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Grund shouted the order to attack and watched as his army surged forward. His men far outnumbered the enemy, and he could already taste the sweet flavor of victory.
The castle was well-fortified and heavily defended, but Grund had a lot of experience storming castles. His men set up catapults and built ladders. Determined archers lined the walls of the castle, but their numbers gradually dwindled as Grund's army attacked with everything it had.
Grund watched from the field as one of his soldiers climbed a ladder that had been hastily erected against the castle wall. The archers were looking in another direction, and it appeared as though the soldier might breach the wall. Two more warriors were following him up the ladder.
Just as the soldier flung his foot over the castle wall and was about to drop down onto the other side, everything went black. For a split second, Grund was rendered blind and deaf. Then the world came back.
Grund and his army were camped out on the battlefield, a quarter mile from the castle. There were no dead bodies or signs of combat, and everything was just as it had been earlier that day. It was as if the battle had never taken place.
Grund raised his fist to the sky and cursed. "Not again!" he roared. "Why does this always happen?"
END
("The
Game" previously appeared in the Winter 2005 issue of Gryphonwood.)
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