*    *   *
Hiram.

“Down!” He whispered, crouching quickly. Glancing behind himself, he saw that each of his men were crouched low, watching him intently for signals. He started crawling forward, signing for them to wait where they were.

He crawled forward and peered over the edge of the cliff. As it turned out, the hideout was located in a cliffed cove near the edge of the sea. He looked down, trying to measure the distance between himself and the shoreline at the bottom. It had to be about two hundred feet down.

Below stood a small castle, with crumbling walls, long since abandoned. He could make out what remained of a flag, all torn up from the elements. Sunken ships stuck out in various points of the water, reminders of the wars which had plagued the four kingdoms in the past. It was thanks to those wars that the peace treaty had been made, and now, thanks to that treaty that Rayndra still stood.

He squinted, trying to make out the camp surrounding the castle. He could see some tents, but couldn’t figure out their exact numbers or sizes, nor could he tell if there were any guards.

He turned and signaled to one of the spotters within the group, a man known for his excelent eyesight. When the man arrived he waited for him to scan their surroundings. “I count ten tents, likely mid-sized. But I can’t tell if there are guards in the surrounding cliffs or on the ground.” He reported.

Hiram nodded and gestured him to follow, crawling back to the rest of the men. He pulled out his long knife and made a quick sketch in the dirt of the shape of the cove and surrounding cliffs. “There’s a small castle here, it’s old and penetrable.” He began, drawing it in. “There are ten tents surrounding the structure, no visable guards. Based on the tents and castle size, we’re looking at about forty men, maybe fifty.”

He looked up at his men, who were gathered around, studying the map. There was only fifteen of them, not enough to risk an attack. “Our objective is secrecy. We sneak in, find Herschel, and sneak out with him. Nothing more.”

“Is there any cover?” One of the older knights asked. Hiram shook his head.

“Hardly, some large rocks at best. That makes this a night-time mission.” He studied the men, noting the beginnings of tiredness gathering in their features. “We have another hour before dark. Take advantage of it, eat, relax. We’ll take turns studying the terrain while waiting.” He turned and made his way back over to the edge, studying the cove again, mind forming a plan.

He still couldn’t see any signs of life beyond the tents below, and began to wonder if Caspian was right. But how could his reasoning be wrong? Perhaps the darkness would cause their enemies to light torches, revealing their presence to the knights...

*    *   *
Caspian.

They reached the castle gates just as it started hailing. Immediately there were men running around, hauling the horses into the stables and getting their equipment into the barracks before it got damaged.

The trio rode straight into the stables, where stable boys were rushing about, trying to get all the horses in. Isidro was off his mount before Caspian even had time to drop the reigns, grabbing a sheild off the wall and handing it to him as he dismounted.

“Protect your heads. I’m going to see what I can do around here.” The knight said hurriedly, already leading the horses to their stalls.

Caspian glanced at Tamar, motioning her to follow, and raised the sheild above their heads for protection as they stepped out the door. The pair hurried across the castle grounds as hail the size of crab-apple’s fell all around them.

They reached the door and it was opened from within, allowing them to rush straight inside. He could hear the chunks of ice hitting the castle roof loudly, and turned to see that the castle walls were hardly visable through the white falling from the sky.

“Look who finally decided to show up for work.” A voice sounded from behind the open door. The man closed it, revealing himself. Caspian found himself face to face with his old mentor, Sinati. The old knight smiled, a hint of humor in his eye.

Before he could react, Tamar passed him, greeting the warrior with a warm hug. “I’m so glad to see you again!” She exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming, we would’ve been here when you arrived.”

Caspian slowly smiled. His mentor had become a bit of a father figure to the Princess during the weeks that they had camped out in Rayndra, waiting for Adrelawin to be ready for them.

“I thought a surprise was in order.” The old warrior said as he returned the hug, having grown accustomed to her treatment.

When Tamar stepped back, she glanced at him, some of her smile disappearing as her eyes found the spot where he had been hit. Without a word to him, she turned back to Sinati and nodded.

“Then I shall alert the cook. We will have a special diner tonight.” She said, seeming to understand there was likely more to his words then she knew.

Caspian watched as she hurried away, off to make arrangements. “You’re bleeding.” The quiet comment returned his attention to his old mentor.

He scowled, irritated at the wound. “A scratch.”

“I assume not a mark from training with Hiram.” The remark was a subtle invitation to explain.

He shook his head. “Still working to earn the respect of the locals.” He admitted as a maid arrived with a bowl of water and a cloth. He accepted them, dismissing the maid and walking over to a small table.

“I imagined there’d be hostility, though I didn’t think anyone would have the guts to act it out now that the city is occupied by your soldiers.”

“It was just a kid, old enough to be violent, but young enough to be dumb enough to do so. Bad mix.” He replied dryly, wiping the crusting blood off around the wound, then pressing the cloth against the cut to stop the bleeding, wincing at the tenderness. A lump was rising, and he imagined the colors were rather interesting.

“So what brings you to Adrelawin?” He asked, changing the subject.

“Just thought I’d check on how things are going.” Sinati shrugged.

He raised his eyebrows. “Sounds more like you got bored, you could have written.”

“Maybe a little of that too.” Sinati winked. “But mostly I wanted to see where things are at. The people are beginning to wonder.”

“Rumors?” He asked, dropping the cloth back in the bowl and leading the way through the castle halls.

“Some. Mostly concern that you’re not returning.”

Caspian shook his head, then covered a wince as he regreted the action, the swollen part of his face stabbing him in return. “I’ve been gone how long? Two  weeks? That’s shorter than most military campaigns, yet they already fear I have been disloyal to them.”

“It’s a delicate time for them, especially now that the word about Tamar’s identity is out.” Sinati pointed out.

Caspian sighed. “I suppose.” But why would they doubt him so fast? Hadn’t he just gotten them through the worst times Rayndra had ever seen?

*    *   *
Hiram.

“Let’s move.” Immediately the group split up, disappearing in different directions.

Hiram led two warriors down the steep slope, clinging to a rope which had been placed to allow them to move faster, using the large rocks to sheild them from the castle’s view. They had been watching the cove for nearly two hours and there was no movement. Even in the gathering darkness, no lights were lit. They either knew of the Black Knights’ presence and were in hiding, or were not there.

His foot slipped, but he quickly caught himself on the sharp edge of a boulder, slicing his palm open. Everyone froze, glancing up at the man positioned to cover their backs. The knight shook his head. No a sound had been heard, thanks to the slight breeze whistling overhead.

He signaled the men to continue, moving more carefully. The rock was slick with melting ice, and steep. In more ideal conditions he would just slide down the icy slope, using the rope to control his speed, but he didn’t dare risk making more noise than neccissary.

It was slow going, and he quickly grew irritated as his sticky blood smeared all over the rope, but not as annoyed as those behind him. Near the bottom, they were basically just sliding down the slope, unable to get any kind of grip.

At last his feet touched level ground and he crouched low, running to the first boulder and hiding behind it, peering at the castle for signs of life. Still, nothing had changed. He was growing more nervous by the second, every inch of his body tense.

A double tap on his shoulder alerted him that the men were on the ground, ready to move. He glanced up at the watchmen he’d set up. Each gave the ‘all clear’ signal. They’d better be certain. He took a deep breath, beginning the journey along the rockiest area of the clearing, managing to stay mostly out of sight of the castle.

Now they were near enough to hear anyone staying there, but silence persisted. Hiram motioned them to wait, stepping out from behind the boulder where they hid. The nearest tent was about fifteen feet away.

He silently approached, dagger in hand. No sounds could be heard, and there were definately no lights within. He reached out and carefully peeled back the flap…