Walter moved through the castle on his way to the Master at Arms office. He wasn't exactly surprised by the summons but its urgency was a little unexpected. Walter frowned as he slowed his step at the scent of peaches. He looked about his brow furrowing as peach season was at least a month away. His sharp eyes peered at the very fabric of the air as his ears tuned to the faintest of sounds. His right hand rose up over his shoulder and wrapped around the hilt of his sword and he pulled against it. Slowly as to keep the sound down so he could hear.
As the tip of the sword came out of the scabbard he swung his sword in a strike from his upper right to his lower left as he spun to his left. He was hesitant to bring his full might to bear as he wasn't sure of the situation. A piercing cry echoed in the vast hallway in the living quarters and blood ran down his blade and then a man in black leather appeared out of the shadow with Walter's sword having cut down from just below his ribs through his spleen, kidney and aorta. Walter picked up another sound and tried to turn to face it when a sharp pain struck the back of his head and his eyesight wavered for a moment from sharp to blurry before it faded to black.
The stairs Walter was moving towards were just around the corner and about thirty yards and the two guards who stood their post there having heard the cry turned and ran towards the sound. As they came around the corner they saw the man in black leather lying there and a massive two handed blue bladed sword covered with blood lying a few feet away. One of the guards moved up to check the body even though the amount of blood already pooled about the body told him he was long gone.
The other guard moved quickly and began pounding on a gong. Immediately the castle guard went on alert. Every exit, every window on the lower floor was manned and gates were pulled across them and locked as guards swarmed out and about the castle. A trumpeter could be heard in the distance relaying the clarion call alerting the guards in the courtyard and they began forming human walls baring anyone's entrance and exit. In the living quarters blue energy began moving down all the windows and doors.
The Master at Arms jumped up and sprung over his desk and ran out of his office. Eight guards burst into the master chambers and surrounded Lady Juniper and began escorting her to secured quarters. Lord Beyon who was holding court came up off his throne even as sixteen of his guards moved into his great hall and double surrounded him even as he grabbed his helm and put it on followed by his shield and he drew his sword.
Lady Paige and Ralph were sitting and discussing Ralph's book report when they looked up at the shocking sound. She sprang up off of the bed and ran for the suite door. As her hand reached out to grab the handle a flash of blue energy ran down the door and her hand was unable to pass through it to grab the door knob. She swore as she ran towards the balcony doors and stopped as they too had the same blue energy around them.
Ray was sitting on the balcony outside of the suite he shared with the others when the racket started and he slowly shook his head and stood up to go see what was going on and just before he could open the doors that same blue energy ran down sealing him outside of the suite. He frowned and tried to grab the handle but the energy prevented him. He tried pounding on the door but no sound was heard and he saw Cabe and Allie's door open and he was yelling at them but they couldn't hear his words.
Cabe happened to see Ray's arms moving and he frowned as he tried to open the doors and then realized there was a magic shield covering them.
Sir Sylvester's door opened as he stepped out angrily. "What is all of this racket?"
"Something bad has happened." Allie told them both.
"How do we help?" Sir Sylvester demanded.
Allie shook her head. "There is no way until the spell is cancelled."
Paige pulled her bag off her belt and opened it. She reached inside and pulled her two handed hammer out and secured the bag back in place.
"Mom?" Ralph asked as he was growing scared.
"I don't know Ralph, but I'm about to find out." Paige told him as she stepped up to the suite doors. She held the hammer up. "By the grace of the wise Lady." The hammer suddenly erupted into that white light of Athena. Paige drew back and swung the hammer with all her might. The hammer slammed into the magic and while it sparked and sputtered for a moment, still it withstood the impact.
The Master at Arms was running with his extra body guards towards the stairs to the living quarters. He took the stairs three at a time as he flew up them to the third floor when he met the guard striking the gong. The guard pointed down the hall and the Master at Arms moved swiftly.
Cabe stared at the energy around the door as he considered it. He drew out a black pearl out of his bag and he intoned a spell and flung his hand at the door and the blue energy frizzed and sparked and Allie reached in and grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. The three of them ran through the open door into the hallway outside and just as Sir Sylvester passed through the energy reestablished itself and their room was once again cut off. The three of them ran down the hallway towards Lady Paige's room.
The Master at Arms turned the corner and he came to a sudden stopped as he starred at the sword lying there already knowing it belonged to Walter. He looked about and then looked at the guard keeping a watched there. "Where is Walter the Bard?" He demanded.
The guard shook his head. "I haven't seen him. The scene is exactly as we found it Sir."
The Master at Arms growled at the man when he saw Allie closing on Lady Paige's suite. He ran forward towards them. "Where's Walter?" He demanded as he drew near since they stopped at the doors to Lady Paige's suite.
Allie shook her head. "We just got out of our suite and were coming to see how to help."
The Master at Arms frowned. "How did you get out?"
Cabe laughed. "Magic always leaves a way."
"Walter's sword is down hall with a body of a stranger. Walter is no where to be seen." The Master at Arms told them.
Allie's eyes went wide and she ran down the hallway to see for herself.
Cabe reached into his bag and pulled out the vial of sand. But this time instead of trying to speak to Walter he had another spell in mind. He took the cap off the vial and he began gesturing with his free hand as he spoke words of power and as he came to the end he jerked his hand up and the sand flew up and changed blue and the wall beside door faded from view. "My Lady are you three safe?"
Paige ran out of her bedroom carrying Ralph and her hammer as ran on through the opening in the wall created by Cabe's spell. "Where is Walter? He left a short bit ago in answer to your summons to go to your office."
The Master at Arms frowned. "I never summoned him my Lady and I haven't seen him. But his sword is lying in the hall back here."
Paige's eyes went wide as she ran down to the hallway and saw Walter's sword lying there and the man lying dead next to it. Allie was trying to look at the carpeting. Trying to figure out what happened. "Allie?"
Allie looked back with fear on her face. "I'm sorry my Lady, too many people have disturbed the carpet, I am unsure what happened or where Walter might be."
Paige patted her shoulder with her free hand. "I understand Allie. Stand easy." She looked at Cabe. "Can you get Ralph into Happy and Toby's rooms?"
"My guard can put him in there if you want my Lady." The Master at Arms told her.
Paige paused as she sniffed the air. "Do you smell that? It smells like peaches."
Allie nodded as she looked around. "You're right, peach season is still a month away." She moved over and sniffed at the body and shook her head. "It isn't coming from him."
Paige handed Ralph to Sir Sylvester as her and Allie stepped around sniffing and soon they both followed the hallway down the third leg as the smell seemed to get stronger going that direction. "This would be so much easier if Walter was here. He could follow this so much faster." Allie swore.
Cabe and the Master at Arms followed along with them. "I should have gone with Walter, how could I be so stupid. After everything that happened. There was bound to be people with grudges who would want to try and exact some kind of revenge." Paige berated herself.
"This isn't your fault my Lady. None of us expected this, who would have thought that someone would come into the castle to seek revenge. That just isn't heard of. Not to mention who would be so brazen." The Master at Arms tried to assuage her feelings of guilt. They came to the back passage that ran along behind certain rooms giving the servants access to the rooms and the services of the castle. "Which way do we go now?" He asked.
Paige turned to her right as Allie turned left and they sniffed the air. "This way Paige told them."
Allie nodded. "The scent definitely didn't go this way."
They moved about thirty feet and came to stairs moving down and they followed along constantly checking the air for the scent. They came to a platform with stairs going down and back up. Paige moved straight across even as Allie stepped down the stairs sniffing. "Whoever it is went up these steps."
"I can smell the scent here but I believe it is just the air current dragging it down here." Allie told her before she turned and caught back up with her.
They came to another set of stairs going down but they stopped and looked at a brass gate lying on the floor. They looked up and saw a small opening in the wall. Allie shook her head. "There is no way anyone would have gotten Walter out that opening. And look at this, the grate was forced opened from inside this opening. What's on the other side of this wall?" She looked at the Master at Arms.
He thought for a moment. "That would have been your balcony."
"Ray!" Cabe said excitedly. "He was on the balcony when this happened."
Paige nodded and hurried down the stairs. As they reached the platform below they had their choice of going back up or going on down. She stepped to the other stairs going up as Allie stepped down both women still sniffing the air. "I'm unsure, the scent is too weak." Allie complained.
Paige stepped down to where Allie was and smelled. "I'm not sure either but I think it went down. After all that is the direction the air current is going, stands to reason it would carry the scent away."
Allie nodded as they both moved down the stairs quickly. As they reached the bottom they heard the sharp sound of blade against blade and a curse coming from the hallway to their right. Paige took off running with Allie on her heels. Paige leaped off the top of the next set of stairs and as she landed on the floor below she tucked and rolled and sprung up before she continued running. Allie followed her every move and as they both came up running they saw Ray struggling to fight two men dressed in black leather.
Allie's eyes went wide and she slipped into the shadow and quick stepped and appeared behind the larger of the two men and her blade flashed out as her arm went around the man's neck and she pulled back on the blade hard before she pulled her arm to the right cutting his throat deeply.
As he fell to his knees the other man kicked Ray and turned to run but barely got three steps before Lady Paige's hammer slammed into his back. Allie had heard a sharp crack as the hammer struck him. Allie started to turn when she saw Ray beginning to convulse. "Ray!" She jumped over the other man and knelt over Ray. She saw foam starting to come out of his mouth. "Poison, damn it Ray." She pointed at two of the guards accompanying the Master at Arms. "Get over here and get him up we got to get him to the healer, now!"
Paige ran past Allie as she saw Walter lying on the floor about twenty feet further down. She slid to a stop and scooped his head up into her lap with one hand as the other pressed into his neck. She let out her breath in relief as she felt his pulse. Around his neck a circlet she'd never seen before. She frowned as she grabbed it but was shocked by it and she pulled her hand away from it. "Cabe!" She demanded.
Cabe moved up. "My Lady what's wrong, is Walter okay?"
She pointed. "It is some kind of enchanted circlet."
Cabe frowned but nodded as he knelt down. He examined it for a moment and closed his eyes. He began intoning words of power and suddenly the circlet glowed and then flickered and finally it stopped and popped open. He quickly pulled it off of Walter.
Paige was starring at Walter as she caressed his face. "Wake up my Love." A tear slipped out of her eye and fell against his cheek.
Cabe gently felt around Walter's head and nodded. "He was struck fairly hard here my Lady. We need to get him to a healer."
The Master at Arms pointed at two of his guards. "Get Walter up and get him to the healer."
The two men stood there struggling between them to get Walter fully off the ground. As Cabe began to dig into his bag of reagents the Master at Arms growled in anger and stepped up and shoved both men out of the way. He grabbed Walter's arm and pulled and got him up over his shoulder before he stood and turned and quickly began running down the hallway followed by Lady Paige and Cabe. Cabe smiled at the two guards before he left. "I got a feeling you both are going to be doing a lot of exercising in the near future. Oh, I'd advise you guys to get a gurney over here to carry this one to the healer. They'll have questions for him I am sure. But be careful because I am sure his back is broke." Cabe grabbed Lady Paige's hammer then took off after Lady Paige.
Greetings! Hoping this finds everyone doing well! I'm not doing too bad. Seems like Lancaster still had a trick or 2 up it's streets. lol
Railman - Awesome glad you both have gotten your vaccines! Hope both of you are doing good with minimal reaction. Thank you!
Franxine - LOL You're welcome!
2LawDog - Thank you! Glad it brought up a sweet memory for you!
Margaret - hehe Yea, Walter in the series was such a sweet bumbling mess. It's fun writing him so different.
Guest - I am well recovered from it! Thank you! Thank you for asking about filling the tub. Unlike traditional fantasy where such things like indoor plumbing don't exist, in this world while it is the equivalent of our year 2014 time wise, because of magic, technology hasn't advanced as much and they roughly enjoy the same tech level of the mid 1800's. In most cases, windmills are used to drive pumps that store water in water towers which rely on gravity to supply water to homes/businesses/etc. In some cases expensive hotels and the rich even have hot water heaters. Others have to rely on heating the water on a stove or heating certain types of rocks and adding them to the bath to heat the water.
To the Adventure! -Tim