* * *
The wenches were surprised by Mansel’s coldness. They all remembered him from his last visit to the inn, and he had been fun and generous with them. Now he was surly and sat alone in one of the private rooms, drinking and eating. He had coin, they saw that, but he had no interest in them. After being shouted at, the serving girls were all giving the big warrior a wide berth.
When the innkeeper came into his room, Mansel looked up angrily. He hated sitting around in Orrock while Zollin played the hero. If he had to be here, he wanted to be left alone. He wasn’t interested in fighting a war, he just want to get Zollin and go south. He was almost ready to knock his friend over the head, throw him across the back of a horse, and take him to Lodenhime by force, but he knew that wasn’t a good idea. Even if he could manage to get Zollin out of the city, if the wizard didn’t come willingly, Mansel wouldn’t be able to force him to go anywhere for long.
“What do you want?” Mansel said. “I’ve paid you.”
“You have a visitor,” the innkeeper said, still standing in the doorway. “The wizard’s father, Quinn, is here. He needs to get a message to his son.”
“Quinn is here?” Mansel asked. “That’s impossible.”
“Well, there’s a man claiming to be the wizard’s father. He knew you by name. I told him I would let you know, and I have. I’ll leave it to you to work out who he is, but don’t do it inside the inn. I’ll throw you out,” the innkeeper said in an shaky voice, “if you cause trouble.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Mansel said. “Where is he?”
“He’s in the stable, seeing to his horse.”
“Good,” Mansel said, standing up.
He started to buckle on his sword belt, and the innkeeper hurried away. Mansel’s mind was racing. He couldn’t believe that Quinn had survived being thrown overboard in the Great Sea, but it was just like the wily old carpenter to survive and show up here. Mansel was sure Quinn wanted to take Zollin back to Gwendolyn. If his mentor didn’t try to kill Mansel outright, he would certainly reveal Mansel’s treachery to Gwendolyn. Mansel couldn’t let that happen. Whether the person in the stable was actually Quinn or not, he needed to die.
The fury that had been building in Mansel was white-hot now. Normally he would have relished the opportunity to fight, to let his aggression go and vent his frustrations, but it was unnerving to think that Quinn could have survived after being thrown overboard. Mansel remembered seeing Quinn sink under the waves, and there was nothing but water in every direction as far as the eye could see. It was impossible to think that Quinn could have swum to shore, he told himself.
The nervousness only made him more anxious to fight, to exert his strength and let the tension that had been building up go. He stalked through the inn, the guests and staff giving him plenty of room. There was murder in his eyes and everyone saw it. Voices fell silent as he passed. Their fear made Mansel feel invincible as he stepped outside and turned toward the stable.
* * *
Miriam was frantic when she reached Orrock. The city was locked down and no one would allow her in. The invading army was making camp around Orrock, and she was trapped between their forces and the city walls. The guards looked at her with pity, but they couldn’t take a chance that she was a spy.
“Please,” she begged. “I must get in. There are people in danger.”
“Ma’am, we’re all in danger,” the sentry at the city gate told her. “Your best bet is to get across the river. You might be safe there, if you can get across.”
“No, I have to get in. You don’t understand.”
“I have my orders, I can’t break them for you or anyone else.”
“Please,” Miriam begged. “I have to see Zollin. He’s in danger, grave danger.”
“I’m sorry,” the soldier’s face had gone stony, and Miriam knew she had lost him.
“Wait, can you take a message to Zollin?”
“I can pass it along, but I can’t make any promises,” the soldier said.
“Here,” Miriam said, handing up the note that Kelvich had left at the farmhouse for Zollin. “It’s very important that he get his note. It’s life and death, do you understand?”
“I’ll pass it along,” he said.
The soldier disappeared for a moment and then he was back.
“I sent it to Zollin the wizard. It’s the best I could do,” he said.
She thought he sounded sincere, but he had been gone from his post for only a few seconds. For all she knew he might have tossed it in the dung heap and was just telling her what she wanted to hear.
“Thank you,” she said.
The soldier nodded, and then Miriam was left with a difficult decision. She could see the invading army, spreading out across the plain that surrounded Orrock. There was no place for her to take shelter, and if she tried to go back toward Felson, she would surely be captured. They might let her go, she was just a woman after all, but armies had a reputation of not being very polite to women. She didn’t think she could take that chance.
On the other hand, the Tillamook ran close to the city. If she could get across it she might be able to get home, but she couldn’t swim, and the river was wide. The thought of trying to cross a river really frightened her. Ajax was a strong horse, and perhaps he could swim the river with her on his back, but what if she slipped off? She was suddenly terrified, and she realized she was all alone.
* * *
The soldier gave the note to another guard who happened to be passing by. That guard gave the note to man who was officially off duty, but with the army now starting to surround the city, no one was leaving his post without good reason. That soldier passed the note to one of the healers who was on his way back to the military compound.
The healer gave the note to one of the volunteers who was helping in the infirmary. The healers hadn’t had much to do, since Zollin had healed the most critically wounded soldiers, but they were busy preparing for what they expected to be a major influx of wounded once the fighting started. The healer gave the volunteer instructions to take the note to Commander Hausey.
It took nearly half an hour of searching before the volunteer found Commander Hausey, who saw that the note was addressed to Zollin and then tucked it into his belt. He would have to go to the castle to give a report soon. He would pass on the note then.
* * *
Quinn was giving his horse a good rub down. He had already taken off the saddle and blanket, and the horse was busy munching on the hay that Quinn had put in the stall. There wasn’t much light in the stable, just a single lantern that Quinn was using, but he heard the door open and guessed immediately who had entered.
“Mansel,” Quinn said. “I thought you might find me here.”
“You’re alive,” Mansel said. “I should have known you’d find a way to survive.”
“You don’t need to kill me,” Quinn said. “We were under a spell. The woman in Lodenhime is a witch. You don’t really love her.”
“Stop trying to deceive me, Quinn. I know you want Gwendolyn to yourself. Why do you think I threw you overboard? Not that she would want an old man like you.”
Quinn felt a cough coming. He knew that he couldn’t avoid it, but he didn’t want to appear weak in Mansel’s eyes. The big warrior hadn’t moved from the doorway of the stable, and Quinn had continued rubbing down his horse. He wished he had a better weapon. He still had the curve-bladed knife he’d taken from the outlaw. He had scoured off the rust and honed the blade so that it was razor sharp, but it was still a poorly made weapon.
“You aren’t yourself, old friend,” Quinn said. “Let me help you.”