Chapter Two
Henry glanced down at the still form in the wagon he rode next to. There lay the bound and unconscious form of his enemy, Seto Christian Rosenkreuz. A space had been made amongst the barrels and crates of supplies. They had been shifted, allowing for ample space to place the prisoner, who was now fairly well cushioned against the bumps of the trip, atop the straw that had previously been used to pad the barrels and crates. Rosenkreuz looked surprisingly peaceful in his vulnerable state, Henry thought.
The fort Henry spoke of was a captured Yorkist outpost, which in truth had been all but abandoned when they came upon it. The few soldiers left to guard it were easily dispensed with, and the Lancastrian army had moved in. Henry had been using it as a base of operations, and now returned there. As they left, he sent a messenger to call back his army, for the moment there job was done.
It was not a far ride and by sunset the silhouette of their destination showed above the horizon, The complex that made up what Henry called the fort, consisted of a walled in grounds, containing a stables and some houses with enough space for the greater part of his army to make camp, the main structure was actually more of a small castle complete with a pair of towers and a small muddy mote. Though touches of disrepair were beginning to emerge in the structure, it was sufficiently grand in the style of the people of York, to be quite imposing against the surrounding landscape.
The Castle also had a dungeon, which had been conspicuously empty to Henry's eye, so he decided to make use of it. He ordered the guards to chain Rosenkreuz in a cell. The guards dragged the still unconscious Yorkist into the damp stone room. They threw him up against the back wall and locked heavy manacles onto his wrists, then left him to half slump on the ground, held up by the thick chains.
As the men left, Rosenkreuz finally began to come to, just in time to hear Henry order the guards outside aside.