The room swam about me as I tried to catch my balance. Penny was kind enough to set her bucket down and catch me by the arm before I stumbled into the side table. The word ‘groggy’, was a bit of an understatement. “How late were you up?” she asked curiously. Her voice was devoid of the malice that had lain behind her warnings of a moment ago; instead it now conveyed only curiosity and perhaps innocent concern. I was never quite sure how she managed to switch from naughty to nice so quickly.
I had been working until nearly dawn, making sure that the enchantments I had laid years before were still in perfect shape. I had gone over them with painstaking care, making sure there were no mistakes, no flaws. Any imperfection would mean not only my own death, but could potentially cost me the lives of my family, along with everyone else who depended upon me. Last night wasn’t the first time I had checked and rechecked them… I had done so at least yearly for the past five years.
Penny got my attention again by snapping her fingers in front of me, “Hello? Did you hear me?”
I struggled for a witty answer and eventually came up with, “Huh?”
“I asked how late you were up,” she repeated patiently.
“M’not sure, two or three perhaps,” I hedged. “Do you have any tea?”
“Liar,” she rebuked me, “I woke up close to dawn, and you weren’t in bed yet. Lilly will be up with the tea in a moment. What were you doing?”
“Working on the defenses,” I said, using a half-truth. “Why am I awake so early?” I was hoping the question would deflect her attention.
She handed me a wet towel to wash my face. “You know very well why you’re awake. Dorian wants to start the meeting bright and early. Don’t try to distract me. When are you going to share the details?”
I should have known better than to expect I’d get away easily. This was a conversation we had had on a number of occasions in the past. “I have told you the details, those that I can share.”
“Not good enough,” she argued, “We have our children at risk, and now we know they are coming for sure. I want to know what you’ve kept hidden.”
“No,” I answered simply.
“Why?”
I sighed, “We’ve been over this before. The time may come when you are unable to conceal the information. That would effectively nullify my plan.”
“You don’t trust me?” she said, changing tactics.
I gave her a hard stare, “You know better than that. They might take the information straight out of your mind.”
Penny drew out the amulet I had given her and held it in her hand. It shielded her mind from magical influences. Years ago I had created similar necklaces for every man, woman, and child of Washbrook and Cameron Castle.
“That might not be strong enough,” I told her, “and if you are captured they could easily remove it.”
“If you are captured there is no one left that knows how to put your plan into operation,” she countered.
It was a valid point. “If I am captured, and they learn the plan then it won’t matter. No trap will work when your enemy knows the nature of it. Besides, only a mage could set this in motion.”
My wife’s face did not reflect happiness. “You’ve grown too comfortable with secrets Mordecai,” she cautioned.
“Maybe,” I admitted. “I don’t like it either, but I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you and the children safe.”
She turned away and busied herself with dressing. “Whatever you think it takes,” she muttered quietly to herself, and in the interest of peace I pretended that I hadn’t heard.
Dorian stood at the head of the table in our council room. “I think you all understand why we are gathered. Yesterday’s ‘messenger’ was a reminder that we have powerful enemies, enemies that will soon be coming to pay us a visit.”
I couldn’t help but admire my friend’s poise. Over the years he had developed a strong confidence when it came to leading the men. Looking over the crowd, I could see that he had the rapt attention of every man and woman in the room, and there were a lot of them. Today’s meeting included not only the usual members of the Knights of Stone, but also Penny, Peter Tucker, Chad Grayson, Walter and Elaine Prathion, and of course myself. Peter was representing the castle staff, while Chad was my chief huntsman and consequently was in charge of the men I would be using to maintain a watch in and around the castle and its surrounds.
“Consequently,” Dorian continued, “we will maintain a position of high alert until after the current threat has passed.” Looking down the table, Dorian pointed at Peter, who had quietly raised his hand, “You have a question?”
“Yes mi’lord. I realize this may seem trivial, but will the yearly celebration still be held at week’s end?” he asked. He was referring to the yearly feast that commemorated our victory over the army of Gododdin.
Dorian nodded, looking toward me, “I would prefer to skip it this year but I will defer that question to our lord. Your Excellency…?”
My first instinct was to agree with him but as I started to rise I felt Penny’s hand upon my arm. I leaned closer and she whispered into my ear, “Morale will suffer greatly if you skip it. We have another week after that still.”
“The celebration will go forward as usual,” I told them. “It shouldn’t interfere, although I feel badly for your men, Chad,” I said, referring to the master huntsman. “Many of them will miss it to maintain watch. Also I will have to ask that everyone refrain from drinking overmuch.”
The man I had taken on as my huntsman a few years ago was young, close to my own age, but he was a man of few words. I had hired him away from the Lancaster’s on their huntsman, William Doyle’s, recommendation. Since then I had rarely been disappointed in his ability to find game. I would be counting on him and the other huntsmen to act as advance warning in the week to come.
“Don’t fret on our behalf, yer lordship,” he replied immediately. His courtly graces were lacking, but then that wasn’t what mattered in his line of work.
Sir Harold spoke next, “Given the fact that we have a good idea of when they will arrive, will we be altering our responses?” A big man, Harold had grown out of his boyish looks, and his short golden beard made him seem somewhat lion-like.
I was grateful for the question, for it led us directly to the heart of the matter. “Yes,” I answered, “it will alter our planning, although the basics will stay the same. Primarily, it will enable us to evacuate many people prior to the day we expect the gods to arrive. Dorian, would you mind going over the three basic plans for everyone? Just to make sure everyone remembers…”
“Certainly,” said Dorian before he drew a deep breath. He showed nothing of the nervousness he had once had difficulty with, but looking around the room, I could tell everyone was inwardly groaning at the thought of hearing the outlines of our emergency plans again. This was something we went over yearly; including a drill to make sure people knew what to do.
“As I am sure most of you know, we have been anticipating something like this for many years now, ever since our good count brought the ‘God-Stone’ back to Castle Cameron for safekeeping,” Dorian began carefully. “In the event of an attack or other emergency, there are three evacuations plans which we have designated with the colors blue, yellow, and red. The most optimistic plan is blue; although none of the three should be mistaken for a good situation.”
Dorian’s eyes roved across the room, making sure everyone’s attention was on him. “Blue means that we intend to stay and fight. The only people to be evacuated are those without assigned roles in the defense of the keep, primarily women, children and the elderly. From the yearly drills, the townsfolk and castle inhabitants should know to gather at the building housing the teleportation circles in the castle yard. All guardsmen, knights, and of course our few wizards, will report to their assigned locations. George and Elaine Prathion are responsible for making sure that those to be evacuated are taken by ‘circle’ to Albamarl.”