Michael Spradlin - Trail of Fate

Robard and Maryam had adjusted their positions, so I stood on their thighs while they balanced me as best they could with chained hands.

“Quit goofing around, squire,” Robard groused. “You’re heavy!”

If I could loosen one more bar, we might have enough space to wiggle our way to freedom. With large sections of mortar missing from the first bar, I could get better leverage with my knife. I worked the bottom free and pulled until it broke loose in my hand. I wanted to shout but was leery of alerting anyone. Grasping the remaining two bars, I pulled myself up and wiggled through the window. Angel was so happy she nearly attacked me.

“Easy, girl,” I said. On my hands and knees, I poked my head back through the bars, reaching down for Maryam. She took my hand and had just enough give in her shackles to place her foot up on the wall, grasp the bar and lift herself up. She squirmed her way through and lay there on the ground while Angel welcomed her in her own particular fashion.

“Robard, you’re next,” I said as I reached down for him. He took my arm in both hands and dug his boots into the stone wall. It was damp and smooth, and with his feet chained, hard for him to get a toehold.

“Push!” I groaned as he inched his way up the wall.

“Don’t yell at me to push, Templar! You’re the one who got us into this! It’s not easy trying to climb when your feet are chained together!” Robard was still in a temper and I couldn’t blame him. I had gotten us into this mess. But I was doing my best to get us out. Robard kicked and groaned and strained, but finally wormed his way through.

If Angel had been happy to see Maryam and me, she was overjoyed to see Robard. She jumped on his chest and he sat up, scooping her up in his arms and hugging her to his chest. “I missed you too, girl,” he said, chuckling.

We had no time to lose. We were now in the bailey of the castle, hidden in the shadows of the wall. Robard and Maryam could stand and walk in a shuffling step by holding on to the chain connecting their hands and feet.

“What’s our next step?” Maryam asked.

“Escaping? I vote for escaping,” said Robard.

“Yes, but first things first: we have to get those shackles off. I need to check on something though,” I said, spotting the wagon that had carried us here parked nearby.

The bailey, essentially a large courtyard in this castle, was cluttered with other wagons and stacks of barrels and equipment, and in the lengthening shadows, I covertly made my way to the wagon and peeked over the side. Our weapons were gone, as was my satchel. My heart sank. Sir Hugh had likely discovered the Grail by now. He was probably dancing with glee.

My feet felt leaden as I made my way back to the wall.

“Nothing?” Robard said.

“No, everything’s gone,” I said.

“Sir Hugh must have them. I say we find weapons and take our possessions back,” Robard said.

“Robard, we can’t attack a castle full of King’s Guards. They are sworn to defend the Queen Mother to the death. We need to get out of here first. Sir Hugh will leave at some point and we can follow him,” I reasoned.

“Given our history together, I almost hate to ask, but do you have any idea of how to get these chains off of us?” Maryam said.

“Yes. With this many horses they have to have a blacksmith. Let’s find the forge. With a hammer and chisel we can get them off easily. Come on,” I said.

We kept to the wall and made our way along it until we had circled the courtyard. Everything appeared deserted. Angel sniffed the air. “Is anyone there, girl?” I asked as if she could understand me.

Silently she crept ahead of us, her nose constantly working the air. Then she darted into the stables and vanished from sight. We looked at each other, unsure what to do. Seconds later she was back. With a quiet bark she ran toward the door, stopped, and looked at us again, as if imploring us to follow. We hurried over to the door and slipped through to find it empty.

The interior was lit by oil lamps, and it was far bigger even than the one in Acre. At least a dozen stalls were on each side, almost all of them filled with horses. As I had hoped, at the rear wall sat an anvil next to a forge and bench with blacksmith tools. In a few moments I had freed them both.

“I say we each take a horse and ride out of here,” Robard said.

I shook my head. “I’m fairly certain the Queen Mother doesn’t know what Sir Hugh is up to concerning the Grail. There is something else at work here. I need to know what it is.”

Just then we were interrupted by a series of shouts from the courtyard outside. Maryam ran to the door and peeked out. “I think they’ve discovered our escape,” she said. We could hear the sounds of running feet and orders being shouted to the guards and men-at-arms.

“Too bad we don’t have our weapons. With my bow, I’m sure we could make it to the gate at least,” Robard said.

Robard’s idea of taking the horses sounded more appealing. As I tried to decide our next move, Angel rose up on her back feet and pawed at my hip, whining and growling at me. I pushed her away. “Not now, girl,” I told her. She left my side and moved over to the first stall inside the stable door, which was piled high with hay. She pounced on the pile and dug at it furiously, and soon bits of straw were flying all about.

“What is she doing?” Maryam asked.

Angel yanked at something buried under the straw. She growled and finally pulled something free. I recognized it instantly. It was my satchel. Robard ran to the stall and kicked aside a large pile of hay.

There on the floor lay our weapons.

We looked in wonder at what Angel had done. She sat on her haunches, watching us expectantly. She had managed to follow us all the way to Calais and sneak her way into the castle. Robard’s bow and wallet, Maryam’s daggers and my satchel and short sword were all there. The only thing missing was Sir Thomas’ battle sword, which I could only assume was too heavy for her to move.

Taking her in my arms, I nuzzled her cheek while she licked my face. At that moment I truly missed the brothers of St. Alban’s, for I would have loved to tell them about my guardian angel who took the shape of a small golden dog. I wished then I had a spit full of meat for her to eat.

“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I never would have believed it,” Robard said as he shrugged into his wallet and strung his bow.

Maryam reached down to pick up her daggers and wiped the handles on her tunic. “Indeed,” she said, smiling. “Allah shines his grace on our little friend.” I put Angel back on the ground and reached inside the satchel, nearly fainting with relief to find the Grail still in place.

“We need to get out of here,” Robard said, his voice full of tension. We peered out of the stable door, viewing the activity in the courtyard. Across the way, near the entrance to the keep, two squads of King’s Guards were forming up, torches were being lit all around the compound, and soon they’d search the grounds inch by inch. All of them were heavily armed, and I could see Sir Hugh in the shadows in an animated discussion with the Captain, waving his arms about, no doubt promising horrors beyond imagination if we were not found.

Robard led us quietly out of the stable, and keeping to the castle wall, the four of us trotted silently along it, making our way toward the main gate. When we were close enough to see it, we learned to our distress that it was still closed and guarded by four men.

“Of all the rotten luck!” Robard muttered. “There better be another way out. I couldn’t shoot them all before one of them sounded the alarm.”