[h1][color=CornflowerBlue]Sr.Iro Hesekar[/color][/h1] 

As the crowds began to die down and the number of people fleeing from the walls decreased from a river to a trickle, Iro stepped out of the alley and began to walk towards the city walls. Mitos clumsily waddled after him, still chewing a head of cabbage with his thick molars. The dragon was a notoriously messy eater, leaving a trail fragments behind him as he lumbered on, trying to avoid the people still moving towards the castle. 

The guards were dressed in slate grey long-sleeved hauberks, the tassets of which came down to their knees, with slits in the front and back for mobility. Over this they wore steel spaulders and surcoats split down the middle royal blue and gold. They wore high leather boots on their feet and on their heads rested steel horsemen’s pots, some with face masks and some without. They carried tall steel halberds, but some of them now held longbows or crossbows. Blue capes with the Talbor coat of arms on them (a ram’s head) in gold denoted the officers, most of whom rode horses and carried swords. Iro approached one of the officers who sat on the ground and began to speak with him; 

“Excuse me sir,” he said “but I am a priest of Matrem. Is there any way which I can assist you and your men?” 

“What? We don’t need no help from you do-gooder fairies!” the captain barked at him “We’ll be perfectly fine without your arrogant faggotry. Now begone!” Rage filled up in Iro, but he dared not to strike the man. Not only would it be against his oaths, but this man had superior numbers on his side, and stories of what humans did to fairfolk criminals. He turned away and began to walk away towards the castle when another voice called out: 

“Aye there! Don’t treat a possible asset with such cruelty, you knave!” Coming down the street was a Knight of the Ram on horseback. He was a sight to behold, his steel plate armor decorated with gold and his fluted armet helmet resting under his arm, its golden ram horns catching the light attractively. A blue-and-gold cape cascaded down his back and flowed behind him as his warhorse, decorated in plate armor and a red-and-gold caparisun, trotted swiftly down the street and stopped a few feet from the guardsman. The knight’s face was pale and grave-looking, with a thick dark mustache and long wavy brown hair. A silver medallion in the shape of a shield hung around his neck. A bejeweled heavy cavalry sabre hung from his belt, and a blue kiteshield with a golden ram visage was strapped to his left arm. There was a crossbow on his back. 

“Ah! Goodday, Sir Caldwell!” the guardsman said apologetically “Are they sending an attack?” 

“Aye, sergeant.” Sir Caldwell replied “We are going to attempt to flank the Red Legion men and attack their artillery. The scouts say that they are toting around massive iron cylinders which fire great balls of iron at fortifications. As for you, my good sir,” Caldwell now turned to Iro “I sincerely apologize for this knave’s offensive comments to you. While the guards may not believe that they need your assistance, I know that the men and women at the hospital would say otherwise. We have many wounded men from battles with the Red Legion, and a spot of cholera has infected some of the water supply in the southeastern portion of the city. You may find use of your talents there.” A trumpet blew nearby, and several more knights joined Sir Caldwell with their helmets on. A few carried lances or swords, but most of them toted crossbows. 

“I must be on my way, gentlemen.” Sir Caldwell said, donning his helmet and causing his horse to rear up “I shall return, noble subjects!” With that, Sir Caldwell rode off towards the city gates, which opened as he and his men rode through. Iro walked off, the large turtle lumbering behind him, and the head guardsman mounted his horse and walked off to where archers were filing up the stairs to the top of the walls. Iro wasn't quite sure where the hospital was, and so he approached an orc woman with a limp who was walking down the street (ie Morag). 

"Excuse me, madam." he said "Do you know where the city's hospital is located?" 

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgYpD2QszRk]---[/url] <-(Clickable)


After the guardsman and the priest were gone, one of the other guards, one with a face mask and dust cloth obscuring his identity, slipped into an alleyway, leaving his halberd leaning against a wall. He walked slowly and cautiously, his right hand moving towards his belt every time he heard a loud noise. He weaved his way through the streets and dark alleyways until he came upon a sturdy-looking wooden door and knocked three times. The door was opened from the inside, and he entered a small square room with a trapdoor in the middle of it. Standing just inside of the door were two men dressed exactly as he was, and two torches near where they stood lit the room dimly. The guard opened the trapdoor and descended a ladder into a dank cellar with walls of stone. 

The cellar was square in shape, with a pool of water in the middle and torches along the walls. Nitre and moss clung to the walls, and against the far walls sat barrels of wine, covered in dust and cracked with age. It was obvious that no one had been down there for quite some time. At the other end of the room, against the wall, another ladder ascended to somewhere else. Four guardsmen, clothed exactly as the first one was, sat around the room. Two of them appeared to be sleeping on mats of straw on the floor, and two larger men sat with rifles on their knees, obviously security guards. The first guardsman walked up to the pool of water and, removing his helmet, gently stuck his face into it, disturbing the water as little as possible. The water began to glow violet, and back in General Wesserius’ camp a crystal ball began to glow. 

“The army of Talbor is sending its Knights of the Ram to attack our artillery!” the spy said “Be prepared!”