Chapter 2

I sank deeper into my hood and tried to remember the wise words of Halt. I couldn't move a muscle because it was movements that would alert any observers to my presence. I had to be calm and not get overworked. I had to move with the wind and shadows and above all remember that people didn't see what they didn't expect to.

I took a few calming breaths and tried to steady my heart, which was currently pulsing out of my chest. Adrenalin was pumping through my veins and the anticipation made me want to sprint for my target, forsaking the benefits of surprise. Instead, I kept my back against the wall and observed the shadows. It was dark and I had purposely waited till after sun down so that the sunset wouldn't cast any weird shadows that would expose me.

The docks were empty at this time of night. With the invasion well under way, no locals would dare to leave their homes in darkness. As a town that flourished on trade, the docks were wide and could berth twenty large merchant ships. Even more could wait further down the Slipsunder River. The town acted as a gateway that eventually led to the gates of the capital. While there were more garrisons a ship would have to pass through, Caraway was the entryway and a key defensive position. If the Iberian's controlled Caraway then Castle Araluen could be more easily compromised.

I hid behind a barrel of water and peered out at the ships anchored. I did a quick count. There were nineteen docked and this aggravated my unease. I didn't know at the time but I learnt later the three different types of ships that were anchored. The first were ballingers. They were small vessels with square sails and at least thirty oars to propel them when the wind died down. While they could be used for trade these particular ones were being used for the transport of soldiers. They could hold fifty soldiers each and I counted ten ships. I was not a genius at mathematics but I knew that equalled a lot of men. There were then six of a larger, more intimidating vessel called a carrack. Each had two square-rigged masts – the foremast and mainmast – as well as a triangular-rigged mizzenmast. The masts were patterned with red crosses, clearly showing their unfriendly intentions. To further reveal intimidate onlookers, each of the three decks of the ships were lined with giant crossbows. I later learnt that these fired logs as their missiles which were often lit on fire and could breach an enemy garrison. Each ship could fire ten missiles a minute on either side. I could imagine how devastating they would be. Sitting to the side closest to the open water were three smaller ships, called caravels. They were small barges that were triangular-rigged. They were fast and used to deliver messages and scarcely manned.

By the looks of the ships, I knew we were in trouble.

Wolf let out a curse word.

"Don't swear," I chastised.

"I think it's appropriate in light of all those ships," Wolf answered, not the least bit sorry.

"I think I should board one of the ships and try to get more information," I said. There was a clear path from my hiding spot to the wooden docks and I thought that I could make it. My cloak was black and if I moved with the shadows I could get there on my hands and knees, like a spider.

"And I'll see you in the afterlife," Wolf said, looking down his nose at me. "I'll tell any pups I may sire that you were beautiful but also unbelievably stupid."

"What's wrong with my plan?" I asked.

"Don't you see the watch?"

"What watch?"

"On the bow of each ships there's a man. They don't move much but obviously they're on lookout." I squinted in the direction Wolf was indicating with his head. I did see some figure and it was shaped like a man wearing a conical helmet. I thanked my lucky stars for my dog who had much better eyesight than me.

"I accept your thanks," Wolf muttered. I ruffled his ears.

"Well do you have a better idea?"

"This entire idea is stupid. You don't even speak Iberian so how will you understand a word they're saying?"

Suddenly there were loud voices coming from one of the carracks. The light from lanterns illuminated the ship's deck so that I could better see the men. They all wore shining armour and I couldn't help but marvel at the Iberian King's impressive armada. Compared to the usual common folk that were called up for Araluen military duty, all of these men looked trained and deadly. Their weapons were made by expert blacksmiths and they had ships while Araluen didn't specialise in naval warfare. I tried to remember the King's name. Franklin? Frederick? Ferdinand. King Ferdinand. What did he even want with Araluen?

"Come Juan, let us find some ale!" a voice yelled. I gave Wolf a pointed look. They did speak the common tongue.

"Don't be ridiculous Matéo. The Capitán will cut off our tongues," Juan replied.

"Not if we all go," Matéo answered, gesturing to his shipmates. "Hermanos we have been stuck on this ship for days. Let's go and find some cervaza for our lips and some mujer bonita to drink with!" There was a chorus of agreement. Men were so ridiculous. Alcohol and women I assumed were the things they were being easily tempted with.

"I'm staying here," Juan said, standing up straight and obviously not pleased with the actions of the others.

"Oh have some fun Juan," someone said, patting him on the back before around twenty men jumped down from the ship.

"Should we take our purses?" someone asked.

"Idiota! Andrés we just invaded them. We take what is ours!" Matéo said with a laugh. The rest of the men cheered.

As they left I decided that I would board that ship. It would be the least armed right now so that if worst came to worst I could hopefully get away. I had my sabre and my saxe knife at the ready and I wouldn't hesitate to use them.

"How should I get to it?" I asked Wolf, my brain trying to think of what would be the best way to remain unseen. Wolf had vetoed the direct approach so I tried to think of alternatives. I realised that there was a gap between the dock and the moored ships. They were tethered with tarred rope, but didn't directly touch the dock. It made sense because captains wouldn't want their ships to scrape as the tide moved and it gave me an idea. I was small and thin and wondered if I could squeeze between the gap. I would have to hang on with my fingers and climb my way across. It would be tough work and my muscles ached just thinking about it, but one good thing was that the ship I was targeting was not too far from the edge. I just hoped that no one would decide to look overboard.

"I don't like this idea either," Wolf informed me, having guessed my intentions.

"Do you have a better plan?" I asked. Why was he so disagreeable today? He didn't like any of my ideas.

"It's a good plan except for the fact that you can't swim."

"Can you swim?"

"Of course I can," Wolf answered with a shake of his fur, seeming incensed that I would even ask the question.

"Good. If I fall in you can rescue me," I replied. Wolf didn't reply and I was proud to finally be able to have the last word with him.

"If they don't shoot you first," Wolf stated and I frowned at him.

"Lighten up."

"You should take your own advice. If you ate less then maybe Caesar wouldn't have such a hard time carrying you around everywhere." I hit Wolf. Hard.

"Let's go," I said before we go too carried away. We had to go around the building we were hiding against, as entering on the other side would be easier. We were out of sight of the ships when Wolf suddenly stopped and sniffed at the air.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Something isn't right. I smell mandrake," Wolf said.

† † †

"Halt," I complained. "Can't we go back to weapons training?" The sun was streaming in from the window and it was one of the few days lately where the grasp of winter had loosened. All I wanted to do was practise with my new sabre but instead I was stuck in this room with a quill and a piece of parchment.

Naturally Halt ignored my complaint and instead placed a book in front of me. I could make out some of the words but he wasn't showing it to me so that I could learn to read. My eyes instead lingered on the carefully drawn pictures. Each page had a plant or other substance drawn on the margins with a large title, a paragraph of words underneath and then a picture of a human in a graphic death.

"What is it?" I asked, my interest suddenly piqued. Reading was far more interesting when it involved pictures.

"We're interested now I see," Halt said, raising that familiar eyebrow.

"Are these poisons?" I asked, running my finger down the stem of one of the flowers. It looked so beautiful with bright blue petals that were so tiny and delicate that it looked like it better suited a bride's bouquet. However a drawing of a man underneath depicted a wound emitting pus and then the man staggering around, hallucinating and delirious. There were also white flowers of the same kind.

"Yes and quite dangerous. We know the Iberians used poisons to kill King Duncan and so we have to be prepared in case they use them again," Halt said.

He pointed to the blue flower I was examining. "This is the aracoina flower. It comes in blue and white and it deadly poisonous. It causes deliriousness and hallucinations. It is particularly deadly because not only does the victim appear to heal just before they die, but even if a healer is found the antidote is specific to the colour of flower. If the wrong one is taken then the victim still dies."

"So it helps ensure death by having half a chance that they will die anyway," I said. Halt's eyebrows were lowered in thought and I wondered if he had come across this before.

He quickly turned the page. "This is belladonna which is a paralytic. Foxglove is hard to make and not very deadly to all but children. Now hemlock is very dangerous. It keeps the mind awake and death comes from waking asphyxiation. The Toscan's are known for using it. Aconite comes from the plant monkshood which causes vomiting, diarrheoa and then arrhythmic heart function until death. Nightshade you might see from the Arridi and it is deadly."

Halt then stopped at a picture of a leafy plant with strangely shaped roots. They looked almost like little people.

"What's that?"

"Mandrake," he answered. "The name comes from two words in the ancient language meaning 'sleep' and 'substance'. It is a poison but if used in dilute quantities it can be used to put people to sleep."

I opened my mouth to ask a question but Halt beat me to it.

"If you want to capture someone without a fight then put a cloth with mandrake poison over their mouth and in a few seconds they won't be able to even open their eyes."

"Have you used it before?" I asked, curious.

Halt shook his head. "Ranger's don't use poisons. I would rather give someone a good blow to the head rather than fiddling around with this nonsense. You can't control poisons as well as you can control the blunt end of your own saxe."

† † †

I took a second to process Wolf's words. Mandrake was a poison and used to make people fall asleep if used in small quantities.

I spun on my heal and simultaneously took my saxe out of its scabbard. Poised right behind me holding a cloth stained with green, was an assailant who was wearing a hood to cover his face. Before he even had time to be startled, I lifted my leg and kicked at his hand, causing him to drop the cloth and nurse his injuries. Wolf ran forward and kicked the cloth to one side while I advanced, holding up my saxe, ready for a close quarters fight.

Halt had taught me that poisons were for weak men. People who weren't sure that they would be able to actually slam a knife through someone's gut so they took the coward's way out. Assassins used it on victims during the night or as a precaution in case their weapons didn't work. But at the same time while poisons might be used in cowardice there end result was the same and death wasn't something to be scorned.

If I expected my attacker to be weak, I was completely wrong. After he recovered, he immediately took out a sword. A long broadsword that made me regret my saxe. As he was left-handed I changed my mindset accordingly, remembering that his reach would be different. I didn't waste a second and swapped to my sabre so that I could match him. I stepped forward athletically, trying to impale him on the first go. He anticipated it though, and stepped aside easily. I could have kicked myself. I was being too obvious. For the next thrust I waited for him to move first. He went for a head-lopping stroke and I was about to duck down when I realised that he was tricking me and at the last minute turned to my left, to miss a slice. The blade cut through air, where just seconds earlier my arm had been.

Wolf decided that he had enough and leapt on my assailant, taking his gauntlet covered arm into his vice-like jaws. The man hissed in pain before kicking Wolf square in the belly and sending him flying. I used the second of distraction to angle my sabre just like Riley had taught me so that an opponent's sword would go flying and almost cheered when it actually worked. With his broadsword far away, I threw my sabre aside and tackled the man to the ground. I didn't weight much but with the propulsion of my legs behind me, it was enough to leave my assailant on his back.

I climbed on top of him to keep him grounded and remembered some advice Gilan had given me about sword fighting.

"If you find that your opponent is more skilled than you at something, change the game."

When he had first said I had looked at him as if he was crazy. I thought he was just trying to copy Halt's wise words of wisdom and cracked a joke about how he was becoming an old man as well. Now, I understood. If you were losing in a contest of swords then you had to change it to a battle of fists or a battle of arrows or do something to swing the odds in your own favour. Even if I didn't like the institution of Ranger's anymore, I couldn't refute the advice of my friends.

"Very well done," a familiar voice complimented. "I was wondering if you would continue the sword fight when you were quite out of your depth and I have to say this idea was genius." It can't be. Just when I thought that enough people had betrayed me, another? I pulled the hood on the cloak back and couldn't keep the surprise off my face. Dark blonde curls, clear blue eyes and an easy smile.

"What in Gorlog's name are you doing Riley?" I asked.

"I was rescuing you from being caught by those Iberians," he answered, matter of factly. I remembered that we were in the vicinity of the enemy and breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't see an Iberian patrol arriving to behead me. The noise of the soldiers who had decided they needed a night off was loud enough to cover the sword fight.

"By trying to poison me?" I hissed, putting my saxe to his throat. "Next time you lie, make it more believable."

"Remind me not to mess with you," Wolf commented. He had recovered from his blow and brought the green cloth to me, careful to use his paws and not his mouth.

"Come on Mon. I'm an old friend," Riley said trying to appeal to my loyalty but I had had just about enough of stupid males who didn't trust me or were going behind my back. I held the knife even closer till it was just about to draw blood and gave him a cold, unforgiving stare. Halt would have been proud of me. Hell, Halt would have actually applauded my efforts.

Seeing that his words weren't helping, Riley swallowed. His Adam's apple bobbled and if I hadn't adjusted my saxe he would have bled.

"Fine. I'll tell the truth," Riley yielded, putting his hands up in surrender. I wondered why he didn't try to push me off. He could easily punch me or even just push me off him. Even before, he hadn't tried any thrusts that were too dangerous. Yes, he had tried to lop off my head but that had been a fake for merely injuring my right arm. And with the original attempt to put me to sleep, it made sense. He wanted to capture me.

"I was trying to capture you," Riley admitted, too late.

I rolled my eyes. "Obviously."

He smiled. "Beautiful and smart." I wanted to pull out my hair. How had Halt handled holding the King's killer – Warren – hostage? This was infuriating.

"And you learn things so quickly," Riley continued. Now I wanted to pull out his hair. Every last curl.

"I will put out your hair," I warned, grabbing a handful and yanking it.

"Ouch ouch ouch. Okay I'll tell you," Riley relented. "You're smart. You've probably figured out that El jefe has a spy. Someone working for him inside Castle Caraway to help him out. To warn him of raids and send the castle guard on wild goose chases across the countryside."

I nodded. "Obviously." Riley looked like he wanted to point out that I had just used that word but I gave him a look warning him not to. Thankfully he obeyed.

"Well you're looking at him," Riley finished.

"You're the mensajero?" I asked remembering the meeting I had witnessed with Edmund. I amended the thought. The meeting I had witnessed.

"You saw that?"

"Yes."

"I'm impressed. Not only…"

"Don't you dare continue that sentence. Now answer my question: what are you doing?"

"Okay well I left Castle Araluen and I soon followed your tracks to Caraway. You know there's a guard that reports any new people to El jefe but I told them there was no need because I was following you. That's how you got in and no doubt any people you talked to were wondering how a stranger could arrive. Then I followed you, trying to discover what you had found out and decided that enough was enough and that I should take you to my master," Riley explained.

"You followed me from Araluen?" I asked, more to myself than Riley. How hadn't I figured that out? And how had he caught up? I had been going at a gallop the whole time. I guess that explained the lack of hearing him.

"Yes, I did."

"Why?" I was feeling slightly uncomfortable about this.

"I knew what you were going to do," Riley answered. I had a feeling he was not telling me everything and was going to try to get more information out when he continued with his ridiculous rants.

"And I couldn't let you go out alone in the middle of winter. You know there are dangerous people preying on beautiful girls and you are amazing with weapons but I thought you could use…" he trailed off as he saw what I was holding in my hand.

"I warned you," I said as I covered his mouth and nostrils with the mandrake poison.

"Don't do this Mon. I can keep…" Riley tried to fight back but it was no use. In a few second his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he knew no more.