Rats of Dweltford (Rage of Lions Book 2) by Matt Barron

Author:Matt Barron [Barron, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blade of Truth Publishing Company
Published: 2022-05-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

When they reached the gate, Folper was already gone.

They rushed out of the dark, like on the night Prentice had led the raid to take the gatehouse. Now the men who kept watch were houseguards of the duchess, but aside from that, everything seemed much as it had that other night, with one exception. The gate was wide open.

“Prince’s orders,” one of the men on duty said with a shrug when Prentice asked. “He wants his people to be able to come and go as they like. We ain’t been allowed to shut the gate at night since they all arrived.”

There was no point being angry, but Prentice cursed inwardly. The gate hadn’t held Folper up for a moment. He asked the gate guards if they had seen him.

“Fella with a horse and mules? Yeah, we seen him. He’s in for a rough night on the road, I’d lay odds.”

“How so?” asked Gant.

“Mules were braying like a pack of wild things. Overloaded them with those boxes and bundles, I reckon.”

“And he was trying to go with no lantern,” added a second guard. “That’s all fine with the camp out there, but soon enough he’ll be in the pitch dark and he won’t pick the road from his own armpit!”

“The camp?” asked Gant.

“See for yourself.”

Prentice and Gant went through the open gate. Just outside the barbican, another group of houseguards warmed themselves by an open brazier that blazed beside the road. Beyond them the fields were swamped with a sea of tents, lit with campfires, lanterns, and torches. Not so long before, the duchess and the little remains of her army had camped in the same spot, but this was many times more than that. It was impossible to see the limits in the darkness, but from where they stood, it was as if a town of canvas had sprung up outside Dweltford. Five hundred knights with their squires, footmen, pages, and whatever ladies had accompanied them, plus servants, courtiers, and any other officials the prince brought with him. Then there were the horses, carts, and pack animals.

Prentice did some quick arithmetic in his head. “There’s got to be at least four thousand or more there, plus their animals.”

“If Folper’s in there, he’ll be hard to find,” Gant said.

Prentice shook his head. “He’s running now, not hiding. He’ll be on the road.”

“I hope you’re right.”

They followed the road that ran under the wall of the town and then down the lakeside, with the camp on their left and the water’s edge on the right. The lake was flush again, the muddy flats washed away under the rainwater of recent weeks and the flow from the north. This night’s rain had stopped, but the wind still blew cold and the stars had not come out.

The road ahead was looking darker as they passed the main of the camp, but soon they were struck by a bittersweet stench coming in wafts between the gusts of the wind.

“Gah, that’s like the damned sewer again,” Sir Gant declared, spitting at the smell.

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