“As I’d suspected, the arrow’s one of mine. One of the three I discovered missing,” Atty informed them.
“So our perpetrator has two more at his disposal?” Lucian stated.
“Yes.”
“Where did he get his hands on them?” Mattox questioned.
“From the arsenal. I didn’t figure they might have been stolen from my quiver, since I usually keep it in the lodge when I’m not wearing it.” She smiled crookedly. “Thank goodness we keep a guard at our front door ‘round the clock. That’s what might have deterred him.”
“But we keep a guard at the armory,” Mistelle pointed out.
“I’m already looking into that,” Yulen said. “Cole’s checking to see who’s had that duty since the first of our guests arrived. We have no idea who might have gotten inside, but Warren suggested it may not be a one-man job.”
“You’re thinking someone may have diverted the guard’s attention away from the door long enough to allow someone else to slip inside and grab the arrows?” Mattox formulated.
Lucien added, “If that’s the case, why did they take just the arrows? Why not take a sword, or a knife or two?”
Yulen nodded. “I’m having a complete inventory being taken right now to see if anything else is missing.”
“What I never understood is why you never keep that building locked in the first place,” Lucien continued.
“And who’d be responsible for the key?” Atty challenged him with a smile. “Your father? What if he’s caught up in battle, and you can’t reach him to retrieve it? And don’t mention me having a spare. The same could go for me being unreachable.”
Mattox stared at his younger brother with amusement. He’d had the same thought, but he was glad Luc had been first to mention it.
“You could put the key in a safe location.”
The suggestion earned a chuckle from their father. “Yes, I could, but who would have knowledge of that location? Again, if those who knew were otherwise engaged in battle…”
“Stop and think for a moment,” Atty intervened. “If the armory was kept locked, those precious seconds it would take to unlock it could mean the difference between defeat and victory.”
Mattox caught Lucien glancing his way, and he grinned. “Okay. So what do we do in the meantime? Put two guards at the armory?”
Yulen gave a nod. “I don’t have any other choice. If I leave it to stand like it is, the thief may think they’ve gotten away with it, and might try to pull the same trick again. Or worse, try to take the lone guard out and plunder all he and his cronies can carry.”
“I have an alternate suggestion,” Mattox spoke up. “Put a Mutah there.”
Atty pointed at him, a smile growing on her face. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. If we pick a hunter with sensitive abilities, he’ll be able to tell if anyone approaching him has bad intentions. Dress him up like one of the guards, but make sure he has a bow in addition to a sword. The first moment he gets an inkling he’s about to be surrounded, he can send up a whistle arrow.”
“I have another idea to add to that,” Mistelle commented. “Put a couple of Mutah hunters on top of the apartments where they can keep watch, as well. I’ll bet you the person responsible isn’t Mutah, which means he and whoever is with him won’t think to check overhead.”
Yulen parked his hands on his hips, a broad smile lighting his face. “I like it. I like it all. All right. Let’s do this. Matt, you pull six of our best sensitive Mutah hunters and put them on rotating detail at the armory. Instruct them on what they’re expected to do, and make sure they have the weapons and uniforms they’ll need. Luc, you enlist a dozen of our best archers and put them on the same rotating detail on top the buildings with the best line of direct sight to the front and back side of the building.”
“Why the back side?” Lucien queried.
“In case they try to sneak up behind the guard.”
“What’s my job?” Mistelle asked.
Yulen looked over at his wife. “You’re going to help your mother hide the weapons.”
“What?” Mattox, Lucien, and Mistelle almost chorused together.
Atty burst out in laughter. “Did you expect us to keep those weapons stored there after what’s happened? It’ll only be temporary. We’ll move them back after the conference.” She gave her husband a stern look. “Or maybe not.”
Mattox snorted. “I vote for maybe not. If whoever got inside the first time spreads the word as to its location…”
“Which is precisely why we’re moving the weapons now, and may relocate them permanently afterwards,” the battle lord confirmed. “Let’s go ahead get started, while everyone is having lunch.”
