A Hero must increase their fee proportional to any injuries sustained in the course of their services

-Hero’s Guild Book of Rules

Rule #9

   Feral sat with his back against one of the dungeon walls, the cold stone refusing to ever warm, while Will paced nervously. They’d opened the door to their cell, allowing in the late morning sunlight from the windows in the corridor, hoping to gain some additional warmth. Will had been reluctant to leave the door open but considering that no one had been down to check on them or deliver any meals Feral were quite certain that their open door would go unnoticed.  From his place on the floor he could see out of the window and up to the top of the inner wall. When he’d first arrived there had been patrols and archers along that wall. Now there was hardly anyone. He’d heard a fair amount of marching not too far from the window earlier in the day and guessed that the soldiers who had been up on the wall had been ordered to move inside the castle. Not the best position to repel the King’s army, but ideal for making Feral and Will’s escape more difficult.

   “They were suppose to execute me at sunrise,” Will said at last and it was clear the waiting was weighing on him heavily.

   “I told you,” Feral said, “No one’s coming.”

   “I thought you were just talking about meals and stuff.”

   “Nah,” Feral said as he rose to his feet, “I figured General Jernagin would cancel your execution once he learned I was down here with you.”

   “So can we just wait down here until they leave?” Will asked hopefully but Feral shook his head.

   “No, the Western Realm’s going to be here for a while if we don’t do something about it. We’d starve long before the siege broke. And besides,” Feral added, “Skemm and Riven will be here tomorrow. We wouldn’t want all those archers ready to welcome them would we?”

   Will’s eyes widened. “But I thought you said they’d been wounded!”

   “Yeah, they are,” Feral nodded.

   “Then why would they come?”

   “Because I told them to.”

   Will gaped at Feral.

   “They would have come anyway,” Feral assured him. “This way I was able to delay them a day and know roughly when they’d be coming.”

   “Will they even be able to fight?”

   Feral thought for a moment. He hadn’t been able to get a very good look at Riven’s wounds and she’d always been rather good at concealing her injuries.

   “Skemm won’t be able to do much without risking reopening her wound,” Feral said. “I’m not sure about Riven. I wouldn’t count on either being terribly able in a fight for some time, though.”

   Will stared at Feral, mouthing wordlessly. Feral laughed and patted Will on the shoulder.

   “It’ll be alright,” Feral assured him. “I’m pretty sure the King’s army will be arriving at about the same time so as long as there aren’t any archers left when they get here, it’s unlikely Riven and Skemm will be in any danger.”

   “Okay,” Will said at last, “So how are we going to deal with the archers?”

   “I counted around seventy archers when they were leading me up to the castle,” Feral said. “It’s probably safe to assume there’s more I didn’t see, so let’s say there’s a hundred archers. They’ve pulled the soldiers off the inner wall and moved them inside the castle. It’s hard to know for certain, but I’d guess that was  half of their archers, along with a hundred or more regular soldiers.”

   “Why would they do that?” Will asked.

   “Probably as a trap for us when we escape,” Feral said matter-of-factly. “They could use the soldiers to draw us into any number of places where the archers could make quick work of us.”

   “Well that sounds great,” Will’s voice was thick with sarcasm.

   “I originally thought that we’d just have to chance it,” Feral went on, walking out of the cell and over to the window to get a better view, “but I think I have a better plan now.”

   The view from the window wasn’t the best, but Feral could just see the loads of stone and wood that still hung in the air. They swayed a little and cast odd shadows on the ground. With the Sun almost directly overhead, the shadows themselves were excellent indicators of what the stones and beams rested over.

   “Come here, Will,” Feral called back over his shoulder.

   Will was obviously nervous about just walking out into the corridor, but he mastered himself and joined Feral beneath the window.

   “Can you see that load of stone there?” Feral asked, lowering his head to Will’s level and pointing.

   “Yeah, I think so,” Will said. From the lower vantage point there was just an edge visible.

   “I’m pretty sure that’s hanging right above the entrance into the castle,” Feral explained. “Before I got captured, I did a little scouting and that’s the only way in or out of the castle. All of the lower windows are too small to fit through and the higher windows are too high to safely jump from.”

   Will was beginning to catch onto Feral’s plan but it wasn’t clear whether he was liking the idea or not.

   “So we’re going to fight our way to the top of that tower and cut the ropes?” Will asked. “How does that deal with the archers who are waiting to kill us?”

   “That’s not quite what I have in mind,” Feral said with a wink. “Over the years I’ve learned a few tricks from Riven and this,” Feral pulled Skemm’s unstrung bow from within his right pant leg, followed by a few arrows from his left pant leg, “is one of my favorites.”

   Feral untied the bowstring from around his waist, strung the bow, and then handed it over to Will.

   “Do you think you could shoot the rope holding the load of stones?” He asked.

   Will’s eyes widened even further and he looked more intently out the window. He shifted positions a couple of times, trying to find the best view. Finally he said, “I’d have to ricochet the arrow off the window sill to hit the rope from down here.”

   “You think three tries will be enough,” Feral said, holding the arrows out to Will.

   Will breathed out heavily and looked at the arrows uncertainly. He turned back to the window and shifted side to side as he gauged the shot once again. Finally he took one of the arrows from Feral and nocked it to the bowstring.

   “A hundred gold pieces if I get it on my first try?” Will asked with a glint in his eye and a subtle smile.

   Feral laughed and cocked an eyebrow.

   “Sure,” he said. “Fifty if you get it on the second, and—

   Will loosed the arrow. It smacked against the stone window sill and arched sharply upward and out of sight. For a moment they stood silent, waiting. Then all at once they heard the loud snapping of the rope and the shouts of soldiers as they watched helplessly while the stones fell to the earth. The ground shook as they crashed and the awful noise of stones splintering against one another resounded for much longer than Feral had anticipated.

   “Now we go up the stairs!” Feral cried out over the din and he pulled Will onward.

   At the top of the stairs Feral found the guards he’d been expecting. They, however, were distracted by the loud crash and Feral was on them before they could raise the alarm. He pulled the sword from the first soldier’s sheath and used it to make quick work of the others. As soon as the fighting was over, Feral paused and held a finger to his lips to signal for Will to keep quiet as well.

   “What?” Will mouthed silently.

   “I wanted to make sure no one noticed the noise I just made,” Feral said after a few moments and he relaxed slightly.

   The soldiers had been moderately well armed and armored and Feral began sizing up the fallen soldiers. As soon as he found one who was near enough to his size he began removing the armor and livery and putting it on himself. He didn’t usually like to be so encumbered but he knew it would be too much to assume he wouldn’t need the armor this time around. It might also make it more difficult for the archers to tell him apart from the other soldiers.

   “Any chance some of that will fit me?” Will asked and his voice quavered slightly as he spoke.

   Feral looked briefly over the soldiers, knowing none of it would be small enough to fit Will, and then shook his head.

   “Just stay behind me,” Feral told him, “and do what I say without hesitation. I’m hoping we can find General Jernagin. With luck, he’ll be inside the castle and we’ll be able to take him hostage. That might give us enough leverage to convince the rest of the army, both inside the castle and out, to stand down and surrender. With a good portion of their army trapped inside the castle they won’t be able to fight off the King’s army now anyway.”

   Feral picked up a shield and handed it to Will.

   “I can’t shoot the bow and carry this too,” Will protested.

   “Sure you can,” Feral told him and he strapped the shield onto the same arm that Will used to carry the bow. “If it’s still too heavy you can rest it on the ground when you shoot. But you only have two arrows right now so don’t be too quick to use them. Take one of their swords too.”

   Will did as instructed, slipping a sword and its sheath onto his belt and then tested the whole setup, nocking an arrow and checking to see how well he could aim. He didn’t look convinced but he didn’t voice any other complaints.

   Feral picked up a shield for himself and looked over to Will once more to make sure he was ready. Will nodded and Feral gave him a smile that he hoped would show confidence in the plan even though he wasn’t so sure of it himself. There was a lot that could go wrong. If the castle entrance wasn’t adequately blocked, if they got surrounded, if General Jernagin wasn’t in the castle…worst of all, they didn’t know exactly where the archers were inside the castle and they could easily blunder right into their line of fire. Still, it was a chance, and as long as there was a chance Feral wouldn’t stop trying.

   This corner of the castle was on the far side opposite from where the main entrance was and Feral hoped that the crashing stones and broken entrance would distract the soldiers inside the castle enough to draw them away from their posts. If General Jernagin was inside the castle he’d be on an upper level of the castle, or perhaps in one of the unfinished towers. Getting there without drawing attention would be a trick indeed.

   The first couple of corridors that Feral and Will passed through were deserted. Outside, voices cried for help in moving the fallen stones. Several voices from within the castle also cried out and it seemed to Feral that his plan had, so far, worked. If their luck held out they would be able to take General Jernagin captive and be done with this whole adventure without needing to do much more fighting.

   He was just about to say so to Will when they rounded a corner and entered what looked to be the main hall of the castle. It was a large and wide room, probably used for hosting feasts and other celebrations, though currently there were no chairs of tables in the space. Instead, some fifty or sixty soldiers armed with swords and spears stood in the center of the room while at least thirty archers lined the walls. On the far side of the main hall were the stairs leading to the upper levels of the castle.

   “Declare yourself!” the soldier nearest them called out.

   In cases like this, Feral usually preferred to bluff or intimidate his way through, but that only worked in certain circumstances. If people were too frightened, or too foolish, they’d fight at the slightest provocation and these soldiers stared with the wide eyed expressions of cornered beasts.

   “I have no quarrel with you,” Feral said in a cool and even tone. “With half your army now trapped inside this castle, those without will be unable to fend off the King’s army. Lay down your weapons, allow me and my companion to pass, and you will live to see your families again.”

   Several archers nocked arrows to their bowstrings but most of the sword and spearmen looked like they might be near convincing.

   “Feral,” Will murmured from behind him.

   “Speak,” Feral murmured back, not taking his eyes off the soldiers in front of him.

   “We’ve got spearmen and archers coming up behind us.”

   The soldiers in the main hall wouldn’t be able to see the ones coming up from behind Feral and Will, and the ones from behind wouldn’t know exactly what was going on in the main hall, but the chances of reaching a diplomatic solution were shrinking rapidly.

   “We go right,” Feral whispered, “Gather arrows when you can. Take out the archers and then the officers.”

   “Okay,” came Will’s breathless reply.

   Feral leaped forward into the main hall, Will scurrying behind him to keep up. The archers let fly their first volley of arrows but in their surprise the archers’ aim were mostly wild. As a rule, archers wore little to no armor in order to allow them the greatest speed and mobility. It also meant that when a swordsman fell among them that they had little to no defense against his blows. Feral cut his way along the right side of the hall, striking down as many archers as he could before having to turn and deal with the other soldiers. Will began to fire off arrows from behind Feral shortly after the first archer had been struck down.

   Archers on the left hand side of the room loosed their arrows without regard to the other soldiers in the main hall. Feral had hoped that they would be less willing to kill their own men, but obviously he’d been wrong. With his shield on his left he kept the shafts at bay. Will, fortunately, was short enough that with the soldiers closing in, the archers didn’t have a clear shot to him. Unfortunately, it also meant Will didn’t have many opportunities to shoot at them either.

   Feral fought on, blocking as many blows as he could with his shield while he struck out with his sword at whoever was closest at hand. He was dimly aware of blows being struck against his body and limbs from time to time but he paid them no heed. Either his armor would be enough to protect him, or it wouldn’t, but as long as he could fight on he would and he didn’t allow himself to become distracted by the blows.

   During one of the brief respites in the fighting, when the wounded were falling and the next series of soldiers were still pushing their way forward, Feral chanced a glance around the main hall. He was hoping for some sort of advantage but the room was sparse. The only furnishings left in the hall were the large chandeliers on either end.

   “Will!” Feral shouted over the noise of the fight as a new idea struck him.

   “I’m here,” Will replied, still hugging tight behind Feral.

   They needed to thin out the soldiers ranks even more before they could make a proper search of the upper levels. Fighting in the stairway would slow down the soldiers, certainly, but if there were other sets of stairs, the soldiers could run around and get at them from behind and being surrounded on a stair was the last thing he and Will needed.

   “Get on the stairs,” Feral told Will, using as few words as possible since his mind was so focused on the fighting. “Block it with the chandelier. GO!” Feral shouted and struck out at the soldiers with such ferocity that he hoped they would forget about Will long enough for him to reach the stairs.

   With Will no longer hiding behind him, Feral was free to truly fight. He ducked beneath a spear thrust and spun away from the sword he knew was falling toward his right side. He brought his shield up into the faces of the soldiers on his left and ran his sword through a man on his right. The spear he’d ducked under was now on the side of his head and the spearman whipped the shaft of the spear to the side in an effort to bash Feral. He wouldn’t have time to duck it again or to bring either his sword or shield up to block it so instead he threw himself at the spearman, tackling him to the ground.

   Remaining still in a fight was death and Feral rolled to the side as a half dozen swords and spears were thrust down to where he had lain. They pierced the tackled spearman instead.

   A thunderous crash behind him shook the room and men cried out. Will had brought down the chandelier. Arrows began flying overhead and at first Feral thought they were from the archers, taking aim at Will. However, the direction of the arrows was wrong for that to be the case and Feral watched as archers and officers alike began to fall with arrows in their chests.

   “FALL BACK!” Feral shouted, hoping the soldiers would mistake his voice for one of their officer’s.

   It was difficult for him to see clearly with so many soldiers around him, but there was a definite lessening in the overall press of soldiers striving to get to him. He continued to fight on as best he could but his body was growing weary and his reactions were beginning to slow. If he didn’t get a break soon he would be overwhelmed. He began fighting his way back towards the stairs, a final gambit in his mind.

   “FALL BACK TO THE HALL’S ENTRANCE!” Feral shouted out, again hoping to deceive at least a portion of the soldiers.

   Again, the pressure on him seemed to lessen and as his feet backed into the ruined chandelier that blocked the stairs he called over his shoulder, “Will, second chandelier!”

   An arrow flew from behind him moments later. It seemed as though the soldiers nearest him, realizing what was about to happen, all stopped fighting and turned to watch the arrow’s progression. Feral wasted no time and cut the men down. As they fell, so too did the second chandelier. Beneath it stood the majority of the remaining soldiers. Some of them saw what was happening and dove out of the way but most of them remained unawares until the chandelier was upon them. In the commotion, Feral climbed up and over and through the broken pieces of the chandelier that blocked the stairs and rejoined Will and together they climbed to the second floor.

   Will began to speak but Feral silenced him with a swift gesture. At the top of the stairs were set several suits of decorative armor, as well as some chairs that were tucked into a nearby sitting area. Feral dragged all of it to the stairs and began tossing it down, effectively blocking them up and buying them more time.

   Finally, Feral slumped to the floor and let his body and mind rest somewhat. His hands were shaky and he became aware of various pains across his body but nothing that seemed immediately critical. That was a relief. He’d taken a lot of hits and only luck could have prevented any of them from breaking through his armor, or else finding a gap between the protective layers, and killing him.

   He kept his eyes closed but remained attentive with his ears. He’d hear if anyone was trying to come up those stairs and so far it didn’t seem like anyone was venturing that way just yet. Will sat down beside him and he heard cloth being torn.

   “Are you injured?” Feral asked.

   “No,” Will replied, “but I thought I should bind your wounds.”

   He glanced over to the boy and gave him a wane smile. Will was pale, but not in a state of shock. What was more, he had no fewer than five quivers of arrows slung about his neck. Will finished tearing the strips of cloth and moved closer to Feral’s left leg. It was then that Feral noticed the blood pooling beneath him and the arrows sticking out of his left shin and thigh.

   “Well that’s not good,” Feral said more seriously as Will started binding his leg.

   “You’ve lost a lot of blood,” Will stated. “How are you feeling?”

   Feral considered himself for a moment. His hands were still shaky and his head was a little foggy. The pain in his legs was beginning to rise now that he was aware of the arrows and if he didn’t start moving again soon he suspected his left leg would simply refuse to function.

   “I’m good,” Feral said in his usual tones of confidence and bravado. “Just slap some bandages on me and we’ll be ready to go.”

   Will looked relieved and he finished wrapping the bandages around Feral’s leg. The bleeding slowed and seemed to be contained well enough by the bandages for now. If he had to fight again, it might be a different story.

   “Let’s go,” Feral said and he climbed carefully up to his feet. As he suspected, his left leg was protesting more with each passing minute and his head swam briefly. Will didn’t seem to notice, however, and the two of them began creeping along, checking each room they came to in the hopes of finding General Jernagin, always on the alert for sounds of approaching soldiers.