shifted uneasily. “Yes,” he said finally. “But we’ll have to be careful.”
“Obviously.”
“I’ll take Sermas and Hern,” Khollo said. “That’s all.”
“What?” Janis asked. “You’re planning to take on an entire fortress with just the three of you?”
Khollo glanced at Sermas. The younger boy was standing stiffly beside the door, apparently wondering what he had done to deserve this.
“We’re not taking on the fortress,” Khollo said. “If we charge in head on, they’ll just the kill the voice. The only way to free the voice is to sneak in and sneak out.”
“That’s not much better,” Sermas said weakly.
“I agree,” Janis said. “Vertaga are renowned for their sight and smell. It will be difficult to sneak past them.”
“You just mispronounced impossible, Lord Kurkan,” Sermas observed.
“It’s very possible,” Khollo countered. “I plan to camp outside the fortress and pick off a few sentries, create a gap. Then we’ll slip over the wall, into the main tower, if there is one, and down to the dungeons. We free the voice, and fight our way out.”
“As plans go, there’s a lot that can go wrong with this one,” Janis observed.
Khollo nodded. “I know. There’s not much I can do about that though. We don’t have the men, time, or equipment for a full-scale attack. So this is our next best option.”
“Or we could just not go,” Sermas suggested.
“We’re going,” Khollo growled. “I want to put these visions and voices to rest, once and for all.”
Janis nodded slowly. “All right,” he decided. “When do you leave?”
“Immediately,” Khollo replied. “Saddle up, Sermas, and tell Hern to get ready as well. I’ll meet you at the main gate. Janis, you’ll take over the construction project for now?”
“Of course,” Janis replied, rubbing his hands together eagerly. “I always wanted to try my hand at something like this.”
“The foremen have my plans,” Khollo informed him, eying his uncle warily. “They know what to do.”
“Oh,” Janis said. “Pity. I was hoping to try out one of those dolmy-things.”
“That would be a dome,” Khollo muttered. “Maybe I should leave one of the foremen in charge.”
“Trust me, I can do this,” Janis said, holding up his hands. “It will be a diversionary task to work on between vertaga fighting and capital monitoring and message sending.”
Khollo sighed. He alone knew how much hard work had gone into the design of the underground stronghold, and was wary of handing the project over to anyone else. But all Janis had to do was follow the plan. He can do that, Khollo decided.
“Then I’d better get packed,” Khollo decided. “Give us two weeks before you worry.”
“Only two weeks? The fortress is six days away.”
“We won’t be staying long,” Khollo reminded Janis. “The vertaga aren’t known to be gracious hosts.”
“Point taken.” Janis hesitated. “Khollo, be safe. Once you’ve found the truth, come back.”
Khollo felt a lump develop in his throat. “Yes, uncle,” he croaked.
Janis made an uncertain gesture. “Just . . . remember your training. You’ll be fine.”
Khollo turned towards the door to the council room. “Come on, Sermas,” he said, squaring his shoulders. “We’re going hunting.”
Khollo hurried to his tower room and quickly stuffed his pack with a change of clothes and his bedroll. He checked his weapons, counted the arrows in his quiver. He snatched up a spare quiver from beside his bed and descended to the main level. After a stop in the kitchens, he made for the stables with long strides, eager to be on the way.
Arle was waiting for him in the stables. The sturdy little horse nickered a quiet greeting, looking curiously at Khollo’s laden pack.
“Ready for a long trip?” Khollo asked, stroking Arle’s muzzle affectionately. Arle tossed her mane in reply. Khollo grinned and began saddling up. As he did, Hern and Sermas came running into the stable and began jerking saddles and gear off of the walls. By the time Khollo was mounted, Sermas and Hern were ready to go, standing beside their horses.
“Mount up,” Khollo told them. “We have a long day of riding ahead.”
“Do you know where we’re going?” Hern asked.
Khollo hesitated. Another look at that map would have been nice, he reflected.
Sermas grinned. “I knew it. Here.” He handed a folded square of paper up to Khollo. “Grabbed it off the council table
