Carmen's training [P2]

Cassius winced internally as soon as the words left his mouth, feeling them drip with far more "edginess" than he'd intended. It felt like something straight out of one of those dark, dramatic comics his grandson used to read, the kind his old friend had called "Chuunibyou syndrome" or "middle school syndrome"—the delusions of grandeur and fantastical heroics that young teens love to imagine for themselves.

Still, Carmen's wide-eyed excitement told him that, despite the cringe, the message had hit home. The boy looked like he'd just been handed the keys to a secret society of shadowy warriors. Great, Cassius thought with an inward sigh. I've probably set this kid on a path of wearing dark cloaks and sneaking around the house for the next few years.

"When do we start?" Carmen asked, his tone brimming with the kind of excitement that only a kid dreaming of his new future of lurking in the shadows could muster. Cassius could almost see the mental image Carmen was painting for himself—draped in black, haunting the night like some kind of masked avenger.

Cassius sighed again, louder this time. I've definitely ruined him.

Nevertheless, he spent the next several hours walking Carmen through the basics of stealth. They covered the essentials: how to move quietly (the so-called "Ghost Walk"), the importance of concealment, the art of creating distractions, and how to mask sounds in various environments. To his surprise, Carmen was a natural. He quickly grasped the techniques, and even added his own ideas from years of avoiding attention during games or chores, accelerating the lesson faster than Cassius had anticipated.

"So… Can I try breaking into the keep tomorrow?" Carmen suddenly asked, the eagerness palpable in his voice.

Cassius chuckled, finding it both amusing and a bit worrisome. "If you think you can manage it, go ahead," he replied, not quite thinking through the potential consequences.

Those words, as he would soon learn, were a mistake. Carmen took them to heart, and by the time the morning came, the boy had already begun concocting several disturbingly creative ways to break into the keep. Cassius had unknowingly unleashed something far more troublesome than he could have anticipated.

—----

Shortly before midnight, Cassius extinguished his lantern, having had just spent the last few hours after dinner writing down the course material for Carmen to study in his free time, and further improving on his Blast Furnace sketches, adding details and explanations he hadn't had the time to explain properly.

He knew though, that he wouldn't be able to train Carmen all day and had hoped to eventually get him a tutor to shore up his literacy. Afterall, what sort of Scout Ranger would Carmen be if he couldn't read or write down instructions or observations?

As he rolled his scrolls up and placed them into his satchel, he heard a quiet knock at his door which brought him pause. Who could this be?

Silently, he retrieved his dagger from the table where he had thrown it, and made his way to the door, still weary of any assassins that could be out for his life. Once again, he got down onto his hands and knees and saw a pair of muddy bare-feet present. Unusual.  He thought

Standing back up, he cracked the door enough to peek through to see a very muddy, very wet child standing in his corridor.

"Lord Cassius, I accomplished one of your tasks!" The unidentifiable man stated.

"CARMEN?" Cassius shouted in surprise, realising that the mud caked individual was his youngest subordinate and quickly dragged him into the room.

"What happened to you? Why are you covered in mud? What is that horrendous stench!? What do you mean, tasks?" Cassius asked in a hushed flurry. The questions bombarding the stunned exhausted youth.

Carmen stood with a wry smile, "Well… You gave me three tasks to accomplish… and I think I accomplished one already." 

Then it hit him. "Which task?" He asked with hesitation.

Carmens face, barely distinguishable underneath the dirt cracked a pleased massive smile.

"I broke into the castle!" He beamed

—-

Rewind to a few hours prior, Carmen was sat in his new barracks room across from Horace, who he was regaling with Cassius's mastery of stealth.

"And the Ghost step! It felt so similar to how I had seen our local hunter walk through the woods, but it was just so much more refined!" Carmen shouted with animation

He had realised how passionate he was about his skill set, but was incredibly frustrated he could never properly utilise it, and that it had been completely de-valued by those he spoke to of it. Hell, even his closest friend Horace thought it was only natural to want to fight an enemy face to face, and head on, dismissing his skills as nothing more than a children's hobby.

But Cassius? He thought, his adoration of the boy had started reaching almost religious zealotry; He appreciated stealth, he understood his skills! He saw how useful they were and how to take them to the next level!

He quickly stopped himself, he needed to prove himself to Cassius so that he would continue to see value in him, but how could he do this? Lord Cassius had stated that his three tasks were considered a final 'exam', which although he didn't know what an exam was, he deduced it was likely a final test of sorts.

Horace however was slightly disinterested, but also concerned with the tasks Cassius had set out before him. "How does he expect you to break into the castle? Let alone steal from Captain Jacobs? I don't know what his standards are for your training, but nobody can break into this fortress that easily!" Horace argued.

"The Castle!" Carmen's eyes sharpened as he considered his first task. He didn't have many options. The walls were too steep for the most part, he could attempt the North wall for his entry way, but then he would still have to break into the keep itself to report to Cassius… 

He already knew the shift patterns from his month as a normal guardsman… but he had no equipment to scale the walls themselves… The sally ports were protected all day round, and were heavily fortified…

Where was the castle's weakness… He poured over everything he had done, every duty, every task, his brain whirling in motion trying to remember every detail of the castle before everything finally snapped into place.

There was a series of garderobe (Toilets) on the north side of the castle that were left overs of the previous structure.

A garderobe were toilets of a castle that were usually built into the walls so that they projected out on corbels and any waste fell below.

However… The North side of the Castle was the least defended, with only a few sentries and the defensive structures there were left overs from the deceased former occupants of the fortification. And unlike the more modern defences to the south where the 'toilets' simply dumped the putrid waste of the castle's occupants from a height, the north side's toilets travelled through a hollow tube on a slight incline directly to ground level.

Although it wasn't preferable... He had his in-route. For his out-route? Much more simple, he thought. Just blend in with one of the patrols leaving for the evening during shift change in a few hours.

"I'm going to sneak in through the garderobe's at the North side of the castle!" His eyes lit up again, the pieces fitting together in his mind like a puzzle.

"The garderobe? Are you serious?" Horace raised an eyebrow. "You're going to sneak into the castle through a toilet?"

He nodded to himself, the action itself concerning Horace as he stripped out of his uniform. "I think I know that look, Carmen." Horace said, concerned for his friend's well-being.

"You realise if you're caught, nobody is going to believe that Cassius gave you these tasks, right? You might just be killed on the spot as a spy." He explained to his wayward companion.

"No, no, I can do this." Carmen's heart pounded with excitement as his plan solidified in his mind. The challenge set by Lord Cassius filled him with a fervour he had never felt before.

For the first time, someone valued his skills—the abilities he had honed for years, dismissed by others as cowardly or impractical. He needed to prove to himself and to others that he was more than just a skinny youth.

Horace, however, remained unconvinced. "Carmen, this isn't a game! The risks are too high. If you get caught sneaking through the garderobe, they won't wait for an explanation. You're practically asking for death."

Carmen grinned at Horace's concern, but his mind was elsewhere, playing over the possibilities. "I know the risks, Horace. But this is my chance. Cassius believes in me, and I need to prove I'm capable. If I don't take this leap, I'll always be overlooked, stuck as a simple guard."

Horace sighed, rubbing his temple in frustration. "You're too eager to impress. Think about this. If something goes wrong—if anyone catches wind of your plan—you're not just risking yourself. You'll drag Cassius into this too."

"I've already thought about that, and I think Cassius understands the implications, why else would he give me these tasks?" Carmen said, his tone sharper. "That's why I'll be careful. No one will catch me. Besides, the patrols on the north wall are minimal. Most of the guards stick to the better-defended areas. And with the garderobe system…" 

Carmen nodded. "It's the only way. It's the one entrance that isn't properly guarded, and the north side is practically a relic. They haven't properly maintained those sections in years. It's perfect."

Horace's face twisted in disbelief. "You're going to crawl through human filth just to get in? That's madness."

"Madness or not, it's the best option," Carmen replied confidently. "I've spent enough time around the castle to know how things work. And the fact that no one expects it is what makes it perfect."

Horace shook his head. "I still think you're crazy, but… if you're going to do this, just be smart. Don't let your pride get you killed."

Carmen smirked. "I won't. Trust me, Horace. I've got this."

With his mind made up, Carmen moved swiftly. He gathered what little supplies he needed, stuffing a dark cloak into a small satchel along with a pair of dark leather gloves. His heart raced as he thought of the night ahead—how the guards would be oblivious to his movements, how he would slip into the castle unnoticed. The idea of proving himself worthy in Cassius's eyes drove him forward.

As night fell, Carmen stood by the window, watching the shadows stretch across the courtyard. Horace had gone silent, clearly unsettled by his friend's determination, but Carmen was too focused to be swayed.

He muttered to himself, "I'll prove my worth." And with that, he disappeared into the night, his mission set.

-----// Author's note //-----

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