The Stoneholding

reach out and clamber to his feet onto the firm ground of the landing. He too climbed out of the boat and made it fast to a mooring post on the lee side of the royal barge.

"Now both of you stay right where you are. Easy now, not a step further. You'll have your chance to see the Captain of the Guard alright enough. But it'll be the mountain coming to you, not you to the mountain," said the nearer sentry and snickered. The man had come to a halt just above the landing. Keeping his crossbow trained on the two of them, he looked them over. His comrades remained rooted in place on the level ground above. There were three of them spaced neatly apart, making four sentries in all. Frysan hadn't noticed the additional man. He'd been hidden from sight before, or else he had come up at a signal from one of the others, his crossbow still unspanned. Instead the fellow had begun to lift a small hunting horn to his lips.

Frysan cringed.

"Nevermind the horn, man. We're not under attack," said another guard. "We'll hold them here, and you go fetch Captain Baldrick. You know how he is. You'll catch more than just the edge of his tongue, if you rouse up the whole garrison merely to bid welcome to an unlooked-for messenger from the Mindal."

"Still and all, you know his orders, 'Anything out of the ordinary and' --" ...