FIREFANGED

Chapter 6 (Snow's keep)

The city of Berykholt spread in a semi-confined manner across the valley south of its castle. Berykholt Castle was initially built to guard the northern border and a rare pass through the Everest range. It could hold a respectable garrison of up to five hundred in times of siege. Anchoring the stone block castle walls were four square towers at the cardinal points of a compass. The castle had a stable and four sizable keeps positioned around a cobblestone courtyard. Outside its walls, the surrounding area—two hundred yards in every direction—was kept clear for tactical readiness and training.

As the threat of open war between kingdoms was rare these days, most of the Order's soldiers stayed in roomier barracks a quarter-mile west of the stronghold or in the town proper if they had a family and the means to live there.

Captain Glenn showed me into the Vigil's Keep, which permanently housed Vigil Snow, Warden Hartwell, and their families.

This last bit surprised me. Traveling in their company the past fortnight, I didn't notice any hint of family life for these men. Perhaps I saw everything through a disconnected view of the world, but I never suspected their personal lives would be so near to their work as warriors and defenders of the Realm.

Snow's keep was modestly comfortable. The three other keeps were allocated for visiting dignitaries and for royalty, while the last was shared by the castle servants and garrison troops.

In Lockrun, I was content in an attic storage room with a small window for ventilation. It was private enough, and I had just enough space between boxes for my bed and a small chest. In Berykholt, I was given a full bedroom in Snow's Keep, complete with bed, dresser, chest, weapons rack, and a great view of the castle's inner courtyard.

The door to my room opened onto a common living area shared by six other bedrooms plus a pair of bathrooms. Currently, three of the additional bedrooms were occupied by my constant companions, Glenn and Loeb, and by Glenn's second in the House Guard, Sentinel-Sergeant Gulliver Barnes.

Vigil Snow's and Warden Hartwell's families occupied similar settings on higher floors, and we all shared a common kitchen and dining area on the ground floor of the keep.

I spent my first afternoon cleaning my armor and equipment while watching the comings and goings of the courtyard. In the evening, I took one of my usual catnaps that soon turned into a ten-hour slumber as my head got used to the soft pillow and even softer mattress. Having a quiet night—one free of flame-filled nightmares, shadow cats, and assassins—was a rare boon, and by morning, I felt rejuvenated.

On my second day in Berykholt, I was invited to attend a welcome dinner with all the keep's inhabitants. An Order recruit had shown up at my door late in the afternoon with a word from Lady Rebecca Snow that I would be expected in the dining hall at dusk for food, drink, and formal introductions.

I had been given several sets of day-to-day garments for training and Order activities, so I washed up and put on a clean set of dark gray pants and a light gray shirt. I left my newly scrubbed armor on the rack in my room, only wearing the stiff leather wrap on my left arm and the fang-blade in its sheath on my lower back. The exotic dagger was growing on me, and I didn't feel comfortable without it.

Entering the dining room that evening with Loeb and Glenn dressed in their finest, I had a feeling I was in for a rude awakening. We were served mugs of warm ale while we waited for the families to arrive. I found my heartbeat quickening with anxiety at the thought of meeting the full families of both Vigil Snow and the Warden of the North.

The men were daunting enough. My experience with family life was sorely lacking, and I would soon be well beyond my comfort zone.

Doctor Loeb noticed my worry and gave me a knowing smile. He seemed to enjoy seeing me sweat for once.