Riley's vision cleared revealing a brighter sky, though it was muddled by tens of shades of grey, it was a welcome sight to have a bit of light touching his skin. A cool leather sensation rubbed against his arms. Looking down, he found himself sitting in a comfortable chair crafted of mahogany.
'This is certainly a nice change of pace.'
He sighed and looked around him.
Tents to his left. More tents to his right.
And a mighty fortress that stood as tall as the peaks by their sides. Its walls gave off an aura of indestructability, and the shadows it cast onto his camp were deeper than any darkness he had experienced.
Shivers ran down his spine even thinking about getting near it.
'Who would dare walk beside that sort of void? Ah, they would, I guess.'
In the corner of his eye he had spotted four figures marching along the shadow's edge. They were the scouts according to the papers laid before him. And judging by the position he was summoned in, Riley figured he was either the strategist or the commander. None of which he wished to be.
'Not the ideal scenario...but I've got my aspect for a swift escape.'
A coward's way, but it was self-preservation at its finest.
He continued looking around, ditching his large throne-like chair to wander around the camp in search of something familiar. His teammates.
Riley searched every tent. It would be pretty simple if he knew what he was looking for, but saying their names would be useless. Who would know Yara, Dari and Lucy when they wouldn't have been in this battle.
"Excuse me, could I get an update on our plans sir?"
Behind Riley, a knight had kneeled, his head hanging low out of respect. As he cast his gaze up at Riley, his gaunt and empty features shone brightly. His eyes were sunken, dark circles dug into his cheeks.
"Are you alright…uhm…are you alright my dear knight?"
The silver-clad soldier seemed shaken for a second, but quickly composed himself.
"I apologise, my liege, allow me to introduce myself once more. I am Baltamor of the Mandini household."
He rose to his feet and thumped his fist against his armour. The metallic clatter rang for a second.
"Of course…Baltamor. Our plan is to…"
Riley paused for a minute, reassessing the situation.
'The opponents are trapped inside of those walls, unable to escape, yet our camp seems to be suffering the most from prolonged warfare.'
He snatched a clipboard from a table and flicked through the pages.
'This doesn't make sense. How is his appearance so grizzly and malnourished despite there being an abundance of food, with weekly caravans delivering more…'
"Please take me to the storage tent."
They meandered through the rows of tents until finally arriving at their food stash. It was in fact full, some even rotting from being on the shelf for too long.
"How come the soldiers are not eating? Is it poisoned?"
"My liege, this food is all reserved for you. Our reserves…"
Baltamor refused to maintain eye contact, out of fear of enraging his lord. Riley could feel a small trickle of essence bathing his core.
"This is so- Gather the chefs, and half of the troops, command the rest to continue watching the wall. Eat in shifts and then return to your stations."
"But my liege-"
"Do I need to repeat myself?"
Riley was tempted to summon his lantern and lace his words with fear, but it wasn't necessary. The knight swiftly scurried off leaving him alone in the tent.
'Seriously. Just how terrible was this leader to fail a siege? All he had to do was keep morale high and feed his damn soldiers.'
====
Night had fallen by the time everyone had eaten. Chatting filled the darkness and kept the eerie silence at bay. Soldiers joked as they patrolled the perimeter of the wall. The chefs smoked in the back after their long day of work, complaining about suddenly having to cook for an entire army.
Riley cast his gaze onto the fortress now clad into a blanket of darkness. A part of him felt its alluring call, lulling him into walking forward and allowing himself to be engulfed by the everlasting shadows.
But his more rational side, the fear feeling one, snapped him out of any fantasy he had of exploring those depths.
"I spend my day walking around the soldiers trying to find any of the three. This can only mean one thing."
He sighed and looked at his strategy table filled with pieces, pawns, miniature cannons and tents.
"They must be inside, either as my enemy or slaves. Neither of which are good."
Riley slumped back in his chair and picked up a book, its blue cover contained information hastily handwritten. Some parts even appeared as scribbles, for the most part incoherent.
'Surely this isn't all the information I get on the situation.'
As if the world had a cruel way of answering his thoughts, a figure creeped inside. She towered two heads over him, and her outfit left little to the imagination.
"I am here for our nightly dance, my liege."
She licked her lips before getting on all fours and crawling nearer to him.
"A-Actually. I think maybe we should skip it tonight."
For a split second Riley felt like he saw a flash of confusion on the young woman's face. But it quickly melted into a seductive smile.
She threw on a robe and sat on his table, poking a finger into his chest.
"First you feed your soldiers. Then you rejected your lovely concubine? Did you steal my Arthur?"
She broke into a fit of laughter and bent over. A manic glint flashed in her eyes before returning to normal.
"Well, this side of you is cute too. Sooo~ great and mighty lord, what is the plan?"
Riley tried to pull himself closer to the table, hiding the evidence with a blush.
"Well, I am trying to assess our current position to advance with the most optimal plan in order to conserve our troops."
She blinked, her mouth slowly opening into an O shape.
"Did you…pick up a dictionary or something? All you used to say is 'Suck my **** you *****' and things along those lines."
Riley couldn't hide his shame anymore, feeling slightly responsible for the body he was inhabiting now. He cleared his throat.
"Yes, well- I am sorry about that, it won't happen again."
"Awww but I never said I disliked it."
Riley slammed his hands down and rushed out of the tent into the cold twilight. He hoped that would calm him down, but the distant sounds of her cackling were sending him reeling.
'Being teased like this…is not good for my heart.'
He wandered through the camp from group to group. Some had taken up alcohol and sang while others played the lute skillfully. It reeked of the novels he would read in his younger days. Not that he minded.
In fact, it lifted his spirits a little.
Himself and his cohort had been fighting tooth and nail for weeks trying to find their ways toward an escape. But even this feeling of relief was bittersweet, because he was the only one enjoying it.
The others were on the other side of the wall, and Richard…
Riley shook his head violently, trying to beat the negativity away. He regretted his choice of leaving Richard behind, but that choice shouldn't stop him from making sure the others survive. He was their leader afterall.
Darkness stared back at him, his gaze filled with determination to conquer the forsaken nightmare.
'I'll save all of you.'