Of Gates and Crossbows
The three of them lay flat on the top of the hill, staring down at the clearing below. Each bore a weapon from the chest in the secret room. Topher wore a short sharp blade, Zorn a line of daggers tucked into his belt, and Marvin a long, honed, impossibly heavy sword, which he wielded with great ease. The snow had stopped for the moment. Topher traced the cut under his eye his finger. It ached and throbbed, so he held another handful of snow against his face to numb it some more.
Gertrude was standing on a stool in the middle of the clearing. He was gagged and blindfolded, and his hands and feet were bound. A noose encircled his neck, the other end tied to a sturdy branch above. A large bonfire burned and crackled and hissed before him, melting all of the snow ar
