Without wasting a moment, Jax sent ten search parties to scour the surrounding areas. Most of the teams returned empty handed, but one of them found a valley an hour north of them with two or three thousand Gerak forces sleeping on the ground. No one saw the scout team, so they could swiftly attack in the night. But the order had to come from Jax, who was thinking of reasons why the civilians were described to be as dark as night. He would ponder the questions later; he ordered the attack.
He sent five thousand men to the spot the scout team discovered them in, but they were gone. They couldn't have just left. Someone would've seen them, but that was all part of Vran's design. He knew King Jax was searching for them, and he saw the scouts on the top of the hill.
Harvey had been long gone to attend to other business. Vran was leading his troops to the castle, which now only held one thousand or so men. He would have the numerical advantage. His design was working flawlessly.
Vran split the army into two parts. He would send the natives of Gerak and Frithe into the castle and risk their lives. If they survived, they would be killed later on by their own friends.
Picking Harvey and Christian's brains for details about the castle, Vran was prepared before he'd even been there. There was no moat or draw bridge. There were many entrances and exits, some secret, some well known. The castle would be guarded by regular military men. Once they got inside, they would face the king's guard. Stealth would be their friend.
The king had a few knights riding around the castle at all hours. Knights were very much a dying tradition, as the armor was often restrictive and made for difficult movement. But it withheld a lot of damage.
King Vran's men finally split into two groups. The white people in the army followed Christian, and the black people stayed with Vran. No one really remarked that they were separated by ethnicity. A few noticed it, but they didn't think anything of it.
Christian crept up to the castle and sent his men in three at a time. He had them take down the one soldier guarding the door. After about half of them were working their way to the king, he sent teams of three to attack soldiers who were posted outside the castle. He then waited for Vran to join, but he wouldn't until either everyone was dead or they had succeeded in the capture of the castle. He was leaving them on their own.
Stealth served to be their best friend, because there was actually two thousand troops within the small castle. There were two to three soldiers posted outside each room.
Vran was leaving his men to die. Christian signaled for Vran and his troops to help raid the castle. His Gerak forces were getting slaughtered by the soldiers. They needed help. Christian kept signaling from the side door, but Vran didn't budge.
One of his higher ranking men spoke up, "they're struggling, my king. They need our help."
But Vran didn't storm the castle, despite most entrances being left unprotected now. He waited and waited, but Bran was starting to realize what was happening. "Was this your plan all along, my king?" Bran asked.
"They are not our people," Vran told him.
"Have we not fought together for the last year? Have they not earned the title of brother?" Bran offered a philosophical argument.
"I will explain in due time. Trust me," Vran calmly said as he listened to the clashing of swords.
The Gerak forces were fighting for their lives. They killed more men than Vran expected, but they were starting to quickly fail. Christian waited by the door the entire time, but he ran away once he realized his signal meant nothing. He would live to fight another day.
