Read Elf Lords: 02 - Last of the Elf Lords Online
Authors: Richard Saunders
Doogal exhaled forcefully before continuing. “I
might
be able to get inside the Keep. But getting into the place you believe they are holding the princess prisoner will be more difficult. Even if I can reach her, getting a frightened teenage girl back outside, without being noticed, is not possible. There are too many unknowns. Too many things that can go wrong.”
“I know the so-called unknowns, young man.” Seebaul rebutted the thief, “I have been inside that place many times. I know it like the back of my hand. The previous Governor of Ducaine was my friend, and he often provided me tours of his home. I doubt that Marlow has changed it that much.”
“Other than setting guards over nearly every inch of the place.” Doogal reminded the elf. “And what of his army?”
“Most of his army is off at the front. Marlow only has a few hundred men in the city.” Seebaul said.
“Only a few hundred.” Doogal mocked.
Tessa was standing on the side of the table, along with Seth and Reldoor. Unable to keep silent any longer, she said, “If Doogal is afraid, then I will try to rescue her.”
The thief glared at the Ranger, “Yeah, I’ll bet the guards would love to find you creeping about.”
Seth was indignant, “We obviously cannot count on this man.”
Seebaul motioned for everyone to calm down, “No need to let your tempers flare. I am certain that Doogal will find a way to rescue Princess Megan. After all, my contacts with the Thieves Guild have assured me that he is the best thief in the Empire. He did steal the Crown of Ikchas.”
“Second best thief.” Doogal corrected.
Everyone around the table looked at him in silence until he continued, “About the Crown of Ikchas; I did not steal it.”
“Why did you claim to have stolen it?” Seth asked.
Doogal shrugged his shoulders, “I never claimed any such thing. Whoever stole the crown was content with letting the blame fall on me. The rumor built my reputation and made it easier for me to move from guild to guild. If they wanted to believe that I had achieved what many consider to be the greatest theft of all time, well, who was I to correct them?”
Seth slammed his fist on the table. “We have the wrong man.”
“Who stole it?” Tessa asked.
“Like I said, whoever stole it never said a word to anyone. Nobody even knows where the crown is. I sometimes wonder if it was ever stolen at all.”
Seebaul chuckled, “Well, I still have faith in you.”
Doogal looked at the drawing, if only to avoid the looks that he was receiving from the others. While he scanned the document, he spotted something in the corner of the Keep. He tapped the marking and asked, “What is that?”
Seebaul leaned closer to the map. “Ah, if I remember correctly, that is a skylight. It provides light to the governor’s—I mean Marlow’s—private chambers.”
Doogal thought for a moment before speaking again, “How close is this room to where you believe the princess is being held?”
Seebaul closed his eyes, remembering the layout of the Keep in his mind. “The princess is being kept in the vault, which is in the basement of the building, four stories below that room.”
Doogal cursed, “I could get into the building from the roof, but traveling to the basement and back with a frightened girl is too great a risk.”
Seebaul snapped his fingers, “Perhaps not. There is a secret passageway going from the private chambers to the lower levels. The former governor once bragged about it when he had succumbed to too much wine. He confessed to using it to meet his mistress.”
Doogal smiled, noting the difference in the markings on the rear wall, from the other three sides of the building, he said, “That explains the lack of windows on that side of the building. If we can make it to the roof, then we can use the secret passage to reach the lower level. Then all we have to do is find a way through the guards and into the vault.”
Reldoor shook his head. “That still sounds pretty difficult.”
“It is difficult, but it solves the first problem: Getting in and out of the Keep.” Doogal commented.
“The roof is forty feet high.” Seth reminded them. “And there are guards outside of the building.”
“Forty feet in the dark, with little or no windows, and woods on the other side; I see that as an advantage to us. If someone keeps an eye out for the guards, then I should be able to scale the wall with ease.”
“What about us?” Seth asked.
Doogal appeared to ignore the young man’s question. “What do you know about the men guarding the princess? Are they elite soldiers or common guards?”
“Seebaul answered the question, “The men protecting Marlow are elite indeed. But I would guess that those guarding the princess would be from the prison house. Or men who would be expendable. Trian and Marlow would not want to be tied to this kidnapping, so they would use men who can be disposed of easily. I doubt that they would want to risk losing more valuable men.”
“Then they will be men who can be easily fooled, especially from inside.” Doogal surmised.
“How do you figure?” Seth asked.
“Conning your way into a fortress would be very difficult. However, guards inside would be more easily swayed. They would naturally assume that anyone inside the Keep was approved to be there. That gives me an idea.” Doogal turned to Seth, “If you have a long enough rope, then I can tie it off and bring you and Tessa up one at a time.” He looked to Seebaul and continued, “I do not think that it would be wise to take you or Reldoor.”
“I can do it!” Reldoor insisted.
Doogal doubted it, “Perhaps, but I have seen you move about. You are too clumsy for such a climb. Seebaul is too old. Besides, I need someone to keep watch, and provide distractions.”
The elf spoke before Reldoor could do so, “Doogal is correct, you would do more good with me, Reldoor. I believe that we could provide some assistance from the ground that would keep everyone’s eyes off of the Keep.”
“When do we go?” Seth asked.
“Tonight works for me.” Doogal suggested, “Do you know what Marlow’s plans are?”
“The same as most nights when the Warlord is gone,” Seebaul began, “he will go to dinner, and permit dinner to turn into an evening of wine and women.”
Doogal sneered, “The leader parties while his men fight in the field. He has no honor.”
Seth agreed, “That is only the tip of his dishonorable traits. He is a puppet for the Warlord. Only Trian can keep him in line.”
“How do you know that Trian is not there to keep Marlow under control?” Doogal inquired.
Seebaul grinned, “I have a way to intercept their communication. Not only is Trian away, they are waiting for us to attempt to rescue the princess in the town of Llerodak, far away from here. They both expect us to strike there, and I have made certain that Trian’s spies see evidence that their plan is working. We will catch them completely by surprise.”
“What about McRawl?” Doogal asked.
“When Trian is not around, then McRawl will usually be providing protection for Marlow.” Seebaul answered.
Doogal was pleased. “Once I get the princess out of the Keep and into your hands, then we part ways. I will be staying in the city waiting to get to McRawl.”
“So be it.” Seebaul agreed.
Doogal looked outside. He estimated two full hours of daylight, with perhaps another hour before it was fully dark. “How long will it take us to reach the city?”
“Four hours.” Seth answered.
The thief nodded, “Perfect. We should go tonight.”
Tessa was not as certain as the thief. “We should scout the area first.”
Seebaul agreed with Doogal. “We no not how long Trian will wait for us, or when they might move the princess. If Doogal is prepared to go tonight, then I believe that we should do it.”
The Elf Lord’s decision settled it. Doogal grabbed a piece of paper and snatched up the pen lying on the table. After dipping it into the ink well, he scribbled a few items onto the paper, then slid it over to Seth. “Here are the things that we will need. As soon as you can get them we can be on our way.”
Doogal kept his head low as he scuttled on his belly, through the grass behind the Keep. He had been pleasantly surprised at the length of duration between the patrols of this area. It was obvious that Alister Marlow and his guards felt the luxury to relax when Warlord Trian was away. Doogal’s respect for McRawl sank even lower, if that were possible. The thief was thankful for the cloudy night that prevented the moon from illuminating the area. He sniffed the air. It smelled like rain would be coming; if not tonight, then by tomorrow. He was thankful that the weather had been dry. Scaling a forty foot wall by hand was difficult enough, but it was worse when the stones were wet.
He reached the base of the wall. Doogal looked back to the trees in the distance, where Seebaul, Seth, Reldoor, Tessa, and Tessa’s elven wolf-hound, waited. His part-elven vision enabled him to see Tessa motioning that they could see no one in either direction.
“Here goes.” Doogal whispered, before seeking the first handhold on the ancient wall. The rope hanging behind his back weighed him down, but Doogal was confident that he could manage it.
“Would you look at that.” Reldoor said—almost too loudly—as he watched Doogal climbing the wall.
Doogal made his way, slowly but surely, up the side of the structure. He carefully sought out any spot that he could use to grip or step on, often finding a handhold that looked impossible for a man to use for climbing. Years of training, combined with his inherited elven dexterity, made it so that Doogal appeared to be climbing with ease. The onlookers could not see the tense look on his face, or feel the strain in his muscles, as he advanced up the side of the wall.
“Someone is coming.” Seebaul whispered.
Tessa turned her head in the direction that the Elf Lord was looking. Sure enough, she saw a lone guard coming. He would soon be passing by Doogal’s location. Tessa made the sound of a sparrow, twice, as Doogal had instructed her to do if someone approached from his right side. The thief stopped moving and hugged the wall, seeming to blend in with the shadows.
“I hope he is high enough.” Seth said.
“Should we provide a distraction?” Reldoor asked.
Seebaul disapproved, “Only if absolutely necessary. That is best saved for when Doogal is escaping with the princess.”
The elf motioned for silence. The four of them barely breathed as the guard made his rounds. Even Shadow lay down as if hiding.
Doogal’s fingers were straining as he held on to the wall. He dared not look down. There was no need to do so anyway. If the guard spotted him then he would know it soon enough, as the alarm was sounded. He hoped that Tessa or Seth would use their bows to silence the guard if the man did happen to look up and spot him. After the way that they left the constable and his men live, he was not sure if they would kill for him.
He heard the sound of the sparrow once more. That meant that the guard had gone past. This time he did look. Sure enough, no one was there. Doogal pulled his right hand away, clenching his fingers to loosen them before taking hold of another spot a few inches higher. He did the same with his left hand, and slowly resumed his climb up the wall. It took several more minutes, but the thief made it to the rooftop. He peeked above the ledge to make sure that no one was up there before swinging over the side. Doogal then sat down, low enough not to be seen, and began unwinding the rope that he had carried up with him. He looked about for a secure place to tie it. He made his way over to the skylight. There were bars covering the glass. Doogal had not anticipated that. Still, they would come in handy to secure the rope. He observed that the bars locked into place. The lock was old and rusty. It would be simple to pick. Hopefully it was not rusted close. If so, then that would make things more difficult. He tied one end of the rope to the bars then crept back to the wall.
From his vantage point atop the roof, Doogal could see that no one was coming from any direction. He motioned for someone to come. Tessa ran low across the yard. When she was almost to the wall Doogal dropped the rope down to her. The Ranger grabbed the rope and began shimmying up the wall, gracefully and quietly. Doogal was impressed by her stealth and maneuverability. When Tessa reached the top, he grabbed her hand and pulled her up over the side.
“You are good enough to be a thief.” He said in admiration.
“I will take that as a compliment.” Tessa answered. The Ranger had never broken into anyplace other than a slave camp before. She was uncertain if she could succeed, but—as much as she hated to admit it—Doogal gave her confidence.
“Here comes Seth.” Doogal said.
Like Tessa, Seth made no sound as he ran across the yard. When he grabbed the rope and began climbing, Doogal had to look over the side to see if the boy was really there.
“He is as light as a feather.” Doogal commented.
“Fairy magic.” Tessa said. Doogal had no idea what she meant.
Seth was on the rooftop faster than Doogal had anticipated. “Pull the rope up.” He said, and then hurried over to the bars covering the skylight. Doogal withdrew his lock picking tools and began working on the lock. When it sprung open, he tossed the lock aside and raised the set of bars. With them open, there would be enough room for them to access the chamber below. Attached as they were, the rope would still be held secure for their climb down.