Guard Captain Pt 1

Taking his first steps into the hallway he stretched while a playful smirk emerged on his youthful face, he figured the castle was bound to have a few guards roaming here and there so decided to practice his "Ghost Walk" to avoid being caught to observe his father's garrison. 

"Ghost Walking" Is no overtly magical or complex technique but has been used by hunters and soldiers alike for millennia, even up to the 3rd Millenia it finds use. 

To successfully perform the Ghost Walk/Stepping, 3 primary considerations must be acknowledged. The visible movement you display, the auditory noise you generate, and your silhouette. 

Typically, the actual Ghost step itself is performed by a walking pattern where the pinky toe is the first part of your foot to contact the ground, followed by the side of your foot, the heel, and then the rest of your foot. In darkness, this stepping method helps for noisy debris such as twigs and dry leaves, or if you're unlucky enough, find a tripwire in the darkness all this while being mindful of light sources and making no sudden large movements. 

Practice makes perfect, however, and with enough practice, you can essentially become invisible to all but the most alert of people. Or in his time, anybody with a decent enough motion tracker or thermal camera. In his time, even in his powered suit of exoarmor, he was infamous for using his accomplished footwork to sneak up on sleepy patrols and give them the scare of a lifetime. New Soldiers to his battalion were never warned about this practice, as it was his Battalion Sgt. Major Melev's and his favorite 'game' & welcome package to new troops. Everybody only ever failed to intercept them once however, as being verbally thrashed by an enraged sleep-deprived BSM on the dangers of falling asleep during a patrol or sentry was usually a life-altering, one-sided conversation they would never allow themselves to forget. 

Now, outside of an exosuit and possessing an eleven-year-olds lighter more nimble body, in a dimly lit corridor in an Ancient Castle, Cassius might as well of been invisible. To his right side, opposite his room were arrow loops with large embrasures for archers to stand that stretched the length of the corridor. It looks like whoever handled the internal decoration of the hallway had also made it an assassin's wet dream however, as there were large thick banners with what was most likely the family Sigil of House Stenfall across it, which now that he paid attention to it was quite aesthetically pleasing to his sensibilities. An angular single black broadsword controlled the center of the banner pointing down with a Beige Star behind it, with the background itself being the soft crimson he saw on the guards below his window earlier in the night. Two Beige strips lined the top of the banner, with black threading bordering the entire large banner. 

Cassius took a moment to appreciate the banner in the lowlight, noting the simple and bold Sigil, it appears the Stenfalls founder had an eye for the epic, as he was sure this banner would stick out on any battlefield. 

Continuing on his way down the long corridor, he heard a distinct rattling that was probably some sort of armor, and clear footsteps echoing from around the nearest corner just a few meters away. He waited until the footsteps were closer before quickly but carefully stepping into the closest embrasure, making sure to disturb the banner enough to make it noticeable. 

The guard on shift was either not paying attention well or simply didn't care, as he noticed his pace never changed from unhurried steps as he rounded the corner. Cassius sighed to himself, if anyone ever sent a competent assassin into this castle, it was bound to be a massacre. 

Finally, Cassius slapped the banner hard enough to make an audible noise to get the effect he wanted, he finally got a response from the approaching guard as they stopped dead in their tracks. 

"Sub-par performance." Cassius rated to himself sighing while straining his senses, with a guard this close he needed to pull his little prank off flawlessly to remain unseen and free to roam the castle. 

He could hear the guard start to slowly approach the banner, and when he saw the shadow of the man nearing, he prepared to pull off his little stunt. The guard suddenly entered the large space through the banner, pushing it out of his way with his hand prepared to draw his sword, looking around in the large space, he sighed with relief. "Must've been the wind..." He thought to himself, a little more unnerved than he had been before. 

What the guard didn't realize, however, was that as he abruptly entered the space with a clatter, Cassius had slipped around the other side of the banner and proceeded quietly down the hallway with a smirk etched across his face. It felt like cheating, it was so easy to fool that poor guard, he'd have to fix these issues in the future if he was to make a life for himself here. And where was his fireteam partner? Had he been an assassin, that guard would have run directly into an ambush and would likely have died before he even realized how his throat had been cut. 

Rounding the next corner he finally spotted a stairwell heading down, doubling back to ensure the guard had returned to his regular patrol, confirming the confused and drowsy guard had fucked off, he returned to descend the stairs.

Unfortunately, the next thing to grace his vision as he approached the bottom of the stairs was a much more alert man passing the bottom of the stairs. The unknown man, tall and well-tanned just so happened to glance up the stairs at the exact moment Cassius had reached the second last step and promptly startled the man who did not expect a 5-and-a-half foot-tall gremlin-sized creature to be nearly at face height staring at him at him with an obvious look of surprise himself.

Thinking fast Cassius cracks a wry smile at his new predicament sorting through his memories before recognizing the man. "Captain Jacobs... nice to see you at this early hour"

Jacobs, now fully awake realizes said "Gremlin" was studying his appearance and was his Lord's second youngest child, Lord Cassius who he had rarely interacted with outside a few rare occasions. He scrutinized the young man before him, realizing that the boy looked a lot healthier than their interaction early last evening where he ran into him in passing while he was leaving the Margrave's office before he entered.

"Young Lord" Jacobs started, "It is a surprise to see you awake this early, is there something the matter?"

Jacobs was a monster. Even more so by this world's standards, standing at a healthy 6"2 with a heavy muscular build, his hands were marred and callused by years of heavy abuse and warfare. His head was bald and sported a short, black, well-trimmed beard, and golden emerald eyes. Cassius noticed how broad the man was as he filled the entrance to the stairs with ease, the man's general appearance was that of a warlord whose singular purpose in life was to swing his sword and cleave his foes. 

His voice was deep, gritty, and commanding, with a gravelly quality that conveyed intense strength and a fierce demeanor. Marked by a sense of raw power and an underlying confidence in his ability. Cassius was surprised his presence alone demanded respect, he was impressed that this world could grow such a warrior and it showed across his features. 

"No, Captain, I was making my way towards the Kitchen to find myself something to eat this early in the morning before my studies, care to escort me?" Cassius responded to him, matching his gaze with a more casual one. 

Contrary to Cassius's composed manner, Jacobs was currently experiencing a great deal of inner turmoil; surprised the boy could talk to him, happy the boy could finally match his gaze, and shocked he would even be so forward as to invite him to breakfast. Not once since he had first met him had he been able to respond to him out of fear, which was a sore spot the other guardsmen had been teasing him for since Cassius's arrival in the castle. 

'Was I maybe a little too forward with him?' Cassius felt a little embarrassed at Jacobs's silent gaze while his face went through a multitude of emotions all the while he continued to scrutinize him. He had no idea how he was supposed to act toward his father's guard as the original Cassius had been awfully terrified of the man. 'To hell with it, I'll just be me and hopefully, that just pays off'

"Jacobs, once you feel you've stared at me long enough, would you care for breakfast?" A little understanding of how shocked the Captain must have been, having changed literally overnight into a different person. 

"Mmm." Jacobs's stern expression shifted and he furrowed his brows, "My apologies, Young Lord, let us do that." He realized this change was unprecedented and would need to find time to inform the Marquis of his son's new vigor.

Over the next several minutes, Jacobs and Cassius walked through the wide corridors of the lower level greeting several surprised guards and servants running errands back and forth, reaching the kitchen & adjacent meal hall Cassius had the opportunity to examine the area. The kitchen hall itself was one of the more unique additions to the castle. It was a two-story tall hall built directly against the keep. It featured a large shingled roof and an entryway large enough for a cart to fit through directly to the adjacent courtyard. The entryway itself could be removed in warmer seasons to allow for better air circulation. During wartime, it would likely be a major target if any besieging enemy were able to strike it with a lucky shot from artillery.

While entering the kitchen hall, Cassius and Jacobs were quickly noticed by those who were just ending their guard shifts, and those who had just awoken for it. All of which made no effort to hide their surprised looks. 

A young pair of guards could even be foolishly overheard commenting on the matter. 

"Isn't that Lord Cassius? There's at least an hour until dawn, this must be a first, right?"

"Never mind that, look who's with him!"

A cold glance from the Captain silenced the young men, who were sure they'd experience some hell later.

--/// Authors note ///--

Hey all! Had to split this chapter into two parts as my child has been insanely unruly today.