Free Web NovelChapter 154: 2nd Company "Grey Wardens"
The fort stood at the foot of the mountain where the Dreadmoor ridge split apart into the pass. Its builders had made the stone walls broad enough to seal the pass completely.
From two hundred and fifty yards downhill, lying in a hollow with cold seeping through the ground beneath him, Col studied the fortification piece by piece.
The ridge behind the fort gave him the first reference point. Grey rock walls rose on both sides of the pass entrance, with the notch itself showing as a lighter break in the stone. The fort occupied the mouth of that pass as though someone had poured it into the available space and allowed it to harden there.
Stone walls stretched across the slope, joined at the corners by two squat towers. The towers were practical rather than impressive, built to provide observation points. The main gate sat on the far side facing the valley road, toward the lowland route where attackers would have to cross several hundred yards of exposed ground before reaching the walls.
That side could not be seen from the hollow. Col and the others had approached from the rear slope specifically to avoid exposing themselves to it.
From two hundred and fifty yards away, the lower wall was what mattered.
Col examined it carefully. The builders had used the natural rise of the ground inside the fort, reducing the height needed on that section. Even so, anyone approaching from outside still faced five meters of stone between the ground and the parapet.
The masonry there was older than the main walls. The blocks had been set with different material, and years of weather had darkened them noticeably. Three angular projections marked the spots where the lower wall met the side walls. Col paid particular attention to those corners because the watch fire’s light did not reach them.
There were three watch fires.
Two burned atop the towers, spreading light across the upper walls and down the valley road. From this distance they gave the fort a faint orange glow.
The third burned lower, inside the fort near what appeared to be a checkpoint or interior gate built into the lower section.
Its position immediately told Col something noteworthy.
The fire illuminated the inside yard and the inside wall, helping the garrison move around, but it did almost nothing for spotting someone outside. The sentries on the lower wall paced across the central stretch of parapet, appearing when they crossed through the firelight and disappearing again when they entered the darkness at the corners.
The corners remained untouched by the glow.
More importantly, the sentries were looking outward and downhill toward the broken terrain commanders expected attackers to use. No one expected a company to climb the steep hillside behind the fort in darkness.
Two sentries moved continuously.
Col verified the count against the information Ern had provided before they left camp.
Above the lower wall he could make out the barracks as a darker shadow, its roofline lower than the towers and set farther back near the lower section. The yard between the lower checkpoint and the main gate remained hidden from this position.
That was acceptable. He had studied the sketch map twice already and knew the layout well enough to build a plan around it.
He turned toward Ern.
Ern noticed and said quietly. "Lower wall, two sentries. They rotate every two hours. The shift change happens between the second and third hour past midnight. Corner’s uncovered for about ninety seconds."
He glanced toward the fort. "The supply depot is twenty yards inside the wall, sixty yards from there to the main gate. The gate’s held shut by one iron crossbar and Has to be lifted from inside. It’ll make noise."
He paused.
"Two guards at the gate, one each side. Same shift change as the wall."
Col worked through the information in sequence.
First the wall.
Then the depot.
Then the yard.
Then the gate.
Hod scratched at his jaw.
"Twenty-one men climbing that slope in the dark. What’s stopping them hearing us?"
Ern replied, "Their eyes are on the road. That lower fire ruins their sight past thirty yards or so and the wind through the pass covers small noises most nights. They aren’t watching the hillside."
Ric grunted.
"Grapple hits stone, they’ll hear it. If we’re late, we’re throwing that thing thirty yards from them."
"Which is why we do it during the handoff."
Ern pointed toward the lower wall.
"During the shift change. That’s our window."
Col nodded. free𝑤ebnovel.com
"The grapple goes up during the change. Who climbs first?"
"Ulf and Eadig," Hod said immediately. "Fastest climbers I’ve got."
"Bern and Sigg," Ric added.
Those four became the vanguard.
One problem solved.
Hod kept going.
"Ninety seconds isn’t much. If the new watch spot us, we’re done for."
Ric looked toward the fort.
"The vanguard deal with them before that happens."
Ern nodded.
"They cut through a dark alley between the buildings before they reach the parapet."
"Then that’s where they’re stopped," Col said. "Before they reach the parapet."
Hod folded his arms. "We can’t use firearms inside, one shot and the whole damned fort’s awake. Blades out until we get that gate open."
Ric snorted, "Better not to fight altogether. Just sneak by the bastards through the yard."
"Three-man groups across the yard," Col said. "We push for the gate first."
Ric stared at the fort for a moment.
"Then the ugly part. Cold night, gate opens, they’ll hear it."
Hod nodded. "That gives us what? Twenty seconds? Maybe thirty before men start pouring into the yard."
"Enough." Col cut them short and continued.
"Gate gets opened. Infiltration squads secure the yard. Main body comes through."
Hod glanced at him.
"And if somebody spots us before we reach the gate?"
"Then we take the fight to the buildings and use the pistols. The company hits the gate directly."
Ric grimaced.
"That’ll be a bloody mess."
Col said nothing.
Ric wasn’t wrong. The backup plan carried worse odds, but there wasn’t a better one.
Col looked once more at the shadowed corners of the lower wall.
The watch fire never reached them.
Darkness still held there.
That darkness was the window they needed.
"Second hour past midnight."
They withdrew down the hillside.
The hollow sheltered the Grey Wardens in small squad groups below the rim. Men sat with their backs against boulders and natural rock formations. Equipment rested within easy reach.
No fires burned.
The only light came from the distant fort where three faint watch fires glowed beyond the rim. Two marked the towers. One burned lower near the fort’s lower section.
The entire company remained awake with focused alertness. It was impossible to sleep near the enemy and just before the operation started.
Two soldiers from one squad sat against the same boulder.
One rolled his shoulders and grimaced.
"Should’ve joined the intelligence fellas."
The man beside him snorted.
"You can’t write."
"That’s not the point."
A few men nearby chuckled.
Someone farther down spoke up.
"Never thought I’d see us climbing walls."
"Never thought I’d volunteer for it either."
"You didn’t."
"Fair."
The group fell quiet for a moment.
Then another voice came from the darkness.
"Wonder what poor bastard’s on watch tonight."
A few grins appeared.
"Hopefully one that sleeps deep."
"Hopefully one that drinks."
"Hopefully both."
A man spat into the dirt.
"Long as he doesn’t look up, I don’t care."
Hod moved through his squad without raising his voice. He checked every grapple himself. The ropes were wound properly. The grapple heads were wrapped in cloth to reduce noise. ƒrēewebnovel.com
Across the hollow, Ric was doing the same with his own men. Checking pistols. Then saber draws. Each soldier checked twice in the cold before returning the weapon to its place.
Col stood near the rim where he could see the lower section of the fort.
The three watch fires still burned where they had before.
The lower fire remained the smallest, casting its light inward across the yard instead of outward toward potential attackers. The corners of the lower wall stayed hidden between that glow and the light spilling from the towers.
From this distance they looked exactly as they had earlier.
The second hour past midnight was close now.
