Henry stood beneath the shadow of Askiv's walls, his gaze tracing the weathered stone, amidst thick trees. The ramparts were several heads lower than those of Eisenburg, the capital of Stahl. Perhaps the people here had never known true war, or perhaps they trusted too much in their mages to defend them.
Henry still remembered those blazing orbs that had once rained down upon Eisenburg's walls, melting stone as if it were wax beneath the sun. There were no walls to sustain that kind of destructive power, turning them into nothing more than useless bricks. No obstacle.
Without turning back, Henry spoke to the dozen soldiers crouched behind him, his eyes fixed on the clear blue sky - "We will wait for the sun to fall. Then we move."
He drew a thin sheet of black parchment from within his cloak, the Parchment of Whispers. Channeling a thread of energy into it, he sent word to the Shadow Guards inside the city - "We enter tonight. Meet us at Eastern part of the wall."
Hours passed.
