Sorceress of the Second Sphere

18. Uncivil War - Peyton

Jogging up to Bleufontaine's walls, they seemed to reach for the sky causing Peyton to fail to see what bedlam that had been caused within the wall. He felt anxiety grip his heart as he moved forward, the blood-red walls proving a literal partition between him and the chaos within.

"HALT!"

Peyton felt like he was jumping out of his skin as he looked up the wall to see several archers pointing their recurve bows at the three helpless men closing toward the gates of the chaos-driven castle.

"THERE IS TO BE NO ENTRY TO THE CASTLE"

Looking up the wall, he could not establish who had shouted the order, but as many fearsome arrows pointed themselves at the powerless men at the gates, it felt inappropriate to try an initial attempt to decipher the mystery.

"I NEED IMMEDIATE ENTRY" Peyton shouted, hoping to spark a positive response from the archers.

"HOLD OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!"

Peyton and his men immediately froze. The threat felt genuine, the call oozed urgency, they were simply moments away from being pinned by several sharp-tipped arrows.

He needed to get in to find out what had transpired, with the sound of battle continuing toward the keep Peyton was becoming increasingly agitated.

What bothered him most was how the castle walls remained intact and the gates closed. Whatever was happening was not because of Ruvia, but instead, it seemed chaos was rampant as a result of Isovine actions.

Could news of Ravenscourt finally have reached Bleufontaine?

"SIR WHITEHILL, YOU'VE RETURNED." a cry from the battlements bellowed.

Looking up, Peyton recognised a friendly face. The roundish red-faced features of Sir Gilfred, a man twice his age, but a knight-errant just like the frustrated Peyton.

"STAND DOWN, OPEN THE GATES" Sir Gilfred ordered.

Tension released as Peyton could sense arrows returning to their quivers and as the sound of the huge timber bars could be heard sliding from behind the gates, the door opened allowing Peyton to be one step closer to finding his answers.

Stepping into the muddy grounds, the chaos had not reached the walls, but in the distance, he observed men running around attempting to quell one of the many fires that littered the tent rows.

"Sir Peyton, you have been gone for some time." Sir Gilfred responded as his steps clanked down the stony staircase.

Peyton immediately saluted him which Gilfred immediately responded in kind, "I saw smoke originating from here and came as quickly as I could. My men are a couple of hours walk away with supplies we have found on our journey, but I needed to ensure it was safe for their return."

Gilfred seemed a little out of breath from his trek up and down the stairs, his bushy moustache hid his lips, but it didn't hide his concern about today's events. "It appears that we are seeing an end to today's unfortunate events," his deep gruff voice responded, "it has been an extremely trying day, the supplies couldn't come at a more welcome time. It should be safe to have them return."

Peyton instructed his men to return to Harrold and the caravan and as the gate's closed behind them, the soldiers returned to their duties. With only Sir Gilfred remaining with Peyton. Questions needed to be answered.

"Sir Gilfred, what has transpired today?"

Gilfred looked around, ensuring that the men under his charge were not too close to hear the finer details of aggression caused within the castle walls.