Lying in Wait

The canvased wagon ambled along toward the city. While the wooden sides came past a man's waist when he stood inside, the ramshackle cart had only oiled canvas to finish the walls and roof.

The back of the vehicle was open to the elements, revealing tents, cookware and other wares piled all the way to the top. As it neared the gate, the large lumbering vehicle joined the line of those waiting to enter.

Drumming her fingers on the reins, the woman with a limp pulled the horses to a stop. Her face was grim. "More waiting…"

At last, she made it to the gate where a soldier made his first perfunctory question. "Name?"

"Sile of Obsequence, daughter of Astrid and Emil. Granddaughter of…" the woman was cut off by the soldier.

"I only asked for your name, not your entire family history." The soldier marked something down on a tablet in front of him, then glanced up at her with a smack of his lips. "What business have you in Valiant?"

"I am here to sell some wares and hopefully resupply before heading home. My family has not seen me for quite a while. I am quite anxious to have a huge portion of my mother's hoghead stew. My mother, Astrid if you may recall, is quite a decent cook. She always wanted to open a tavern, but…" Sile stopped mid sentence when she noticed the man glaring at her.

"Do you not know how to be quiet?" The man stuck his pinky in his ear, clearing it of debris. He circled the wagon to check inside. "Do you have anyone with you?"

"Of course! Two dozen of my closest friends. Don't you travel with all of your closest companions wherever our go?" Sile cocked her head to one side. "If not, I would be happy to introduce you to some of my friends. Millard back there is funny when he isn't being an idiot…"

The soldier held up his hand to make her stop. He was trying to decide if she was mocking him or not as he stared at the stack of tents in the back of the wagon. Two dozen people could fit in the wagon, but not with all the junk piled so haphazardly.

"Crazy as the day is long," he muttered. One of the other gatekeepers came to see what was taking so long.

"What seems to be the trouble?" She asked, tucking a piece of stray hair into the leather cap of her uniform.

"The lady here says she has two dozen people with her in the back of this here wagon." The first soldier stepped aside for his female counterpart to examine.

She poked at the contents and rolled her eyes. "Why are there so many loonies these days?" the soldier whispered as quietly as she could.

"Who knows? Maybe it is something in the water." The man gave a lopsided grin.

Grunting, the woman went back toward the front of the wagon and waved Sile forward. "Enjoy your stay in Valiant. Please tell your friends to behave and not cause any trouble while you are here," the soldier smiled awkwardly.

"No promises!" Sile clicked her tongue and the four horses moved through the gate with their load in tow.

Once the cart was clear and had moved into the city streets, Sile slowed the horses slightly.

"I'm glad you did not promise her we would not cause trouble. That would have made things very complicated," a voice from the wagon said jovially. "You should have seen Collyn. He was so close to taking out that lady soldier. She nearly impaled him when she pressed on the tent stakes." Millard snickered.

"Quiet you nitwit," Collyn jeered. A loud thump received a whimper in response. "Good work, Sile. Nothing like oversharing to make you sound insane. What made you try that tactic?"

Sile chuckled softly and adjusted her twisted leg. "I just copied Millard. He never closes his yap and we all just ignore his yipping."

There was a ripple of throaty laughter from those hidden in the wagon. Millard was unphased. "See now? I am good for something. I am inspiring. My mother always said..."

He yelped slightly as someone clamped his mouth shut.

"Quiet or I will use you as a warm up for the big event!" Collyn warned. The man with the heterochromic eyes came close behind Sile and whispered through the canvas. "Find somewhere to drop us. We need a place to hide until after dark…"

———————-

It was more than an hour past dark, but everyone in the palace was in position. The castle staff had all been sent to their rooms, even the night shift. The message was that the Empress had a headache and wanted absolutely no sound and that the Emperor was willing to take extreme measures to make sure her wish was fulfilled.

Only the infirmary was left in functioning order. Even the kitchen was completely shut down. Soldiers were concentrated only at key access points, with a clear path of least resistance to catch whoever decided to break in.

Devrim would have loved to stop these intruders from entering at all, but after the stealth and strength he witnessed, it seemed wiser to direct them and cut them off. That was assuming they were doing a directed strike as they had before.

Velia's warning to Kym seemed to suggest this to be true, otherwise, surely she would have told the other young woman to leave the palace entirely. It was a leap, but the Emperor felt he had no choice. 'So many unknowns,' Devrim thought, mulling things over in his mind.

The Emperor was playing so many odds just now, and he could not shake the nagging feeling that he was missing something important.

The halfling was beside the Emperor waiting in the nursemaids' quarters where Velia had been imprisoned only a short while earlier. The slightest whiff of her perfume still hung in the air. "That nurse really needs to learn how to use moderation when it comes to scents. You humans must not have sensitive noses at all...You seem a little jumpy," Gandr noted as he saw the Emperor twitch yet again.

"Of course I am jumpy. I just want this all to be over with. I want my wife and child home and safe. I don't want anyone else to get hurt. I want to catch one of those infernal creatures and find out who is behind all of this." The man's eyes were wild as his hand flexed against the hilt of his sword.

"Waiting is always the hardest part," the halfling confirmed. "I am sorry that our research into Velia did not yield better results. I still say the Lord where her mother was working at the time is the culprit. It makes the most sense."

"I will delve further into it but, neither he nor his sons have an S. T. as their initials. They are from Meliorate, which obviously starts with an 'M'."

"What strange names you human's have for places. You always sound like you are trying to prove something. I..." Gandr fell silent. His sensitive hearing picked up an unusual sound in the hall. He readied his hands, ready to catch whatever being or beings entered by encasing them in the stone floor.

The footsteps entered the nursery, and Devrim, Gandr, and a dozen other guards hidden inside the actual nursery burst forth to surround the intruder. His feet were immediately encased in stone, which made him cry out in pain.

However the intruder was not a wolf. "Release him," Devrim said with a sigh. "Everyone back where you were. What are you doing out of your room, Councilman Ezer?"

The Emperor took the other man's arm and led him, limping, into the nursemaid's quarters. "I guess they have not attacked?" Ezer asked as he found a seat. He took off his shoe and surveyed his aching feet.

"No," Devrim glanced out the small window at the sky, "and they are late."

"I am sorry to have sprung the trap prematurely, but Anna says I must talk to you. She will not rest until I do."

"Well then, out with it, good man," Devrim understood about the persistence of wives. Plus Anna generally had good instincts.

"Anna passed behind Velia as she was being escorted to the dungeons this evening."

Devrim was suddenly paying attention. "Dressed as the Empress?" He asked.

"Yes, but don't worry, Velia did not see her. After the comments the nursemaid made about the Empress being gone, I warned Anna that she should stay clear and not let Velia have the chance to confirm her suspicions."

"Probably the wisest choice," Gandr nodded.

"Anyway, as I said, she saw Velia leave, and that stench of her perfume lingered behind."

"We have become quite familiar with that stench," the Emperor groaned.

"The smell bothered Anna greatly, but she could not say why. Until a moment ago, that is. Anna remembered that Velia had somehow managed to spill that same scent in the Empress's chambers the day before the attack. She could not get out the smell despite her best efforts."

"Quite a coincidence…" Gandr stroked his chin.

Ezer nodded. "It got her thinking, and I agree: with the palace being such a labyrinth, perhaps the scent was how the wolves were guided to the places where they were supposed to attack."

"If that is the case, then..." The Emperor's eyes grew wide.

Ezer nodded. "If Velia is the one wearing the scent, then they will find her wherever she is..."

Gandr was already moving to the door. "That means...we are in the wrong place. We need to get to the dungeon!"