TW: Violence

It was early. I could tell by the sunlight just starting to creep into our cell, behind the tiny barred window, much too high to see. It wasn't the sunlight that woke me. It was the loud footsteps shuffling down the hall, steps with no consideration that some people were trying to rest at this hour.

Groggily, I opened my eyes to see the lower half of a guard stop outside our cell. Feeling alert now, I forced myself to sit. Taking a moment to comprehend my surroundings, I saw the guard flipping through a set of keys before finding one, inserting it, and turning. The lock to our cell clicked open as he held the door open.

"General Graeme Blackwoode," his voice was professional, but I heard it waver momentarily as he spoke 'Blackwoode'. "By order of Oriad's court, you are set to be released at this moment."

Unsure, I stood up walking to the cell door which was being propped open by the guard. The guard stood, unmoving, holding it open. "You sure? The court was quite outraged as they threw me into the dungeons." I tested him, my voice was as lazy as a summer breeze.

"There have been changes in plans. They ordered for you to be released to operate."

Ivrette's note resurfaced in my memory as I made a quick remark. "If they need me, they will need George as well. He's more adept than most of the army, and he's suffering on behalf of my mistakes." Little white lies. Who would care to find the truth? What did it matter if this freed George?

The guard faltered again. All for the better. "W-well, I was only ordered to release you, General."

I stepped closer until I was practically breathing into his face. "Those orders may be from the court, but these orders are from the General," I whispered, making sure to emphasize the correct words. The guard was practically shaking, but I couldn't help but rub my point in. "I know the army better than anyone. If I say that Captain George should be released, I think it would be in your best intentions to listen. The General has the power to provide pardons, even if you've upset the court."

The guard nodded, his fear evident. The people feared the King, but they feared me more. Power and fear fit nicely. I didn't need anybody's love. Men do stupid things for love. Power drove me to the position I'm in today, and fear only fuels it.

Making my way to George, I shook him until he awoke. "What's going on G-Graeme?" He cut himself off with a yawn, his mind still waking up.

"C'mon you oaf. We're getting out of here."

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"Dell, once we pass that log, go into the woods left of me. Ivrette, go to the right." I spoke calmly, hoping not to scare the two. My heart was thrumming in my chest, a mixture of excitement and adrenaline fueling it. "Remember, if you're not at the rendezvous point by morning, I'm leaving without you."

    I caught a glimpse of Ivrette riding into the woods on my right, and Dell's grunt of confirmation before he sped off. My head spun to look behind me as I saw Ravennisse's guards continuing to pursue us. They had effortlessly split to chase after the three of us, but I still had three out of five of the patrol on my tail.

    No one had questioned George's return, even though I was welcomed back with open arms. I was told of my assignment, and now, not even three days later, here I ride with my companions, escaping one of Ravenisse's patrols. I was told to bring two other companions to infiltrate Ravennisse's palace and return the king.

    For my first, I chose Dell. He was crafty, and sneaking among other traits that would greatly help us break into the castle. I didn't name her but told the court that my second would be an "acquaintance", one that didn't serve in the castle.

    I simply left out the details that my acquaintance was George's sister.

    Judging by how often she snuck into meetings and her talent for gathering confidential information, she would also greatly benefit us. Even if my skills in those areas didn't match theirs, my blade made up for those gaps. No one could rival my talent with a sword.

    We had crossed the border and used the forests to our advantage as we trekked through Ravennisse. Any lone patrol units were disposed of. These past few days, as we traveled further to the capitol, I noticed an increase in security. We would hear large groups of guards riding past, and today, some of them snuck up on us, leading to this chase.

    Each day as we woke, we chose a meeting location for the chance that we were to be separated. Earlier, we had decided to meet at the foot of Mount Yakknot. During the previous war, the one where Glaciavge fell and Oriad grew, there had been numerous attempts to break into Ravennisse's capitol.

The capital, Harnbuldar, was one of the most well-guarded cities in the world. In the basin surrounded by mountains, the easiest way in was a large path carved through the mountains. It was always monitored, and it would be stupid to try to invade the city through it.

In an attempt to breach the city, tunnels had been blown through the mountains. There were hundreds of them, but decades of low maintenance made the already dangerous tunnels more hazardous to travel. The easiest ones to traverse were the most popular ways to break into the city, hence guards always watched them. We had to choose a route with minimal supervision, but safe enough to travel through.

Our option had been one tunnel. It was long, crossing multiple mountains before ending near the castle. It would take a lengthy period to travel, but it would lead us close to our destination. We only had to hope that our sources yielded accurate results, not shafts blocked by tons of rock.

For now, I had to focus on outrunning the guards. Delta was one of the fastest horses in the land, and I was relatively certain that I would escape them at this pace. At times, she reacted even without my command, leaping over roots I hadn't glimpsed or jumping logs even though I hadn't given the command.

Delta was so alert, that if she didn't act on her own accord, she would have a sword in her chest, life seeping out of her as fast as we had been riding.

It took me a fraction of a second longer to comprehend what was in front of us. A guard, one that had diverted from the group cut us off. One who has his sword pointed toward us to stop us.

Delta had paused millimeters from the blade, and I heard the rest of the guard slow as they cornered us. Looking around me, escape would be impossible as they had begun circling me.

"Dismount the steed and drop your weapons," the guard who had cut me off spoke, still pointing his sword at Delta."

A plan formed in my mind, the pieces still fitting together as I dismounted Delta. I focused on the guard, and slowly lowered my hand toward the sword that hung at my hips. At the same time, I bound toward the guard, pulling my sword out of its sheath. It took a second for me to swing, my momentum powering the swing.

My blade connected with his armor and sliced clean through, severing his neck from his body. Blood flew like droplets of rain as my sword passed through the other side, coated in blood and bits of debris. His head fell before his body, teetering for a moment before it fell backward, falling on top of the helmet-clad head, a clang finalizing the act.

I heard the other guards before I saw them, and I spun around with my sword, hoping to connect it with flesh again. I wasn't as lucky as my blade connected with another, a second guard pushing against it in the hope of unbalancing me. I saw the third approaching, and struggling with him for a moment, I was able to throw my weight into the blade, making the guard stumble. A kick to his stomach was enough to make him fall, but before I could complete the final action, I sensed a sword swinging at my head.

Ducking, I turned to the third guard, he recoiling from the missed swing. Smirking, I knew it was my turn to attack, and he couldn't do anything to defend himself. Aiming, I sliced at his hands, effectively cutting off his sword hand. The hand remained gripped on the hilt for a moment before it fell to the ground. Shrieking, the guard's severed arm bled profusely, blood coating the hilt. In his panic, his remaining hand slackened as the sword fell from his grip.

I heard the second guard rising, attempting to strike me in the neck. It seemed that Ravennisse only had one form of attack. It was simple to dodge the attack again, and the guard stepped back trying to recover from his swing. It was a move that may have bought him a few more seconds. Walking to meet him, I lunged at his stomach, him attempting an awkward move to block my attack.

It failed.

He crumbled as my sword pierced his body. It pulled out easily, grinding against bits of bone and armor. He'd be dead soon, if not already, and wasn't worth any more attention. Turning, I looked toward the guard without his hand, hunched over, trying to stem the flow of blood.

Hearing me step toward him once more, he looked up, his remaining hand still holding onto the stump where his other hand had been moments before. "P- please," he pleaded with me, fear evident in his voice. "You've already taken the lives of my companions and m' hand. Is that not enough? I- I have a family, m' wife gave birth days ago. I'm pleading with you, sir."

The tiniest flicker of sorrow flared inside me. The pure desperation in his voice struck a chord with me. That was raw emotion, not something you could fake. He had a point, and they were only trying to do their jobs. It was just unfortunate that they found me. "Go," I spoke. "Go back to your family. If I see you again, don't expect me to be as kind."

He would be lucky to survive the ride home. At the very least, he had the hope of seeing his family one last time.

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    The tunnels were miserable. Even though we were well prepared, it required miles of walking per day across rough terrain. The original path we scouted out wasn't as effective as we thought, obstructions such as boulders or ditches making the trail impassable. Sometimes, we had to backtrack for hours, taking a risk on a new path.

    Our source of light was a trapped fairae. They were annoying little creatures, but most people turned to them when they needed a seemingly endless light source. They could feed off human emotion, and our feelings of agitation and restlessness were enough to fuel it.

    We relied on cold preseratives and had to sleep on the cold, rock floor. Everything about the tunnels was cold. The cold was reflective of how horrible they were. I didn't know if it was days or weeks that we spent in them, but when I finally saw the light of day again, happiness filled my core. Spending weeks in a cave makes someone forget how precious those warm rays of light could be. It certainlt beat a small well of light trapped in an encasing.

    Dell and Ivrette seemed to have similar feelings. We had all gotten to the mountains, both of them outrunning the guards without any problem. The events of the past few weeks had been hard, even on my body, and I couldn't imagine how it would be for my companions.

    I could hear their relief as they saw the light, but I held out a hand to stop them. "Let me investigate," I spoke, uncertain about what conditions would meet us outside.

    They complied as I slowly walked toward the tunnel exit. As the exit became wider, I saw nothing but a blue sky outside. I was hopeful, but I would be out of my mind if it were a tunnel leading to other mountain peaks. Traversing outside the tunnels was dangerous and without cover, it wasn't worth it.

    Stepping to the edge, I smirked as I saw the sight in the valley below us.

    At the base of the mountain was a church, the castle in reasonable distance. I saw the townspeople going about their day, specks as large as ants. We were about a hundred feet above the town, but it wasn't unreasonable. It would be possible to traverse during the night, especially since there wouldn't be any snow or ice. The original exit was nearly five times as high even though it was closer to the castle. Considering our situation, the outcome was more than desirable.

QOTC: Seeing him in action, do you think Graeme's overconfident, or is he truly one of the greatest warriors?