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A single, glowing flame illuminated an otherwise black room. The ambience inside Logata castle was silent and motionless besides the hushed patter of rain bouncing off the roof. It was as if not a soul was awake throughout all the castle chambers. However, there was a bit of humidity in the air. The kind that can make it hard to fall asleep.
A seventeen year old girl by the name of Aria sat up on her bed on one side of the rather compact bedroom. The walls were made up of uneven wood panels and had no windows, being in an inner part of the castle. The girl wore a lightweight outfit of black leggings and a silvery breastplate. The night was too warm to wear anything under her armor, and her shoulders and arms were left exposed. It was the middle of the night and she was supposed to be sleeping, but her tidy hair had not been tousled by a pillow and her makeup remained perfectly unsmeared around her dark eyes. She stepped into a long pair of long dark brown boots and slid on matching leather gloves. She fastened a belt around her waist with a strip crossing her body over the shoulder. Clearly, she wasn’t planning on going to sleep that night. Pacing across the room, she grabbed her trusty rapier and slid it in by her hip, followed by her bow and quiver on her back. She dropped two knives into slots on the other side of her hip and would now be near deadly if anyone decided to have a skirmish. She grabbed a good sized knapsack and stuffed it with spare clothes to keep dry and some other necessities like a bag of rupees. There was a hooked rope coiled on the floor that she took in her hand as she finally made her way to the door. She blew the candle on her way out, and the room went pitch-black.
Aria paused for a moment to listen for anything on the other side of the wooden door but couldn’t hear a peep. As silently as possible, she twisted the bronze doorknob and steadily opened the door, avoiding any creaking and making a tiny opening. Before completely stepping out into the hall, she peeked around and made sure nobody was there. Fortunately there wasn’t, and no light came out from under any doors either. Her eyes had to adjust a bit, as the only light she had now was moonlight shining through a window at the end of the hall. Now that she was standing in the hallway, she eased her door shut behind her and began tiptoeing down the hall. The hall was so quiet that all she heard besides the rain was her nearly noiseless breath. Her breathing picked up a bit when a wooden floorboard groaned under her foot, but luckily there weren’t any repercussions. A few steps later, her adrenaline spiked for a split second when she heard a noise from someone’s room, but she relaxed a little when she found out that it was only a snore. She was on her way to the window, but the journey felt endless. Something in her brain was teasing her to go quicker and get it over with, but she couldn’t risk making a sound.
At last, she was looking out the window. The rain kept pouring outside and fell directly downward since there was no wind. It was a rare sight, but there was a slight dusk of fog covering the streets at the same time. The weather wasn’t pleasant but it would surely help with sneaking around once she was outside. The splash of rain would drown out her own sounds, and it would be hard to see her if anyone was looking from a distance. She was on the second floor of the castle, so she quickly checked the view. It was too hazy to pick out anything in particular, and she couldn’t see any people. A gentle moonbeam glimmered through the bleak rainclouds above. Aria wasn’t at the right angle to see below her, but she knew there would be guards patrolling the castle’s perimeter. The simple stained glass window could be swung open by the middle, making it a convenient way to get outside. There was a staircase on her left, but she was guaranteed to get caught by castle personnel if she used that as her escape route.
After turning to bid farewell to the hallway she had been calling home, Aria unlatched a bar from the window and cracked it open. Inside the sound of rain got louder, and now she had to start hurrying. The hinges were rusty, so it took some force to open the window. Once the opening was wide enough, the girl hopped to the other side and brought the window bar back into place so she would have a place to hook her rope onto. With the fog, the sight below her was vague and after going a few meters down, she would be nearly invisible if someone peered down from the window. She pushed the window as far closed as it would go, but with the rope in the way there would have to be a slight opening. Once she was sure she wouldn’t plummet to her death, Aria let her full weight on the rope and began noiselessly bouncing down the castle’s stone wall.
She kept her eye below her, and as Aria lost altitude visibility grew clearer. Then, when she was just a little ways from the ground, she froze. A dull blur seemed to be floating through the fog. She could tell it was a person, most likely a castle guard, and they were walking closer to her. She couldn’t tell if they could see her. She was high enough up that they might not have noticed her, but if they did they still wouldn’t be able to make out any specific features. As the figure got closer, she could make out the typical castle soldier uniform, and it didn’t look like he was paying any attention to her. His obliviousness didn’t last long, however. Once he was directly below her, he noticed the dangling rope, and now he would see her at any moment. In a split-second decision, she loosed her grip and let herself slide down the rope without a burn, thanks to her gloves. As the guard looked up and let out a dumbfounded "Huh?", Aria jammed both feet right into his face, sending him flying off his feet. She made a smooth landing and after shaking the rope free, stepped over the unconscious man. He wouldn't be waking up for a while.
There was a door straight ahead to get into the wall surrounding the castle, but Aria knew it was never left unlocked. She searched the knocked out guard hoping to find a key, and soon enough she had found a ring holding three. At the door, she tried out the keys, and the second one unlocked the door. She stepped inside to find a torchlit room with a few barrels here and there, and there were stairs leading up to get on top of the barrier. Luckily she wasn’t greeted by anyone inside, but it was possible that someone had heard her passing by and was coming to check the room. Light on her feet, Aria hurried to another door on the opposite side of the room, where she would finally be free from the castle’s stone grasp.
*Aria moves to Logata City*
A seventeen year old girl by the name of Aria sat up on her bed on one side of the rather compact bedroom. The walls were made up of uneven wood panels and had no windows, being in an inner part of the castle. The girl wore a lightweight outfit of black leggings and a silvery breastplate. The night was too warm to wear anything under her armor, and her shoulders and arms were left exposed. It was the middle of the night and she was supposed to be sleeping, but her tidy hair had not been tousled by a pillow and her makeup remained perfectly unsmeared around her dark eyes. She stepped into a long pair of long dark brown boots and slid on matching leather gloves. She fastened a belt around her waist with a strip crossing her body over the shoulder. Clearly, she wasn’t planning on going to sleep that night. Pacing across the room, she grabbed her trusty rapier and slid it in by her hip, followed by her bow and quiver on her back. She dropped two knives into slots on the other side of her hip and would now be near deadly if anyone decided to have a skirmish. She grabbed a good sized knapsack and stuffed it with spare clothes to keep dry and some other necessities like a bag of rupees. There was a hooked rope coiled on the floor that she took in her hand as she finally made her way to the door. She blew the candle on her way out, and the room went pitch-black.
Aria paused for a moment to listen for anything on the other side of the wooden door but couldn’t hear a peep. As silently as possible, she twisted the bronze doorknob and steadily opened the door, avoiding any creaking and making a tiny opening. Before completely stepping out into the hall, she peeked around and made sure nobody was there. Fortunately there wasn’t, and no light came out from under any doors either. Her eyes had to adjust a bit, as the only light she had now was moonlight shining through a window at the end of the hall. Now that she was standing in the hallway, she eased her door shut behind her and began tiptoeing down the hall. The hall was so quiet that all she heard besides the rain was her nearly noiseless breath. Her breathing picked up a bit when a wooden floorboard groaned under her foot, but luckily there weren’t any repercussions. A few steps later, her adrenaline spiked for a split second when she heard a noise from someone’s room, but she relaxed a little when she found out that it was only a snore. She was on her way to the window, but the journey felt endless. Something in her brain was teasing her to go quicker and get it over with, but she couldn’t risk making a sound.
At last, she was looking out the window. The rain kept pouring outside and fell directly downward since there was no wind. It was a rare sight, but there was a slight dusk of fog covering the streets at the same time. The weather wasn’t pleasant but it would surely help with sneaking around once she was outside. The splash of rain would drown out her own sounds, and it would be hard to see her if anyone was looking from a distance. She was on the second floor of the castle, so she quickly checked the view. It was too hazy to pick out anything in particular, and she couldn’t see any people. A gentle moonbeam glimmered through the bleak rainclouds above. Aria wasn’t at the right angle to see below her, but she knew there would be guards patrolling the castle’s perimeter. The simple stained glass window could be swung open by the middle, making it a convenient way to get outside. There was a staircase on her left, but she was guaranteed to get caught by castle personnel if she used that as her escape route.
After turning to bid farewell to the hallway she had been calling home, Aria unlatched a bar from the window and cracked it open. Inside the sound of rain got louder, and now she had to start hurrying. The hinges were rusty, so it took some force to open the window. Once the opening was wide enough, the girl hopped to the other side and brought the window bar back into place so she would have a place to hook her rope onto. With the fog, the sight below her was vague and after going a few meters down, she would be nearly invisible if someone peered down from the window. She pushed the window as far closed as it would go, but with the rope in the way there would have to be a slight opening. Once she was sure she wouldn’t plummet to her death, Aria let her full weight on the rope and began noiselessly bouncing down the castle’s stone wall.
She kept her eye below her, and as Aria lost altitude visibility grew clearer. Then, when she was just a little ways from the ground, she froze. A dull blur seemed to be floating through the fog. She could tell it was a person, most likely a castle guard, and they were walking closer to her. She couldn’t tell if they could see her. She was high enough up that they might not have noticed her, but if they did they still wouldn’t be able to make out any specific features. As the figure got closer, she could make out the typical castle soldier uniform, and it didn’t look like he was paying any attention to her. His obliviousness didn’t last long, however. Once he was directly below her, he noticed the dangling rope, and now he would see her at any moment. In a split-second decision, she loosed her grip and let herself slide down the rope without a burn, thanks to her gloves. As the guard looked up and let out a dumbfounded "Huh?", Aria jammed both feet right into his face, sending him flying off his feet. She made a smooth landing and after shaking the rope free, stepped over the unconscious man. He wouldn't be waking up for a while.
There was a door straight ahead to get into the wall surrounding the castle, but Aria knew it was never left unlocked. She searched the knocked out guard hoping to find a key, and soon enough she had found a ring holding three. At the door, she tried out the keys, and the second one unlocked the door. She stepped inside to find a torchlit room with a few barrels here and there, and there were stairs leading up to get on top of the barrier. Luckily she wasn’t greeted by anyone inside, but it was possible that someone had heard her passing by and was coming to check the room. Light on her feet, Aria hurried to another door on the opposite side of the room, where she would finally be free from the castle’s stone grasp.
*Aria moves to Logata City*