Cassian and Reinhold laid on the ridge looking down at the Bohlkovian company setting up their camp in the mountain glade. The black-eyed prince hoped they could avoid bloodshed while still advancing his plan. At the end of the day, that’s going to be dependent on those soldiers and how they react to what comes next.

Heavy rain had lightened until it was nothing more than a faint drizzle. Dense pine trees surrounded the clearing and a small stream ran through the camp. Bohlkovian soldiers laughed and roasted some type of game over a large fire. This close to Cloudreach their purpose was easy to guess—they were almost certainly reinforcements headed to the capital.

Reinhold glanced over at Cassian. “Alright we found them just like you wanted, so what’s the grand plan?”

“Well, that unit down there is our ticket into the capital. Make sense yet?” Cassian asked with a grin.

“We’re going to wait until they open the gates for the reinforcements, then charge in ourselves?”

“What? No, what is your head filled with, man? That would be the plan if we all had a death wish. We’re going to go down there incapacitate them, tie them up, then use their uniforms to disguise ourselves as Bohlkovian reinforcements.”

“You’re a clever little bugger, you know that? That’s just crazy enough to work.”

Massaging his eyelids, Cassian smiled. “We’ll see…”

After returning to the miners and explaining the plan, they moved stealthily into position. Cassian and his force of miners crept through the woods surrounding the Bohlkovian camp. A growing sense of nervousness was bubbling up amongst the miners. Despite their muscular physiques cultivated painstakingly through years of strenuous physical labor, most of them had never seen true combat. Especially if you didn’t count the occasional drunken tavern scrap.

Light moved through the treetops like a silent predator, crystalline horns shimmering when the sunlight trickling through the canopy kissed them. Sword in hand, Cassian reminded the men around him one last time, “Remember, we don’t need to kill them. Knocking them out and tying them up is more than adequate.”

The unsure nods the miners responded with didn’t exactly fill him with confidence. Regardless, he needed those uniforms and he didn’t see any other better way to acquire them. He shook his arms vigorously by his sides in an attempt to calm his nerves, before signaling to his people that it was time.

The charge from the thick woods caught the Bohlkovians completely off guard, they scrambled to alert their countrymen and locate their weapons. It was an effort far too slow to offer them any real chance at repelling the attackers. After all, they didn’t have the slightest clue that most of these men and women had never even seen a real battle before.

Just like that, the battle was over before it ever truly began. Once the Bohlkovian’s were surrounded on all sides they were quick to drop their weapons and surrender. Cassian commanded his ‘company’ of miners pretending to be soldiers to collect the Bohlkovian uniforms and secure the enemies. As Cassian walked the rows of tied up Bohlkovians, a wave of guilt washed over him. They were so young, most no older than himself. Ironically, they seemed to be every bit as inexperienced as the miners. It was clear that they didn’t have any desire to be here fighting a war in a foreign land. What choice did they really have? Follow the enlistment order of their homeland or be executed? Not a fun choice to have to make as a teenager, that’s for sure.

Light leaped over a row of kneeling prisoners and landed forcefully at Cassian’s side. Baring his razor sharp fangs, the snow leopard looked towards the bound soldiers and let out a gravelly growl. Nearby Bohlkovian soldiers jumped and cowered in terror, some even reciting prayers in their native language. Their reactions gave Cassian the impression that they had never been in close proximity to a purple horned snow leopard. Imagine if they had seen the crystal eyed auroch or the two headed eagle. The prince fought back the urge to laugh while making a calming gesture towards Light.

“Easy now.” Cassian whispered to Light, patting his friend reassuringly on the back. “They’ve been secured. They won’t be any trouble for us now, and anyways, they’re just kids.”

Reinhold jogged over and Cassian couldn’t tell if he was slick with sweat or rain.”Well, that went about as well as it could have.” The burly man chuckled, wiping his brow with the back of his worn gloves. “Let’s hope that the battles to come work out just like that.”

Cassian cast a side-eyed glance in his direction. “I wouldn’t count on it. When we eventually clash with the Bohlkovian’s in the capital, I fully expect them to be battle hardened veterans, not doe eyed recruits.”

“Right…I guess I was just happy no one needed to be buried this time.”

“And that’s what I appreciate most about you, Reinhold.” Cassian grinned, guiding his friend over to an area of the glade where the spires of Cloudreach could be seen in the distance. They jutted out above the treetops, snow capped peaks, and clouds—dark smoke hung over the capital. “I don’t mean to come off as a pessimist, but any force capable of causing that sort of damage to Cloudreach is dangerous. We need to be prepared for the worst if we hope to survive.”

“Of course. I understand.”

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The company of miners disguised in crimson Bohlkovian military uniforms did their best to look the part as they marched across the bridge leading to the main gates of Cloudreach. The bridge was masterfully built out of granite and it connected the winding mountain road to the capital. Thanks to the towering stone walls that surrounded Cloudreach, the giant wooden gates were one of the only ways into the city.

Cassian had decided it best for him to march in the middle of the column as opposed to leading from the front. As the prince of Enthamere it was too big of a risk that someone might notice him. He had a feeling his black eyes might draw unwanted attention as well.

Danila, a tall and muscular miner from Deadwood led the company towards the gate. She had immigrated to Deadwood from Bohlkov looking for a better life, and her ability to speak the language seemed like it would be invaluable if they were stopped or questioned. They stopped just outside of the gates and waited for admittance into the capital.

Cassian could feel the nervous energy that surrounded him and he did his best to steel his resolve. With a glance down off the edge of the bridge, a feeling of vertigo took root inside his head and the world began to spin. The drop to the river and ravine five or six hundred yards below made his palms slick with sweat.

Soldiers standing atop the walls looked as small as ants. They flew red flags with the flame sigil of the Church of Embers. For a few minutes Cassian and his company waited. Any minute now the arrows could start raining down on us, and that would be the end of us.

From high atop the ramparts a woman holding a red flag yelled down at them in a language that Cassian didn’t understand. Danila craned her head and shouted up to the woman. They screamed back and forth a few times. His inability to comprehend the exchange had elevated his nerves and he felt like his heart might just explode out of his chest. The tone of the exchange had Cassian ready to act at the drop of a coin. He found his fingers drawn to the hilt of his sword and he ran them nervously over the coarse twine wrapped around the hilt. Embarrassingly, he didn’t have a clue what that action might be considering they were sitting ducks on this bridge.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The prince breathed a sigh of relief when instead of a mass of arrows being loosed, the hundred yard tall gates began to creep open. Chains creaked behind the gates and the smell of smoke filled the air. Returning to marching, they went in through the gates without a second thought. Beyond the gates, the capital was still in immaculate shape, Cassian felt a knot in his stomach untie. It was such a relief to see the whole city hadn’t been put to the torch.

Cassian looked to his left down a long street lined with squat buildings and towers that stretched up into the clouds. In the distance he could just barely see the walls that segregated the Topside and the Undercity, dark smoke poured from the Undercity like a furnace. Turning his head to the right he saw the palace rising above the skyline. He had a difficult decision to make—which way should they go first to make the most immediate impact?

Something felt off, Cassian had expected to find the streets flooded with Bohlkovian soldiers, instead the streets were deserted. No soldiers patrolled the streets, in fact the only real sign of the Bohlkovian presence was the sporadic troops running along the walls of the city. Where were all of the troops? Outside of the occasional noble man or woman peeking sheepishly out the many barricaded windows, there was no sign of the citizens either.

After a minute of deliberation, the prince made his decision, he cut to the front of the company and led them towards the palace. There was so much to do, but he needed to know that his father was alive first and foremost. Oddly enough, Cassian had a feeling he knew exactly where he might find the king.

The company marched through the royal gardens and into the palace. Cassian felt sick to his stomach when he noticed that the Enthamerean heraldry had all been torn down and replaced with the sigil of the flame. Shaking his head he led his company of miners down into the dungeons beneath the palace. When they got down the stairs a handful of bored Bohlkovian soldiers guarded the entrance to the dungeons. The expression on the guards faces shifted rapidly from boredom to confusion to terror in the blink of an eye upon realizing that the approaching crowd were in fact enemies rather than comrades.

Cassian drew out his longsword and pointed the tip towards the Bohlkovian guards. Their fingers twitched and it seemed for a moment like they were going to do something very ill advised and reach for their weapons. That’s when Light leaped down the stars, landing next to Cassian with a vicious roar.

The presence of the giant horned snow leopard was more than enough for them to reconsider their actions. Steel clattered against stone, the weapons hit the ground and the guards put their hands up in surrender. Miners pushed the guards into a vacant cell and locked them behind the rusted bars. A thought crept into the prince’s mind that unsettled him. This all feels too easy. My instincts are screaming that we’re walking into a trap.

Cassian pushed the thought from his brain, only one thing mattered right now, finding his father. He grabbed the keys from one of the miners and dashed away through the dungeon. Oddly, almost all of the cells were empty. Where is everybody? After running down a fourth row of empty cells, Cassian stopped at the end and his jaw dropped. Inside of the cell was king Denethor, he hung by his wrists, shackled cruelly to the ceiling. His emaciated form looked bruised and beaten and both his eyes were swollen shut.

The keys jangled together as Cassian scrambled to unlock the cell and get to his father. He tried three keys before finally finding one that unlocked the iron door. Thoughts swirled around his mind like a whirlpool. I can’t lose my father too. So soon after my mother? As Casian approached, his father let out a series of wet coughs, blood running down his lips. King Denethor cried out in a wheezy and labored voice, “S-s-stay back you f-fanatics! You’ll pay for this treachery in this life or the next!”

“It’s me, father! I’m here, we’re going to get you out of here.” Something primal took over, before he knew what he was doing Cassian was by his fathers side, freeing him from his manacles and hugging him tightly.

“C-C-Cassian…is that you?”

“Yes father, I’ve returned to free you and save the city. My heart overflows, I’m so relieved you’re alive…”

“My spirit is strong, my boy, yet my old body is failing me. I don’t know that I am long for this worl—”

“Don’t say that.” Cassian interrupted. “You discovered the amethite. You built this city up into the clouds, you raised me to be the man I am. You are going to live…”

King Denethor’s swollen eyes struggled to focus and his bloody hands felt over Cassian’s face. “What’s happened to your eyes, my son?”

“It’s unimportant, I’ve been cursed by a witch but I will find a cure one day. It will be okay.”

Denehtor sank to the floor. “I failed to protect you. I failed to protect your mother. I should have been more clever. I should have predicted this and cut the head off the serpent when I still had the chance.”

“Nonsense, father. You did everything you could…”

“I was blinded by my thirst for vengeance after your mother was taken from us.”

“What noble husband would have acted any differently? You acted precisely as you should’ve.” Cassian pulled his frail father to his feet and wiped his bloodied face with the sleeve of his Bohlkovian uniform.

“Why the shards are you wearing that hideous uniform?”

“It was our disguise in order to get into the city.” Cassian said, looking down at the garish red uniform. “I’ve brought with me as many miners from Deadwood as I could rally. I intend to retake our home.”

“Your effort is valiant, but we cannot possibly stand against them with a mere handful of lowly miners. Not with our army sent away to the border to deal with New Halifax…”

A wind of anger blew over Cassian. “They may not have combat training, but I’ve found the people of Deadwood to be brave, kind, and loyal. Without their help you’d still be chained up in that cell.”

“I didn’t realize you had become an honorary citizen of Deadwood. But between the sellswords and the Bohlkovian army a frontal assault would be hopeless.”

“What do you recommend? That we flee our city and allow the Church of Embers to rule our kingdom?”

“I’d sooner rot in these dungeons.” King Denethor leaned in closer to Cassian. “Long ago when the criminal organizations seemed to be out of control in the Undercity I had a contingency put in place in case the situation spiraled.”

Cassian’s brow raised. “What is this contingency you speak of?”

“I had explosives secretly placed in strategic locations beneath the Undercity by a discrete group within the engineers guild. The project was costly, but in this situation it might be our saving grace.”

“What kind of man would do something like that?” Cassian felt his knees buckle and he reached out supporting himself against the sturdy bars. “The civilian deaths would be unimaginable…”

“You’ve always had your mother’s heart…may she rest in peace. Yet, to rule a kingdom sacrifices must be made for the greater good. I always viewed the gangs as the greatest threat to my kingdom, Bohlkov is not dumb, they see the same threat. They have mobilized nearly all of their forces within the city to the Undercity to exterminate that threat.”

Cassian gasped. “You can’t be thinking what I suspect you are…”

“The years of studying have made you intelligent, my boy. If we trigger the explosives, the Undercity will collapse into the mountain and we will have solved two problems with one decisive action. The kingdom will be saved at the expense of some lowborn degenerates and drug addicts. A sacrifice I would gladly make.”

“Think of what you’re saying…” Face turning nearly as red as his uniform, Cassian’s brow furrowed. “Through my travels I’ve discovered that the common folk deserve better. They break their backs so that us topsiders can sustain our excessive lifestyles. You would truly condemn hundreds of thousands of your own people to death for a small chance to save your kingdom?”

King Denethor’s swollen face grimaced as he attempted a smile. “Boy, I would sacrifice millions of my own people to save my kingdom. It’s not pleasant, but this is the burden of the crown.”

Just then, Reinhold, Light, and the rest of the miners rushed down the corridor behind Cassian. Light rubbed his wet nose against Cassian’s hand and Reinhold looked at the prince. “What’s the plan?”