Sauragia: Journey to the Red Mountain

Chapter 14

Oric listened intently to his trusty scout’s report. He had sent this Alvarosaurus called Reddi ahead to enter Saurahall and plot things out for him while he and the rest waited in a little cave by a stream in the western reaches of the Elderwood Forest. The Saurahallers, as he understood it, were mostly Alvarosaurs as well, so his presence would not be noticed as much. And he was not disappointed, for the description Reddi gave was as thorough as could be.

“Weren’t hard gettin’ in,” he explained. “The city’s got three gates cov’rin’ the west, south, an’ east, an’ they didn’t hardly take no notice o’ me wand’rin’ the streets.”

“Good,” spoke Oric. “What did you find out?”

“They’re all in a fuss up there, boss. Gettin’ ready fer some festival o’ sorts, they are.”

“Festival! Why, they must be rich to hold events like that!” commented one fellow robber.

“Go on. Go on,” prompted Oric, intrigued by the news. His cunning mind was already working to make use of this information. “Where do they keep the valuables?”

“Oh, that’s obvious,” replied the spy. “There’s a big keep at the back where the king lives called the Palace. It’s huge, an’ a fair sight taller ‘n the rest o’ the city. It’s bound to have loads o’ good stuff in it. There’s also a kirk in the southeast corner o’ the city, but it don’t look like the big fancy type.”

“Very good, Reddi. Did you see any way into the Palace?”

“Sure. It’s riddled wit’ doors ‘n’ winders an’ all, ‘specially the upper storeys. But that’s not the best part! No sir, the best part is that durin’ the festival they let anyone into the courtyard.”

“Anyone?”

“Anyone! Go figger.”

“When does this festival happen?”

“In three days, but there’s also a celebration the night before.”

“Excellent!” exclaimed Oric with a triumphant gleam in his eyes. “I’ll make sure you get some extra loot when we’re back home.”

Reddi swelled with pride and moved back into line with the others. Oric grinned maliciously, and they all knew exactly what that meant.

“You have a plan, Oric?” asked Bandor.

“As a matter of fact I do,” replied the Red One. The pieces of information Reddi supplied them had practically organized themselves, so putting them together had not been a great strain for the bandit leader. “Now, listen up. Here’s how we’ll get into the city. When this festival starts, we’ll walk on in through these three gates. We’ll go singly and in pairs so as not to raise suspicions. Once inside, we’ll remain split up until I deem it safe to go on. Until I see the Palace for myself, I can’t tell you any more. But rest assured, my friends, we’ll not walk away from Saurahall with empty claws if I have anything to say about it.”

The other dinosaurs nodded and smiled approvingly at their leader. They knew he was as good as his word.

“So, what do we do now?” asked Reddi.

“Now, we wait,” replied Oric. “Patience, as always, is important here, and we’ve enough supplies to last us three days or more. So, here we will sit and watch, and be ready when our moment comes.”