Adventure of Rekka Ch. 06

Rekka began to nod eagerly, but then a thoughtful look spread over her face, her tail slowing.

"Right, yeah, Rekka and I have to see a guy about something in there, but on the way, we can look over a few potential gentlemen and grab one that catches your eye. We'll make sure he's up to snuff, don't you worry about that, right Rekka?" Bill asked, plastering a confident grin over his face.

He was losing Rekka, by the looks of it. She'd crossed her arms as she stared at him critically and didn't bother to respond. Maybe Tabitha was eagerly hanging on to his every word, but somehow, he doubted it. That damned poker face made it hard to tell what she was thinking.

"So, once we finish our business, we just sneak back to the walls, hop on over, and disappear into the forest," Bill said with perfect assurance. "Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy!" he said, punctuating his little speech by clapping his hands together.

Rekka was mimicking Tabitha's blank expression fairly accurately at this point.

"Well, what do you think?" Bill asked, trying to look relaxed and confident.

Tabitha and Rekka looked at each other, communicating their thoughts through female telepathy, before giving him their attention.

"That's a stupid plan," they declared in unison.

"Well, no. It's a simple plan, sure," he said, shrugging, "but that's what makes it a good one. Trust me, if anything comes up we'll just improvise."

Of course, Bill knew it was a shit plan. He just didn't care. It was going to come down to kicking in doors and brawling, he knew with almost prophetic certainty. So, he felt they should play to their strengths. Well, Rekka and their new friends' strengths. Once they were inside they could just wing it. All he wanted was to get behind the walls and cause some chaos without getting pelted with arrows first.

"Can't sneak you up, you're too loud, Rekka's eyes will give us away," Tabitha responded evenly.

"Sure, I'm loud to you mamono, but I'm not trying to sneak by you, just some other humans. I can do something about the chainmail, and that sword is pretty much just decoration," he said easily, before nodding at Rekka, "and I have just the thing for Rekka's pretty eyes." Rekka's grin fell back into place with that.

He stared confidently back at Tabitha knowing she was the one he needed to convince. Finally, she nodded. Bill knew it was her own barely suppressed needs that made the decision, and not his stupid plan. Results were all that mattered, though.

"Hot damn, it's on! Now, relax for a bit. We'll wait for it to get fully dark, sneak close as we can and observe the guard. When they change, we'll wait for the new shift to settle down and then make our move," Bill said, lying back with his arms behind his head to show them he had it all in hand.

Rekka and Tabitha shared that look again, causing Bill to lose his cocky grin and glare at them with irritation.

"Well, least it sounds interestin'," Rekka said, crawling over to use Bill as a pillow while they waited.

-

"This is boring!" Rekka whined softly.

Bill shushed her quietly, shifting her slightly on his back. Rekka clung to him as he crouched in the shadows of a grassy depression. Tabitha was just ahead of them, prone in the grass. Even knowing she was there he had difficulty picking her out, despite her size. Bill guessed it was just after midnight. The guard had changed and now they were waiting for them to get bored and settle down for a nice quiet shift.

Sneaking up to their current position, now a short sprint from the walls, had been a grueling experience. Tabitha had been adamant that Bill follow her steps exactly, and stop when she did. It had taken them hours to crawl and shuffle just a few hundred feet. Even with his new strength and stamina, Bill had found crouch-walking while fully loaded to be exhausting. It didn't help that he was carrying Rekka, as she had to be blindfolded to keep her fiery eyes from alerting any observers from the fort.

Bill had decided not to lose the chainmail or sword. Hell, there was without a doubt in his mind going to be some cock up inside requiring a fight. To cover the gleam of metal he'd cut a hole in one of their furs and made himself a poncho, covering and quieting the chainmail nicely. The sword really wasn't much trouble, he nearly forgot he was wearing it at this point and had just blackened any exposed metal with a bit of charcoal from their fire.

Rekka's eyes had been simple. He had never tossed his ripped boxers out, figuring he could find a use for them at some point. The dark blue cloth made an excellent blindfold, blocking out her hellfire from the watchful guards. Rekka hadn't complained, she seemed to find it funny and even enjoyed having his scent so available.

Getting Rekka to the walls required her to hold to Bill's back as he skulked after Tabitha. She enjoyed herself immensely until they stopped moving, waiting for the guard to change. Her bored sighs came at regular intervals now, puffing into Bill's ear. He ignored her, flexing his aching legs and watching for Tabitha to make her move. She'd decide when they made their final push, her eyesight in the dark was far superior to his own.

Tabitha flowed to her feet suddenly. Waving, she darted for the walls moving absurdly fast for the lack of sound she was making. Bill reached back, grabbed onto Rekka's thighs just below her butt, and chased after her as quickly and quietly as he could manage. Rekka made a softly pleased noise in his ear as he ran.

They must have been silent enough, as no alarm was sounded from behind the walls. Tabitha looked at Bill, who nodded his readiness. She adjusted the rope tied around her waist and looked up at the wall. Crouching slightly, she leapt completely to the top, flowing over like greased lightning.

Bill nearly cursed in awe, he'd expected her to slowly climb up using those claws of hers. For a moment he wondered if he could manage the same feat, he was certainly strong enough to attempt it. Shaking his head, he knew he'd most likely misjudge the jump and send them flailing into a noisy pile of chainmail and angry hellhound.

There was a moment of tense silence, as they waited for Tabitha's next move or a cry of alarm. Thankfully, a moment later the rope silently sailed over the wall to uncoil next to him.

"Here we go, Rekka, hold tight," Bill said, patting Rekka's legs. Rekka made an agreeable noise and gripped him tighter. He tugged on the rope, found it solid, and began to pull them up.

Bill grinned to himself at the ease of lifting them up the rope, his upper body strength was ridiculous. Wish coach Summers could see me now, he thought I'd show him lazy and slow, rip that bell off and make him eat it.

Reaching the top, trusting Rekka to hold tightly with her own absurd strength, Bill flipped his legs over the top and simply dropped to the ground, hoping he wasn't about to break his ankles. Luckily, their landing was soft and relatively quiet, his bent legs easily absorbing the shock. Bill grinned over at Tabitha, impressed that she had not even tied the rope to anything. She'd just coiled it around her paw and held on.

Tabitha had judged their point of entry well. They were standing in shadows between spaced out torches which lit up most of the inner compound. Bill could see two groups of guards, walking the perimeter slowly in pairs. They still had some time before they would be spotted by the patrollers. He glanced up at the nearest tower, but the guard seemed more interested in staring up at the stars than doing his job. Bill pointed at the nearby building, long and low, looking like some kind of barracks.

Tabitha nodded her agreement, and they jogged quietly into its deeper shadow, away from the view of the tower. They left the rope hanging, it was nearly invisible in the darkness and wouldn't likely be spotted by the less than observant guards, or so Bill hoped.

Bill let Rekka down, placing her paw gently against the wall of the building. He couldn't see any windows and figured the entry would be on the inner facing side. Quietly he conferred with Tabitha and Rekka.

"Can you two, uh... Smell anyone inside here, or something?" he asked. Tabitha closed her eyes and sniffed delicately for a moment. She opened her eyes and nodded.

"Yes, many men smelling of sweat and tree sap," she said confidently. Rekka nodded blindly in confirmation.

"Ok, that's perfect. I've got an idea, but you two will need to stay here a second. When I knock on this wall, come on in," he whispered, patting Rekka soothingly when she tensed. "If you don't hear from me in ten minutes, tear this place apart and save my sorry ass," Bill whispered with vehemence. Rekka relaxed, a vicious grin on her face. Tabitha stared at him for a moment before nodding sharply.

Bill gave Rekka's paw a quick squeeze, then turned and padded through the shadows along the building. Stopping at the end, he peeked out and waited for the patrolling guards to pass. Hoping the guards in the towers were looking elsewhere, he threw caution to the wind and stepped into the firelight. Walking with unhurried confidence, hoping if anyone did spot him they would just assume he belonged there, Bill made it to the door. Finding it unlocked, he quickly opened it and slid inside.

Inside it was pitch black, though he did see a quick flash of the interior when he had the door open. He knew there were a series of bunkbeds stretching off on both sides of the room. Blindly he shuffled over to the one closest to him, his hands moving about until he found the shoulder of its sleeping occupant. Immediately he clamped his hand down over the man's mouth, who began to struggle and panic.

"Shh! I'm not here to hurt you. In fact, we can help each other out here. Don't call out when I take my hand away. Nod if you understand," Bill whispered, hoping this guy was going to cooperate. He really didn't want things kicking off like this, before he could even find out where the artificer was hiding. The man nodded stiffly, and slowly Bill removed his hand.

"Who the fuck are you?" the man hissed, thankfully quietly.

"That doesn't matter. You like being a prisoner? How'd you like a chance at freedom?" Bill whispered back.

"What? How? Are you alone? Did you bring weapons?" the man said, hope filling his voice.

"There's enough of us. We'd prefer to have you on our side when we go after the guards, and I think I can get you weapons," Bill said.

"Hold, let me wake Cato. He's the one you need to talk to," the man whispered back.

"I'm already awake," a deep voice called out softly, followed by the sound of footsteps making their way over to the two.

"I doubt anyone is asleep right now, stranger. Why would you risk yourself for us? We are condemned men, after all," a broad shadow said, Bill beginning to make out details as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

"I have business with a man in this fort, and they're not likely to let me just walk up to the keep and say hello," Bill responded, standing up in front of Cato and holding out his hand. Eventually Cato took it, shaking firmly.

"No, I imagine not. I cannot speak for everyone, but most of us would be glad to escape this place. What do you have in mind?" Cato asked. More men were rolling from their beds and padding over to join the conference.

"Before I get into that, the man I seek is an artificer, you may have seen him as they tested the new weapons. I'm sure you know about those," Bill said.

"Aye, they have him tucked away behind the smithy, alongside the keep. You freeing him, or killing him?" Cato asked, not appearing to care either way.

"Is he a prisoner then? Then it all depends on him, one way or another he's going to stop making those weapons," Bill replied.

Cato nodded, then looked around the room, judging.

"Looks like everyone wants to leave. What is your plan?" Cato said once he'd finished.

"Hold on a moment, my friends are waiting behind this building. I'm going to call them in, but please, don't freak out," Bill said, grimacing. What happened next was determined by how they reacted to the news that their saviors were not quite human.

"They're mamono, but don't worry, they're uh, with me." Bill said. He'd just have to keep Tabitha from claiming one of these men before he'd used them for his own personal gain.

There were a few hushed gasps and hurried arguments, before Cato shushed them.

"You don't know the purpose of this prison, do you?" Cato asked, bitterness in his voice. "More'n half of us are here because we... 'consorted with evil', as it were."

"I see, I think," Bill said. "Ok, well, I'm going to call them in."

Bill walked over to the rear wall and knocked, saying, "Hey, Tabitha, Rekka! C'mon around, try not to get spotted." There was an answering knock and Bill trotted over to the door to wait.

The door opened a few minutes later, as Tabitha bent and slid inside pulling in Rekka behind her. There were a few fearful murmurs at her size but nobody started screaming. That was something, anyway.

Bill was about to introduce them when Tabitha started doing that... open mouthed breathing thing again. Bill stepped up beside her and picked up her paw.

"Oh, no, Tabitha. These men are criminals, no one you'd want raising your children," Bill said soothingly. "Uh, no offense, Cato."

"None taken, I'm sure," Cato responded, staring up at the jinko in awe.

Tabitha seemed unsure but didn't scoop anyone up and make a break for the walls, so Bill figured the plan could proceed. He turned to Rekka and removed her blindfold, stuffing his boxers back in his pocket. As she blinked her eyes the fires blossomed lighting the room up dimly. The prisoners began to swear and back away from her.

"No worries, fellas. She's my wife," Bill said, throwing an arm over her shoulder. The prisoners relaxed, now looking at Bill with the kind of respect one normally gave men who threw themselves on top of grenades.

"Alright, so here's the plan," Bill said, hesitating as both Rekka and Tabitha sighed. "Quiet, you two."

He glared at them a moment before turning to Cato.

"Cato, where do they keep your axes and such?" Bill asked.

"Not far, the shed next to the gates. They do lock that up. How do you plan on getting them to us?" Cato asked.

"Nah, we're going to take you to the weapons," Bill said, smiling. "There's no way we're going to do this quietly, so speed is going to be our tactic. The entire lot of you is going to follow Rekka to that shed, and she's going to open it up fast and loud."

"What about the guard towers? They have bows and they pull up the ladders. We'll be full of arrows before we can chop them down," Cato said, though at least he wasn't rolling his eyes like Rekka just had.

"Oh, you leave that to me and Tabitha here," Bill said, waving at the jinko. "They won't be getting the chance for much archery once we've pulled those towers out from under them."

"That still leaves the stone turret," Cato said, looking at Bill's less than impressive physique skeptically, but made no other comment.

"Huh, yeah. We'll burn that bridge when we get to it. Still, three towers down, weapons in your hands, backed up by these two beauties? You'll never get a better chance," Bill stated, shrugging.

"You are not wrong. Well, count me in. I'd rather die here on my feet, than a few years from now in that miserable bed," Cato said, looking over the rest of the prisoners. There were a few grunts of approval, but most just nodded, looking eager to begin. Bill hoped they didn't just immediately fold once those guards started boiling out of the keep.

"Hope you're all ready, because as soon as you hear those towers coming down, you'd better be following Rekka to that shed or I'll be back to discuss it with you," Bill said, glaring at the assembled men a moment.

"Rekka, once you've got the shed opened, keep the guards off them as they're arming themselves. Tabitha and I will group back up with you once we've taken care of the towers, okay?" Bill asked, receiving a confident grin in return.

"No problem, husband! Just don't go catchin' any more arrows, or I'll be real upset," Rekka said as she hugged him, holding him for a moment.

"Don't worry, I'll try and dodge a little this time," Bill said, chuckling nervously. "Tabitha, you're a hell of a lot faster than me, so you take out the tower furthest from here, yeah?" he asked.

"Yes, it will be easy. Are you sure you can manage one yourself?" Tabitha asked, looking down at him, her tail twitching her disbelief.

"Just you watch me, race you to the last tower!" Bill said, whipping off his poncho and digging in his pouch for the gauntlets. He pulled them on quickly and strode to the door.

"Good luck everyone, have fun storming the castle!" Bill cried, not bothering to whisper as he charged out the door. Running around the building he made for the closest tower, struggling to unsheathe the sword on his back. He couldn't quite get it out, and wished he'd practiced this more. Grimacing, he gave up and kicked the closest support strut as he came into range. With a loud crack the thick timber broke apart and the entire structure groaned as it titled to the side. Above him a guard screamed his surprise.

Bill could hear crashing and shouting from the other side of the compound as Tabitha did her thing. Dashing over to the next support he kicked it as well, taking two strikes to fully break. Now the entire structure sagged to the side, but not falling. Bill was about to run to the other one and finish the job when he heard a strained voice above him.

"Please. Please, no," the guard said, clinging with his arms around a pole, his legs dangling above the drop. He still held his bow, somehow.

"Drop the bow," Bill said. The man opened his hand, dropping the bow below him. Bill stomped on it, breaking it in half. "Well, hang around. Enjoy the show," he said, running towards the last tower.

Tabitha got there first, slashing her claws through the supports as she passed them. The tower collapsed immediately, splintering apart as it crashed to the ground. No way was that guard going to be assisting the defense. They both turned to join the pitched battle taking place between the tool shed and the keep.

The prisoners were busily arming themselves, a few of the quicker ones were tenaciously attacking the better armed guards. Mostly they were getting in Rekka's way as she darted around taking the guards out easily enough. A few prisoners were on the ground, some of them with arrows sprouting from their bodies. Bill let Tabitha join the fray and hung back to look for a few rocks. Finding some good ones, he scanned about for the hidden archer. All the guards on the ground had spears and swords.

One of the prisoners called out in pain, and Bill looked over in his direction, then up at the stone tower. He could just make out the silhouette of a man with a bow. Taking aim, he whipped his rock at it, not expecting much. He was pleasantly surprised to see the rock shatter against the merlon, causing the archer to loose his arrow without aiming and duck down. He continued to lob a rock every time the man poked his head out, making sure the arrows stopped. Eat your heart out, coach Summers! Bet you want me on the team now!, Bill thought gleefully.

Tabitha and Rekka made very short work of the guards. The inmates soon learned to stay out of their way, and just distract the guards until the women could deal with them. They didn't really make much of a difference, but Bill was happy to let them catch a few arrows that otherwise would have been meant for Rekka. Once the guards were down, he yelled and waved for everyone to follow him to the keep, putting them outside the view of the archer as they moved close.