1 Fall of the Keep

"Incoming!"

The warning came seconds before the inevitable flash of a flaming projectile and the "BOOOOOOM!" that would follow. The last tower on the keep's gate house finally fell down, unable to take the damage anymore from the fiery ball of destruction that fell from the sky.

"Watch out! Run!"

The Keep rattled and you could hear men scrambling out of the way as the remainder of tower fell into the courtyard below. This had become the norm for the past 3 days and nights as the enemy forces laid siege to the keep. The constant barrage of devastating projectiles raining on them was enough to make a person go mad.

King Landon stood by the fireplace in his armor, lamenting on how this could end up like this. The Clarion Forces managed to take the city in just under a day but that wasn't surprising to him. After numerous defeats on the battlefield in the past several months, his forces had been worn down to just the small, loyal force they had left here.

Outnumbered 15 to 1 and with the amount of damage the new war enemy machines had, it was hardly a fight to get past the walls and take the city of Newbower, the mountain stronghold they withdrew their remaining forces to. He would have pulled back all his troops to the keep but he tried to give the city enough time to allow some of his citizens to escape. But the enemy didn't even bother to try a seige and swiftly attacked the main gate on the East side of the city. Barely anyone had time to get out and the only thing that had slowed them from a quick victory was the Keep, this stone stronghold along the mountain side that overlooked the city. This had forced the Clarion Forces to bring their equipment into the city and set up a constant barrage upon the stone fortress.

It hadn't been but 2 years ago that the Kingdom of Strithing had been the largest and prosperous kingdom of the 5 that ruled on the continent of Gianus. They hadn't seen war in over 50 years and the nations all had a strong peace agreement between them.

But the smallest and weakest nation, the Kingdom of Clarion, had suddenly changed all that. In a very short period, they had found a way to engineer new and powerful machines and technologies that nobody had ever seen before. With these, they could own the battlefield, winning battle after battle consently and managed to take most of the whole continent in less than 1 and a half.

That speed and viciousness of their conquest was unfathomable to King Landon, as even the strongest of his armies had been beaten with ease and they never had a chance to adapt. Their warfare methods of Sword, Bow, and Horse were far too inferior and no match to these new machines. Landon feared that such a long peace had made them complacent and he regretted not having constantly improved their military abilities. But too late to change that now, he thought to himself. This was the final battle for them and he doubt they would last the night.

"Booooom!"

King Landon walked over to the balcony of his room as another projectile landed. He sorrowfully surveyed what was left of the of the city. Down below him looked like a hell scape. Half the city was ablaze and you could hear the occasional high pitched scream of innocent women and children being attacked by the Clarions Forces. Numerous batteries had been set up by them on the side of the city nearest to the keep and were lobbing their deadly, flaming payloads at the keeps several weakened defenses.

On the Keep wall, he could see the dozen or so of his remaining archers taking refuge behind what cover remained on the wall, occasionally popping out to shoot at an approaching group of men who brought a ram with them to attempt to break the gate. In the Keep courtyard, the captain of his royal guard was mustering the last of their 50 or so troops in preparation for their last stand. Despite their worn down and battered look from the days of fighting, they would still put up a strong fight to the last man. They knew that the enemy had a no prisoners taken mentality and would brutally kill them if they tried to give up. There was no surrender, so a last stand was their only option.

The heavy iron gate in front of them, having once been magnificent to look upon and thought impenetrable for over 100 years, was barely holding together now. After the 3 day bombardment, it had numerous gaps in it and his remaining garrison had done their best to try shoring it up with wood planks, barrels of rocks, and a tipped-over wagon. However, it wasn't going to take much more to finally break it down.

King Landon noticed the seige engines finally stopped and all that could be heard was the steady marching of the hundreds of soldiers with the battering ram coming up the rampart. The last moments of the battle were upon them and King Landon would love to be down there with his men, but he had one final task to do.

"My lord, it's time", said a voice from the door. Landon's closest advisor and dearest friend, Ademant, was waiting for him. He was dressed in his armor as well, but held a folded cloth in his hand that was obviously wrapped around something heavy. Landon nodded and left the room with them.

As they walked down the stairs towards the keep basement, they walked though the main hall. Holes from the bombardment showed small bits of the courtyard. The distinctive "boom boom BOOM!" sound of the battering ram could be heard though them and you could hear the Captain of the Guard shouting orders that were unable to be heard. They didn't have much time.

They entered the cellar where the few remaining royal servants, the Keep staff, and a young boy were hiding down there currently. The boy, about 10 years old, was wearing a simple but obviously high quality tunic and a fur lined cloak that made it obvious that he was of royal blood. Landon looked at the boy and said, "Son, it's time."

Adement had walked to the back wall and opened the secret door that led to the room behind. It was an odd room with an ancient, large, circular stone in the center of it. Illegible runes covered it as well. The sound of metal clanging upstairs told King Landon that they were almost out of time. The gate had obviously been breached.

Landon had his son stand on the stone quickly. Adement handed the boy a small burlap bag of items as well. King Landon then gave his son a strong hug knowing it would be the last time he would be able to do that. "Son, in that bag is a map and all you need to get to the Northern islands. This is a magical gate that will teleport you to the closest area to them. Find a man named Fisher, and show him this medallion. He will help you get there!"

The King pressed a large, gold coin in his hand. The young prince had tears running down his cheeks and looked terrified. Landon kneeled down put his hand on the boys shoulder and said, "I love you. Be strong for all of us! You must live for the sake of all of us!" The boy nodded and quickly tried wiping the tears away and standing up tall.

The sound of battle grew closer to the top of the stairs. King Landon stood back and then nodded to his friend. Adement stepped forward and pulled a large, round, clay disk with the same runes on it as the gate stone. King Landon took out a knife off his belt, made a cut on his thumb, and pressed the blood onto the center of the disk. The ruins started to glow with a light blue color. Adement then held up the disk with both hands towards the gate and broke it in half. The gate stone suddenly came alive with the same pale blue light, which then engulfed the secret room before vanishing once again. The young prince was gone with it.

King Landon and Adement entered the cellar once and again, closing the secret wall door behind the. "Check downstairs!" they heard from the stairwell and the 2 pulled out their swords as the sound of armored men starting to come down the steps.

'Godspeed my son', the king thought as he stepped to meet the first enemy to walk out of the stairwell and into the cellar.