I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 199: Surviving

Chapter 199: Surviving

They didn’t see the goblins who chased them the night before return to the Duke’s Tower.

The only inference that could be gathered from that was that the goblins had stuck to the lower levels of the barracks. That much was certain when each group opened the door and heard the communicative clicks of goblins talking.

They all quickly locked their doors and barricaded themselves, not knowing that there were a handful of others doing the same just across the Duke’s personal lands and inside the tower. Two groups were working to protect themselves, but didn’t know that they were closer than expected.

Despite not being as large a castle as that of the King in central Hydrogia, the Duke’s Tower was expansive because it used to be the main fixture of an ancient kingdom that had since fallen to monsters hundreds of years before. The ancient wall that stood far in the valley was evidence of what once stood there.

No matter what anyone thought, Chemois was a story of survival—which was what they were all showing as they barricaded themselves inside the buildings and waited for help to come to them. They wouldn’t allow the tower and barracks to fall to the goblins. At least, they would do their best to ensure that wouldn’t happen.

Fearlessly, Gunnar went to each room as quietly as he could and knocked on the doors to let the groups know the plans going forward.

When he got to Irene and Leif’s room, the teenagers stood up and braced themselves. A goblin wouldn’t knock, would it?

Hearing a quiet "it’s me" from the other side of the door, Irene instantly knew the sound of her knight’s voice, and she pushed the bed frame away so she could let the knight in.

For safety, they shut the door behind him.

"Are you two lacking anything?" he asked.

"Nothing, sir," Irene spoke up first.

"Nothing at all, sir," Leif agreed.

"Good," he responded with a nod. His eyes drifted over the place, and he saw their beds and the touch of putting furniture in front of the door so nothing could come inside. Their desire to survive was so strong, and he felt proud. "For the foreseeable future, unless absolutely necessary, we will not leave the barracks until we can understand more of this situation. If it takes until the other knights return with help, then that is what we will have to do."

This instruction led to restless apprentices.

While winters weren’t that exciting for them, they at least had practice in the mornings and books to read to exercise their minds.

All they had was each other, so they tried to make the best of the situation by sharing stories of their lives and growing closer bit by bit.

Considering they were used to a routine of high energy, Leif and Irene got up to trouble as they faced one another with sheathed swords. It was merely swordplay, but it passed the time. Eventually, they even dug around the personal items in the barrack and found a Backgammon board to play with and pass the time.

Irene taught Leif how to play because it wasn’t something that was done outside of the nobility.

For a few days, there was a misleading amount of peacefulness as the time passed slowly. They only left the barracks to use the bathrooms at the end of the halls or find water in other barracks so they wouldn’t have to go to the well.

They went to bed with the expectation that it would be much of the same the following day, and they were okay with it. Their friendship felt comfortable as they got used to one another.

Irene was satisfied with the partner she was assigned. Others hadn’t gotten so lucky and were forced to share space with someone much less familiar to them.

They constantly reminded each other that all they had to do was wait for the rest of the knights, then they could fight. All they were doing now was conserving energy until then.

That was the mindset they found themselves in that kept them inspired. It was enough to believe that waking up the next day drew them a little bit closer to total victory.

However, Irene woke up in the middle of the night to horrible coughing coming from just across the room. Her eyebrows lowered, and she turned her head away, thinking it was nothing.

Perhaps a dream. Why would Leif be coughing?.

The coughing got much worse, and Irene was up. Was Leif gasping for air?

Her eyes landed on Leif, who was certainly gasping for air with his hands on his throat. She rushed to him to see what the matter was.

When she went to Leif, she began coughing as well. Since his bed was closer to the door, there was black smoke leaking from the crack underneath. She realized their room was filling with it slowly.

It wasn’t merely smoke. The scent was something different.

All roads lead back to poison. It seemed to be a common theme.

She didn’t want to panic, but she had to help her friend as she held a hand over her mouth.

She pushed him so he was sitting up. He looked groggy and wanted to go to sleep, but Irene’s firm grip caused him to realize he felt like someone was sitting on his chest. He could hardly inhale a proper breath. How long had he been like that?

"Get your boots on," she urged. "We must get out of here. It is not good to breathe this in for very long."

They stood up and put their ears against the door.

The hallway was devoid of anyone, so they pushed the bed frame out of the way and rushed into the hallway.

Knowing where Sir Gunnar stayed, they rushed to his room. Before they could knock, he was already opening the door.

Rather than staying there, they all started knocking on the doors, and, sure enough, it was a common theme of the smoke coming through what seemed to be the floor and getting through to each space in that building.

If they remained in the barracks, they might die before the knights even found them.

Even though the team of travelers was a little bit dizzy and extremely tired, they rushed out of the barracks with swords drawn. It was a mismatched group of mostly apprentices and squires led by three knights.

There were goblins on the first level, but only Felix bothered with one before they sprinted outside.

The Duke’s Tower was teaming with monster activity, so as they passed, they knew they couldn’t stop in.

Even further they ran and ran up the rolling hills and plains until they were against the segment of ancient wall. Their backs were pressed against the cold stone and brick, and their swords were held out in front of them.

Their only choice was to wait until morning. Only then would they be able to decide what was next for them.