Bloodline

Fight or Flight - part 30

Zircon continues, "That first mage overpowered our entire army using only a flick of his wrist. Even using my skills and weaponry they still damaged me almost to the point of being knocked out before I used the vial. It gave me a rush that I had never felt before." "And this allowed you to kill almost our entire force here in this part of the country? This allowed you to take our hundreds of men to their deaths, not even leading them properly?" Damian says, the sun setting over the mountains where the fort is, the figure in the grass coming even closer to them. "Like I said, I was blinded by this power, I felt like we had enough of being tossed around like we were nothing, and because of that reckless thinking, I ended up killing those soldiers in the battle."

The figure finally reaches almost arms reach to them, and pulls out something. "There was no coordination between you and those soldiers, they fought on their own which caused them to be struck down, and even with those plans we secured we dont even know what the inside of the fort was like regarding their positioning, so there was no way we would've gotten through there safely or with at least more than half the men we have now." "Then this should fix your problem once you do manage to cut through them." The figure says, standing up and revealing itself. Damian prepares his weapon but Zircon stops him, looking at the familiar enemy symbol on the shoulder of the green and black cloak. "You again? Since when did you reach here without us knowing?" Damian asks, the assassin from long ago laughing a bit. "I remembered our encounter back before you guys reached that forest, a stick that was in my way rustled up the grass and I revealed myself to him." She points at Zircon, him looking at her then looking at the stars. "I remember it clearly, if it wasnt for me throwing that knife, we wouldn't be talking like this, but what brings you to us and how did you know we were going to be here?"

The assassin twirls a knife, "Your men keep constantly talking about you two, practically everyone there is wondering what the king's son will do to the hired assassin, especially due to that massacre a few days ago." Zircon looks away, Damian looking at the thing in the assassins hands. "What is that sheet? Is it the plans to the fort?" "Actually yes, but there's much more to it than a layout." She reveals it to the two, the stars shining down on the sheet.

"Holy mother of...this fort is much more dangerous than we anticipated..." Damian says, Zircon staring nervously at the sketches of the layout and other things. "There was no way you guys would've gone through there due to the positioning of some areas, and especially with the special walls that allow for weapons like spears to pierce anyone on the other side, and the rotating areas of the fort, you all would've been trapped and cut down." "This fort is practically a labyrinth in a mountain, and this looks completely different from the plans we managed to secure from an officer we killed before." Damian and Zircon look at each other for a bit, and then back to the page.

"Knowing this, its almost impossible to make a plan without them having thought about it already, but there could be one thing we could do..." Zircon says, Damian looking at him. "What could that be? We have less than half the men we had coming here, supplies are low due to building the fort, and now all this? What could possibly stop all this?" Zircon looks away, looking at his hand as he builds up a ball of smoke. "There was that launcher I saw you guys use when we were beginning to lose our foothold, so maybe if we could make more of them, attach the pikes to a sort of pulley, and pull the pikes back once they hit the walls, we could essentially bring the fort down from the outside." Damian looks at him for a second, then paces. Just as he does this, more figures pop up from the grass, looking at them. The assassin is the first to speak, "Sisters! How did you find us, who was it that told you where I was?" Another speaks up from the group of six. "It doesnt matter who it was, they have been dealt with, and now for betraying the king, you and those that were with you will be struck down, including the two next to you." Damian and Zircon go into their defensive stances, and the assassins pull out their weapons. "You have one chance to put your weapons down and surrender, then we'll give you all a quick death." They all look to each other, then back at the assassins, keeping their composure, the standoff dragging on as they all wait for one side to attack first.