Page 18 of The Bells of Triumph
“Aye.”
“Then if we are going to have any chance at all overtaking Glenkirk Castle, we must do it when they are nae expecting us. Right now, we have surprise on our side. We did nae arrive until after dark and have remained hidden. They have nay idea that we are here at all. But when the sun rises in a few hours, our hiding spot will nae be verra hidden anymore. They will see that we are here and alert Campbell before we even have the chance to ride to the castle doors. We will be slaughtered where ye stand.”
He raised an eyebrow as he watched the faces of each of the six men fall.
“Ye say that the castle is nae well-guarded, so we attack tonight, as soon as we can come up with a plan. That way, they cannae send for reinforcements, nor will they be able to stationmore guards outside the castle to stop us. We will wake them from their sleep by breaking the door down and throwing them out of bed. We will nae give them the chance to so much as fetch their swords. Aye?”
This “aye” was much more hearty than any of the others Samuel had uttered, and was echoed by some of the other men.
“Good.” Finn let out a sigh through his nose. “Now that we are all on the same page, how do ye suggest we storm the castle?”
The men blinked in surprise that Finn was even asking for their opinions. But Finn had only studied one side of the castle and, though he would never admit to it, he didn't know the inner workings of a castle quite like some other men here did. He had only ever been inside one castle and had seen little more than the dungeon.
“With so few guards present,” Archibald spoke up again, his boldness standing out from the other five men, “we should find a side door to sneak through. If we are quick and lucky, we might be able to be inside the castle walls before anyone notices our presence.”
“There is nay way that we will manage to get all sixty men inside one door before we are spotted,” Finn rebutted. “Is there even a side door for us to sneak through?”
“Aye. On the east and west sides. They are mirror doors; one for the kitchens and one for the laundry. The servants will have all gone to sleep. There should be nay one there to stop us.”
Finn thought for a moment. Although he knew that this plan was likely to be successful, he wanted it to be more than that. Rolland had presented nearly the same plan when they invaded Murray Castle and Finn knew better than anyone how well it hadn't worked. He wanted a sure fire way to take over the castle. Not to mention, this was his chance to prove that he was a better leader than the others gave him credit for. He was a betterleader than Seamus. He simply had to make the best use of the opportunity that was being provided to him now.
“That is a good start,” Finn complimented, suddenly feeling the pressure to win the loyalty of these men, “but we must do more.”
“More?” Samuel parroted. “We are a ragtag bunch of untrained warriors hiding out in the forest in the middle of the night. We have nay true supplies nor skills. We are carpenters and blacksmiths and farmers, nae seasoned fighters. How could we possibly come up with more?”
While Samuel's outburst would have annoyed Finn any other time, this time he was only pleased to pick up on a kernel of information about the rebels that would play in their favor.
“Aye. Ye are right about all of those things. And that is why we must do more. While the castle appears to be scarcely guarded, I dinnae want to rush inside with a bunch of untrained men. It would be wee more than leading ye to yer deaths if we are wrong about the number of guards. We need a better way of ensuring that there are nae too many for us to fight. And it is the carpenters and blacksmiths who are going to help us do just that.”
“How?” Archibald asked simply.
His eyebrow was raised in challenge, and it was on that Finn was ready to meet head on.
“Over there. That's how.”
Finn spun back to face the castle and pointed, his finger directing their gazes to a shadowy figure sitting just beyond the stone walls.
“W-what is that?” Samuel questioned, squinting at the unusually tall structure, clearly trying to make out just what it was.
“A siege tower.” Finn spoke with pride, knowing that there was no way Seamus would ever be able to top this. “It has naebeen used for several years, as the wheels need a bit of work. Campbell's men might make decent guards and fighters, but they are lousy builders and even worse at fixing things.”
“So the men will fix the siege tower. Then what?”
“We use it to create a diversion. Those who can use a bow will climb into the tower and garner the attention of all the guards within the castle. Once they are on the ramparts, the rest of us will sneak in through the eastern and western doors to attack from the inside out. As soon as the fighting begins in earnest, those in the tower will join us through the front doors. That way we will be able to see just how many guards are protecting Glenkirk before we go inside.”
“And what if there are more men than we think there are? What if they come out, and we see that there is nay way of winning?”
“Then we will nae attack, Samuel,” Finn said with the slightest air of condensation. “I will nae rush into a fight that I cannae win.”
“Aye, sir. But what of the men in the tower. How will they retreat from Campbell's men if that is the case?”
“I imagine they will simply have to hope that they can get out of the tower and away faster than Campbell's men find their horses. Now,” Finn carried on, ignoring the shocked looks that each of his leaders were sending him, “bring all the carpenters and blacksmiths among yer groups to me. The rest of ye will need to reconvene yer numbers. Split the groups into eastern and western sides and get ready to fall into position. We will need to save at least twenty men to help push the siege tower into position before they too find their places.”
He nodded, ready for the men to do as he asked. But no one moved, no one said a word. They had seemingly forgotten how to breathe.
“Go!” Finn added, the singular word sending them scurrying away.
Sitting back to watch his men work, Finn did nothing to try to quell the pride that bloomed in his chest. It was a plan even more genius than he had thought himself capable of. It was a plan that promised to succeed.
