Arthur shook his head, looking embarrassed.
“Go close it now,” Merlin ordered. “What good does it do to close the gates if you leave the back door open?”
Arthur headed for the smithy with Cai and Bedwyr close behind. Merlin hobbled after them. The blacksmith raised an eyebrow at Merlin. Arthur headed for the secret door in the far wall and twisted the sword that served as the latch. Merlin held up his hands and nodded to reassure the blacksmith that everything was all right. The three princes and Merlin went through the door.
In the dim light, Merlin saw the open door ahead. Arthur unhooked it, lowered it into position, and slid the locking bolts back into place.
Merlin led them back to the secret door in the smithy. He held the door open as they walked through, and he slammed it shut behind them. The princes jumped at the sound. The blacksmith, who was putting away his tools for the night, nodded to Merlin and wished the princes a pleasant evening.
“I hope you never do that again, my Prince,” Merlin said as he escorted the princes back to the great house. “There are several places in the surrounding hills where that door is visible when it’s open. I understand that you can’t lock it from the outside, but you must always close it behind you.”
“I understand, Merlin. I’m sorry.”
“Good. Now tell me about the steps. Did you have any problem getting down?”
Arthur and the other two princes told Merlin about their afternoon adventure. “Bedwyr wanted to use a rope to hold onto on the way down,” Arthur said, “but I found handholds cut into the rock.”
“Were any of the stone steps chipped or broken?” Merlin asked.
“No, but some were moss-covered. They were slippery to walk on.”
Merlin nodded. “Did you have fun in the village?”
“Yes, but a lot of the shops were closed because the men were heading for Strathclyde.”
“I have a question,” Bedwyr said. “If the men were heading for Strathclyde, why were there woodcutters working below the cliff? Shouldn’t they have been with the soldiers, too?”
Merlin stopped abruptly. “The lands below the cliff belong to the king, and no one may cut there without the king’s permission. How many woodcutters were there?”
“Five, I think,” Arthur replied.
“Six,” Cai corrected him.
Merlin shouted for the Captain for the Guard.
A moment later, the guard captain arrived. He snapped a salute to Merlin and the princes.
“Prince Arthur saw six woodcutters chopping down trees at the base of the cliff below the north wall this afternoon. Find them, and find out why they were cutting trees there without permission.”
“Yes, my Lord,” the guard captain replied. He turned shouted orders to his guards.
Squads of guards headed down the causeway to the village by the time Merlin and the princes reached the great house. Merlin tried to hide his concern from the young princes.
“Do you think we should be worried, Merlin?” Arthur asked.
Merlin looked at Arthur. “You’re certain that no one saw you climb down the steps? You didn’t see any woodcutters or villagers anywhere near the cliff when you reached the bottom?”
Arthur and the other princes shook their heads.
“Then it’s probably nothing to worry about.” Merlin sounded convincing. “You three should go ahead and have your supper. The Captain of the Guard will let us know who they are when he finds them.”
The princes nodded and left Merlin at the entrance to the great house.
I hope they were just woodcutters who forgot that they need my permission to cut trees down there. But what if they’re not woodcutters? What if they saw Arthur and the others climbing down the cliff steps?
Merlin walked to his chamber to check on Niniane and Anna. I wish Galerius were here.
Chapter 11
The next day, Merlin met with the engineers for most of the afternoon to discuss the viability of building a wall to enclose the village of Din Eidyn. Uther had wanted it done, and Merlin insisted on understanding the costs involved before making a decision.
Arthur, Cai, and Bedwyr practiced with their spears near the armory. They had wanted to go riding, but Merlin believed that it was unwise to let them leave the protection of the hillfort.
The setting sun made the clouds in the sky look like they were on fire as the squads of guards returned and marched through the gates – escorting six men bound with strong ropes. The Captain of the Guard saw Merlin outside the engineers’ workshops and ran to him.
“Lord Merlin, my guards have found the woodcutters,” the guard captain reported.
“Well done!” Merlin exclaimed. “Who are they?”
The guard captain shook his head. “I don’t know, my Lord. They’re not Saxons, and they’re not Picts or Caledonians. That much is obvious. There’s nothing about their clothing or their woodcutting tools that can identify them. They’re not talking, so I can’t tell from their accents who they are.”
Even from this distance, I can tell that they’re not Saxons. It’s impossible to mistake one of those blond giants. Picts and Caledonians are shorter, so they’re not from the north. Are they from one of the other kingdoms? We’re allies, so why go to the trouble? Irish, perhaps? We’re on the opposite side of Britain from the Irish coast, so why spy on us? Anglians then? Jutes? We’re too far north to interest them, aren’t we?
“What are you going to do with them?” Merlin asked.
“They’re being taken to the cell in the west wall guardhouse. We’ll start interrogating them tomorrow. If they won’t talk to us, then we’ll let them sit in the cell until General Galerius comes back. I hear he has a talent for extracting information.”
Merlin nodded and watched the squads of guards leading the prisoners to their cell. “Where did you find them?”
“Cutting trees behind Three Briars Tavern. They were clearing that grove between the tavern and the cattle pens. We found their camp nearby. Apart from bags of a liquor that we don’t recognize, it all looks like a typical woodcutters’ camp.”
“Did they resist when you caught them?”
The guard captain shook his head. “No. They saw us coming and dropped their tools. It was like they expected us.”
“Why would they be expecting you?” Merlin asked himself aloud. “Were they trying to get caught?”
“I don’t know, my Lord. They’d have to know that we’d bring them to the hillfort and put them in a cell. Why would they want that?”
Merlin grew concerned. “Did you search them?”
“Yes. My Lord.”
“How well?”
“We didn’t strip them, if that’s what you’re asking…”
“Then strip them, Captain,” Merlin ordered. “Leave them naked, and make sure that they can’t see or hear anything from their cell. If they wanted to get caught, then perhaps they wanted to get inside the hillfort, either to inspect our defenses or to escape from their cell and sabotage the fort while the army is away.”
“Yes, my Lord. I’ll double the guard.”
“Triple it,” Merlin instructed the guard captain. “And make certain that at least