"You're probably right," Callan agreed. "Frankly, before you told me everything, I imagined this lady a little differently and I'm very glad I've made a mistake. But Daiermed is really nice and is in no way to blame for Sir Engus' deeds. Even if he's not the son of a known lady, I can't understand why he should have lied about it."
"Don't you understand then?" Sir Malcolm frowned. "My life would have become unbearable if I had believed it for a second."
Callan nodded. "I guess so. I'm sorry for asking."
Sir Malcolm smiled and stood up. "It's time for us to go to the priests."
"I'm eager to see them," the boy bowed and opened the door for Sir Malcolm.
The seat of the priests was located in one of the grey towers of Danvegen castle. The entrance was only in it from the outside. As Sir Malcolm knocked, the door creaked open, revealing a young man of Callan's age, dressed in white linen. Without uttering a word, he beckoned them inside, and silently gave a sign to follow.
The other similarly dressed boy closed the door and stayed there on guard. Sir Malcolm and Callan's companion marched down the hallway, which gradually reached downwards, a surprise for Callan, who had prepared for a great climb up, remembering the wizards in the movies he saw about the medieval times, usually portrayed as dwellers on the roof of the tower itself, shouting their curses and spells through a narrow window. They reached the end of the hallway when, according to Callan's calculation, they were four meters below the ground.
"It's the only chance to escape if the castle falls," Sir Malcolm explained. "Campbells would burn druid priests as heretics and sorcerers in the event of a victory. The tower has a double floor, and several underground passages lead from here. If the castle is breached, the druids can leave unnoticed. Their duty is not to fight, but to preserve knowledge."
Callan silently nodded in agreement, 'An underground sanctuary.'
The attendant opened the door, which was at the end of the underground hallway. Callan and Sir Malcolm walked into a spacious, dark hall, illuminated only by a fireplace that was burning in one of its corners. At a round table covered with black cloth, five men of non-determinate age sat and looked at the comers.
'Hopefully their wisdom surpasses the talents of their tailors,' Callan thought, studying the long, belt-clad clothes with a grin.
One of the seated raised his hand, and the torches tucked into the copper holds flashed instantly along the walls of the hall. The shadows no longer covered the faces of the priests. Callan was surprised to notice that their short-cropped hair was quite grey, his eyes and faces also suggesting that these men were well over middle-aged, though the stately posture and exercise movements in the interlude made it possible to keep them young. Sir Malcolm bowed to the priests.
"I brought to you Sir Callan from the McLaughlin clan, who has come from the distant future to help in the fight against the Campbells. Last night he was at Kingsdale and got very valuable news, and also transported five hundred mercenaries ready to fight on our side without a certain fee, in promise gaining some of the booty in case of victory. But it's better for him to tell everything himself."
Callan relayed last night's adventures in short words.
"You're going to go there tonight," the priest sitting closer said after listening to the story. "Only this time, be more careful, don't show up to Sir Engus or anyone else, because they can change the plan of attack and become more careful in their words."