/Huff/
/Huff/
A lonely person runs through the paths of once magnificent Skalitz, where beautiful wooden houses once stood, now resembling a sea of fire. The attackers have thrown their torches onto the roofs, and they are still at other houses. The dry roof quickly ignites into a fire that devours the houses, turning the night into a hideous day.
Screaming, people run out of their houses to avoid burning inside or suffocating through the smoke. Yet, outside, they are met with hell on earth as the attackers wait in front of their doors. With curved swords and raised shields, they form a semicircle in front of the doors, while their archers prepare to shoot arrows through the open doors.
Everything seems professional, as if they have done it countless times. It's surreal, like in the stories Connor's father loves to tell.
The mass of opponents is overwhelming, and the resistance is minimal. For every enemy killed, at least six men from Skalitz fall. On the streets, there are sporadic corpses of citizens; some are still recognizable, while others are so mutilated that it turns Conner's stomach.
To avoid drawing attention, Conner runs through the narrow alleys that few take because they are too far off. He stops and looks through the alleys leading to the main path, checking if he has been spotted. Yet, as if he had all the luck in the world, the glances of the attackers do not focus on him, giving him time to reach the approaching castle.
His breath is erratic, and his heart pounds so loudly in his chest as if someone is playing a drum.
/Badum/
/Badum/
By now, Conner is stumbling more than running, as his strength is leaving him. Only the thought of safety propels him forward. His body is drained of every ounce of strength, but thanks to his strong will, he can still put one foot in front of the other.
Suddenly, he doesn't stop because of another corpse he finds on his way to the castle. It's not about the corpse itself, but more about the person leaning over the figure on the ground, searching the body.
Apparently, this attacker is looking for riches the person carried. His hands delve into the pockets of the dead, and even the shoes are not spared, as the dead man might have hidden his money there.
"Is everyone in this place poor? Where are all the rich people we were promised?"
As the soldier speaks, his eyes linger on the glittering object on the hand of the dead man. "Well, look at what we found after all, don't you think?" he says, patting the dead man on the shoulder. On the fingers of the deceased was a ring, not noticeable at first glance, but not escaping the soldier dressed in Hungarian chainmail. On his head, he wears a shisak, impairing his field of vision.
Laboriously, he tries to remove the ring from the dead man's finger, but it proves challenging. Even after several attempts, he can't succeed. Spitting on the finger doesn't make the task any easier. When his patience wears thin, he reaches for his sword and strikes at the finger, smashing not only the desired finger but also a significant part of the hand. Only after the fingers are severed does the man bend down, seizes the finger with the ring, and tucks it away, finger and all.
A shiver runs down Conner's spine as he witnesses this. He wants to do something, to stop the person, even if it's just an attempt. He wants to punish this person for the injustice Skalitz has suffered. Ideas form in his mind, only to be shattered once again. It's only when the soldier sets aside his sword to search for coins or jewelry with both hands that Conner has the brilliant idea.
Slowly and with hesitant steps, he creeps toward the soldier. To reach him, he must step out of the safe shadows and into the street illuminated by burning buildings. He tries not to make a sound as he inches behind the soldier.
Swiftly, he seizes the sword lying on the ground and immediately attempts to strike to sever the man's neck. However, the soldier has grabbed his sword and stopped him. In a power struggle, they tug at the sword.
"I knew there was another one here. When one is found, the next isn't far away," the attacker begins to laugh softly, looking into Conner's eyes. Only pure greed is visible in them.
Slowly but steadily, the sword lowers toward Conner, as the soldier possesses more strength. It reminds him of the sparring sessions with his father, where he could never prevail. As Conner takes a step back to create more space between himself and the blade, he slips on the blood-soaked ground and ends up on his back. The attacker, who fell with him, now lies on top of him as the struggle for the sword continues.
"You're quite persistent. Why won't you die?" the soldier shouts in Conner's face. His saliva drips onto Conner's face and runs over his cheek toward the ground. The blade continues its journey toward Conner's throat.
With one last attempt, Conner whistles, but the man ignores it. In the next moment, a beast shoots out of the shadows and overwhelms the soldier directly. The teeth of the creature bore through the leather pants of the assailant.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
/Ahhhhahh/
The beast, none other than Shadow, doesn't let go of the leg it seized. On the contrary, its teeth tear more of the leg. Shadow ignores the screaming soldier because this person not only attempted to kill his master but also because this person is not the first one he has torn apart.
The fur of Shadow is shining red; where the white patch should be, there is a red, blood-stained mark. Even Conner, witnessing this, couldn't contradict his father in this moment. His dog might truly be from hell.
After a moment of catching his breath, Conner seized the sword that the man had thrown away when Shadow grabbed him. He walked straight towards the man writhing in pain and placed his right foot on the man's throat, using all his strength to hold the attacker.
Conner examined the man one last time, fixing his face and eyes in his memory. The helmet had fallen off the man when Shadow pulled him backward. The wretch beneath him was covered in snot, tears streamed down his face, and blood flowed from his mouth. He had likely bitten his tongue in agony. The man's pleading eyes looked at Conner, attempting to scream, but all that could be heard was a bloody gurgle. Conner lifted his sword with a stern expression, holding the tip directly over the man's eyes, and thrust it down after a brief hesitation.
Without hesitation, he looked at Shadow, who had stopped tearing into the man's leg. Conner searched for any injuries on Shadow, only to realize that all the blood on Shadow wasn't his own. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Come, Shadow, we need to move quickly. The screams must have alerted some, and I don't want to experience that again."
With quick steps, he hurried across the street, heading towards the protective castle wall. Most of the corpses he encountered were men; occasionally, he saw a woman. Just the thought of what they did to them made his stomach cramp.
-POV Conner-
Hopefully, my father, Heinrich, and the others are doing well. I can't imagine what I would do without them. Heinrich is lucky that his family's house is behind the second wall. Hopefully, our soldiers can stop the attackers there.
If they don't succeed, my father will surely train them so hard that they'll wish they had stopped them. He can tolerate only so much, and weakness is not among them; I know that best.
/Baaahhhh/
Ripped from my thoughts by the sound, I look into the foolishly staring eyes of a sheep that runs away as if I wanted to kill it. Perhaps it's the blood on me or, more likely, Shadow, who is closely following me.
Only now do I realize that I've already left the street behind by a good distance and have arrived at the sheep pasture. Now I just need to turn right, past the battleground, always toward the entrance of the second wall.
In the distance, I see a group of attackers looking in my direction. Please, don't let them have seen me. Quickly, I look for an obstacle behind which I am protected from their gazes. The only thing I see in a hurry is the wooden pasture fences.
Shadow, who follows me with every step, as if he were my own shadow, hides with me. Bowed, we continue towards the entrance of the wall. Only when the fence stops, and 200 meters lie between me and the entrance, do I stop.
Slowly, I straighten up so that I can just see over the fence. In the area in front of the entrance, I can see the soldiers and citizens of Skalitz defending against the attackers.
Their line looks stable. If I manage to circumvent the enemies, I can join them. Maybe we can push the enemy back, but that probably won't work. I hope I can at least buy some time for others to flee.
With all the courage I could muster, I ran. Almost immediately, I was spotted, and individual opponents were sent in my direction to intercept me. But they couldn't move as fast as I could since they were running towards me in full armor, while I wore only light clothes.
They were like snails to me. In a slightly larger arc, I could walk past them without much effort, while the men of Skalitz used the momentarily weakened flank to attack harder. For a few moments, you could think they could win, but more and more reinforcements came to the enemies, while everyone for us was already fighting who could.
It seemed like a hopeless battle, but one in which I wanted to help. So, I ran to our ranks to fight for Skalitz. I already sent Shadow towards the castle, as he couldn't help me anymore in this. Only when the ranks of Skalitz came closer and closer did I notice that most of them were bandaged or had open cuts on their bodies and still continued to fight.
One of our fighters saw me and recognized me. "Where is Erik? With him, we can surely push them back," he asked me. It was a question for me, too, about what he was doing right now. I could only tell him what he told me, which took away some of his hope, but he quickly picked himself up and said, "That sounds just like him. Probably, he's saving everyone right now and is somewhere safe with them."
-A moment later-
The defense of Skalitz was pushed further and further back. Just four or five steps more, and they would be on the drawbridge. Even with Conner's help, they couldn't do anything against the overwhelming force. Everyone tried their best, but that alone wasn't enough.
"We will retreat to the castle and hold the enemy there," echoed the loud voice of the defense leader. When the men heard the word "retreat," they turned around and ran over the drawbridge to the castle. In that moment, the enemy seized the opportunity to pounce on them.
However, they were called back by their leader, as a man fought his way through the ranks from behind. Anyone in his way was on their way to the afterlife. Desperately, he tried to protect a woman who was behind him. Only upon closer inspection did Conner realize that it was Heinrich's parents, but he couldn't see him. Then Heinrich caught his eye. Heinrich looked at his father and distracted him, allowing a rider to approach from behind and strike him to the ground with his sword. Without protection, his wife didn't live much longer and collapsed on her husband.
Conner felt a stab in his heart, as they were like second parents to him. Since his mother's death, he had found solace with Heinrich's mother, and he got along better with his father than with his own, as his only goal was to make him the best warrior he had ever seen, but Conner could never live up to his standards.
However, he could do nothing to help them, as the drawbridge was almost closed. His best friend was left outside, and the hope that his father could escape burned into his consciousness.
When Conner saw Heinrich, he felt sorry for him. Not only because he couldn't save his parents, but also because he couldn't be there for him and even left him in the lurch as the bridge was raised before his eyes. They looked at each other, Heinrich was shattered, as if his world had died.
"Heinrich, you must find another way and flee. Warn as many as you can to go to Talmberg. They will be safe there," a powerful voice sounded near Conner.
"I will try," Heinrich's voice echoed as the gate closed completely. Conner didn't even take a step but collapsed directly where he stood from exhaustion.