In this new place, the slaves occasionally saw women, which was something none of them had seen for more than a year. At night they wanted to discuss them, but Stefan would not let them. "Save yer whispers for important things."
"Like escaping?" Baodan asked.
"Aye."
"We could give a false whistle and make them run. Then we could run the other way."
"And then what?" asked Stefan. "They have horses and we do not. 'Twould not take long for them to hunt us down and we have no weapons."
"We could all run in different directions. They cannae hunt us all." Manachan turned on his side and pulled his blanket up over his shoulder.
Stefan stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Aye, but we would have a better chance on horses. We need to know where they keep them." He heard each man whisper his words to the next, and when he could hear them no more, he went to sleep.
*
Knowing nothing about keeping slaves, Limond let the guards set the rules. The captives were put to work hauling rocks, mixing sod and laying the stones. Just like Jirvel's chicken pen, the walls consisted of two parallel rows of stones with the sod poured in the middle and allowed to seep between the rocks. Until the sod set, some of the slaves were charged with wiping the excess away from the outside of the rocks and tossing it back in. But the sod was slow to set and the work was hard.
Calluses on their hands and knees bore witness to their labors and the only saving factor was the approach of shorter days. Still fearing the Pope would find out, the guards gave them adequate food and a day of rest in which they were taken on a foot bridge across a river to the edge of a loch to bathe.
*
Laird Limond was not an unsightly man although he was getting on in years. His hair was graying at the sides and Stefan guessed him to be well into his fifties. Being the biggest of all the slaves, it didn't take long for Limond to spot Stefan and when he looked at him, he was impressed with the lad's lack of cowering. Then he spotted Stefan's unique leather belt and motioned for him to turn around so he could see the back. He did not say anything and was soon on his way.
Stefan remembered to breathe. He often touched the belt Kannak made for him. It made him feel closer to her somehow and he would not give it up without a fight.
*
It was during his fourth bath in the loch that he looked toward the very end and noticed two hills near the water's edge. He had to be imagining things. Just above the trees he thought he could see the very top of the hidden castle. He quickly looked away in case one of the guards noticed.