Darkin A Journey East - By Joseph A. Turkot Page 0,4
his situation. He wondered what would keep the archer up on the tower, as the lords bid their servants to fully control slaves at any cost, even that of their own lives. Then it hit him—with a shiver he realized that the archer was waiting for fellow sentries alerted by the horn. Three more would come at least. He decided not to wait for the incoming guards, and he dashed from his hiding place to a new one, closer to the tower. As he ran briefly into the open, another arrow slid by his frame, nearly tricking up his feet.
He crawled on all fours past huge thickets of ivy against a low stone wall. The wall ran southeast in a looping curve, out to the path leading directly to the tower, and the gate beyond. He remained unseen as he made his way east, face grappling with the earth in stealth. As the wall rose some, he turned his back against it and sat down, slowly removing an arrow from the slain archer’s quiver. He knew his shot would depend on whether or not he could steady his hands enough to aim at the high target on the tower. The archer eyed the thick growths that hugged the north face of the wall, unable to see where the slave hid; the beam of light emanating from the tower revealed nothing. Adacon’s face grew stern as the time for his deadly task came. He straightened the arrow against the string and centered its feathers in his sight. He decided to aim high and hope the arrow would arc; though he knew their make and purpose, he had never before used a bow and arrow. Still, he doubted he could hit the high target, despite a strange assurance overcoming him again. His attacks had been fatal and accurate thus far—maybe I can hit him, he thought.
He stood to fire, revealing his hiding spot. About to loose his arrow, he froze at the sudden clap of footsteps coming from behind. The footsteps were faint, twenty yards away at least, accompanied by muddled voices. He lost his focus for a moment to the distraction, but quickly returned his gaze to see the archer above fixing aim on him. Two arrows flew: the archer’s spared its target; Adacon’s did not. The form atop the tower grasped at his neck violently. The aim had been dead set. More red misted the night sky, illuminated by the torch harnessed to the tower balcony. The tower spotlight flickered out. The limp body toppled over the side of the tower rail and fell to the fertile earth, croaking until impact. Adacon began a mad dash at that moment, running directly to gain the tower. The trailing footsteps had grown louder, and he felt their eyes upon his back. The tower had seemed larger from a distance, and appeared smaller as he approached its ladder: it looked like a frail old piece of wood crafting, fashioned by wood slaves in the south. The old bars were sturdy though, and he quickly gained the high ground.
Three sentries came into plain view, rushing at the tower. He removed another arrow from his quiver and set it in place on the bowstring. He drew the string back and let the arrow fly, targeting the front most sentry. The arrow missed to the left, burying into the soft soil. He did not think—he instinctively reloaded the bow and fired again. The arrow hit, but not at its intended target; it glanced off the front guard’s sword and flew into the archer that had been bringing up the rear. The arrow pierced through his lower left abdomen, leaving him helplessly wailing on the ground. Two guards rushed on—an archer and a swordsman; he reloaded his bow and fixed aim on the archer. Before he could release, the swordsman charged the ladder and haphazardly threw a knife skyward. He dodged the errant blade, but enough time had been saved for the archer to quickly take position behind the stone wall.
Adacon squatted behind the balcony’s small rail to be out of sight. The swordsman grunted below, climbing the ladder with haste for the balcony. Adacon looked down through the floor hole where the ladder came up into the balcony. Peering down, he saw the top of a man’s head rising upward fast. He felt no guilt as he fixed aim on the defenseless guard’s skull and loosed another arrow. The force sent the guard tumbling back to