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some way south of Lübeck and east of
Hamburg, a stone's throw from the banks of the
coursing Elbe.
The aged archer had attempted to enlist the aid of as
many of The Brethren as possible, but, alas, O'Cuire
alone could he reach, for Timeras was closest,
studying as he was in Urbino, in the north of Italy.
Of the others they heard no word, during the long
week they waited after the Irishman had joined Duril.
Their thoughts were that the lads were weeks or
months or even years away: MacKeag was last known to
have ventured east with MacFann, beyond fabled
Arabia, and they had not been seen in a year or more.
Dias was at sea, and likewise Bram Egan, the younger
FitzMaurice. Of Black Stephen they'd heard little,
and of the elder FitzMaurice, David Roe, that he,
perhaps, was campaigning in nearby Tuscany. O'Cuire
had hoped Red Davy would show, as close as he himself
had been, but still no word came from the
Condottierre.
Finally, unable to wait any
longer, the two had no recourse but to assail the
stronghold by
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themselves.
They had stolen over the keep's parapet during
night's darkest hour, cautiously avoiding the
surprising number of soldiers they found patrolling
the enclosure. For what purpose so many men-at-arms
were at hand, they knew not, nor was it their care.
(Oh, Timeras was mildly curious as to their purpose,
but he kept it to himself, not wanting to alarm Ayrn
any more than was necessary.) They had slipped past
the night-watch like a pair of wraiths through an age
old tomb, and then began their haunting.
Upon entering the keep proper, it had taken the two
rescuers but a quarter Hour to locate the girl, in a
room as comfortable as any Lady's chamber. And yet,
still it was a prison cell. Thus, by the time church
bells were pealing their tones at Lauds, O'Cuire had
easily "negotiated" the locked door, and the rescue
was under way. Like the cloying mist that had
accompanied their penetration of the citadel's
defenses, they drifted silently through the dim
corridors toward their goal of the palisade wall.
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