Demon Hunters

Casus Belli III

Once, the castle might have been a truly formidable obstacle with its imposing outer walls that had been lined with embrasures for archers to shoot from. The moat that surrounded the structure would have made sure that no siege towers could be used, and though not particularly large, the castle would have certainly contained enough rations for its garrison to survive a long siege. However, time had passed, and warfare had changed. Modern cannons would make short work of the walls no matter how thick they might have been, and concentrated barrages of musket fire would then finish the job. Indeed, the owners of the castle must have understood this, as it had certainly seen better days. Of course, Gabriel was quite happy with this state of affairs. He lowered his spyglass and sat on his bedroll. All there was left to do now was to wait for the sun to set.

I certainly wish I could have made a campfire, Gabriel thought to himself as he fished out a dry piece of bread from his pouch.

In order to stay as hidden as possible, the would-be assassin had decided not to stay in the small town at the foot of the castle. Remaining undetected was going to be the key to successfully completing this mission, and as such, he could not afford to draw any attention – even the smoke plume from a fire would be too much.

Father's ruse seems to have worked. According to the informant, a large contingent of guards left the castle just before I arrived. Judging by how few men I've seen patrolling the walls, I'd guess that there are only ten or so men staying in the castle.

Gabriel gritted his teeth. According to Bruno's instructions, he had met the informant by the road to the village. As soon as he had received the report, he had eliminated the informant and hastily buried him in a shallow ditch not too far from his camp. Of course, this act of brutality had been motivated by logic alone: after all, there was no telling if the informant had actually been trustworthy, and him alerting the denizens of the castle would have been disastrous for Gabriel's aspirations. As the mission was so critical, no loose ends could be left. Still, having to kill someone just out of an abundance of caution did make Gabriel uneasy.

As Father likes to say: the ends always justify the means. I'll have to make sure to arrange him a proper burial after I'm done here.

Gabriel stuffed the rest of the bread into his mouth and gazed at the castle absentmindedly. No blueprints existed of its design anymore, so he was going to have to improvise once he made it inside. Hardly ideal, but he would have to make do. And, indeed, the haphazard nature of the whole assignment did excite Gabriel. Today, he would prove that he was the finest tool at the church's disposal.

***

As night finally fell, Gabriel made his move. Under the guise of darkness, he made his way to the foot of the castle, making sure to duck into cover whenever he would see a light appear over the battlements. As he reached the moat, he cleared it with one leap and then quickly stuck to the wall. He made his way to the backside of the castle, opposite the town, and stopped. Once he had made sure that no one was above him, he closed his eyes. As his horns protruded from his forehead, Gabriel could feel his strength increase. He turned to face the wall and slammed his hand onto it. As expected, the decaying stone was brittle enough that he could create indents with only his hands. He repeated the process with his other hand, slightly higher this time, and started to slowly scale the wall. Whenever he would hear a sound or see light, he stopped until it had passed. It didn't take him long to reach the battlements, and as he vaulted over the ledge, he couldn't see any of the guards nearby.

They are really not expecting anyone attacking tonight, Gabriel thought. This should be pretty easy.

Though this was, by all accounts, a fortuitous development, Gabriel couldn't help but feel a tad disappointed. His heroic mission into a castle crawling with enemies had just become a lot less exciting. However, he quickly brushed off the notion. His mission, the reason he was here, was far too important for him to be acting so childishly. He focused on the matter at hand and observed his surroundings again. By the looks, only five guards were stationed outside. Two were stationed on the balustrade, while two others guarded the drawbridge leading into the castle from the town. The final guard was posted next to the keep, seemingly moments away from nodding off.