James and Kallum sit in the guard room, reminiscing about old times, and enjoying a reasonably good brandy.  Eventually, the conversation drifts around to current events, and the skirmishes and battles raging across Arden and on the flank of Kolvir.

"I'll confess I have no real idea what's happening out there." Kallum confides, glumly, "We're getting only sketchy reports, at best.  I'd wager that the Family are getting better information, but precious little is filtering down as far as me."

"I'd be a fool to take that wager.  I'm sure the Family each has their sources of information.  But they can be a close-lipped bunch and that's when things are going well."

"Truth is, I doubt I know any more than you and probably less.  I need to get a handle on our troops strengths, deployment and capability as soon as I can."

James purses his lips for a moment, "I probably shouldn't tell you anything; operational security and all that.  But if I'm going to do that I might as well go and sulk in a corner until this is all over."

"Big picture is, Amber is being attacked by the dupes, slaves and servants of a powerful race known as Archons.  They plan to break apart all the worlds and remake the universe in the image of their home, which, incidentally, would be instantly lethal for folk like you and me.  The Pattern's an obvious place to do that."

"They haven't even begun to exert their full strength yet.  They've been planning this for a long time and they don't seem to want to rush things."

"But they're getting set up for the endgame and so are we.  The side that determines the conditions of endgame will almost certainly win.  If the Archons fight a pitched battle here, at Kolvir, we lose.  If we can convince the Archons to turn on their current leader, we win, more or less."

"Little picture is this.  We believe they plan to stage a raid on Tir-na Nog'th.  It's a good chance for an ambush and if we can capture an officer we might learn something useful.  I seem to have wound up in charge of that."

"I need some good soldiers, experienced men, like you, who won't panic if things get heated or if we need to change plans on the fly.  Probably about a half-company.  I was hoping you would help me get them ready?"

Kallum grins, "James, you've got one volunteer, right here.  It's been a long time since we've fought alongside each other, and it was always a pleasure working with you.  Besides, guarding the door is boring.  All I do, mostly, is play cards all day, and then lend the lads the money I just took off them."

"Truth be told, they'll probably be glad to see the back of me.  It'll give them a chance to keep some of their wages."

He ponders for a moment, before asking, "How soon do you need them?  Some of the more reliable ones I can think of might take a bit longer to get hold of.  Some of them are on other watches, or not in the castle at all."

"Thank you, Kallum, that's a relief."

"In truth, I don't know when we need them.  I trust our intelligence but it is patchy.  We know their objective is Tir but we don't know how or when.  So I want to have a guard on the stair ready by nightfall."

The amount of things I don't know, James reflects with more than a trace of bitterness,would fill a great many books.

"Once we are ready, I intend to make our own timing.  I will co-ordinate with the defenders in Arden to feign a weak point in the line, encourage the enemy to break through towards Tir'na Nog'th, then close up behind them to prevent retreat."

A dangerous plan, to deliberately break ranks when under attack but if James could get word to Benedict or Julian then he was confident it would swiftly be accomplished.

"I can see to that.  Probably get you the best part of a full company together by then.  Half company for your plan, and the rest in case you need them."  About to pour himself another brandy, Kallum settles for half measure instead, "Need my wits about me if I'm going to be on Kolvir this evening."

"I'll get the men for you, but I'll need more to go on.  What sort of battle do you expect?  Close up, knife and sword fighting, or something with a little more breathing space?"

"I don't know." James admits.  He knocks back the last of his brandy.  "Gods above, but I'm getting tired of saying that."

"I don't know what troops we have; I don't know what troops they have; I don't know who leads them or their way of fighting.  So let's stick to the basics.  To breach our line and strike at Tir they'll need assault troops.  Fast, probably melee focused.  So we need blocking troops.  Pikes will be too unwieldy for the stair so spearmen might be best.  And we'll need at least a platoon of archers to thin their numbers and in case they've got flyers."

James gestures with his hands as he lays out the plan.  "Ambush one-oh-one.  Trap the enemy in bad terrain.  Block the way ahead.  Move in behind.  And start shooting."

"So a mix then.  Fair enough." Kallum says, and then chuckles, "You do know you might end up with a bloody army on your hands.  A lot of the men left here are itching to get out and do some fighting."

"Random gave this speech a few days ago, all about how even the men left behind to guard the hearth are doing their part to win the war.  I think it was supposed to make us feel brave and aggressive, so we'd fight harder if the enemy come here.  Instead it just made most of us feel like going out, finding the enemy, and giving him a bloody good thrashing."

His smile fades a little, "Random's a good king, as kings go, but he should leave the rallying speeches to Benedict - short, sweet, and straight to the point - 'Win or die.'  And a grunt."

"That plan of yours sounds good.  I'll get you the troops you need."

"I wouldn't knock Random, that sounds pretty much bang on for a pep talk.  Benedict's way works because it's Benedict.  The man doesn't have to give speeches.  It's Benedict so you do what he tells you 'cause that way you'll win."

"I don't need an army, but if you reckon we'll have that many volunteers I wouldn't mind something fast.  Cavalry or a skirmish screen, whatever you think will work best; in case some slip through the net and we need to chase them."

James pauses for a moment, looking thoughtful, "Nope, that's all I can think of for now.  I'm going to take my old kit out for a bit of a test run.  It'll give me the chance to check out the terrain and to get used to moving with the weight again."

"How quickly can you have the men together?  And where should we meet?"

James starts donning his armour.  It is apparent that the various straps, buckles and catches have been positioned so that a soldier can get in and out on his own, but it is a slow process and looks rather awkward.

"Two, three hours, tops." Kallum says, leaning back to stare at the ceiling.  "I can give the first few a list of names each, so they can do some of the running about, and get it finished faster."

"Should be able to get you what you need.  A good mix of skirmishers and some armoured infantry."

He pauses for a moment, giving the next matter a little more thought, then, "There's a path up to the Tir stair from the Mountain Gate.  About an hour short of the stair it crosses a stream at a ford.  That might be a good spot to meet up.  It's close to the stair, but not so close that anybody going up there from the Arden side would see us while we sort out the final details."

"Sounds good.  I'll meet you at the ford in three hours."

"Don't wait on me, it's going to take me a few minutes to get these straps right.  Out of practice."

James keeps working as he talks.  He may be taking his time to settle each piece of the armor into a comfortable position but the motions seem well-practiced enough.

"I'll be there, with the cream of the men who are still about." Kallum assures James, "Three hours, it is."  He stands and heaves a heavy sigh, "It breaks my heart to do this, but I suppose I'll have to leave you alone with the damned brandy."

"Try not to drink it all.  Leave a little for a victory toast when we get back."

He claps James on the shoulder, as he passes him on the way to the door.  And then he's gone...

James grins at Kallum's jest, but he re-seals the bottle of brandy and replaces it in the cupboard before he finishes arming himself.

Satisfied at last, James picks up his gun and leaves the guardroom.  He knows that he must look peculiar even to the servants of Amber, most of whom had plenty of opportunity to become accustomed to strange happenings, so he sticks to the back, back corridors.  Fortunately, there are plenty of those, even if it does cause James to stop and get his bearings on several occasions.

Once out of the castle proper, James heads for the gate Kallum mentioned and the path to the stair.  He aims to test the armor's capabilities and his own, as fully as possible in the next three hours, for he has no desire to be surprised once the fighting starts.  If he can get far enough away not to alarm anyone he intends to test the stories of Amber's effect on gunpowder, too.