When daylight broke the following morn, Lewis sensed today was an aberration before even lifting his head. Stirring himself out of anxiety-ridden dreams, he discerned instead of clanging battlecries the faint echo of cheers ringing from Witton's outer courtyards below.
He briskly summoned Ser Green, who had only just recovered from grievous injuries. The stalwart knight confirmed astonishing news: no frenzied horde assailed the fortress this dawn. For the first time since the interminable siege's onset over a two weeks ago, Witton's valiant defenders remained unaccosted without.
The men's soaring spirits still gripped Lewis with unease. Leaving his sword belt, he ascended the central watchtower to survey fields outside normally turned cauldrons of carnage with the rising sun. But all was still. No shrill war cries, no relentless battering of the mighty gates, no waves of rabid creatures spilling over piles of dead to scale the parapets anew. Only kingdom's banners stirring in the morning breeze atop the barbicans.
Lewis narrowed his eyes, scouring the distant gloomy tree line for any signs of movement. A two weeks of relentless assaults ending abruptly without warning left him wary of unknown machinations. What compelled the monstrous hordes yesterday but now lay dormant? He returned to the courtyard and gave orders to double watch shifts while preparations were made to restore walls and supplies. If this was the calm portending a gathering storm, he would brace Witton to meet it unbroken.
In the days that followed, an uneasy calm persisted outside Witton's battered walls. Lewis relentlessly drilled the garrison and oversaw repairs, ever wary of the storm gathering just beyond sight. Yet the hordes did not return. As days stretched into a weeks without incident, the first glimpse of movement spotted from the watchtowers did not renew the nightmare. Instead, a friendly banner approached - reinforcements had arrived at last!
Lewis grinned in relief as he discerned his elder brother Julian leading the host up the broad central causeway. Resplendent in glittering armor atop a mighty warhorse, Julian looked every inch the champion of the kingdom's storied lineage. Five thousand knights, footmen, and royal archers followed in precise columns, banners fluttering proudly in their wake.
Lewis hurried to greet his brother Julian as he arrived at the gates of Witton. The long-separated siblings embraced, overjoyed to be reunited. When they pulled back, Lewis urgently asked Julian what news there was from the outside world.
Julian's expression turned serious. "The kingdom is burning. Unnatural creatures attack everywhere while we struggle against them." But his tone brightened slightly as he continued. "Fortune may be changing though - we located the villains accountable for unleashing all these wild hordes! They shall threaten kingdom no more."
Lewis urged his brother to rest from his long journey, but Julian politely refused. "I cannot tarry here long, there are duties I must return to swiftly," he explained regretfully.
"My presence was but a short detour. Father dispatched me elsewhere on urgent business, and expects you to continue keeping Witton secure for some time yet, though he wished you back at home." Julian's voice held a pained tone.
Alarmed, Lewis asked "What has happened? Is all well with Father and the rest of the family?"
"There is conflict among the royal council," Julian explained. "The king and most members want to continue the planned war against the pirate lord Captain Samuel. But Father and the queen insist on first uprooting those responsible for the kingdom's attacks."
He hesitated before continuing. "But since it was just a few peasants who perished, the other councillors saw no need to track the attackers. And the king even implied Father and the queen were too close. So, Father was dismissed for apparently sullying the majesty's reputation."
Lewis reeled in dismay. Julian gripped his shoulder bracingly. "Best you remain here for now. Father was preparing to withdraw to our family's land when I left. He may even send Mothers and Miya here for safety. Guard them well, brother."
With that, Julian took his leave, off to carry out his duties. But Lewis' mind swirled with the implications of fury among the crown's inner circle, and his family possibly facing royal wrath. Dark days were brewing that could jeopardize far more than Witton.
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