Page 7 of The Bells of Triumph (Highlands’ Lost Valley #3)

6

FINN'S AMBUSH

I t took them longer than he had thought to reach the outskirts of Glenkirk. The fact made Finn huff as they settled into the forest around the castle. The sky had already grown dark, cloaking the stone walls and the happenings within them under the cover of night. He had hoped to get there sooner so they could stake out the scene a bit better, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

“Spread out,” he whispered. “Dinnae leave the tree line. Keep yer eyes on the castle. I want to ken everything that happens; every person that goes in or out, when the guards change postings, what time the lanterns are doused—everything.”

Just as quickly as he had given the order, the men spread out through the forest, covering every inch of the castle grounds with their eyes. Without the benefit of much light, the men were able to hide themselves behind the thick oak tree trunks or nestled within the brush. No one dared to light a fire. The smoke and the light from the flame would only give them away. If the intensity of the moment didn't keep all men wide awake, then the cold, drizzly rain certainly would.

Finn planted himself within view of the main doors before snapping his fingers at two of the servants. He didn't bother to look the men in the eyes as he barked an order at them. Some small part of the back of his mind that sounded a lot like Brid chastised him. He knew he wasn't winning the favor of any of the men with his briskness. If she were here, she would reprimand him, tell him that these men were on his side, that he should be kinder if he wanted them to like him. But she wasn't here and that voice in the back of his head was easily quieted.

“See to my horse. Make sure he is fed and watered well. Our task for the night is nae over yet.”

He doubted that the rest of the men knew that their night was far from over, but he was in no rush to break the news. Sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree, Finn didn't take his eyes off the door to the castle again for the next hour. He studied every detail he could make out, from the way the door unlocked to the number of windows in the three turret on the right. He made note of the brown stained stone that he could only imagine was once white, and the Campbell flag flapping in the rain from its perch against those stones. The sight made his palms itch as he pictured what it would feel like to rip it down.

One hour turned to two and then three. The sky grew darker and darker, with only a sliver of the moon to light the world beneath it. Their time to act was quickly approaching if they were going to retain the element of surprise. He wanted to ensure that Glenkirk Castle was under their authority before the sun rose and before anyone had a chance to send word to Campbell about the presence of the rebels.

“Sir,” a voice called from behind him.

“What?”

“The men are ready to report, sir.”

Brushing off the back of his pants, Finn relinquished his post, silently directing another man to take over his position. He walked further away from the tree line to where the same men from the meeting earlier that afternoon awaited him. They had all been put in charge of a group of ten, sorting their army into an orderly six sections. Finn only hoped that he hadn't made any foolish mistakes by putting these men in charge of the rest.

“What have ye?” Finn asked without preamble.

“It is verra strange, sir,” the older man who had argued with Finn told him.

“What is yer name?”

There was no hint or sign of shame at having to ask the question after having been through so much together already. Finn had made it no secret that he was hesitant to trust anyone. Though that didn't stop the flicker of anger and embarrassment from entering the man's eyes.

“Archibald.”

Finn waved for Archibald to continue and then turned his back, seeking out the view of the castle once more.

“As I was saying, it is verra strange. The castle does nae seem to be guarded verra well.”

“Aye, sir. My men have said the same thing.”

It was a voice Finn had not heard before now, but he didn't bother to turn around and put a name to it. He didn't want to forge friendships with these men, let alone know their names and faces. Those names always came with histories; their backgrounds, how many kids they have, how long they have been married. All of it was information that would make things that much harder when they inevitably died. While he doubted that any of them would die tonight, Finn had endured enough loss for one lifetime. He wasn't interested in adding to the list of friends who had died anymore, so it was easier all the way around to simply not have friends.

“I may nae ken much about war, but I have been a castle guard all my life,” Archibald all but boasted. “There is one man posted when there should be three. Some entrances have nay guards at all. It is as though Campbell did nae think to protect this castle, as though he did nae think it was worth protecting.”

“Why would he?” Finn spun back around to face his leaders. “He has gone unchallenged and untried for nearly two decades. I cannae imagine that he would ever guess that we would dare to come this close. That is why we must attack now. Tonight.”

“Tonight?” one of the farmers echoed.

“Yer name,” Finn demanded.

“S-Samuel.”

“Well, Samuel ,” Finn said far too sweetly for it to be kind, “allow me to explain it since ye clearly dinnae understand the importance of what we are doing here tonight. We have come to invade Glenkirk Castle and barricade the village, aye?”

“Aye,” Samuel swallowed.

“This must be done so that the villagers get hungry enough to be willing to attack Campbell. That is the only way that we will have enough supporters to ever defeat him. And ye want us to defeat him, aye?”

“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 station more 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 better leader 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 nae been 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.

It didn't take long for everything to be ready. The siege tower needed less work than Finn had originally suspected. With two carpenters and a blacksmith, they were able to rig it well enough that it worked as intended.

Signaling with his hands, Finn sent the groups of men to take up their places. He, alongside several other men, silently pushed the tower into position, creating enough space for the archers to draw their bows. They stopped once they knew that the ladder inside would be able to reach from the tower to the wall of the ramparts, creating a clear path for the warriors to join in the fray at just the right time.

Only once everyone was stationed just so did Finn light the torch and let out a deafening bellow. It was the beginning of a long and loud fight, but one that his entire being had itched to be a part of. Campbell's men, as planned, gathered along the ramparts, hurling insults right alongside their arrows.

“Keep it up!” Finn called out to his own men. “Dinnae stop shooting until yer quivers are empty.”

“Who are ye?” The captain of Campbell's men shouted towards the tower, his eyes covered with sleep. “What do ye want from us?”

Finn climbed up through the tower and shoved his way forward, making sure that the guard could see his face before answering.

“We are Rolland's rebels, and we are here to take Glenkirk back from Campbell the Tyrant! We will nae stop until each and every one of ye is dead!”

His taunt enraged the captain, who then ordered for every man to come to the ramparts. Just as he had hoped, Campbell's men amounted to less than half of his own. While numbers were not the only important part of winning a fight, it would certainly go a long way in helping them.

“Now!” Finn screamed, signaling the rest of his men to invade.

He watched with glee as Campbell's men soon found themselves outnumbered by the rebels, from inside and out of the castle. Arrows continued to fly through the air, one striking the man standing next to Finn in the chest. A handful of others within the tower fell, but Finn didn't have time to stop and mourn for them now. Death was the price of war, and it was one he had been willing to pay.

“Across the ladder,” Finn ordered. “We must get within the walls before they can shut us out!”

On his command, the men started to make their way from the siege tower and onto the castle walls. Finn, refusing to be left behind, sheathed his sword and did the same. As soon as he was on two feet again, he pulled out his blade and began swinging. His boots splashed in the puddles of red that gathered on the stone floor, but Finn paid it no mind.

Despite their smaller numbers, it quickly became evident that the Campbell men were far better trained than the rebels. It was a reality that Finn knew to be true, but he had hoped that they would be able to outnumber the guards. He felled one man and then another, his chest heaving and muscles burning with effort. But when he went to find a third, he came up empty.

“Is that it, then?” Archibald asked, his own brow covered in sweat.

“It would appear so,” Finn answered, sucking in air to slow his heart rate.

Those close enough to hear Finn's declaration let out a halfhearted cry of victory.

“Now is nae the time to celebrate,” he snapped. “Ye forget that we still have much work to be done. Invading the castle was only the first step in our plan.”

Moving through the chaos, stepping over bodies and trying to avoid the worst of the gore, Finn pushed his way to the center of the ramparts. He looked down to see servants huddled together, women crying and soothing each other.

“We have lost some of our own,” Archibald commented somberly.

Turning his head, Finn glanced down to where Archibald's eyes had landed. Samuel's lifeless body lay on the ground, blood still flowing from his neck.

“Take a group of six and go through the castle. I want to ensure that every Campbell guard here is either dead or thrown into the dungeons. They cannae be allowed to escape and head towards Murray Castle. Campbell cannae be made aware of our victory here until the castle and the village are both secured.”

“What are we to do with the dead?”

“Leave them for now. We will deal with them when we have time for it. We cannae afford to allow ourselves to become distracted with such trivial matters right now. Go, do as I say.”

Archibald sniffed and then spun on his heel, taking half a dozen men with him as he went.

“The rest of ye, split up and take to the forest. Ye will need to cut down the trees at every entrance to the village, to block anyone from coming and going. Dinnae return to the castle until it is done.”

He waited for the others to leave as well, and then he turned his attention to the servants still cowering in the courtyard beneath him.

“I want it to be kent to all who can hear me,” he announced, his voice echoing over the all too empty hallways, “that we come here to free these lands of Campbell and all those who stand with him. We are declaring nay more for the Murray Clan, starting tonight. Each and every one of ye will be imprisoned and interrogated until it is made clear as to where yer loyalties lie. If ye are on our side, then ye will have nothing to fear. Ye will be allowed to continue on with yer work as ye normally would. However, those who stand with Campbell will be kept in the dungeons until it can be decided what we are going to do with ye.”

He watched the faces of the servants grow pale with fear and smirked. That was his intended effect.

“Now, dinnae make this harder than it has to be. Follow my men in an orderly fashion. We will see to ye as soon as we are able.”

From his perch, Finn stood and watched as his men moved throughout the castle, collecting the rest of the guards and the handful of servants, leading them away and solidifying Finn's victory.