The Blue Flames And Rusted Swords

Chapter 7 (Part 1)

I scanned the yellow stone walls that shaped and formed into what I recognized as a castle. I thought I was reliving that one dream where I explored an abandoned castle, and it appeared just like this one, except the roofs were a different color. I had studied some information about castles back in Thervian, and the book is still underneath the mattress.

I could see moving figures as skinny as sticks move across the parapet walk. The battlements were as intimidating as the height of the nearby towers that loomed over the Bailey. In front of me were a lot of boys chained up in shackles. They all formed a singular line, each taking up an estimate of ten boys.

Behind all the lines of boys were different wagons, some pouring out with new prisoners and most just barren of them. The walls that enclosed the space had banners of red and a golden design in the center. The battlements had sharp edges that looked as if it could pierce the sky. I could still see dots, signifying the guards' heads that poked between the spaces of the battlements.

The lines spread throughout, and it wasn't just one long serpentine line of prisoners. A guard directed me to one line that only had about six. I walked by Cardan, and we locked eyes for a second before the guard shoved me into the back of the line. I bit back a curse and waited. In front of me, the barbican stood as tall and strong. The two corner towers that stood beside it had flags posted on top and some more figures that stood on the parapet walk, eyeing at us below them.

The pinnacles on the parapet appeared as sharp and reminded me of swords with the tip of the metal facing the sky. The sun reflected off of it, causing an irritant white glare. I shield my eyes away with my hand and cast my eyes somewhere else. The stones were sort of yellow in color and maybe a hint of tan.

The day was getting hotter, and the fabric began to warm up against my skin. My skin was getting warm as well, and not even a second later, sweat drips drown my neck. I was losing patience until I saw the lines move forward.

I can hear metal clinking against each other, the heavy marching that came from the soldiers, and the stone beneath my feet were dusty, and the color reminds me of sand.

We continued walking and were about to walk through the barbican. Before I went under the arch, I thought I saw someone from above, maybe a soldier, sneer at me. I gave him the middle finger before I was out of their sight and was through the arch of the Barbican.

We continued and were met into the ward where the stones were now a dull gray. The clouds covered the sun for a moment, but I didn't mind because I needed to cool off. It would've been better if the wind had come.

I was glad when it did but frowned when the sun came around and the clouds have parted.

'So much for shade.' I thought to myself.

The space felt so small, and the only thing I saw surrounding the whole ward were just the turrets. Below them, hang the same banners of red and a golden design of something I couldn't see from the distance.

The turrets had these circular tops with crenellations, and the walls that enclosed the ward appeared in the form of a circle, or maybe an oval. The walls were curved, and not even a single plant life lived here besides the vines that crawled on the walls. The weeds grew out of the cracks of the stone beneath me, and from my far left, I can see the tallest watch tower with a flag waving on top.

The walls were probably forty feet high, like any regular castle. The keep was all the way in the front, having arrow slits as an act of windows. There weren't any real windows to consider other than those arrow slits.

The keep, as tall as the rest of the walls, were decorated by gargoyles that rested on the parapet. The pinnacles were no longer those metal sticks that glinted off the sunlight but perhaps real stone.