A Kaskian Story: Leaon, the Kings General

Chapter Eight

Erik sat in his tent, staring at the flame flickering within the lantern hanging near the entrance. He sat in a trance, listening to the rain crash into his shelter, thinking what he could do to free himself and find his family. As the storm intensified, his thoughts changed from his family to the torture that Cladon bestowed upon him. A torture he knew lasted for days but felt like years. Shaking his head from his distraught, Erik walked towards the opening of his tent to see his guards fighting the storm, wanting to head back to their own tents for shelter.

Pulling his cloak over his head, Erik walked quietly into the storm, checking his surroundings and the locations of his guards. He tested their response to the sound of his leather boots walking in the muddy ground. One step, the sound deafened by the wind that howled in the night, two steps, the guards were no more aware of his progress as the first, three steps, a few paces away from the fence that surrounded his tent, four steps, almost behind the oblivious men, five steps, he reached a cloaked hand and grabbed the gate with no acknowledgement. There were two guards at the entrance of his camp with one on each side and two in the back of the camp.

Confident that he could move freely within his prison, Erik slowly walked back to his tent. Once free of the weather, he took his hood off as he gathered supplies, a chisel that he hid one day in his boot, a bag that he stored what little food he had within his shelter, and most importantly, his ring that he leaves in his tent while working in the forge. After placing the ring on his finger, Erik pulled his gloves on, tightened the straps on his boots, and pulled the hood back over his head. He blew out the flame within the lantern before slowly making his way back to the gate, chisel in hand.

One step, his boot squelched in the mud, two steps, the guards were oblivious, hiding their faces within their hoods trying to stay warm, three steps, lightning flashed in the distance, four steps, his foot sank in the sludge, fifth step, thunder shook the heavens as Erik stuck an hand through the gate, grabbing one guard from behind, hand over mouth as the chisel was thrusted into his back. The guard's struggle was drowned out by the sounds of the storm, his partner unaware of the assault while pulling his hood tightly over his head. After a few seconds of resistance, the man's body went limp in Erik's grip. He released his hold, dropping the body to the ground as another flash of lightning appeared over the river, the other guard finally seeing in the darkness what had occurred.

The second guard tried to sound the alarm only to be drowned out as thunder echoed over the encampment. Erik quickly grabbed him by his collar, pulling him into the gate and the chisel that was now deep in his chest. Try as he could, the guard could not free himself of Erik's grip as his life slowly fled his body, fear in his eyes as he realized his time had come. With the second guard dead, Erik quickly climbed the gate, landing next to his victims to retrieve a sword from one of them.

As quietly as he could, Erik ran towards the nearest tents, hiding behind them as he glanced around corners, looking for any guards on patrol. There were only a few tents on this part of the zone where the soldiers who kept guard stayed, giving a small amount for backup if there were an emergency. Only a few tents stood between Erik and the river, where he hoped there would be fewer guards so he could head north towards the mountains. The mountains he thought would be his best option to lose the soldiers, he was sure they would find the bodies he left, soon. With how bad the storm was, they would be hard pressed to follow with large numbers, the mountain being too dangerous for them.

Looking past the tent, Erik saw three soldiers walking in the direction he needed to go. Feeling confident that his movements would be drowned out by the storm, he sprinted in their way. A few paces behind them and still no acknowledgement of his presence. In a few seconds, Erik was right behind them, thrusting his sword in the back of the one on the left as he kicked the middle soldier into the last one. As the two stumbled into each other, Erik brought his sword into the stomach of the second guard and then tossed his body aside before he slashed the final guard across his neck, decapitating him.