Vaspasin's POV
The night sprang upon the interlopers fast, and with a moonless sky, the land was cast in a sweeping darkness. The stars themselves seemed to shine less brightly, and the wind rushed excitedly with the footsteps of over two dozen individuals. These newcomers brought a dead silence with them as they crept through the entanglement of the forest, living creatures and non-living objects seeming to pause their activities as they curiously observed these strange men, their smells and speech unlike any previously known to the region. Days ago a large craft of timber, cast iron, and great masts had unloaded these men onto the shores of this land, and it was clear to all that their intent was not at all friendly. Heavily armed with sword and large composite bows, the strange arrivals quickly snatched horses from the unwilling locals and began a spree of raids through the region. Now they were moving inland in search of greater plunder, leaving their horses under guard as they moved ahead on foot through the thick forestry. Vespasian Constantine moved swiftly through the dark surrounding the village ahead, accompanied by trained shock troops of the best variety. It had been an arduous sea journey, two weeks of fierce sailing and prayer that had finally brought these expansionist-minded individuals to this strange and distant land, of its untold riches and glories to be acquired.
The scouting party reached the limit of the tree line, and though it was near pitch darkness, the group of men prostrated themselves just behind the last few trees as they peered at the settlement ahead. “Fortified stockade and moat, towers positioned at strategic viewpoints, and vigilant watchers high above.” Tiberias, the leading captain of the Guards, whispered to Vespasian. Whoever this land belonged to certainly was no fool and had taken all precaution at discouraging would-be invaders such as himself. Would he, Vespasian, had come with a much larger force than a mere handful, he could easily attempted a night raid. Lately, the sacking and plundering of a few coastal hamlets had been most disappointing, as fishermen and their folk do not have much in the way of materialism. But now here was a highly populated settlement, and the only advantage that could be garnered upon these people was through surprise. “There,” Vespasian pointed with an outstretched arm, angling towards the looming structure behind the blazing torches of the watch, “That must be castle or lodging of whoever is in charge. Capture that and the entire city will collapse without its head.” With a gesture, the group of interlopers rose quietly in the night, thankful the rushing wind would give cover to the clinking of metal from their armor, and they broke into a quick jog towards the settlement.
Almost suddenly, they came upon a gully filled with shallow water, and quickly they took cover within the murky hollow as they took stock of their new position. They were much closer to the walls but thankfully they had not been spotted, as no alarm had been given. Leading the way, Vespasian led the troop along the gully as it veered unsteadily towards the high walls of the village, taking care to not stamp about in the dirty waters too loudly. They were closer to the rear of the settlement, where the high stone walls of the castle overtook the lower wooden ones and formed a section of the outlying wall. The castle was faintly illuminated; the glow here and there from a window of an individual who was not yet asleep, and the nearest one was only a few storeys off the ground. Besides that, Vespasian was unable to determine any other detail. With a quick word to his captain and surrounding soldiers, he himself proposed to running up and observing the base of the castle wall. Presently, several of his soldiers were watching the night guard on the wall, observing and counting the seconds it took for each of them to make their current rotation before moving off to another section. When the timing was right, Vespasian leapt out of the shallow gully and bolted straight towards the base of the castle.
He could not see too well in the faint light, and he caught his foot against a tree root sticking out, nearly throwing himself to the ground in a crash. Fortunately he was able to break his fall with a hand, but a curse escaped his lips that he nearly feared he was heard. For several seconds he remained motionless, expecting an arrow to fly out of the darkness and end his foolish attempt in a heartbeat. After several moments, nothing occurred, and confident he was unseen, he moved up to the large stone blocks that formed the base of the castle. The walls stretched up high and seemed immeasurable from his viewpoint, but he saw that engineering inconsistencies had left all of the castle grates and sewer pipes jutting out at uneven angles and elevation. Vespasian himself was only lightly armed, a chain-mail tunic and leather plating, and a great composite bow that was as tall as he in height and require great strength just to string, let alone notch an arrow. He also had a short sword at his side, more accustomed to short jabbing or thrusting techniques rather than fancy sword play. Leaving any unnecessary equipment behind, he quickly tightened the fasts on his armor and began his climb. It was not a straight forward climb, as the available path of where he could place his foot or pull himself up veered and zig-zagged over the entire base of the wall.
He started at the bottom left of the wall, pulling himself up in a diagonally line towards the center before he finally reached the first window. It was dark inside and peering through the glass, Vespasian saw that it was only a storeroom, full of countless barrels and crates. He tried to push the window in but found it shut and locked. With a grunt, he steadied his footing on the two small gratings beneath as he prepared to punch the glass of the window in, but suddenly murmuring from another quarter stopped his movement. If he continued, he would certainly be heard and discovered, being promptly put to death before any of his compatriots could come to his rescue. He resolved therefore to find another window that perhaps was left open and unlocked, or would invite less curiosity if he were to break it open. He climbed higher, nearly slipping on a pipe that was covered in filth, before he reached the second window. He peered in and in the faint light saw the trappings of a bedroom. He could see the outline of a great bed, and wardrobes and dressers lining the sides, but he couldn’t tell whether the dark lump on the bed was a person or just a trick his vision was playing on him. As he peered harder against the window, the force of his hand jerked the shutter to open and it slowly bounced inside the room with a slow groan.
Vespasian paused, heart racing as he realized he had opened the window by accident, but he quickly mastered his thoughts. If he was discovered, it would take only the slightest of energy to shove him to his death or mortal injury many feet below. With a grunt, he pulled himself over the window still and came into the dark room with a roll, coming up on his feet and sword drawn. Unfortunately, the wind seemed to flow his lead and blew in after him, pushing the shutter back and jerking it against it’s hinges, where it abruptly swung back and slammed shut with a bang.
