Have you read Sorcerers Part Three - Spire?
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Four shadows slid down the side of the spire, one small, one tall, and two the same. A heavy blanket of cloud hung in the sky, blocking out the stars. A cold wind tugged at them as they moved down the tower. They moved with such speed they almost seemed to be falling. As they reached the roof of the main building below, the small shadow took the lead followed by the tallest. The identical shadows paused to scan the area before following. A ripple of magic cut through the air, so faint that only the small shadow seemed to be able to track it.
At the edge of the roof one of the identical shadows raised their wand. The faint clinking of a chain could hardly be heard over the wind. The shadows stepped off the edge of the building into what appeared to be thin air, balancing easily on the thin chain as they made their way over to the roof of the inn with the wolf insignia. The clinking of a chain could be heard again, but the shadows were already on the move.
They leapt across the slate roofs, winding around chimneys and towers, each picking their own silent, shadowy path. The smallest shadow slowed as they reached the large domed roof of the library, the others following. A huge green dome curved up into the cloudy sky in the centre of the square roof, broad stone arches holding the base. They circled it, following the smallest shadow to a corner of the library away from the main street.
Moving to the corner, they peered over the edge. The dark streets below were empty. One of the identical shadows bent down, tapping their wand on the side of the building. Stones pushed out of the wall, creating a steep narrow staircase in the side of the building leading down to the street. They moved off, none of the shadows appearing to be concerned by the deadly drop.
As they reached the cobbled street the stairs receded back into the wall. The smallest shadow moved up and down the street, peering down alleys. The others waited, watching. The heavy clouds above finally let go, fat snowflakes drifting down onto their hoods. The shadow seemed to find what they were looking for, signalling to the others to follow. The alley was tiny, barely wide enough for two of them to move a breast. Jumbled townhouses jutted overhead, almost blocking out the sky. They skirted around rubbish piled high outside some of the doors.
At the end of the long narrow alley, they paused, checking the street beyond. Apart from the shadow of a cat that slid between the buildings it was also empty. They turned left moving silently down the street, then a right, and another. They wound their way through the narrow streets, doubling back on themselves more than once until they finally reached the edge of the city.
The city walls stood dark and solid against the flurry of snow. The main gate was closed, portcullis down, but next to it stood a small iron-studded door. There were four guards, two stationed either side of the door and two marched along the top of the city wall. Identical wicked grins spread over two of the shadows’ faces.
Signalling for the others to step further back into the alley, the identical shadows flicked their wands. There was a snap and clatter at the other end of the street, a tie holding one of the awnings letting loose. In the heartbeat when the guards looked for the source of the noise, the shadows moved.
They slipped across the street, clamped a hand over the guards’ mouths, and smashed the back of their daggers into their heads. Propping the guards against the wall they signalled to the other two. As they passed through the door the other shadows’ eyes flashed as they ran them over the unconscious guards.
Wasting no time, they moved quickly into the snowy forest. Once again, the smallest shadow took the lead, trailing the ripple of magic through the trees. The frigid air smelt of pine, the needles crunching slightly beneath their feet. As they moved deeper into the forest the trees grew more densely until they fully blocked out the sky and no snow made it through the branches.
They walked for about an hour before the small shadow signalled them to stop. Picking a tree trunk each, they peered around them. The heavy layer of cloud had dispersed to large chunks of slow-moving cloud. Snowflakes still drifted down from them, a new moon just visible as the clouds scudded past, lending barely any light to the darkness.
The forest had been cleared around a huge mound. A snowy castle rose from the top, windows sparkling like diamonds. Once again, the identical shadows took the lead, signalling to the other two to stay where they were. They moved off around the mound, observing the patterns of the sentries with well trained eyes.
The first wall ran around the base of the mound, towers at regular intervals with two flanking the only entry gate. Behind it, the large snowy hillside ramped up to the second wall. They could just make out a cobbled path winding up to the second wall, wrapping around the top half of the mound. Cottages dotted the hillside between the two walls. Another two towers flanked the entrance to the upper courtyard. Beyond that the five-storey castle twinkled against the cloudy sky, a tower at each corner. Figures marched around the walls and stood at attention on the towers. Far more than necessary.
After half an hour of watching they moved back to the others, signalling them to follow. They lead them around the back of the castle. The mound was steeper, so steep the two walls joined for one section between two towers. Rocks littered the open ground, likely from a previous siege. They were too big to move and wouldn’t hide an army so there was no need to remove them. They would hide four shadows though.
They moved off, each picking their own path, following the cloud shadows, darting between the rocks. The other two weren’t quite as smooth as the identical shadows, but they were good enough. All reached the base of the wall without any alarms being sounded. Pausing the identical shadows instructed the other two to wait at the bottom.
Moving swiftly their gloved fingers and shoed toes found gaps between the large stones of the wall, heading for the centre between two towers. As they reached the battlements they stopped. When they’d assessed this side as their entry point, they’d watched the sentries until they’d memorised their placing and pattern. There were six sentries, two in the middle, two at either end, and two marching along the wall, taking twenty steps from tower to centre before turning and marching back again.
They waited, sprawled against the wall like two giant spiders, until they heard the footsteps. The footsteps stopped moving, stomping in place as they reached the sentries in the centre and turned. They counted ten steps before pouncing. Hauling themselves over the battlements their first daggers were through the throats of the sentries in front of them before they could move. Half a second later and two sets of throwing knives were away, slamming into the back of the necks of the marching sentries and through the side of the necks of the tower sentries before they could turn to look at flicker of movement at the centre of the wall. Their skin prickled.
There was only the slightest gurgling sound from the sentries in front of them, and the muffled thuds from the other four falling to the ground. The identical shadows stayed still as statues listening for the sound of the alarm. As the silence stretched, one of the shadows signalled over the wall.
A few minutes later the other shadows joined them. They glanced at the dark crumpled figures dotting the wall before following the identical shadows to the left tower. Silently easing the door open, they wound down the stairs, flaming torches lining the walls, illuminating their scarfed faces. At the bottom they cracked the door open. The castle wall was closer on this side due to the steepness of the mound. But they’d have to be careful, there was no cover, just a pile of cleaning equipment and machinery outside a small wooden door.
Having only had half an hour of observation, they were going in blind, but the identical shadows had visited and broken into enough manors and castles to have a good guess at the layout. The small wooden door was likely a servant’s entrance. The tower above was dotted with small windows. They watched the movements of the shadows in the courtyard and moved off one after another, flitting along the same path.
They melted into the shadows of the castle. One of the shadows reached out, the door opening with a click. Sliding inside, they found themselves at the base of a spiral stone staircase. As they moved, the last shadow closed the door quietly behind them. Their shoed feet were silent as they climbed up and up around the tight twist of the tower.
Suddenly there was a creak, a rectangle of light thrown down the stairs in front of the first shadow. The third shadow didn’t hesitate. They flung open the window next to them, an icy wind sucking into the tower. They hauled themselves out and started climbing, followed by the other three. The rectangle of light snapped off as the last shadow climbed out the window and closed it.
They were two-thirds of the way up the tower. The smallest shadow took the lead, taking them around to one of the flat faces of the castle and across to a dark window. They eased open the window and slipped into the huge gallery. Massive windows hung with thick dark curtains lined one side of the long room. Large paintings, busts, and vases full of huge shadowy bouquets lined the other. On any area of spare wall between the windows and large paintings, were hundreds of small portraits.
The smallest shadow paused for a moment, before silently setting off down the hall. As they went the paintings got older and older until they reached the end. A huge portrait of a tall thin man with a greasy smile stared down over them as they listen at the door at the end. No light came out from under it and no sound came from beyond it.
They slipped through the door and found themselves in a study. All of them could feel the magic in the room. A huge oak desk stood in the centre, a book open in the centre with a pile of coins next to it. Along one wall stood a bookcase of black leather-bound books. Next to the fireplace sat a large armchair and in the opposite corner a dark chest. The four shadows split up, picking an area to search. While they silently checked for secret compartments and hidden doors none of them noticed the fifth shadow that slipped into the room.
As the fifth shadow raised the staff in their hand, the others felt the magic building. They spun, ducked, and dived, whipping their wands out and slashing them through the air.
There was a surge of light and a scream split the air.
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