Marin was bathed in moonlight, which was reflected off the city's orange buildings and grey cobblestone streets. With all candles and lanterns out, a lone crow swooped silently above Marin as the night fell. As a result of a city-wide curfew, all of the streets were desolate. abandoned food carts and marketplaces with their products exposed to the elements. Caspian walked cautiously through the dark alleys, his main light source a torch he held aloft. Armour shimmered in the light, Caspian and V's orange and gold robes glistening in their hands. Caspian had a gold-painted iron fox sculpted helm, with a narrow orange streak going down the centre, on his head. Small, oval-shaped shoulders sat atop the body. With two medium-sized deer antlers that extended along his arms, there was a distinct pattern on his body. Many little metal pieces are used to replicate fox fur on the breast plate. His neck to his groin was encased in gold armour with an orange line going down the middle, which widened as it approached the royal crest of a fox. Pointed, half-covering cuisses cover the upper legs. The lower legs are protected by greaves that have axe heads connected to both sides of them. His entire body was covered in a silken cape, with short, curved swords hanging from both shoulders as the mark of the King's Legion. To make themselves instantly recognisable to their troops, V wore identical armour, signifying that they were both captains.
On a narrow lane with residences on both sides, V said, "I like Marin better this way....” Children, mostly, were peeking out their windows in fear and Caspian was aware of it.
As they approached the wall, Caspian muttered, "I disagree, the people are afraid like this," as they both kept their gaze fixed on it. While Caspian was captivated by the dim illumination of the candles that hung from the stone wall, the moonlight was completely blocked out by the wall, which loomed above the city.
“No surprise Caspian Wayde has a heart,” V spoke in a mocking tone but Caspian brushed it off with a weak smile.
"Will you be keeping an eye on things tonight, too?" Caspian's attention was drawn back to his surroundings when he heard a voice, and he saw Willow standing at the crossroads. He'd given her a tighter-fitting armour, but she was still wearing it. Caspian was able to see her beautiful red hair and brilliant green eyes because her helm had been removed. Willow's armour was red with a black line running through the breast plate, unlike Caspian and V's. Willow also wore the cape, but the coiled sword was printed into the silk to indicate her commitment to the Sparrow's, which was slightly over her chest.
"Are you the only one?" As they approached Willow, V saw her partner was missing and said, "What are you doing here?"
As Willow was set to watch on the wall with another Sparrow, "Brite was beckoned into the King's chamber, once again leaving me to my own devices," she lamented.
"King Dameren doesn't grasp the difficulty of blending duty and pleasure; every week, they drag individuals from the wall to perform pointless tasks. They don't seem to grasp that the siege isn't going away any time soon," V bemoaned, looking over at Caspian to see if he shared his anger.
"I am more sympathetic to Queen Miranda,” Caspian announced, not adding to V’s argument. They resumed walking and Willow fell in behind them.
"It's almost public knowledge that Dameren is sleeping with a whore and a knight from the Sparrows. He just flung her aside." V spat.
"Those girls didn't go through severe training to please the King in such a manner, it’s even worse he is married," Willow said plainly, disgusted by his behaviour.
To avoid being seen walking up the wall V told the group to put out the torches as they approached a big double door. V threw Caspian's torch into a shallow iron pit and extinguished it, Willow followed suit. V approached the entrance and pushed open the hefty door to find an empty hallway. A single bench, a few dented pots, and a large box of firewood were all that could be found inside. As Caspian and Willow entered, the pavement beneath their boots echoed with the sound of their feet slamming against it. V pulled the door shut behind him, discarding the torch light in the room.
'I'll get the pots and wood, you and Willow can take care of the food,' V said to Caspian as he made his way around the room. At that moment, Willow yelled out, "Where are these stairs?" as Caspian climbed them, who moved ahead of her.
It was only after a few little steps that Caspian guided Willow to the stairs, and the sound of her foot bending the wood echoed through every corner of the room.
“Be quiet about it,” V complained as he collected the pot from the floor, brushing some of the dirt off.
Caspian pushed his hand against the stone wall so Willow could use it as a guide as she walked forward.
A small stairwell platform, nestled away in the corner, was slowly filled with wooden food crafts, most of which were bread and meat covered in salt. It wasn't long until Caspian came to a stop and turned to look at V, who was walking past them.
"Any preference?" he inquired, pointing to the vegetables.
V grumbled as he climbed the stairs. "It's all rubbish," he said. At Willow's request, Caspian offered the same.
“Carrot’s…
While helping Caspian gather the food Willow added to her request. "and grab some potatoes there, usually good," she exclaimed excitedly, Willow being the only person Caspian knew to grow excited over potatoes.
Caspian and Willow made it to the top of the wall with only a crate half full of carrots and potatoes, holding onto them tight as the wing blew strong 200 feet in the air. Sheltered by the wooden corridor as they walked across the wall, Caspian found himself looking through the small windows that provided views of the ghost wood forest and the crackling of lit torches on either side of the long wooden tunnel that ran the length of the wall, stopping at the Ivy. When Marin was silent, Caspian found himself staring into the darkness on both sides of the wall, the city and the forest, each having their own charm in the night. Caspian could almost make out movement among the trees as he glinted over the woodland. It was too small for him to raise the alarm, but he couldn't help but feel nervous.
'Can you see them?' Willow questioned, moving to another window in the corridor, the winds blowing her hair back and nearly in Caspian’s face.
While pulling himself away from the window, Caspian said, "Not really." He then proceeded to go after V, who had carved out a significant gap between them as he went down the wall.
Willow made fun of them, saying, "They like to hide in those woods."
"They're not hiding, they're just waiting for something. We've had no farmers' collections in four months, and I believe they're attempting to starve us all to death."
“You sound a lot like V,” Willow stated laughing a little. But we have crops within the walls, it can't be that, right?" she added.
“Those won’t feed the whole city for winter, four farms can’t grow enough food for three hundred thousand.”
Despite Tarvine's decision to conceal the bulk of its army and not attack the wall, The King had yet to attempt to break the siege or even plan for a defence and with each passing day, his decision was growing more consequences.
The wooden corridor came to an end along the wall, and Ivy covered the stone, preventing V from carrying on with the fire. He arranged the sticks in a circle around a charred area from a previous fire. Willow joined V in the kitchen as Caspian's container fell to the ground. Caspian took charge of the watch and proceeded to gently cross the ivy-covered wall, his gaze fixed on the woodland below. When across the Ivy, Caspian remained cautious despite having a lot of room. He was able to blend with the wall thanks to the wooden boards built over the ivy, making it difficult for the knights to see him, if they were even looking in the first place. Removing his helm, Caspian placed it on the ground beside him. An extra layer of coarseness on top of the rotting wood was provided by his arms.
For the third time in a row, Caspian spent the night scanning the forest for any signs of life, but nothing appeared. Many times, he thought there was no one out there because there was a lack of fires or torches in sight, and with the weather slowly getting colder, they wouldn’t be able to survive. Caspian looked back and Willow and V, the two of them were having a one-sided conversation, and V was probably loathing every minute of it. With V pouring the soup, Caspian stood up and returned to his seat in the passage, leaning against the wooden frame. In the absence of a spoon, V presented him with a bowl of vegetable soup.
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“Isn't there a spoon?" Caspian asked, knowing there was no spoon, he asked in a clever way to break the awkward hush that had descended upon them.
As V drank slowly, he looked up and grimaced, he sighed pathetically and added, "You realise, Caspian, we don't have any." Willow's continual speech was plainly getting to him. As Caspian took a sip from the bowl of hot soup, the overwhelming taste of carrot's hit him almost immediately, but Caspian found the taste to be enjoyable.
His gaze fell on Willow, who was devouring the entire bowl of soup in one go as if it were a cup ale. A light orange stain was left on her gauntlets when she finished, dropping the bowl on the floor and wiping her lips with her hand.
Willow said, "It's so nice," as she refilled the dish. V took a sip of food from his bowl and swallowed it with difficulty.
“I'm curious as to what you saw out there." As V regained his footing and began walking down the corridor again, Willow inquired. Caspian temporarily forgot about Willow's query and assumed V was getting something else to eat.
“Eh… Nothing has changed; everything is as it always has been. When will the sparrows on the east wall report in?"
When Willow finished her second bowl of soup, she joked, "I imagine they'll have the girls running around all night, soon,” Willow said, going in for a third bowl of soup.
“I'm curious how long you believe this siege will last,” Caspian questioned, contemplating whether or not he will return to Martel Bay in the future. As he departed, he wondered how his father's blacksmithing business was progressing, since Braste was supposed to inherit it after Caspian's departure.
When Willow chuckled again about how long it would take the King to decide he'd rather sleep with the entire city before bursting through, Caspian saw her dislike for Dameren.
Caspian quipped, "We might need to do that ourselves," but he meant it. Because the wheat in the farms within the city walls was only available for a short time as the summer season came to a close, Marin couldn't rely on them indefinitely. Even though Caspian had not yet spoken with the farmers, he knew that this year's crop was massively smaller than last year's as the outside farms had been closed off.
When Willow saw a figure moving across the wall, she spoke up quickly, "Caspian," Caspian was sure it was a sparrow based on the figure's diminutive size and the absence of a cape behind her. As the Sparrow approached, Caspian rose to his feet and gathered his helm.
"My Lord,” She addressed Caspian, bowing before him in a strange manner. “Captain," the Sparrow nodded to them both. With a letter in hand, the Sparrow handed it to Caspian, its seal still intact and looked fresh with the wax not fully dry, as if it had just been placed on the paper.
“It's a mystery to me.” Caspian Inquiring about the seal, Caspian looked at the oak tree sign, which he had never seen before.
The Sparrow explained, "It was given to me by a trader outside the East Gate, who requested that it be presented to you my Lord."
Seeing a trader seated outside the walls made Caspian believe it was a trap. After breaking the seal, Caspian read the letter to find only one word, Wall.
Caspian did not reveal the letter to Willow. Informing her to "Wait here for V to return, I will check on this trader and see what he wants," Caspian took a step out over the ivy wall.
Caspian was escorted across the ivy wall by the Sparrow, who had no torch in her grasp, yet she walked confidently across the wall. In the distance Caspian noticed the Sparrows' lit torches as they stood atop the wall, peering over it. The gate was built in a different way to the rest of the wall with much of the lower part being hollowed out, allowing the iron gate the rise up when needed to. On the wall there was a slight rise in the stone with small gapes between the stone, constructed for archers the fire there arrows with the protection of the stone. The gate was guarded by three plated Sparrows, all leaning over the stone railing of the wall. A solitary huge waggon was spotted close to the gate by Caspian as he rapidly walked by. There were two torches on either side of the cart, so Caspian could see what was inside. Wheat was visible in two partially open boxes. Medium-sized kegs, most likely containing ale, stood behind them. The cart was pulled by a grey horse, but the Trader was nowhere to be found.
“How come the trader isn’t here? Caspian questioned with a concerned look on his face. No emotion was visible in the Sparrow's eyes, which were partially obscured by the helm.
“We went to the gate and got it from him; I swear he was there, my Lord." She said calmly to an infuriated Caspian.
Once Caspian had passed the gate, the Sparrows, who were all watching him pass, told him, "I'll look down there, wait for me here," he directed. Caspian didn't look at any of them or move his head, but he could tell that they were all keeping an eye out for him. After pushing open the door, Caspian sped down the stairs as fast as his armour allowed. As Caspian descended the angled flight of stairs, passing the same grey stone until he reached the ground floor, which was illuminated by the dappled light of a lantern. As he reached the bottom the wood beneath Caspian's feet had a dark stain that shone out in the dim light. Until he came across a larger stain in the wood oozing through the crevices, Caspian didn't even notice it. Concern grew in Caspian's eyes as the substance began to seep between the planks in the floor. Putting his finger in the substance, Caspian lifted it up to his face and noticed the bloody scent. Caspian returned his gaze to the bloodstain, observing a small path that ran through the floor and was only dimly concealed. In the midst of his investigation, Caspian came across an unmistakable bloodstain on the floor, half hidden beneath layers of dirt and sludge. Caspian was startled to discover a hunched-over body tucked away beneath the stairwell. In the shadows, you can just make out a man's light blue clothing which was heavenly stained with blood. Caspian drew forward, his gaze drawn to the body. The farmer's only visible wound was a small puncture in his skull, and he was fully covered in blood, much of it not his own. Caspian tilted his head up and observed a Sparrow peering down at him from the stairs, Caspian stepped back and saw two daggers in her palm at that exact moment, indicating that she wasn't a Sparrow but an assassin. It was unmistakable as Sparrows only wielded spears, Caspian cursed himself for not noticing earlier but he didn’t have time for that now. Caspian guessed that the Sparrows had been murdered along with the famer before they were infiltrated by stealing the Sparrow's armour, from the brief moment he had to consider. She leapt down and planted her foot into Caspian's helmet before Caspian could get his blade out of the way; the iron was dented in the process. The assassin sprung to her feet and raced towards Caspian, twirling her blades as she went. While attempting to rise, Caspian was pinned to the ground by the assassin's foot. Despite Caspian's best efforts, she managed to get one of the daggers through the crevice between his helmets. Caspian pounced, punching her in the face, forcing the loose helm to fly off and exposing her face, which had a little flower tattoo under her right eye. As Caspian hurled her to the side, her flesh was ripped away by the gauntlets' chipped edges, resulting in a splatter of blood over his hands and face. She was unfazed, regaining her composure and facing Caspian once more as he stood. Caspian instantly unsheathed his blade and pointed it stiffly at her, but his left hand remained free. First, Caspian swung his sword, striking hard into the assassin's chest, but she managed to deflect the strike by crossing both of her blades and pushing his sword back. She pounced, madly thrusting her daggers at Caspian, pushing him to avoid and causing him to fall several times. As he stepped back, the assassin planted her foot behind him, causing him to stumble. As Caspian fell he clenched onto the assassin’s neck, yanking her forwards and pulling her down with him. Caspian’s sword angled up and penetrated the gap between the assassin’s armour, slicing straight through her. As Caspian twisted the blade, she grunted before releasing her grip and leaning forward, clenching her stomach. At first, it appeared she didn't respond and recovered quickly when she tried to swipe at Caspian's neck. Caspian hit her once more, Cascading blood from his chest plate stained his boots as Caspian rose up, pushing her away. She was squirming in pain on the floor as blood poured from her wound. Her gaze drifted to the side as she leaned against the wall, frozen in place. That prompted Caspian to suspect that Tarvine had also deployed the Sparrows above him, who may have heard them fighting. Caspian made his way up the stairs, his stained blade dangling precariously over the ground. After a few tentative attempts, Caspian finally got the door to open wide enough to show the three Sparrows close together, speaking softly to one another. However, he was certain they were from Tarvine despite not understanding what they were saying as they also lacked spears. As soon as Caspian saw they were getting dangerously close to the edge of the wall, he hatched a scheme. Caspian burst in the door and brutally pushed one of them over the wall in one rapid motion, plummeting to the ground. It was too late for the other to stop Caspian's onslaught. It wasn't long until Caspian was attacked by the other two assassins, and there was no time for him to doge or find cover as he overshot his attack. After grinding off his gauntlet and climbing up his right arm, the first one got lodged between the shoulder plate and his forearm. Caspian retaliated when the second scraped his armour and missed him, despite the agony he dragged his arm across her face, the sharp deer antler’s clawing at her neck, splitting it open. After carefully positioning his sword's edge against her neck, Caspian yanked it back, severing her neck and spat blood everywhere, finishing the attack. Caspian shifted his attention away from the stabbing pain in his arm and toward the second assassin, who was swinging her sword towards his neck. After ducking under the swing, the assassin charged Caspian, knocking him to the ground and breaking his head against the stone railing. Despite Caspian's visual impairment, the assassin's dagger was edging ever closer to his neck as he fought her off, his right arm providing little support. Caspian dropped his grip and jerked his head sharply out of the way, allowing the knife to pierce his cheek as he sped away. A little space opened up between her armour and her body as the blade of Caspian's sword slid up and entered her hip. Caspian threw the assassin to the ground and scrambled to get back to his feet after she reacted violently. As he progressed upward, his cranium began to ring and pound after he had whacked it off the stone wall. After removing and throwing away his helm, Caspian picked up his sword and prepared to take on the assassin, but she didn't move a muscle. The assassin went for another attack but Caspian parried the blade, exposing her chest. Caspian went for the killing blow but she gripped the sword's edge, completely slicing the top of her hand, but the sword missed its target. Caspian pulled back in preparation to attack but the assassin ran past Caspian and jumped from the wall, diving two hundred feet from the wall and crashing into the cart below as she fell to the floor below. He peered down and saw the cart had completely collapsed, and her mangled body sat lifeless in its centre, slumped over the broken wood. Her neck was bleeding profusely as the wood and nails tore their way into it, her bones breaking out from the skin, exposed to the air.
Caspian's legs gave out and the only thing keeping him upright was an outstretched hand. Heaviness settled over Cassiopeia, and his grip trembled as he grew weaker. Caspian sat on the stone railing and looked down at his arm, which was dripping with blood, while he gently turned over. Caspian's eyes began to droop and his mouth began to dry as he wore his blood-stained armour and damaged helm. Caspian opened his eyes to see two torches creeping toward him as he stood against the dark wall, but his vision quickly blurred, and he passed out with the dagger still firmly in his arm.
