But it was definitely going to be a challenge.
The gatehouse was a fairly small but fortified structure that protected a bridge that spanned a wide moat. That bridge led into a second gatehouse built into the wall of Berwick, which was substantial. There was also part of the wall that went down to the river and, it seemed, was perhaps the weakest part of the wall of protection. A barbican from the river protected stairs that led up into one of the towers.
Cole and Julian, helped by Addax and Essien, had brought the siege engines across the bridge and they now faced the castle. What they couldn’t see, however, were many men on the battlements, watching them. There seemed to be very few. For a garrison, that didn’t make sense. Either there were two thousand Scotsmen in the bailey, waiting to be unleashed, or the garrison commander had believed in his fortification so much that he’d sent his army out of the walls to fight the English with the rest of William the Rough’s army.
Neither Jax nor anyone else were quite sure which it was.
“What do you think, Papa?” Cole asked his father. “How do you want to approach this?”
They were standing on the road into the village, looking up at the mighty bastion of Berwick Castle. Dark granite walls faced them, impressing upon them just how powerful the castle was. Cole and Julian stood with Addax and Essien, all of them gazing up at those terrible walls, waiting for an answer from The Dark Lord himself. Jax had faced some defiant castles in his lifetime and he was impressed by Berwick, but he liked a challenge. There hadn’t been a castle built yet that could best him.
Berwick wasn’t going to be the first.
“I noticed as we crossed the bridge that they’ve let the gate down by the river to fall into disrepair,” he said. “The rest of the walls look solid enough and we can’t get across the moat without the existing bridge. If they burn it, that may create a bit of an obstacle.”
Cole looked at him. “If the river gate is compromised, we can go in that way,” he said. “Mayhap you create a ruse with the siege engines while we try.”
Jax was nodding even as he was speaking. “That is what I was thinking,” he said. “If I can keep their attention, then you can select a group of men to go with you and breach the river gate. I suspect it is more fortified than we have seen, but it is worth a try. Otherwise, I’ll have to put you and your brother in the baskets of the siege engines and fling you over the walls.”
Cole grinned, looking at Julian. Jax made the comment because when they were young boys, they’d nearly done precisely that. The siege engines at Pelinom were stored in the stable yard and when Cole had been about six years of age, he’d talked one of the less-than-intelligent stable servants into launching him and Julian into an enormous pile of hay that had just been brought in from the fields.
Fortunately, the siege engines, which were catapults, needed some prep work before the boys could be launched and, in that time, Atreus had noticed what was happening and stopped what would have surely been a deadly event. Jax had calmly explained to his sons why it was foolish to try such a thing, but Kellington had simply spanked them.
Jax could still hear their cries as she pummeled their backsides.
Cole remembered it, too, which was why he was laughing at his brother, who hadn’t learned his lesson the first time and had gotten into trouble with it again about a year later. But Julian put up his hands in surrender.
“I am not going to fly over the walls,” he said. “Mother would only find out and beat me again. I am finished trying to fly through the air.”
Both Cole and Jax were chuckling now, joined by Addax and Essien. In fact, Addax pointed to his younger brother.
“Es will volunteer, then,” he said. “When we were lads, before we came to The Levant, we had heard of a story of a magic carpet that flew through the air. Es tried to take a hide off a roof one day when our caravan was stopped in the town of Ismailia. He fell into a fountain.”
Jax eyed the youngest al-Kort brother. “It is a wonder any of you survived your childhood,” he said, returning his attention to the castle. “Unfortunately, I do not think using the siege engines are an option to send men over the walls. The river’s entrance may be our only solution.”
Cole was thinking on the gate down by the river’s edge. “Gates near water are usually secured with iron only because the wood will swell and warp with the moisture,” he said. “I can bring a hammer and chisel and mayhap we can unseat the hinges of any iron gate we may come across. Or, if we can mount the wall itself, we can go right to the castle wall walk.”
Jax looked at him. “Go,” he said. “Take your brother and Addax and Essien. Atreus and I will create a diversion by concentrating on the gatehouse while you find a way in.”
The young knights nodded and moved out. Julian and Cole plunged into the de Velt army, at a standstill several yards away, and pulled out one hundred men, younger soldiers they knew were swift and strong, and motioned for them to follow. They did, bringing ropes and iron grappling hooks, spurred on by Cole and his commands. If they were going to breach an iron gate, they needed the proper tools, but if they were going to mount the walls, then they needed the ropes and grappling hooks.
The men were moving quickly.
Night was beginning to fall, which would work to their advantage. They could use the cover of darkness to mask their movements down by the river because once they reached the water, Cole made them get into it. They were going to have to swim around the wall in order to get to the landing on the other side. The wall only went as far as the river, perhaps extended into it by about ten feet.
They were prepared to get around it.
Unfortunately, they were slowed down because only about half of the men could actually swim. The others were tethered with the ropes and pulled along, trying to keep their heads above water, and this included Addax and Essien. They came from arid lands and had never learned to swim properly, so Cole and Julian pulled them along, keeping their heads above water as they swam from the recently captured bridge all the way to the water wall of Berwick.
The water was freezing and the current was strong, but they managed to make it within sight of the wall. Only their heads were visible on top of the water and as they came within view of the shoreline inside the wall, they could see a group of Scots there, waiting. Cole came to a stop, allowing Addax and Essien and Julian to catch up to him.
“Look,” he whispered. “There is a line of Scots there. See them?”
Their mouths were in the water so that they had the lowest profile possible. Julian motioned for the men behind them to stay silent and low as the knights assessed the situation.
They hadn’t expected a welcoming committee.
“You know why they are there, don’t you?” Addax said, shivering. “They are waiting for the Northmen. They must be closer than we thought.”
Cole watched the silhouettes of men move around on the shore. “That was my thought as well,” he muttered. “But it also means the gates to the castle are open from the river, or at the very least, accessible. Julian, if I can give the Scots a moment of confusion, can you and Essien run onto shore and keep those gates open for the rest of us?”
Julian was peering at the two short, stumpy towers near the water’s edge. “Aye,” he said. “But we will have to prevent those men from reaching the castle and alerting the garrison.”