|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Nov 22, 2009 14:01:10 GMT -6
Lethenir smirked as he pulled the neck of his cloak up over his mouth. He stepped over to the window in the dark corridor and quickly lifted the latch to unlock the window. He pushed the two panes open wide and stepped up onto the windowsill in a crouch. He looked down from the side of the small castle and remembered the times he'd nearly fallen to his death during training. This time will be different..... He thought as he placed both feet and one hand on the slope that was the roof and slid from the window down to the small stone ledge at the end of the roof. The ledge was just wide enough for him to put one foot on it firmly. He took a step along the ledge, trying to maintain his balance as he moved towards the inward corner of the roof so he could then head in the direction of the front gate while on the roof.
Heh....a lot easier to maneuver up here than when I started. I'll definitely have to seek out that man and get his name. I owe him a great deal of gratitude.
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Nov 22, 2009 21:14:46 GMT -6
As silently and swiftly as possible, Lethenir maneuvered his way across the ledge, turning at the corner and following the ledge towards the front of the castle. It would be difficult to get down from the roof, so he had to search for the best place to do so. He had to do it unnoticed, too. He kept his knees bent, in a half crouch, as he moved along. He made it to the next corner and turned again. Only one corner left before he had to search for a way down.
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Nov 22, 2009 23:24:18 GMT -6
He hadn't been outside of the castle walls before. The thought of stepping foot outside the front gate at the edge of the courtyard....it was like a dream. A dream that he was about to make a reality. He had no knowledge of the outside world, and what little interactions with people he'd had were only when he wasn't doing things for the Duke. He intended to change all that. Now he had a chance thanks to the intervention of one man. His guilt had driven him to save the life of one boy....Lethenir snickered at the thought. He thought the man to be weak. Lethenir had put up with a life of punishment for a crime he didn't commit and this man had the right to be unhappy when he was free? Ha! Lethenir had respect for the man, though. He did admit his mistakes and even worked to change them. So far Lethenir hadn't had the chance to make anything but mistakes....in the Duke's eyes, anyway.
He turned the final corner and crept to the front part of the roof, leaning towards the roof from the side he was on to see over the edge down into the courtyard.
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Nov 22, 2009 23:55:28 GMT -6
The two guards that stood on either side of the front door to the main part of the castle and the two who operated the pulley to lift the front gate were the only opposition that Lethenir had. For someone like him, though, who was less versed in fighting, this could be a serious problem unless he was tactical about it. Two of the guards had swords and two had lances. The two with lances would be the most trouble, without a doubt, since lances had the reach advantage over swords, which was the weapon he currently had.
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Nov 24, 2009 22:11:22 GMT -6
Just as Lethenir was about to move back and try to climb down to a window below for a foothold he heard the metal chains and wooden cogs that controlled the front gate spring to life. The gate began slowly ascending. It was strange...why would someone be paying the Duke a visit so late. Usually nearly everyone in the castle was asleep by now save for the few guards needed to protect the entrances and exits. Who could it be?
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Nov 25, 2009 0:20:04 GMT -6
He crouched lower and peered over the corner of the roof as the gate reached it's summit. Three carriages all proceeded in and filled the courtyard. What in the world is going on?! So many visitors....so late....and those carriages....they don't look like the ones I've seen before from the castle windows....they seem too high quality to be commoners or traders. What's the duke planning? What's going on? Well....that did it. Lethenir couldn't even think of leaving right now. Freedom was at his fingertips, but something huge was going to happen. The Duke never had visitors of any sort save for trade caravans...and they had strangely become scarce recently.
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Nov 25, 2009 23:00:06 GMT -6
Lethenir saw several men get out of each of the carriages. These men looked to be soldiers, mercenaries, bandits, mages, and everything in between. They had their weapons on their person and looked to be ready for battle. This was a disturbing turn of events without a doubt. Lethenir turned around and began moving back towards the direction he came from. He had to know why these combatants had come to the Duke's castle.
As he rounded the first corner on his way back he hung himself down from the ledge and kicked his legs into the window below, which was open luckily for him. Landed in a crouch and quickly looked around the dimly lit room. He had landed in the maids quarters....none of them had stirred at his arrival though, so he crept to the door and slid out.
He saw that no one was in the corridor with him. Likely the guards were needed to keep these newcomers in check and everyone else seemed to have went to sleep already.
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Nov 26, 2009 23:26:14 GMT -6
Lethenir stalked the dark corridors with swift, silent footsteps. He knew that if any meetings were to occur, they would be downstairs in the main hall. That was the only place in the castle aside from the dungeons with the capacity to hold as many people as had arrived. Lethenir was headed for the staircase leading to the first floor when he heard the commotion that was being caused by the new arrivals. He couldn't make out words at this point...only loud shouts.
Lethenir moved towards the stairs and took his time going down to maintain his state of stealth. When he hit the bottom he could still hear the group, so he decided he'd make an attempt to tail them to hear what they were saying on their way to the main hall. It wasn't that far, but anything he could find out would be worthwhile.
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Dec 30, 2009 0:49:45 GMT -6
The group had just passed the corner where the stairs to the first floor let out and Lethenir took the opportunity to lean against the corner and listen in. He noticed that there were no guards around....he wasn't sure why....perhaps they were all in the main hall, protecting Zettz just in case. He then heard bits and pieces of multiple conversations.
"Yeah....snooty noble decided he needed us."
"He said he'd let ours out of the dungeon in exchange for our services."
"Oh...you all know what's really comin', don' ya? When we gather our forces we'll take this castle for our own and throw the duke in the dungeon to rot."
Up until now Lethenir didn't like anything that he'd heard, but it wasn't until the next one spoke that he realized that the bandits had to be stopped as well.
"Once it's ours all the men that served the Duke will join us or die and the women will be ours."
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Dec 30, 2009 0:56:20 GMT -6
Lethenir's face shifted to a mix of sorrow, guilt, and anger. He felt tears slip down his cheeks as his teeth clenched and his knuckles cracked. Sadness for the people here in the castle and what they would experience, anger at these men and at Zettz for their vile acts, and guilt because he knew he had to leave. There was nothing he could do to save them by himself....Zettz would rot, but he didn't want the others in the castle to suffer similar fates.
The heart of a tormented young boy was torn between his own fear and thirst for freedom and the guilt he felt for not doing anything to save those who had suffered just as he had. Especially the maids who were kind to him. He had no choice. He had to find a way. He still had time. These men were few in number right now. They still had to amass their forces before they could execute their terrible plot.
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Dec 30, 2009 1:15:27 GMT -6
He stood there silently trying to recollect himself. He heard the doors to the main hall open and then close. He heard merriment and negotiations. Those....Those monsters! They're drinking and laughing while they plot the suffering and murder of countless people! Innocent people! I....I can't.....I can't let this HAPPEN!! As he finished his thought he slammed his fist into the wall behind him. His eyes narrowed down the corridor to the front entrance. He would make a break for it.
Lethenir pulled his cloak up around his nose and mouth, keeping only his eyes and above revealed. He then ran to the door and placed his ear on it. The guards were chatting quietly right outside the doors.
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Dec 30, 2009 1:37:35 GMT -6
The moment of truth. Lethenir took a few steps back from the door. He grasped the handle of his blade firmly in his left hand and unsheathed the short, slender edge. He held it down to his side and sprinted at the door, aiming to shoulder butt the doors and slam them into the guards standing just outside. Although he wasn't as hardy as most, he could move faster than most which made up for his lack of strength in this case since he still was able to put a good amount of force behind the shoulder butt due to his speed.
Both doors flew open and two loud thuds were heard as both guards were hit and stumbled back from their positions. Lethenir landed firmly in the doorway and quickly bolted towards the left door to give another good smack to that guard while turning to face the other.
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Dec 30, 2009 1:51:23 GMT -6
The two guards that operated the main gate were absent from their respective guard boxes. It seemed as though they were to interested in keeping the small fires they had going and had gone to get some logs from the underground storehouse to the left of the front entrance. The doors to the storehouse were close, too, likely to keep the chilly Ilian winds off their backs while they looked for good tinder.
Lethenir's mind raced. The guard didn't seem to notice his short blade in all the chaos since only the lower tip was visible and the rest, even his arm, was covered by his tattered cloak. As the soldier pulled his own blade and lunged, Lethenir ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding the sword as it tore a piece of his cloak off and stabbed into the door.
Seizing the opportunity, Lethenir thrust his slim sword into the only open spot he could see on the guard's armor from this angle. It was below the right ribcage but just above the hip. It was probably only three inches in diameter, a small target for any swordsman. Lethenir was close, though, and this guard had put himself in a very bad position. Shlunk! the sickening sound of steel piercing several inches into human flesh. Lethenir had never heard that sound before. He watched, almost feeling as though time had stopped, as the part of his blade not submerged in the guard's abdomen quickly turned crimson.
The scream that the guard let out and then the one that followed from the guard behind Lethenir were the only things that snapped him back into reality. He jerked his sword from the first guard and peered over his shoulder to see his second attacker.
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Dec 30, 2009 2:08:33 GMT -6
Lethenir's first taste of combat had went off without a hitch, or so it seemed, but Lethenir was not so skilled as to perform flawlessly in combat. As he began his lunge towards the second guard, the guard's lance cut a small line across his cheek and the sliced open his right shoulder. If not for his sudden step to the left that thrust would have surely pierced his neck. Still, that hurt a lot and Lethenir flinched as he tried to follow through with his attack. His blade swung upward and managed to cut the underside of the guard's spear arm. It wasn't a deep cut, but he had managed to make it all the way through the skin and partially into the muscle.
The guard grunted inside his helmet as he took his lance in both hands and attempted to sweep Lethenir's feet out from under him with the blunt end of the pole.
|
|
|
Post by Lethenir Vanether on Dec 30, 2009 2:24:01 GMT -6
Lethenir's quick, nimble feet lifted him off the ground back away from the lancer. Not the brightest move since that gave his foe the ability to put his reach advantage to good use, but Lethenir swung his blade as he jumped back as well. It just caught the nose of his foe along the bridge, even chipping the bone. The sudden pain and small spots of blood that had been thrown in his eyes made his aim pathetic. He seemed to flail around wildly until he hit himself in the leg with the blunt end of his lance and fell over backwards.
Lethenir didn't have the will to kill these guards....but they wouldn't let him leave alive, and he was afraid, angry, guilty, and sad all at the same time. His emotions clouded his judgment now more than ever. He knew only one thing. He had to escape this place and find help. No one or nothing would stop him.
|
|