Short Stories 107 — Ethos of Man (Part 47)

These past two days were really long. We did what we were expected to do. We scouted the area outside the castle gate for these two days. We came up with this spot that is high enough to look around and keep an eye on everyone. During these two days, a lot of men were roaming around the same area. These were our men and they too were doing the same thing as what we were doing.

The number of guards in the capital had increased exponentially. The number of soldiers on guard duty may have gone up to 3 folds. It is really a serious matter. Tomorrow morning is when we have to head to the castle gate. I didn’t want to take any chances and so I decided to stay here itself with Arthen at beth’s place. Both of us unable to sleep, kept changing our sleeping positions. We were ready for tomorrow.

The sun rose and with that, we were ready too. We got ready for the big day. And it was still a few hours before they would reach here. The generals and advisors had already started their journey yesterday and they should be here by today afternoon. Not only the journey is long, but since a lot of troops will be accompanying them it may take more time. There is also a possibility that they reach the castle by evening. But it did not matter. We had to be there before the afternoon. We did not want to be late for our first job. And that is what we did. We reached the destination before our time and had enough time to set up.

The clock was ticking and it was about time the caravan showed up. The crowd too was starting to gather along the road. And the majority of them were before the castle gate. We were posted on top of a shop that was closed and we had enough space for both of us. It seemed like a very good spot as it wasn't too far up and we could easily jump down if we had to make a quick escape if anything goes down.

An uproar of noise came from the road. It seems like the caravan is here. People by the roadside cheered and clapped for the caravan. It was quite a warm welcome that our people had shown. To the people with whom our nation has been having a few problems. The people in the city knew that we were facing a challenging time and I think they believe we are going to merge our forces and they have come to help us during our difficult time. But no one knows their reason of visit aport from the people in the castle.

The crowd was at its peak at the castle gate and the commotion was at max. Considering the number of people that were present at the gates was way less compared to the noise that was being created. Arthen looked at me and said, “What do you think, why are they here?”

To which I replied, “I have no idea. But look at these people, how happy they are? I think they see a ray of hope shining from the caravan. But only time will tell whether it is a good sign or a bad sign.”

“Corvin! Do you actually think an assassination attempt may take place at a place like this? I mean look at the number of soldiers here. not only at the gate but also on the street. To be honest I think there would be no assassination taking place here. If they wanted to do such a thing I would suggest doing it as away from here. Don’t you think the same?”

“To be honest I am thinking the same thing. That it would be stupid to try to kill when there are so many soldiers not only ours but with the caravan itself. I too don’t think that something like that would happen here. But looking at the number of people present here. This seems like a very good opportunity to perform a discrete operation right in the middle of such a big crowd. If they are planning to do it, I cannot fathom how they will do it. But let’s see what happens when the caravan is close to the gate.”