The Foreshadow of Balance
Page 21
CHAPTER XX
The Castle of Evensguard stood upon a hill that overlooked the city. Like any castle it was built in a place that made it difficult to get into, therefore the attacking force had to get in before the guards could close up the castle.
To do this it was decided that a small group should get into the castle, secure the gates for the rest of their small army to come through. That small group consisted of the Shadow Ranger, d’Gaz, Alura and three Lightningstrikes while Commander Harris lay in wait with his army.
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The Shadow Ranger had met with Harris earlier in the day and he had explained the plan.
“The Chinerthians, as you would know,” Harris said, “are all about might and power. To them deception or sneaking around is a sign of weakness.”
“But they are not easily deceived,” the Shadow Ranger said.
“No, they are not, but this is the weakness we can exploit.
“Evensguard and the other Capital Towns were built around the Capital as a line of defence. Everybody living in them is trained to fight and if they cannot defeat the invaders they can hold them up long enough for the Capital to prepare its defences.
“The Chinerthians have not considered that the Capital Towns also make good outposts for an invading army and so what should be their most heavily fortified positions are not well guarded.”
“It seems like a major oversight.”
“Yes, but with their overwhelming numbers the Chinerthians rolled through these towns as if they were not there. Anyway, it is the same in the town. They only took the castle as a show of their strength, and as they do not consider an attack to anywhere but the City, it is again, not well guarded.”
“How do you know this?”
“Many of the towns people work in the castle, they say the Chinerthians are not unfair masters, but they are all trained to bide their time until the chance to fight comes. We have been in contact with a woman who works in the kitchens. Again Chinerthians only see strength and have become lazy. There is a kitchen entrance that leads to the rubbish pile; it is seen as the worst guard duty rather than the most important weak spot in their defences.”
“Then that is how we go in,” the Shadow Ranger agreed.
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Now the strike team moved up in the gloom towards the kitchen entrance. Even from a distance they could smell the piles of rubbish, but they were too focused to let it bother them. The two guards, however, were trying to keep as far away as they could, moving around every time the wind shifted. They were so preoccupied with the smell and their own complaints that they never saw the Shadow Ranger nor d’Gaz as they snuck up behind them and silently took them down.
They went to the door and it was unlocked as they had been told and silently they crept in. There were three people in the kitchen and the strike party stopped short, but one of the men nodded to them and lifted up a towel to reveal a sword underneath. Mattaeus nodded back and the kitchen workers turned back to their duty as the team walked through.
Outside the kitchen was a stone hallway with a deep blue carpet running along its centre. Here the three Lightningstrikes went right and the others went left; they followed the corridor as it curved to the right and started checking rooms. The first two were empty, but the third contained three Chinerthian guards off duty and unarmed. Alura threw a blue light at them and they fell to the ground unconscious where d’Gaz tied them up. As they continued they came across a fat man in noble dress, he saw them and turned to run, but d’Gaz threw a small knife and it struck him in the back. The Shadow Ranger grabbed the fat man and dragged him into a room before any blood could pool on the ground.
They moved on and found a spiral stone staircase and started upwards. The plan was for the Lightningstrikes to get to the main gate and keep it open for the army whilst Mattaeus, d’Gaz an Alura took out anyone on the castle walls. They went up fast to find the battlements dark. They crept along, silently taking down any guards that they came across. Appearing out of the shadows before any man could scream and disappearing again before they were seen. d’Gaz had seen this trick before, that’s how he got the name the Shadow Ranger; somehow Mattaeus could disappear into the darkness.
They reached the main gate, as with most castles there was a lever to close the gate both above and below it and this area was well lit by torches.
“They’ll see us if we get any closer,” d’Gaz pointed out.
“Can you see the ‘Strikes?” the Shadow Ranger asked.
Alura peeked over the stone ramparts and saw three people in the shadows at the other side of the central courtyard. As they were two men and a woman, Alura assumed they were the Stormclouds and lifted her hand; a white light shone in her palm briefly and she could see them ready themselves.
“They are about to move,” she said as she crouched down again.
“d’Gaz, can you take down that farthest guard?”
d’Gaz pulled out his throwing knife. “Should be able to.”
“Then do it,” the Shadow Ranger said and suddenly he was running towards the guards.
d’Gaz sprang up and threw his knife. It whistled past the Shadow Ranger as he cut down the first guard and ran to the next. The farthest guard only had time to look surprised before the knife hit him and he fell back.
From below came a shout of ‘now!’ and Alura stood, raised her arm to the sky and shot a beam of light upwards. The Shadow Ranger and d’Gaz were already running further around the walls fighting with guards, but Alura could see the army moving up the hill to the gate. She threw a fireball at a guard who was raising his bow and arrow and he screamed as he ignited and fell off the wall. The army was now reaching the gate and alarm bells and shouts were ringing around the castle. Guards came out into the courtyard as Commander Harris and his men entered and swords clashed. More men came up onto the ramparts and Mattaeus and d’Gaz were fighting them one by one. Alura turned the other way to see more men and started throwing magic at them. In the courtyard swords clashed and rang and men groaned, screamed and died.
The fight was short and bloody, ultimately the Chinerthians were unprepared and outnumbered and within an hour of entering the castle the fight was over. The townspeople who were in the castle ran out into the town to spread the word and prepare to defend their town. In the morning the True King’s flag would be flown.