The journey was long and tedious. Hearing Fergus complain about not being able to sleep and about how he was hungry didn't make the time go by any faster. Conor looked annoyed by Fergus's ranting and rambling about the man selling him a faulty sword. That was months ago at the least and he was still angry about it. Catlin chuckled as she heard the two friends go over the story from memorization. Her thoughts dwelled back to the dream.
Nightfall was coming soon and Catlin's blue gray mixed eyes stared at the orange-golden orb that set to the west. The rays hit against Catlin's white skin, making her have to squint her eyes to look around. Conor looked back to Catlin and with a slip of his lips his boyish smile formed. Fergus stopped talking and looked to Conor's goofy smile and then looked to Catlin.
The sun finished setting and nightfall came around the three companions. The glowing light from candles through windows could be seen, showing the tavern was close by. The three jumped off their horses and ducked behind bushes and trees. Conor pulled apart some of the branches to look at the building. Catlin tied the reins of the horses to the tree branch and Fergus sat beside Conor staring at the building.
"You sure we can do this lad?" Fergus questioned trying to strategize in his mind what to do if things went wrong.
Conor sighed and looked to the champion, "I think we can do it."
"So, how long do we wait before we actually do this?" Fergus ran his fingers over his mustache and then looked back towards where Catlin was from hearing her rustle around.
"We'll wait at least three days before we spring the trap and set the girls free," Conor began as Catlin came up holding the reins of her horse in her hands. Her clothing had changed into that of what a man would wear and she wore a black cloak around her body to hide her face. Conor looked up and down Catlin, "Until then, look at how many girls there are and note which soldiers come in and how many are there all night to guard. And information on the keeper would be nice."
Catlin nodded at the instructions and pulled the black cloak hood over her head and walked towards the tavern with her horse. She tied the reins to the pole outside with the other horses and moved her way inside the tavern. Shouts and hollering filled her ears as she looked around at the odd assortment of patrons. Some of the men there were soldiers, others villagers from around. The tavern was practically in the middle of all the surrounding villagers and nothing to her surprise that it would also be a brothel.
Catlin's eyes looked to disgust at way women were flaunting themselves to the men, especially the soldiers. Then again it was their job and probably were punished for not trying to enjoy themselves. Catlin found the table near the darkest corner she could find so she wouldn't be seen. Her eyes still gazed around the place, counting the women off I her mind as well as the Roman soldiers. She hoped Conor had a good plan to free most of the women that were here.
Catlin slouched a bit to act as if she were a man. That was the plan because Fergus and Conor were too recognizable to be in a room full of Roman Centurions. As she continued to look around a blue cloth obstructed her view of everyone that was in sight, "Can I get you something to drink sir?"
Catlin heard the Irish accent and slowly tilted her head up to see the face of a woman. The woman that stood in front of Catlin was beautiful. Pure white skin and the beautiful green eyes that she had ever seen, that would stick in Catlin's mind forever. Catlin couldn't stop her staring for some reason and she didn't notice that she was either. She didn't even answer the woman's question; all she could do was admire her for some reason.
The red-headed woman started to become a little impatient and let out a sigh, "Can I get you something to drink sir?"
Catlin shook her head out of the trance like state and made it so she looked down to the table, "Ale please." She spoke softly but sternly to give her appearance more of that which a male would have.
The woman nodded and looked back down to Catlin. Catlin stared back, her eyes locked onto the woman's. Beautiful, that was the only word that seemed to cross the young warrior's mind at that moment. The woman parted her lips and smiled softly, "Anything else?"
"Your name." Catlin commanded in a way.
"Kathleen." The woman's answer was soft and sweet. An angelic tone that ringed into Catlin's ears.
Catlin let out a steady nod and then looked back down at the table. Kathleen figured that was her dismissal to get the drink for her customer. Catlin looked back towards where Kathleen was walking, watching her every move as if it would be the last thing she would see of her.
After finishing her drink and doing more observation Catlin felt it was in her best interest to leave for the night. It wouldn't be the last time that she would have to sit and watch this.
Conor and Fergus sat around the fire, eating their food. Their heads turned towards the clearing where the sound of hooves hitting the ground echoed. Catlin came through the clearing and took the hood off of her head. Strands of her hair flew out loosely and fell over her face. Conor and Fergus looked up to Catlin and motioned for her to sit down. She did as they motioned and then took a bowl of food and began to eat contently.
Conor finished the food in his mouth, "How did it go?"
"It went fine," she responded putting bread into her mouth.
Fergus ran his fingers over his baldhead, "How many soldiers?"
"There looks like at least 12 show up on a nightly basis. They all seem to leave around the same time. It's mostly villagers that stay there."
Fergus looked to Conor with a possibility of getting this done a lot sooner than possibly expected. Conor finished his food and looked to the others "We'll then go ahead and go with the plan tomorrow. Get back to the sanctuary earlier to surprise everyone and relieve Tully of responsibilities."
Catlin and Fergus nodded in agreement and they finished their food. They each settled down, ready to sleep. The flames flickering providing the light and warmth Catlin, Conor, and Fergus wanted. Conor and Fergus soon when to sleep and Catlin stared up at the stars that littered the sky like diamonds. A slight sigh escaped from her lips as she rolled to her side and closed her eyes thinking of Kathleen.