OOC: Tags to
@Aidan
"Come on!" The command was sharp, but low enough to carry to the group as they scrambled in the moonless night. It wasn't snowing, but the rain hit sharp, cold.
Ohna was glad for the extra layer of clothing she wore as her breath rang out in short puffs of white. The sweat made the layers equally uncomfortable, even as her lungs burned for the miles of fast travel they all just endured. She was thankful then, for the moment they paused as she leaned against one of the fir trees, it's scent hitting her lungs like mint. But at least she could take a moment to rest.
She wiped the sweat dripping down beside her eyes, realizing her hair, which was already a ratty mess, was soaked in the front. She frowned as she used that sweat to slick it back from her face. And then she saw it- the small make shift fort they had been searching for in the gloom of the night.
So the information had been right. The bend in the river was now the host to a new fort being built very close to the capital. It surprised her they'd consider building one so close when most of the intense fighting was done in the other duchies, and as of lately, much of it was up north. Even still, it was a surreal sight- for even at this hour of night, there was some workers still working on a wall. With what haste was this necessary? Did all forts require builders to work all hours of the night? Or was this just the duty of all soldiers?
Soldiers were on duty as well, guarding and moving in turn to keep the perimeter safe. She hadn't realized as she studied the new fort she had been holding her breath until one of her companions tapped her side and she had to toss a gloved hand over her lips to stop herself from making too loud of a noise.
"Ohna. Come." The man gestured and she followed, the group making as little sound as they could against the rain slick ground. It seemed, from what she heard, they found a section of the wall not complete and would be the best area to make their attack. It was strange to think that the gossip she gathered was true.
Movement broke her from her thoughts. Ohna watched as the jars of black powder were shifted towards the front, men pointing and explaining in low tongues their plans. But she couldn't hear it. Or perhaps she didn't want to. Her eyes moved towards the fort again,t his time on the side that looked far less impressive with only the base of the wall lining the rain soaked ground, but no height built as of yet. Even from where they perched behind a copse of trees in the darkness, she could see how miserably muddy the ground was. And hills were raised on all sides away from that. They had chosen wisely where to place the new fort, but it was a breeding ground for puddles and mud, but at least it was flat. She wasn't looking forward to walking through that- or having to be a part of a battle int his cold, pittiless world.
Why was she even here? The closer they moved, the more fear tingled through her veins. She felt numb, only nodding here or there at the rebel's commands. She wasn't a fighter. She was a woman to collect intel. It all had seemed so safe many moons ago... Yet...
How had she gotten herself here? She didn't even want to become a part of this war, and only was agreeable with this band of rebels out of similar sympathies and bad rolls of luck. But even on this lightless night, she felt out of place...
Like she shouldn't be here, and all aspects of her being were screaming for her to run.
It was too surreal. It had to be just another story told, one she was listening to at the fireside inside her home, where she'd be given a warm drink and snack and laugh with her family.
How had she gotten to this place? Where she had a weapon, uselessly hanging in a sheath at her side. What would a dagger do against trained soldiers?
She was broken from her thoughts when Hems shook her arm. She hadn't even noticed him approach. She hadn't even considered Hems would give her the time of day. Yet he had sought
her out.
"Ohna... You see it?" he told her, pointing through the night. Her eyes followed his fingers. "The builder there looks exhausted, and there's a section of the wall no one is working on. We can only presume the guards on duty are those pacing here. They're moving in a pattern. We have to move, and we need to move fast. While there's still no light."
She nodded numbly, realizing her hands were clenched so tightly they were hurting. She attempted to loosen her grip, but she was so nervous, her hands seized back into that grip again.
"You know what to do."
She did. But she didn't want to know. She wasn't a fighter. She was supposed to use the element of surprise to her advantage to help her friends out. To crawl over there, hide away, right between where a series of bricks lay mounted, readied for the wall- and then all she had to do was
push, and at just the right moment- and use their own wall against them. An avalanche. An accident event. Something to give the rebels the upper hand.....
She nodded numbly when Hems asked her again.
"I know. I know." She released a trembling breath as the man smiled at her. Was it that smile that made her do it? Surely she wasn't a fool enough to want to do this for a man, to appease him-
She turned to the others.
Surely she wasn't so boneless she'd do this simply to fit in... where all of these men here in the night spoke of so much more...
Except that's exactly what it felt like as she followed Hem's gesture again. She felt... misplaced. She felt.. wrong.
But it was past the moment of no return.
It was time. The guard was moving. And she was making her way down the hillside, careful of the slick grasses. And the rains came down even worse than before, hampering any noise she may have been making, but also making the hill side even more unstable-
And unstable enough for the perfect misstep.
She lost her footing.
She felt herself fall.
She felt her breath loose, the world tumbling...
- and before she knew it, she was on her knees in the mud at the foot of the hill. She heard a noise. Guard lights flared on. Her heart dropped. She was spotted.
Oh no.And before she knew it, all the plans had changed, and suddenly black powder bombs were exploding into the side of the building and the men in the rebel group were shouting and storming the unfinished portion of the wall.
