Alran was invisible, His feet didn't make a noise and his movements were soft but quick. Dressed in a dark grey cloak he covered the distance between the forest and the keeps walls. Black in this kind of mission was useless, He knew that the second he managed to get into the keep the shadow black cloaks the nocte Laminas wore on similar missions would show like white on the grey walls. He quickly reached the walls. He had been watching the walls for days, Looking for a weak link in the shifts of the guards. The guards were on there shifts for 6 hours, between that time was a 5 minute gap, leaving the walls without guards for 5 minutes. He had judged his first day of seven the height of the walls, 28 feet exactly, Very low compared to his past contracts. Alran waited....and waited....Finally the guard turned around and began walking away to go wake the other guard to take his post. When out of hearing range Alran drew his grappling hook from his cloak and spun it around before releasing it sending the steel hook soaring up into the air before gripping the castle wall. He gave it two tight tugs from two different positions to test it, and then in a flash he ran his way up the stone wall, pulling the rope as he went. In less than half a minute he reached the top and grabbed the ledge before pulling himself over. Grabbing the grapple he released it and threw it through the air into a bush, making sure it hit something light and not a rock which would surely attract the attention of the guards patrolling on the ground.
Alran silently began moving across the wall, Slightly crouched over to make himself less likely to be spotted but keeping a steady speed. The castle was large, with a 28 foot wall surrounding it with 1 connection of the wall and the castle leading to the third floor. The castle had 4 towers and was in Alran's mind a large rectangular block, each corner having a tower. From the height of the castle and the amount of windows Alran guessed it had a total of 8 floors. He reached the bridge between the wall and the castle and just as he went to turn the corner he heard a Screech! from the rusted hinges on the large wooden door leading inside. Immediately pulled his cloak up and pushes his body against the wall. Blending in with the gray stone and the darkness of Night. "Time for another boring Night on the watch" said one of the guards walking by Alran. The guards wore red tunics, Chainmail, gauntlets and half helmets that Alran knew would supply no protection against him. He did not move a single inch as the guards passed, When they were at a safe distance he let his cloak drop and he continued across the bridge to the doors.
Taking a small glass bottle of grease from his pocket he pulled the cork out slowly and then began to drip the grease over the door hinges. Any noise could attract unwanted attention and this grease he had heated up in the embers of the fire he created would hopefully silence the old hinges. After finishing he smiled slightly before grabbing the door and very slowly began opening it. There was still a very slight screech but it was so silent he knew the guards 300 feet away wouldn't hear it. When the door was open just enough to allow him to squeeze through he quickly entered the castle and with the same speed closed the door behind him.
Alran scanned his environment. the hallways were dimly lit with only a few torches, one guard was sitting on the ground with his head down, from the audible snoring Alran could tell he had fallen asleep. Alran easily made his way down the hallways, up a staircase and down another hall. With only one floor left it was important he reached the top floor. Turning a corner however made his hopes of completing the contract was less likely. The entire hallway was guarded by Knights in Shining armor. Alran knew he could easily defeat them if he was in the open, But in a hallway he had a disadvantage.
Before he lost all hope he felt a cool breeze touch his face, slowly turning to the left he saw a window that had not been replaced yet and he smiled. Climbing out the window he looked down and guessed he was a good 7 stories above the ground, looking up he could see the next window not far away, ten feet he guessed. Jumping up he grabbed hold of a small ledge and pulled himself up before grabbing the window ledge and pulling himself inside through the open window. Falling forward he rolled forward to silence his landing and then proceeded down the hallway.
Alran looked down at the Lord sleeping in front of him. He had a bald and clean shaven head, he was overweight and slept in a bed covered in fine silk and fabrics. He was a short man, a typical bastard, He let the people in his fief starve and was one of the 20 Lords in Kalvara, the enemies. Thunder flashed through the window as Alran drew his dagger, The blade had a slight curve and was covered in ash to block the reflection of the steel. Alran heard the thunder 4 seconds later and he knew what time he would strike at.
The thunder flashed, he waited.....and with a swift motion he brought the dagger down, stabbing it through his chest and into his heart just as the thunder boomed so the quick gasp the Lord made would not be heard. By the next flash of thunder he was gone...the blood of the Lord now staining the bed a dark crimson and his eyes glazed over indicated his demise.  | Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
Story Outline  · Recent Additions © Copyright 2024 Othinox (UN: othinox at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Othinox has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work within this interactive story. Poster accepts all responsibility, legal and otherwise, for the content uploaded, submitted to and posted on Writing.Com. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author