[This is unedited, as always]
Solborg stood like a heap of rubble, a drowned pile of black rocks in the constant drizzling colorless rain. A few whisps of smoke curled up before being lost in the infinite dark grey, the only trace of life within the great city.
The outer walls were tall and menacing, but few men stood there. All I could see was a lone sentry above the gatehouse, standing morose under a wide-brimmed hat rather than a helmet of steel. From the hill where we stood, protected from the rain and the ambient light by an ancient drooping oak, it looked like a dead city.
“Now is the time for you to perform your first action, half-man Xander,” said Hestia. She had once again become drawn and pale, but the corners of her mouth were upturned with some hidden cheer.
“And what is that service?”
“You must go open the gates for us. It should not be too difficult. They will not notice you.”
“Should I kill the men?”
“If you have to. As it is, it seems they are rather lackadaisical. Perhaps just go scare the horses and we will follow you in, eh?”
I dismounted and walked toward the gates. The rain, like usual, did not touch me as much as it should, and I felt neither wet nor dry as I walked forward. The outer hamlets were nearly deserted. I only saw one old woman emptying a chamber pot, and she took no notice of me. Several houses looked empty or abandoned, with no smoke curling from their leaning chimneys.
The gates were formidable, but not closed tightly because of the in and out movement of people and goods that characterized most large cities that have spilled their fortified bounds. I slipped past the sleepy guard huddled under an overhang and into the gatehouse. The portcullis was half-raised, enough to allow men to pass or perhaps horses with no riders.
I worked quickly. I stepped back outside and approached the leaning guard. His eyes were open, and he looked out on the muted landscape with a bored expression. With a single strike of my club, I bent him over. The second stroke hit the back of his skull and he crumpled silently to the floor.
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