Chapter 9: Ambush

The group as a four had been riding for the entirety of the morning, edging closer to Badon. Upon inspecting a map the previous night, they decided that in order to reach Laleh, the easiest route would be to cross the Badon Sea, which to either side sat tall, treacherous and impassable mountains. Upon crossing the sea, they would have been roughly half way towards Laleh.

They were riding at a slower pace than usual, due to the horse's extra carriage of a wheelbarrow that contained Stamatis, Milos and his tools. Still, Wolfgang was happy enough at the speed they were going. He was beginning to appreciate the open plains a lot more, examining deeply the rolling winds against the soft, lush grass. The sky was greyer, unlike back at Zanskar Castle, but they paid little mind to it. Little did they realise, the sky was darkening with thickening clouds.

As they travelled, Blaze was sat with her back turned towards Wolfgang and facing the other two.

"It must be quite scary for you to be out here, huh?" Stamatis noted, looking at Blaze. "I mean, wearing leather armour instead of your usual attire, and roughing it out here in the plains? It's not ordinary for you, is it?"

"I suppose it's different from my usual life at the castle" she explained.

"Must be real awesome being royal and all that..." Milos said quietly. His gaze didn't exactly meet Blaze's when he asked, which was a little confusing for Blaze.

"Well..." she said quietly. "It's alright, I guess. But being a princess isn't an easy life. I mean, there are duties. If you're lazy, then a lot of the folk start to think quite badly of you, you know" she explained.

Whilst they talked, Wolfgang kept his eyes towards the sky. There was something strange happening, and it certainly was familiar. The sky was becoming slightly darker, and in addition, there was a humming noise enveloping them. It felt all too familiar to Wolfgang, who tried to remember where he had seen this before. Suddenly, it hit him.

It was the castle.

"Blaze...prepare yourself" he said. Blaze turned her head towards Wolfgang, having been suddenly pulled from her conversation.

"What?" she asked.

"The castle is floating above us" he said quickly, stopping his horse still. Stamatis and Milos suddenly noticed their halt and looked towards Wolfgang.

"You mean, the floating castle?" Milos asked with concern.

"What other floating castle is there?" Stamatis replied sarcastically, waving his hands in the air towards Milos. Wolfgang was inspecting the darkening clouds. They stood there for five minutes, listening as the humming noise only reached a certain level of noise. The clouds also darkened to a certain extent.

Wolfgang jumped off his horse and took a few steps forward.

"The castle...it hasn't emerged yet" he noted. "What are they planning?" The remainder of the group disembarked and walked up towards Wolfgang.

"What's happening, Wolfgang?" Blaze asked.

"I'm not sure" Wolfgang replied swiftly. "The castle has yet to appear. Judging by the sounds and these clouds...they're remaining still above us..."

"What if it's just a storm?" Milos suggested. Blaze turned around to Milos.

"We've seen the castle emerging before" she said. "It destroyed a town very close to us. The sounds the castle emitted and the appearance of these clouds are identical to what we're seeing and hearing now" she explained.

"This is suspicious...should we just move on while we can?" Stamatis suggested. Wolfgang remained still for a minute before speaking.

"...No" he replied. "We wait for it to move. Then, we could attempt to follow it..."

Suddenly, there was a short, sharp sound in the air and a tiny section of the clouds parted as a figure emerged from above. Wolfgang quickly drew his sword.

"Get back!" he shouted.

The figure suddenly landed on the floor with a thud. The group looked at the figure, still on his feet, squatted. The figure started to stand, revealing a tall dog-like creature with a muscled chest and arms, all bare, with a pair of trousers made from wrapped tape and bandages on his feet and ankles. On one of his arms was a silver bracelet which was separated into bands. His face was one filled with malice, a threatening scar covering one of his eyes and sharp, slightly yellow teeth. His ears were pricked up, as if he were the image of Anubis.

There was a short silence, where the wolf figure stood before the group, unmoving. Wolfgang was the first to step up.

"...State your name and title, sir" he asked. The figure remained completely still, a devilish smile plastered on his face, revealing his yellowing yet straight teeth.

"Wolfgang...is he from the floating castle?" Blaze whispered to him, her hand placed firmly on the hilt of her sheathed blade.

"...I asked for your name and title!" Wolfgang shouted. It was then the figure started to laugh quietly. He folded his arms, lifting his head slightly, examining the team in front of him.

"...Scared little bunch, aren't you?" he remarked. Wolfgang then threateningly stood forward with his blade out.

"I wouldn't try it" Wolfgang said back. "If you plan on fighting us, you're outnumbered"

The wolf like figure laughed again.

"My name is Branko" he revealed. "I am a member of the Caelus Guard"

Blaze suddenly drew her rapier and outstretched it in a similar manner to Wolfgang. Milos looked in awe at Blaze's rapier, which was shiny and embedded with a few jewels at the hilt.

"Wow..." he said quietly. Stamatis, who had been quietly watching, noticed Milos's remark and turned around.

"Hide behind the horse" he said. "We'll take care of this" Obediently, he nodded, running behind the horse. Stamatis then walked to the other side of Wolfgang, the trio confronting Branko.

"I have been sent here to slow you down a little..." Branko explained. "Of course, it would be easy for you to attack me as a trio. But may I remind you that you are beneath a floating castle, which can easily prime a laser and destroy you where you stand..." he said mockingly, laughing a little after his revelation.

"We can see through your bluff" Blaze taunted.

"Oh really?" Branko remarked. "Well why don't you stand by your word and attack me?"

Blaze took a step forward, but was blocked by Wolfgang's hand.

"Don't" he ordered. "He could be telling the truth. We know little about that castle, for all we know, it could be primed to fire"

"True...so what do we do?" Blaze asked.

"He's unarmed. I'll take him on" Stamatis declared, taking a few steps forward.

"Stamatis?" Wolfgang asked. Stamatis turned around.

"I can show you what I'm capable of, this guy is mine" Stamatis replied. He then turned back towards Branko, who had unfolded his arms, flexing his muscles.

"I see the three of you have brains" Branko taunted. "I'm going to enjoy this..."

"Same here..." Stamatis replied, punching the air in front of him, ready to fight. The two of them squared off, the first battle of the adventure about to begin!