Rain rolled down the window as Erisdar sat on the edge of his bed. Dreams had kept him awake half the night, visions of his brother, his parents, the men who he now stood beside, and his hands dripping with blood, blood that flowed from the bodies of those he betrayed to get where he is now. He could see it every time he closed his eyes: they stood apart, each calling to him, together, but they could not be further from each other. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he stood up, his back cracking as he did. He walked over to the window, peering out. The courtyard was a flurry of movement, as most of the men had been up since before dawn getting ready. The paper orders had come in late at night. He was to take them south, meeting up with a much larger force and their commander, before turning east to Edinmire. Walking back to the bed, he pulled out a large leather backpack, and began to put his belongings in it. Satisfied with his collection of mundane belongings, he reached for his armor, but he paused. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bag, well worn and wrinkled. Resting atop the bag was a bow. In that moment, he made up his mind.

In that moment, Eris decided.

…

"Freeze!" the guard shouted as he aimed his crossbow. He had never seen someone like them before, approaching so… casually, especially with the war going on.

"Now, hold on, I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to collect a bounty from Erisdar." the silver wolf said, putting her hands up. The rain had flattened her fur and hair, soaking though the blue jacket they looked to be wearing, and even the overcoat that was draped on her shoulders.

"A likely story!"

The wolf held up something… small. "Ishtaer scales. You want proof of death, right? Well, I've got it. He and I have a deal, so I'd like to get paid."

The guard didn't lower his crossbow, but looked at the other two men standing with him. "Do… do we let her in?"

"I don't know. It is a wolf, but she's a bounty hunter. Maybe we can collect on her head!"

"Yeah! Who needs to know? Open the gate!"

The gate began to creak open, loudly clanking as the gears moved. The wolf walked forward, through the gate, which slammed shut behind her. Descending from the walls, two of the guards walked over to get a better look. "The General is this way, follow me."

Raine smiled, and hoped that they had actually bought her story. Through the courtyard they went, eyes turning to the wolf that walked among them. There were hundreds of men in the open yard, many of them carrying bags and weapons, everything from swords and crossbows to pikes and glaives, and even a hand ballista. Once they entered the Keep, they began to ascend. The early morning light creeping through the windows and arrow slits in the spiral staircase. "Never been in a Templar fort before. You like working here?"

"Huh? Oh, I guess. It's not the worst. Sure, you have to deal with stressful bosses, a busy schedule, and the occasional execution, but they pay pretty well. You looking for a new line of work?"

"Nah. Just curious. I take it you don't get wolves often?"

"Oh, we do. But most of 'em don't just walk up to the gate and proclaim they have a bounty, calling out a General by name. Most get shot long before this."

"Great, thanks." Raine rolled her eyes. At least they were buying her story so far. Her ears perked up as she heard the rattling of keys, and she glanced over to see a warden with a large loop of keys on his belt. I'll need those. Up they went to the fourth floor, where Raine beheld a grand hallway, lined with armor and coat of arms. She wasn't expecting to see…

"General Kalnaroth." Her heart rate spiked as she heard the name. "Has General Erisdar left yet?"

"No, why?"

"This wolf claims to be here to collect a bounty from him." With that, Raine reached back into her bag and held up the scales Yapha had given her.

"Well, no need to disturb him before he's awake. I'll deal with it." Kalnaroth stepped forward and looked her up and down as the guards left her. "Welcome to Wenmoor Fortress. Please, this way." He led her through the hallway, smiling. "It's been a while since I've seen a wolf hunter. Though, from the way you look, I doubt you're the one who dealt the killing blow. Still, as long as the lizard is dead, I don't care how it happens."

"Really? So why do you work with Erisdar?"

"Oh, I don't. At least, I won't soon. He's going to be… promoted."

"So you work for him?" Raine was confused about how things worked suddenly.

"Not that kind of promotion. He's being transferred to the front lines to command his own regiment of men." He led Raine into a small room with a fine desk and chairs. "There's a bit of paperwork for us to fill out first. I personally don't like the bureaucratic side of the job, but I understand why it's necessary." He held the paper out for her to read over. There was a lot for her to fill in. "May I see those scales?" Raine handed them one of them over as she scanned the paper. "How do you know Erisdar?"

"We met a few months ago, chance encounter. We both were chasing the same target, but I gave him the kill. Told me about some of the bounties he was after, figured it might be worth it to chase 'em myself."

Kalnaroth handed the scale back as she continued reading the paper. "Well, then perhaps I should wake him up. A visiting friend is worth seeing. After all, you did come all the way out here."

"We're not friends." Raine said curtly. "Business acquaintances at best. We only had one conversation."

"I see… Fill the paperwork out, and when you are done, we can discuss payment." With that, Kalnaroth stood up and left the room, leaving her alone. Sighing, she slouched in the chair, and set down the papers. She began looking around, trying to figure out what to do next. She was in over her head, all alone, and had no idea what to do. She at least got in, but that wasn't enough anymore. She stood up and walked over to the door, cracking it open enough to see out, and she managed to overhear a conversation. "…oft. Take this and test his loyalty. If he doesn't sign that paper today, then we will remove them from the equation."

"Sir, it could just be a brief lapse. Once he's on the road, then-"

"No! I cannot send him out if his loyalty is divided. He will sign, or he will join him!"

"…yes sir." As Kalnaroth walked out of sight, Raine opened the door and walked out. She was inside, but she needed to figure out how to get all three of them outside. The wind howled outside, having not died down at all since the storm rolled in three days ago. She tried to stay as quiet as possible, avoiding the soldiers who wandered the hall. She needed to get down one floor, and hoped that she could get the drop on the warden. Thankfully, there were shockingly few soldiers on this floor, but she knew there would be a lot more on the ground. Putting that aside, she focused on the task at hand: getting to Barret and Haelith. She waited for the two soldiers who were coming up to pass her, and she sprinted down the spiral stairs as fast as she could.

At the landing, she saw the warden sitting down with another soldier, who immediately looked up at her. "Hey! What are you doing here? Where's your escort?" The warden said, standing up and reaching for his sword.

"They were delayed. Kalnaroth had them deliver a message to General Erisdar." She said as she walked over. The two glanced at each other, frowning.

"No visitors are allowed to walk around without an escort."

"Then I guess it's a good thing you're here to be my escort. I need to see a prisoner." Raine did not stop walking until she was forced to do so by a sword being pressed against her throat.

"Oh, is that so? Gonna ask for one of your friends in there to be released instead of getting paid?"

"Paid? Oh, I'm not getting paid. I didn't even bring in a bounty. I just had to get close enough." Her anger swelled, and her eyes glowed silver as she trust out her arm, tossing the warden backwards with magic. The other soldier scrambled to reach his sword, but in his panic managed to only stumble around wildly. Raine turned to him and pressed her arm against his chest, wordlessly casting spell, knocking him unconscious. As he fell to the ground in a heap, she sighed. She had partially shifted on accident. Her torso and head had become human, but she doubted that it would matter at this point. She glanced down at the soldier on the ground. They would be seen by anyone who walked past, so she lifted the guard and set him on a chair, facing away from the stairs. Hopefully anyone who walked past would only think he's sleeping. As for the warden, she couldn't even lift him, so she grabbed the keys off of his belt and walked into the prison, gasping. There were almost a hundred cells, each one with only one or two people in them. Jogging down, she looked in every cell. Whispers reached her ears as she passed by dozens of Ishtaer, who looked confused why there was a… half wolf(?) with the keys instead of the usual warden. Finally, she saw "Haelith!"

"Raine?!" Haelith stood up and walked over to the door. "What are you doing here?! I told you to run!"

"Yeah, I did. And I ran back. Now, give me just a second to find the right key."

"Wait, are you… you're here to break us out?!" Barret said with disbelief.

"Still working on that part, but yeah! You're not going to be prisoners anymore." She put a key into the door, and there was a soft click, letting the cell swing open. Haelith ran out and gave Raine a hug.

"I thought I would die in there."

"Come on, let's get Barret out of here and get out!" It took only a few seconds for Barret to be freed as well, hugging her, and then hugging Haelith. "Come on, let's go!"

"No." Barret said. "We're getting out. All of us. Everyone in here has been wrongfully imprisoned, and we're going to get out of here. Hand me some keys, I'll take this side, you two take the other. We're not leaving them"

Raine paused for a moment, weighing her options. "Alright. Don't take long."

…

"General?" a voice came from his doorway. "Urgent paperwork. This needs signing right away." Eris swung his armor onto his shoulder and sighed.

"Bring it here." The soldier walked over, handing him a paper. Glancing down, he saw it was an execution order. Scanning the document, he saw a name. Barret. He handed the paper back to the soldier and walked over to the wall, where his weapons hung. "Put it on my desk, I'll deal with it later."

"This needs done now sir. Will you sign it?"

"No. I have work to do still, things to pack up. Just put it on the desk and-"

"Kalnaroth needs this done." The soldier reached for his sword as he said this.

Eris looked at him, and said "Really? Very well." Walking over, he took the paper back, and leaned over his desk. The soldier relaxed, and let go of the handle, only to realize his mistake far too late. Eris grabbed a dagger from his desk and launched himself over the table, landing on top of the soldier, pressing the dagger into his heart. As they fell with a dull thud against the stone, Eris stood up. He grabbed his glaive, his bag, and then reached for Barret and Haelith's belongings. This would most likely be their end, but if it was, he would make it such an end to be worthy of song. Taking all he could carry with him, he left the room, not looking back for even a second as he made for the prison. Down one floor he went, past the eyes of a dozen soldiers who asked questions, only for them to fall on unhearing ears. As he reached the prison block, he saw the warden on the ground, and another soldier leaning against the wall. Rushing to the door, he heard hushed whispers, and the clanking of metal doors.

…

"That's the last of them. Come on!" Raine said. She led Barret, Haelith, and over a hundred other prisoners toward the exit. Many of them were Ishtaer, but there were a few Basitins, a couple humans, and even three Keidran with them. As she reached for the door, it opened up, swinging away from her hand. There was a collective gasp as he stood there, baring the path. Erisdar held a longbow in his hand, and three bags on his shoulders. He said nothing, and looked past Raine to Barret. "Follow me if you want to live." With that, he turned around, and walked away from the door. Shocked, no one moved. Erisdar came back, and looked at them. "Come on! We don't have much time!"

Barret walked forward slowly, leaving the prison. The warden was still on the ground, and the other soldier had fallen forward from where he had been sitting. Eris held Barret's longbow, bag, and Haelith's bag. "What are you doing?" he asked, carefully following Eris, who watched the stairs.

"You were going to be executed today. I'm not going to let that happen. The Templars have destroyed our family enough. I'd rather spend the rest of my life knowing that my brother is alive. Here." He held out Barret's belongings, which he tentatively grabbed. "We're going to have to fight our way out. There's only one way: the main gate. I cannot undo my actions, but I can do my best to atone for them. The Templars wanted my loyalty, wanted me to prove that I would not betray them. But they failed to consider that you are my brother, my family. I will always be loyal to you. I always have been. I'll protect you, no matter what. You're my brother. You always will be."

Barret smiled, and stretched his bow back. "Let's get out of here. Together."

"We won't be able to go unseen, so just try to keep up!" Eris gripped his glaive, and began to descend the stairs. Thankfully, there were no soldiers inside. Most of them were getting ready for the journey to Valinos. But that didn't stop them from being seen on the ground floor.

"Hey! What're you doing?" a soldier shouted, but Eris ran forward, thrusting his glaive through the man's chest, silencing him. As the hundred prisoners went toward the main door, Eris stopped them, pushing them back. Opening the door just a crack, he peered out to the courtyard, and sighed.

"Stay here. I'll deal with this." Opening the door, he walked out with his glaive in hand.

"Erisdar." Kalnaroth stood with his weapon drawn, his personal guards behind him.

"Kalnaroth." he responded, slowly walking closer. He walked forward slowly, very aware of the hundred watching eyes of the men who were getting ready to leave for Valinos. There was no getting around it: this would become very bloody very fast.

"That's far enough." he said, prompting Eris to stop. "I heard you were having second thoughts about bringing your brother in."

"You promised me time. Time to convince him to join us! And now, I'm being sent away, and he's been marked for execution today?"

"He has become a distraction. Divided your loyalty. And I can see just how much you have fallen. And those who cannot follow orders, who are not longer willing to serve, those who have outlived their usefulness will not be tolerated any longer."

"So that's it? You used me, and then cast me aside? I was a fool. I showed you loyalty, gave you everything. And you never cared."

"Loyalty? I have known you for years. Sirus was the fool for bringing you in. I will correct his mistake."

"Then you know what I will do next." Eris gripped his glaive tighter.

"Erisdar, you are a traitor to the Templar Order. I hereby strip you of your rank, and sentence you to death." One of his guards reached for his sword, but Kalnaroth held up his hand. "No. I will deal with him myself. I warned Sirus years ago about you. And now, I will bring him your head."

"You will try." Eris growled, suddenly running forward. Kalnaroth waited for him to approach, and swiftly sidestepped. Eris whirled around, his glaive cutting a wide arc around him, causing the guards and several soldiers to leap backwards. Kalnaroth sneered and thrust his sword toward Eris, who brought the staff back in front of himself to block easily. Spinning the blade in circles, Eris sliced up and sideways, forcing Kalnaroth on the defensive, but with a swift block and parry, it was back the other way, with Eris defending himself from Kalnaroth's blows. Kalnaroth was faster than Eris, his rapier darting toward Eris's legs and arms with long and thin slices as he tried to approach the Templar.

"We can't wait anymore." Barret said as he watched through the barely open door. "They'll cut him to pieces if he wins or loses." Turning to the group of prisoners, he said in a loud voice "Anyone who can fight, get up here! We're going to have to battle our way out!" The crowd shifted, and several large Ishtaer, all of the Basitins, and even the humans came forward. Haelith put on her best fighting face and smiled, while Raine's hair began to float as magic flowed through her.

"We're with you." Raine said, and Barret smiled. With a shout, he kicked the door open, his bow flying up as they surged out of the Keep. All eyes turned to them, and in that brief moment, Eris gained the upper hand, seizing the distraction and pressing the assault. An arrow flew from Barret's bow directly into the neck of one of Kalnaroth's guards, and shouts suddenly rang out as they realized the full extent of Eris's betrayal. The archers who had once been aimed at Eris, now turned to Barret, who's deadly accuracy and rapid shots caused many to retreat behind cover before they could fire. As the prisoners rushed out of the fortress, several of them ran toward the gatehouse, their entire goal to raise the gate. Barret fired shot after shot, and in return, a hailstorm of arrows rained down on the courtyard, clattering as they hit stone, but several sank into the escaping Ishtaer. Raine looked around and began to focus her power into shields, causing many bolts to stop with dull thuds.

Kalnaroth did not care about the escaped prisoners, his guards moving to deal with them. He turned his full attention to Erisdar, who ran forward for another attempted attack. Kalnaroth sidestepped again, and feinted a sideways slash, only to thrust forward at the last second, catching Eris in his right side, just under the armor. Wincing in pain, Eris swung the glaive upward, past Kalnaroth, who smirked as the blade sliced the air. However, his hubris got the better of him, as the polearm swung completely around, the handle colliding with his chin and knocking the helmet off of Kalnaroth's head. Howling in pain, he clutched his face, leaving himself vulnerable as Eris whirled around, the blade gleaming as it came down in a wide arc, cleaving into Kalnaroth's left shoulder. The sheer force the blade drove into him forced him down, and Eris stood over him, his side bleeding as he panted. "This won't stop with me." Kalnaroth said as his eyes became unfocused. "You will be hunted forever."

"And I will do to them what I'm doing to you." Eris ripped the blade out of his shoulder and brought it down on Kalnaroth's head. Surveying the battlefield around him, he turned to Barret, and rushed to his side, bloody and battered, but smiling in both the glory of battle, and knowing that he was doing this for the right reason. No one could stand up to them both, as Barret let arrows fly like hornets, while Eris protected his back with blade and magic. Freed prisoners collected weapons from the fallen, and fought back fiercely. This was their only opportunity for freedom, and it would not be wasted. The ground became wet and slick with blood and rain, and over the cacophony of the battle, there was a loud clanking sound as the portcullis began to slowly raise, the four Ishtaer ratcheting the mechanism upward. "Get out of here! Go!"

The prisoners surged toward the gate, freedom within their grasp! Though arrows fell like the raindrops around them, nothing could stop the tide of people moving as one, even as soldiers leapt off of the walls onto the prisoners themselves, they were either carried away or trampled underfoot by the hundred stomping legs. Barret pinned down anyone who dared to show their heads above, Eris pushed back all who tried to get close. Haelith carried a wounded Ishtaer out with Raine's help. But as the first few began to taste freedom beyond the walls, there was a resounding crack, as the gate gears were broken, the bodies of those who raised it tossed aside. The sturdy wooden gears began to break as the Templars turned their weapons on their own fortress, a desperate attempt to keep the rest of the prisoners inside. Horror dawned on Eris's face as he saw their plan. Sheathing his weapon, he ran over as the gate began to close, and Barret turned to see his brother push several people aside, raise his arms high, hands open and back straight, directly beneath the barrier.

And with a loud crash, ten thousand pounds* of steel portcullis came down on Eris.

Horror came first to the prisoners and Barret, as the gate went down, and Eris with it.

Horror came second to the Templars, as the gate did not go down all the way.

Somehow still standing, though hunched over and pressed down, his knees struggling to stay upright, his scales began to stand out as magic surged through him, and Eris began to shout with all his might, pushing the gate back open. With a roar that could have made a dragon shirk back in fear, he shouted as adrenaline and magic pumped through his veins. For heartbeats that lasted hours, the world froze, and he pressed against the steel grate, lifting it back up. Several other prisoners rushed over to help lift the monstrous gate, though the bulk of the weight fell on Eris. Barret moved to help as well, but then he saw him.

Aezr strolled casually out of the fortress and into the fray, his eyes locked on Eris, bow drawn. Eris was busy fighting for his life, struggling as the prisoners began to slip out through the bottom of the gate. Barret rushed to put himself between Aezr and Eris, reaching for another arrow, only to find his quiver empty of all but one. He watched as Aezr let go of his drawstring, the stone-tipped arrow launching through the air, so he threw himself through the air as well, his own bow pulling back. He didn't have time to think, he didn't have time to reach for his magic, he just reacted with his natural instinct, releasing the arrow as he began to fall. His scales shifted, though he hardly noticed, and his arrow gleamed as it sailed through the air, colliding first with Aezr's arrow, splitting it in half, before sailing straight through the Hunter's head.

Picking himself off of the ground, Barret stared at the arrow that he had fired, which had lodged itself in the wooden door frame behind Aezr, who fell to the ground. Shocked that he had managed to do that, he stood for a moment. But he shook his head, and rushed toward the gate as the last few prisoners slipped out, leaving Eris holding the gate alone. Barret ran under the gate as Eris's legs began to give out, his entire being spent, the weight of the gate bearing down on him. With all his might, Barret pulled his brother out from beneath the steel beams, and Eris fell unconscious as his brother dragged him out, his side bleeding intensely. Without Eris holding it up, the gate came down with a mighty crash, the earth shaking and the stone cracking under the weight of the falling steel. Barret dragged his brother away from the wall, and arrows and crossbow bolts rained down from above like hail, sticking into everything around him, the prisoners rushing with him into the safety of the forest, finally, finally, truly free.

Freedom!

Freedom at last!

...

*The metal used here would most likely be wrought iron, which has a weight of 7750 lbs/m3. with this being 15ft x 12ft x 2in, a gate would normally weigh 13400 lbs, but as it is a latticework gate instead of a solid piece, we can cut the weight by a significant amount. Ten thousand pounds of weight is a decent estimate. The gate has falls for about .5 seconds at an acceleration similar to Earth's gravity. Using this as our base, we use F=MA to find that the amount of force he takes is 10k times 4.9, meaning Eris takes 49000 pounds of force in this moment, though it is most likely significantly more, as the gate is actively accelerating downwards onto him.