Page 3 - RotalTutor

Chapter 1 The Attack l The sun was still far below the horizon, barely putting a glimmer of light into the sky, when four men, shrouded in black, darted across the palace courtyard. How they got inside the walls of the palace was a mystery, but they moved quickly, yet quietly, to the wall on the west wing - the wing where the royal family lived. A slight fog concealed their movements. Moving like muted shadows within the shadows, they seemed to know their destination all too well. They slid quietly along the wall. The leader retrieved a large grapple hook from his sack. Deftly he coiled the rope in his left hand, taking the hook in the other. He swung the hook, once, twice, three times to get momentum, then let it fly toward the third floor balcony. It landed with a slight pinging sound. He pulled it, but it didn’t catch anything; instead, it fell at his feet onto the cobblestone with another pinging sound. He cursed quietly as he started coiling the rope for another throw. Suddenly, a figure appeared from the shadows dressed in the blue of the Royal Guard. He came with no warning, moving quickly and with even more stealth than the would-be assassins. He was on them before they saw him coming. But there were four of them. The leader of the assassins continued to work the rope unabated as his 1