Avoiding the main road entirely, Jette led them through the fenced farmland outside the town itself. She took them down a dark side street that wound its way toward the town square and stopped behind the reeve’s large, two-story stone house.
While he could not see the front of the house, Ian noted that the back of the house was surrounded by a tall wooden fence built on top of a thick stone foundation. This was not unusual, as the cities of Iseldis rarely built protective walls around the entire city, but rather relied on a single structure to act as a fortress should the need arise. The castle he had grown up in was the fortress for the capital city, a place where the people could retreat to should the need for protection arise.
The reeve’s fence was not unexpected, but it did provide an extra barrier to viewing his larder.
Taking the lead from Jette, Robin stepped forward and tested the handle on the back gate.
It moved under her hand, and the door cracked open. It was unlocked. Perhaps the reeve had nothing to hide after all.
But then a dog growled, deep and menacing from behind the fence.
Ian froze. Robin had not included him in the planning meeting for this raid, so he did not know how they would handle this situation. None of the other bandits appeared concerned, however, so he watched as Ulli stepped forward.
The dog’s growl continued, growing into a frantic spiral of barking as a second dog joined the first.
Opening a satchel at his side, Ulli removed a package of waxed fabric. As he unwrapped it, the stench of raw meat filled the air.
The dogs’ barking increased.
Ulli tossed a piece of the meat over the fence. The barking sounds turned into loud sniffs, followed by slobbery smacking.
Ulli waited for several more seconds, then threw another piece of meat over the fence.
The dogs devoured it, then sniffed along the fence, whining as they went, begging for another piece.
Robin slowly inched open the gate and motioned for Ulli to go first.
Holding another piece of meat in front of him, Ulli silently entered the fenced area and continued to distract the alarmed dogs.
Lane and Nele followed, then Ian and Rigelt. Robin came in last, gently closing the gate behind them.
The back of the house was lit only by a soft glow that came from one of the lower windows near the back door. Ian assumed it was the light of the coals from the kitchen fire.
“The barking likely woke someone,” Robin said in a low voice, quieter than a whisper. She motioned for them to follow her, then led them around the side of the house. They huddled in the darkness, out of sight of the back door.
The two dogs followed them, intrigued and pressing their noses against Ulli for more meat, but their loud barks and growls had disappeared.
Ian sat in complete stillness, Rigelt pressed up against one side of him and Robin against the other.
The door around the corner creaked open.
Ian nodded in the darkness. Robin had been right—not that he was surprised, but hiding around the corner had been a smart decision.
Hearing the door, the dogs dashed away from Ulli and ran around the corner toward the sound.
“Gray!” called an angry male voice. “Wolf! What is going on down here?”
Ian held his breath, feeling the same tension in the muscles of Rigelt’s arm digging into his side.
“What did you see?” the voice continued. “Is something amiss?”
The dogs barked, but it was not aggressive. Ian could imagine them wagging their tails as if trying to explain that they had received a tasty treat.
Footsteps sounded on the packed dirt behind the house, walking along the back wall and then back to the center.
“Stupid brutes,” the voice muttered. “Let a man get some sleep.”
The door slammed shut rather loudly, and Ian heard a bolt sliding into place. He was not sure how they would get around that, but if Robin had been prepared for the dogs, she would surely have a plan for quietly breaking into a man’s house.
