When the officer halted ...

Paul saw at once that he had no intention of following them himself. He knew of Ainea, and her sword! Paul could see the fear in his eyes. Instead the man sent out cry after cry for men to come to him and go after the interlopers. Paul dared not wait about for that to happen. Even Ainea, although reinforced by the skills of the Sword of Nuada, could be killed if enough men came at her at once. They must retreat to a place of safety.

Taking up Ainea's hand, with naught more than a "Come now!" he started off. The quickly wound their way through the deserted base of the tower, and Paul used his memories of this place to good advantage. Once or twice when he faltered, Ainea supplied answers from the memories she had of the Citadel that she had gleaned from Paul in the Elvin transfer. They quickly found their way deep within the place, traversing hallways and corridors that had not been used in centuries.

this concerned Paul, for he was worried that they might be tracked by their footsteps in the dust. However, as they passed and he looked back, he could see no sign of either his own or Ainea's passage. The dust appeared to be undisturbed, and webs from the little spiders that infest stone buildings also seemed unbroken. How this could be, he knew not, but he accepted that some unseen providence was guarding them. With a prayer of thanks to the Creator, he hurried them on their way.

Behind them, the five men who eventually followed became more and more confused. Footsteps in the dust ended abruptly, and were found in unlikely places leading to blank walls or blind hallways. Dust appeared in places they never before had seen it, and traces of passage were there, yet the halls were busy and no one had seen the strangers. The English Corporal in charge of the search detail, enraged at the stupefied looks about him, slew a Basque whom he thought refused to give him a meaningful answer. Those about when it happened ran off shrieking that he had lost his senses and was killing indiscriminately. Finally, a Cook's helper plunged a kitchen knife into his throat to put a stop to his threats. None of the other men, for the moment outnumbered and realizing that the Corporal had overstepped any reasonable bounds, chose to enforce discipline upon the terrified helper. They simply picked up the body and lugged it upward, abandoning the search for the fleeing Paul and Ainea.

As for those two, they eventually found shelter in a little room that was deep in the bowels of the Citadel, one whose doorway was tucked deep in shadow under a flight of steps. At first the air was dank and foul-smelling. However, soon it became clear and fresh although Paul could find no source for the flow of clean air. But what confirmed that someone was watching for them was when they wakened from a short rest to find that there was a small table of fresh food, cider still cold from the cistern, and two cots with comfortable mattresses and warm covers, and a change of clothing for each. Also in one corner was a tub of steaming hot water, a bar of heather soap, and drying cloths that were soft and inviting. The torch they had brought in was guttering, but there was a small pile of new ones stacked neatly into a corner. They had all they needed for several days.