Forty

In the morning, Jaron sent the others back to the canyon to organize the troops while he remained behind. They made no argument, figuring he wished peace to make battle plans. Only Dak had any inkling of the real reason, if he bothered to reason through it. After they had gone, Jaron dressed in casual garb and returned to the secret door. Wandering through the castle’s bowels, he eventually made it to the entry hall. Distant memories played in his mind as he walked along the perimeter, keeping as much to the shadows as he could. He heard the echo of clanging swords as he trained with his father. He recalled a room covered in colorful tapestries. Now there were only gray, stone walls. Most of the tapestries had been taken down and the remaining few were faded, moth-eaten and covered in