Crawling through ash is more unpleasant than it seems. Like sand, it gets in everywhere, but unlike sand, it is light enough to float in the air with the slightest wind, getting into your airways. Aleks and his comrades had to suppress coughs as they crawled in the night. Many times they had to stop as the guards looked over them. For Aleks, it felt like an eternity before they reached the dark walls. When they finally reached it, they had to wait for the Otters to successfully infiltrate and secure a way up for them.

The eight of them were huddled against the rough wall when something moved in the darkness of the ash desert. At first, Aleks thought it a figment of his imagination. The thrill of the infiltration spiked his adrenaline and made him see things. That is until he looked to the rest of his party and they also looked into the darkness with wide eyes. The ash near them began to slowly drift towards the thing which was hidden in the dark.

Something fell on Aleks’ head. His heart almost shot through his chest as he jumped to the side, barely suppressing a scream. Looking at where he was sitting, a thick rope dangled. The others stared at him with mixed emotions. They didn’t know if they had to be scared of the thing in the darkness or the fact that Aleks got frightened by a rope. Aleks shrugged and grabbed the rope as he began ascending the wall. Below him, Damon and Kastor followed when another rope dropped over the wall. The two Draconians started their ascent as well, leaving Horus, Ikaros and Luke waiting below.

Aleks reached the top first and stayed low when he crested the battlements. In the low light of the moon, he made out the crouched forms of Winston and Phillip. Three bodies laid at their feet with wetness pooling out from their necks. Aleks looked over the wall and saw the thing that was hidden in the dark from a new vantage point. It was a rolling shape of ash, and it moved towards Luke, Horus and Ikaros as they waited their turn.

“Danger,” Aleks whispered loudly as the Otters looked at him in alarm. They followed his gaze and stood stock-still.

“Climb up.” Aleks continued in a low voice as he furiously indicated at Luke.

The rolling mass of ash accelerated as it neared the walls. The ash near the men’s feet at the wall shifted from a slow trickle to a strong flow, causing them to look in the direction it went. When they saw the mass of ash, they grabbed the rope and began climbing for dear life. Damon and Kastor crested the wall when Aleks and the Otters saw that the men below wouldn’t make it. Aleks turned around just in time to see one of the bodies rise, its eyes glowing silver. A brief moment later and the other bodies also stood up. The first one lunged towards him, arms outstretched in a tackle. Muscle memory saved Aleks as he dodged to the side and pushed the man behind his back, accelerating him forward, causing him to fall over the battlements and into the approaching ash.

Before the other two risen could do anything else, they were jumped by two Humans and two Otters. Overwhelmed they could only flail as they were pinned down and their necks were cut open as to emit no sound.

“I thought they were dead.” Phillip hissed softly.

“They were. It must be the power of the circlet.” Winston replied in a low voice.

“Luke and they are still climbing with an ash monster on their heels, talk later!” Aleks furiously hissed.

They moved back to the wall and looked down, just in time to see the ash impact against the wall with a muffled hit. Luke, Horus and Ikaros were climbing for all they were worth when hands grabbed the ropes and began pulling them up. The Otters, threw the bodies of the risen over the wall and into the ash monstrosity, buying a small amount of reprieve as the ash invaded the bodies. With a last heave, the climbers fell over the battlements and onto the dark stone. Half their faces were still blocked by masks only leaving their eyes visible as they stared widely up at them.

“Get up, we need to get moving,” Aleks whispered. He turned to Nocturne and asked. “Do you know where we need to go to find this circlet?’

“We know for certain that it has been equipped. Now we need to identify who has it and then get out of here.” Nocturne replied in a low voice. “Follow me.”

With that, they followed the Draconian in a single file, keeping low and hugging the battlements. The general darkness of the citadel helped them stay unnoticed as they crept along the wall till they came to a bridge that connected with the citadel itself. It was close to fifty meters across and burning torches illuminated it.

“This will be difficult to cross,” Nocturne said in a low tone.

“The Vikings were close to twenty-five men the last time we saw them,” Horus said. “They can’t possibly be everywhere in this large citadel.”

“I agree. Look at the open gate to the citadel.” Luke said as he pointed at the end of the bridge.

“Ikaros and I are quite proficient with the bow, we will keep an eye out for any bearded fool that peeks their head out,” he said as he hefted his bow and removed an arrow from his quiver.

The party looked between themselves and nodded. Horus and Ikaros readied their bows and then cautiously moved past the first torch, their arms ready to release an arrow at any time. They safely reached the middle of the bridge where they hunkered down and kept watch for possible guards. Ikaros looked back at them and signalled them to cross. They sneaked across the bridge while Ikaros searched for threats and Horus moved on ahead. After he secured a position he signalled them to continue. Ikaros looked behind them for any guards that might blindside them. When they reached a quarter to the citadel, Horus let loose a missile. Before the arrow hit the unfortunate man that came out of the gate, Horus was already running to where he stood. The man gurgled in confusion and pain before he fell forward. Horus slid forward and caught the guard before he could fall.

The rest of the party reached him a brief moment later and they crouched to the side of the gate.

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“We have to bind him. He’ll just revive.” Nocturne whispered.

After they bound the dead guard, Ikaros and Horus took point again as they pointed their bows down the long, dark hallways of the citadel. Nocturne directed them as they softly entered and carefully slid down the walls. A few twists and turns later and the end of the hallway brightened up. Horus crouched forward with Ikaros right behind him as they carefully advanced, ready to pincushion anything that moved. They came to the end of the hall and cautiously peeked out. A large hall with stone arches surrounding it became visible. It reached high up into the sky where the moon shone down, illuminating the area. A large silver throne was down on the ground with someone sitting on it.

The group quietly moved forward and peered down. Three Vikings stood at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the throne. In the middle of the stairs lazed Laufey, idly picking his fingernails with a knife. Lastly on the throne, sat the large Odda. An eerie silver glow emanated from his eyes and the circlet that rested on his head. The Draconians pointed at Odda and then pointed back the way they came. They started turning when one of the swords on Typhons back lightly hit the stone arch which they hid behind. A small muted thump that anyone would be hard-pressed to hear, rang out loudly in the silent confines of the hall. Odda’s head jerked up and his silver eyes bored into Aleks. His mouth turned into a smile.

“We have some guests.” his voice boomed in the hall.

Laufey looked up with a confused expression which turned into one of pure joy as he grinned at them. “Let me welcome them.”

“Run you fools!” Horus shouted as he let loose an arrow at Odda’s head. The arrow flew true and merely a split second before it hit, Odda’s hand appeared in front of him and caught it. This scene, so similar to how their master Takashi handled the pirates, shook them out of their reverie and they ran. The sound of their feet slapping the stone echoed down the hallway as sounds of Vikings chanting rang out in the air. They reached the bridge where they bound the dead guard. He struggled with the bindings as his eyes glowed the same silver as the circlet.

“Phillip! Do it!” Winston shouted at his fellow Otter.

Phillip nodded and removed a metal canister from his back. He threw it at the ground and a loud hiss of steam broke past the chanting surrounding them. Red steam shot into the sky, reaching an altitude that made it visible from kilometres away.

“We need to get to the river!” Winston shouted as he made his way to the ropes.

“No, wait! Remember the Ash monster!” Aleks shouted behind him.

Winston cursed. “To the portcullis!” he said as Vikings appeared from the citadel gate.

They ran on the wall as they made their way to the portcullis. The Dark Citadel was huge. The distance from the bridge to the river was close to three kilometres, making their run longer than they were comfortable with. Ahead of them, a group of armoured silver-eyed warriors scaled the stairs.

“Careful, they’re Risen,” Nocturne shouted as they approached. The two Draconians removed their dual blades from their backs as they charged ahead.

Horus and Ikaros let loose arrows that flew true and removed two of the Risen, leaving six for the rest of them to finish. Phillip and Winston flourished their short tridents and with a click, it extended. Moments before the Draconians hit the Risen, spears flew over their heads and removed two more from the battle. They reached the closest Risen and held their swords crossed in front of them. With a mighty breath, they exhaled fiery flames at their heads and followed through with their swords, decapitating the Risen with a scissor slice. The remaining enemy was quickly handled and the thrown spears retrieved as they continued with their escape.

Horus and Ikaros rarely missed as they ran and shot at Vikings and Risen alike as they ascended the stairs to the wall. Aleks looked behind them and felt the blood leave his face.

“We need to get out of here!” he shouted. “There is an army behind us.”

Luke turned around and saw the wall filling up with enemies in old broken armour. His long legs began outpacing the rest as he ran for his life. Along the side of the wall, the Ash monstrosity followed them. It shifted from bipedal silhouettes to wolflike figures as it waited for one of them to fall into its deathly embrace.

“Just a few hundred meters more! Come on men!” Winston cried out as he threw a knife at a Risen that stood in their way.

In the distance, the wide flowing river became visible as it glittered in the moonlight. Steam billowed in the distance, giving them hope.

“We need to survive! Come on!” Winston encouraged them.

The river was less than a hundred meters away when they saw a large mass of Risen in the distance. At the back of the group, stood Odda, shoulder above the rest with the Circlet of Ambition shining in the moonlight. His silver gaze sent shivers down their spines. They were a measly twenty meters away from the portcullis when they were forced to stop. The veritable army blocked their way. The Ash monstrosity turned into a large face with a sneer as it looked mockingly at the trespassers. The group turned around and saw that behind them, they were also blocked.

A mad laugh came from their right as Laufey ascended the stairs leading to the courtyard. His eyes were not silver but still, they were just as ominous as the silvery gaze that most of the soldiers gave them.

“We meet again, Greeks,” Laufey said with a cackle, his eyes swept over the Otters and the Draconians. “My axe wonders what your blood tastes like, creatures,” he said with glee as his tongue licked the edge of his sharp axe.

“What do we do!?” Kastor hissed.

Aleks looked around and saw that the steamship had gotten a lot closer. “We need to get into that river,” he said as he set his shoulder. “We need to fight.”

“We won’t make it,” Winston said.

Nocturne and Typhon shared a look before they turned to the group. “You will make it. We will enter into the embrace of the Inferno. You just need to bear with the heat and run.” Nocturne said.

“That’s suicide!” Winston screamed.

“Let it be known, that we Draconians will never fall under the rule of the Dark King. Tell the citizens of Canalis that.” Typhon said, his face set in determination.

With those parting words, Nocturne and Typhon held their breaths and their bodies began emitting heat. With heavy steps, they ran into the enemy blocking their path. Their blades sang as they made contact with the Risen.

“We must help them!” Aleks shouted, preparing to run before he was grabbed by Winston.

“No.” he simply said as he watched with sadness in his eyes as the Draconians entered into the midst of their enemy. “They will open up a path for us in a blaze of glory.”

Nocturne and Typhon had multiple wounds. Spears stuck in their backs but still, they continued. Then it happened. A fiery blast emerged from them as they conflagrated amid their enemies. The blast threw Aleks and his party from their feet as flames rose into the sky. The ash monstrosity reeled back as some of its ash was lighted.

“It’s our time now, run!” Winston shouted.

They ran through the cleared battlement, their feet hot from the flames still burning on the stone. Aleks felt his foot catch fire but he did not stop, rather he grit his teeth and continued through the pain. They reached the portcullis. With a leap they left the wall behind and for two brief seconds, they were in the air aflame before plunging into the water. The water immediately brought with it relief from the flames as they breached the surface. The steamship was waiting for them and threw ropes which they gladly caught. Before they could pull themselves up, the ship lurched forward, shooting up a plume of steam as it accelerated away from the Dark Citadel.

Shouts could be heard behind them as the Vikings prepared their longship to chase, but by the time they started rowing, the steamship was already gone.