AN: I may end up changing the name of this chapter and reusing this chapter name a few chapters from now. However, till then it will remain as is.

Chapter 30.3: Black Dragon Keep

The assault on the ruined island fortress began not with a bang, but with a skitter. Despite the lack of visible opponents outside, Sharde knew that there must be monsters or bandits at the least hiding within the fortress itself. It was once a castle town, and had been the home of common people, of trained soldiers and the wealthy elite. Now almost anything could be living inside.

Sharde skittered along the outer wall in a deliberate way that caused her to sound like a random wild animal that might have come close to the ruined township. After she skirted the entire perimeter, and used her hawk sight technique three more times, She climbed up onto he wall then quickly hopped over the top and down into a back alley.

The town portion was little more than a few dozen broken down shops and houses. She quickly made and running tour of the area and sought out any sign of monsters or men who acted like monsters. Neither bandit nor beast made an appearance, but she did greatly alarm a mother possum who was feeding her young.

The ninja girl raced outward from the town area and moved swiftly to her next position. Once there she hopped back up onto the wall then lept atop a nearby building. The ceiling nearly gave way beneath her feet, but she maintained her footing long enough to use that building as a springboard toward reaching the distant roof of the next closest building.

She hopped from rooftop to rooftop and made her way to the inner wall that surrounded the castle. Once atop that wall she had to run along the top until she could see an easy method of entry that would allow her to reach the battlements atop the fortress proper. She saw a series of easily blocked-off areas with multiple portcullises and similar items of enemy force reduction measures. Despite all of those efforts the fortress had still fallen, but it would have been an extreme battle.

There was no clear way up at first glance, but Sharde would not let that stop her. She refused to walk in the front door like a common fighter. She was a ninja dammit!

After her second run around the wall she began to formulate a plan. It would take great skill and timing, but she believed that it could be done.

Sharde jumped from the wall then raced across a lush grassy area that would have been considered a killing field during the time that this fortress was properly maintained. She ran at a dead sprint and did not slow down even when she reached the wall. Instead she used her momentum to perform a short wall run that would have been then envy of free runners and parkour enthusiasts everywhere.

She just barely managed to reach the first handhold that she sought, but just barely was good enough for her plan. Sharde clung to the broken masonry with nothing more than the tips of her fingers, and then forced her body upward in a short jump that used her feet and fingers to send her flying upwards several feet. She nearly lost her grip when she tried to cling to the next gap in the masonry, but she was agile enough to make it work for her.

Slowly, she crawled along the side of the wall then found her next way upward by climbing several masonry cracks that were aligned above her at reasonable intervals. She was now close to the top and needed to make one last upward leap.

Her next leap upward included a double-jump against the wall and a bit of hard scrabbling at the end, but she was able to get two of the fingers on her left hand atop the battlement. She hung there briefly while she tried to re-orient her body properly. She was left in and awkward position temporarily and needed to regain a fourth point of contact before she could move upward once more.

Admittedly, when she climbed over the top of the fortress it was not with the distinct agility and grace that so many people try to ascribe to the ninja profession. She did make a note to practice her climbing skills more as she would have been able to do that sort of infiltration easily back on ARS in that avatar.

She quickly regained her composure and began the search once more. She had to clear the area completely if nothing else. She checked out the view of the lake for a moment then turned left and headed for the closest tower. The fortress had four of them, each of which was reachable through the battlements and a ground area.

In the first tower she found nothing but dusty cobwebs and ancient mold. The second tower proved just as uninteresting. Still, she persevered. It was the third tower that told her what she would need to do to claim this place.

She found a weathered journal in the desk of the night captain. Sharde read through it carefully until she found an important passage. She knew it was important because the words were highlighted with a golden glow. It was convenient to say the least.

[Message]

In the winter I am used to the cold, the frost, and the wolves howling in the night. However, in recent weeks an altogether unfamiliar chill has been in the air. Things are strange, even the howling of the wolves is stranger than normal.

The people who have gone missing... Did they really leave because of the strangeness in the air, or did that strangeness take them? Either way, half of my guards are gone, and many of the townspeople have fled or been taken in the night.

No matter how we search or beseech the heavens above, we find no cause for this to happen. Though, there are dark rumors that he has returned. It is nothing but a myth, but in recent days even I have fallen prey to those rumors. I fear that I am losing my mind... for I find that in the terrible hours between midnight and dawn... I believe the old tales might be true.

He may have returned... Vyrkolag the beast...

[--]

Sharde stared at the passage in the journal for a moment then a grin arose upon her lips. Happily she said, “Well that sounds promising!”

She set about the task of searching the rest of the fortress; she needed to be ready when nightfall came, especially for those terrible hours between midnight and dawn. She was so giddy with the possibilities that she looked a bit like a child trapped in a candy store.

The rest of the fortress area was largely empty as well. There were no ancient skeletons or signs of disease and death. There were a few old scars on the inner walls that bespoke of battle, but for the most part it seemed like the people had merely left. It was a curious and exciting thing, and she could not wait to see the night terror that had gripped this township in dread. Her only sense of sadness came in the form of her wish that Scott and the others were here with her to enjoy the coming event she had no doubt triggered by reading that journal.

After she finished searching the fortress she climbed to the top of the third town then sat on a stone outcropping used by lookouts. She took a deep breath then sighed in content. Not long after, she lifted her index fingers into the air and began to wave them from side-to-side while she sang a little song to pass the time. “Loot, loot, glorious loot. I’ll shake it out your happy boot.”

Sharde had developed many little songs like that in the lonely hours that she had spent on ARS. In many ways, she had spent more time sitting on crumbling battlements singing about loot than she had spent in the company of actual people.