Sohajan hastily moved through the crowd buzzling around the small in the alley. As Sohajan reached the edge of the alley, something very suspicious caught his ears making him stop into his tracks. Sohajan turned around shifted his gaze in the direction that sound came from.
"Where is Sir Boss?" a voice that sounded very familiar asked someone else. Sohajan glared at the figure covered in a dark black cloak standing in front of him in a dark corner underneath the shadow of a broken wooden roof extending in alley. It seemed the voice came from that person.
Sohajan frowned as he again heard the figure repeat the same question, realizing that voice was very familiar and was just one step further from recognizing it. Sohajan pressurized his mind and memory but still couldn't get any results of who this person could be. At last Sohajan clenched his fists and stepped ahead to call that person.
But suddenly a person flicked his hand and pushed him away, before Sohajan could even realize he heard multiple screams and people shouting at each other. Within just a few seconds Sohajan was stuck in between of stampede in that alley, being pushed away from that person as far as possible.
Sohajan somehow got into a corner near a wooden pole in the corner of the alley, and away from the crowd and began to look for a way out of the crowd. The path he had used was usually used by forces and troops to march to the northern walls of the city through the residential areas. But the alert issued regarding the incoming rogue mystical beast calamity had infuriated the people here to hastily leave the city, filling even the biggest streets with huge crowds.
Sohajan looked back to find a wall that connected to the extended wall of a house, Sohajan climbed that wall, getting out of the alley, he spotted an open window in the house which completely abandoned, Sohajan climbed into the house and used the stairs to it rooftop. From that height Sohajan took an overview of the entire area, only to find every single road of the residential area blocked by heavy crowds.
For a moment, Sohajan felt a pity for those people who lived in such hardships. But then he realized what he was here for, and began to move towards the visible northern walls while jumping from roof to roof.
Suddenly Sohajan halted in his tracks as he saw a huge stone wall separating the residential area from the guarded area and city wall. The area between the stone wall and city wall was filled with military barracks, training grounds and thousands of residents for the soldiers.
Sohajan jumped down onto the path that crossed the stone wall, going into the guarded area. There was a huge gate in the stone wall that blocked the path going into the guarded area. That gate was heavily guarded with multiple royal soldiers were standing tall and proud clad in a shining silver armor holding a heavy spear in their hand, a testament of their bravery and strength.
As Sohajan walked closer, a chill ran down his spine when a the sharp gazes of those soldiers turned to him, focusing at him completely there stare felt like it would tear through his flesh and bones right away. One of the soldiers walked towards him as his spear hit the ground with loud thuds incorporated with heavy steps.
"Who are you?" The soldier asked.
"I am Sohajan, Form Skambha clan, our elder sent me to convey this message to the captain!" Sohajan said.
Sohajan pulled out the scroll given to him by elder Devendra and handed it to the soldier. The soldier held the scroll tightly in his hands, staring at the symbol made on the outer shell of the scroll. He anlyzed it for a few minutes, turning it over and over to examine it properly before nodding his in agreement.
"He has the permit, let him pass." The soldier shouted at the other one standing near the gate. That soldier went ahead to another gate nearby which was much smaller than the original one. That gate was opened and stepped into the guarded area with the scroll in his hands.
He looked around to find multiple troops marching to and from, several barracks, carts loaded with weapons and crates, soldiers guarding and each and every area at regular intervals, training grounds where multiple rookies were training or sparring with each other. That entire guarded area right now seemed no more than a military base itself.
Sohajan simply avoided everyone else and walked through the path that went straight ahead to the city wall. Very soon Sohajan had neared the city wall. The city wall was constituted of massive stone bricks joined together in multiple layers. There was a path atop the city walls to travel across the watch towers built over those city walls at particularly regular distances.
Royal and Skambha clan soldiers were deployed atop the city walls and the watch towers to keep continuously survey the situation beyond the city walls. Most of the soldiers were Bow men or spear holders that could launch deathly projectile attacks at the enemy from afar once spotted.
Sohajan went near one of the watch towers. At the base of the watch tower was a small room within which a lot of wooden crates stuffed with materials and resources for the soldiers were stored. Sohajan approached the entrance of that room and saw a few guards working in the room, while some were also transporting those crates upstairs.
Sohajan showed his permit to the guards, who examined it from a few moments before leading him upstairs. He was then guided along the city wall path across different watch towers before reaching a towers that was much bigger and stronger than the other ones. That tower was heavily fortified and seemed like the center of the northern city defense wall command.
As soon as Sohajan entered the fortified tower center, the dark clouds that had covered the sun began to rain down heavily, as if they were just waiting for Sohajan to reach his destination. The entire environment suddenly became dark and foggy with heavy rain drops chiming onto the ground. It felt satisfactory, but gloomy at the same time.
Sohajan met with the sight of the captain of the royal soldiers and his vice leader Vijay involved in an intense discussion while leaning near the edge of the tower, wit their gazes fixated onto the vast expanse of a flat field in front of them which was completely carpenter by a dense fog.
"Sir Rajhans, this member of the Skambha clan has brought you a message from their elders." The royal soldiers said.
After a few moments….
"So, Elder Devendra sent you with a message!
"Let us se what it could be?" Vijay said as he unfurled the scroll in hands given to him by Sohajan.
Vijay carefully read the contents of the scroll and very soon a stunned expressions flashed onto his face as his eyes were stretched open and his jaw dropped. His hands began to tremble for a bit before he took a deep breath and regained his composure. But still, slight quivers shot through his body every second.
Looking at Vijay's reaction Captain Rajhans snatched the scroll from his hands and gave it a look. "Is he serious?
"How can he be so confident in the news his scouts bring?"
"If he says that Masaan clan got its hands onto a treasure while conducting an expedition through a forbidden sight, then he must have cross verified it.
"He won't make such claims without any solid base!" Vijay said.
"If that's so, then that must be the answer to how the Masaan clan became so powerful recently.
"In such situation, they could also attack to grab the opportunity," Said Rajhans.
Sohajan just stood there listening to them before asking "Vice leader, what should I do now?"
"You should stay here for a bit to observe the current situation, so if any anything happens near the defense walls we can send an alert message through you!" Vijay Commanded.
"Captain!" one of the nearby soldiers on the watch tower exclaimed while looking through a scope in his hands surveying a larger field of view near the defense walls. The soldier immediately ran to them and pointed at a particular direction, which coincidentally had the most dense and thick fog clouds, nearly blocking all the vision.
"Sir, nothing is visible due to bad weather conditions, only thing we can see is the shadow of a magnificent figure traversing through the dense fog at an incredible speed!" the Soldier reported as he handed the scope to captain Rajhans.
Captain Rajhans looked towards the direction the soldier pointed at through the scope to see a huge shadow running around the smoke. As if the Shadow felt someone observing it, the figure suddenly began to move towards the city defense walls at an amazing speed. Within just a few moments a huge spiked-ball rushed out of the fog, leaving behind a trail of dirt and smoke as it rolled ahead.
"It's a karakundra!" Rajhans exclaimed.
"But why would Karakundra come in such open fields, don't they mostly live in forbidden ruins and ancient sites?" One of the soldiers asked.
"Maybe it has went Rogue due to some reasons.
"We don't have time for discussions," Vijay said.
"Archers, do not hold back, take your aim and unleash a barrage of arrows!" Rajhans Commanded to all the Archers present on the nearby towers while screaming at the top of his lungs.