Ten Arrows

Chapter 14

Standing atop the outer wall to the northwest of the palace grounds, staring at the collection of tall, stately buildings before me, I considered my options.

One of the nice things about 'plan B' was that it had required me to research several ways of breaking into and out of the palace, just in case that sort of thing became necessary. In fact, during my months of preparing for this possibility, I had even managed to acquire a partial floor-plan for where I was headed this evening - the main palace spire, which served as Tenarreau's living quarters.

And no, I won't tell you how I got that.

I'd already made my way past four groups of patrolling knights, which had taken up most of the hour I'd allotted myself for that particular task. It was four hours since I'd last spoken with Talia, and I was now covered almost head to toe by my thoughtcloth outfit, the hood of which was pulled low to help obscure my face. Beneath my cloak was a sling-sack full of fun, interesting things I figured I might have cause to use this evening.

It hadn't taken that long to get cleaned up, surprisingly. The cut on my foot had been bad enough to make Janna's eyes widen as she tended to it, and just bandaging it had caused my teeth to clench. Putting weight on that foot was still no picnic, but it wasn't the worst injury I'd ever sustained either.

The swelling around my sprain on that same foot was still fairly pronounced, however, which caused me to limp slightly. Additionally, I had a mouse under my left eye, two deep scratches along the right side of my jaw, and there wasn't a single part of me that didn't currently ache.

I wasn't exactly in peak physical condition is what I guess I'm saying.

Still, although I suspected the only thing keeping me upright was the copious amount of vimroot oil I'd rubbed on my neck and forearms earlier, I figured I was in fair enough shape for something like a break-in. Even if I wasn't, well, it was a little too late to change my mind now. Not that I would have changed my mind . . .

I was angry.

All it took was recalling a detail or two from the scene in the alleyway, and snarling echoes of rage would bubble up in my chest, assuaging any doubts or misgivings I had regarding what I planned on doing here tonight. One way or another, Tenarreau and I would be having words this evening.

Of course, now was not the time for those sort of emotions, as they tended to get in the way when attempting something delicate, like burgling. I took a deep, relaxing breath.

Both moons were hanging high in the sky tonight, illuminating things nicely. I would have preferred it if things had been a little darker, all told. While good lighting sometimes made things like traps and obstacles easier to see, it unfortunately made me a biteasier to see as well.

I wasn't really worried about being seen. What I was worried about was being smelled . . .

I tested the wind, which contained the barest hint of burning leaves, a fragrance I've always associated with the onset of winter. The light breeze was still coming in from the northeast, which is why I had approached the palace from the southwest. The autumn air might go a long way to disguising my scent, but even so, I wanted to make certain I was downwind of my objective. While I hadn't actually seen any of the dogs just yet, the inner palace grounds was reportedly teeming with them.

They weren't particularly large or dangerous dogs, but they were bred for tracking, were light sleepers, and had a reportedly fantastic sense of smell. They were also very, very loud when they wanted to be.

On the plus side, they are incapable of explaining to guardsman exactly why they're barking, a fact that I planned to take full advantage of this evening.