The archers strung their bows and nocked the first arrows to them. Anders looked around to make sure everyone was ready, and under the moon's light, he gave the signal to attack. The archers crept quietly through the tall grass between them and the high walls. They hid behind trees, finding the best angles to kill the few guardsmen quickly and quietly as they approached.
As they infused their bows with a Stil spell to silence their arrows and bowstrings, they each drew their arrows to their cheeks and waited for Anders' signal. He dropped his hand swiftly, and the arrows soared, cutting through the air and the thin cloth around the guardsmen's necks silently.
The guards collapsed simultaneously, each choking on their own blood as they tried to call for help. "Move in!" Anders hissed to those around him before sprinting out of the treeline to the base of the high wall, preparing their grappling hooks with a Stil spell.
At his command, they launched their hooks to grab the thick stone edges of the wall and began to climb. As they crept over the wall and finished off any guardsmen still alive after the initial barrage of arrows, they drew their daggers and approached the guardhouse silently.
Silence these bastards, he signaled to those nearest to it.
They followed his command quickly, severing the arteries and trachea of the unsuspecting guardsmen. As the last guard fell, he signaled for Unni and her team to scale the walls. "How far north do you want us to go?" she whispered as she took his hand to help her over the remainder of the wall.
"We will continue to clear out the western side of the walls. Take your team and head along the walls until you reach the rooftops closest to Mads' tower. Once you arrive, drop your hooks down to help us scale up to you," Anders said. "You're going to use the windows to your advantage, aren't you?" Unni asked wryly, getting a grin from him in return.
"I will go in through the window to his quarters, and I'll gut him in his sleep. In the meantime, I'll need you to clear the level below us. Keep watch for any of the other guardsmen who might get curious and silence them as needed," he said quietly. "Sounds like a plan," Unni replied. "Let's go," Anders nodded, removing the hooks from the walls the rest had finished climbing over.
Each team ran along the walls, taking care to avoid being seen by any who may lurk below. Anders and his men continued to clear out the Western ramparts, as Unni and her team reached their target destination with little resistance.
"We can cut across the rooftops over here. Follow me," he whispered to his men, noticing Unni's signal to move in. No sooner were they off, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Luckily for them, the roofs were not made of thatch but granite, the main source of income for Hjalfar.
The nearby mines made it possible for all of the houses within the city to be made almost entirely of stone. The narrow, cobblestone streets below were bereft of any living thing aside from a few rats here and there, as the entirety of Odensby was sound asleep.
Things are going smoothly. Almost too smoothly. I feel like something's off, Anders thought as he reached the secondary wall, which guarded the main tower of the palace.
Granted, it wasn't as vast as Coltend's, though it was built to last against almost any assault.
Unfortunately, Anders noticed that a handful of guards were still keeping watch on the inner wall, forcing him to halt his team and hide in the shadows.
Damn it. She should have cleared those out already, he thought before noticing her silhouette lurking on the rooftop above them.
She signaled her team to take them out in unison. The poor bastards, drinking ale around an impromptu fire they had made to keep warm, never saw the blades that struck them down. Unni dropped the hooks off the side of the wall, aiding Anders and his team as they scaled them.
"We can't have any more surprises like that," he said, helping the last man behind him. "That wasn't my fault," Unni said quietly. "You're the one who spent all those years here, you should have been the one to remember that," she sneered. "This must have been built after I left," Anders retorted, looking around him briefly.
"Well, let's hope the only surprise left will be for Mads when he shits himself seeing you. But how the fuck do we get in there? The windows are barred shut," Unni said, analyzing the situation. "Do you still have those hooks?" he asked. "Do you have shit for brains? Yes, of course, I still have them," Unni sneered.
"If we can make it to the outer portion of the tower that faces the edge of the cliff, we should be able to get in just fine," Anders whispered to her, gesturing to an unguarded section of the tower. "You're saying they didn't fortify the windows over there?" Unni asked. "Never have. That's the last place any normal person would suspect an attack to come from," he said, patting her on the shoulder.
She blushed, but Anders didn't notice in the shadows.
"Ladies first," he said with a barely visible smile. She nodded, and had one of the women with her infuse her bow and fire a grappling hook. It landed quietly and they soon began to scale the tower, taking note which windows were the stealthiest entry points, and the positions of the guardsmen that roamed the floors.
Luckily for us, the dipshit left his window open, Anders noticed the shimmering glass gently reflecting the candle light from within Mads' room.
"This is gonna be tougher than we thought with all those guards around," Unni whispered after reaching the top. "Can't turn back now. Remember, we'll go directly into Mads' room, while your team breaches the floor below and clears the guards as quietly as you can," Anders returned.
"You should go to Mads alone," Unni shook her head, facing her leader. "What?" he raised an eyebrow. "I know how much he has taken from you. Your position. Your home. Your family," she said, shaking her head. "How much do you actually know about me, Unni?" Anders asked, his unfounded suspicion growing more solidified.
"Now's not the time to discuss that. Right now, you must exact your revenge on everything he has done to you. You have the only right to do so," she whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder as he let the words sink in. After a moment's pause, he let out a quick sigh and rubbed his watering eyes as he nodded.
They grabbed the hooked ropes and began to descend to their respective entry points, waiting for Anders' signal to begin the final portion of their assault.
Three. Two. One. Go! Anders signaled nonverbally, prompting the others to push off the wall and swing into the tower, landing inside silently.
Anders, who had gone directly into Mads' room, steadied himself and observed his surroundings. He noticed paintings of the old queen of Hjalfar, as well as the king's sons, hung up on the walls. Furs were strewn across the floor, one of which he had landed on, and hunting trophies also hung upon the walls.
The small, seldom-used desk in the corner had a few bits of parchment with indiscernible scribblings on them. It was uncommon for any royal family member to write anything in their own hand, but he couldn't afford to pay it any more attention than he already had.
The large bed at the back of the room held a single, snoring, extremely dangerous person.
Meanwhile, Unni and three others had entered the floor just below where Mads lay, quickly and quietly dispatching the guards that roamed the floor. "Let's go, we have more guards to kill," she signaled quietly to the small group.
I hope he's alright, she thought, briefly glancing at the stairs that led to the royal bedroom.
Anders crept up on the sleeping king, his blade gleaming in the light of the single candle that dimly lit the room.
My heart feels like it's about to leap out of my throat. I can hardly hear his breathing pattern. I need to slow my heartbeat, he thought, adjusting his grip on his blade and taking a slow, controlled breath.