Ch 25 - A Plan is Born

A week later, Logan had to admit it felt good to be properly dressed and suitably armed again. The hunter’s black cargo pants and jacket were not a perfect fit but it was a damned sight better than running around in shredded jeans and a half-naked torso. It also had the surprise bonus of having an inner lining with protective metal plates sewn into the fabric. Denke’s boots had, unfortunately, been too small for Logan’s feet. However, the goggles and leather helmet he had looted from one the soldiers proved very useful for navigating outside when the Hellwind began to blow.

Even better were the pair of pistols hanging from his hips and the comforting weight of the rifle slung across his back. The short sword and dagger were just added insurance. For the first time in a long time, he felt like a proper soldier again.

Slowly but surely, he and Beauty were becoming a threat to be reckoned with. It was almost enough to make him forget the price they had paid to gain such an advantage. Almost.

Karen, he thought. I am so sorry.

Wounds still pained his flesh but he was healing much quicker than he could have hoped for, thanks to Beauty and the strange healing properties of her saliva. He still had no idea what that was all about and she had been unable to explain it beyond that it “felt right” to do.

Logically, he knew he needed more time to fully recover from the last battle but the fury seething in his chest would not let him wait or rest any longer. Baroness Graveek had taken something precious from him and that was a bill long overdue.

A silhouette prowled nearby through the grit and sand blowing across the landscape. Beauty watched the shape move around them and looked less than happy. Her teeth snapped in frustration.

“It’s ok,” Logan told her yet again. “I have ... uh ... tamed the beast. He’s on our side now.”

She just looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Given the circumstances, Logan could hardly blame the Succubus for being skeptical. At best, the Hellhound was two hundred pounds of unpredictable muscle, teeth, and murderous intent. It bothered Logan that he had to keep the secret of Coyote’s true nature from her but it was not his secret to tell.

Beauty led their unconventional group across the blasted landscape. They traveled for two full days, camping where and when they could. On the third day, the Succubus led them to the top of a steep rise in the landscape and pointed.

He gave a long, low whistle of appreciation. “Yep. That’s a castle alright.”

Cliffs of broken rock fell away from all sides except for a narrow road up to the front gate of a twenty-foot tall wall of mortared stone. The wall was divided into three yards like an irregularly shaped pyramid. Each section controlled access via a fortified gatehouse.

The “top” yard of the pyramid was the primary entrance from the road and contained a scattering of small, brick buildings. The right side yard consisted of a square manor house with a steep triangular roof and a separate watchtower at the very edge of the cliff. Both structures rose more than thirty feet at the tallest point.

The left side yard was the largest and contained two enormous, square keeps. The one on the left was four stories tall and had a covered bridge to the other keep and a flight of stairs on the flat roof that led to a door. There was nothing past that door except a very long drop.

The building on the right seemed to be the primary structure. It was five stories tall with a peaked roof and a walkway for security patrols around the edge of the roof. It backed up to a thick tower at the edge of the cliff that rose even higher at nearly a hundred feet with a clear, commanding view of the entire valley sprawled out below.

“If only we had a wheelbarrow and a holocaust cloak,” Logan muttered to himself.

“What?” Beauty replied.

“What?” Coyote asked in his thoughts.

“Nevermind.” Logan waved it away. “You wouldn’t get the reference.” He took a deep breath and blew it out with a shake of his head. “Well, that is going to be a tough nut for two people...”

“And a Hound.”

“ ... to crack. Historically speaking, there are only three ways to defeat a fortified position. Full assault, surround and starve, or infiltrate from the inside. Unfortunately, all three typically involved having an army at your back.”

“What is army?” she asked.

“Many people, armed and prepared to fight,” Logan explained.

“Have no army.”

“No,” Logan chuckled. “We definitely do not but then...” Logan stared at the castle. “Neither does Graveek. According to what Seralla said, she only has around twenty that can fight ... hmm.”

He smiled. “There may just be a way to do this. Let’s head back to the shelter.”

“You said you replaced the Hellhound Karl Denke thought he was working with, yes?”

“Indeed,” Coyote responded. “Once I learned Denke’s demon Master was in the business of offering hunters for hire, it seemed likely his services would be called upon. It seemed prudent to use that to my advantage, and to yours.”

“More than you realize,” Logan thought. “Tell me about Karl Denke.”

Logan could feel the spirit’s curiosity in his mind. “What do you want to know?” Coyote asked.

“Everything.”

Coyote talked, Logan listened, and the three of them journeyed back to their cavern home. No demons had been seen, on land or in the sky, since Seralla. It was impossible to know if it was just coincidence or if the word had begun to spread among them that a new predator stalked this part of the Wastelands. Logan worried that it was the latter. Drawing attention to themselves only drew a bigger target on their backs. After defeating Denke and his hunting party, it was only a matter of time before someone else came looking for them.