The Assassin and the King - SOTUS

The Ones Who Betrayed

Northern Lower Gate.

Lord Yu – King's brother in law.

He fell to one knee, using his sword to balance him as his left arm seeped blood from the wound. This was just the initial charge, he looked towards the opening, they would start pouring in soon.

"Get the second and third squad to advance." He yelled. "Tell the archers to get ready."

"My Lord you need to see a healer..."

"Later." He stood. "Tell the shield guard to hold position, they must not advance."

The sergeant hurried away to give the orders. The gate fragments lay shattered from the blast powder, only the large metal hinges hung in the rock with small pieces.

The other three gates were secured and reinforced only this one being lightly guarded. When Lord Emery's message arrived, he came himself to check, only to find them coming through with the small guard defending as best they could.

This was the smallest passage, hardly a dozen people could get through at a time and we thought it unlikely to be used. It seemed it was what they counted on; they came prepared.

"The archers are in place my Lord." The sergeant hurried back to inform him.

"Get the men ready." He told him. "Tell the archers to rain fire."

While the archers held the invaders in place, his people would release the prepared boulders and debris to block the passage. They needed to close the opening; they could blast a gate but they would have a harder time with the rock.

He stopped looking at the fragment by his feet, the gate was made from thick steel and put in place barely a year ago but they managed to breakthrough. Blast powder had to be calculated, a certain weight was needed to cause enough impact to break the new metal and they managed it in their first try? They knew too much about us. Too much.

~~~~~~~~~~

Master Kukri

He sat patiently offering water to the man when after a few words he begun to cough. He looked unwell; his recovery slow from his wounds, he hadn't left the healing rooms since he arrived.

"You wanted to see me."

Rook sent a message asking him to come.

"I heard they are attacking..." He managed quietly.

"We knew it would happen."

"He did it." Rook looks pale as he sits. "His uncle...he told them."

"We know he was collaborating with the west..."

"He did more." He looks at me. "The last time I went to see him, he was behaving more agitated then I have seen him before, I knew something was wrong. After he went missing I went back to see what he was hiding. After the boy brought the exiled clans back, he set all this in motion.

I found private messages with the north and western king dating back to the time the boy took the throne. Detailed papers of our forces and defences in his study, agreements and promises between them. He offered mountain clan lands to the west and the gem and gold mines to the north, in return for helping him get back on the throne."

"The Idiot."

"Where are the papers now?"

Anything that we knew would help us.