Hollo and Simon left their stolen horses tied to a mile marker with a large “1” engraved into its stone face. Silently, the pair walked through the open field to the side of the road, guided by the watch fires the soldiers kept on the far side of the bridge.

As they drew nearer to the huts, they kneeled in a ditch to watch the garrison for a few minutes. The dark sky, which had made their approach so easy, now betrayed them, as they could make out no details.

Hollo looked to Simon and touched the amulet on his chest. Simon nodded, then turned his back. Simon looked off in the distance as he heard Hollo take in a sharp breath, then his ears heard a rustling sound, then nothing. The half-elf sat there for a few minutes, until he heard another rustle, then felt Hollo tap him on the shoulder.

“Twenty-five men, about a third of them up and on watch,” he whispered, “The rest are asleep in the two huts nearest to the road on the left there.”

“Are our horses still there?”

“That big building over there is a stable. I heard my pony nickering, so the rest should be there, too.”

“And the rest?”

“The hut next to it is painted and has bars on the windows.”

“That’ll be where the officer sleeps, and I’ll bet our things are in there with him.”

Hollo shrugged. “I wasn’t able to get a good look in there,” he replied, “Although there was something shiny in the lean-to on this side.”

The two men talked quietly for a few more minutes, then moved toward the cluster of huts. Simon slowly made his way through the shadows toward the stable, while Hollo crept toward the officer’s house.

Simon winced at the low creak the door made as he opened it, but his ears picked up no hint that the guards watching the bridge had noticed. Inside, he found their horses, as well as Hollo’s pony and a large warhorse, probably owned by the garrison’s commander. The mule was nowhere to be seen.

Simon scratched the pony between his eyes when the little horse nudged his hand, then began saddling the horses.

Hollo found the door to the officer’s hut latched shut, and a tug on the bars proved that they were solidly affixed to the house. Hollo sighed in frustration, and looked around for some way in. Finally, he hung his head, took a deep breath, and touched his amulet.

A few moments later, Hollo stood on the floor next to the officer’s bed. The man was fast asleep, his head tilted back as he snored loudly. A small candle burned on the small table next to his bed, and its light reflected from the treasures the commander had collected from the shipments to the capitol. Gold and silver plates, bags of coins, and several weapons, their hilts and scabbards inlaid with jewels, were heaped in piles around the small room.

Hollo stood transfixed by the wink of candlelight on jewels and polished metal, but regained his senses after a few moments. He spied Gnarlthing, along with Simon’s daggers and Erika’s sword in its scabbard, leaning against the wall. He picked them up, then recognized one of the bundles the mule had carried. He opened it an inch or two, and felt soft cloth when he put his hand inside.

Nodding to himself, he picked the sack up just as he heard the clop of hooves walking through the yard. Going to the window, he saw Simon leading the horses and the pony toward the hut. He put his hand out the window and waved through the bars. Simon saw it and walked the horses over.

Wordlessly, Hollo passed the weapons through the bars, along with a couple bags of coins he grabbed from the floor. He tried to push the bundle of clothes through as well, but it would not fit through the bars.

“Leave it,” Simon hissed quietly, “We’ve been here too long.” As if to punctuate this, both men froze when they heard the officer’s breath hitch in his sleep, followed by the rustle of bedclothes as he rolled over.

Hollo nodded, setting the bundle on the floor. He touched his amulet and disappeared from Simon’s view. A moment later, he stood up on the other side of the window.

“Let’s go,” Simon said as they mounted their horses. Greta’s horse was tied to Simon’s saddle, while the pony followed on a lead tied to Erika’s mare, which Hollo mounted. The two men crept out of the encampment, keeping their horses to the side of the road, until they regained the mile marker where the two horses they had ridden from the tavern were tied up.  They retrieved them, putting them on a lead behind their horses before remounting.

“I’d kill to see that bastard’s face when he wakes up tomorrow morning,” Simon said as they cantered down the road toward the village.

“It’ll be a mystery talked about for a long time,” Hollo replied with a chuckle.

Other episodes can be found here.  The entire anthology can be purchased at Amazon.