Caspian was reluctant to close his eyes these days. Ever since he was cursed, visions would frequent his mind while he slept. They were getting stronger and more vivid now that he was in the Fog. His mind held visions of a wife and child he never had, visions of the branded dark sign swirling about in the darkness, and visions of a King cloaked in shadow standing present yet he was lost. Caspian could feel the despair piling up with each one until it was too much and he forced his eyes open. He awoke staring into the bonfire. The soothing melody of the crackling flame was like wind chimes to his ears. Caspian sat against the base of the fountain with his head leaned back to glance at the sky. Its dreary look brought a frown to his face. "Doesn't look like you're going to cheer up any time soon. I best get a move on." He sighed as he pushed himself to his feet. After dusting off his backside, Caspian secured his gear and moved on towards the cathedral.<br/><br/>Glancing around Caspian could see the evident signs of struggle everywhere. Pillars of smoke rose above buildings, window shutters hung half hinged or completely broken. Burn marks and blood stains littered the sides of houses and the cobblestone roads. Broken carts and boxes lined the streets, making a maze of debris Caspian had to navigate through. All of this destruction yet there were no bodies to be found save for a few seared and charred corpses. Caspian hoped everyone else made it to the cathedral.<br/><br/>Eventually the road was blocked by a mess of debris from a couple collapsed buildings. Climbing it looked to be a precarious feat and having to stop an important journey due to an embarrassing injury or death didn't sit well with Caspian. To the right was a building missing its front wall but the rest stood in good condition. It would likely lead around the debris but should there be enemies within...well Caspian wasn't keen on fighting in such tight spaces. Instead he opted to go left from the rubble wall and followed the street down a ways, eventually opening up to a court yard similar to the one at the entrance of the city, only smaller.  Across from entrance to the courtyard stood two shabby towers constructed of rotted wood and rusty nails. Caspian concluded they were archer towers constructed during the battle. The citizens must have been corralled to take this route to the cathedral during the mayhem and these towers were charged to cover their retreat. The exiting route was off to the right of the towers and something stood in the middle of the road. But before Caspian could discern what or who it was, a familiar sound broke his concentration. Caspian's eyes shot over to the towers just in time to see to hollowed archers draw their bows to full length then released their arrows. It could have been poor aim or sheer luck that he was able to roll out of the way. Caspian barely got to his feet before they let loose another volley. He regained his focus and sprinted forward just in time for the arrows to pass overhead. Readying his shield he quickened his pace to full sprint. If he could get under a tower he would have the advantage.<span style="font-style: italic">Twenty more paces...</span>Caspian thought. These hollows were different than the thieves on King's Road. Perhaps these weren't as far gone as the thieves and retained some of their training, at the very least just muscle memory and motor skills. Then something moved in the corner of his eye.<span style="font-style: italic">A shadow?</span>Caspian pivoted to his right with his next step, raising his left arm to shield himself. Then everything went black.<br/><br/>A burst of air and a fit of coughing woke Caspian in a daze. His vision was just coming into focus and he was regaining feeling in his body, though at this particular moment he wished he hadn't. The pain in his entire body was immense. He knew he was lying on the ground face down. His shield still attached to his arm and there was a loud ringing in his ears. Caspian shook his head as he struggled to push himself up from his prone position on the ground. A steady thud could be heard towards his left. Was it his heart? No, it was metal. Caspian rose to a knee and glanced towards the rhythmic pace. It was there he saw a lumbering figure come into focus. A towering knight in dark rusted armor approached. His breast plate had the crest of Tula etched into it revealing he was of the Tula Guard. They had soldiers make up most of their ranks but they were led by these heavily armored Knights of Tula. This one in particular wielded a two-handed mace. No doubt he was the reason for Caspian's sudden blackout. This was the shadow that blindsided him during his charge against the tower archers. Caspian took a deep breath and finally stood on his feet. Everything happened so fast that even the archers were just now adjusting their position to get a better shot at Caspian. Meanwhile the knight's steps were heavy and loud. His greaved boots clanked with each step, resonating in the circular arena that the courtyard had become. The noise was distracting but Caspian had a plan.<br/><br/>Wasting no time Caspian darted towards the knight, keeping his shield out in front. As he got closer he lightened his footwork to a short zig-zag pattern, prompting the knight to raise his weapon for a downward strike. Just as Caspian had thought. The knight's left side was wide open and the space between his breast plate and waist piece was exposed. With masterful precision Caspian drew his sword. It flew out of its sheathed with ease and made a critical hit through the torso, bringing the knight down to a knee. This bought Caspian time notice the archers who finally had a lock on him. The first one fired and bounced off of Caspian's shield. The second was easily dodged with a quick sidestep. This was his opportunity; Caspian ran up to the left tower and positioned himself out of the other archer's line of sight. Caspian quickly secured his gear then began to climb up the wooden beams at the base of the tower. He took a quick glance at the stunned knight who was just getting back to his feet. Caspian knew he didn't have much more time. After reaching the top of the left tower, Caspian drew his blade and made short work of the archer. But he wasn't fast enough. Before he could react, an arrow found its way into his left arm. The force of the hit was strong enough to stagger Caspian so he dropped to a knee, using the railing as cover. He took hold of the arrow, gritted his teeth and broke it. Caspian forced himself to his feet, grabbing the bow and an arrow from the archer he killed on his way up. Ignoring the pain in his arm, Caspian notched the arrow, took aim and let fly. It found its mark through the left side of the hollowed archers' head.<br/><br/>"That's makes two, boy'o. That leaves just you and..." a loud crash interrupted Caspian. The tower shook and became unstable beneath his feet. It took Caspian a few steps to stagger over to the railing just in time to see the tower knight rear back with his mace for another big swing. The support beam snapped like a twig against the force of the blow and the tower began to crumble to the ground. Caspian's sword rattled on the floor boards of the tower and fell towards the knight before Caspian could grab it. Instead he grabbed the railing and braced himself for the fall. At just the right distance Caspian leapt off the falling tower just seconds before it all crashed to the ground. He tucked and rolled his body in a somersault once he touched down, recovering quickly to put himself in a crouched position facing the knight's back. The dust from the fallen tower gave the knight a towering silhouette. But at his feet something shimmered; Caspian's sword. The dust might have hindered the knight's eyesight, Caspian had to take that chance. After a deep breath, Caspian burst into a full sprint towards the knight. The sound of Caspian's feet pounding the ground caught the knight's attention. As he turned his head to peer at Caspian, a burst of red flared from the eyes of his helmet. Everything seemed to slow down from that moment. Caspian leapt forward, taking hold of his blade entering another forward roll. The knight raised his mace for a killing blow to the top of Caspian's head. Simultaneously Caspian came out of his somersault to a lunging position while the knight brought down his mace. The sound of iron and flesh rang loud but Caspian was alive. His sword plunged deep in an upward thrust under the knight's breast plate while the knight's mace overshot Caspian, striking the ground behind him. Caspian rose to his feet, lifting his blade higher into his foe before suddenly ripping it out. As the Knight fell forward on his hands and knees, Caspian pivoted out raising his sword above his head. A small step forward and a powerful downward swing finished off the knight; his head and helmet rolled away a short distance. After Caspian's breath caught up with him, he turned back towards the Cathedral and moved forward.