Castle or Fortress?

Thanks to Victor Shieldman's undoubted skill with the sword, he didn't die when he was forced to face an entire fleet of soldiers in the courtyard, but he was wounded.

Sheltered and hidden inside the duke's castle, Victor walked with one hand on his left bicep, staunching the bleeding from a deep cut.

'It's a real shame that this mysterious power I've received won't heal me or give me the answers I need...' Victor thought, walking alone while outside the trumpets of the wall guards resounded in all directions, warning of his escape.

Despite being very angry about the situation and wounded, Victor advanced through the castle corridors. He had placed a spear from one of the guards to lock the door of the corridor that connected the courtyard to the castle, in order to prevent reinforcements from the prison from entering the castle, but he didn't know how long this would hold them off. 

On top of all this, the castle was like a fortress and the corridors formed a kind of labyrinth with guards on all sides. The sound of the guards' boots hitting the ground in rhythm echoed through the empty corridors, as they were probably mobilizing to protect different, important areas in the castle.

'They suffered the invasion of a single thief a few months ago, of course they would be prepared to react in a similar situation if it happened again,' concluded Victor, propping himself up in the shadows to hide.

At this point, he needed to avoid any unnecessary confrontation as he was still recovering from the intense clash in the courtyard. However, it wasn't long before Victor finally arrived at the place Robe had pointed out as the most likely place to find Councillor Steegar.

In the midst of dozens, perhaps hundreds of corridors on the first three floors, a black oak door stood out even though he didn't want it to. This door was at the end of any corridor, with no connection to any of the main halls on the floors, far from the eyes of the meeting rooms, the king's chambers or the vault, because it was a place that shouldn't be considered important, at least not for most people, but for Councillor Steegar, because it was his office.

Stopping at the corner of the corridor that led to this office, Victor peeked out, putting only half of his head out to try and see if there was anyone patrolling, guarding or watching the place, but the corridor was completely empty.

Victor frowned and thought aloud:

"There's no protection, even with all the confusion, which means that Steegar isn't here. So he must be in the throne room."

When the castle was compared to a fortress, it was not in vain. In the past, the City of Kozáni was also known as the Fortress of Kozáni, which belonged to a noble warrior who lived more than a century ago. The fortress was used to guard the North, which at that time was still considered a vast and dangerous land. Over the years, thanks to the peace of the region, houses sprang up around Kozáni Fortress, then towns and villages, until it became a large city, and the then fortress was renamed a castle because it began to house nobles.

So, just like the name of the building, many things had to be changed. The large room on the fifth floor of the castle, which used to be the main armory and also where the fortress's operations desk was located, was practically emptied, and only one piece of furniture was put in, a throne. However, it wasn't like a king's throne, but something more like a "chair of state", which served to denote authority.

Two floors above Victor was where the throne was and, consequently, the ruler of this city as well, Duke Olyno, a young nobleman who was already feared and respected not only by the people in his city, but also by all the nobles of the North.

"Huff! When will these annoying noises stop?" Olyno, sitting dispossessed on his throne, asked aloud.

Olyno was a young man of twenty-one, with straight blond hair and a tenacious gaze. In front of him, a number of men stood parallel to him, all wearing white armor adorned with emeralds. Most of them remained quiet in the face of the duke's question, except for one, who was standing in front of the pillar closest to the throne.

"Sire, I'm afraid the search for the cause of all this commotion will take some time. Whatever happened, it could be a break-in or another attempt to rob your coffers. We should make sure that the intruders have been found before lowering our guard," replied the brown-haired man with the helmet under his arm.

This guard in question looked a little older than the other nine present in the throne room, and the wrinkles on his face showed it. He was probably the most respected soldier in the duke's personal guard.

"Steegar!" Olyno shouted.

"Yes, your grace. I'm right here." Councillor Steegar, a thin, pale-skinned old man with a long, gray beard, stepped out of the shadows from behind the throne. He wore a long cloak, the sleeves of which concealed his hands. 

"Do you have any new information about the invaders? Or have the incompetents on the wall still not managed to locate them?"

Steegar put his right hand to his forehead, closed his eyes and stayed that way for a few seconds, until he opened his eyes again. "I'm sorry, young master, but the mages in the towers say they don't have any information to contribute. You'll have to be a little more patient."

"Arh! I wanted to be in my quarters with the girls right away. But if that's how things work..." Olyno leaned on the throne, completely unconcerned.

However, when Olyno finally came to terms with his own boredom, a kind of commotion began to take place before his eyes. The guards standing in front of the ajar door to the throne room suddenly started running to the left, which made Olyno scramble back into his seat. Then the sounds of clashing blades mixed with cries of pain began to echo in the duke's own ears. This caused a broad smile to appear on his face.

Obviously, this alerted all ten guards inside the throne room and even the counselor. When the sounds stopped, no one let their guard down, because somehow everyone sensed that something was about to happen after the silence.

Suddenly, a white-haired man began to fully open the double door of the throne room, which was usually only kept ajar because it was so very, very heavy.

Olyno stood practically to attention with a look of excitement covering his face, while Steegar gritted his teeth.