Free The Sword and the Song by C. E. Laureano Page B

height of the mountain peaks to the exact dimensions of each chamber and corridor in the fortress. “The very things that make it so defensible are the thingsthat will make it easy to hold. We wouldn’t need but a few dozen men to secure it, once we’d taken it.”
    “Ard Bealach was constructed to withstand a full frontal assault,” Riordan said. “A handful of archers could hold off an army.”
    “That’s why we won’t launch a full frontal assault.” Eoghan circled to the other side of the table, and Conor stepped back to make room. “If Lady Morrigan’s entry to Ard Dhaimhin showed us anything, it’s that a few men may succeed where an army would fail. So we won’t attack from the outside; we’ll attack from within.” He tapped a set of broken lines on the map. “We enter through the tunnels.”
    “These have been sealed for years.” At the surprise directed his way, Conor said, “Surely you know this story. Mad King Ragallach was convinced the Fíréin were conspiring with Tigh against him and holed up in Ard Bealach with his personal guard, two hundred strong. He had the tunnels sealed and the iron gates melted shut.”
    “What happened?” Aine asked.
    Conor shot her a rueful smile. “He was killed at the hands of a Timhaigh assassin among his personal guard. He may have had reason for concern, even if the Fíréin weren’t actually involved.”
    “Even so,” Gradaigh said, “walls can be broken.”
    “Rumor was that they were sealed not with stone and mortar but with magic. Solid, seamless rock.”
    “So perhaps Fíréin were involved,” Aine said. “Just on the other side.”
    They mulled that thought for a moment, until Dal finally spoke up. “We’ll never bore through without attracting attention. The Sliebhanaigh range is mostly granite, just like Ard Dhaimhin.”
    “We don’t need to bore; we just need to dig.” Eoghan left the room without explanation, leaving more confusion in his wake.When he returned, he plunked a chunk of stone in front of Daigh. “Please confirm this is just an ordinary piece of stone.”
    Daigh tapped it on the table with a solid thud. “It appears to be.”
    Eoghan took it back and used a lump of charcoal to draw an unfamiliar symbol on its surface. A rune? He handed the stone back to Daigh. “Break it.”
    Daigh’s brow furrowed, but he took it in both hands as one might attempt to snap a twig. The rock crumbled between his fingers. He jumped from his seat, knocking the chair backward onto the stone floor. “Magic!”
    “Aye,” Eoghan said calmly. “A rune.”
    Expressions ranging from amazement to shock played over the council members’ faces. Aine just watched Eoghan with a little smile. Had she known about this and failed to tell him?
    “Did you decipher it from the Rune Throne?” Conor asked. Was that why Eoghan had suddenly taken leadership? Had the runes that always just looked like squiggles to him suddenly become meaningful?
    “No.” Eoghan’s smile faded, as if the reminder had tempered his enthusiasm. “Comdiu revealed it to me in the corridor, right before Morrigan arrived. To me, that can be no coincidence. The rune means ‘soft.’ I believe this is how Daimhin carved the fortress out of this cliff, and it’s how we will reopen Ard Bealach’s tunnels. They won’t be expecting attack through an entrance that’s supposed to be permanently sealed.”
    “If we rely on stealth, it could work,” Riordan said. “There’s still the matter of moving the men unnoticed. Even if they think it’s impregnable, they’ll be watching the passes.”
    “We can move them in groups, disguised as Clanless,” Conor said. “They have hunted those passes for generations.”
    “Aye, that could work.” Eoghan nodded thoughtfully. “We’llwant to hear from Lady Morrigan about the numbers and their discipline.”
    “I’ll retrieve her.” Conor jumped at the chance to leave the room before he said or did something