The Bronze Spears were Achilles' strike team, composed of only the strongest and most skillful soldiers in the army. He doubted any of them had expected to wade through literal shit, but they took it without complaint.
The air smelled of waste and disease, unidentifiable muck sloshing against their shins and splashing their armor. Achilles led the way through the pitch black, bearing it with the untouchability he bore most things with. The tunnel seemed to be miles long, and they had already walked for hours. He could see why the Amajans hadn't bothered defending the tunnel.
It was a death trap, and without Achilles’ aura defending them, he suspected most would have already contracted some sort of horrible disease. As it was, Achilles was flagging. Defending so many men for so long was a tiring prospect, and he almost breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the faint rays of flickering light ahead.
Sure enough, it was torchlight flitting through an iron grate in the street. And Achilles cautiously poked his head through the grate to get his bearings.
They were in the middle of random streets, but he was able to get a good view of the castle looming overhead. With only a faint idea of the correct direction, navigating the convoluted tunnels of the sewer system was difficult, but Achilles managed, and in only half an hour, they found themselves under a grate leading into a courtyard in the castle's inner walls.
In the sparse light, Achilles turned back to his men, his dimly glimmering eyes saying everything that needed to be said. They saluted in return and began unslinging their spears from cases on their backs.
They knew their task.
And they would not fail them.
—-----------------------------
This time, when Achilles knocked on Helena’s door, it was not dressed as a servant. The familiar “come in” echoed through the door, and Achilles entered, calling her name softly as he did so.
Predictably, she called him in and met him with a passionate kiss, recognizing him even in the flickering torchlight. Then she pulled back, wrinkling her nose. “What's that smell?”
He waved her away. “Don’t worry about it.”
She looked doubtful for a second, but dropped it with a shrug. “Anyways, what are you doing here? It's dangerous.”
He spun his spear and smirked at her. “Getting you out of here.”
She stepped back, her elation collapsing. “Achilles, I told you, I can't leave my sisters.”
His smirk deepened, and he followed her retreat, feeling like a boy again as he brought his lips to her ear. “We’re not leaving them. Get dressed.”
She pulled back, flushed, and shaking her head to clear it, looked at him skeptically for a second. He gazed back at her as openly as he could, holding nothing back. She shivered for a second, but decided to trust him, and retreated back into her room to gather her stuff.
Not a minute later she was out, draped in a cloak, and together they left her room. As soon as the heavy wood door was opened, the faint echoes of combat were apparent, the clash of metal and the screams of the wounded alike.
Helena looked at him with wide eyes. “You took the city.”
“No quite” he replied, frowned as he tilted his head to take in the sounds. There should not have been this much sound, not so soon.
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Something had gone wrong, and badly by the sound of it. Right on cue, the tolling of a massive bell began to ring through the halls, warning everyone in the palace of the enemy force.
Achilles cursed, and made a snap decision, turning to Helena. “We need to get to your sisters. Where are they?”
Wordlessly, she began to run down the hall, and he followed. The halls were as confusing as ever, but Helena ran through them as if she had lived there her entire life, deftly dodging the ostentatious decorations. The sounds of war grew louder as they got closer, confirming Achilles fears.
The Amajans had gotten to Helena’s sisters first.
As they rounded the next corner, Achilles barely managed to stop Helena from being skewered by a unit from the Bronze Spears. He snapped a glance over them, seeing the blood on their spears. “What happened?”
“The king had more guards than expected, General. One managed to get away and warn the rest.”
“Did you complete the mission?”
“Yes. the king will never wake again.”
“Good, and the prince?”
“We could not find him.”
Achilles frowned, before shaking himself back to the present. That was a problem for later. “Very well. I will handle that. You all must escort Lady Helena to the meeting spot. Protect her with your lives.”
“Yes. general!” the chorusing answer came.
Helena started to protest, but Achilles silenced her with a finger.
“I don't have time to argue, my love. My men fight and die even as I linger here. I swear upon my dream I will bring your sisters back. But I cannot do so if I need to protect you as well. So you need to go with my men. Can you do that?”
Helena glared at him with fire he’d never seen from her, making it clear he would pay for this later, but relented and gave an assenting nod. “Tell them, ‘sparks like rain’ . They will listen.”
Achilles didn't wait another second, unsheathing his spear and sprinting in the direction of the sounds of fighting. The walls blurred around him, precious artifacts becoming nothing more than vague blurs as he hurled forth. When he finally arrived at the sounds of fighting, a unit of Amajan guards surrounding a small group of Bronze spears, they didn't even have time to react before he struck them like a bull, scattering men and creating a opening for the spears to strike back, which they did with hoarse roars.
A second later and it was over.
Achilles nodded to the half-dozen wounded spears, and slipped through the door they had been fighting in front. A blur rushed at his face and he barely managed to duck, his eyes focusing in time to see a soldier struggling to pull a giant axe out of the door frame. Achilles felled him swifty, taking note of his bearing.
He was in another lavish sitting room, complete with several reclining chairs and lit by flickering torches. He stepped over the body of the soldier, making his way further into the room. Immediately, he had to lean back to dodge a thrown dagger, watching as it flew out the door, and he turned to see another young woman, perhaps a year or two younger than him, stepping out from behind the couch, brandishing a knife at him with trembling hands. “S..s..step no..no f..f..further.”
She looked just like Helena, with her violet eyes and curly black hair.
He set his spear down, showing his empty palms. “I mean no harm. I’m Helena’s lover and I’ve come to free you all.”
She lowered the dagger slightly, but still looked wary. “She told me to tell you, ‘sparks like rain’”
She looked at him with wide eyes, but after a second relaxed. “Brissa, come out. He’s here to help.”
Another girl, Brissa, came out from behind the couch, looking to be a mere teenager. She looked curious instead of scared. “Did you really attack Amaj just for Helen-”
The sound of a warning yell interrupted her, and Achilles’ blood ran cold. He whirled around just in time to see beams of torchlight glint off a bronze spearhead, rushing right towards Brissa. He reacted on instinct, snatching the spear out of the air and hurling back the way it came.
“Hide! Quick!”
He charged outside the room, spear ready to defend his men, only to find the last of them slowly sinking to the floor, half a dozen spears protruding from his broken armor. The rest of his squad was already on the ground.
He scanned his surroundings, finding him surrounded by a semicircle of armored men, pinning him against the wall. Beyond the circle of torchlight, he could see occasional glimpses of more men. The ranks directly in front of him parted, letting a figure through.
Hector cut a heroic figure in the uncertain light, his blond hair gleaming and blue eyes shining. “I knew you would be here. Helena would never leave her sisters behind.”
Achilles snarled at him.
He smirked. “Surprised to see me? You really thought I could leave the insult you gave me alone? No, you blemished my honor, and you stole my women.” His expression darkened, hand going to his hilt. “For that you die.”
He unsheathed the sword.
“Kill him.”