Red Dragon's Keep

Tristan cleared his throat nervously. He was tall and thin and looked like he hadn’t bathed in a week. “Why don’t we just ambush him in the Tower and stick a knife in him? That should be easy enough.”

“Right,” said Newlan sarcastically. He slouched against the stable wall, arms crossed over his chest. “Just lure him into a dark corridor and kill him. Right. Do you know what would happen then? The Tower gets closed down tight and every single person in it is tortured until they find the killer. Good idea.” He snorted.

“Well, do you have a better idea?” asked Calen sharply.

“I’ve been thinking we could sabotage the training course. Maybe set up a deadfall on the running path. We could grease the balance log or fray the climb rope.” Newlan shrugged his shoulders.

Calen looked at him speculatively. “Do you think we can do that?”

“If all of you help, sure.”

“Shhhh!” Eagan urgently gestured for all of them to be quiet. Voices echoed through the windows of the stable. Two guards patrolled the aisle between the horse stalls. They were comparing the use of a staff against a halberd.

After the guards had passed, Calen bent forward and motioned all of them closer. “Let’s do this tomorrow, early. Each of us will take an obstacle and make sure it will fail. Thomas always goes first on the course, so one of them should get him. Eagan, you take the low jump. Newlan, the log walk. Tristan, the rope climb. I’ll take the roll-over log.” Each nodded sharply as Calen assigned them their targets.

Calen smiled grimly and waved at the others to leave. He stood there, frowning in thought for a short time, imagining what would happen when their sabotage killed Thomas. He grinned wickedly as he walked out from behind the stables toward his next class.