Coil of Gold

XXI: Raid of Steel

"Hello," he sang.

With the swing of his sword, bolts launched at one of the men. An agony scream ripped through their lungs. The man fell to his knees, strands of electricity busting from all points of his body, and latched onto those who surrounded him. The other men felt the burning through their veins not enough to kill but to cause them to struggle to raise their swords. William ran up to them. The point of his steel ran through the chest of one.

One man stood. They prepared their sword, raising it above William's back. William grabbed the man that stood at his side. Throwing him, the blade of the bandit behind him struck one of his own. He kicked the man from earlier off his blade. Blood splattered from the withdraw of the blade, covering a side of William's face.

With the sound of a step to his left, William jumped back. A blade swung in front of him. William moved, raising his blade to slice at the man's legs. The bandit fell to his knees. He cried out as he used his arms to hold himself up from touching the painted grass. William stepped behind him. His fingered coiled within the man's hair, jerking for him to raise his head. He moved the sword covered in souls to the man's neck. The man dropped to the ground. The last bandit of the group fell over to his side. With the last thing he saw was William's blade, he ceased to breathe.

With a deep breath, the smell of iron lingered in his nose. And hot liquid dripped down the side of his face and down his tunic. William looked up to Suyi, who had just bashed a man's head into the wooden wheel she still held. Small pitter-patter filled his ears, causing him to look at the gate as Aria ran through. She turned her body and yanked her bowstring back. It took her a second, but she released the arrow upon a man behind Suyi. It went through the man's eye. He screamed and held the back of the arrow. Suyi spun her body, kicking him over the wall. 

William turned towards the wooden doors of the fort, bursting them open and jerking his head to motion Suyi and Aria. Aria ran past, while Suyi fell back into the darkness below her feet. William followed. They ran down the steps, going deeper into the fort.

"Keep a lookout for cells!" William shouted.

Aria nodded her head, kicking down the first door she came across. A heavy table pressed against her body, shoving her back. With adrenaline pumping through him, William slid under the table. Hooking his legs, he knocked over the man to the ground, the back of his head colliding hard with the stone. Aria jumped over the table, drawing her bow and shooting her arrows at the men above the stairs.

Suyi appeared behind them, kicking one down the stairs as Aria's arrows went through the chest of the other. William ran up the stairs, skipping some of the steps. His sword slashed the chest of the man. He limped onto the ground blood spilling from his body.

The three stopped for a moment, looking at the three different paths before them. Each took a different door. Opening it briefly to see where they might lead. Will watched Aria from the corner of his eye, seeing her breathe heavily as she pushed at the door. She let out a sigh, shaking her head at William as her room appeared to simply be a small storage closet full of crates and sacks that overflowed with vegetables. Suyi's cursed when she opened the door before her. William and Aria looked over, plugging their noses when a heavy smell of fecal matter and piss crossed the air.

William opened a door before him, peering down the stairs that descended into darkness. Snapping his fingers, sparks landed onto a nearby torch causing it to ignite. He ripped it from the wall, and without a thought, he went down the steps. Aria and Suyi stayed above.

Reaching the bottom of the steps, dust flew from the weight of his boots. Looking around, his nose tickled from the dust in the air. Iron bars and chambers surrounded the rooms. Touching the bar, a sticky feeling from the webs coated his fingers. A foul smell filled the air, causing his nose to crinkle. He brought the torch closer, peering down at the rag-like bed soaked with a deep red stain.