“That may be true but?—”
“But nothing. I have spent my entire life preparing for this. While ye have been plowing fields and smelting iron, I have been training to fight and studying battle plans. I have sat under the greatest battle strategists this clan has ever seen. I ken how they think, I ken what they would have done, had they been here.”
“But they are nae here.”
Finn leveled a glare at the man foolish enough to say such a thing.
“Nay. They are nae here.” The man swallowed hard and averted his gaze, bringing the slightest hint of a smile to Finn's lips as he continued. “That is why I am the one making the plans. I did nae call ye here today to give ye all my plans so that one of ye can run to Campbell or Seamus and betray me. I called ye here so that ye could do yer job—prepare the others to do exactly as I say.”
The room grew silent enough that Finn could hear the shaky breath of the man whose chair he still had in his grip. For a split second, Finn thought of how proud Rolland would have been to see the way that Finn had managed to take charge and lead the room. But that air of sentimentality could only last for so long before he had to get back to the task at hand.
“So we are to ken nothing about what we are walking into?”
Finn sighed. His hand scrubbed over his face as he contemplated his options. While he loathed the idea of a single one of these men escaping to rat out their plans to either of Finn's enemies, he also knew that he couldn't ask the men to follow him entirely blindly. He would have to share some of his plan, even if it was just the first step.
Moving back around the table and slinking into his chair, Finn let out another sigh. Feigning nonchalance, he rested an elbow on the arm of his chair and cradled the side of his head in his hand.
“Fine,” he muttered. “Fine. I will tell ye, but I expect that these plans dinnae leave this room.”
He stared down the men one by one, not moving on to the next until he had their nod of agreement.
“We are going to have to get closer to Campbell if we are to overtake him, but we cannae simply hide out in the woods. We need more of a stronghold than that. We need something that will force his hand.”
“Like what?”
“Glenkirk Castle. If we can take over the castle as we have done here, then we will control entrance into one of Campbell's villages. We will isolate the village entirely. There will be no trades, in or out. By barricading them in, the village will eventually run out of supplies. The villagers will grow angrier and angrier, the hungrier they get. Eventually, they will rise against Campbell with us.”
He paused, watching to gauge their reactions to his plan. Though hesitant, they all seemed to be on board with his plans.
“We will ride out within the hour. Have all men in the castle, warriors, and servants alike, prepare themselves. This will require all of us.”
He stood from his chair and stalked towards the door, ready to make the final preparations needed.
“But what happens when?—”
“We have been over this,” Finn cut off, not bothering to look back to see who was arguing with him. “It is nae yer job to question the plans. It is simply yer job to carry out yer orders. I will be the one to create our battle strategies, as I am the only one here qualified to do that. And right now, yer orders are to prepare the men. I will nae repeat myself. Is that understood?”
“Aye, sir.”
“Aye.”
“Right away, sir.”
The others echoed the same sentiment, albeit a little less enthusiastically. Finn didn't care whether they were enthusiastic or not. He doubted that any man was ever jumping at the bit to go to war. This was simply a task that needed doing, and he was going to see that it was accomplished.
As he instructed, all the men within Drummond Castle, save for those imprisoned, were packed and on their horses in an hour's time. Finn sat in his own saddle at the front of the courtyard, looking out on the gathered crowd. It had begun to drizzle. The mist soaked made everything a bit damp while the chill in the air blistered against Finn's cheeks. Steam from the horses' flanks rose into the air, giving off the smell of straw and oats. It was as if his mind wanted to soak in every detail of the day that he could. It was a momentous occasion that he didn't want to forget.
“For too long,” he called out, his voice rising above the clamor of the crowd, “we have sat under the fear of Campbell.”
The crowd hushed as they turned their attention to him.
“Well, I say nay more!” Cheers erupted until Finn put his hand in the air to silence them. “Each and every one of ye has a duty, a responsibility to fulfill. We will rise and protect our homes, our families. We will fight until there is nae a single drop of blood left in any of our veins. We will stop at nothing to see that we are victorious. Now, let's ride!”
