Sandorn wiped away the sweat from his brow. It was finally here.
The past three days had been spent exploring further the tunnels. Each and every primary route tracked and mapped out.
The work on the palace entrance had been slow. The workers had to be precise and cautious with their work lest any above should hear them. What should have taken a day ended up taking three. It had given them time to plan however, Dranar had used the time to organise the best locations for the Houses to send down what men they could spare to aid them. Sandorn found that the men of the city guard perked up with the introduction of the Household guards, eager no doubt to prove themselves just as capable and formidable.
In the meantime, Sandorn himself had been leading groups underneath familiarising himself with the paths. Grolo had been a willing teacher, his knowledge of the Family’s history a testament to how fervently he followed his ancient role. Even Grolo could not recall ever hearing or reading about the Royal tunnels being used, the last Kings had no time or opportunity to escape he’d explained, taken as they were by surprise. The fact only motivated Sandorn further. The Houses which had removed and promptly filled the power vacuum of the King did so amidst a war with the Vampiri. While the last Kings had been busy dealing with Gorias enemies their own people had been busy plotting against them. All of the Houses and their descendants who’d gained from such treachery needed to be made pay. Sandorn vowed to make it so.
Now it was time for him to use the Royal tunnels to take back what was stolen from them. It was poetic in a way, using the paths supposed to be a last resort of escape to instead reignite the Aureate dynasty.
As he approached the ladder leading upwards into the palace Sandorn motioned for the others behind to be quiet, though it was hardly needed. He and Averan would lead the first foray above, Dranar and his family of five joined them. Seven chimeras would be enough to get them a foothold in the palace. Then it would be up to the 300 men specially chosen by Wendon and the 100 men given to them by the Houses to secure the area.
Fortunately for them, Dranar had been able to draw up a blueprint of the palace. Sandorn knew from it where to go and how to get there.
He paused a moment on the ladder. Taking one final breath he pushed up and hurriedly climbed up the final steps.
Above he was relieved to see the cellar empty. The opening itself was carefully disguised under a column. The entrance opened into its hollow center and from there it only took a gentle push by Sandorn to discover its hidden door. He was not surprised it had survived in secret for so long.
Hopping up Sandorn waited with growing impatience as one by one more and more of their men emerged. Averan was up first but moved off quickly to secure the only door leading into the place.
The vanguard was made up of half city guard men and half Household Guards given to them by their allies. The cellar was large enough, but by the time the 50 chosen were all up and ready it was almost full. Each one of the Household guards had left their Family's sigils and colors behind, replaced instead with old cloaks of the City guard. That and having their faces concealed meant it would be impossible for anyone inside to identify who and where the men originated from. Their allies would be safe. Besides, Sandorn did not plan on anyone being left alive.
Once they were ready Sandorn waved them forward and they headed out.
Behind them, Fenadorn would be preparing the second and third teams. Until they had enough men out it was important that they did not allow any alarm to sound out.
It was the Chimereans leading, Sandorn and Averan followed by Dranar, Alisha, Dranar’s sister Alaina and her two boys, Droned and Grundar.
It was well past midnight and the palace was quiet. After the Kings had been removed the palace had been transformed into simple Council rooms, a place where the Forty could meet and plan their next moves. As a result, it was a far cry from the essential fortress it had once been during the time of Kings when the Palace Guard had numbered 200 of its finest soldiers and its corridors rang out with the sounds of servants and courtiers.
They met some, Averan took out the first they came across. An old man with a candle down sweeping the lower quarters. Averan easily snuck up behind him before pressing a dagger to his back and urging silence. The man, terrified had freely given himself up. He was passed back to where he and any other servants they found would be left until the palace was secured. Sandorn had been adamant that no servant should be harmed unless absolutely necessary. They were only doing their job, they had no loyalty or part in the New Order.
Three more servants were apprehended as they approached the steps leading to the palace proper.
The guards there would be a bit more of a challenge. In the darkness behind him, Sandorn could sense rather than see the build-up of men. They were almost ready, most should have been above ground by now. It was almost time to press on a full attack. But every moment they could avoid detection was to their advantage. The guards on the steps needed to be dealt with, subtly.
Averan gestured to him, pointing a finger at first himself, and then Sandorn.
Sandorn nodded. Two guards, two twins.
The guards were not on high alert, that was evident from both their volume level and output. Presently they were having a heated debate over which Outer City was the most depraved. Both held spears and had on identical armor of the palace guards. These men were evidently a far cry from what their unit once stood for.
“It’s Yarsan, it has to be.” The guard on the left stated. “Why else would everyone finished in the Academy head straight there. Tradition it is. And why is it a tradition? Because it is easily the most depraved.”
‘Tradition?” The one on the right scoffed, “What’s that got to do with anything? I’m not interested in the past, we’re talking about now. Farlain has overtaken Yarsan as the city of sin. It’s built on what Yarsan had and now way overshadows it. Way overshadows it.”
“It’s an upstart, won’t last. Trust me. You are only looking surface deep, dig a little and you’ll find all sorts of treasures beneath Yarsan’s cities. You know there are five prostitutes for every citizen in-”
“Oh enough with the five prostitutes for every citizen thing, I’ve heard it often enough now. I get it Yarsan has many whores lying about. That’s basic stuff. In Farlain it isn’t just prostitutes you can get, in the lower city one can find anything a man could ever possible desire. One of my friends on the walls told me about this one place. You could get half bloods there, Vampirir like. You ever seen one of them in person? I’m telling you ya haven’t seen sexy until you’ve seen one of these ladies.”
Sandorn looked over to where Averan stood on the opposite corner. He was going to motion for an attack but Averan had his brows furrowed and was clearly invested in the guard’s conversation.
Sandorn gestured a little more frantically without success until finally, Alisha came up behind to tap Averan on the shoulder.
Averan glanced over.
“What?” he mouthed.
Sandorn raised his hands in frustration.
“What?” he mouthed back. “What do you mean what? We have to attack.”
“Wait.”
“Wait?”
“I want to hear more about this depravity.”
Sandorn closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. It took another moment of glaring before Averan finally turned to him and nodded.
“Fine, let’s attack then,” He mouthed.
“On three,” Sandorn mouthed back.
It was simple. Sandorn came around the corner first, the Guards were some distance away but stationery, too enveloped in their conversation to care about anything else. They had barely managed to raise their spears and utter a word in protest before the knives struck them.
Sandorn was pleased to see his target fall to the ground with both throwing knives embedded in his stomach. Averan struck true with his first knife, the blade lodging itself in the man’s neck. The second missed entirely however.
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“Shit,” Averan said examining the knife which had slammed into the open wooden door behind. I can never get the second one right. Good thing I’m accurate with the first.”
“Why did you take so long? Was the guards' conversation truly so riveting?”
Sandorn whispered keeping watch on the stairs as behind him their soldiers started to stream out.
“Ah yes actually it was,” Averan stood up, “don’t pretend like you didn’t want to hear more about the depravity, it was just starting to get good too.”
Sandorn looked around as if in confusion, “You do realise where we are yes? Brother, please forget about any half-breed Vampirir tits until we’re finished at least.”
“No problem,” Averan stated, smiling back at Alisha as she and her Father came forward.
Sandorn raised a brow, Alisha was more than enough to distract his Brother. He just hoped he’d stay focused long enough to ensure the Palace was safely in their hands.
“Most of the men are above ground. It is time.” Dranar stated.
Sandorn nodded, “Remember, now it is about speed, we get to the Gate and make sure it's shut. Whatever happens, we hold it. Fenadorn and the others will overwhelm the Guards, we do our part and they’ll do theirs.”
“Lead on Brother.”
Averan stepped aside to allow Sandorn ahead.
Sandorn sighed at the mock bow from his Brother and took a final look, the entire corridor was almost taken up by his men. The sight kindled the fire inside him.
Smiling he drew his sword and charged up the stairs, the others close behind.
They must have made for a terrifying sight for those first few soldiers who came across them. In the Palace proper there were a great many patrols, the first few however were left completely overawed by what was coming against them. Sandorn cut down four men before a weapon was even raised against him. Dranar’s directions had been clear and the palace exactly laid out as he had described it. Sandorn did not need to ask for aid as he headed toward the Gate. There they were met with the first rows of truly prepared soldiers.
Sandorn didn’t stop. Now their only task would be to get and keep the Gates closed long enough to stop any help arriving from the many Manors of the Forty. Sandorn knew it wouldn’t take long. A full-grown chimera could reach speeds twice if not three times as fast as that of a horse. They had to close the gates, and fast.
He transformed while running, emerging into his chimera form in time to meet the first brave group of defenders. Those he took out with his horns, tossing his head side to side for maximum effect.
He kept his gaze on the battlements searching for any Chimeras already waiting and was relieved to see only guards atop the Gates.
Dranar had warned them that the palace would have at least some Chimereans within its walls. Those tasked with keeping and maintaining the palace’s order and infrastructure. Knowing that for those attacking their only hope was to get the Gates closed, and for the defenders to keep it open Sandorn knew the palace Chimeras would focus only on protecting the windlass, the means of opening the gate. They couldn’t be allowed to gain a foothold on the battlements, it would make their job of delaying far easier if they did.
He ignored the men on the ground, skipping easily away from spears and swords, they held no threat to him. Instead, he headed directly for the stairs leading up to the battlements. Dranar, Alaina, and the two boys, Droned and Grundar followed. Averan and Alisha hung back. Averan had been loathe to hang back when Sandorn had informed him of the plan, but when Alisha had offered to stay back with him the idea suddenly seemed to make sense.
Sandorn was quickest, he was up and in amongst the Gatehouse guards within moments. Using his tail he easily swept aside those covering and immediately pounded on the windlasses, slamming both the Gates and the portcullis shut. When he looked back out he saw the Chimeras of the palace bounding over toward him. There were eight of them in total. They charged with reckless abandon, clearly unprepared for such a sudden attack. Sandorn knew as much as anyone how difficult it was to hold back when in Chimera form. Seeing only five beasts to their eight the defenders rushed on. Sandorn was happy to see no sign of Averan or Alisha yet.
As agreed the Dronian brothers were left to guard the Gate proper, Sandorn took one side of the Gatehouse and Dranar the other. Alaina was given the liberty to choose which side she deemed most at risk.
Sandorn readied himself as two Chimeras came to his side. He moved deftly to avoid their tails while lashing out with his own. The larger of the two tried to force his way up past him but Sandorn was ready. Distracting the one below with his tail he caught the other’s paw and used it to upend him, sending the Beast crashing down the stairs. The other Beast did well to avoid his companion but as he sought to regain his balance Sandorn launched himself, pinning the Chimera under his powerful body before smashing his head and horns into the Beast trapped below him. The Beast died instantly as two horns plunged into its skull. Sandorn was turning to face the other once more but to his right came a blur as Averan joined the Battle. The Chimera had not seen Averan, now as the huge Beast fell atop him he seemed resigned to his fate. He lifted his tail and horns to meet Averan but was brutally overpowered. Averan used his own horns to meet the attacks, easily dominating the smaller beast and flinging him backwards. Averan didn’t stop but began viciously tearing at his fallen foe. The onslaught continued for a moment before Averan heaved the body onto his broad shoulders before flinging it over the Wall down onto the street below. Another obstacle for the New Order to try and bypass, Sandorn thought as he joined Averan in climbing back up the stairs to where the others still engaged in battle.
Averan moved to help Alisha and her cousins busy defending the Gatehouse itself from an attack by three Chimeras, he slammed into one hard enough to carry into the next completely disrupting their attack.
Sandorn left his Brother to his destruction and went to where Dranar was being sorely pressed by three more Chimeras. Alaina was supporting him as best she could but they were under pressure. Dranar had evidently been hurt in the fighting.
Sandorn feinted as if he was going to charge in before leaping aside to come up behind the three attackers. As the three Chimeras considered who would deal with him Alaina saw her opportunity and pressed forward, Dranar moved in with her. Sandorn used his tail to trip one of the Beasts even as he engaged another.
Though those Chimeras stationed in the Palace were fighting bravely and with clear purpose Sandorn knew they were not used to such Battles. He and Averan had spent every evening as soon as they could even partially master their Beasts engaged in training and mock fighting. Their movements were slow compared to Averan, their style ineffective and undefined. Spinning around another attack Sandorn raked his claws across the chimera’s back. Unwisely the chimera gave into its anger, tossing his head, horns, and tail all in Sandorn’s direction. Again Sandorn easily avoided the blows, catching the tail with his own. As the Chimera stumbled past him Sandorn brought his paw down hard into the Beast’s face. Disorientated and his eyesight blooded Sandorn skipped to the side before going low and ripping his horns along the chimera’s side. A torrent of blood splashed over him as he pulled away and he knew he had won. Looking back he was pleased to see Dranar and Aliana both tearing into another of the palace chimeras. The third was already trying to flee, the reality of his situation setting in. It was too late however, Averan and the others had clearly been successful with their defense and now all came out to pounce upon the unlucky final Chimera. He went down in a blur of claws and horns. Sandorn knew he wouldn’t be getting back up.
The palace was a battleground now, everywhere he looked Sandorn saw his own men pressing the attack, the palace defenders had all gathered by the gates down below them. None even tried to get up to reopen them with so many Chimeras upon the battlements.
“DRANAR, YOU AND ALAINA STAY. WE’LL FINISH OFF THE REST.”
Sandorn had hardly given the order before Averan had leapt down to where the defenders were most tightly gathered, Alisha went immediately after him followed by the two Brothers.
Dranar had a number of cuts on his side but with Alaina’s help was able to get himself into the gatehouse and stand before the windlass. Sandorn nodded at them before following the others down below.
With enemies seemingly having sprung up everywhere and faced with 7 Chimeras both above and below them Sandorn expected the Palace guards to capitulate. But to their credit, they held to the last man. some traditions had remained in their force it seemed.
It did not take long, however. Trapped between overwhelming numbers and the gates behind them the last of the defenders were easily picked off.
Sandorn didn’t stop a moment, as soon as victory had been assured racing up to the battlements once more.
As always Fenadorn was ahead of him. Sandorn heaved a sigh of relief as all along the walls he saw the myriad of ballistae already manned and ready to fire on command. They were ready. The palace was theirs.
Sandorn transformed back just as Fenadorn went rushing past him.
“FORM UP. TO THE WALLS. MAN THE BALLISTAE. MAN THE BALLISTAE”
Sandorn shook himself away and looked to where Fenadorn was pointing. Way down the street, he saw a unit of men on horseback pulling up to a stop just out of range. All around them, on the streets and on the buildings lining them were a swarm of Chimeras. Had the gates been open they would have easily been able to force their way inside and it would have been death for all of them. Fortunately, they were too late. With the Gates and portcullis closed and drawn the Palace was virtually unassailable to the outside.
Sandorn’s ancestors may have made many mistakes leading to their downfall, but the palace was not one of them. It had been his Family’s home since the earliest days of the city, the original citadel and first true defensive structure in Gorias. Over time it had grown to the lavish, elegant royal palace seen today, but beneath its glossy surface, a formidable defense lay in place, none more so than its walls. They were not so high, only half the size of the Inner Ring walls, perhaps 40ft in height. These however were built with rogue Chimeras in mind. At the top of each was fixed a row of sharp steel bars, each one tough enough to withstand any Chimera attack and sharp enough to cut any skin. They stuck out five ft from the wall itself. Even for Sandorn, it would have been nigh on impossible to climb up the wall and generate enough force to somehow swing his body around without cutting himself into pieces. If they had time and no ballistae firing on them as clambered up they might have managed it. But they would not be allowed such respite. So long as the wall was kept well manned then the only option for the New Order was to smash in the Gates. If they tried that they might succeed, but they would bleed badly before they ever stepped foot inside the palace.
Sandorn watched on as one by one the Chimeras who had no doubt rushed to try and save the palace transformed back to their human forms. It was too far to see any faces, but Sandorn didn’t mind. He could picture them well enough. He hoped they picture his.