Chapter 9 Rockdale Stronghold
Everything still looked the way it did the day the King fled. As they explored throughout the castle, Colt found the armory which was filled with shields and armor and everything they needed to prepare for battle. In the middle of what Colt is now calling their war room, was a large table with five sides. He figured there was enough room for everyone to sit around the table, but he imagined the five swords on the table pointing towards the middle, much like the knights of the round table. The more Colt looked around, the more he wanted to use this fortress as they battled Ragnar. He knew he would have to talk to Zada first, but this would be their best chance of survival and defense.
The group joined Colt in the armory and began to try on helmets and chain metal. They passed shields around to see which one fitted better to each person. A.B. walked out with a full suit of armor on, it was all black with red trim pieces. It looked like it was made for her, and she looked ready for battle. Klaus on the other hand came out with mix matched armor and some parts seemed tight, while others seemed to want to fall off. A.J. swapped out a few pieces of armor with Klaus and they finally had their armor ready to go. Everyone came out one by one with similar armor and helped check everything was on correctly, but then out came Emmalyn, wearing what must have been the Queens armor. It was made of gold and clearly hand forged and much lighter than everyone else’s. Colt decided he would use the King’s armor, since it was the only armor that would fit him. He was much larger than the rest of the group as was the King’s armor, and it came with a nice battle axe. Colt even used spare pieces of armor to make some armor for Ranger.
As the group took their spots around the table and began discussing what would happen next, Zada came in to check on them, to see if they found what they needed.
“Thank you for everything, this is more than we could have ever asked for, but I fear I have to ask for just a little more. We need a strong and safe place to fight from against Ragnar, and this castle has everything we need. Is there any way we can bring the fight here and make this our stronghold?” pleaded Colt.
After thinking for a few minutes, Zada began speaking, “You all have treated me with kindness and respect, which I am so thankful for. I believe you are the chosen ones that will save our world and if there is anything I can do to help with that, then I am in. If you can draw his army into my woods, I can help take out many of his army, making it a much more even fight. I will also show you the tunnels that lead out from the castle, that will allow you to move around undetected, and allow you to attack from all sides.”
Zada agreed to help them set up defenses around the castle and throughout the woods. They knew that once they left the castle, the next time they would be coming back, they would be coming with an army on their tails.
Zada was watching the forest edge for any signs of Ragnar or his army, they would need to know where to go soon to find him and come up with a way to get him to chase after them. They took the next week setting up traps and getting everything ready. They would always meet in the War Room at the end of the day, Colt told them the room had two purposes. One purpose was obvious: prepare for a physical battle and plan on how to win the war, and they have gone over every scenario they can think of… they are ready on this front. The other is to meet and prepare spiritually for war. They know that this will not be easy, this war will take prayer and guidance from God. They will be out manned and out matched but God has proven repeatedly, it doesn’t matter the size of your army, as long as God is on your side. They spent more time in the war room in prayer as they got close to time to march towards Ragnar.
Zada, picked up one of Ragnar’s spies lurking around the edge of her forest a few days ago and followed him back to Ragnar’s camp. This was it; they knew it was time to move and to get their plans in motion. They would only send a few out to get his attention. They didn’t want to risk everyone getting caught or worse.