Sauragia

Chapter 24

It was indeed a quiet night along the ramparts of Saurahall and the woods beyond. Nothing but the occasional hoot of an owl or chirrup of a cricket could be heard as Carl and a clawful of select dinosaurs made their way toward the edge of the tree line. They emerged just beside the massive elm at the point nearest the west wall. Looking around, the straight-faced chieftain turned to two of his underlings bearing a rope and sharp hook between them. He glanced once more at the walltop before speaking.

“Right, here’s the plan,” he said. “You see that point by the northwest wall corner?” He indicated a dimly lit area about halfway between the west gate and the northwest wall tower.

“I see it alright,” said one of the two as the other nodded.

“I’ve examined this wall from every possible angle and direction,” explained Carl. “I’ve studied their patrol pattern for several days now, and I’ve found that it takes longer for their guards to come back to that point than any other along the ramparts.”

“How long, chief?” asked one of the others.

“Long enough for my plan to work,” replied Carl, rather dodging the question. For in truth, neither he nor any other Saltrak knew how to count very high, much less tell time.

“And what’s that, chief? Tell us,” said one Alvarosaurus, rubbing his claws together eagerly. “Is it gonna’ get us inside?”

“That’s the idea. Now listen up. As soon as the next guards pass that point, Revil and Dirg here will run up and toss the hook onto the wall. Our quickest climbers here, Ven and Fen, will then ascend the rope and drop the hook back down. They’ll run to the gate, knock out the guards there, then let the rest of us in. After that, just follow my lead. Got it?”

“Sure thing, chief,” said Ven.

“You’re so clever,” said his twin brother Fen.

“Good. Now get ready! Here comes the next patrol.”

They crouched down low in the brush as a pair of Alvarosaurs carrying spears walked by toward the northwest wall corner. They passed the point, went through the tower door and proceeded along the north wall. Waiting until they were a fair distance on their way, Carl then indicated his two hook-bearers.

“Go!” he ordered. “Hurry!”

The four selected checked their surroundings one more time, then stealthily made their way up to the wall. Getting a good windup first, Revil tossed the grappling hook, but it fell a bit short. With a clink it hit the battlement and fell back to earth with a thud. Dirg passed him the rope and took up the head. He then stood back a little and threw after a heavy windup. His toss landed the hook directly between two battlements where it stayed. Revil gave the rope a tug until it was taut, then motioned toward the twins. They nodded to each other and began their climb.

The conversation had turned to idle chatter between Rob and Astron as they walked leisurely along the length of the west wall on their patrol.

“Beautiful night,” said Astron. “Don’t need a lantern after all.”

“Certainly not. Starlight’s nice when you can get it,” spoke Rob. “Still, some rain clouds are good too now and again. We can’t have things getting too dry around here.”

“They won’t,” said Astron with certainty.

“How d’you know?”

“See that ring around the moon? It means there’ll be rain soon. Possibly tomorrow. My dad taught me that, and it never fails.”

“Pretty impressive,” admitted Rob. “Do you suppose you’ll go back to your farm when you’re done here?”

“I don’t know,” replied Astron with a laugh. “I suppose I might. On the other claw, I like this place, and I might just decide to settle in here when I’m ready to give up life in the Guard. But that’s a little far in the future to think about now either way, wouldn’t you say?”

“Maybe, but it never hurts to be prepared.”

At that moment, they became aware of two figures approaching from the opposite direction. They walked at a brisk pace, but not so fast that one did not recognize the two officers with a quick, “Evenin’.”

“Evening, soldier,” replied Astron with a smile before passing them. He turned back to Rob as they continued walking. “What about you Rob?”

“Oh, I don’t know either,” replied he. “Too young for that kind of thinking, you know. I’ve still got a couple years of irresponsibility to go yet.” He flashed a reckless grin. “Still, I was born and raised in Saurahall, and so stay in Saurahall I think I will. Of course, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of the world before all that. Gather up plenty of adventures to tell young uns about. You know what I mean.”

“Sure. I imagine…” Astron stopped walking. Rob stopped a moment after.

“What is it, old lad?”

“Did you know them?” he replied, gesturing over his shoulder.

“No.”

“Neither did I.”

They spun around. Down the wall some distance, they could see the two figures in the torchlight hauling on the gate winch.

“Oy!” yelled Rob, drawing his blade and charging towards the intruders. Astron likewise pulled out his sword and went after his friend.

Seeing that they had been spotted, the twins hurriedly cranked the doors open and prepared to face their attackers. Astron and Rob were upon them just as Carl and his raiders came through the wide open gate.

“Kill those two, quickly!” he directed, and his soldiers trudged up the stairs to either side.

Ven and Fen were no match for Rob and Astron, and were soon disarmed. Before anything further could be done with them, however, Carl’s raiders were upon the young guards from both sides. Fen and Ven took advantage of this distraction to draw back behind the protection of their allies. The two defenders held firmly their ground atop the gate, laying three of Carl’s fifteen flat between them.

“Hurry up and finish them, you fools!” the chieftain urged them on from below, fearing the noise of fighting might attract unwanted attention.

In fact, even as he said it one of his creatures had a long-bladed knife ready to plunge into Astron’s back. Only a swift thrust of Rob’s sword saved him. The battle carried on for a couple minutes, during which two, then three more were piled up, giving Astron only a minor cut across his cheek in exchange. Carl watched in unending frustration as his plan came undone before his eyes. He then heard a clamour and looked to see a group of soldiers running down the street towards them, led by Captain Humphreys and Sergeant Browne. Likewise seeing the danger, the twins backed away quietly and took off down the wall. Astron espied them and signalled to Rob.

“Go after them,” he spoke, and with no more than a nod, his fellow guard was off. Astron turned to ward off blows from both sides, but he had not long to hold on before the other Saurahallers reached him.

“Get out you fools!” cried Carl. Then, with an every-dino-for-himself mentality, he slipped back through the gate and into the shadows of the night. The remainder of his crew made for the gate as well, trying to get through before it was closed. A couple succeeded, but the rest were trapped between the solid, iron-reinforced gates and the spears of the Saurahall Defence Force. They surrendered without a struggle.

Rob, meanwhile, had practically caught up with the two remaining intruders. He was not widely known for it, and his modest refusal to participate in Saurahall’s races kept it well hidden, but Rob was actually a superbly fast runner. The fastest in all Saurahall, now that Johnny’s leg was injured. Thus, as Fen fell slightly behind his brother, Rob was upon him. He was unarmed, and so quickly grounded and pinned down by the guard. He emitted a single yelp, at which his brother glanced backward over his shoulder. It was the last mistake Ven ever made. For he had been running dangerously near the inner edge of the wall, and in that split second had misplaced his step just a tad too far to the left. He gasped as he felt himself fall, then remained silent ever after.

Captain Humphreys made his way up to Astron, who was breathing hard from the exertion of fighting off so many foes at once.

“You all right there, lad?” he asked. “That’s a nasty-looking cut on your face.”

Astron felt his bleeding cheek, which stung a little.

“I hadn’t noticed,” he said. “It’s not so bad. It’ll heal fast enough.”

“Well, take this anyway,” said Humphreys, giving him a white kerchief, which he gratefully applied to the wound.

“What happened here?” asked the Force Captain as Rob hauled his prisoner over to where the rest were gathered below. “We heard the noise and came running as quick as we could.”

“Best you did,” said Astron. “I don’t know how, but a couple got up on the wall. They passed us, actually, though it took a moment to realize. By the time we did, they’d knocked these two senseless”—he indicated the unconscious guards—”and opened the gate to let those others in. Few as there were, I can’t imagine what they thought they could have done, even if we hadn’t seen them.”

“You’d be surprised what kind of mischief a small band like that can cause behind enemy lines. Best you spotted them when you did. I’ll run a check of the wall for any ladders or ropes. We’ll double our wall patrol and watch on the gates henceforth. In the meantime, I suggest you and Robert go get some sleep after your ordeal.”

Astron shook his head, further smearing the white cloth red.

“No,” he said. “I’ll take my rest on the wall tonight, Captain. In fact, I shall stay atop these ramparts day and night until either this siege is over or the king orders me down.” He passed back the bloodied cloth, adding, “I hope that wasn’t too valuable.”

“Not at all,” replied Humphreys, casually stuffing it back into his belt. “My wife gave it to me as a birthday present, but I’m sure she’d agree it was for a good cause.”