Chapter 10 The Earth Kingdom Attack? Tonight? Cypress repeated uneasily in her head. She tried to say something, but before she could, Anarchy had already pushed them down the hill they had used as a vantage point. She was tumbling down fast, snagging bushes and roots until she ultimately came to a standstill at the base. Rising unsteadily to her feet, she looked back up at where Anarchy and Crescent were still standing. Anarchy gave her a grin and disappeared into the bushes once more. She brushed herself off with her claws and took a tentative step onto a stone path of the Earth Kingdom. She didn’t know why they were being so careful; few creatures were out and about at this hour. Anybody who saw her was probably from the smaller Earth villages that surrounded the kingdom. Cypress sighed, straightened herself, and walked along the path to the guard’s quarters as if she belonged there. Looking into the palm of her claw, she saw she still held the three sleep smokes Anarchy had handed to her. She turned the corner towards the guard’s hut and came to a stop a few feet in front of it. The lights were on, with quiet chatter coming from inside. Cypress drew a shaky breath, smoothed down her feathers again, and walked through the leaf door of the hut. To the left, a small huddle was whispering among themselves and playing some sort of game atop a wooden table. To the right, a couple of barrels labeled “Food”, “Water”, “Spears”, and “Armor” stood. The “Spears” barrel was ajar, the lid lying by it as the spears poked out of the top. She sidled towards the open barrel quietly and plucked a spear from it. It rattled the cluster of weapons slightly but didn’t make that much noise. No guard looked up, but one commented, “We’re running low on food, be a dear and pick some up next time you come in here, Mycelium?” Mycelium. The caretaker of the guard’s house, they commonly came into the hut to swap out the water, food, and clean the weapons. Cypress didn’t respond; instead hurried along the stairs leading to the second floor. The sleeping rooms. Cots lined the floor, packed tightly together. All the figures in the upstairs were laying on their beds sleeping. Cypress couldn’t spend the time looking for the three guards. She held out one of the sleep smokes, pulled the small pin, and rolled it to the furthest corner of the room. It emit a puff of white gas over the area it was near. Even the fidgety sleepers in that area seemed to still and sleep more deeply. Cypress took a deep breath before repeating the same with the corner closest to her. Clutched in her claw she still held the final sleep smoke, which she unplugged and rolled gently down the stairs. As soon as it fizzed out white smoke, she quickly stepped down the stairs covering her beak with her wings. Cypress escaped the guard’s house cleanly, where white wisps of smoke still trailed. She took the liberty of a few deep breaths before looking up at the hill the other Chaos members had been hiding. Anarchy and Crescent had probably noticed the white smoke coming out of the house, as they were not-so-gracefully stepping down the hill. Crescent signaled for Cypress to go to the side of the hut, and she obliged. “I’m impressed,” Anarchy hissed when she caught up to Cypress. “In just a few minutes we will go into the big palace. Destroy a few weapons, kill a few high-rankers. ...Mess them up a bit, y'know?" Anarchy said casually, turning her head to peer out at the dimly lit palace in the distance. The structure loomed, a silent, imposing silhouette against the darkening sky. Torches flickered along the walls, casting long, dancing shadows that seemed to writhe with a life of their own. Cypress frowned, her brow furrowed in concern. "Why the rush? Why attack tonight? We haven't had much time to prepare, and we still don't know the full layout of the palace." Anarchy turned back, a glint in her eye that spoke of both excitement and a hint of desperation. "Because Crescent here," she gestured to Crescent, who had just caught up , "managed to snag some intel. Intel that changes quite a bit." Crescent nodded, her expression serious. "It's not good, Cypress. We intercepted a message – a detailed battle plan, actually. Seems Earth is planning to try to take over Chaos and its desert. A coordinated attack, designed to overwhelm defenses and leave them vulnerable."
Anarchy interjected, her voice urgent. "And it's not some distant threat, either. Crescent's sources indicate they plan to move within the next few days. We need to disrupt their plans, throw a wrench in their gears, before they can mobilize. Tonight, while they're still consolidating, is our best chance to minimize casualties. Strike them first.” “So they’re just gonna break the truce?” Cypress asked, disbelieving. Since the start of the war between Chaos, Fire, Air, and Ice, there had been a peace pact between Chaos and Earth. “Truce?” Anarchy tilted her head up, thinking. “Oh yeah, that truce. I forgot it existed,” she said. “Um, yeah, I guess. It’s fine. We never needed them. They never needed us. Plus, we were kinda… going to attack them before we heard about this?” Cypress just stood there. “Oh. Okay.” Footsteps caught all their attention. The three guards who had been on shift were heading inside the hut. “C’mon, let’s go before they realize. Won’t be long now, I’m sure Earth isn’t as stupid as we give them credit for.” Anarchy creeped around the walls of the guards’ quarters and up the stairs, Crescent and Cypress in tow. She swung the large oak doors of the palace open, and everyone working in there froze, eyes trained on the three Chaos members. As far as Cypress could see, there was only 6 or so Earth members in the palace. Melon had been inspecting a pedestal before they had arrived. He was a green and brown canine with short thick fur. He had two small horns on his head along with one long fang protruding from his jaw.On his head he wore a vine crown inlaid with emeralds and another gem Cypress couldn’t make out, and on his wrists he wore two decorative cuffs also laden with gemstones. “Anarchy.” Melon said coldly, dipping his head but keeping his eyes still focused on her. Anarchy frowned. “Hello, Melon.” OHH DOUBLE DIGIT CHAPTER forgive me for the abrupt end haha i didnt want this chapter to go on too long Next: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1177710408/ Last: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1171128826 First: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1094154086/
