Interlude
Here’s the next instalment…
Interlude – A Timely Exit
When morning came I hauled myself off the penny hanger and vowed never to sleep like that again, even a mould-ridden straw pallet would have been a luxury at that point. The rest of the party was already awake, Rudi was sharpening his sword while attempting to negotiate a free breakfast, Harald was poring over some book or other and Ælfgif was carefully rolling bandages. Magpie was nowhere to be seen but that merely served to indicate that he’d already found some poor soul to fleece at dice. Once the proprietor had left grumbling about coercion and eating him out of house and home Rudi unrolled the map and used a charcoal stick to mark where we were and drew a curved line to our destination.
“Right, it looks like we’ve only got another two days travel ‘til we get to the castle. From what people here have told me it’s pretty much undefended although there’s rumours of bandits and possibly even hobgoblins camped in and around the place,” he spat into the corner, “with any luck they don’t know about the vaults or what’s supposed to be down there.”
I took the charcoal stick and turned the map towards me. “Surely if we went this way,” I drew a straight line to the castle, “we’d cut the journey time by as much as half.” I grinned, sure that I’d at last made a valid contribution. Instead Rudi cuffed me on the back of the head.
“Idiot! That route takes us straight over Greymoor.”
“What’s so bad about Greymoor?” I asked incredulously, “I know it can be boggy at this time of year but if we’re careful it shouldn’t be much of a problem.”
“Barrows, lad! The place is riddled with them!”
Before I’d even opened my mouth he’d anticipated the question. “Just because there’ve been no reported attacks these past hundred years, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing there. I appreciate your trying to help, but I don’t want to take the risk.”
It was at this point that Magpie came in, breathing hard and clutching a leather purse.
“Much as I ‘ate to break up yer party, I fink we’d best be runnin’.”
