The King's Knights

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Siege Declared

Nautus' operation looked a lot more impressive from here.

The fortress loomed above them, looking more akin to a ruin. It was constructed on a plateau near the knees of the Black Mountain. Scaling up to it required them to take a path around a sheer cliff on the southern side. The journey hadn't been that difficult; Red had made it before.

But it was a real hassle for Red either way.

The underbrush had not been cut back from the walls. William saw another sentry come to assist in the watch. Two on the right forward tower were wearing cloaks and warming their hands on a brazier. But, Red and company were set up outside the left forward tower.

The serpent was eager for blood, as was Red. It spoke of glorious poems told by the fireside, of romance and adventure. Red felt the tendrils speaking of glory and found her gaze turn to William often. Safara had an interest in him and wanted him alive. That was why Red felt these feelings.

Just shrug it off.

Focus on the castle.

Also, the guards at the gate were outside and presumably had the keys. So if you killed them, you could get in. They also had no clear line of fire if you approached from the left. You could stick by the tower's curve and get right near them. And there was a hole in the wall, though it would take some scaling to get up. You didn't run up a ramp of uneven rubble without any problems. And if someone was waiting at the top, you could be in trouble.

There had been a group of people at the top.

But they'd been playing cards.

"Is that the place?" asked William, looking like he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Yeah," said Red. "I've seen it before while traveling. From the looks of things, they've got a couple of lookouts up there.

"Also, someone is patching that wall. Idiots should have done that first."

The last time she'd been here, he'd had fewer people and was a novelty beneath notice. He'd expanded a lot from the looks but still needed to improve the quality. It was a lot harder to keep control of a big gang than a small one.

"They should have found a smaller hideout," said Jaina. "This castle was unoccupied because you need an army to defend it."

"With that many, supplies would be a problem. Bandits usually have problems eating enough to live. Who thought this place would be a good hold-up?" Cute and intelligent.

"It's a good place for a supply depot," noted Felix. "You could safely store a lot of materials here."

"Do you know anything about this, Red?" asked William.

Red shrugged. There wasn't any point in hiding things. "Well, a friend of mine used to take trips up here. Needed to move stuff to Haldren. King Gavin was trying to set up his private enclave. But, a lot of local nobles had a problem with moving malas.

"So they took a lot of indirect routes to Ascorn. It let them dodge taxes and guards. No way would they have gotten it there without Tavish."

"So Nautus works for Tavish?" asked William.

"More pays tribute than works," said Red. "The guy set up operations, and Tavish was willing to work with him. I guess he figured it wasn't worth the trouble of a fight.

"I mean, if there was a fight, that would attract attention. And then you get a posse of beautiful warrior women come to slit your throat."

"I take your point," said William.

"Well, I hate resorting to violence as much as the next person," said Jaina. "But why would Nautus start a fight now? His actions are suicidal."

"It may be a matter of pure ego," noted Bastille. "Nautus may assume that the world is quaking in fear of him. When in reality, the world is scarcely aware of his existence."