After the war council had broken, Catullus immediately went to where herbs and chemicals were stored for making medicine and tinkered with them until he was satisfied. Though he had explained to her how the combinations of substances worked, she did not quite fathom all the complex reactions or how they could produce explosions. It did not matter. All that mattered was that they reduce the number of the Heirs and their mercenaries.Sentries were posted on the ramparts, keeping watch and guarding those working outside the safety of the walls.“I believe we are finished with this stage,” Thalia said to Catullus, who stood nearby and directed the placement of his device for cutting grappling hook lines. Monks strung thick lengths of rope, soaked in chemicals, all the way around the monastery’s exterior wall. Each rope was suspended midway up the wall, held in place by metal spikes.Since night had fallen, everything was done by torchlight, and Catullus thoroughly surveyed his handiwork.
