The road started going over a hill and soon enough, the fort was on the other side. The times had caught up to it. Vines started growing on the walls, some of the stone has been chipping away and the roof of one tower was even caved in. There was at least some kind of repair done. The roof was replaced with wood but the walls still needed to be patched up.All of this was in one confined area. For a fort, this spot wasn"t a very good one. We can attack from the top of the hill and get some good area coverage with good enough archers.
Steven: "Is this it? It"s not as large as I thought."
Rayna: "They didn"t have a choice if they wanted a fort. It must"ve been difficult to move all this stone through Esnia at the time."
We scouted around the walls looking for all the exits. Though, there was only one and seemed like the only way in or out unless we scaled the wall. Which is easy to do because of the vines.
When a couple of people came out of the entrance and sat down near a fire pit, we hid behind a thick bush. Those had to be the lookouts and waiting them out isn"t a viable choice as they"re set up comfortably.
Rayna: "2 at the entrance."
Steven: "Are they our targets?"
Rayna: "One of them has a dagger in their belt. What do you think?"
That"s a really good eye…
We draw our bows and aim. I didn"t want to draw until Rayna said so. If we strike together, we can take them both down without risking one of them shouting and alerting someone else we don"t know about."
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Steven: "You already know."
Rayna: "Take the bandit on the left on my count… 3… 2… 1…"
Our arrows zipped through the foliage and Rayna"s bandit was struck between the eyes while mine got hit in the neck. They both fell down but mine squirmed on the dirt floor before he eventually stops loving.
Rayna: "Decent shot. 2 down. Let"s move in and hide their bodies."
We rushed in and dragged them by the legs around the corner of the fort. Rayna removes them of their weapons and tosses them towards the bushes. I left the arrows inside them as neither of us really had the stomach to see all the blood spurting.
Rayna: "If it makes you feel better, they probably hurt someone innocent. It"s either us or the executioner."
Steven: "Let"s keep moving."
Rayna"s justifications and att.i.tude remind me of bounty hunting in Shouyi. Except, we always caught our targets alive. It still feels pretty familiar with the forests and forts.
Steven: "You remind me of General Zhenya."
Rayna: "General? Did you forget who I am? I was once a princess with leadership experience."
It was risky to be moving through the front gate but it was the only way. Luckily, there was n.o.body nearby and we dash for the stables right next to us and begin scouting the area.
There was n.o.body around so they must be congregated near a single area or away from the fort. Either way, we"d have to be careful. We stuck to a low crawl against the wall as we aimed for a tower to the right of the gates.
Rayna: "Our bows are too bulky to move hallway to hallway. What we can do is use Wind magic. It"s silent and invisible. Conserve your magic power and use the dagger if they get close."
I equipped my dagger and was ready to cast Slashed Winds should it come down to it.
The first floor of the tower was dark and empty. It was unused, and casting candlelight proved it.
Rayna: "This floor is clear."
This placed aged considerably. Most of what can be called furniture was dusty, broken, burned, or even molded! It"s like n.o.body has stepped foot in here centuries and we"re the first to rediscover this part of the fort.
Rayna: "Steven, come on."
The second floor wasn"t too different. Although, it seemed to be the storage area. Nothing was burned or molded, but the numerous crates were dusty. Whatever is in these crates can"t be important if they let it felt this bad.
We moved again to the final floor. This time we were greeted with a ma.s.sive bedroom. The furniture wasn"t flashy or numerous but it was s.p.a.ced out making the room feel empty.
Rayna: "Tower"s clear."
Steven: "It"s a big, empty bedroom."
Rayna: "And I"m guessing n.o.body has been here since the morning."
The top floor had a door that led to a patrol path to the other towers. We peeked out to see if anyone else could see us as the path was very exposed. However, the clouds had been darkening and started a light shower.
Rayna: "Wow, this rain is going to get worse."
Steven: "That means we can be more lenient with noise."
Rayna: "True, but don"t get loud unless you have to. Come on, let"s clear the rest of the towers and secure the outer perimeter."
In order to minimize the chances of someone catching us on the path, we had to move fast and low to the other side.
Rayna: "You think this is where you ended up when you and Lilith were kidnapped?"
Could this really be the place? It"s way too small for a prison to be here unless it"s underground. Then that means we have to find the entrance and search it for anyone else.
Steven: "If that"s the case, then there"s a complex prison underground."
Entering the second tower, we realized it"s no different than the first one. A quick search of all the floors and we start to see a pattern. Floor one is unusable; the second floor is a variation of a storage area; the top floor is a bedroom.
We took a short pause to contemplate our next move when the door opens. It took us both off guard as 2 bandits casually walked in
Bandit #1: "Yo! We got food—"
Rayna reacted instantly, throwing her dagger as a throwing knife and hitting one of them directly in the heart.
Bandit #2: "What—?!"
I cast Slashed Winds and hit him in the neck, instantly killing him. Rayna rushes her bandit and tackles him to the floor. Grabbing her dagger and repeatedly stabbing him until she was sure he was dead.
Steven: "Rayna? You alright there?"
She jumps to her feet, breathing heavily. Taking a second to catch her breath, she looks back at me and nods.
Rayna: "Nice throw. Wind magic is hard to aim."
Steven: "I used to practice a lot… are you alright?"
Rayna: "Yes… b.a.s.t.a.r.d really scared me."
Steven: "Let"s keep moving."
We moved to the third tower where the pattern continued. Another bedroom with n.o.body in sight. I"ve never seen a place so empty in my life. We have one more tower and the main building in the middle and we haven"t even found half of the bandits!
Steven: "Another empty tower with the top floor being a bedroom."
Rayna: "It"s possible all towers could be bedrooms. The main building is where I"m expecting to find the rest."
The last tower was the one with a collapsed roof. We were too cautious to get close because the roof caved all the way into the bottom. n.o.body would be crazy enough to be here, especially when it"s raining.
Steven: "All towers are cleared."
Rayna: "Out of a suspected 11, we got 4 of them. 4 towers cleared, 1 was too damaged to even step foot in it."
She mumbled to herself before her eyes light up.
Rayna: "The rest have to be in the main building."
Steven: "Really?"
Rayna: "Yes. We have to be vigilant."