Chapter 479 - The Lions mouth (1/2)

The next day the Dark guild soldiers continued to move through the snow. Harry was no longer tied up like he was before. He assumed because he had no weapons on him at the moment they saw him as no threat and the Dark guild master Mukdad seemed to be pretty confident he could at least take Harry on, either that or the crossbow users would shoot him down before he could do anything.

The reason for him being kept alive, at least he had an idea of that now. Apparently, Gary still saw him as a friend, someone that they could convince over to his side, but he struggled to truly believe that answer. There was Jack, and others that they could have tried to convince and Harry and Gary's relationship was a strange one in the first place.

In all honesty, Harry felt a little disheartened. 'Did they chose me because they think I'm the most likely to switch sides?'

Thinking back to everything, they did at one point have someone working for the other side, his father. Maybe because his father was influenced by the Shadow and Dark guild, he could be as well.

”I hope you will have made up your mind by the time you make it to Lion's mouth,” Mukdad said.

The lion's mouth was the apparent name of the fortress they were heading to, the one that Avrioon was planning to attack.

”I need more time to think,” Harry replied.

Mukdad started to laugh. ”I hope you don't say that when you meet him. It's quite simple you refuse, and you die.”

While journeying with Mukdad, he found that these people were perfectly sane that worked for the Dark guild. There were some that were partially infected by the Shadow, or completely but it was clear they were doing this out of choice, which was the same for Harry's father which is why no one had any idea at the time he was working against them.

Because of this, Harry was actually deeply interested in their reason for taking part in the war. Maybe he could understand his father's decisions more as well.

”Tell me why does the Dark guild work with the Shadow, or why do you work with the Shadow. I don't see you as a senseless murderer. You seem like a good man.”

”And I am,” Mukdad replied. ”It seems Avrion has filled you with lies. Does that joined the Dark guild may have started because of a grudge against Avrion, but that is only because of their foolish ways. We already know full well the extent of the Shadow's power. We want to resolve this whole thing more peacefully than anyone.

”By helping the shadow achieve its goal, we have struck a deal, and we hope we can live side by side along with the shadow.”

”That's crazy!” Gary replied. ”How can you trust such an evil thing, what if the shadow was to go against its own word.”

”It hasn't so far, and we haven't been hurt by it. In our eyes, you fools are truly the foolish ones. Resisting and sending people into war who don't even want to fight, only prolonging the torture. Did the other side even begin to think there was another way to resolve this peacefully? Or were they just afraid that something different had appeared, something they didn't understand?

”You're a smart kid I can tell, the fact that you have even bothered to ask these questions rather than shout and brand us as the enemy tells me that. But your people have blindly followed the Divine being, to us we are just following another. Which side is evil, right or wrong that is all a matter of opinion. To me, none of that really matters.

”It's just choosing the winning side, and I'm pretty sure I'm on the winning side.”

The rest fo the walk was silent for Harry as he took in everything that was said to him. He never had any loyalty to the Divine being like the old fools who used to run the council. In the end, that led to the death of them.

A lot of what Mukdad was referring to was actually the old Avrion. He didn't take orders from the Divine being, right now, he followed a man called Ray. That was the side Harry had chosen.

Eventually, they had reached the fortress. It stood forty foot tall, and its walls had been crafted with a strange black material. Once one would go past the black walls they would eventually reach the castle.

However, what was impressive itself was where the fortress laid. It seemed to be built within the mountain, as if a large cave had been carved out. On the path, they walked it was sloped leading upward, and by either side two large mountains. There was only one way to reach the fortress, and that was the slope itself.

Stood on top of the wall. Archers, beasts and buckets of strange liquid. Images of the Redwing army walking up this slope appeared in Harry's head once again. The terrain was unfavourable and it looked like they were fully prepared.

To even reach the fortresses walls would be a huge task. He could imagine all the blood that would be split on this slope.