Waiting for Spring - Part I

Chapter Twenty-Three

A crow landed on my banner today, a note tied to its claw. The seal belonged to the dead tree of Ravenhill. I fear for the stronghold, the knights' crows cannot replace Lord Bryn's old rookery.

His words were disturbing. Ward has advanced past the wall. Half their strength has retreated after words of our own advance. The commander warns me of a woman they call the Wheatfield Dame. Her host is yet to lose a battle. Lesser men would challenge such a claim, but I am no fool. If this storm of snow and ice continue we will retreat.

- Excerpt from Lord Illias of Norhill Rock's journal, Windsor.

Theron insisted on waiting in the small grove just a short walk away from the wall. He had not let the towers out of his sight for hours. April watched him. Beyond the natural roof of thick branches the snow was falling.

She had spent the last hour trying to get in a comfortable position while leaning her head against the man's shoulder. His armour was hard and so was his arm so finding a good pose seemed hopeless. She turned and twisted herself once more, but to little avail.

"The guards are placed in pairs and change their shifts every hour. All towers are guarded and all shifts are changed at the same time. It would be hard to find an opportunity to sneak inside the city," Theron told her. "Our intrusion must stay a secret." The snow fell over the battlements in the distance. "I will not think of what will happen should they sack the city."

With a sigh April awoke from her light slumber as her pillow stood up. She looked up, but Theron gazed through the snow. April's back felt sore and her eyes just wanted to close again.

"They are here. We should leave," the assassin said before helping her to her feet. April brushed some dirt of her leathers and fixed the position of the bow that was hanging over her shoulder. With silent steps she followed Theron down the northern side of the grove. The wind whistled past her ears and cut at her skin like razors out in the open. Sara along with four men approached the couple and halted near the first trees. Theron nodded her way and two of her men whispered something to each other.

"Quiet!" Sara hushed at them and looked at the assassin. "How do you propose we play this?"

"Two guards in the tower. They change shifts every hour. The soldiers arriving do not converse with the ones leaving, meaning that they probably are not from the same command. I would like to use the river to our advantage. The smaller brook that leads to the eastern marketplace has a small gate in the wall that's used to control the flow. It is possible to enter that way, though our approach will be too apparent."

"And wet..." one of the men added.

"Felix. Shut your mouth or you'll be the one who's going down there." Sara sneered and the man immediately became silent.

"We may have a shot at this if we time it right. Did you bring a crossbow?" Theron continued and one of the soldiers stepped forward to show of the large wooden weapon.

"Yes. Right here."

"Can you make precision shots?"

"He's one of the best," Sara assured Theron and gave the crossbow a thump on the side.

"There is an elevation in the terrain a short walk away from here. We can walk behind it to get close to the tower, make a ruse to draw them out from the tower itself and up on the wall. If we take them down we can put our own men up there. No one will notice until later tonight. Maybe not until the morrow depending on how they are handling reports," Theron explained with a cold and calm tone. He stared at the soldiers in front of him. Everyone was silent for a long while.