Soulstone

Prologue (2.0)

The crisp night air was faintly humid. Crickets chirped, and vast patches of darkness moved under the clouds. The light quality could have been better. The moon cast eerie shadows amongst the trees of Witherwood forest. 

The fortress of Dezondear loomed, it's towers gleaming in the faint moonlight. Soldiers paced the perimeter of the fort, some with spears, most with swords. The torches set along the outer wall lit the defenses up nicely for any potential threats.

Heta sharpened his knives. They were already pointier than dragons teeth, but it completed the image. The soulstone blades glowed, one green, the other a murky yellow. 

The demon stood, picking up one of his throwing knives with his long, dexterous, pointed tail. His skin was darker than the night sky, and reflected no light. He pulled his hood up regardless, and set off.

The demon of Loftlore mountain strolled casually up to the nearest stone wall of the fort, drew his blades, and began to climb.

Stone after stone, crack after crack, he jammed a knife into each. He knew none of the guards would notice him, just like he knew that, nearing the end of a two hour shift, they might not even have spotted him if he hadn't memorized their routes and paths throughout the fortress.

He peered cautiously over the top of the wall, before slipping onto the platform. Quickly, he jumped over and slid down the other side. 

Heta glanced at his goal, just past the main fortress. He slunk his way closer.

"Hey you!" A guard shouted from across the lawn. Heta didn't even glance behind him. One flick of his tail and the guard was boasting a shiny new knife, buried hilt deep into his chest.

Heta heard the clatter of armor as the guard hit the path he had been walking on. Heta could picture the shock frozen on his face. 

The rest of the walk passed without incident, excusing a maid Heta had had to dispatch. He stared up at a tower, large stone walls illuminated faintly by torches set next to the arrow slits. It was the strongest, tallest, most practical part of the fortress, featuring choke points, drop-away floors, and a unique design that limited movement and gave the resident force an advantage. It would be an extremely difficult climb, with a high risk of being discovered and potentially killed.

Even for a demon like Heta, the climb would take all night. Unless he wanted to go through the tower itself. But then he would almost certainly be discovered. A difficult decision to make.

Luckily, Heta wouldn't have to make it. He was climbing a different, shorter, less heavily guarded tower. The big one was a diversion.

Separate from the main fort, a smaller, rigid tower was just barely illuminated by the moonlight. Yes, being a tower, it was tall, but not to tall. This was the tower Heta approached.

The demon stared up at the massive wall in front of him.

Yes, it was summer, but the night air was still a little crisp. So, like-

He could climb it. 

Or he could just use the front door.

Two soldiers later and he was strolling up the spiral staircase. Heta was a little cocky. Granted, he was alert as well. Humans had surprised him in the past. But he assumed these humans would not  surprise him. In fact, they were being horribly predictable.

Heta arrived at the top of the staircase. Two guards were guarding a sturdy wooden door. They stared at him with surprise.

Heta pointed his yellow dagger at the guard on the left. A bolt of yellow electricity shot out, killing the guard instantly.