Chapter 11: Orphan's Tower
"Heh, I'll be sure to find out what's going on this way" thought Varus. Currently, he was hanging upside down beneath the caravan by gripping onto the frame beneath, unseen by its passengers. When the caravan had started to split off, his curiosity had got the better of him. So he had managed to sneak around the side and stow away while everyone had been saying their farewells, despite his large size. Even if the others did not want to find out what was going on, he did. Besides, when has curiosity ever harmed anyone?
It was as he thought this that Gauss popped her head out of his chest to look him in the eye. This would have been disconcerting to anyone, had they been watching. Varus was very much used to it by now, however. Gauss gave a small series of yips and growls to him. Varus simply rolled his eyes.
"Alright, apart from that time…" he replied. Some more yip's followed, and Varus frowned and interrupted. "Alright, you've made your point, yeesh…" He stopped abruptly when he heard voices speak from above him.
"Did you hear that?" Came the voice of Johnson. "Hear what?" questioned Benston. "Sounded like a dog or something…" Johnson murmured. After a short pause and some creaking from the driver's seat, Benston replied "Can't see anything. Must have been in the woods as we passed."
Varus let out the breath he had been holding, looking down to give a deadpan stare to Gauss. She gave him an unimpressed look, before disappearing into his chest once more. He cocked his head slightly in order to better listen in to the conversation between Benston and Johnson.
"So, think Os will be happy with our progress? We found four more kids after all." Johnson spoke. "Hopefully. What does this bring the number to? Around thirty by my count" replied Benston. Varus assumed Johnson nodded, as he did not reply verbally. "Well, that's progress isn't it? When we get back to the tower, we'll figure out what to do with this new lot of kids."
Varus frowned. It sounded like they had far more kids than they had assumed. Why did they need so many? And where were they getting them from? It sounded almost like they were collecting them up. The old man's theory of child trafficking was sounding more realistic by the second. His musing was interrupted by Johnson chuckling "Ah, there it is, home sweet home...at least for now. Man it's a dump, huh?"
Varus looked behind him in an attempt to see what they were referring to. It was not an easy task, given his limited view from under the caravan. What little he could make out appeared to be an area fenced off with roughly chopped logs from the surrounding area, with some sharpened spikes scattered throughout the area as a rudimentary defense. Varus may not have seen everything the world had to offer, but this setup looked awfully like a bandit camp to his eyes.
He frowned. He had to try to get a message to the others about this. He looked around himself, both at the bottom of the caravan and to the road passing by underneath him. As his eyes landed on a particularly large rock the caravan was about to go over, he smiled to himself.
The rest of the group had not taken long to catch up enough to see the caravan once more. They did not approach, however, as they were unsure what the situation with Varus was. They had yet to lay eyes on him, suggesting he was inside the caravan itself. The last thing they wanted was to spook them if he was in a hostage situation or something. Instead, they followed at a distance, keeping an eye on them while remaining out of sight.
"So, think they have him hostage in the back?" Alistair muttered as they trotted along at a sedate pace. Rogon snorted from beside him "How? Man's built like an ox and armed to the teeth. What are they gonna do, get the kids to dogpile him?" Alistair shrugged in agreement. Garrick frowned "Well, if he has not been captured, we must assume that he went with them willingly. But why? And why would they just let him go with them. Something doesn't add up".
It was at this moment that they turned a bend in the road, pausing in their progress as they did. The trees had obscured their view, but now they were able to get a clear view of the land ahead. There was a sharp incline up to a large rocky tor. The caravan had stopped at a large gate-like structure in the middle of wooden barricades, clearly waiting to be let in. Far more noticeable was the structure within the barricade.
It was a large stone tower, at least five stories tall. Circular in shape, it had clearly seen better days, with vegetation growing up one side and cracks apparent in parts of the stonework. The windows were glassless slits, suggesting it once served as a defensive fort of sorts. It was honestly impressive that it was still standing, given the obvious holes that littered its walls. The very top had a flat roof with battlements around it, with crows visibly circling the top.
"...Well, that's not creepy at all…" Alistair muttered as he looked upon the tower, Garrick nodded in agreement beside him. "Indeed. Those wooden walls are much more recent it seems. Curious...bandits perhaps?" Rogon then called out to them from a short distance ahead "Guys? Might want to see this!"
Everyone crowded round Rogon, where he was closely inspecting a rock he had picked up from the road. "...Well, it's a rock. And?" Garrick asked a little harshly. Rogon just turned the rock around so that he was holding the surface he had been looking at outwards. There, the surface was surprisingly flat, and there appeared to be scratches on its surface. Alistair got down from his horse in order to squint closely at it. "It's writing...terrible writing, but still." Indira hopped a little in her saddle "Ok, so what does it say?" she asked.
"Under Caravan, Kids = lots, Men bad. Varus." He read slowly, struggling to make out the chicken scratch on the rock. The group all exchanged concerned looks. "Wait...Varus is UNDER the caravan?!" Garrick exclaimed before turning his attention back to it. He was just in time to see the caravan enter the now opened gate, before it was closed again by two more, unfamiliar men. "Great...now what?"
"We can't just ignore this now," Indira stated passionately, "not when there are children at risk!" Garrick nodded in agreement "I agree, but the six of us will not be sufficient to storm an encampment such as this. We've no idea how many men they have in there." Na'ish looked at Garrick "So, what should we do then?"
Garrick passed his gaze over the group. "Who of you is adept at infiltration?" he asked. Alistair and Avery both immediately raised their hands. His gaze paused consideringly over Avery, clearly he still did not quite trust her. As he progressed, Rogon looked slightly sheepish and Indira was fidgeting slightly in place. Na'ish simply gave him a deadpan expression, knocking on his heavy chestplate with a clanging sound.
Garrick sighed "Very well, I suppose the three of us will have to do. If we can sneak in and find out what's going on, we may not even need to fight. If we need help, we'll send some sort of signal to call you." he said as he dismounted his horse. The rest of the group indicated varying degrees of agreement. Rogon clearly wasn't happy being left as backup, but he couldn't deny the logic of the plan.
And so, Garrick, Alistair and Avery started to make their way towards the large tor, using rocky outcroppings to hide their progress. Meanwhile, Rogon, Indira and Na'ish secured the horses to nearby trees and settled down to observe the camp and watch for a signal from the others.
Varus was grateful when the caravan finally trundled to a stop within the enclosure of the walls. He had been hanging on to the bottom for almost an hour and his arms were getting tired. He let go of the beam he had been holding, gently lying on the ground in order to recover. The caravan above shook slightly as the kids in the back started to jump out.
Benston and Johnson also hopped down, Johnson moving to uncouple the horses while Benston moved around the back to address the kids. "Alright you lot, round the front and into the tower. Got to get you to meet your new family, for now at least" he said with a smile. The kids all quickly agreed, following him around the front and away.
The large gate to the camp was closed with a thump, then a bar lowered to lock it from the inside. The two men then also started to head to the tower. Varus waited with bated breath. All it would take was for one of them to look under the caravan for him to be spotted. Thankfully, neither of them thought to do so, walking past and entering the tower before closing the door to it with a bang.
Varus waited until he was sure the coast was clear. He then rolled out from under the caravan and stood up, dusting himself down and taking a better look at his surroundings. The camp was surprisingly well organised, not what he would expect from bandits at all. There was a series of large tents scattered around, clearly sleeping accommodation. There was one particularly large tent that dominated one corner, with a wooden ramshackle stables erected next to it, where the horses had been tethered and left to graze. Most noticeable was, of course, the huge stone tower.
Varus looked this tower up and down, and then turned his gaze around the area. He couldn't see a single person in the camp. He had to assume, therefore, that all of the children and adults were currently within the tower itself. Varus shrugged, and started to approach the tower. After all, he wanted answers...perhaps the best way to get them was to simply ask?
Garrick's group had successfully managed to wind their way to the outer wall of the camp without being spotted. A surprisingly easy task, seeing as there were no apparent guards even keeping watch. Garrick looked up at the tall wall of logs in thought. Alistair was looking at the gate of the camp. "So, what now? The gate's almost certainly locked from within. Weird there's no guards though…" Avery huffed from the back "Feels like a trap to me. Can we climb over the wall?"
Garrick placed a hand to the logs that made up the wall. "Unlikely. They have been sanded to make them smooth and difficult to climb. We would be better off trying to find another way in." The other two nodded, and the group started to follow the wall around to the side of the tower. As they progressed, the wall started to get replaced by rocky outcroppings and scree. Most of the way was almost sheer and smooth, with very few footholds. Eventually however, they came to a section that had possibly suffered a recent landslide. This resulted in a few more rocks and parts that could be climbed.
"...You must be joking." Avery said as she gazed up at the fifty or so foot climb. Garrick shrugged "We will be far less likely to be discovered going this way." Avery grumbled "And far more likely to fall to our deaths" to herself. Alistair, who had been rummaging in his pack, retrieved something with a triumphant "Got them!" The others turned to see what he had been so happy to retrieve.
In his hands were around ten metal pins with holes to attach rope. Climbing pitons. Garrick raised an eyebrow. "You certainly are prepared. These will help our ascent considerably." Alistair nodded, then stumbled slightly as Garrick patted him on the back and pushed him towards the cliff. He turned to see Garrick and Avery giving him slight smiles. "Well? They are yours after all. Makes sense you affix them and climb first" Avery said with a smirk.
Alistair huffed, and approached the rock wall. He took the first piton and tried to drive it into the wall at around chest height. The rock was mostly granite, so trying to hit them into the cracks by hand had little effect. Alistair ended up using the pommel of his dagger in order to drive the pins into place. Once in, he fed a length of rope through it and climbed up so he was standing on the driven pin. Thankfully, it held firm, so he proceeded to repeat the action.
It took him around half an hour to affix and climb the rock wall with these pitons. Once at the top, he signalled down to Avery to begin her ascent. The climb was considerably faster with the assistance of the rope. "See, easy!" Alistair called down when she was around halfway up. "Yeah, yeah" she replied. However, due to her attention being away from climbing briefly, she failed to notice that one of the pitons was loose in its rocky housing. When she went to grab it, it pulled out and unbalanced her. "Shit!" she yelped as she started to tumble backwards. Thankfully, Alistair had taken the slack of the rope, and managed to slow her descent sufficiently so that she could grab onto the pitons once more.
"You alright?" called up Garrick. Avery nodded, clearly a little shaken. She carefully reclimbed the wall, replacing the lost piton as she climbed. When she got to the top, she slumped down to the ground gratefully. Alistair looked at her sheepishly "Sorry about that…" She gave him a mild glare, but then shook her head. "It happens. Let's agree not to climb any more sheer cliffs anytime soon…" Alistair agreed wholeheartedly, before signalling Garrick to start his ascent.
Thankfully, Garrick's climb was uneventful. The trio then quickly crossed the short distance to the wall of the tower. Leaning against it to stay as out of sight as possible, they looked into the small part of the camp that was visible from where they were. Unfortunately, they could only see a few scattered tents, with no sign of either the caravan or Varus. With a quick signal of Alistair's head, the trio started to follow the curvature of the tower wall around to the back.
This close up, it was even more apparent the state the tower was in. The walls were covered in moss and ivy, many of the bricks were cracked and the mortar had worn away in many places. Most obvious was the large hole that was blown in the side of the building, around ten feet from the ground and revealing a circular staircase within. Again, no sign of anyone within.
It was as they worked their way around the other side of the Tower that they finally caught sight of movement. Alistair stopped, causing the others to briefly bump into him. From where they were, they could now see a large tent, ramshackle stables and the caravan. Most importantly though, they could see Varus! Currently, he was alone, and slowly walking towards the front of the tower, presumably where the door was.
"There he is! Wait...what is he doing?" Garrick said with a frown. Alistair poked his head out further as he started to walk out of sight. "Dunno, but kind of looks like he's heading to the front door…" Alistair said. He was then cut off as Varus reached the tower, and several large knocks rang out in the quiet air. "...There is no way he is that stupid, surely?" Garrick said, eyes wide with disbelief. Alistair just groaned and dashed round the corner of the wall, ignoring Garricks whispered "Wait!"
Varus approached the large wooden door of the tower. Despite the state of the stonework, the door itself was still in pretty good condition. The wood was clearly worn, but there were no holes and the metalwork still seemed unrusted. As Varus got right up to the door, he could hear the low hum of a muffled conversation occurring on the other side. However, he was unable to make out any details of what was being said. Varus shrugged, and raised his fist in order to knock several times, the sound creating an echoing boom in both the clearing and the tower.
The voices immediately stopped, and Varus stood back tapping his foot. He waited for a few seconds, before a loud clunk signaled a slot in the door opening up, allowing him to see a set of eyes looking out at him. "...What are you doing here?" came the voice of Benston from within. Varus simply waved at him "Hello...I was wondering if you could help me, I've lost my friends. Seems I went the wrong way somewhere." Benston stared at him silently for a few seconds, before closing the slot.
After a grinding sound from the lock, the door creaked open enough to allow Benston to slip out. The door was swiftly closed and relocked behind him by his companion. Benston gave Varus a quick look over, distrust clear in his eyes. "Really? We only just parted ways earlier today. How did you get lost in that span of time?" he asked. "It's a gift" Varus replied with a shrug.
Benston scoffed, before pointing back to the gate "Fine. If you want to meet back up with them, you want to head out of here and take the first right. That leads to Astor, where your friends were heading." Varus nodded in thanks, making a show of looking the way he had gestured. "Well, if that's all, we are very busy. Excuse me." Benston said, before turning back towards the tower door.
As he did so, Varus caught a glimpse of a large ornate key hanging from his belt. With quick reflexes, he snapped his hand up and managed to snag the large key from Benston and stow it away into his pocket, all without alerting him. While Varus was smugly congratulating himself on a well done theft, however, Benston approached the door, and reached down to fetch the now missing key.
Benstons eyes widened, and he turned to look at Varus once more. Varus, realising his mistake, took a step back in preparation. Benston then took a deep breath, clearly intent on shouting out an alarm to his companions. However, just before he could manage to, a figure slipped around the side of the building, striking him hard in the neck. The blow caused Benston's eyes to roll up into his head, before he slumped to the ground and revealed the form of Alistair. Currently, he was glaring at Varus.
"What was that!" he whispered harshly while pointing at the door. Varus just walked past him and knelt down to the knocked out Benston, starting to pat the man down for weapons. "Oh, hey there Alistair" Varus said, completely ignoring the question itself. As he was doing this, a muffled shout came from the other side of the door. "Benston? You okay?"
Alistair started gesturing for Varus to follow him around the side of the tower to get out of sight. Varus simply ignored him, standing once more and turning to the door. "I'm not going anywhere, I want to know what's going on." Having not heard a reply from Benston, the door was unlocked and swung open wide, revealing the form of Johnson and the gate guards from before. They took one look at the situation, with Benston out cold on the floor surrounded by Varus and Alistair, before growing angry.
Alistair leaned over to Varus, "This beating we're about to get. It's on your head." Varus just nodded, as the three men charged with weapons drawn. Before Alistair could retreat or Varus could draw his bow, both were tackled to the ground and pinned down by the weight of the guards. Johnson then removed their weapons, before binding their arms behind their back with rope.
Once complete, the two guards hefted them to their feet, and started to drag them towards the tower door. Alistair struggled all the way, but Varus simply allowed them to walk him in. Johnson then leaned down and slung one of Benstons arms over his shoulder before lifting him up and slowly walking inside as well.
As the door swung shut with a bang and the commotion was muffled once more, Avery and Garrick exchanged worried looks from behind the tower wall where they had observed the whole exchange. Garrick then rubbed his temples in aggravation.
"Well...shit."