Jacob Harving and his crew had arrived near Castle Highrock in a few hours. Cautious as he believed his friend Ethan or at least partially, Jacob had taken out Spitefury and held the blade in his right hand. Jacob didn't know who to believe now that he thought about it on the walk here. After all, it is a bit hard to believe that a whole kingdom would just suddenly betray another for some reason and not be at the gates of Steelfrost by now, ramming them down and pillaging the peaceful village. Though it seemed peculiar, Ethan still believed that something went wrong. After all, Ethan was found covered in blood and with prince Erick's sword on him, so obviously something had to happen since Ethan isn't no thief. He stuck with his friend's words and looked for any Breynth soldiers.
The bowmen that stalked behind Jacob, firmly gripped their bows while each had a steel tipped arrow ready to be fired if Ethan wasn't lying. Suddenly, Jacob turned around a tree to reveal a small battle that had occurred in the forest outside of Castle Highrock. Radour soldiers, most squires, laid among the snow with blood around their lifeless corpses. Blood was splattered among the small battlefield as well as weapons ranging from axs, bows, swords, and even to a simple dagger. Jacob and the bowmen tensed up as they saw the scene. Though there had been a skirmish here, Jacob and the men couldn't precisely decipher whether the Breynths were responsible or not. After all, the bodies were only of Radour soldiers and not of the attackers, so it wasn't clear who had done the act.
Jacob and his crew spreaded out, checking the bodies for any sign of life. However, they had discovered none but only men with their eyes wide open with fear to reveal their final emotion before they inevitable death. Jacob stared into the open eyes of a young squire, who was probably eighteen by the looks of him. He had blonde hair that gently blew with the wind as his skin was cold to the touch, meanwhile the corpse of the once alive man just gazed back into Jacob's. Jacob never really felt bad for the dead, but then again he never had a moment like this before. He never had stared back into the eyes of the dead, and to see bodies of people as young as this soldier is. He had killed men who were most likely in their thirties, and even then he had felt bad for killing his first man. Though, this was different than that. This young man could've had a bright future as a merchant, blacksmith, or even a farmer, but he chose the path to be a soldier.
Look what that gave him: the only reward he got from being a soldier is being granted with open arms by death.
Jacob let out a soft sigh, looking over to the tracks in the snow that led toward Castle Highrock. "It appears whatever happened here obviously came from Castle Highrock. The attackers must've went back there after slaughtering these poor fools who had tried to run away. Let's go, but be careful. We have no clue what is on the other side of this forest and out in the fields of Castle Highrock."
With that said, Jacob and his crew left the bodies for the snow to cover like nothing even happened. Nobody would really care about these dead fools expect the people who loved them, and knew that they must've died since they hadn't returned from the war. Jacob and his crew left their prints in the snow, walking toward Castle Highrock as planned but evermore now tense and ready for a fight. Now, they knew definitely that something had happened, and they were so close to finding out. Jacob knew so as he could feel the tension about to break on the tip of his tongue.
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Meanwhile, back at Steelfrost, Overseer Daniel Mallick attended to his matters like every other overseer. However, his tasks had now become more limitless than any other now that some Radour soldier had popped up in front of his gates almost dead and carrying prince Erick's sword. He knew Arthas was going to be enraged by that fact, and it seemed he was right now that Ethan was locked away in the prison and four of his best men were out to reveal if he spoke the truth. Now, he had to be stressed about more things that the kingdom of Radour gave him. He had grew up in Steelfrost ever since his birth, and though he wanted to lie and say he didn't enjoy governing it, he couldn't bring his heart to do so. Yes, it stressed him out daily to make sure that the village got everything it needed and make sure that nothing bad could ever happen, but now his heart wanted to regret loving this village and wanting to take care of it like a baby. He could feel the grey hairs popping in once prince Arthas came in with his army, boasting about the war and declaring that he and his army settle here until their advancement into enemy territory. Of course, Daniel had to let him, or else he would be punished by the king for such behavior, especially toward his own son. Thus, the two princes stayed and their army slept in their tents behind Steelfrost, hidden by the foliage of the forest.
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Blood, Ice & Steel
Fantasía[ Book One of a Planned Trilogy ] In the winter 874 AD in the land of Escros, war has erupted among the three kingdoms of Radour, Breynth, and Vuriean. As Vuriean, a country ravaged by centuries of warfare, is about to be defeated by the combined fo...