The Castle of Danzar with it's tall towers stood on a hill overlooking the entire kingdom. A wall surrounded the fortress with one gate as an entrance.
Arkan exited the Dark Forest and came upon the King's Path, a dirt road that ran through the kingdom and led directly to the castle. Various merchants in carriages pulled by horses were coming and going in the night. No one had any idea that the barbarian tribes had just attacked Icebor.
The gate to the castle was open and protected by four guards. They were dressed in red armor and held spears to their sides. Arkan stopped before the gate and was approached by one guard.
“What business do you have here?”
Arkan bowed slightly. “I'm a Ranger of the Dark Forest and I have business with King Uzmar.”
The guard was new and didn't recognize Arkan. He looked to one of the senior guards and they nodded at him. The young guard stepped out of the way and let Arkan in.
He walked into the castle and went straight to the royal throne room. The large double doors stretched to the ceiling and was guarded by another few guards.
Arkan bowed before them. “I have business with King Uzmar.”
“King Uzmar has been asked not to be disturbed,” a guard said.
“I'm sorry, but this is urgent.”
The guards looked at each other and shrugged. The two big doors swung inwards, revealing the lavish red room. A dark red carpet led straight to a throne made of gold. Candelabras were situated underneath tall stained-glass windows that lined the walls.
A guard whispered, “Good luck,” to Arkan as he passed.
King Uzmar with his gray hair and beard sat on his throne, his head hung low asleep. The day had been long and the night was late.
Arkan didn't know how Uzmar would react to being woken up. He got down on one knee and cleared his throat loudly.
The King didn't even stir.
Arkan cleared his throat louder.
Uzmar's head bobbed up once and then settled back into sleep.
Arkan cursed to himself. “King Uzmar, I have come to report,” he said with a full voice.
King Uzmar shot awake and his eyes darted around. He wiped the drool from his mouth and his vision settled on Arkan.
“Arkan, a Ranger of the Dark Forest. What are you doing here at this late hour?”
“I have news to report, your majesty.”
Uzmar shifted in his seat and scratched his beard. “Go ahead.”
Arkan didn't want waste any more time. “The barbarian tribes attacked Icebor today.”
King Uzmar jumped out of his seat. “What!”
Arkan had never heard the King with so much emotion before. He gulped before continuing, “The Rangers and I arrived after they had raided most of the village already. We took out any leftovers and I came straight here.”
That wasn't entirely true. Arkan had taken a long break around the campfire to make sure that Jennifer was all right. But getting to the King sooner wouldn't have changed anything. The barbarians had gone back across the river and over the hills. They wouldn't attack again so soon. Not when the Kingdom would be on its guard.
“And how many dead?” Uzmar asked.
Arkan lost his train of thought as the image of Jennifer with her long dark hair entered his mind. Her beauty had truly taken his breath away.
“How many dead, Arkan?”
He snapped back to reality. “I'm sorry, my lord.” Arkan bowed his head. “Most of the village was killed. We saved a woman who claims that some were taken prisoner by the barbarians.”
King Uzmar sat back down in his throne and rubbed his beard. “All of Icebor?”
Arkan nodded and let the news sink in. “I'd like permission to go across the river and rescue any prisoners.”
“And what makes you think that they're still alive?”
Arkan didn't quite know how to answer that. Before meeting Jennifer he would've assumed they were already dead. The barbarians weren't known for keeping prisoners. Jennifer believed that they were still alive.
That was good enough for Arkan.
“Your Majesty, the prisoners might be dead or they might be slaves. I think it's worth the risk. A small group of my rangers could get in and out before the barbarians even know it.
The King stared into Arkan's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. “If some villagers from Icebor are truly still alive, then what king would I be if I left them to suffer? Take a group of rangers over the hills and get back my people.”
Arkan nodded and slammed his fist to his chest. He twisted around on his toes and left the throne room.
Convincing the King to go after the barbarians was the easy part.
Actually rescuing any prisoners was going to be a lot harder than Arkan made it out to seem.