The Mists of Sorrow_ Book Seven of the Morcyth Saga - Brian S. Pratt [120]
Four men with crossbows are seen in windows on the third and fourth floor facing the front. The side facing the alley across from them has four men in similar position, two on the third floor and two on the fourth. The windows on the fifth floor are dark and closed. Another four men are stationed on the rooftop, each looking out over a different side.
Aside from being set back away from the Eye’s Court, the building across from them is only three stories tall, as are all the others adjacent to it just as Scar had said. James stands there several minutes while he takes in the positions of the men in, on and around the building holding Aleya. It’s definitely a tough nut to crack.
“Alright,” he says and indicates they should return. “I’ve seen enough.”
Just as they are leaving, more soldiers arrive and join those guarding the front of the building. “This just gets better and better,” Scar comments as they withdraw back down the alley.
Once they’ve returned back to where the others are waiting, James gives them a rundown of what he saw. “So,” he summarizes, “any way we go, it’s going to be almost impossible to get inside without being seen.”
“Can you put the guards to sleep?” Miko asks. “Like that time in Cardri when you snuck back in after rescuing Perrilin?”
“I doubt it,” he replies. “Those guards were bored and not alert. The ones here are expecting us to make an attempt and will fight any attempt I make. I’m just not sure I could get them all at the same time.”
“The sewers?” asks Jiron.
“We don’t even know where an entrance is,” he says. “There’s not much time. Once they’ve completed searching near Orrin’s inn, they’ll come here. The sooner we move, the better our chance will be to get away.” He glances at the others and then settles his gaze on Brother Willim. “Is there anything you could do?”
Shaking his head, he says, “I don’t think so.”
“How about a diversion?” asks Potbelly.
“Yeah!” exclaims Scar. “Do something like you did in Al-Kur.”
“It may come to that,” he says. Then he turns to Shorty. “How far away are you accurate with your knives?” he asks.
“How far away are you talking?” he responds.
“From the rooftop of the building next to it, to the guards in the windows,” he replies.
Nodding, he says, “I think so. I don’t have my throwing knives, they took those when they captured me at the inn. All I have are the five knives I took from the guards we killed earlier.”
“Can you do it with those?” Jiron asks.
He takes one from his belt and tests it for balance and weight. “It’s not well balanced for throwing,” he says. “But they’ll do.”
“Good,” says James.
“You got an idea?” Jiron asks.
“Yes I do,” he nods. “But we have to get into the building on the back side, it’s furthest from the guards stationed out front. Hopefully what we do will have a better chance of remaining unobserved back there.”
“Now,” James says as he looks to Jiron, “how do we get across the street?”
“Follow me,” he says. Taking a slice of some honeyed sweet bread, Jiron leads them out the back door. Leaving through the back door again, they follow the street leading away from the direction of the Eye’s Court for about a block. Then they come to a side street that will take them back to the one running in front of the Eye’s Court. Turning into it, Jiron leads them back to the street where he pauses and peers in both directions. Seeing that the guards in front of the Eye’s Court aren’t likely to see them crossing from so far away, he waves the others forward and they race across to the narrow alley on the other side.
From there he leads them in a roundabout way until they’ve reached the building directly behind the one holding Aleya. Using