Inheritance: Threads of Fate

Chapter Thirteen - The Ledger

Outside the tavern Cale and Raxe were gathering all the men together. They had a large wagon with a wooden caged top hitched up. All the men were dressed in some sort of rags except for Cale. You and Caspian approached Raxe, whos' garb was slightly less revealing than Caspian, as he had a sort of top on.
"Why does he get a top?" Caspian pointed and complained.
"Because I don't have anyone who would enjoy me without one on this trek." Raxe laughed and winked at you.
"This is a conspiracy." Caspian chuckled.
Cale stood in front of everyone and addressed his crew.
"A'right men! We go' a day's travel up ta the for'ress. Ya gonna be pac't like a bunch o' sardines in thi' cage bu' we gotta look like we're sellin ya. The Capn' an' her firs' mate'll be in the middle o' ye, wid all r' weapons. Ye stick teh the plan on'e we get inside, an' we'll be ba' on the Viper by sunrise!"
The men solemnly nodded and began filling into the wagon cage.
"I'm putting all these men in danger..." You whispered to yourself.
"They're putting themselves in danger." Raxe assured you. "The promise that they might find information about their own loves ones in enough to risk everything."
"They are capable men, with all of us together we'll be able to incapacitate the guards, get in and out, and get them all back to their ship." Caspain placed his hand on your shoulder.
How was he always so confident? Would you be able to mimic that same calming quality for your crew? You looked behind you, where both the Shade and their ship, The Emerald Viper, were docked opposite each other. Their frigate was beautiful, it suited Cale perfectly. The side of the ship was hand carved with a series of knots and designs, clearly from many years of being called "home." You swore you would bring each of these men back no matter what.
"Alright. Let's go." You spoke determinedly, and got into the wagon, followed by Caspian and Raxe.

The ride to the forte was bumpy, hot and cramped. But you would happily take that over getting stopped or raising suspicion, which luckily you didn't. You spend the time asking the men about their loved ones who had been enslaved. The more names and years you learned the better, as you would know what information to look for in the General's office.
The fortress was in sight around sundown, when Cale stopped the wagon to let all the men pass you and Caspian their swords to keep hidden in the middle of the crowd. You had estimated that the General leaves for home right after sunset, based on what time he arrived when you were there. So you waited until you saw a pair of horses leave the front gates. It was too dark to tell exactly who it was, but by the uniform one of the men was wearing you guessed it was the General leaving for the night. "A'right. 'Ere we go." Cale prepared everyone as he moved you all forward to the front gates.

"STOP! What is your business here?" The guards stopped you.
"Gotta load of fresh men for ye 'ere. Jus' came in fro' port." Cale explained.
"We were not expecting any new slaves tonight." The second guard questioned.
"Aye. The General were expectin' us earlier bu' we ran inta sum weather comin' in."
The guards walked around the wagon suspiciously, holding torches up to the bars to look inside.
"How many?" One of them asked.
" 'Bou twen'y"
"The General would be upset if we turned away such a large shipment..." The second guard said.
"Aye. Don' wanna get ye in trouble now." Cale chuckled.
"Alright. Let them in!" The first guard called out.
The gates swung open and your heart started beating out of your chest. You felt your breath get tight. Last time you were here, you and Caspian were torn apart. You then felt Caspian's hand reach down and grab yours, and squeezed softly. Raxe repositioned himself to stand at your back, "We got this." He whispered to you.
Cale stopped the wagon in the middle of the courtyard. A team of four guards approached from the sides.
"Are they secured?" One of them asked.
"Aye." Cale lied.
Another guard opened the back of the wagon, and began pulling the crewmen out. All of your hands were tied loosely in front of your bodies to appear as if you were bound. Once there were more crewmen than guards out of the wagon, they spread out and sprung on the guards, using their roped hands to wrap around their necks, tightening until the guards fell unconscious.
The rest of the crew helped drag their bodies into the wagon, bound and gagged them. Then four of the crewmen traded clothing with the guards. They all continued to unload, you passing out swords as they did. The four crewmen in guard uniforms acting as if they were supervising the unloading. You nervously followed Raxe out of the wagon, Caspain kept his hand on your lower back the entire time.
"Alrigh' see ye in a few." Cale whispered to you as the crew separated into four groups, spreading about the fortress looking for any friends of family members.
Caspian, Raxe, and yourself headed up the stairs to where the General's office was, pausing in the shadows whenever you heard a guard walk by. There were two men posted at his door. You and Caspian were crouched down behind a stack of crates, while Raxe was opposite of you hiding behind a pillar. He motioned to you two with a wooden plank he found lying on the floor, then pointed at the guards.
Caspian nodded, and Raxe cleared his throat out enough to get their attention. They both looked in your direction, then at each other. One of the men slowly walked towards you, and when he was directly in front of you, Raxe hit him hard in the back of the head with the board, knocking him out. As soon as the guard hit the floor the other guard ran over to him, which then Caspian wrapped his rope around his neck, making him pass out as well. With both guards hidden behind the crates, bound and gagged, you three tiptoed to the office door.
"It's locked." You whispered as you tried the latch.
"Let me." Raxe stepped in front of you. "Sword." He commanded and you handed him Morúnsearc.
He wedged the tip into the crack of the doorframe, then with one push sideways and another up, the latch popped open.
"I don't want to know how you know how to do that." Caspian smiled, impressed.
"Then I won't tell you." Raxe chuckled.
You led the three of them in, and closed the door behind you, latched it again and Raxe pushed a large trunk in front of the door for good measure. Once safely enclosed inside, you and Caspian lit the lamps.
"Ok what are we looking for?" You asked Raxe.
"I'm guessing some sort of ledger. Something that has a lot of numbers in it." He answered.
"I'll start here." Caspian motioned to a shelf behind the desk.
You began rifling through papers on the desk, as Raxe walked over to a bookshelf against the wall.