“They’re not in the town?”
“Yes, they are. But the town isn’t big enough for the whole army. I’ve never seen so many tents and pavilions. There was a massive one with the flag of the Fleur-de-Lis. The king is there; I’m sure of it.”
“At least it seems he’s there,” Simon corrected. “I couldn’t get any of my men close enough to be sure.”
The knights were already beginning to cluster around them, each man eager to hear information about what lay ahead. The foot soldiers under Faulkes’s command would not catch up for a while yet.
“What about the castle? Could you get an Espion inside?” Ransom asked Simon.
His old friend shook his head. “The western gate to the city was blocked with rubble. I think Deborah did that herself to limit possible entrances. But they have the keep surrounded. Hans Dragan had his crossbow, and we fixed a message to it. I think he got the bolt in through a window. There’s no way to get a message out.”
“That was clever,” Dearley said with an approving nod.
Simon shrugged. “We do what we can in war. But I’m certain, Lord Ransom, that Estian knows you’re coming.” He didn’t want to reveal his knowledge of the Wizr board with so many listening in, but his meaningful look said it plainly enough. Yes, Estian knew Ransom was coming. Did that knowledge fill him with fear or eagerness? They’d long been enemies.
“Oh, and there’s a river going through the road about a league from here,” Dawson said. “I think the Holbrook overswelled its banks. We shouldn’t stop for the night until after we’ve crossed it.”
“We’re not stopping to rest,” Ransom said. “There isn’t time.”
Simon gave him a worried look. “Estian’s men are fresh. He has enough to switch out the siege every day.”
“How many trebuchets did he bring?” Ransom asked.
Simon leaned forward in the saddle. “He’s using three against Thorngate. I think the rest he’s sending on to Kingfountain. He hasn’t done much damage to the castle so far, but all it takes is one lucky hit . . .” He shrugged and left the rest unsaid.
“Tell me the lay of the land,” Ransom said. “I’ve not been to Thorngate before.”
“There’s no way to disguise our approach. There’s a small hunting woods to the north, but it’s not near the town,” Dawson said. “There weren’t many of us, and we still encountered a few scouting parties. They rode off, though, and didn’t engage us.”
“How did you get close enough to shoot a crossbow?” Ransom asked Simon.
“The keep is on the western side of town,” Simon said. “By the rubble blocking the gate. We shot it from outside the town and them scampered off before reinforcements came.”
“Did they chase you?” Ransom asked.
Dawson grinned. “Aye. We let them for a little while, then turned back, attacked, and drove them off.”
Simon smiled at the younger knight’s bravado. “There was another hundred not far behind them. They stopped coming for us after we crossed the river blocking the road.”
“Did you leave any men behind?” Ransom asked.
“A few Espion. We wanted them to think they’d driven us all away, but Dragan is still back there, along with a few others who will try to find a way for us to get into the city. I’m presuming you don’t want to attack the bulk of Estian’s army in the plains when we’re outnumbered ten to one.”
“I had considered it,” Ransom said with a wry smile.
Simon took it as a joke. “Fighting from the town itself would be better, of course. It would limit how many men they could send against us. The town is on higher ground than the plains to the south. If we could lay claim to it, they’d be attacking uphill.”
“But they control all the gates now,” Ransom said.
“Yes,” Simon agreed. “My hope is that the Espion will find another way in. If not, we’ll be fighting in the plains while they lob boulders at the keep.”
“Good work,” Ransom said, giving them both encouraging nods. He turned and looked at the knights who had assembled. “No one said this would be easy,” he said. “But we fight for a worthy cause. We attack in order to defend our loved ones—our wives and our children. To defend our home.” He thought of Claire, Willem, Devon, Sibyl, and Keeva. He thought of Queen Léa and her daughter. He knew Dawson was thinking of Cecily. That Dearley was yearning for his little daughter, who had only just been born.
It made his throat thicken. “Remember who you are, men of Glosstyr. As one—Dex aie!” he shouted.
“Dex aie!” resounded the chorus of knights.
Ransom had, by his best estimation, four hundred and eighty-five knights. And thrice that number in foot soldiers and Gaultic archers. If Simon’s description of Estian’s host were true, then it was ten to one, and he needed every advantage to even the odds.
They rode through the night and into the next day and reached the field of Thorngate as the invisible sun sank in the sky. The mud was horrendous. Little Devon ate from a loaf of damp bread and drank from Ransom’s own flask.
“Would you like to walk around a little?” Ransom asked him. He’d dismounted the destrier to give the boy some space to eat his meager repast.
Devon shook his head. “It’s too muddy.”
That was true. The road was a churning mess of filth, and the mud gripped his boots with every step. His men had also dismounted and were caring for their weary horses, feeding them the remainder of the provender they’d brought. Ransom gazed at the tent camp on the south side of the town, which was lower down from their position. It was a gradual slope, but at least it was in their favor. There would be no tents, no pavilions for Ransom and his men to rest in, save what they conquered for themselves. He could see smoke rising from the Occitanian camp as well as from the town chimneys. Where had they found wood dry enough to burn other than by pillaging the townsfolk of their winter stores?
Simon approached him with Hans Dragan in tow. The man’s crossbow was slung across his shoulder. Dawson had taken some knights to scout the area. Dearley glanced at the newcomer and then came up to the prince and spoke to him in kindly tones.
“I managed to spear myself a pheasant with a bolt,” said Hans Dragan with a smirk as he bowed to Ransom. “Made a little fire to cook it on a spit too. It’s been a quiet day. What took you all so long?”
“Enough of the boasting,” Simon scolded. “Tell him the news.”
Ransom lifted his eyebrows, his weariness deep as his bones. “You caught another one for me?”
Dragan chuckled. “I should have, my lord. I should have. Beg your pardon. But I think I can get your army into the city.”
Ransom narrowed his gaze. “The gates are defended.”
“All but one,” said Dragan.
“Hear him out,” Simon urged. “He’s been studying it all day.”
“Go on,” Ransom said.
Other than Dearley and the prince, the others weren’t close enough to hear. One weary knight had laid his blanket down on the mud and fallen asleep on it already.