while a horse stable, lit by lamps, stood directly across from him at the rear. Beyond that, another set of heavy doors stood, which must have left out of the fortress, following the main road into the Wayland. Before he could go, he had to get food and water. It had been too long since he'd eaten and Gideon had no idea how long it would be before he came upon a town along the way.
The rest of the fortress seemed to be comprised of several stocky buildings, which must have housed the troops themselves and any facilities they might need. His best course of action would be to avoid any place with a buildup of soldiers. As he walked out into the courtyard, Gideon saw men on guard within towers and on the wall behind him.
A cistern, full of rain water, stood on his way to the horse-stalls. He stopped and bent over the edge, drinking deeply. The water was cool and refreshing-not as clean as a running stream, but not bad. Other men walked through the courtyard in pairs, but no one came near him.
Gideon decided a search for a water pouch would be too risky. If he could only find a bow, he would easily be able to hunt for any food he needed. Still, he did have a nice heavy dagger on this belt. That would be useful for hunting too, if not for making his own bow and arrows once he got out of here.
He wiped the excess water from his face and started toward the stalls. Several men tended to the horses in the well lit barn, but there were guards inside who appeared to be instructing the laborers on some aspect of their animal's care. Gideon looked beyond them to the doors at the far end. By the time he incapacitated the guards and men caring for the horses, stole a horse, then opened the doors to get away, he'd have the entire place coming down on him.
It was well known that those in the highest command positions at this fort had also been trained by The Order of Shaddai. Unfortunately the matter had turned into somewhat of a scandalous affair between Isaiah and the High Priest of Wayland's Temple, Sandoval. The latter had considered it a matter of personal service to King Stephen, while Isaiah felt it best for The Order to remain out of each country's political affairs. Still, if those men answered the alarm, Gideon would probably not make it out alive. He needed some way to get a horse and get out.
Gideon spotted a servant carrying a bucket of pitch and fresh torches in a sack upon his back. At each place where a torch waned, the servant dipped the new torch into the bucket, coating it well, then lit it before setting it in place of the other. Gideon smiled. He had his diversion.
Gideon followed the servant and came upon him as he passed through shadows upon the courtyard near one of the buildings. He took the bucket of pitch and made sure no one appeared to be looking his way. Then, in darkness, he ran toward the horse stalls and launched the bucket up and away.
It collided with the top of the archway leading into the stalls and exploded. Pitch flew out from the arch and dripped below it onto the hay strewn upon the ground. Next, Gideon grabbed a torch from a nearby mount and sent it careening through the air. It landed near the base of the arch quickly setting the pitch aflame.
As the fire spread, the men inside with the horses cried out and sounded a bell alarm within the barn. Men came rushing from everywhere. Gideon ran through a breach in the flames before it engulfed the entire entrance beneath the archway. He was inside the barn with the frantic men and animals.
Guards cried out instructions beyond the flames where Gideon had come from, but for the moment they couldn't get through. The horses grew impatient to be set free, the men and soldiers within the barn barely able to control them.
'Loose the horses!' Gideon shouted over the din. Two of the servants looked at him, puzzled, until Gideon pointed to the back doors leading out of the fortress. 'Open the rear doors, you fools, and set these poor animals free before they roast alive!'
The men seemed to catch his meaning and ran for the doors. One even managed to get one of the soldiers to help. Soon the rear doors were swinging open to the outside world and the main road beyond. Gideon ran to the stalls and began to loose the locks on them.
The horses, only too glad to be set free, pushed through the stall doors and dashed out of the fortress as fast as the men could free them. Gideon spotted the animal chosen to bear him to Wayland's capital. He grabbed a saddle and quickly set to work harnessing the animal. The mare, with her patchwork brown and white coat, reminded Gideon of his former horse. He opened the stall door and led the horse out, pulling the reins to keep her from taking off without him.
One of the soldiers turned from another animal and saw Gideon climbing onto the mare. 'Hey! What are you doing?'
Gideon lashed out with a boot and clipped the man's head, knocking him to the ground. Gideon goaded the mare. They launched out through the doors. The soldier regained himself, standing and crying out in alarm after the one who had just stolen his horse.
DESPERADO
Daybreak had come nearly an hour before by the time Gideon decided it was time to stop and allow his horse some rest and both of them something to eat. He'd found a shallow brook off the main road and tied the horse so that it could graze and water itself.
With only his borrowed dagger, from the soldier's uniform, Gideon went in search of prey. Basing himself among the branches of a fir tree near the same stream, he soon spotted a fat rabbit coming to the water. His dagger found its mark, and soon Gideon had the rabbit skinned and roasting nicely upon a spit over a little fire.
He stretched his sore muscles, hoping for a relaxing few hours of sleep once he'd eaten. His horse raised its head, nickering. Gideon stopped breathing, listening. The birds, active in the trees only a moment before, had gone silent.
Gideon's eyes flew to the tuft of grass where he had buried the remains of the rabbit in order to hide signs of his passing. The dagger stuck there in the earth where he'd left it. He scanned the trees with his eyes only. Nothing that he could see. But he still felt-Gideon leaped from his place on the opposite side of the fire, over the dagger, reaching for the pommel. The slightest movement accompanied by a hiss of air caused him to retract his arm just in time.
A broad-tipped arrow sliced across his forearm, passing on to embed itself in the ground next to the dagger. Gideon bounced once on the balls of his feet and turned in midair as another arrow flew parallel across his chest to sink into a tree behind him.
On the ground again, Gideon spotted two of the bowmen. One of them pulled an arrow from his quiver. The other released his bowstring, sending a wooden shaft straight for his heart. Gideon caught it and dodged the second by mere inches. These men weren't average soldiers by any means. He compared his own uniform with what he saw them wearing and concluded that they must outrank the man he'd assaulted by the main gate of the fortress the night before.
Most likely these were some of the officers which had been trained by The Order here in Wayland. Isaiah's stand against the practice, several years earlier, now seemed like an especially good idea. If only he'd managed to convince the High Priest in Wayland at the time.
Gideon spotted his horse still tied to a branch near the stream. The bowmen were too close. If he got in the saddle right now, with the horse halfway between him and his attacker, they would easily pick him off. Instead, Gideon dodged another arrow and ran away from them.
He moved in a zigzag random pattern, ducking and weaving as he heard bowstrings release behind him. The abundance of trees provided ample cover, but then he heard the thunder of hooves and spotted two more soldiers approaching on his right flank. He was being hemmed in.
Gideon shifted direction again-this time toward the horsemen-the exact opposite of the way any sane man would've have gone. Using the trees for cover, he came upon the horsemen unawares and, without breaking his sprinting stride, leaped up at the first, kicking the man from the saddle with a shot to the side of the head. The second rider pulled up short in a hurry and tried to draw his sword. But Gideon was too fast and launched himself bodily at the man. Both of them tumbled over the side of the horse. The rider landed beneath him, the fall snapping the soldier's neck.
Gideon leaped back into the saddle of the nearest horse, smiling as he found a bow and full quiver attached to
