were dark arrow loops in those wings that would allow archers to cover the door with crossfire.
Moments later, a small block of wood set behind bars opened at eye level revealing lamplight within. Part of a face filled the opening.
“Your visitors have arrived,” the man said.
The face disappeared and the block closed. A moment later the crossbar on the other side scraped, then the door opened. A giant of a man with a bushy beard held the door with one hand and a lamp with the other. His name was Droz. Many straps hung from his armsman’s apron—for not only was he experienced, but he was also a dreadman of immense ferocity. Argoth had seen him chop men in two. Both his right and left forearms were covered with warrior tattoos.
“Ah, Captain,” Droz said. “We’ve been waiting for you.” He motioned for Argoth and Hogan to enter.
Argoth led Hogan through the opening in the wall and to the door. When they entered the dimly lit room, Droz shut the door behind them and swung down the crossbar.
The room was windowless, wide, and bare, with only a plain hearth burning to one side. There were no wooden tables or benches. Not a chair or cupboard. Nothing a Sleth might use as a weapon. The only seats or shelves were those carved in the stone. It was purposely large enough for half a dozen men to wield spears and bows freely. A few guards slept on the floor. Three stood behind Droz holding their weapons. One stood at the far end of the room next to an iron lever set in the wall.
The giant motioned at Hogan with his lamp. “I expect you want irons for him?”
“No,” said Argoth. “He’s working with me.”
“But he’s not working with me,” said Droz, “now, is he?”
“Actually, Droz,” said Argoth, “he is.”
Droz stood a head taller than either Argoth or Hogan. He folded his massive arms across his chest and looked down at them. The three men behind Droz shifted ever so slightly into a stance that would allow them to quickly spring into action.
“Search him,” said Arogth. “In fact, if you’re worried about it, order him to strip. Send him to the cleansing room naked.”
“Now, now,” said Droz. “We’re not in the business of sending pretty men to the witch. This isn’t a brothel, Captain.”
The other men smiled, but they did not laugh.
“Well, there’s your problem,” said Argoth. “Not all prisoners can be cracked directly. Sometimes you’ve got to build a little trust. And Zun Hogan here will do that. So perform your search. It’s late and I want some answers.”
“You’re not going to get any,” said Droz.
“Is that so?”
“We’ve been pressing her. Quiet as a fish, she is. Oh, she’ll struggle and cry out as loudly as the next one, but she won’t talk.”
Argoth truly hoped that, if nothing else, Purity had been able to keep their names hidden. “We’ll see if different methods produce different results.”
Droz motioned for one of the other men to search Hogan. “How many of us do you need?”
“It will be just me and the bowmaster this time.”
Hogan took a wide stance. Then the guard began to pat him down.
Droz grunted. “Just the two of you? Are you sure that’s safe?”
“She wears a king’s collar, doesn’t she? So she’s nothing more than a woman. And an injured one at that.”
Droz nodded. He pointed at Hogan. “He’s her lover then?”
“She had one love,” said Hogan. “And he wasn’t a man even you would want to cuckold.”
Then the guard checking Hogan stood back, looked to Droz, and nodded.
Droz considered Hogan. “So, Zu, why are you here?” He used a polite title, but not the one deserved by a bowmaster.
“I’m a friend,” said Hogan.
Droz looked at Argoth then, and what was going on in that mind Argoth couldn’t tell. Droz was a cunning man. And a man with such a mind just might suspect everything here was not as it seemed.
A beat passed, then Droz said, “Before you go down, you should know: Anything happens, anything at all, and Pony there”—he pointed to a man standing by the doorway to the back chamber—“will pull that lever. That will bring down two portcullises that five dreadmen together cannot lift. One will seal off the cleansing room. But, just in case someone makes it out of the cleansing room and to the stairs, the second will seal that back chamber. Should you be caught behind them with the witch, do not expect us to