(Continued from The Case of the Three Torches- Part 5)
Kraddock strapped his lute to his horse and tossed aside the patched velvet cloak. Now that he was rid of his “disguise”, the Captain of Elendil’s Vanguard fastened his cream and white cloak around his shoulders and took a moment to check through his equipment. They had solved the mystery of Phineon’s last words, "Three torches", and were now preparing to raid the fort marked with the same blazing torches that the deceased spy had spoken of.
As he secured his longsword to his back, Kraddock peered out to the horizon with his good eye. “We have about three hours to dawn...plenty of time to get into trouble before daylight spoils the fun.”
Ellsabeth adjusted her shoulder plates and grinned, “That’s the first time this guy has said something I agree with.”
Kraddock raised an eyebrow at the brunette and then turned to Addie, “It’s uncanny really… how similar to Gerda she is.” When he looked back to Elsa, she winked at him and blew him another kiss. “Are you sure that the two were separated at birth and not raised by the same person?”
Addie gave no response nor did she seem to be listening at all; while the two readied themselves, she had removed a folded up cloak from her saddlebag and was staring down at it in her hands. It was similar to Kraddock’s- cream and white colored with silver trim and a silver embossed chevron on one shoulder- but it wasn’t Addie’s, it was the late Septimal Caine’s Vanguard cloak. Blinking back tears, she turned to the Captain and held out the cloak to him. "If we are to meet Mans today, he would likely want to participate in the fight in some way, wouldn't he?"
Kraddock tilted his head softly and took the cloak away from Addie. Letting out the breath she was holding in, she offered him a weak smile. “I am glad that worthy hands will avenge--" Her words were cut short as he stepped behind her and draped the cloak over her shoulders. Addie was speechless as she watched him tie the cord in a fancy double knot similar to the one his was tied in.
"To battle, daughter of Elendil,” he said as he patted her shoulder with one gauntleted hand, “make the Vanguard proud."
Her crystal blue eyes looked back to him and she blinked several times before nodding, resolutely. "I shall hope that I can live up to such an honor.” She ran her slender fingers down the edge of the cloak. “I will do my best to make him and your order proud.” He smiled at her and they both stood in a weighted silence for a moment as Elsa walked over.
“So...” Elsa said awkwardly, “Do we have a plan? If we just charge in there, they might harm the slaves.”
Kraddock cleared his throat, “They won’t harm the captives if they can help it… The dead aren’t worth coin, are hard to transport, and start to stink in a day. If the captives die, they lose money and face.”
“As sad as it is,” Elsa said with a sigh, “that is a good reason to keep slaves alive.”
“It’s all business to them,” Kraddock stated plainly. “As for the plan, we can ride a little but not much… we want to take them by surprise and it sounds like they are alert for anyone approaching. If we can take out the fringes first and work inwards that would be fine… Addiela, how many of those men did you count through your fancy contraption?”
"I did not count nor do I think that I was able to see how many were truly there,” she responded, “but the entrance did look to be guarded."
Kraddock nodded and lifted his foot to the stirrup. “Let’s ride closer in and see if we can get some intelligence before we do this... at least that way we’ll know how many we face.” The two women nodded in agreement and mounted up as well, and they all departed the farm for the ridge that towered over the Old Greenway Fort.
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As they neared the ridge, Elsa spotted an outcropping that would be very hard to see from below and motioned for the others to follow. Both Elsa and Kraddock seemed calm and ready as they walked toward the edge of the ridge, but Addie was a mixture of emotions. The blonde could feel the anger igniting within as well as the nervous pit in her stomach; she tightened her grip on the staff in her right hand and crouched down next to the other two. "Do you see an entrance?"
"Not sure about an entrance,” Elsa whispered back, “but we have a perfect view of the area from here." From this spot, they could see the entire fort; it was fairly open with many ways in and out, but that also meant that there were many ambush points as well. Three men guarded the wagon of captives, three more were seeing to the horses, and four guards were on watch around the perimeter- one covered the north approach, one covered the south, one covered the east and one covered the west. Though they were all dressed as typical Bree farmers, with the exception of one that looked to be in the garb of a local Bree watcher, they all appeared to be well-armed and well-organized.
Kraddock hummed to himself as he evaluated things below. "We’re clearly dealing with professionals, they know their ground... If they hole up at the middle, it will be next to impossible for us to deal with them unless we can outnumber them, which is not going to happen.”
Hearing voices from below, Elsa quietly moved forward to the far edge of the outcropping and peered over the edge. She spotted two more men- one seemed to be the leader of the group, he had an air of command about him, and the other looked to be very anxious about something. Using hand signals, Elsa gestured to the others that she had discovered something important.
Kraddock jutted his chin in Elsa’s direction, "Go see what she found and I will keep an eye on our backs.... it would be just our luck that they would have pickets to catch us by surprise.” Addie nodded and crept over to Elsa while Kraddock slipped into the shadow of a couple trees.
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Down below, the two men were huddled over a crude wooden table and were looking over a map. "No reason to be concerned yet,” the man that looked to be the leader said, “Lots can go wrong between Needlehole and here, we need to be patient.”
The other man was clearly annoyed and his foot tapped rapidly against the stone floor of the ruins. “I bet another one of those Dove snoops delayed our buyer.”
The leader just shrugged. “Then… we’ll take care of them too,” he replied as he picked at his teeth. “If our buyers don’t arrive tonight, we’ll take the lot back to the safehouse and try again tomorrow night.”
The other man huffed and looked in the direction of the wagon. “That would mean another night away from my girl. She’s startin’ to think that I got another woman on the side.”
The leader smirked at his companion. "You can have all the women you want, no need to keep one that nags you all the time. Womanflesh is like jerky...you keep it dry it will keep forever."
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Up on the ridge, Addie’s face was pale as she stared at the leader, wide-eyed; she had recognized that voice and the last phrase he said triggered flashbacks in her mind to the days that she and Neth were in captivity. Elsa could hear that Addie’s breath was starting to sound panicked and she could see that the woman’s gaze seemed distant; she reached over and gently tugged on her arm to get her to focus on the here and now. “Are you alright?”
Addie shook her head and whispered back, “I remember that man, or rather his voice… I didn’t actually see him because a bag had been placed over my head, but his voice was distinct from those that had captured us due to his Gondorian accent, which he does a poor job of concealing… Neth picked up on it immediately.”
“Are you certain?”
“I am.” The memories appeared to be very painful for Addie, but there was a fire in her eyes as she looked back down at the man. “He used that exact phrase back then as well, right before he told those bandits that he would return for me in four night’s time.”
Elsa offered Addie a sympathetic look, but knew that now was not the time for the full story. “Do you remember where that house was located?”
She nodded. “I do, but… the place we were kept has long since been abandoned. Two days after that man’s visit, we were rescued and the bandits were all killed.”
Elsa’s brows furrowed. “We should inform Captain Strongarm that you know this man.”
When they moved to withdraw from the edge, a rain of dirt and pebbles cascaded toward the ruins; Addie and Elsa instantly ducked, but they had already captured the attention of the two men down below. The leader cast a suspicious gaze toward the top of the ridge and hummed lowly.
"This dump has been coming apart for centuries,” the other man scoffed. “Ignore it.”
"Darrow… Piter...” the leader called out, unconvinced by his companion’s words. Two of the men that were guarding the horses ran over and the leader pointed to the place where the stones had fallen, “Go check it out,” he commanded. They quickly bowed to their superior and left the ruins to circle around for the slope that would lead to the ridge.
“We have to move,” Elsa whispered to Addie as she looked around for a way to escape the approaching men without further giving away their positions.
Instead of responding, Addie let out a very high-pitched whistle, one that only animals might be capable of hearing, and the slavers’ horses turned skittish; they began to snort out and stomp at the ground as though they wanted to flee. The guard that had been left alone to watch the steeds attempted to calm them, but when Addie let out another whistle, two broke free and bolted for the open road.
The men that had been sent to scout the ridge paused and looked back, distracted by the commotion. "Dammit Cary!" one of them cursed. “You can’t trust him with anything!”
“You go back and help him round up those horses before the boss gets mad,” the other said, “I’ve got this.” The first guard sighed and ran back down the hill.
“Now, Elsa,” Addie whispered, “let’s go.” Elsa started to run, but as she did the ground gave way under her feet. Addie tried to reach out and grab her, but it was too late and the brunette plummeted down into the chamber with the leader. She landed with a snapping sound, like wood being broken in two, and lay on the ground with one leg resting at an awkward angle.
Addie lunged for the edge, determined to go after her friend, but a large hand caught her by the collar of the cloak and jerked her back. “You can’t save her that way,” Kraddock calmly said as he let go of her cloak.
Elsa tried to get up as the leader made his way over to her, but when she put weight on her injured leg, she immediately toppled over. His eyes widened as he got a good look at her and then his gaze turned upward. Panic set in as the leader of the slavers recognized the cloak of Elendil’s Vanguard; he grabbed Elsa, threw her over his shoulder and started yelling out orders to the other men. “Ready the wagon, we leave now!... Darrow, Rich, Quicksliver, Gabber… hold them off!” As he sprinted toward the wagon with Elsa in tow, three of the four perimeter guards ran to join Darrow on the slope.
Addie frantically watched as the man threw Elsa into the back of the wagon with the other captives. "No!" she cried out. "He can't take her... he can't!"
“Ready to go, Garon,” the wagon driver called out.
The leader jumped into the back and called back, "RIDE...LETS GO!”
Addie turned to run for her horse, but was cut off by the four guards. Kraddock stepped between them and pulled his longsword from its sheath. The sword was unusual for a captain- it was standard Gondorian issue, one that the greenest recruit would be given; however, it was meticulously maintained and very sharp. The blade flashed in the starlight of the night as Kraddock swept it low to cut the first guard off at the knee; the man let out a blood-curdling scream and tumbled down the slope.
It was clear by the expressions on their faces that the other three men were surprised that their fellow had been taken down so easily. Kraddock smirked at them, “Come for me, bastards,” his voice boomed, bass and angry, “don’t make me wait.” The second guard jeered and hurled a spear at him; it slammed into Kraddock, but his armor seemed to take the worst of it and he looked to be unfazed. In the blink of an eye, the captain was upon the guard that threw the spear and with one precise slice, he swiftly cut him down.
As Kraddock clashed swords with the third guard, the fourth circled around them and made his way to Addie, daggers ready. Gripping her staff with both hands, she glared at him and waited until he was close enough to strike. “You’re all despicable,” she cried out as brought the staff up to slam down on top of the man’s head. The blow stunned him, but his last breath was claimed by the longsword that was now sticking through his chest. Kraddock pulled his weapon and and the man crumpled at Addie’s feet.
Addie took in a deep breath and looked toward the road, only to see that the wagon was long gone. “Are there any still alive,” she asked.
Kraddock sheathed his sword and jabbed his thumb toward the one-legged guard that had tumbled down the hill. Addie nodded and walked over. The guard was already pale from blood loss, but he was still conscious and his eyes pleaded with her for mercy. She placed the end of her staff on the amputated leg and pressed down with all her weight, her eyes glowing with a burning fire as she ignored his cries of pain. "Where did they take her?” She demanded. “Tell me and you might be spared."
He furiously shook his head and bit down on his lip until it was bleeding. Addie moved the end of the staff to his chest and applied her weight there. "I do not have the patience for you to have a stilled tongue now..."
Kraddock stepped up and placed his hand on her shoulder. '"Addiela...if the man won’t talk, he won't talk...I respect that.” The guard let out a sigh of relief as the captain gently moved her staff from his chest and picked him up. Kraddock carried him down to the campfire in the fort and then held his face over the embers of the fading fire. “Since you won’t talk, we might as well go ahead and burn your body now.”
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” the guard shrieked out. “Please don’t!”
Kraddock pulled him back from the fire. The guard coughed and then weakly said, “If things went this bad… Garon would never go back to the safehouse. He would head right for the needle, lickity split....get reinforcements… pick up some more of the boys on the way from Hillshire.”
Addie let out a long sigh. “Kheledul? Is that where he's heading?”
The guard coughed some more before responding. “Yeah, course....where else?”
"Where’s the safehouse?” Addie continued to inquire. “How many are being kept there?"
The guard’s voice started to slur and his eyes no longer seemed to be completely focused. “Depends...they come and go, y'know....a lot of turnover and some, well…” He started to babble and the description of the location that he tried to give was muddled, 'It's… near....a tree....two trees...big trees...”- it could have been any of the wilderness homesteads. “Can you stop this bleeding,” he pleaded, “it hurts...bad...”
Seeing that the man was fading, Kraddock sat him down on the stone floor and took the man's chin. "One more question… this leader of yours, Garon, he has a scar on his chin along the jaw hidden by his beard and another jagged scar along his throat?”
The man barely managed a nod. "Yeah,” he replied as the light started to fade from his eyes, “… says he cut himself...shaving...”
“No...” Kraddock stated with a frown as he released the dead man’s chin, “an arrow sliced him when it cut him loose from the noose...”
Addie spared a moment of silence for the deceased before she glanced over to Kraddock. "You know this man? This Garon?"
“Not personally, but by reputation; he used to be the Executor of the Hounds before Steelheart's time... his betrayal caused Gareth's predecessor, Captain Hirandiel, to resign his commission in shame.”
Addie seemed to be even more distraught now. "What is he going to do to Elsa?"
“They are gonna be real careful not to hurt her any more than she is; in fact, they will be scared to death of her and what might happen to them.”
Tears started to well in Addie’s eyes. "There are hurts that go far beyond the physical, Captain Kraddock... I was once held in captivity by those associated with these men."
Kraddock’s expression softened. “So I heard from little Lyra...”
Her eyes turned away from him and it took her a moment to continue, “I have failed another one.”
Kraddock placed his hand on Addie’s back to guide her away from the ruins and toward the horses. “'Not yet you haven't, we’ll get her back… But for the moment, I can assure you that they ain’t gonna treat your friend Elsa as a slave, but as an honored guest.”
The realization finally hit Addie and she turned her head to question, “Thinking she's Gerda?”
“Exactly,” Kraddock replied as he helped Addie up on her horse, “Lets just hope she keeps her clothing on...” Addie just shook her head, but said nothing more for now. She whistled for Elsa’s horse, Artemis, and took the reins to guide the steed home with them... without its rider.
(Continued in The Case of the Three Torches- Finding Elsa: Part 1)
