Chapter 23 - Class trial part 5
A small fire crackled in the night, its warm light illuminating the sparse trees around it. Before it sat a hunched-over figure, ravenously gulping down a large piece of roasted game. Cantorn was damn grateful that the system had the foresight to place wild animals into this world as well. It had taken him two full days to get to the capital, with one of those days being spent with a gnawing hunger in his belly. He may be on his way to becoming a kingslayer but he was still plagued by the inconveniences of mortals, such as being forgetful about packing food or even needing food at all. Well, he probably would have had to steal some from a goblin vendor, and to be fully honest, the food they had didn't look like it was digestible for anyone that didn't have an iron stomach.
This whole ordeal now led to him sitting on a small hill, barely an hour-long walk away from the capital. He could see the fires of their watchtowers lighting the night sky, as well as well-armed hobgoblins patrolling the city wall. It looked like they were keeping watch from a wooden walkway that was mounted to the ten to fifteen meters tall palisade made from thick, meter-wide, logs that were sharpened at the top. It truly gave off the air of a powerful city, far different from the village he stayed in before.
The view he got was honestly amazing. Though he knew that he was always at the risk of dying out in the wild or during fights, he enjoyed this life far more than the one he had before. He traded a peaceful but bleak life in a village with no chances for future growth for an interesting but dangerous life, one where his only limit was his mind. It felt incredibly freeing, so much even, that he'd rather die than go back to his old life again.
As he took his last few bites of the juicy meat, he began to prepare himself while enjoying the scenery of the capital ahead of him. He planned to infiltrate the city at night since security around the gate seemed to be very tight. His next course of action would then be to scout out the vicinity of the castle, plan an escape route, since, well, he didn't know if the quest would end immediately after killing the warchief and then assassinate Braar.
It was a simple but quite ingenious plan, he had to pat himself on the back for that.
Just kidding, he thought to himself. He knew that his plan was more than tenuous. This, however, was not entirely his fault. He had too little knowledge of the layout of both the city and the castle, as well as the security around the warchief. When information was sparse, an assassin had to make do with what he had, or at least that was Cantorns view on the whole thing.
He threw away the now gnawed-off bone he had just chewed on and stood up. With experienced movements, he checked his armor, which was in a horrible condition by now. When he got back he would probably need to make a new one and find a way to enchant it so that it would repair itself somehow, else this would get tedious very fast. His daggers were still in fine condition, with their blades not even showing nicks.
Dry leaves crunched under his feet as he took his first steps towards the city. It would be morning sooner than he thought, so he preferred to hurry a bit. Moving faster than most would expect from the small elf, he ran off.
*******
The sound of something dripping boomed like drums in the silent night. In irregular intervals, a liquid splattered onto the ground. Muffled gurgling amplified the already ominous soundscape. Then a muted impact could be heard. Illuminated by the flickering light of large fires in the distance, attentive observers could've seen the headless body of a hobgoblin dropping down the capital's walls. Luckily, however, nobody seemed to notice.
For good measure, Cantorn silently remained where he was for a few more minutes. When there were still no movements to be heard nearby, he stood up. Flicking his wrist, he shook off the last bits of flesh and blood that still stuck to his dagger. He then stuck it back under his belt, where it was covered well by the robe he still wore.
With silent movements, he lept off the walkway, landed on the ground behind the wooden fortification, and moved towards the center of the city. As he swiftly passed the outskirts, he mentally marked a few places that he would stay away from if he ever had to flee. One was a large building adorned with various variants of bladed weapons. He guessed it to be the city guard's barracks, so avoiding that one was a must. Even more dangerous however was the building out of Manite that towered all other buildings in the outer parts of the city. It looked almost identical to the one he saw before, just bigger and decorated with golden accents that had strange runes carved into them.
Mages were a pain in the ass, and based on the previous experiences, he had no interest in figuring out just how much stronger they were if raised among elites. He was already scared of what Braar might be capable of, even if he was just beginning to practice magic. In the end, it would come down to his skill anyways. If he lost, he was simply unfit to ever turn into someone great.
As Cantorn moved deeper into the city, he began to transition to the roofs. He didn't want to risk running into any guards that may patrol there, and since the houses he passed became visibly larger and more luxurious, he guessed that security was increasing as well. While he was running over the rooftops, the dark-elf noticed for the first time just how confident he had become. He did not fear death right now, as there was nothing he was afraid to lose. The only thing he was scared of was failure; that he would not be able to live up to his expectations or not make proper use of this second chance at life. He had already decided not to look back anymore, so looking too far into the future seemed equally foolish to him.
Setting foot on one of the tallest buildings in this city, seemingly a large library, Cantorn was finally able to see the castle. Only a few hundred meters away it stood, a massive building of wood and stone. A large gate, way too large for goblin standards especially, made up the entrance. Dark grey walls framed the wooden construction and a set of massive fire bowls lit up the surroundings as light as day. Goblin guards in fancy armor secured the whole thing, with them even wearing plate mail, instead of the usual lighter protection made out of leather.
Invading this place would be a challenge, one unlike any other before. Yet, it sparked Cantorn's will to fight. There was no way he would back out of this, especially when things just started to turn interesting.
I love it!