Soon the day broke across the distant horizon of the mesmerising surface of the lake, the rising of the sun was the sign the restless sleepers had been waiting for, even so their night was far from boring, during the late hours a small group of them ventured into the towering Castle to get an idea of the basic layout.
According to their report the streets were wide and composed of cobbled stone much like market streets of old, old building made from impenetrable stones and wood unlike anything they had ever seen before, all the structures were strangely stretched by human standards as if to accommodate creatures much like them yet just different enough to ignite a tinge of fear in the hearts of the roaming sleepers.
The buildings composing the area near the gate were not what they had expected to see, they had expected to see armaments and strategic vantage points littering every corner of the interior, and while those were present they were vastly overshadowed by the more mundane nature of the buildings. None of the sleepers were fans of history yet even they could see the small signs of life which hinted that this was once far more than just some defencive stronghold for a powerful ruler to live in, it was a town which had long fallen to decimation.
They had followed the main path which spiraled in a clockwise manner around the town, with it elevating upwards towards in inner most rings, most likely leading to where the dragon had built its nest in the heart of the once great Bastion, their expedition was cut short as one of the undead sentinels roaming the streets was marching down the path towards them, luckily it didn't seem to notice before they managed to escape with their lives.
Judging by the size of the incredible fortress as well as the many dreadful creatures calling it home Warden judged that it would take a number of days to reach the main keep, he was adamant that the key to their escape was nestled at the heart of this place.
Daimian and Jasper both aided the camp as the sleepers broke down the temporary settlement by the gate as they prepared to venture inside, with each sleeper carrying some of the supplies in small satchels Warden and Jasper had created during the night.
Meanwhile Damian had taken on the role of an advanced scout for the group, it would be his role to search for and advise Warden on safe places for the sleepers to rest and to keep an eye out for any and all threats on their path. He would also be responsible for taking out any threats that approached from the sky, not many people possessed aspects which could reach a long distance and even their furthest was nothing compared to Damian's bow.
Overall they felt as good as they could about their situation, to invade and attempt to conquer such an impressive structure was not for the faint of heart and they were under no illusions that they would all survive as they readied themselves for a relentless fight for survival.
***
Hours after the sleepers had advanced into the fortress they had still not managed to make it too far into the city,to the point that the gate they entered through was still visible from where they were currently resting, in a broken down building slightly higher up the path. Many of them were injured and they had lost one or two already in their first deadly battle.
From what the scouts had told Warden the streets were rather empty with only a stray creature roaming here or there with only a small number of the undead soldiers roaming the most important paths, yet not too long after they entered they had been besieged by an unending assault from all sides, for whatever reason the creatures must have been far less active at night than they were during the day. Warden suspected that it was the same eerie suspicion he and many sleepers had just outside the gate, something about how the moon shines onto the Bastion at night sent a chill down the spines of all creatures it seemed.
That was why they had underestimated the sheer volume of foes they would face in this place, most in the lower section seemed to be beasts much like the wolves they had faced just outside, the Mirror Hounds, with the odd undead sentinel mixed in between to act as a guiding hand.
The sleepers had fought them off at first, but after wave after wave of the beasts appeared they realised how unmatched they truly were, forced to fight their way through the imposing horde the sleeper had managed to kill a fair few which allowed them to escape up the winding path where they had encountered more of the undead sentinels. Many were injured during these battles but in the end they had managed to escape mostly intact and were now hiding out in a broken down structure which once seemed to be used as a small outpost for outlooking the gate.
None of the sleepers had been passive in the fight and the original plan of Wardens most trusted had been dismissed almost immediately, they had wanted to continue their practice of forcing the weaker members to fight in order to gain crucial experience but it was clear that it would not be needed,, for the strength of all sleepers were needed to make guarantee their survival.
Damian had switched from only aiding to actively striking down the key targets, having been the one to kill most of the undead sentinels they had managed to take down so far, being the only one to have a repeatable means of taking the behemoths down before they got too close, the main shame was that during their battle to their current sanctuary they had not managed to scavenge any soul shards from their enemies so unless something changed soon, they knew their time was limited.
Jasper had also been a great help, being capable of taking out many enemies at once allowing for small corridors through enemy lines, however even he was growing more and more weary as the battle raged on, his armour having a number of smaller nicks and scrapes against it and his once endless vigor seemed to be weaning.
Jest also held a crucial role in the formation even if most sleepers saw him as nothing more than a stray which had latched himself onto Wardens side, he was most likely one of the more important gears in this larger machine, using his Dormant ability to heighten to emotions of the most fearful sleepers in order to help them keep up with the rest. He seemed to possess the ability to sense emotions to some extent which meant he could switch his targets at a moments notice, however now that they were relatively safe he had resigned himself to laying on the floor, the constant use of his ability on so many people at once was certain to take its toll in time.
Overall the advance was going to be slower than they had expected, with no reliable way to traverse this fortress they knew it would be a challenge of endurance and will to be able to make it through here alive, yet despite the rampant danger lurking around every corner Daimian was not feeling much fear, perhaps it was Jest simply bolstering his emotions but looking out on the impenetrable Bastion they found themselves in he couldn't help but feel excited for some reason, as he stared out on the battle field they had escaped from, as the exposed soul shards glistened in the sun, beckoning him to come closer.