A Fool's Call {Discontinued}

one

It was a grey morning, and a black curtain hung down near the ground today, veiling the normal ceiling of blue. Men dressed in the chainmail of soldiers bustled around a small encampment of tents, occasionally looking up to the sky with worry written on their faces.

At the far end of that encampment, a man in full plate armour and with a huge sword on his back walked out of his tent and looked around at the grey shadows pressing down oppressively on all that he could see.

"Isn't it supposed to be early in the morning? Why does it have to be so dark?" Hendrick lamented.

"It's the storm clouds," a voice from a distance away from Hendrick replied. "Bad weather makes everything darker."

Hendrick turned to face the voice. "Oh, it's just you, Jarah."

"So it's just your lieutenant and second-in-command, eh? Nothing much to look at for a prince and a general like you, I suppose."

"Not much to look at in rank," Hendrick agreed, "But quite a deal to look at in size."

Jarah laughed heartily. "You're right about that, but just wait till you hit my age. You'll be a viciously strong creature, the alpha of this pack."

"If I'm a wolf, you must be a bear."

"And right you are again. The bloodthirsty and vicious one and the strong and menacing one. Though by the time you've reached your prime, my fur would have turned as grey as yours."

Hendrick smiled, walking towards the ashes of last night's campfire where most of his men were gathering around.

"Then let's hope I don't reach my prime too soon. It would be a shame to see you die to a simple weakling of a monster."

Jarah, walking beside him, replied, "Me, die to some weakling you say? Oh, you don't know that true strength that comes with age. Maybe I'll still be able to beat you when my hair turns white!"

Hendrick started laughing too, saying, "Well, I'll be looking forward to the challenge. In any case..."

He cleared his throat, addressing the men who were gathering in front of him now, "Men! We'll be going into the dungeon now, get yourself ready."

"Yes, sir!"

As Hendrick's soldiers dispersed, Hendrick and Jarah turned to look at the dungeon. It sat just thirty metres away from their camp, its sealed doors being constantly watched by a pair of guards.

Jarah said, "So that's our next target? It doesn't seem very special."

"Maybe it isn't, but Hendrix wants us to take this, at any rate."

"Well, orders are orders, after all," Jarah conceded. "What the Crown Prince and King tell us to do, we have to. That's why we're the knights of the Chaos Tower."

"Another fine platitude from you, as always. But everything would be so much easier if we just knew what my brother is planning."

"Has he not told you?"

"No, though I doubt this will be the last of our conquests once he takes the throne."

"Well, that will provide us with more to do than simply guard the walls. And you like all this fighting, don't you, Hendrick?"

Hendrick laughed again, but this time it sounded rather grim. "I suppose I do."

"I'll be going to check on the men now. We need to make sure the recruits know what they're doing."

"Well, even they're hardly fresh to battle, but I guess being out here's kind of different from training, or fighting those little ones that live past our walls. Go on ahead. I'll be waiting here."