Wolf Bloodline; Part 2

A Knight And A Prisoner

We were walking down the main street of the city, trying to blend in with the crowd at the large feast. As we approached the palace, we noticed an increase in the number of soldiers. They seemed to occupy almost every part of the feast.

Fortunately, Rose was a paladin and held a higher rank than the soldiers. This made it easier for us to pass by them without drawing attention to ourselves. However, I couldn't help but wonder about the large number of soldiers present. So, I asked Rose about it.

"There are a lot of soldiers around," I said.

"For the safety of the King and the people," Rose replied. "These troops extend to the end of the feast."

I understood her explanation, but I had difficulty seeing the end of the feast. It seemed to stretch on endlessly.

"How far does this feast extend?" I asked.

"From the palace to the city, and from the city to the Colosseum," Rose explained. "But don't worry, most of the soldiers here aren't controlling the crowds of people. Their presence is more concentrated in the palace and the Colosseum."

As we got closer to the palace, we could see carriages coming out of the gates. There were many soldiers on the carriages heading towards the road we were on. Suddenly, Rose grabbed my arm and pulled us into a narrow alley.

At first, I thought we were running away from the carriages, but it turned out that they weren't the only reason we were there. I followed Rose in silence until we reached the roof of an empty house. From there, she pointed towards the palace doors.

"There's the entrance to the palace," she said. "But for some reason, it's more crowded than I expected."

Rose was right. There were soldiers everywhere in the palace. We had to get in there somehow, but it wouldn't be easy to do so without attracting attention in such a crowd.

"The palace is blocked off," I said. "The only entrance seems to be the main gate. How are you going to get us in there?"

Rose replied, "I might have an idea."

"Go on," I said.

"The bottom floor of the palace is the custodial section," she explained. "The one above that is the archive section. If I take you there with your hands tied, we can reach the archive more easily without going through the custodial section. Otherwise, I can't let you in at all."

"Can't you just order the soldiers at the gate to withdraw?" I asked.

Rose gave me a sarcastic look. "That's quite a plan," she said. "Only the king can give orders to the soldiers in the palace unless it's an emergency."

"Then there's nothing we can do, we'll go with your plan," I said.

When the coast was clear, Rose handcuffed my hands and led me towards the palace like a prisoner. I kept my head down to avoid being recognized by the people and soldiers. To them, I had to appear like a normal criminal rather than a wanted one.

As we approached the palace, I could see soldiers on the hill pointing their bows at me. There was clearly a security protocol in place. The palace was heavily guarded, with heavy artillery pieces on the corner hills instead of just bows. It was almost impossible to see a bird fly around the palace.

Rose approached the soldier at the gate and began to speak with him while I listened with my head down.

"I've arrested a suspect for causing trouble at the feast," she said. "He'll be in the cell tonight. Maybe then he'll come to his senses."

"Yes, sir," the soldier replied.

Due to Rose's rank, the soldier didn't question her order. He simply confirmed what she had said and turned to shout to the other soldiers.