It’s good that those squires got rid of most of their armour since I’ve sadly overestimated not only my own strength but also how much they weigh.

I’m struggling even without the armour, I doubt that I would have any chance of getting to the castle if they actually wore it.

This isn’t the only reason why I’m trying my hardest to be stealthy instead of doing a charge, the other reason is that I simply lack the limbs necessary for such a strategy.

I only have so many tendrils and tentacles and between keeping my riders stable and continuing my approach, they’re in short supply.

I still have a couple free but if I use them to propel myself forward then I’ll also have to dedicate more attention and limbs to protecting my riders from the speed increase.

It would be easier if they stopped wiggling but maybe I’m at fault, they’re not just sacks of grain I can yank around.

In any case, the only real path available to us is to quietly move forward, keeping to the shadows as much as possible and that’s the path I’ve been taking so far.

Thankfully while the half moon illuminates everything for me, the humans don’t share my superior vision, which is probably why I have yet to be found.

A couple of Rovers actually got within a few yards of us, when they popped out of nowhere I was fully expecting some sort of ambush but then they just stumbled off to our left.

Thankfully those Rovers were just an outlier and the rest of my approach was fine but now I’ve run into another issue and I may have to switch strategies.

I’m on the outskirts of the siege line right now, I’ve somehow managed to arrive undetected but I don’t think my luck will last when I waltz through the light of dozens of campfires and torches.

I’m trying to spot any shadowed areas and I just can’t see any, I suppose on the bright side it could be worse.

From what I can tell the Rovers seem to be halfway through constructing the fortifications and living spaces, if they had that stuff finished before hand we would be truly doomed, everything would be secured and there would be no real way to pass through.

As it stands there is one one that I can see working relatively well and that’s to just sprint through the siege as fast as possible.

I may be weighed down but I’m still faster than any human, I don’t think I’ll be able to evade any cavalry though unless I lose a rider or two, still it shouldn’t matter too much, I mean it’s the middle of the night, surely the horses are sleeping?

So all I have to do is just find a good path that way I avoid being trapped by too many Rovers when they inevitably notice me and then I just run as fast as possible following my chosen path, once I’m passed the siege the defenders should be able to cover us.

Carefully I begin to study and finalise our escape plan, my creator's trust acting as all the moral support I need, there’s no words of comfort but just the feeling is enough.

There’s a few camps set up between us and open ground, these camps are incredibly close to each other though and are more like separate parts of a larger camp than independent campsites, so no matter what I do we’re going to have to move by a large number of Rovers.

I’m too large to hide behind the tents well enough to evade detection and the fortifications that have been set up serve more as obstacles than possible hiding spots.

I can see a trench which lies just two dozen yards ahead of us but it’s difficult to tell how deep it is and it is exceptionally close to the first Rover camp, so if it’s risky and it might actually be too shallow to hide within.

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Regardless it seems to be the only thing I can use as cover if I want to keep advancing stealthily, the second thing is more difficult to choose though.

I can either go through the first Rover camp by hiding in between the tents, or I can go around the left side and try to slink alongside a pile of logs they have.

I’m thinking I’ll go with option two, it will only barely cover me partially but there also doesn’t seem to be any Rovers around it and while I could potentially kill any Rover who spots me before they raise the alarm if I went with option one, I might also run into a crowd.

Then if I’m still undiscovered after all that I could try and hide in a large ditch but it looks like there’s either a trio of Rovers eating over there or some large sacks of something.

Honestly, I have to give the Rover or Rovers in charge of this siege some respect, they either really know what they’re doing or have incredible luck because no matter where I look there’s no discernable weak chain in their defences.

That ditch is quite literally the third and final thing I can use as cover, maybe I’ll be able to spot some more stealthy ways forward once I get there.

But even if I’m spotted it should be fine so long as I make it to the ditch, this first camp I’m going to have to get through is the main one.

Lifting myself up I briefly consider trying to find another way forward but there are guards patrolling in other zones and its already taken me too long just to plan this out.

Creeping forward, I slink over the ground, trying my hardest to both move slowly to offset the chance of attracting attention and moving as quickly as I can to reach the trench.

It would be easier to just pluck my riders onto the ground but then if we get spotted I’ll have to waste valuable seconds picking them back up again.

Maybe it won’t be a big issue but currently, I don’t know what these Rovers are capable of, they’ve completely overturned my previous assumptions about their strength and intelligence, I have to assume the worst even more so than I was before.

By some miracle, I manage to slink my way over to the trench without being spotted but now comes the hard part.

Quickly moving up and over the trench I continue forward, using the tents as cover I move towards the left side.

While carefully skirting around the tents, I narrowly avoid a Rover who went inside her tent just as I went by and then I’m at the log pile.

I move slower in order to compensate for the decreased level of cover, I even brush the ground gently with my tendrils just in case I’m about to step on anything noisy but it does me no good as a shrill scream pierces the still night.

I don’t bother trying to find out who screamed, I just run, shooting forth like a loosened arrow I charge straight ahead, stealth and guile are worthless now, speed is all that matters.

Vaulting the ditch I continue running, rampaging through the second camp is actually rather easy, the few Rovers who are in my way quickly dive to the sides and let me through uncontested.

The third camp is only just becoming active as I race through it and in just half a minute I’m clear of it as well.

And now all that’s left is the fourth camp, which is more like a series of fortifications than an actual camp.

Leaping over half dug holes and swerving around wooden walls I avoid everything with relative ease.

And now I’m free, I’ve made it past the siege.

I don’t slow down though, I keep running as fast as I can towards the Arid Sentinel.

I almost lose one of the squires due to how fast I’m going so I have to slow down slightly but still, there shouldn’t be anything that can catch up to us now.

And I’m soon proven right as we arrive at the open gates of the Arid Sentinel, unharmed and unpursued.

Waiting for us is a small horde of spearmen and a handful of squires who quickly usher us inside.

Before I can do anything else or even set my creator down the desummoning starts.

Using my non disintegrating limbs I pluck my riders off of me and carefully place them on the ground.

And then those appendages begin to disintegrate as well.

My life is rapidly coming to an end but before I fade away I make sure to send feelings of jubilation and relief to my creator.

It’s like I’ve made a hole in a canteen as a flood of pain starts to flow back to me, I can’t try to reassure or help her though as my life’s already over.

She should be safe though… she needs to be safe, I don’t understand what’s going on.