Chapitre 285: Haste (3)
The heavy doors of the castle were ajar, and Hilda confidently entered inside, gesturing to her comrades that they could come in. Leaving the horses in the courtyard, the companions entered the main hall of the castle. Its walls were covered in centuries-old dust and cobwebs, as if cleaning had been done only in a few main rooms, where the mistress lived.
"Phew, I hope she remembers me," Hilda cautiously opened the door to the throne room.
The room was illuminated by several torches, and it was noticeable how the wind swirled and scattered the centuries-old dust in the corners. However, a neatly laid path led to a massive throne adorned with bones of impressive size.
On the throne sat a figure as grotesque as everything else in the castle. She wore armor that imitated a bear's skin, with paws on her hands and feet, and a fanged helmet on her head. However, the "armor" left the warrior's shoulders and abdomen exposed, which involuntarily sent shivers down the spines of the significantly chilled travelers.
"Mhm, little Hilda, it's been a while since you came to visit me," a low female voice made the windows tremble, "And look, this time you brought someone other than your mother with you. Have you learned to make friends?"
"Hmm," Hilda frowned displeased at the castle's mistress's remark, but obediently smiled and bowed, "Lady Hel, pleased to see you. I've come with my companions on business."
"Hmm, did you come to hunt an old bear, by any chance?" The tanned woman got up from the throne and went to meet the guests. She was an impressive woman, almost two meters tall, with a musculature that rivaled experienced fighters, yet she hadn't lost her feminine features, "And is this, by any chance, your boyfriend?"
Slyly smirking, the warrior glanced at Grain.
"Hel!" Hilda stamped her foot in annoyance.
"No, we're just comrades," the earth mage replied as if nothing happened.
"Oh, I see," a satisfied grin spread wider on the tana's face.
"Lady Hel, he already has a girlfriend, leave him alone," Hilda tried her best to restrain the formidable warrior.
"Mhm, what a pity... And he's quite a nice boy, even for a mage," sighing sadly, Hel returned to her throne.
"Did I say something wrong?" Grain looked surprised at the princess.
"Remember the 'deep love and respect' the subjects have for the tana? Well, the men in the villages adore her even more during the... annual contests..." Hilda blushed fervently.
"And what does that have to do with it?" Grain continued to look at the blushing Hilda with bewilderment.
"Well, come on, you brought up the topic yourself, now tell the whole story," the castle's mistress taunted the princess.
"Well... it's... a challenge for men... which Hel usually holds once or twice a year, where she identifies the strongest men in the nearby villages and then rewards them... in a rather peculiar way."
The princess blushed even more, averting her gaze.
"Still, Hilda is such a little one; there's no need to act so coy. If you can't say it, ha-ha," Hel removed her helmet-mask, revealing a face younger than expected, considering the Valkyries' stories. She appeared to be no older than thirty, her snow-white hair was tied in two braids, and her white irises added an air of mystery to her: "Let's put it this way, even though I love living in seclusion, sometimes I crave some live company. That's why I invite men to come and stay here."
The castle's mistress playfully smiled, causing the guests to involuntarily step back.
"Oh, I see," Grain awkwardly smirked and tried to avoid eye contact with the warrior.
"But let's get down to business. I doubt you came here just to pay respects to an old lady's memory."
"Yes, we're looking for those who attacked my father, me, and other kings."
"Hmm? So, that's what they've come up with," Hel scolded herself and tapped her temple. "I didn't think Krig would go along with this. I never paid much attention to him before; he's been holed up in the wilderness, practicing petty mercenary work with his gang. I didn't think he would dare such foolishness."
"So, you know where he is?"
"Of course, I know. Recently, he received a substantial payment, and I hoped they'd been hired for some decent work, finally leaving this place. But it seems I was mistaken. Are you sure it's him?"
"The assassins used a poison that can only be obtained here."
"And Mom..." Helen interjected, but then shyly stepped back. "She said she saw mercenaries in this area."
"Hmm, in any case, we have to ask him about it, although he might not be so amiable."
"I'm not sure that's possible. It seems all the assassins were under a curse that kills them when you try to interrogate them."
"Really? I think I've heard about something like that..."
"Most likely, it was placed on these coins, and then it passed on to the assassins," Hilda handed the imperial gold coin to the tana.
"Hmm," Hel traced her finger along the charred edge of the coin. "I never thought someone would remember these runes. They were supposed to be forbidden centuries ago."
"Do you know what it means?"
"Yes, it's an old incantation, something like 'Open your mouth, fall asleep forever'."
"Can it be lifted?"
"Mmm... not sure, most likely not. But not all the assassins could have been enchanted. Krig has quite a sizable clan; someone must have remained unaffected."
"And how many are there?"
"A little over five thousand, give or take. They've set up a large camp in the canyon to the north."
"Heh, and how are we going to deal with them? If it really is them, they'll surely try to finish the job."
"Well, then we'll have to be clever. I've already thought about how to get rid of them if they cause too much trouble, but with you, the chances of success significantly increase. Rest for now, and we'll head to their camp at night."
At midnight, the sentries on the towers of Iringar changed shifts, and a young guard, already drugged with a sleeping potion, took his place on the third tower in a row along the wealthy quarter.
"Everything is in order," as soon as the guard began to doze off on the tower, a second figure in black appeared. Her bow was concealed by dense fabric to avoid attracting the attention of guards on the other towers. "Hmm, if my father finds out what we're doing here, he'll kill me."
Reluctantly, the archer took out a small quiver with needles—thirty shots at most, not enough for all the guards; precise calculations were necessary for the accomplices to infiltrate inside.
A proper square courtyard, entrance from the south, walls along the perimeter, two guards at each corner, and a few more patrolling the inner corridor. The number of guards inside was unknown, but according to Tain's information, there were at least thirty of them. Quite a lot for such an estate, but they say the owner significantly reinforced security in recent months.
"Let's begin," the archer prepared three needles and aimed at the open window in the inner corridor. Every twenty minutes, a patrol of three soldiers passes by this spot. The second patrol will pass in another ten minutes. "We can't let the sleeping potion spread too quickly; otherwise, the second patrol will notice their drowsy bodies."
The archer aimed at the window and waited. When the guards appeared, a precise shot to their arm, and they didn't notice anything. The girl had practiced this shot on Seleria yesterday, and it should put them to sleep in about two minutes. The second group had to aim for the neck, so they fall asleep until the turn.
The archer's eyes adapted to the darkness, but concentrating for so long on targets two hundred meters away from her position was challenging. No one would give her a second chance. Exactly ten minutes later, the second group appeared.
The shot was accurate, and the guards smoothly entered the realm of dreams. The only task left was to remove the sentries from the towers and ensure none of them woke up prematurely.
"Now, it's our turn," Seleria tossed a rope onto the wall.
"Rumy, if the mouse disappears, start causing a ruckus. If you manage to buy us at least ten minutes, that'll be enough."
"Oh, you underestimate me; I can keep them distracted for at least twenty minutes... just don't forget to get me out of prison later, hehe," the golem picked up a hefty bottle of wine and headed towards the street.
"The storage is in the far corner, out of sight from Miriam's tower, so we don't know how many guards are there, but I hope there are none inside."
"Yes, but only lethal traps?"
"Well, it's inevitable. Let's go."
Silently climbing the wall, we checked the condition of the guards.
"It seems unreliable... Should I paralyze them again?" I extended the blades from my bracers.
"No, your poison is too noticeable; they'll figure it out immediately. This way, we can attribute it to fatigue."
"Alright, let's descend."
Rizel was the first to leap from the roof, concealing herself within the shadow, and she landed in a thick cloud of smoke, quickly surveying the area.
"All clear. It seems there are no more guard posts," she reported.
We passed by snoring guards in the corridor and reached a door in the corner of the building. A spiral staircase led down a couple of floors.
"Our target should be here," Seleria quietly opened the door to the basement and slipped inside the corridor. Around the corner, a long passage led to a gilded door guarded by two sentinels.
"Hmm, we can't bypass them," I said.
"I'll take them down. You just need to get closer," I prepared both blades; one precise strike should be enough, but there was no place to hide in such a narrow passage.
"I'll cover you; run ahead before they recover," Rizel gathered a dense veil of shadows on the tip of her staff. One wave and darkness filled the room. A gust of wind slightly extinguished the candles, and while the guards' vision was recovering, I was already behind their backs.
A hit to their sides, and they collapsed unconscious.
"The keys, the keys, the keys," Seleria diligently searched the guards. "Hmm, they don't have them. We'll have to pick the lock."
The girl promptly unrolled a set of tools on the floor.
"Oh, my respected princess... your girly kit scares me," I tried to tease Seleria, but she only smiled.
"I'm a versatile person; I carry everything that might come in handy."
"May I give it a try?" Rizel smiled and approached the lock. Removing her hood, she revealed her newly-fashioned black braids, which quickly rose into the air, obedient to their mistress. "This should work."
Her hair, shrouded in shadow, quickly began probing the lock. A few clicks, and the door yielded to the necromancer's touch.
"Hmm, a useful trick... I once tried to copy a key with crimson flame, but the lock melted faster than I could open it, so I had to abandon that idea."
"I can mold my hair into any shape with the help of shadows, a useful skill, but the main thing is not to overdo it."
Beyond the door was a more spacious corridor, lined with various armors.
"Hmm, I didn't know he collects these, although they are probably mostly decorations for traps," Seleria remarked.
The princess conjured a small flame and turned it into several tiny creatures, which she used as bait to check the corridor. Two traps with arrows triggered on them, but that seemed too little for such a wealthy storage.
"I doubt this is all, Riz, stay here for now."
"Good luck."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone