Chapter 5

Unknown

The battle had begun, and the walls were on fire. A large figure stood near the window, looking out at the scene before him.

"This is a faint." A deep voice said.

"Tell everyone to vacate the castle, all except you and your family." The figure said, turning to a plump man.

Earl Grasso was currently in his large study with one of the Warlords' most trusted generals. The man was at least nine feet tall, wearing armor that would give people nightmares. His sholder pauldrons were molded to look like the heads of goats with their horns reaching for the sky. His helmet was shaped like a face with tears rolling down its face, and it only covered his upper face, leaving his large beard to flow freely. Atop his helmet, two more horns grew to about a foot into the air.

"Artoria Pendragon should be on her way here now. Or she will send someone she trusts. If they are smart, they should find the path we've set for them." The figure said, turning towards the other three people in the room.

In a sudden fit of rage, he backhanded the only women in the room, sending her to the ground.

"Send this one to the dungeons to wait. I'll come get her when we are done here." He finished turning back to the window.

Earl Grasso motioned for his son to grab some guards to take the woman away and turned to the figure.

"What are we to do? Why do you send everyone but us away?" He asked the figure.

"Because I wish it so." The deep voice hissed at him.

"If you wish to be useful, send that pig of a son of yours to buy us more time." The figure said as he went to one of the bookshelves. He found a book that looked interesting and sat down on a couch that was meant for 2 people. He started flipping through the book, as Earl Grasso fumed in anger. The disrespect of this man infuriated him. He deserves to be respected. But what could he do? This man could wipe out entire arms by himself. If it meant leaving longer, he would bend the knee this once. Though only this once.

"Very well, Lord. I'll send my son to delay them." He turned to his son and ordered him to fight the "King of knights" or whoever she had sent. He knew his son would lose, but whoever Artoria sent wouldn't kill a noblemen.

Godrick

Earl Grasso's territory was full of hills, streams, and all kinds of trees. It made traveling very easy, as the army didn't have to hide at all. They could travel in the open if they stayed off the main roads.

As they finally neared the city, Godrick and his four companions broke off from the main force and traveled farther south to find a place to hide till nightfall.

As Artoria watched him go, she shouted out to him once more

"We need him alive! But be safe!"

Godrick turned and gave a wave as he finally departed.

The walls of the city were tall, about twenty to twenty-five feet in height by Godricks estimation. The city itself was a circle, with the castle in the very center. Roads then ran north, east, west, and south, with other smaller roads breaking off from them and running through the city.

Reaching a good spot to hide till the raid started, the other four men started to talk to themselves, while Godrick simply sat on a nearby rock waiting.

As they heard the raid finally begin, they all looked up as they saw the fires, and the screaming started. Artorias troops weren't in the city, but the fear of the townsfolk had started a panic.

One of the men who was with Godrick came over to him and sat next to him.

"Now all we have to do is wait for about an hour or two, my lord?" He asked, trying to make conversation.

Godrick simply nodded his head in response.

Feeling a bit awkward at the situation he had created, the man left, leaving Godrick to be alone with his thoughts.

After a while, it was finally time for them to act, standing Godrick motioned to his companions to begin approaching the city. As they approached the gate in the darkness, their only indication of it were the two larger sconces burning on either side of it.

As they approached, they noticed two guards on the walls keeping watch, Godrick turned to two of his companions and motioned to take them out.

The two took their bows from their backs and readied themselves, waiting for the signal to take them out. Godrick gave it, and two twangs were heard as the guards fell.

Finally getting to the portcullis, Godrick gave his halberd to one of his men. He then squatted down, grabbing the bottom of the gate, and with a mighty heave, he started to raise it. As he finally stood, it was high enough for his men to be able to crouch down and enter the city. Seeing all his men on the other side, he raised the gate to his chest, then over his head. Getting on the other side, he set the gate back down gently, grabbed his halberd, and continued into the city.

The city was a mess. People were running around trying to find safety as no one had told them what was happening. They believed they were under attack by some unknown enemy and not their own people. Artorias men would never kill any of these people, but they didn't know that.

Making their way through the packs of people toward the center castle, they saw many of the guards standing around, dead looks in their eyes as if they were zombies. Not all guards had this condition, however, as some spotted Godrick and his men. Quickly approaching them, Godrick knew he couldn't deal with them all in the streets. He ran at the four guards and, using his halberd, he shoved the four of them into a dark alleyway. Emerging from the darkness a few moments later, his halberd covered in blood, he motioned his companions onward towards the castle.

They finally made it to the second portcullis that surrounded the castle, though this one was much thicker. Performing the same actions as the first gate, Godrick crouched down and picked the gate up, allowing him and his men to pass under. Getting to the castle, they saw all exits guarded by a minimum of 20 men. Godrick and him men hid near the south wall as he tried to figure out a way to get in when his mother's words came to him again.

"You'll need to use your head for this one Godrick, you won't be able to brute force your way through this."

He smiled under his helmet as he thought of charging the wall and simply bursting through it, but his mother was right. They needed to get in unseen.

"Lord!"

One of his men pointed to a trap door that was near them. It only had two guards by it, so they took their chance and slowly approached the guards. Reaching them, Godrick smashed the guards' heads together, turning them to mush. Shaking his hands of the filth, he then opened the trap door.

After dropping down, the small group found themselves in the dungeons. Cells ran down the length of the dark moist corridor, reeking of death, blood, and excrement. Decomposing bodies littered the cells, and most of them looked as if they had been tortured and mutilated, missing arms and legs. They came to a block of cells that held live captives, most of them young women who had "Gone Missing." Most likely, they had caught the lord, or one of his sons' eyes.

Vowing to come back later to save these poor people, Godrick and his men began to leave when a voice called out to them.

"Wait! Don't leave me here!"

The group stopped, looking into one of the other cells, seeing a well-built woman reaching her hand through the bars, trying to gain their attention.

"Please d-don't leave me here!" The woman pleaded, he voice breaking halfway through

"We can't stay any longer. We need to leave. We will be back for you, though, I promise!" One of Godricks men said, turning to leave.

"I am Igraine Pendragon, wife of Uther Pendragon! Please don't leave me here!" She shouted after them.

This made the group stop immediately.

"Impossible, Lady Igraine died when her monastery was destroyed by the Saxons."

One of Godricks men said

"No! It wasn't the Saxons. It was the Warlord! She destroyed my monastery, then gave me to Earl Grasso as a reward for something he'd done for her! I've been a work slave ever since! Please, you have to help me!" She yelled in a panic, thinking the group would leave her.

The woman placed her face against the bars of the cell, revealing a large black and blue bruise on her cheek.

"By God, Lady Igraine!" One of the men shouted

It had been many years since Godrick had seen Igraine. He had been a little boy when she was in her coven of worshipers. When the monastery was destroyed, everyone believed that she had been killed.

One of the men rushed to the cell and started to pick the lock that held her cell closed. Getting it opened, he rushed in and held the weak Igraine.

"Lord, please allow me to leave and take Lady Igraine to her Majesty." He pleaded.

Godrick gave a sharp nod, then turned to leave the dungeons.

Trusting the soldier enough to let him leave, the other four left the dungeons and entered the first floor of the castle, but they saw no one as they explored the first floor. It was like the place had been deserted, things thrown around, furniture moved about in unnatural ways. The blue and yellow flag that held Grasso's house symbol had fallen to the dark stone floor. The walls and ceiling were decorated with intricate floral patterns, while the floor was a mixture of smooth polished stone.

Going up the large grand staircase, they made their way up to the second, then third floors, finding no one and nothing, save the same empty space with overturned furniture.

Arriving on the fourth floor, they finally found someone. A lone figure standing in the long corridor, shrouded in shadows.

"My coward of a father sent me to buy him and his guest time. I'll show him that I'm more than a mere pawn in his schemes."

Said the figure as the fire and moonlight shone through the windows, revealing a short plump young man. He was in his noble attire but held a long sword that flashed in the fire and moonlight.

"Now, which one of you peasant wishes to die first? I'll make the first death painless, but the other three will suffer." Boasted the young Lord.

Finding this a good time to test his armor, Godrick stepped forward to face the arrogant young Lord.

"Well, it seems you wish to die first then. Do you want to simply walk onto my blade or make me put it through you?" The young Lord asked in his nasally voice.

Walking straight towards him, Godrick batted his sword aside with his left hand, then brought it back in a backhanded slap.

The blow wasn't all that hard, but it was enough to knock the young man onto his backside. Dazed for a moment, the young Lord looked at Godrick towering over him. In a fit of rage, he got to his feet, and with a feeble swing of his sword, cut at Godrick.

The moment the sword came into contact with his armor, Godrick felt something. He felt the kinetic energy from the swing be transferred and spread equally through the gems on his armor. He felt that he could release the energy whenever he wanted. However, it wasn't much. It seemed the energy that was stored was equal to the force of the strike. At this point, it would just be a light burst, probably enough to make the young Lord step back, but nothing more.

The young Lord struck him again, and more energy was added to the gems. Now, he could probably make the young Lord fall over, but he decided to keep the energy stored for later.

Deciding to end this pitiful being, Godrick drove the sharp butt end of his halberd into the young Lord's foot, impaling it into the stone. The Young Lord bent over and screamed in pain as Godrick then struck him with the haft of the weapon, sending him to the floor. He fell awkwardly due to his foot, but now he was holding his broken nose. Remembering the scene from the dungeons, all the trapped women, and dead bodies, Godricks anger only grew. Withdrawing his halberd from the Lord's foot, Godrick brought it back down on the stone, leaving it to stand by itself. He then reached down and grabbed both the Lord's wrists, hoisting him into the air.

Godrick began to pull in the opposite direction as the young Lord began to scream, though his screams did nothing to halt or speed up the torment. The sounds of tendons ripping, bones being pulled from one another, and finally, flesh tearing could be heard. The right shoulder popped first, making the arm extend more, but in the end, it all tore from the rest of the body. The rest of the lord fell limply to one side as he passed out from the pain, so Godrick dropped him and began walking away. He picked up his halberd in his right hand and held the Lord's arm in the other, leaving one of his men to finish off the young Lord if he so desired.

Reaching the end of the hall, he kicked in the large double doors leading into the master study, revealing a large figure seated behind the large desk reading a book. Earl Grasso was cowering in the corner, trying to stay as far away from the seated man. Godrick simply tossed the arm into his lap and looked at the seated figure. The Earl started to scream with fear seeing his son's arm, making the figure finally look up at Godrick from his book. He gave a frustrated huff, closed the book, and then threw it at Earl Grasso. Hitting him in the face, the Earl gave a grunt of pain, then fell unconscious.

"If it weren't for the Warlords strict orders, I would have skinned that man and his piglet alive. Though I see you already took care of the latter." The figure said in a deep, low voice.

"I was hoping for Artoria Pendragon, but I guess her adopted son will have to do. Your death will drive her to foolish action and thus further our goals."

Godrick said nothing as the figure began to rise. As he did, he picked up a massive warhammer that was shaped like the head of a goat in his right hand and held a massive shield in his left.

"Come. It is time for one of us to die." The figure said, swinging his hammer, shattering the table in front of him.