by F. P. Spirit
“Lloyd! Titan! Behind you!”
Lloyd pivoted sharply and found himself face to skull with another boney creature. The lead skeletons had regained their footing and were flanking them. Lloyd reacted just in time to block a scimitar swung at his head. He caught the creature with a glancing blow that sent it backpedaling away from him, completely off-balance.
At that same moment, he heard a voice beside him. “Don’t worry! I’ve got this one!” The shout was followed by the clang of metal and the clattering of bones. Lloyd chanced a quick look over his shoulder and watched Titan block an attack by the other skeleton, then slam it in turn with her mace. By the gods, she’s good.
Lloyd would have loved to observe further, but he had his own battle to fight. His opponent had recovered and was advancing on him again. He blocked its sword once more, and then smashed it with his other hammer. It did not take long after that. He rained down blows on the monster until only a pile of shattered bones remained.
His opponent demolished, Lloyd spun around and scanned the battleground. Titan stood a few feet away, over a fallen skeleton, pummeling it into pieces with her mace. A few feet up the path, he spied Seth sitting on top of a headless skeleton. The creature was completely tied up, its feet twitching, but otherwise immobile. A chuckle escaped Lloyd’s lips. Seth never ceased to amaze him.
The halfling pointed up the trail. “I think Brundon could use a hand.”
Lloyd followed Seth’s finger and saw a strange sight. The bottom half of a skeleton stood in the middle of the path. He watched curiously as Brundon rushed up behind it and kicked it with his boot. The creature whirled around and began chasing him, but Brundon dodged and ended up behind it. The tracker kicked it and dodged again. It was like watching a strange dance.
A familiar voice came from behind him. “He sure is stubborn.” Lloyd turned in time to see Titan walk up beside him, a thin smile across her lips. “I guess we should go help him.”
Lloyd fell in beside her. They walked up the trail together as the crazy fight continued. They stopped a few feet away, watching as Brundon dodged the skeleton again.
Titan chuckled softly. “Would you like a hand?”
Brundon glanced their way and shook his head. “No, I got this.”
Titan glanced at Lloyd and shrugged. “Like I said, stubborn.”
Lloyd had a sudden idea. He held out his hammer and called over to the tracker. “Hey, Brundon, care to try it out?”
Brundon had just swung behind the skeleton again. He glanced over at Lloyd and his eyes fell on the proffered weapon. A broad smile spread across his face.
“Don’t mind if I do.”
“Sure, accept his help and not mine,” Titan said with mock disappointment.
Brundon backed away from the sightless skeleton. “Only his weapon, love, only his weapon. Of course, if you want to hand me your mace…”
“No, no. I’d like to see you wield that hammer.”
“Suit yourself.” Brundon reached the two of them and accepted the hammer from Lloyd, attempting to heft it with one hand. Without warning, the head of the hammer dipped and began to fall. Brundon swiftly grasped it with his other hand, catching it just before it hit the ground.
A short laugh escaped Titan’s lips. “Having some trouble there?”
“I’m…just…fine…” Brundon grunted. Slowly but surely, he lifted the hammer back up. He grasped it firmly with both hands, and after a few test swings was able to effectively wield the weapon. “See, piece of cake.”
Titan chuckled under her breath. “Yeah, sure it is.”
Brundon ignored her, turning and rushing the roving skeleton. In a couple of minutes he reduced it to a pile of cracked bones. Brundon stood over the pile with a grim look of satisfaction on his face. “Well?” he said, glaring defiantly at Titan.
“Oh yes, all hail Sir Brundon, the skeleton slayer.”
Sharp snorts of laughter broke out from down the trail. Lloyd turned around in time to see Seth roll off the skeleton he had been sitting on and fall onto the ground. He lay there laughing until he couldn’t breathe.
Titan taunted him further. “Well, Sir Brundon, there’s another skeleton waiting to meet its end via your mighty mallet.”
Brundon fixed his partner with an acid stare. It quickly faded though, replaced with a half twisted smirk. “Why not.” He shrugged, then strode down the trail to finish off the last skeleton. While Brundon joyfully hammered away, Lloyd and Titan rejoined the others.
“Nice work, everyone.” Glo’s eyes drifted in the direction of the hammering tracker, the corners of his mouth upturning slightly.
Aksel looked from Lloyd to Titan to Seth. “Did anyone get hurt?” No one had. “Good. Now then, let’s pack up and get moving. We still need to make it to the top of the hill, and there’s no telling what we’ll find when we get to the keep.”
Lloyd and Titan went to gather their things. As they put away their spare weapons, Brundon joined them. He stood there, both hands out, proffering the heavy hammer to Lloyd.
Titan smirked. “Get out all your pent-up aggressions?”
Brundon appeared unphased by the jab. “Absolutely, love.” He looked at Lloyd and winked. “Free therapy works every time.”
Lloyd took back the hammer, a slight smile crossing his lips as he watched the tracker head back up the trail. He was beginning to understand Brundon. He reminded him a lot of his older brother, Pallas. Smug and self-assured, his brother had always looked down on Lloyd, much as Brundon did with Aksel and Seth at first. His brother was also proud and independent, as was Brundon. But they were also alike in one other way—they appreciated talent.
Brundon obviously recognized that in Titan. A lot of men wouldn’t work with a woman warrior; they’d be too intimidated by someone like her. Yet despite their verbal jabbing, he sensed a mutual respect between the two. Lloyd had little doubt that when things got tough, they would have each other’s backs.
Titan grunted softly as she lifted her heavy pack onto her back. “That was a nice little warm up, wasn’t it?”
Lloyd stretched his arms to work out some left over kinks. “Definitely. Nothing like a little sparring to get your blood flowing.” Secretly, he thought the entire encounter bizarre, but he was not going to admit that aloud.
They rejoined the group near the pile of boney remains. Once everyone was gathered, the small company resumed its ascent up the trail to the top of Stone Hill.
Brundon went ahead, the rest of the company following slowly behind. After the run-in with the skeletons, stealth seemed warranted. The path gradually wound its way up the moonlit hillside. Dark shadows fell across the trail from rocky outcroppings and the occasional tree, but the night remained quiet and the route was otherwise clear. The group of adventurers made it to the summit of Stone Hill with no further incidents. Brundon met them down the path just below the hilltop. He motioned for the others to follow, leading them off the trail and across the slope a bit to the north. When they finally reached the summit, the entire group was well hidden by some large boulders.
Glo peered out from behind their rocky hiding place and saw the shadowy outline of the keep off in the distance. The summit was mostly flat and devoid of vegetation, giving him a clear view of the dark structure. The elven race could see fairly well in low light, and with the moon behind him, Glo could see much of the castle ruins.
He judged the structure to be roughly a quarter of a mile away. There was a long, high wall facing them with a tower rising well above it at the north end. A faint greenish glow radiated out from the parapet at the very top. Glo thought it strange, but there was nothing more to be seen at this distance. The main keep sat behind the castle wall, dark except for a single lighted window on the top floor.
Back behind the rocks, the party gathered in a circle. Brundon reported his find
ings from his brief venture onto the summit.
“I saw another roving band of skeletons go by. They were well out from the castle wall, but this group was headed south. I followed them a short way and then noticed them slowly turn west. My best guess is that they are patrolling the ruins in a circular pattern. As for the keep itself, it looked mostly deserted, but there was a light on the very top floor.”
Aksel stroked his beardless chin. “Hmmm, so we have patrolling skeletons and someone, or something, awake in the keep.”
Brundon nodded. “Oh, one more thing. On my way back, I got a closer look at those walls. They are definitely crumbled and cracked in spots.”
Aksel smiled at the tracker for the first time since they’d met him. “Nice work. If someone is awake in that keep, and there are patrols, an alternative entrance might be our best bet.”
Glo followed up on Aksel’s train of thought. “If there is a crack in the walls large enough for us all to fit through, then that could indeed be our entrance into the keep.”
Seth gave a casual shrug. “I could check it out.”
Aksel mulled it over. “That would probably be best, but even if you do find a way in, we still need to know how often that patrol goes by.”
“I’ll go back out with him and time them,” Brundon offered.
Aksel nodded. “Excellent. The rest of us will wait here and get ready to move as quickly and as quietly as possible.”
Brundon and Seth both disappeared into the night. The rest of the group prepared for a silent dash across the hilltop. Lloyd and Titan made sure that all their straps and weapons were tightly tied down in order to reduce noise. Glo and Aksel rummaged through their packs, making sure nothing was loose. By the time they were done, half an hour had gone by. Shortly thereafter, Seth and Brundon reappeared. The two looked a bit somber.
“So?” Aksel asked the duo.
Seth spoke up first. “Well, there is a crack at the base of the tower large enough to crawl through. I checked it out and the other side was deserted.”
“There’s just one small hitch. There are two parties of skeletons circling the keep.” Brundon sounded clearly embarrassed at his initial oversight.
“Two?” Glo said louder than he intended. He lowered his voice. “How far apart?”
“Ten minutes. Each group makes a full circle in about twenty minutes.” Brundon shook his head, still annoyed with himself. “If only I hadn’t followed the first group, I wouldn’t have missed the second one.”
Titan reached out and placed a firm hand on her partner’s shoulder. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Anyone could have made that mistake.”
Aksel was sympathetic as well. “I agree. There’s no use blaming anyone now.” He turned toward Glo. “How long do you think it would take us to reach the castle wall?”
Glo estimated the distance versus the speed he thought they could travel. “Assuming we’re trying to be quiet, I’d say about six minutes.”
“Brundon and I can be there in three,” Seth chimed in.
Aksel stroked his chin as he silently thought things over. “We could go in pairs, but I don’t like the idea of getting separated.” He paused another moment or two, then laid out his plan. “Okay, here’s what we do. Seth and Brundon go back out and keep a lookout for the next skeleton patrol. Take Raven with you. As soon as they’ve gone by, send her to us. The moment she gets back, we’ll take off for the castle wall. We go as fast as we can while still being quiet. If Glo is right, we should be there in just about six minutes. That’ll give us four minutes to sneak through the crack and into the tower before the next patrol comes through.”
“Sounds like our best bet,” Glo agreed.
Lloyd was raring to go. “Then let’s do it.”
Titan grinned. “Lead on and I will follow.”
Brundon and Seth headed back out as planned and took Raven with them. A few minutes later, the bird came winging back and landed on Glo’s arm.
“Nantë desiel,” she said in her small voice. They are ready.
The party took off toward the keep at a brisk pace. Lloyd held his hammers to minimize the noise they would make in his pack. Titan held her mace and did her best to not clank, which was no small task in full plate armor. Nevertheless, the warrior managed to remain relatively quiet during the rush toward the keep.
About halfway to the ruins, they met up with Seth. The halfling took the lead. The moon, now well up in the sky, cast its silvery light over the hilltop almost too well for Glo’s liking. As the keep loomed closer, he mentally kept track of the passing minutes. So far they were making good time. Before long they made it to the base of the ruins.
Glo glanced upward at the dark outline of the large structure. He estimated the keep walls to be about twenty feet high. The tower was much taller, maybe four times as high as the walls. Seth ushered them to a spot at the base of the tower. At ground level was the vague outline of a large low crack. Glo gauged the opening to be about three feet wide and two feet tall—just enough for them to crawl through.
Aksel fired off directions, the words tumbling from his mouth. “Seth, go through first and check it out. Brundon stay here and keep a lookout.” He turned toward Glo. “How much time do we have?”
Glo did a quick mental calculation. “About three minutes.”
“Then let’s move.”
Seth was already in the crack. As soon as he disappeared, Lloyd got down on the ground and began crawling through. The young man’s long form was soon completely gone.
“Glo, go next,” Aksel whispered impatiently.
Glo got down flat on the ground. The hole in the wall looked very dark from here. The sides and top were jagged and rough, attesting to the fact that this crack was natural. Glo could barely make out a dim light at the other end of the cramped tunnel. He began moving forward on his elbows and knees. It seemed like a tight squeeze, but his thin frame never touched the walls or the ceiling of the small passage.
When he finally reached the other side, he got a quick glimpse of his surroundings. The inside of the tower was mostly dark, except for a sliver of light coming through a crack in a doorway to the left. He could barely see the outlines of his companions gathered around in the dim light. Glo swiftly stood up and moved away from the crack. He turned and watched a small shadow shoot through the opening and roll to one side. He heard Aksel’s voice.
“Glo, how much time?”
“Just about a minute.”
The sudden sound of metal scraping on stone came from the crack. Glo stooped down and thought he saw a glint of silver in the dark hole. He could barely hear Brundon’s voice from the other side. “What’s with all the bloody noise?”
They heard Titan’s strained reply. “You try crawling through a hole this tight in armor.”
“Lloyd, quick, help Titan!” Aksel whispered, his voice frantic.
A large form moved in front of the hole, cutting off Glo’s view. “It’s alright, I’ve got it.” Titan’s voice filled with fierce determination.
The large form backed away from the hole. There was another loud scraping sound and a silvery shadow popped out of the hole onto the floor in front of them.
“Glo?” Aksel’s voice called out anxiously.
Glo had been counting down in the back of his mind. “No time left,” he said with alarm. The skeletal patrol would have rounded the corner of the keep by now.
“Shhh.” The soft sound wafted out of the hole in the wall. It had to be Brundon. He must have seen the patrol and dove into the crack. They waited in tense silence for the tracker to speak again. A few minutes passed until they heard his voice again. “It’s okay. The patrol just went by.”
They all breathed a collective sigh of relief as the shadowy form of the tracker climbed out of the crack and joined them inside the dark tower. “Not sur
e how they didn’t hear us with all that racket.”
Titan crossed her arms. “Next time, you wear the armor.”
Brundon’s voice took on a mock innocent tone. “You know I chafe, love.”
“Alright you two, save it for after the wedding,” Seth said to the pair. “Right now we have a job to do.”
Glo nearly burst out laughing. Leave it to Seth to cut to the chase. He suspected the halfling wasn’t that far from the truth. There was definitely more between these two than maybe even they realized.
There was a moment of silence, then Titan whispered, “Not in a million years.”
Brundon’s response was equally soft. “Make that two million, love. Make that two million.”
Inside the Ruins
I think it’s time to shed a little light on the subject
Now that they were safe from the patrol, Glo took another look at their surroundings. It was too dark to see much of anything, even for sensitive elven eyes. The only thing visible was the large door hanging partially open at the south end of the tower. Through it he caught a glimpse of the courtyard beyond.
“Brundon, go check the courtyard. Make sure there is no sign of movement out there,” said Aksel, now sounding far calmer.
“Sure thing.”
One of the forms around them moved off toward the doorway. The door cracked open slightly wider, outlining a dark silhouette. The group waited in silence until the shadowy figure rejoined them.
“It all looks quiet. There’s nothing moving in the courtyard, or the keep, from what I could tell. But there are torches in places along the walls, and it will be hard to sneak across if someone is looking.”
Aksel sounded apprehensive. “Okay, that could be a problem. We need to find another way into the keep.”
There was no way they were going to do that in the darkness, but Glo had a remedy for that. “Brundon, can you go back and close that door?”
