We rode onto the plain of Kolvan, one among many. People, wagons, caravans and tent cities from every imaginable place had converged on Amber on the highest hill separated from the royal compound by a guarded wall. Higher still, I could see the Castle’s towers ablaze with pennants and banners.
The city was strewn with ribbons and flags, buntings from every merchant and store had taken part in the celebration of war’s end. One tried to outdo the next. Everywhere, the people wore smiles of great gladness and welcomed all they met. Tatterselle led the wagons to a pre-arranged spot and set up quickly, efficiently but then, I suppose he had been there before. He had people arriving to check out his goods even as they unloaded so eager were they for the products the Tissarette had brought.
Captain Erc dismissed those of us who were ready to leave and paid us, a goodly sum in silver. It had been a fairly uneventful trip and the guards had commented uneasily on that fact. They had speculated that it was weirdly strange that no brigands had tried to attack so rich a prize especially since they knew we were short on protection.
Erc asked me if I cared to stay on as one of Tatterselle’s personal bodyguards while he was in Amber. I hesitated and agreed, it would provide me with a good cover while I was on the Master’s business. “You’re the most invisible man I’ve ever seen, Corbel,” he shook his head. “I looked for you on rounds and never spotted you once.”
“My cloak is the reason for that,” I said.
“Any chance of getting another one for me?”
“Sure. First, you have to kill the elf in it,” I replied and he grinned. Of course, I was serious and he thought I was joking. I watched the crowds wandering through the grounds. There were maids and children, adults, nobles and their families, a veritable plethora of girls that drew the eyes. Some were escorted by their chaperons and others were alone. You could tell which ones were there to make money off the men and it wasn’t long before most of the guards from our company paired off with one or two of the ladies.
“You, Corbel?” the Captain raised an eyebrow. “I know a clean brothel in town, the Madame doesn’t charge much, the girls are pretty, clean and willing.” He studied me. “You have had a woman before? Or do you prefer men? There’s a house that caters to that, too.”
I turned on my heel and walked off in a huff to disappear into the crowds. The Master had seen to it that sex no longer held any interest for me unless he ordered it so. I knew the Master would not contact me here, to use the communication spell in Amber would be to draw attention to the magic. There were seers who scanned the area for just such usage. He had formulated a plan and gone over it with me until I knew it forwards and backwards. My safe house was an Inn near the center of the city called the Grey Goose. My room was reserved for me, it was on the lower ell closest to the exits with stabling for Singe-i.
I walked and led her there, saw her safely settled and checked out the dining room. It was full, due to the Armistice Fest, the innkeeper told me if I hadn’t arrived when I did, he would have filled my room with six more men. Asked if I would share for a reduction in price. Apologized when I growled no.
He brought me to the room, handed me the key and I opened the lock to peer inside. A cheerful room in yellow, curtains, a fireplace stacked with briquettes, a small table and chair where the occupant could eat alone. No windows, a second door leading to a privy chamber and bath with hot running water. A sink and a mirror. The bed was feather stuffed with a down summer comforter. The armoire in the corner was made of Whychwood and would block spells.
I eyed the floor, it was broad planks with throw rugs and would be my bed if and when I slept. “When is the concert?” I asked and the innkeeper winced as he shook his head sadly.
“The King has been practicing for a week. It’s driving the population crazy and the animals in the Great Forest are in an uproar. Literally. They roar, howl and moan all night. Rock. It’ll rot your brain and burst your eardrums.” He shook his head again. “Whoever heard of a deaf leopard? Shall I have dinner sent to your room?”
“No. I’ll eat out.” I locked the door behind us and returned to the streets. Down the Street of the Golden Unicorn, turn left at Glory Avenue until I crossed Rebma Lane and Market Square. There before me was the road to Amber, the Castle and it was as packed with pedestrians as the rest of the city. You couldn’t walk five feet without hitting another body. Gawkers came to ogle the famed Castle of the Nine Princes and the King of Amber.
A young noblewoman rode by on a lovely gray mare, saw me and reined in her horse. Stared at me, her mouth hanging open and then she closed it. Mumbled, “blue eyes, not golden. You there,” she said clearly, pointing her whip at me.
I looked around, thinking she was aiming at someone behind or next to, but not me. “Me?” I asked dumbly.
“Yes, you. What is your name?”
“Corbel,” I answered. “It means blackbird.”
“Where are you from?” Now, she seemed uncertain. The crowds parted around us, the boy escorting her pulled at her arm. He was a tall redhead with green eyes, dressed in upper class clothing but with the castle’s colors on his cloak.
“Roelle, come on. They’re waiting for us, we’ll be late,” he protested.
“Szeged,” I answered bleakly, using the common name for the Master’s realm. To tell anyone I came from the Gray Realm would see me imprisoned at once or worse.
“I thought you were someone I once lov....knew,” she sighed. “Never mind.” She kicked the mare on and I caught her giving me backward glances until she turned the corner and was out of sight. I gave her no more thought and spent the day in my room catching up on my sleep for I knew my evening would be busy.
There was a crescent moon when I slipped out of the inn. I’d wanted to wait until the roomers were all drunk or asleep but it seemed as if the entire world was wide awake and participating in the fair.
There were rides on the Midway, games of chance and physical prowess, fortunes tellers and diviners. Shops for goods and dining, everything from roasted corn to a whole ox on the spit. Delicacies from all over the shadows. I found and ate one of the fuzzy purple fruits from Tatterselle and it was as delicious as I remembered. Candied apples, fudge and taffy. None of it tempted me past the Master’s instructions.
Wearing my cloak and mask, I drifted through the shadows towards the forest that surrounded the castle’s pilings. There were many guards all wearing the livery of the Castle’s elite unit and I wish I could say they were easy to sneak past. They weren’t. Many times I had to freeze when some strange wisp of sound or slight breeze of my movement alerted a soldier that I was nearby.
Twice, I saw the hell hounds and nearly jumped out of my skin as they turned their red demon eyes on me and silently snarled. I swallowed, suspected this was how the Master was watching me, the hounds were somehow reporting my actions back to him.
Carefully, I approached the massive stage set up for the concert. Raised above my head, the platform was built of metal pipes, wood with a backdrop shaped like a fountain with silvery strands that imitated the flow of water. Tree poles holding lights surrounded the stage and would light the whole thing up as bright as daylight.
A group of men were busy building a set, others were practicing on large fiddles, drums and horns, a group of crack armed men were watching everyone who entered the area. The nearest tree to the stage was forty feet away, everything else had been cut back to make room. The grounds were large enough to hold a thousand or more; I wondered if the music would bring that many. In my disjointed memories, I had once known about rock music and liked it.
A shadow flitted overhead. Instinctively, I ducked and a hell hound leapt from the nearest shadow to pull me into darkness. As soon as we were enfolded within, a man-sized flying creature banked above us. I could see its glowing red eyes and an impression of its face. It seemed to be made of ugly gray stone with bat-like wings. Unbidden, its name came to me, Gargoyle. I muffled a cry as something took hold of my head and scrambled it, I couldn’t think or see only the bite of the hound’s teeth on my neck seemed real. It shook me lightly, just puncturing skin when it could clearly pop off my head with one snap. Holding me steady, it waited until the nearest guard checked the noise I’d made and found nothing so he moved on. I could see the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stir with that primitive sense that warned one something wicked this way comes. Only then did the hound let go, slashing me on the shoulder with a sharp claw as if to warn me not to be so foolish.
I found my way through the woods, my feet on a faint game trail that took me to the base of the mountain upon which the castle rested. From there, I threw back my cloak and proceeded to climb the granite handholds that the Master had assure me were carved into the back slope. I had no fear of being spotted, my dark leathers blended with the gray and black rocks and no one in their right minds would have tried to climb what was an impossibly sheer face. Even so, the top of the cliff would be guarded although I knew when they made their timed rounds.
The top of the cliff was flat, grass beaten down by many patrols and had not left many hiding places. Still, I could pull my cloak over my head and to all eyes would be a simple boulder or a tree stump. If you were attuned to your surroundings, you might notice a tree or a rock that hadn’t been there before but with this elite unit, I wouldn’t risk it.
In my belt was a coil of Denebian spider silk line attached to a folding grappling hook that the Master had procured from a shadow he said I would like. It was made of a metal called aluminum and was strong as steel yet light weight. I threw it above me, caught an abutment on the exterior wall of the castle and was climbing hand over hand before the next guard passed. In seconds, I was on the wall of the battlements and headed inside.