Guardians of the West

"This is most excellent news, my Lady," Mandorallen praised her. "Since we know of the weakness of the north fortifications, we can concentrate our efforts there. If Goodman Durnik's plan proves workable, a weakening of the foundations of the north wall should bring it down most speedily."

"What can't you tell us about Ulfgar?" Barak asked the girl.

"I only saw him briefly at a distance. He spends most of his time inside his house, and only his closest cohorts are allowed near him. He made a speech, though, just before he sent his forces to attack you. He speaks very passionately and he had the crowd absolutely under his control. I can tell you one thing about him, though. He's not an Alorn."

"He's not?" Barak looked dumfounded.

"His face doesn't give away his nationality, but his speech is not that of an Alorn."

"Why would the cult accept an outsider as their leader?" Garion demanded.

"They aren't aware of the fact that he is an outsider. He mispronounces a few words -just a couple, actually, and only a trained ear would catch them. If I'd been able to get closer to him, I might have been able to steer him toward those words that would have betrayed his origins. I'm sorry that I can't be of more help."

"How strong is his grip on the cult?" Javelin asked.

"It's absolute," she replied. "They'll do anything he tells them to do. They look upon him as something very akin to a God."

"We're going to have to take him alive," Garion said grimly. "I have to have some answers."

"That may be extremely difficult, your Majesty," she said gravely. "It's widely believed in Rheon that he's a sorcerer. I didn't actually see any evidence of it myself, but I talked with a number of people who have, or at least who claimed they have done so."

"You have performed a great service for us, Margravine," Queen Porenn said gratefully. "It shall not be forgotten."

"Thank you, your Majesty," Liselle replied simply, with a formal little curtsy. Then she turned back to Garion. "What information I was able to glean says quite strongly that the cult forces within the walls are not nearly so formidable as we were led to believe. Their numbers are impressive, but they include a great many young boys and old men. They appear to be counting rather desperately on a force that's marching toward the city under the command of a hidden cult-member."

"Haldar," Barak said.

She nodded.

"And that brings us right back to the absolute necessity of getting inside those walls," Javelin told them. He looked at Durnik. "How long do you estimate that it's going to take for the ground under the north wall to soften enough to topple the structure?"

Durnik sat back, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling of the tent. "We want to take them by surprise," he said, "so I don't think we want the water to come gushing out -not at first, anyway. A gradual seepage would be far less noticeable. It's going to take a while to saturate the ground."

"And we're going to have to be very careful," Garion added. "If this Ulfgar really is a sorcerer, he'll hear us if we make too much noise."

"There'll be plenty of noise when the wall comes down," Barak said. "Why don't you just blow it apart the way you did the back wall of Jarviksholm?"

Garion shook his head. "There are a couple of moments after you unleash your will when you're absolutely vulnerable to attack by anybody who has the same kind of talent. I'd sort of like to be alive and sane when I find my son."

"How long will it take to soak the ground under the wall?" Javelin asked.

Durnik scratched at his cheek. "Tonight," he replied, "and all day tomorrow. By midnight tomorrow, the wall ought to be sufficiently undermined. Then, just before we Garion and I can speed up the flow of water and wash out most of the dirt. It's going to be very wet and soft already, and a good stream of water ought to cut it right out from under the wall. If we lob stones at it from the far side and get a few dozen grappling hooks into it, we should be able to pull it down in short order."

"You might want to pick up the pace with your engines," Yarblek said to Mandorallen. "Give them time to get used to the idea of rocks coming out of the sky. That way they won't pay any attention when you start pounding on their walls tomorrow night."

"Midnight tomorrow, then?" Barak said.

"Right," Garion said firmly.

Javelin looked at his niece. "Do you have the layout of the north quarter of the city fairly well in mind?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Make a sketch for us. We'll need to know where to set up our defenses once we get inside."

"Right after I bathe, uncle."

"We need that sketch, Liselle."

"Not nearly as badly as I need a bath."

"You too, Kheldar," Queen Porenn said firmly.

Silk gave Liselle a speculative look.

"Never mind, Kheldar," she said. "I can wash my own back, thank you."

"Let's go find some water, Durnik," Garion said, getting to his feet. "Underground, I mean."

"Right," the smith replied.

There was no moon, of course. The clouds that had hovered over the area for the past week and more obscured the sky. The night air was chill as Garion and Durnik moved carefully across the shallow valley toward the besieged city.

"Cold night," Durnik murmured as they walked through the rank gorse.

"Mmm," Garion agreed. "How deep do you think the water might be lying?"

"Not too deep," Durnik replied. "I asked Liselle how deep the wells are in Rheon. She said that they were all fairly shallow. I think we'll hit water at about twenty-five feet."

"What gave you this idea, anyway?"

Durnik chuckled softly in the darkness. "When I was much younger, I worked for a farmer who gave himself great airs. He thought it might impress his neighbors if he had a well right inside his house. We worked at it all one winter and finally tapped into an artesian flow. Three days later, his house collapsed. He was very upset about it."

"I can imagine."

Durnik looked up at the looming walls. "I don't know that we need to get any closer," he said. "It might be hard to concentrate if they see us and start shooting arrows at us. Let's work around to the north side."

"Right."

They moved even more carefully now, trying to avoid making any sound in the rustling gorse.

"This should do it," Durnik whispered. "Let's see what's down there." Garion let his thoughts sink quietly down through the hard-packed earth under the north wall of the city. The first few feet were difficult, since he kept encountering moles and earthworms. An angry chittering told him that he had briefly disturbed a badger. Then he hit a layer of rock and probed his thought along its flat surface, looking for fissures.