by A E Stanfill
“Who would even go with you?” Micha questioned. “What you speak of would be pure madness.”
Leon slammed his hands down on the table, “Who are you to question Master Gawain, if not for him you would not be here.”
“Hey, let's get the story straight here,” Ulrich butted in. “If it wasn't for me, the old man and Micha would both have perished.”
“That is quite enough!” Gawain demanded. “This is neither the time nor the place for such childish antics.”
“It's quite alright.” King Peregrine laughed,. “It is good to know that your students think so highly of you, as do I.” He looked around the table with a keen eye, and it didn't take him long to notice just how quiet William had become, which wasn't like him. “What say you, William? You have yet to give an opinion of your own.”
William looked up at King Peregrine with a hint of desperation in his eyes. “It's madness, yes it's even a suicide mission.” He smiled. “But I like it, and I'm going along with them.”
“Why would you do such a thing?” Micha gasped.
“I have my reasons.”
“What say you, Micha?” King Peregrine inquired. “If I allow this to happen, will you aid them?”
“I don't exactly agree with this craziness, but I shall go none the less.”
King Peregrine looked at everyone at the table and gave a heartfelt smile, “Then it has been settled,” he said. “This mission is for the people of Wespington, their lives are in your hands. Please destroy the cannon and then the blueprints, but most of all, come back to us safely.”
That night all the preparations were made for their departure; horses were readied and Gawain, Leon, Micha, William, and Ulrich rode off towards the city of Odrela. It was a long ride, and rain pelted the ground, which added to the darkness of the night. The only light source they had was a small orb that Gawain had made using magic, like he had before.
“Let us stop here.” William held up his hand, signaling for the group to stop their horses.
“What is it?” Gawain asked as he rode up beside William.
There was a faint glow of light up ahead of them, “Do you see that?” He asked. “That glow is from all the torches lit at night in Odrela,” William answered.
“We have reached our destination then, correct?”
William dismounted from his horse and gathered up his shield and spear, “That we are,” he replied without looking back.
“What is going on?” Micha asked after dismounting from his horse. “And why do you gather your weapons, William?”
William strapped his shield and spear upon his back and sheathed a knife to his belt just in case. “We walk from here,” he said, walking past Micha. Gawain had already tossed his light armor to the side, wearing only his pants and tunic, with his cape strapped to his shoulders and his sword hidden underneath.
“Why have you tossed your light armor, Master Gawain?” Leon inquired, turning to see that Ulrich had done the same. “You too?”
“This light armor is old, and it seems to slow me down,” Ulrich said.
“What Ulrich is trying to say is that the silver from the light armor will be easy to spot. It would be wise to just dispose of the armor for the time being,” Gawain explained.
“That makes sense.”
“Would it not be wise to keep the horses?” Micha interrupted.
“Do you expect they will just let us ride into the city?” said William.
“But we need the horses, do we not?”
“There is no need to worry about the horses, Micha,” William responded. “I trained them myself, the steeds will not run away. Gather your things and remove your armor, it will not aid you in being stealthy.”
They quietly walked through the darkness of the night without the aid of Gawain's orb. It was hard to see, and sometimes they had to crawl on the ground so as not to be spotted by the guards walking along the stone wall that protected the city from outsiders.
“How do we get inside?” Gawain whispered, crouching up against the stone wall. William was feeling around the stone wall with the tips of his fingers, paying attention to nothing more. “William, how do we get inside?” Gawain asked again.
“It's here somewhere, just be patient.” William was pushing on each individual stone until one shifted slightly. “This is how we shall enter the city.” He pushed on a few more stones until part of the wall crumbled to the ground.
“How did you know of such a secret?” Gawain looked at him curiously.
William quietly laughed. “I have many secrets.” He turned and walked through the passage and motioned for everyone else to do the same. When they stepped through, not only did they find themselves inside the city, they were only a few feet away from the castle of Odrela.
“This was unexpected,” Ulrich muttered.
“You sound disappointed,” Gawain whispered.
“I was at least hoping for a fight.”
Ellyn nudged Ulrich, “Do you want us to be killed or thrown in the dungeons?” she whispered.
“I don't want that to happen,” he whispered back. “I was just hoping for a little fun.”
William overheard the conversation between Ellyn and Ulrich. “Don't you worry about that young one, there will be plenty of fun to be had inside the castle.”
Gawain was surveying the area to take in his surroundings, “How do you suppose we get inside?”
William motioned towards the castle, “Soon they will drop the drawbridge and a scouting team will come out. When that happens we get the drop on them. We take their armor for ourselves, and walk inside the castle unnoticed,” he explained.
“What about Ellyn, Leon, and Ulrich?” Gawain asked. “How do we get them inside unnoticed?”
“They shall be our prisoners.”
The drawbridge began to lower, then the soldiers came walking out of the castle yard and across the drawbridge. With swiftness the three men got the drop on the soldiers. They hacked, stabbed, and slashed with their knives, dropping them quickly. After they had acquired the armor of the soldiers, William furthered his plans on getting into the castle. “Okay young ones, to make this work you will need to hand over your weapons,” he explained. “This will help us get by the guards inside the castle.”
“I don't like this,” Ulrich voiced his frustrations as he was handing over his sword and bow to William.
“It's not like he's going to keep them,” Ellyn giggled.
“Knock it off you two,” Gawain barked. “This is no time for childish banter, we have a mission to accomplish, remember that.”
“I'm sorry, Gawain,” Ellyn frowned.
“Don't let the old man get to you,” Ulrich whispered. “He's just grumpy, that's what happens when you get old.” That remark made her crack a faint smile. “That's better,” he smiled back at her. Ellyn was the only person that could make Ulrich smile these days. Even though his heart was filled with hate and rage, she had a way of bringing out his good side.
“If you two are done flirting with each other, maybe we can get inside the castle before they close the drawbridge,” Leon grumbled, walking in between them.
“The young man here is right,” William said. “We need to hurry along.”
“Make this look as believable as possible.” Gawain shoved Leon forward, “Move scum!” William did the same to Ulrich. It took Micah sometime because it was Ellyn that he had to be rough with and that didn't sit right with him. But with a little encouragement, he finally joined in on the act and shoved Ellyn onto the drawbridge.
“I'm sorry, Miss Ellyn,” Micha whispered.
Ellyn turned ever so slightly, “You've done nothing to apologize for, this is just a ruse to get us inside the castle yard,” she whispered back. Micha nodded and cracked a faint smile which could not be seen underneath the helmet.
“Master Gawain. When we get inside the castle yard, push me to the ground and make it believable.” Leon whispered making sure not to look back. If he gave off the
slightest notion that he knew the man in the armor pushing him around, it could very well spell the end for them all. When Leon was across the drawbridge Gawain shoved him to the ground with some extra force. As Leon lay on the ground he pretended to cry, which gave the signal to Ulrich that it was time to get involved.
“What in the hell was that for?” Ulrich shouted.
William was quick to join in the ruse by kicking Ulrich to the ground beside Leon. “Shut ya mouth ya thieving little brat.”
One of the castle guards walked up, “What is going on over here?”
When Ulrich tried to get up William put his boot across his chest to hold him down, “These little heathens were caught stealing from one of the peddlers in the town square. Not only that it was swords and shields that they had tried to take.”
The castle guard pushed William to the side and reached down to take hold of Ulrich pulling him to his feet. “Tell me, child, why were you taking weapons from the peddler?” Ulrich wanted to push the guard's temper as far as he could by not answering. “Tell me.”
He grabbed Ulrich by the hair and pulled his head back, placing a knife to his throat. “I shall not ask you again boy.” He pressed the knife harder to Ulrich's throat, causing blood to trickle down his neck. William grabbed the guard's wrist, pulling the knife away from the young boy's neck, “What do you think you are doing soldier, remember who the captain is here.”
“Keeping you from making a grave mistake,” William answered, refusing to let go of the man's wrist. “If you kill this boy without King Adan getting his chance to have him questioned by his executioner, your head shall surely be put on the chopping block,” he warned.
The captain of the guards pulled himself free from William's grasp, “Then take him and the others to the dungeons, I shall inform King Adan of what has transpired.” He pushed William back. “After this is all said and done, I shall deal with you later, soldier.”
The man turned and walked towards the castle doors motioning for them to follow. As they walked Gawain made sure to survey the surrounding area, plotting the best course for escape when they had succeeded with the task at hand. Moments later they found themselves inside the castle of Odrela.
The walls were made from large stones that were smoothed and shined by the castle keep, and the floors were made from granite. From the walls hung paintings of kings from old, many of whom Gawain had heard of and William had faced in battle. “Follow me.” The man said, leading them down a narrow hallway that had different suits of armor, all holding different weapons.
“Where are you taking us?” Leon hissed.
The captain of the guard turned and struck Leon upon his face, “Thieves are not allowed to speak,” he spat. Gawain fought the urge not to kill the man where he stood for striking Leon. It took all he had to suppress his anger. The man turned towards a wooden door that stood to his right. He pulled out a skeleton key that was hidden within his armor, and placing the key in the keyhole, he turned it and the door opened.
On the other side was a steep stairwell that led straight down into the darkness. The captain grabbed one of the torches from off the wall and led them down the stairs. The stairs twisted and turned under their feet as they slowly descended into the castle’s depths. What waited for them at the bottom of the steps was the dungeon.
It was dimly lit and smelled of urine and feces. Both sides of the room were filled with nothing more than individual prison cells. “Stop here,” he said. Then the man proceeded to unlock one of the cell doors using the same skeleton key that he had used before. “Throw the thieves inside,” he demanded.
“I am afraid that we cannot do as you demand,” Gawain intervened.
“What was that?” The captain hissed. Gawain removed his helmet revealing his face, “You are not one of my soldiers,” the man gasped, placing his hand on the hilt of his blade.
Before the man could draw his blade Gawain hit him across the face with the helmet that he was holding in his hand. Then in a flash Ulrich took his sword from William and ran his blade through the guard’s back, killing him instantly. “What did you do that for?” Gawain grumbled.
“He deserved it.” Ulrich spat on the fallen man's body before wiping the blood from his blade, sheathing it back to his waist. “Besides, if he had lived someone would have eventually heard him screaming down here, and our cover would be blown.”
William turned to face Gawain, “The boy speaks the truth, even if he went about it the wrong way.”
“These are my students, William,” Gawain said. “Do not tell me what is wrong and right.”
“Of course.” William nodded, “My apologies.”
Leon noticed the skeleton key lying beside the lifeless body and bent down to pick it up, “What are you doing child?” Micha asked.
Leon stood back up showing Micha the key, “I have an idea.” When he walked out of the cell he stopped at the next and placed the key in the lock.
“Do not open that cell door,” Micha told him.
“Why not?”
“You have no idea what kind of criminals could be on the other side.”
Leon turned his attention back towards the door, “True, but I bet they will be willing to help us out to obtain their freedom,” he said without looking back. With a turn of the key, the lock clicked and he pushed the door open. Inside the cell were three scraggly looking men, they were skinny and frail looking. But the fire for vengeance still burned bright in their eyes.
“Come to torture more information out of us,” one of them hissed.
“I am here to offer you a deal, for your freedom.”
“What kind of deal?”
“Don't trust them, Thomas,” the other said. “Three wear the armor of the enemy.”
“Calm yourself, Geoffrey,” Thomas replied. “He does have a point though - if you are not a part of the castle guard why do the ones with you still wear the armor?”
William removed his helmet reviling his face to the men, “Trust me my friends, we are not a part of the castle guard. My companions and I are here to destroy a certain cannon that King Adan possesses,” he explained.
Micha took off his helmet and threw it to the floor, “Would castle guards take off their helmets to show prisoners respect?”
“They would not dare do such a thing, to them we are nothing more than scum,” Thomas answered.
“Now do you believe me?” Leon asked.
“It would seem that we do not have a choice.”
Geoffrey grabbed at Thomas's arm, “You cannot put your trust in these people.”
Thomas placed a hand on Geoffrey's shoulder, “Either we take the deal and maybe taste freedom once more. Or we stay here and end up like him.” He looked over at the other man in the cell with them. Whoever he once was, he had already been tortured to the point of madness and was no use to anyone.
Geoffrey nodded, “I understand.” He looked over at Leon. “What would you have us do?”
“Take this key, open all the doors to the dungeons and let the prisoners out. Give them an option to fight with you or stay in their cells, then storm the castle. That should give us the distraction we need to make our way through the castle,” Leon explained.
“You plan to use us to lead the castle guard away from you?” Thomas said. “Is that what you are saying?”
“That's the plan,” Leon replied. He held the key out for Thomas to take, “What shall it be?”
“And if we refuse?” Geoffrey asked.
Leon lowered his head, he didn't like what he was about to say next but this was not something he could give a choice on. He took a deep breath and looked back up at the men that stood before him, “If you refuse, we leave and the door will be shut behind us. And you shall stay a prisoner until the king has you executed.” Leon held out the key once more, “That is all I offer.”
Thomas grabbed the key from Leon, “I cannot promise you much, but we will do what we can.” He held out his hand and Leon took hold of his wrist.
“Thank you.”
“No, thank you. It's been far too long since we tasted fresh air, even if it may be our last.”
“Hell with the air,” Geoffrey interrupted. “I long for the thrill of the battle, to spill enemy blood once again.”
“Only if we have no other choice, Geoffrey,” Thomas scowled. “Remember we are still weak from starvation, and we have no blades to fight with.”
Gawain handed over the sword that he had taken from the fallen soldier from earlier, “Take this. I'm sure it will aid you in your endeavor.”
William did the same for Geoffrey, “Aye, you need these more than we do.”
“What of you?” Thomas asked.
“Do not worry about us, we are still heavily armed,” Gawain answered. “These are the blades we stole from the scouts outside the castle.”
“There is also an armory above us, I'm almost certain that key you hold will give you access inside,” William informed them.
The men gave their thanks before sneaking out of the cell. They could be heard going to each prison cell door opening them one at a time, then all was silent. “You could have handled things differently, Leon.” Gawain's words broke the silence that filled the room. “I did not teach you to be so ruthless.”
“I did what was necessary.”
“It is not necessary to gamble with the lives of others.”
“Lay off him,” Ulrich barked. “If not for Leon we wouldn't have this chance to destroy the Reaper Cannon.” He slapped Leon on the shoulder, “You should be thanking him.”
Gawain's eyes were filled with rage, “Keep out of this,” he demanded. “This does not concern you.”
“He is my friend.” Ulrich snarled. “Do not stand there and tell me what is of my concern.”
“I've watched you do the same, Master Gawain,” Leon quietly muttered.
“Speak up young one, let your words be heard.”
Leon looked at Gawain with tears welling up in his eyes, “I have watched you make the same deal with others. You have even decided who lives and who dies, is that not even worse than what I have done?” Anger was building up inside of him, and he clenched his fist tight trying to hold it back. But the two were interrupted by shouting above them, along with the scuffling of feet.