The heavy doors closed again once the three men were inside. "Fair enough, I suppose," Gunnar, the man leading them, said. He took them past a long row of homes and store fronts and toward an inner fortress that sat close to the river. A moat ran around the entire fortress, but as Wedmor expected no threat, the drawbridge here remained lowered and Gunnar hurried across.
"Hilde!" Gunnar said loudly as they entered an open courtyard area on the far side of the bridge, lit by several burning torches. "Hilde!" he repeated after waiting a few moments.
"Coming, sir!" a female voice called from a doorway to their right. And about a minute later a girl that appeared to be in her mid-teens came rushing toward them, dressed in a fashion more appropriate for a boy than a young woman. She was still sliding her arm into her coat and one could easily guess that Gunnar had woken her from her sleep.
"Hilde, find room in the stable for these horses. See that they are properly cooled and have fresh water and hay."
The girl nodded, looking curiously at the three men, but did not ask any questions, only waited for them to dismount and get whatever they needed from their saddle bags before reaching for the horses' bridles.
"This way..." Gunnar then said, indicating to a set of stairs nearby.
