That would be Sarah and Fletcher, luring the soldiers to the front of the monastery.
The front of the monastery, where Ian was currently distracting the generals. She hoped he was safe, reminding herself that his part was far less dangerous than the fight currently happening here.
The lure must have worked, because Robin’s men were able to push more quickly down the hallway. However, as they entered the larger courtyard, the fight grew to include each of them.
The bandits formed a living wall, pressing out from the hallway to herd the surprised soldiers forward.
As they had discussed, she and her bandits yelled loudly as they moved, spreading out to take up as much space as possible while still protecting each other, giving the impression of being a larger group than they were.
Fletcher and Sarah continued to yell and lure from other areas of the side hallways, adding to the illusion.
They were definitely outnumbered, but it was not quite two to one. Knocking out a few of the defending soldiers as they went, they were able to successfully force them all out of the monastery and into the front courtyard.
The gate from the courtyard to the road was open, but Robin was too far back in the crowd of soldiers to see Ian and the generals beyond it.
“General! We are under attack!” one of the soldiers yelled again.
When the last soldier had been pushed across the threshold into the courtyard, Lane and Sol slammed the front door of the monastery shut behind them.
Chapter 34
Aden stepped around Robin, moving toward the door to help Lane and Sol place a heavy beam across it and bar it from the inside. Robin turned to survey her band.
No one appeared seriously injured.
She was elated that the plan had worked. The monastery was theirs.
“Liam?” she said, scanning the sweaty faces of the bandits around her.
“Ensure that Fletcher and Sarah secured the back gate.” The bandit stepped forward as he repeated the role they had previously discussed.
Robin nodded, and Liam took off down a monastery hallway.
“Lane?” she said next.
He, too, had already taken off back into the monastery. He raised a hand, spinning around as he ran to acknowledge Robin’s call. He would be protecting the windows in the kitchen that were large enough to enter if one scaled the back wall.
Before she could call their names, Aden and Rigelt stepped forward.
Robin nodded at them. The most important part of the mission was still ahead.
Rigelt led the way through to the monastery cellar. As one of the Majis who had spent time in the monastery, he was familiar with the building. Taking them down a maze of hallways, he stopped in front of a set of double doors.
The doors opened to reveal a broad set of stairs leading down into the sandstone. No torches were necessary as the left wall of the staircase was part of the actual cliff that overlooked the ocean. Tall, slit-like windows in the stone let in enough light to see by.
The stairs were wide enough for four people abreast to walk down. It felt overly generous until Robin remembered the monks used the cellar to brew their ale, and they likely needed as much space as possible to transfer the barrels up and down to the kitchens.
The bottom of the stairs opened up to a long, low-ceilinged room.
This room was too large to be a cellar. It was an entire undercroft that spanned the whole length of the monastery. Thick pillars supported the low ceiling, leading off into a long, dark space.
The length of it that ran along the cliffside, however, was plenty bright. Small, high windows on that wall continued to light the space. Water stains dripped below the windows, likely created by the oversized waves that had been crashing high enough up the cliffs to flood the room during storms. Large barrels, several of them broken, lined the back wall, and a yeasty aroma mixed with the ever-present salty tang in the air. The room was particularly cold, as a cellar should be, and the air was damp.
Robin noted these details as she quickly looked through the large space, trying to locate the imprisoned Majis.
Deeper into the undercroft, some small rooms had been built against the windowed wall. Those were likely the actual cellars for food storage.
Robin ran forward.
