Chapter 473 - 336: Manufacturing Fear

She shot back a curse, then fell silent.

They climbed back into the courtyard.

In the courtyard, Belem and Stephen found three servants—two of them boys—sleeping in the stable. They took them to the dungeon, then regrouped with Eric. They climbed a dozen wide steps to the castle’s main gate, and from there, up the winding tower stairs.

’These servants can’t be part of the garrison,’ Eric surmised. ’There must be other servants, cooks, grooms, and clerks, but right now, all I care about are the soldiers.’

He found four soldiers sound asleep in the barracks. Luckily, they were naked. Beneath three of them lay women on blankets. Eric grabbed a Torch from a hook on the stairs and used it to startle them awake.

The seven people shot up in terror. One woman sucked in a breath to scream, but Belem leveled his Crossbow, the tip of the Arrow aimed directly at her right eye. She wisely suppressed her panic.

"Tie them up," Eric said.

"Slitting their throats would be faster," Belem suggested.

"We’ll slit their throats later. Tie them up first. I’ll need them to scream later," Eric said again. "Gag their mouths."

A moment later, Belem was using his Sword to rip the blankets into strips while Stephen tied up the seven prisoners.

Two of the women were naked. A smile touched Stephen’s lips as he bound one’s wrists. He then hung her from a hook on the wall, stretching her arms out.

"Nice," he said.

"Later," Eric said.

He stood in the doorway, listening intently.

There were probably four more soldiers in the castle, but he heard nothing.

The seven prisoners were left half-suspended from the large iron hooks normally used for Hanging Swords and Chain Armor. Once four of them were silenced and secured, Eric ascended the next winding flight of stairs, coming to a massive door.

Belem and Stephen followed, their footsteps soft on the worn stone steps.

Eric signaled for them to be quiet, then gave the door a hard push.

At first, he thought the door was locked, but he pushed again. It gave way with a piercing Metallic clang, its rusted iron hinges letting out a terrible shriek.

The sound was piercing enough to wake the dead. Startled, Eric found himself staring into a large, high-ceilinged chamber hung with tapestries.

The shriek of the hinges faded, replaced by a deathly silence. Embers still glowed in the fireplace, their light illuminating the empty great hall.

At the far end of the hall was a dais. This was where Yajisiyan, the Governor of Hama City, usually sat, and where his table was placed during banquets.

The dais was empty. The only thing visible was an arched space behind it, hidden beneath a tapestry. A faint glimmer of light shone through the worn fabric.

Belem slipped past Eric, creeping along one side of the hall and passing under narrow windows that cast slanted beams of silvery moonlight.

Eric produced a Flying Axe, gripping the handle and watching the opposite side of the hall.

Belem glanced back at him. Seeing he was ready, he reached for his Sword to pull aside the tattered tapestry.

But before the Sword’s edge could touch the fabric, a large man burst out, charging at Belem.

He lunged like a wild beast. His surprising Speed left Belem with almost no time to react. Belem tried to meet the charge with his Sword, but he was too slow. The big man crashed into him, fists flying.

Just then, the Flying Axe whizzed through the air, embedding itself squarely in the back of the man’s head. The impact spun him around and sent him crashing to the floor in a spray of blood.

Belem was sprawled beneath the man, his dropped Sword clattering on the thick wooden floorboards.

A woman was screaming. Eric guessed the man was the Commander of the guard. ’I wonder if he’ll live long enough to answer a few questions,’ he mused. Meanwhile, Belem, unaware his enemy had been felled by the Flying Axe, drew his Short Knife. He started hacking at the man’s fleshy neck. Blood gushed out, dark and thick, pooling on the floor. Though the man was already dead, Belem kept furiously hacking away.

Not until Stephen let out a mocking laugh.

The woman continued to scream.

Eric said to one of the Knights, "Silence her."

Then he went to drag the heavy corpse off of Belem.

The man’s white nightgown was soaked red with blood.

The Knight slapped the woman across the face. Finally, the room was quiet.

A moment later, two other Knights entered the hall and threw three soldiers’ heads onto the floor.

But despite searching the entire area, they found no sign of the Governor in the castle.

Deciding not to waste any more time, Eric set a fire in and around the castle, encouraging it to spread.

Then, Eric released the women.

The women were stunned by this sudden turn of events.

It wasn’t until Belem slit the throats of a few soldiers, splattering the women with blood and giving them a few slaps, that they began to run.

To amplify the atmosphere of terror, Belem made a show of firing his Crossbow at them. He didn’t actually hit them—it was just for show—but the women were terrified. They shrieked as they ran, their cries echoing through Hama City.

"Hide! Quickly, hide! The enemy is inside!"

"Is anyone going to save us? The enemy is here!"

"Everyone, run! The enemy is going to slaughter the whole city!"

"They killed all our guards! Run!"

"The enemy is out there! Find a place to hide!"

"..."

The women’s screams quickly spread through the streets.

This was exactly the effect Eric had been aiming for.

Panic, along with the glow of the flames, spread rapidly through Hama City.