~🌾Will🌾~

Night fell swiftly over Araluen, rendering the bright reds and oranges of autumn a leaden, lifeless shadow. The moon was but a sliver in the sky, a faint silver masked by the veil of dark, wispy clouds. There was no light in the village and definitely no noise. Not a single soul dared to walk the streets in the pitch black.

That was, no soul except for Will and his companions.

With Will in the lead, the four friends walked silently down the main cobblestone street. Castle Gorlan was like a beacon at the end of the road. Torches lined the top of the ramparts, in between the stone parapets. Guards clad in black and gold stood at the ready, their expressions hidden underneath an iron helmet.

"Last chance to turn back," Will said. His voice was barely a whisper in the breeze. Coming to a stop a little ways off the path, he turned back to look at his friends. "I won't hold it against any of you if you want to leave."

Alyss scoffed. She reached out to take Will's hand, gripping it tightly. "Never," she said. "We're in this together."

Horace's strong hand landed on top of theirs. "This is for the revolution," he said. "For Araluen."

All eyes turned to Cassandra, then. For a split second, Will was afraid she would turn back. Instead, a smirk spread onto her face. Her eyes glittered as she added her hand to the pile. "Morgarath won't know what hit him."

Will looked between Alyss, Horace, and Cassandra. Breathing out a sigh of acceptance, he squeezed their hands. "Okay," he said. "According to Alyss, the guards will rotate at midnight. We make our move, then."

"Remember," Alyss continued. "We'll only have two minutes. Since the main gate will be shut, the only way in is up and over."

"Right." Will nodded. "Cassandra and I will scale the wall first. We'll help you and Horace up once we're at the top."

"Then, we split up." Cassandra nodded at Alyss. "Alyss and I will search the upper levels."

"That leaves me and Will with the lower ones," Horace finished.

Alyss tightened her grip on the three. "It's a solid plan," she said. "Just remember to stick with your partner. We meet at the edge of town at first light, with or without Halt."

"We're going to save him," Will said firmly. "There is no without Halt."

"I sure hope you're right."

Will met the eyes of his friends one last time before finally letting go. "Follow my lead," he said.

Getting down on his knees, Will dug his fingers into the ground beneath him. The earth broke easily, rough and crumbly against his skin. Pulling up his hood, he didn't wait for anyone as he began crawling, though it was more like shuffling, closer to the castle.

Trust the cloak. That was the phrase Halt had used the day they had practiced unseen movement, and though he didn't own a ranger cloak, Will hoped his plain brown one would do the trick.

There were no trees around Castle Gorlan, a great tactical advantage for the guards inside and a great annoyance to anyone trying to get in. If it were daytime, Will was sure they would have already been caught. He was careful to keep his head below the blades of tall grass, staying as physically close to the ground as he could. To the eyes of any far-off onlooker, they could have been a couple of dogs or a gust of wind.

The next hour felt like several, and Will's muscles threatened to collapse underneath him. He didn't know how long he had been dragging himself through the dirt, but his clothes had been thoroughly soiled. It wasn't until he reached the base of the castle that Will let himself relax, falling face flat onto the ground.

His heart almost left his chest when Horace started to sit up beside him. Will had never moved so fast. He yanked down on Horace's arm, Cassandra tugging at his other. The next thing he knew was Horace's weight falling on his back, crushing him further into the earth. Against his will, a cry escaped Will's lips. Alyss's glare forced him to swallow down a cough as Horace carefully rolled off him.

The next couple of seconds felt like eternity as the four collectively held their breaths for anyone to notice their presence. Luckily, none of the guards seemed to have heard, and an uncomfortable silence washed over the fields. Relaxing once more, Will shivered despite the beads of sweat that had built up on his neck. They hadn't even gotten into the castle, and he already wanted to puke. He smiled gratefully when Alyss placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Midnight couldn't have come soon enough. Will almost missed it, having mistaken the crescent with a bright star. It was the shuffling of iron boots against stone that drew him to attention. Scrambling up onto his feet, he used Horace as a boost up onto the wall.

Will's fingers curled around a stone, feet swinging wide to find a crevice. He reached up for another stone. His boot found another foothold and up he went. Rolling onto the ramparts, he turned to pull up Cassandra who was just behind him. Underneath her, Horace gave Alyss a boost up the wall.

They probably didn't have much longer. With each breath, the guards could have returned at any given moment.

"Come on, come on," Will said to himself as he stretched out his arm as far down as he could, reaching for Alyss's hand.

"I can hear the guards coming back!" Cassandra frantically whispered. She dropped down beside Will, offering out her own hand.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Will could hardly breathe. In his chest, his heart screamed.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Horace, who had caught up to Alyss on the wall, grabbed her, using all his might to lift her up and over. "Hide!" he hissed up at them when they turned back down towards him. "Quickly now!"

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Will practically pushed the girls away, not looking to see whether they had gotten away before vaulting back over the rampart, hanging on with only one hand. "Horace!"

But Horace had already let go, falling back onto the ground. Will had no choice but to follow, landing on the grass just as two guards resumed their position on the ramparts. He could only hoped that Alyss and Cassandra had gotten to some semblance of safety.

"We need to find another way in," Horace said, pulling Will up onto his feet. "Come on, hug the wall."

Pressed against the wall, Will pulled his cloak tighter around him. He followed Horace along the castle wall, careful not to make any unnecessary sounds. His heart still roared in his ears, his fists clenched from all the stress. He didn't notice when Horace suddenly stopped, running into his back. "Wha-?"

Horace turned back. His eyes were wide. "The main gates are open!"

"What?" Will pushed past Horace and peered around the corner. Sure enough, the main gate, which was almost certainly meant to be closed shut, was wide open.

"That's our chance!" Horace whispered excitedly into Will's ear. "That's our way in."

"This doesn't feel right," Will whispered back even though he knew Horace was right. His eyes darted around for any signs of guards, but there was none close by. In the distance, a horse snored in its slumber.

"We need to hurry," he said. Horace was hot on his heels when Will made a run for it, ducking under the main gate and turning sharply to the right. He led Horace to where he remembered to be the stables, squatting down behind a hay bale.

"Oh-my-gods-I-didn't-think-that-would-work," he gasped as he slid down onto the ground.

Horace hummed in agreement. Giving Will a pat on the shoulder, he peered over the hay bales towards the castle proper. After a moment, he ducked back down. "That window over there's open. Coast seems to be clear."

Will peered around the corner and nodded. "Okay," he said. "On three. One... two..." Horace took off, leaving Will scrambling behind him. He leapt over the window sill and into the castle.

They found themselves in a hallway. It was dimly lit with a few candles and thankfully, empty. Looking down, Will cringed when he realized that their boots were leaving a muddy trail on the red carpet.

"We should check the dungeons first," Horace muttered. "In case they already confronted him about Arald."

"Agreed."

Side by side, Will and Horace walked down the hall. It didn't take long before they found a staircase down. Floral wallpaper slowly turned to cold stone, and Will felt a chill come over him. The air tasted different there-more sinister, metallic.

Horace seemed to think the same. He stood up straighter, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. An almost fearful expression washed over his face, souring his fair complexion. "This is too easy," he muttered, half to himself.

Turning the corner, Will came face to face with an open door. He held a breath as he passed through into the dungeon, eyeing the rows and rows of cells. His eyes immediately zoned onto a splatter of dark splatters on the floor-blood.

He didn't say a word to Horace, following the trail deep into the dungeon and to another doorway. "Halt?" he said as he pushed the door open.

And there he was-the man they were trying to save. Will's heart would have stopped if not for Horace's hand on his back.

A puddle of blood pooled on the ground. Halt's body was slumped forward, held up only by the iron that chained his wrists to the wall. His uneven hair fell flat over his face, slick with grease. Or maybe it was more blood. He wasn't moving.

Will hurdled towards the man, sliding down onto his knees. He grabbed onto Halt's shoulders, tilting his head up so that he could see his face. "Halt!"

Halt twitched. A groan escaped his lips, though his eyes remained close. "Will?" he croaked.

"We need to get him out of here."

Horace was already studying the chains around Halt's wrists. In his hands, he held a mallet he had picked up on the floor. "It's going to be loud," he said.

"Do it."

Clang!

In Will's arms, Halt seemed to shift in response to the noise.

Clang!

A hand wrapped around Will's wrist. He looked down as Halt's eyes flung open.

Clang!

"Will?" he said as Horace hit the chains again. "Horace?"

Clang!

"We're here Halt."

Clang!

"You shouldn't be. No, no..."

Clang!

"You boys need to get out of here."

Clang!

"What do you mean?"

With what strength he had, Halt slammed his body into Horace and knocked him away. "You need to run, it's a trap!"

"We're not going anywhere without you!"

Out of the corner of his eyes, Will saw the shadows shift. He spun around, landing on his rear end. He reached for his knife.

A second door in the far corner of the room creaked open. Silver-blond hair was a stark contrast against the dark gloom.

"My, my," came Morgarath's drawl. "What do we have here?"