Captain Beetlestone barged into Lord Purdun's sitting room, a pile of notes in his arms.
Liam stood behind Lord Purdun, who sat looking over a series of maps of Ahlarkham with his two military advisors. The baron looked up when the captain entered and waved him over to the table.
'What do you have for me?' asked Purdun, dispensing with the pleasantries.
Beetlestone nodded his head in place of a formal bow and got to the point. 'We have word in from three scouting parties and have reason to believe that the undead will be making a move on Zerith Hold within the next day or two. There are also reports that the Crimson Awl are active and could be a factor.'
Purdun nodded, looking back down at his maps, tracing his fingers along the shore of the Deepwash. 'Anything else?'
'My lord,' Beetlestone's face grew grim, 'the King's Magistrates are on the march.'
Purdun looked up from the map, his finger slipping from its place.
Beetlestone swallowed then continued. 'The king himself leads them.'
'How long?' asked the lord, his voice thin and quiet.
'They are within a day's march, my lord.'
Purdun sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers. 'How did it come to this?'
There was silence in the room for several heartbeats. Liam didn't know what to make of it all. Had things gone differently for him, he might have been overjoyed that Zerith Hold was about to be the center point of one of the largest battles in the history of Erlkazar. But things hadn't gone differently for him, and despite his earlier convictions, he believed Lord Purdun to be a good man. He didn't deserve all this. He didn't deserve the reputation that had been created for him.
Captain Beetlestone cleared his throat. 'Lord Purdun,' he started. 'Things are going to get… chaotic in the next day. It is entirely possible that my men won't be available to come to your aid if one of these groups manages to breach Zerith Hold.'
'What are you suggesting?' asked Purdun.
'I think it would be wise if you were to start wearing your armor inside the Hold.'
Purdun nodded.
'And I would like to assign to you another bodyguard,' Beetlestone looked up at Liam. 'Someone to watch Liam's back the next time he decides to take on six Magistrates by himself.'
Liam thought he detected a hint of a smile on the captain's face.
'Who did you have in mind?' asked the baron.
'Guardsman Knoblauch, sir,' said Beetlestone.
Lord Purdun nodded, obviously weighing the suggestion in his mind. 'You know my reservations,' he said finally.
Beetlestone nodded. 'Yes, but he is the best man I have. And if I may be frank-' He stopped, looking to the baron for approval.
Purdun nodded. 'Of course.'
'If Knoblauch had been accompanied by a second man, one to watch his back as I am suggesting for Liam, then the unfortunate events of several years ago may never have happened.'
Purdun took a deep breath and rubbed his hand over his face. 'All right, Beetlestone. Send him up.' He turned to look at Liam. 'We can use all the help we can get.'
Chapter 23
Ryder woke late in the day. The sun was high in the sky, and the soldiers of the Broken Spear were quietly preparing themselves. All of the plans had been laid out the previous night. They all knew what they were supposed to do.
Ryder too knew what he had to do. He had to end this thing. He had to take the head from the serpent before it could strike at him. Once he had killed Purdun, he would locate Liam and the rest of the Crimson Awl. With the baron dead, they would have a real shot at taking Zerith Hold.
Tonight would be the spark that ignited the fire. It would be the break the Awl had always waited for.
He looked out over the men and women around him. With the addition of the Broken Spear, the Awl would be twice as strong. His gaze searched the group and fell upon Giselle.
She was a fine leader. It would be nice to have someone to fall back on. The Awl had always lacked strong leaders. He hoped that Liam had risen to his expectations and been able to keep the momentum in his absence. He would soon find out.
Then there was Nazeem. The Chultan sat calmly on the edge of camp, his legs crossed, his eyes closed, meditating. Ryder wasn't sure where this man would fit into the overall plans. But somehow he knew that Nazeem would play a vital role. The tattooed man always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. He had a knack for showing up when he could do the most good. Ryder smiled to himself. He supposed those were skills one had to hone if one wanted to become a successful criminal. However he had come by them, Nazeem's ability to seemingly appear and disappear at will would be useful tools moving forward.
Giselle touched Ryder's arm. 'Are you ready?'
He nodded. 'You?'
Giselle smiled. 'We will be waiting for your signal,' she said. 'You just stay alive long enough for us to have something to do. I would hate to have come all this way for nothing.'
'I would hate that too,' he replied.
Giselle placed her hand on his chest, her eyes lingering on his for a long moment. Then she reached up and gave him a kiss.
Ryder felt a wave of sadness fill him. 'Giselle-'
'For luck,' she said. Then she pushed him away. 'Now take Curtis and go. We will see you before sunrise.'
Ryder placed a hand to his lips, the soft wetness of her kiss still lingering. Then he turned and walked away.
'All right, listen up,' said Captain Phinneous. He had his entire unit assembled in the common room of the barracks inside Zerith Hold. 'I have volunteered all of you for late-night guard duty tonight.'
This brought a few moans and groans from the men.
Under other circumstances, Phinneous might have been angry. But not today. Today he was going to get a little revenge. Nothing could spoil his good mood.
'All right, quiet down,' he said. 'I know none of you like that too much, but I have a little surprise for you.'
The men quieted down.
'I have word that Ryder of Duhlnarim has found his way back to Ahlarkham.'
'I thought he'd been shipped off to Westgate,' shouted a soldier.
'Aye, lad,' said Captain Phinneous. 'Somehow the bastard has earned his freedom, and he's come back to finish what he started.'
Phinneous looked at each of the men, making sure his words sank in. 'I have it on good authority that he's going to try to infiltrate Zerith Hold tonight.'
'Ah,' shouted the same guard. 'And we're going to be there to catch him.' He slapped the guard next to him on the arm in celebration. 'We'll all be heroes.'
The men let out a huzzah!
Captain Phinneous shook his head. 'No, lads,' he said. 'I've got an even better idea.' The men grew quiet again as Phinneous leaned in, talking just above a whisper. 'We're gonna let the man in and let him get all the way to the baron's sitting room.'
'Why would we do that?'
