Penitent

Chapter 255 Book 4 Ch 36: Speed and Silence

They reached Burndan after another full day of riding. Their titled steeds were beginning to wear down, their breathing heavy and their coats glistening with sweat. They stopped one last time off the main road to feed and water them before they moved on.

Burndan was a gloomy country from what he'd seen so far. Dark forests. Gray skies, and craggy peaks in the distance. There was a stark beauty to it though. Riding the titled stallion through it had reminded him of driving through Appalachia.

They were tired, but alert. They'd gone over the plan thoroughly, so there was nothing else to talk about. Gabriel appeared still and calm, but Michael could feel the anxiety radiating from him. He placed a hand on his shoulder. His son jumped for a moment before settling and nodding at him.

They all mounted back up and rode for some time before Gabriel slowed down and took his horse into the woods off the main path. They'd been riding on a twisty path through the mountains for nearly an hour at that point. They all followed him, tying off their titled horses and continuing through the thick forests on foot. Ollie cast a thorough muffle on them and they proceeded in absolute silence. They began walking in the late afternoon and as dusk was falling they reached the estate.

The forest was all cleared for about one hundred yards outside of the walls. The Estate itself was built into a mountain, with treacherous and sheer cliffs all around it, and there were three large watchtowers placed along the front wall. It was more fortress than manor, just as Gabriel had described, and the dark stone silhouetted by the setting sun made it look all the more imposing, as if it was made of darkness itself.

Ollie began chanting silently under his breath, and the rest of them gathered close to him and bent their legs, waiting. As he finished his spell, a portal opened at their feet and they all fell a short distance, landing directly against the wall. He took a deep breath and began casting again, this time with all of them moving until they were just below the nearest watchtower.

Pyotr leapt up, his scarf wrapping around his arm and extending up to the wall where it wrapped around it. He held out a hand for Marcus, and the two of them swung quickly up and onto the wall.

Ollie finished his spell, and another portal opened, this time depositing just Michael, Gabriel and himself onto the top of the wall. They were muffled, so their feet made no sound as they landed. Pyotr and Marcus dumped two guard's bodies off the wall at the same time as the rest of them landed. They all exchanged a final nod, and separated.

Marcus and Pyotr began climbing the nearest watchtower, Ollie began to fly silently toward the part of the wall connected to the mountain, and Michael and Gabriel leapt down into the estate side of the wall, landing heavily, but silently. Michael activated his Eyes of Love and saw the thickest strands coming from his son leading deeper into the estate, and one new one that led directly to him. He made a few quick hand gestures to Gabriel to tell them where they led and he nodded, running along the shadow of the interior wall.

Michael followed. He didn't know the layout as well and besides, his son was so fast he had to put a lot of his attention on just keeping up with him. They reached a narrow gap between the wall and an outbuilding. Scanning around quickly, they noticed two guards patrolling behind one of the buildings. They rushed forward before they could turn the corner. Gabriel reached the furthest one first, taking his head from his shoulders in a smooth swipe of his sword. Michael reached the nearest of them moments later and ran Rend through his back while he was reacting to Gabriel.

They carefully moved the corpses to the wall, placing them in deepest shadow where they wouldn't easily be seen. It was Pyotr and Marcus's job to clear up as many of the guards as they could, but any that were directly in their way they would remove themselves.

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They began moving from building to building. Luckily, the estate was vast and had dozens of smaller buildings to help support it. They managed to avoid most patrols, but had to kill a half-dozen men that were in their way. When they reached the estate itself Michael held up a hand, making Gabriel stop in his tracks.

"They're being moved," he said, clenching his jaw.

Gabriel matched his expression with his own and placed a hand against a window leading inside. There was a pulse of magicka and it shattered, but stayed in the frame. He climbed through, moving the glass as if it was floating in water, and Michael followed closely behind. There was another pulse of magicka and the glass resealed as if it had never been broken.

…

Ollie glided into the cave with the largest opening, hovering just inside. Even from where he was standing the air was thick with the smell of carrion. He considered just flinging fireballs until he couldn't anymore, but decided he needed to be thorough. He didn't want to leave any rift monsters near Michael's grandchildren.

He put more magicka into his nighteye spell, using it to focus his vision as well, then he began to gently glide inside. He left marks as he travelled through, making sure he could quickly and easily get himself out, and made note of any side passages and dead ends. The cave system wasn't too deep or complicated, but he needed to be able to navigate it while throwing spells.

The smell of carrion grew even stronger as he made his way further inside and he began to hear the sounds of chittering and undulation. He turned a corner and nearly vomited as a wave of warm air and foul smells hit him. His enhanced vision let him make every horrific detail as he scanned the room. Pigs, cattle, and horses had been slaughtered in the room and partially devoured. Across their bodies were hundreds of small holes that revealed viscera and dried blood. Beneath the skin of the animals, Ollie could see something writhing and crawling.

Placing a barrier around himself, Ollie began to channel his magicka.

"Burn these motherfuckin' evil cunts until there's nothing left but dust," he muttered as heat began to coalesce at the tip of his staff. He pointed it, and released his will.

…

Just as Marcus was running a guard through with a bayonet at the end of reaper, he barely saw a brief flash of light from the mountain. There was no sound, which meant that Ollie had remembered to muffle the explosion.

A body fell from the watchtower and he caught it before it could land and make a sound. Pyotr landed silently next to him, his descent slowed by his scarf wrapped around his chest and holding onto a piece of stone.

"Sorry. He happened to turn around when I approached him."

"It's fine," replied Marcus, walking to the other side of the wall and tossing the body over. "It looks like Ollie took care of his end of things."

Pyotr nodded. "I expected nothing less." He looked around. The wall was clear, but he could see a number of guards on patrol on the ground. They'd need to start in on them quickly, eventually they'd be discovered.

…

Gabriel and Michael hurried through the halls of the main manor-house. Michael could feel Gabriel's desperation as they moved, and felt his own building in response. His grandchildren were in danger.

They reached a long hallway in which a dozen men stood with swords and shields raised and ready for them. Behind them was a massive double door.

They began to yell at them, but Michael and Gabriel didn't even hear their words.

Gabriel tore through the right side in less than three seconds, his sword shearing through shields, armor, and other blades as if they were nothing. Those on the left were brought down by Michael's mace as he slammed them to the side, helmets crushed, shields shattered. Gabriel kicked the double door open and each of the doors flew to the side.

Michael moved inside behind him and quickly took stock. It was a throne room, easily equal to those of Stent and Old Hume. On the throne sat an older woman with her long hair down wearing a nightdress. To her right was a monster in the shape of a man, his arm split in two to reveal a long mantis-like arm ending with a blade. It was wrapped around the neck of a beautiful woman with a fierce look in her eyes. Behind her and the creature were two young children, a boy and a girl. The girl was crying, and the boy had her wrapped in his arms, his eyes looking with rage at the insect in front of him.