"What is this?"
Chris plucked a torn scrap of cloth from the brambles and, puzzled, addressed the soldiers gathered around him.
"It looks like part of someone's clothing," one soldier offered, inspecting the ragged fragment.
"Clothing?" Chris frowned. "What makes you so sure?"
The soldier smiled sheepishly. "Sir, my family runs a tailor's shop, so I know fabrics well. Look at the weave on this scrap—it's definitely from a garment."
At the mention of a tailor's shop, Chris emitted a soft snort, though he said nothing more. He handed the cloth back to the soldier.
"Take another look—see if you can tell me anything else."
The soldier's cheeks flushed as he examined the scrap more closely, even bringing it to his nose for a sniff. His expression turned serious.
"Captain—this is a rare, high-quality fabric only used by our nobility in Winterscar. It even carries a faint, pleasant scent…"
Before the soldier could go further, Chris's eyes widened in sudden realization.
"A scrap of Princess Lila's dress?"
He turned to the soldier who had spotted the cloth.
"Are you absolutely certain this fabric wasn't here five minutes ago?"
"Captain, I swear it wasn't!" the soldier replied with conviction. "The bush shook, and then it appeared. It definitely wasn't there before!"
Chris held the cloth aloft, glancing up at the castle's tower above the thicket, then back at the fabric, his voice trembling with excitement.
"I understand! I understand! Princess Lila must be imprisoned in that very tower. She saw us approaching and tore off a corner of her dress to drop it here—so we'd know where she is! How clever—Princess Lila is brilliant!"
"Really?" Bart gazed up at the darkened turret, doubt lingering in his tone. "Could she really see us from up there?"
"Bart!" Chris's voice took on a harder edge. "Regardless of how that scrap showed up, it proves one thing: Princess Lila is alive—and she still has the strength to call for help! Now, by my command as Vanguard captain, everyone, find us a way into the castle—immediately!"
At Chris's order, the men sprang into action, abandoning hesitation as they searched for an entrance.
Bart cast one last skeptical glance at the tower, murmuring to himself, "Could it really be that fortuitous?"
"Of course it's no coincidence at all!" came a voice from above.
Perched in the turret, Zane—courtesy of his enhanced vampire vision—watched the increasingly frantic vanguard below and couldn't help but grin.
"So this is the vaunted elite of the Kingdom of Winterscar? Not very impressive."
Chunk of Flesh, eager to please his master, chimed in with a swift compliment.
"Heh," Chunk of Flesh drawled, "just this ragtag lot? Master, with a flick of your wrist, we could end their lives."
"Not yet." Zane waved a hand. "Let's have a little fun with them first."
In truth, Zane had felt some nerves at the outset, but seeing how clueless these fools were, he'd finally relaxed.
"All right—no rush. We'll toy with them first." Chunk of Flesh nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Stop parroting me." Zane patted Chunk of Flesh on the shoulder. "Stick to the plan we discussed. Remember: I don't intend to take their lives just yet."
"As you command!"
With a deep bow, Chunk of Flesh vanished back into the darkness.
…
Outside the castle, Chris led his men—convinced they were well hidden—as they searched for a way inside.
Howling Castle looked ancient and decrepit, but in reality its defenses were impregnable. Gaining entry was no easy task.
The eight of them circled the curtain wall for nearly an hour, until Chris's patience was completely spent.
"Damn it!" Chris panted, collapsing onto a large boulder and wiping sweat from his brow. "Is there really no way in? If not… we'll have to force the main gate."
Even Chris knew that charging the front gate under these conditions was tantamount to suicide.
Bart couldn't stay silent. "Captain, storming the main gate won't do. I think we ought to rethink our approach."
"Rethink?" Chris's eyes hardened. "No! We must find Princess Lila and Evan as soon as possible. Every hour they remain in this wretched castle increases the danger. I've decided—we go in tonight, no matter what."
Bart opened his mouth to argue again, when suddenly a knight burst from cover, his face alight with excitement.
"Captain!" he called. "I've got another discovery!"
"Another one? A hidden path into the castle?"
"Not quite—but I think I've found another scrap of Lady Lila's dress."
"Really?" Chris leapt to his feet, heart racing. "I've heard tales of Princess Lila's beauty—and her wit. It seems she knew someone would come for her, so she left markers along our route! Let's go—show me!"
Bart's eyes flickered with doubt, but he said nothing. He knew now was not the moment to speak up.
Resigned, he fell in behind Chris as they made their way to a nearby slope.
Before long, Chris and his men stood before the new piece of torn fabric, tied to a low branch beside a trickling stream.
And that scrap of fabric seemed to be pointing them to follow the stream upstream.
Chrisley reached out, touched the torn cloth, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Exactly—this is Miss Lila's dress. Brothers, let's follow the stream! The princess is waiting for us!"
At those words, Chris's declaration ignited a blaze of excitement in every man present.
Only Bart removed the scrap and brought it to his nose.
A faint, exquisite fragrance drifted into his nostrils.
At any other time, Bart would have found it relaxing and pleasant. But in that moment, he felt an undeniable sense of looming catastrophe.
Before he could voice his misgivings, Chris—fired up as if on adrenaline—issued his command.
"Gentlemen, onward—upstream!"
With Chris's shout, no one hesitated. They pressed on without pause, following the creek up the slope.
After about twenty minutes, Chris and his men finally came upon the source of the water.
It wasn't a natural spring at all, but a massive black pipe jutted abruptly from the rubble-strewn hillside, channeling water from god-knows-where.
The conduit stood over two meters tall and more than a meter wide—plenty big for a strapping man to walk through.
"Could it be…" Bart peered into the dark passage, offering, "that this is Howling Castle's drainage tunnel?"
"Maybe so," one knight nodded. "We're practically at the polar edge here. It's chilly even in summer. Come rainy season, the castle might flood. Heh—perhaps the Vampire Duke prefers to keep his quarters dry."
"Pah!" Chris spat contemptuously onto the ground. "That filthy creature belongs underground in a sewer!"
The insult stung, but the reality was clear: if they wanted to breach Howling Castle, this broad drainage tunnel might be their only route.
Yet for the elite knights of the Kingdom of Winterscar to crawl into a sewer… well, it hardly seemed dignified.
Every man turned expectantly to Chris, awaiting his orders.
Chris said nothing more than to stride up to the tunnel's mouth, where a foul breeze wafted out to meet him.
He wrinkled his nose at the stench, then turned back to his men.
"Let's go. Princess Lila is still waiting for us!"