Arik tossed the hook again and thistime was rewarded with a clang as the hook snagged a bar on one ofthe cells. Arik wrapped the free end of the rope around his backand sat with his feet dug into the ground. Tanya placed herself acouple of feet in front of Arik and also grabbed the rope and dugin. Tedi walked to the edge of the moat and tested the flex in therope. It seemed taut and time was running quickly, so Tedi put hisfaith in his partners and hopped onto the rope.
Tedi’s balance was excellent and hisfear did not emanate from the thought of falling, it came from theflexing of the rope as it dipped close to the water’s surface. Onething he hadn’t thought of was that the beasts might actually riseup out of the water to eat him. Tedi tried to concentrate ongaining the other bank and off of the moat. He felt the ropefirming as he neared the far edge and soon he was on land again. Helooked into the cell that the hook had caught on and his heartskipped a beat. The cell was empty.
Even as he was feeling doomed andwondering what to do next, his hands were untying the hook andtying the rope to the bar of the cell. Without thinking he threwthe hook across the moat to Arik and Tanya. Tedi untied the ropeonce more and shimmied up the flagpole. Swiftly, he tied the ropeto the metal ring at the top of the flagpole and slid down to theground. He quickly ran from cell to cell looking for Niki. It washard to see in the dark and then he remembered that Fredrik hadsaid that she was in one of the corners. He ran to the closestcorner cell and peered in. There was definitely something in thereand Tedi bent to pick the lock.
The lock was not particularly hard andTedi soon had the cell opened and the rope ladder fastened to thetop. He let the ladder drop and scrambled down as he heard thepatrol’s boots scraping along the ground. The bottom of the cellwas black and, hoping Niki would forgive him, he began feelingaround. At least he was sure that the woman in the cell had curlyhair. He lay on his stomach and pushed her on top of himself.Shifting her body around on his back to allow the straps of theharness to secure her, he kept listening for the sounds of thepatrol.
Once she was secure, he started up therope ladder. When he reached the top he stuck his head out to lookfor the patrol and saw no one. A moment of dread ran through himwhen he thought he might have been abandoned by his friends in theRoyal Prison. A feeling of shame quickly followed as Arik and Tanyaran forward from the wall where they had hidden while the guardswere in sight. The guards did not make a complete circuit, but camedown the path towards the cells and then turned around. Thankfully,they did not see the rope.
Tedi almost lost his balance as hestooped to retrieve the rope ladder and lock the cell. He rose andthrew the ladder across the moat. Adjusting Niki’s weight, Tedistepped to the edge of the moat and jumped up to grab the rope,which was tied to the flagpole. He decided if the rope was going tofail, he wasn’t going to spend time dreading it. Straining againstthe weight of Niki and himself, Tedi began swinging to get his feetup on the rope. By the time he got his feet wrapped around therope, Tedi’s arms were aching. As quickly as he dared, Tedi startedmoving his hands along the rope towards the other side of the moat.Each hand movement was a strain and his arms felt like they wouldbe ripped out of their sockets. Slowly and agonizingly, Tedi putone hand in front of the other until finally he and Niki were safeon the other side.
Tanya ran up to the edge of the moatand cut the rope to leave it dangling in the water. Arik pried theclimbing claw out of the ground and coiled the remaining rope. Thethree Rangers met at the wall and Arik caught the top of the wallwith the hook. Tanya climbed the rope first and stayed on top ofthe wall. Tedi and Niki went next and Arik had to help by pushing.When Tedi reached the top, he managed to straddle the wall withoutfalling. Arik was close behind and pulled the rope up and switchedthe hook to let the rope dangle on the outside of the wall. Arikdescended first and allowed Tedi to place his feet on his shouldersto ease the way down. When they were safely down, Tanya tossed thehook down and then dropped herself to the ground.
Fredrik was downstairs waiting whenthey entered the house. They changed Niki into her blacksuit andTanya pushed her leather hat over Niki’s red hair. The three ofthem mounted their horses and Fredrik hefted Niki up to Arik, whoheld her in front of him. Tanya took the reins to Niki’s horse andthey set out for the North Gate.
Fredrik made it back to his room at theFluttering Jib on foot and tossed himself on the bed to get a fewhours sleep before the guards arrived.
Chapter 18
Mutiny
It was barely past first light when thepounding on the door woke Fredrik. He struggled to sit and thepounding continued. Sleepily shuffling over to the door, Fredrikthrew the bolt back and two Melbin Guards rushed in, their headsswiveling to search the room. Fredrik could see two more guardswaiting in the hallway beyond the door. “Lord Wason,” one of theguards declared, “you have been summoned to the Royal Palace. It iswell that you are dressed, King Alfred appears impatient thismorning.”
As fearful as he was, Fredrik walkedover to the basin and wet his face. “I shall just be a moment,” hesaid through the towel wiping the sleep from his face. The guardtapped his foot impatiently while Fredrik tried to smooth his redvelvet suit. At least, Fredrik realized, he was not under arrest.The guards would not wait for him if they had orders for hisarrest.
When Fredrik was as presentable as hecould be after sleeping in his clothes, he turned and walked outthe door. The guards had a carriage waiting for him and, once hewas in, they rushed him to the Royal Palace. Fredrik was escorteddirectly to the Throne Room where King Alfred was waiting. Theguard escorting him whispered something in the servant’s ear andthe servant scurried up to the King and relayed theinformation.
“I see the lodging in our innsis not to your liking, Lord Wason,” the King stated. “Perhaps Ishould extend rooms in the Palace for your comfort.”
A shiver ran down Fredrik’s back as hethought the King must know about the house he had occupied lastnight. Slowly it dawned on him that the King probably was referringto the state of Fredrik’s clothes. Some travelers slept in theirclothes and armed because they did not trust the innkeeper to keepthem safe while they slept. “I am afraid it was a long dayyesterday, Your Highness. I know that Melbin is a city wheretravelers are safe, but I was so tired I must have fallen asleepbefore I could undress.”
“Understandable,” the Kinglaughed. “You probably indulged yourself in a bit of merriment lastnight to toast the conclusion of your hunt for thewitch.”
Fredrik noticed that the King’s laughhad been forced and the body language of the servants and theguards, who had not been withdrawn, told him that he was a suspectin the escape. “Actually, it was simple fatigue,” Fredrik stated.“The witch has led me on a merry chase for some weeks and I mustadmit that many of those nights did not afford a bed as comfortableas the Fluttering Jib.”
Frowning, the King tried a differentapproach, “I am told that you had a party of four with you when youarrived and they left you late last night. Did they have someurgent task to fulfill for you?”
This part Fredrik had rehearsed in hismind last night. “They were not my servants,” Lord Wason declared.“They belong to Captain Grecho of the Cidal Mercenary Company. Theyare on their way north to negotiate a contract. They had agreed tobe my escort while I was chasing the witch. When I informed themlast night that my search had ended, they took their leave andcontinued on their mission.”