fight it.” He grins as he adds, “Korgan was a bit put out that the Lord of Hyrryth ordered all his men away. He argued that the fire was a ruse friends of mine had made so they could rescue me. But no one believed him.”
“I believe the guards you killed back there in the other room were all that was left here in the Keep,” he says.
“There were two civilians that fled when the fighting broke out,” Miko tells him. “They were in that meeting room going over a map with a couple soldiers. One of the soldiers we killed looked important.”
Nodding, Perrilin replies, “He was. That is if the body of the Commander of Ten I saw back there is the one you’re talking about. He was the Commander in charge of this region of the Empire. His loss will be a severe blow.”
Jiron comes to a junction of hallways and takes a moment to figure out the best way. Then he turns down to the right and they continue on.
“That’s not the first one we’ve faced,” James tells him.
“Really?” he asks.
“Yes.” He then briefly goes into the details of how Jiron had returned to Mountainside for his backpack that held incriminating evidence, his subsequent capture and eventual liberation at an oasis.
“That is truly something,” says Perrilin. “It’s said they are fearsome fighters and can wield magic.”
“True on both counts,” Miko says. “But the one we faced here in the keep only used one spell.”
“Maybe they only have one to use,” suggests James. “That was all the one at the oasis had used.”
“Could be,” agrees Scar.
Jiron comes to another junction of hallways and motions for everyone to halt and remain silent. Moving to the corner, he peers around the edge to the right. A dozen guards stand at the entrance to the Keep. Half are facing in while the others are facing out. Returning to where they wait, he tells them of the forces blocking the exit from the Keep.
“Any crossbowmen?” asks Reilin.
Shaking his head, he says, “No, just guards.”
“We can take that many,” Potbelly says.
Jiron nods his head then turns to Aleya. “How many arrows do you have left?” he asks.
She checks her quiver and says, “Eight.”
“Move out in the hallway and start taking them out,” he says “They’ll charge if they see only a lone archer. Just keep firing at them until they are close then let us know and we’ll move to engage them.”
“You got it darling,” she says and gives him a kiss.
Turning slightly red faced at the expression of affection, he says, “Okay, go ahead.”
To his embarrassment and the amusement of the others, she actually pats him on the bottom as she moves to the middle of where the two hallways meet. Pulling an arrow as she enters the junction, she puts it to string then turns and faces the guards at the entrance.
She aims for one of the guards who is furthest away from her and then takes a calming breath. Down by the entrance, she can see the guards take note of her standing there but fail to really pay her that much attention. Then she lets the arrow fly and has another to string before the first one strikes home.
When her arrow hits the man and knocks him backward with a cry, the guards turn as one toward her. She lets fly her next arrow and another man hits the ground as the rest charge. “Here they come,” she announces as she looses her third arrow. By the time her fifth arrow is in the body of a dead soldier on the ground, the charging men are too close to allow her another shot. Turning, she bolts down the corridor past where Jiron and the others are waiting.
“I got five,” she says as she races past.
“As long as you saved a few for the rest of us,” Scar replies. Drawing forth both swords, he and Jiron move to meet the oncoming soldiers. When the first one rounds the corner, he’s met by the point of Scar’s sword.
One of Shorty’s knives takes out the next one and then Jiron engages yet another. With knives weaving in and out, he works his way inside the man’s guard and drops him to the ground.
Potbelly, Stig and Reilin come next and the battle is joined. The skill of the guards is nothing compared to the skill honed in the fight pits by the men they’re facing. When Stig crushes the skull of the last man, Jiron hollers, “Let’s get out of here!”
Leaving the dead lying in the hallway, they race for the entrance to the Keep. No other guards make an appearance as they cross the remainder of the hallway and pass out into the night. The smell of burning wood fills the air and off to their right above the curtain wall they see the glow of the fires that rage within the city.
Ping!
A crossbow bolt strikes Stig’s shield and ricochets away. Aleya turns her attention to the walls above them and sees three crossbowmen cranking up their crossbows for another shot. Immediately putting arrow to string, she aims and lets fly. The arrow sails true and sinks its head into the chest of a crossbowman. The man staggers a moment as his crossbow falls from his hands. Then he plummets off the wall down to the courtyard below.
“Get the gate!” Stig yells to the others as he moves to put his shield between Aleya and the crossbowmen. No sooner does he have his shield in place than two bolts are deflected by its hardened surface.
“Thanks,” she says as she readies another arrow. Then, “Lower your shield so I can get a shot off.” When his shield drops half a foot, she aims, fires and watches as her arrow strikes yet another of the crossbowmen.
Stig raises his shield to protect her while she readies for her final shot. Taking her last arrow from her quiver, she puts it to string then aims for the remaining crossbowman. Stig glances back to where the others are racing for the gatehouse to release the gate lock. One guard lies on the ground dead while Jiron engages with another. Scar and Potbelly race past the two locked in battle and make a dash for the stairs leading to the gatehouse.
“Now Stig,” she says bringing his attention back to their situation.
Lowering his shield, he hears her release her arrow and then watches as the third crossbowmen falls from the wall. “Good shot,” he says.
“Thanks for your help,” she says. Then she rushes across the courtyard to the fallen crossbowmen to retrieve her arrows. Stig goes with her just in case she needs protection again.
Scar and Potbelly reach the gatehouse and in no time the grinding of the gears which unlock the gate can be heard. Emerging back out of the guardhouse, Potbelly yells, “It’s open!”
James sees Jiron finish off his opponent and says to Brother Willim, “Let’s get out of here.” He heads to the gate with Reilin and Brother Willim helping Perrilin following close behind. Jiron reaches the gate first and pulls it open. Expecting there might be an attack, he quickly scans the area and is relieved to find the street on the other side empty.
Glancing back within the courtyard, he sees Scar and Potbelly moving to join him. Then he notices where Stig stands near Aleya while she works to remove one of her arrows from out of a dead crossbowman. “Aleya!” he hollers.
She turns her head to glance at him, then returns to working out the arrow.
“We don’t have time for that!” he shouts.
“He’s right,” Stig says to her. “One more arrow won’t make all that much difference.”
“It may,” she says. Inserting her knife between the man’s ribs wherein the arrow is embedded, she spread them apart enough to allow the arrow to come free. Wiping it off on the shirt of the crossbowman, she stands up and puts it in her quiver. “Okay, let’s go.” With Stig following behind her, she races across to where the others are waiting. She managed to retrieve two of the three arrows.
Jiron gives her a stern glare as they approach and she returns one equally as severe. Deciding this is not the time or place to argue with her, he leads them down the street away from the gate in the curtain wall.
“Perrilin needs to rest,” states Brother Willim.
“Can you lead us back to the inn?” James asks. “The people there will take care of him. He’s in no shape to continue with us.”
Jiron stops and glances to where Perrilin is sagging between Brother Willim and Reilin. “Very well,” he says. Moving out, he takes a right at the next intersection and begins taking them along the same path they took when they followed the other guy to the keep.
Smoke permeates the air. Thick, but not so bad as to be unbreathable, just annoying. The people out on the streets seem to be rushing in no apparent direction. Some are heading toward the fire while others appear to be fleeing it.
