Silver eyed the curtain wall of the fortress with the due amount of respect. It was formidable and breaching it without being seen would be no small task.

He had been watching the goings on at the castle since he arrived mid-morning, making out the pattern of the guards along the crenelated ridge high above the ground. The information, though tedious, could prove the difference between life and death.

Hidden beyond the tree-line, the Guardian shifted his weight slowly. There was no need to draw attention. He stared intently up the hill.

'Two guards on the southwestern turret, two traversing the wall and two on the southeastern turret,' the man noted. Silver counted the steps, almost able to hear the faint sound of their boots ring out from the flagstone with his inhuman hearing.

The men who walked the wall switched with the two tower soldiers as they reached the southeastern turret. This constant shifting was good for keeping men alert, but bad for anyone who might hope to smuggle themselves past them.

Unfortunately, that is exactly what the Guardian hoped to do.

Silver sighed. Entering King Rhodri's castle was not his idea. As a general rule these days, he avoided breaking into places where he was not welcome. It was a nasty habit. Although he used to be a master thief, the Guardian had turned to more honest pursuits including protecting the town of Rynnlee.

That is, when he wasn't running errands for the Fate Hanna. But Hanna had sent him on this quest, and he was her loyal servant. She had been faithful to him when he was at his lowest, and thanks to her, he had a second (or was it third?) chance at life.

But this task that the ethereal being had given was not an easy one. Even with his superhuman strength, the climb on the perilously high walls would not be easy. And after that, things were likely to get complicated…especially if something went wrong.

'I hope this is worth it,' he thought.

The wind teased his black cloak playfully. Silver smiled beneath his cowl. These days, Hanna often seemed to know what he was thinking, and her encouragement now settled his nerves.

"Ok then," he responded to her invisible nudges, "I'll get to work."

Unconsciously, he touched the delicate fairy necklace beneath his tunic for good luck. He did this every time he was about to head into danger. The metal felt warm on his skin, but he had no time to contemplate the oddity.

The plan was easy: get into the keep, retrieve a document that Hanna had described, and get out. Its execution was a little more difficult.

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While Silver was not technically a wanted man, this intrusion would be magnified by the fact that he was a well-known figure of mysterious origin and questionable tactics.

He was not trusted by the gentry—many of whom he had stolen from in the past—and Commander Borit, the senior officer of the Kingdom of Birle, would love nothing more than to see him hanged.

The Guardian chewed on the inside of his cheek, 'Why is life so complicated?'

Looking away from the fortress to the town at its feet, the man made sure there would be no unexpected surprises from that front.

The capital city, Burke, was aptly named. Sitting in the middle of the Kingdom of Birle, it was located where the foothills met the flatlands of the forests. The Great River ran along the north side before it spawned into countless rivulets that fed the fertile land of Birle to the west and eventually ran through Lakyle and into the sea. Burke was nestled in a crescent shape around the last of the hills with the castle situated on its summit.

To protect himself, King Rhodri kept a large swath of land around him cleared to prevent any intruder from coming up on the castle without warning. Silver realized the sense of this now as he surveyed the length of ground he would have to cover unnoticed if he hoped to complete his mission.

'If only the king were so wise with his choice of commander, I wouldn't have to sneak into the castle at all,' he thought bitterly. Alas, this was his mission. He secured his gear and went back to check on his horse. She was tucked away just inside the trees, munching happily.

"I'll be back after dark," he promised her, patting her mane. His eyes widened slightly, "I have been reduced to talking to a horse. I am crazy."

The air tinkled with laughter. "Oh yeah?" Silver grumbled. "You are the one who called a crazy man and entrusted him with a vital mission. What does that make you?"

The wind stilled, and Silver felt justified in his point. Now all he had to do was wait.

'Wonderful...'

As the sun began to cast long shadows, the Guardian finally emerged from the safety of the trees. The progress was painfully slow, but quick movements would have only attracted the attention of the sentries atop the wall. As it was, his black cloak, imbued with some magical power, made him seem like nothing more than a stone on the landscape.

He stopped and started many times, pausing to make sure no alarm was raised. He forced himself to swallow, trying to keep his mouth from being so dry. His body may have appeared still and calm, however his mind was anything but tranquil.

The horn blast for the first evening hour sounded. Although in the summertime, the term evening was a bit of a stretch.

He resisted the urge to race the final distance. 'Don't rush. You are making good progress.'

The sun was still above the horizon and would be for another hour or so. The golden rays caught his attention and for a moment he was entranced. It amazed Silver how the sun always seemed to know what season it was, or perhaps everything else adjusted to the sun. It was all just magical. He shook his head slowly. The Guardian needed to focus on his task instead of waxing philosophically.

'You're getting old,' he told himself. "Next you'll be reminiscing about the good old days..."

Finally, the cloaked figure reached the wall. Looking up, he realized that the guard at the top would have to lean over very far to see him now. Silver relaxed a little, letting as much tension as he could out of his muscles. He would need all his strength for what came next.

This side had been selected because the city of Burke did not wrap around the southern side of the hill. Because of the tall wall, lack of entrance and cleared land below, it was less guarded than the other sides as well.

No sentry had walked along the ground during the day, but Silver was sure that this would change as night fell. He wanted to be inside before the changing of the guards. Fresh eyes had a way of spotting what tired and bored eyes usually missed. It was time to begin the climb.

The wall being made of roughly hewn stone, Silver immediately found purchase in a number of small hand and foot holds. He ascended quickly, rising up the battlement at a staggering pace.

His agility was like that of a mountain cat, and although the incline was much steeper, he applied the same tactics as the athletic feline. There was no one to see the Guardian from that side, so he saw no reason to be slow.

Constantly keeping three points of contact, he used his fourth limb to search for any spot that would speed his advance. It was simple and highly effective.

As Silver neared the top, he secured his feet and left hand before making one last stretch with his right arm. The stone here was weakened by years of water runoff and neglect, and as his fingers attempted to push into the crevice between two large boulders, a small shard of the rock gave way and tumbled down.

The chunk clattered to the ground noisily, and Silver scrabbled horizontally along the wall and away from the noise as best he could. His heart leapt into his throat as voices could be heard from the top of the wall. They were drawing nearer and just as Silver feared, two heads appeared and looked down.

'Blast...'