Traitor.

Watching Cordelia walk away hurt. The divide separating them became clearer now than ever. He’d never even met a noble before Cordelia and he’d come to like her – as a friend. At least up until this point when she was escorted into the safety of the fort, while the rest of them were left outside to fend for themselves, to starve.

Begrudgingly Erend made his way back to the edge of the forest. He sent a few glances toward the drawbridge on the way, wishing for it to lower again.

As the sun set the group gathered once more, without a large part of the civilians there.

The merchants must have reunited with their families.

The guards were still there, and so were Charles’s and Erend’s families, and surprisingly, so was old Bernard. Apart from them, a middle-aged woman and two children stood near Johann, making it obvious they were his family.

“Where’s Cordelia?” Anya asked the group.

“She found her family. They let her inside the fort,” Erend answered with a shrug, obviously disappointed.

“I see... Well, there is no use in crying over spilled milk. What have you learned?”

Erend was the first to answer, “The nobles have taken over command of the fort. The military seems to happily agree to their whims.”

“I heard that they use the safety and food as a means of recruiting more soldiers,” Charles interjected.

“I heard they will only be lowering the drawbridge once a day to let the recruits enter the fort,” Mary added.

Anya raised her eyebrows at that, “They must have lost their minds. Does anyone know who the nobles in command are?”

“Cordelia’s mother seemed to have some sway; they didn’t even protest to lowering the drawbridge just to let Cordelia enter.”

“We can assume that they are among the upper echelon then,” Anya concluded.

“So, what do we do?” Albert asked.

“If we manage to force our way inside, we won’t be able to stay without neutralizing the entire force. That’s just not happening,” Johann voiced.

Anya nodded, “Agreed.”

“What if we create a diversion and steal one of the ships?” Erend asked.

“It would have to be one hell of a diversion, do you have anything in mind?”

“No. Not yet at least.”

Charles stepped up, “What if we organize the civilians to storm the fort when the drawbridge lowers? That has got to be enough of a diversion for us to sneak onboard a ship.”

“Setting sail takes time boy... We’d have to fight off any who try to board us in the meanwhile,” Bernard.

Johann raised his eyebrows, “Still, that sounds doable enough, we’ll just have to block the soldiers from boarding us. If we hoist the gangplank, they’d have to place ladders and planks to be able to get to us. If any are brave – or dumb – enough to climb the hull, we’ll just have to stop them. Doesn’t have to be more than a two-man job.”

“Okay, say we manage to take control of the ship. What then?” Bernard didn’t relent. “I’m the only sailor here, aren’t I?”

“Luckily for you, we are all quick learners,” Anya answered with a smile. “Seems like the best, if not only shot we’ve got at making it out of here. Are you all sure you want to do this?”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The crowd fell silent, but everyone nodded along, showing that they were sure.

“Good. Then the only thing left to do is to organize the civilians without the soldiers and nobles catching on to what we’re doing. If we, the guards, go around talking It’ll be too obvious. So once again we’ll have to rely on you all to do the talking,” she said and gestured at the civilians. “Tell the ones you manage to convince that we storm the fort as soon as the drawbridge lowers next. We can’t take any chances and wait. If the invaders march here when we’re still locked outside, we’re as good as dead.”

She looked over the group; no one disagreed, “Good. Let’s get some rest. Leave the guarding to us for tonight. We’ll need you rested tomorrow.”

They didn’t need to construct any shelters this night. Since most of the civilians had left the group, they could all fit in the tents that the guards had brought. The tents weren’t large, so it was hot inside. With each breath, Erend could see the condensation build on the roof of tarp.

He wondered if he’d meet the grey woman in his dream tonight as well. He hoped so. He wanted her to show him how to use the spell she’d forced into him. Without any name being told he’d named it Stone Shot since it ... well, shot stone.

Just as he was on the cusp of falling asleep, he could hear a whistle, off in the distance, frantic shuffling just outside his tent followed.

“Everyone, wake up! Something’s happening!” Albert shouted.

Erend hurriedly stuck his head out of the tent to have a peek around.

“The drawbridge! It’s lowering!” he exclaimed.

Anya wasn’t slow on the uptake, “Everyone, get up, quickly! Just bring what you don’t have to pack and stay close together. If the opportunity arises, we run for the docks.”

The group quickly got up. Thomas carried the still groggy Elle in his arms while Erend threw their bag over his shoulder.

They weren’t the only ones who’d woken up. All around the moat, civilians stirred into motion. Panicked shouts could be heard echoing inside the fort.

“What the hell is going on?” Erend asked while taking in the sounds.

“Over there, look!” Charles shouted and pointed.

Sailing through the air they could see the origin of the whistling sound. A projectile of pure white sailed through the air with a wide arc.

“Isn’t that Cordelia’s spell?” Erend asked, absentmindedly.

“It is!” Charles exclaimed, “I knew it! She didn’t just leave us, I knew she wouldn’t do something like that!”

It seemed he tried to convince himself as much as the others.

The chain mechanism roared as the drawbridge fell on the ground with a resounding thud.

It seemed like the civilians didn’t need any convincing. They rushed to the fort with a frenzy akin to a beggar feasting on day-old bread. They pushed and clawed at each other to reach the gate. When it didn’t budge, they climbed. Some fell screaming into the moat, some made it onto the walls. The soldiers on night watch were pitifully outnumbered. They made a valiant attempt at repelling the certified horde of frenzied civilians but were inevitably overpowered.

“Let’s go,” Anya ordered. “This’ll probably be the only chance we get. Go! Go!”

The group rushed across the drawbridge. It had calmed down significantly since people had started scaling the walls, but the atmosphere was still teetering on madness.

Thanks to the guards and their weapons, people let them pass relatively unobstructed. They reached the gate and felt it was still locked shut from inside.

“I’ll get it, captain. You all wait here. Look after my family,” Johann said. Without waiting for a response, he began scaling the wall with practiced prowess. Before long he left their sight, as he scrambled over the edge.

“For now we hold this ground!” Anya ordered. The three remaining guards spread out and secured a perimeter, not allowing the civilians behind to crowd them, and block the door.

Erend and the rest stood behind the guards and tried their best to look menacing, a somewhat successful endeavor as most of them also carried weapons, with Erend still carrying the knife he’d borrowed from Johann.

They managed to calm the crowd and established a status quo. That was until the gate’s lock let out a clanking and a clattering. With a loud creak the large door began to open.

The crowd burst into life again as they pushed against the guards, intent on entering the fort.

“Hold them until the gate is open enough to let us all in!” Anya barked and pushed at her shield.

Erend and the civilians pushed the backs of the guards, giving it their best effort. But it was futile. The crowd was massive, and their little group was an ant in comparison. They were rapidly being pushed back.

“It’s open! Go!” Johann screamed from behind them.

In a moment of collective understanding, they abruptly stopped resisting the crowd. The civilians hadn’t been ready for it and tripped over themselves, giving the group just enough time to turn their heels and rush through the gate.

Erend thought the worst part of the whole night was over, as he crossed the threshold and bore witness to the pandemonium inside the fort.

Civilians fought empty-handed against the soldiers who’d barely had the time to arm themselves after waking up. Doors and alleys were being boarded up with civilians taking shelter within, barricading themselves in hopes of weathering to storm.

“Which way to the fucking docks?!” Albert shouted, clearly agitated.

“This way!” they heard from atop the walls.

Cordelia leaped from the wall to a roof nearby and then dropped down to stand amidst the group.

“This was all you?” Anya asked.

“Yes, but we don’t have time to stand around. Follow me!” she shouted and began leading the way.