“What of him?”
“Won’t he object to his nobles fighting?”
“No, he pays little heed to such things. It has ever been thus.”
“Good to know,” said Ecke. “What can we expect in the way of defenders?”
“His forces are decidedly limited. At last count, he had but thirty men, and only one-third of them archers.”
“And the village of Regnitz?”
“Lies a little to the south of the keep, several hundred yards from its walls. The ground thereabouts is clear in all directions.”
Ecke visibly paled. “So we have to assault across open ground, then wade through a moat?”
“Precisely. Don’t worry, though, my men will be backing you up.”
“When you say ‘your men,’ how many are you talking about?”
“I have gathered a force of one hundred, with thirty of those yeoman cavalry.”
“Of little use in a siege, my
