“Wait… so you are saying Salazar is so powerful that this was nothing for him?” Katherine said in disbelief.
“Yes, that is exactly what we are saying.”
28
Iowen
“This is going to be bad, isn’t it?” Iowen asked softly. She and Lucas were lying in the bed of her cell. Lucas spent the past few hours calming her down as well as he could. It wasn’t easy. Not that it was supposed to be, anyway. Once the adrenalin left her, Iowen realized she is sleeping above a pretty large private army laced with demons. That wasn’t a pretty image even for him and he was used to things like these. She also realized how close she was to end up on a table where the woman was. That did not let her sleep. Lucas didn’t blame her.
“Not really,” Lucas whispered back, “I have a rough concept of a plan and will just need to iron it out and put it into motion. We will handle this.”
“I don’t want to go back down there,” Iowen replied.
“Would you like to sit this one out then?” Lucas asked.
“No… I can’t. I can’t just pretend I don’t know about any of it and live happily ever after,” Iowen breathed, visibly conflicted. She wanted to do just that. But she also wanted to help the people down there and avenge the others. Avenge all of them.
“You have seen a lot of this, haven’t you?” she inquired Lucas.
“Demons and what they do? Yes,” Lucas confirmed.
“Is that why you hate them so much?”
“This and much more.”
“I… just don’t want to go back down there alone,” she protested.
“We can go there together the next time around,” Lucas offered.
“Don’t you have other things to do?”
“I can reassign them and handle this one in person.”
“I don’t want to go to that black building though. I don’t ever want to see anything like that again,” Iowen shrugged as she remembered. The image of the man putting the black stone inside of the cut open woman was impossible to remove from her mind.
“You won’t have to. I will handle the city, where I will need you is on the outer ring,” Lucas revealed.
“You almost make me believe that you have a soul.”
“That won’t last very long.”
“I wish it would,” Iowen whispered.
“I will come back later to give you the details. The drawings of the area are excellent, thank you” Lucas smiled.
“Are you going back to work so soon?” Iowen contested.
“The archbishop has a mass at the town square in three days, which creates a lot of things to prepare,” Lucas explained.
“Especially when there is a hidden army under the city,” Iowen smiled sadly. She understood. Iowen didn’t like it but understood.
“Good luck,” she whispered after Lucas kissed her.
“Is there anything I should do in the meantime?” Iowen probed.
“Get some rest, you haven’t slept in a long time and will need all the strength you can muster a few days from now” Lucas smiled.
“I will try… Lucas,” she stopped him before he left.
“Hmmm?”
“Do you think we can help the people down in the city. I mean, at least the ones who got there recently…”
“We will try, I can’t promise anything concrete.”
“Promise me you will try to find a way,” she pushed.
“I promise,” Lucas reassured her, “anyway, I think this would help you sleep,” he added as he pulled out a crystalline potion.
“Always in the mood, aren’t you?” she chuckled. He drank the potion in one swig. This time he didn’t need much to stabilize. He forced through the potion’s effect in seconds and started taking her clothes off. Iowen tried to get on top, but Lucas knocked her under himself and pinned her down. She marveled at the effortlessness with which he did it, just like every time. She loved it. His strength and confidence washed away all her doubts, all her worries. For this moment, there was only him and his lust for her. It felt like it was all she ever wanted.
After he left, Iowen stayed in bed and stared at the ceiling,
The action was great, better than at most times. I am more relaxed than I was before, but… it’s not enough.
She got up, dressed, grabbed her weapons and sleeping bag and left the cell. She knocked at the door of the nearby cell. Erik Albertti opened.
“Hi, Iowen, is something wrong? Come on in!” he offered as he opened the door to let her in. Their cell was crammed up with all sorts of things. Weapons, vials, rocks, paint… it looked like a part of the room was made into a small alchemical laboratory, part into a workplace of a sculptor, part into a painters corner and the rest were assorted storage.
“Sorry… I need to crash somewhere. May I sleep here?” she asked softly. The tiredness was way overdue as she hasn’t slept for over thirty hours.
They looked confused for a bit.
“Of course, we can move things a bit to make space… somewhere,” Battista Albertti was the first to react and started going through things to make some space.
“Thank you,” Iowen whispered, walked into the room and threw her sleeping bag over the assorted mess in a corner.
“I hope there isn’t anything fragile in there,” she said as she jumped on the sleeping bag and went on to dig herself into it. The armor wasn't the most comfortable thing to wear for sleeping. The daggers and sword she still had attached to it were pressing her in various places. But she didn’t care, she wouldn’t sleep without armor anytime soon and the touch of her weapons felt more reassuring than uncomfortable.
There is no way I am putting these off in here.
She wasn’t sure if she ever will. She wasn’t sure if any of the Albertti brothers said anything. They probably did, but she didn’t hear a thing as the darkness instantly took her into its sweet embrace.
29
Lucas
Lucas was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, making his way across the city as fast as he could. It’s not that the streets were uncomfortable, but the large amount of coaches and wagons constantly passing through made running in them difficult. The city was always crowded, especially now before noon. Plus the buildings were tall and crammed one next to another, which made running over rooftops very easy, provided he wouldn’t slip on the ice. The familiar building was soon in front of him. He peered in through the windows.
There!
He leaped across, climbed down to the window, silently opened it and snuck in.
Elias was at his best at the moment, having a pretty girl under him and shouting her lungs out. A typical scene in a brothel. Lucas gave them twenty seconds to notice he is in the room. They didn’t.
“Sorry to disturb your fun, but we have work to do,” he announced in a cold tone. The girl shrieked and pushed herself away from Elias to cover herself by the bed sheets. Elias gave Lucas an annoyed look.
“I wasn’t finished,” Elias complained.
“Please leave us,” Lucas noted to the girl and threw her a small pouch. She caught it and then grabbed her clothes and left the room as fast as she could. Elias used the opportunity to dress himself up.
“What is so urgent?” Elias asked.
“I need the hottest weather you can manage, starting now, I also need you to grab as many men as Merewen lets you and get ready to grace the Cotton Woods lumber camp with the holy fire of Palai,” Lucas smiled. Now Elias smiled too.
“Now that sounds like fun, when’s the show time?” he asked.
"Anytime between tomorrow night and three nights after, I don’t know yet. Also, I probably don’t need to say this, but the troop movement needs to go unnoticed,” Lucas explained.
“You really didn’t need to say that. How much resistance do we expect?” Elias inquired.
“Plenty. I don’t know the details but expect an army of Ds, lot of Cs and an occasional B,” Lucas replied.
“That’s going to be quite a fight,” Elias gri
nned.
“What is the goal?” he probed back.
“Full clean-up,” Lucas smirked.
“Good, I have been missing this,” Elias happily confirmed.
“We all have,” Lucas concurred.
The next target was the easiest. Merewen would be at the barracks, likely practicing at the inner courtyard, as Lucas leaped on the wall and climbed it. His expectation proved to be spot on. He ran over the roof and slid down by the wall using the lightning conductor.
“I apologize for interrupting your training, but I need the general. Immediately,” he announced. The men looked at him confused.
“We shall continue later,” Merewen announced. Now the men understood and quickly vacated the courtyard.
“I see you still haven’t found the appreciation for doors,” Merewen smiled towards Lucas once they were alone.
“We got work to do. How many barrels do we have?” Lucas asked, skipping the pleasantries.
“Enough,” Merewen smiled, “planning a barbeque?”
“Really big barbeque,” Lucas grinned back.
“Pick about five hundred of your best men, leave the rest for Elias, showtime is sometime between tomorrow night and the three nights after that,” he added.
“Where is the party?” Merewen asked.
“Somewhere in the city, I am not sure about the details yet. Will let you know as soon as I have something better,” Lucas revealed.
“What rules do we play by?” she asked in a serious tone.
“Minimize collateral damage, combat out of sight if possible.”
“We will need the streets clean off the city guard; else it will make things messy.”
“I will take care of that.”
“What’s the expected opposition?”
“Wild mixture of disorganized Ds, Cs, Bs and probably an A.”
“A? You want to tell me there is a demonic champion in the city?” Merewen shot at him.
“Hope you didn’t get rusty,” Lucas poked her.
“Oh I am so taking the maul for this,” Merewen smiled.
“You should,” Lucas mused.
“Nash is going to be mad angry if we make trouble during his mass,” Merewen added.
“He will survive it,” Lucas contested.
“But we might not, he has been working on the speeches for months. He will have us all burned alive if we mess up his audience.”
“I offer no guarantees,” Lucas smiled as he got ready to leave by climbing up by the lightning conductor again.
“I can’t wait for the day lightning strikes when you do this,” Merewen shouted after him.
“Me neither,” Lucas shouted back before he disappeared beyond the edge of the roof.
“There is this magical contraption called the door which can be used to enter buildings like a human; you really should start using it!” Miranda jabbed at Lucas straight as he got close to her. Miranda was dressed as a noblewoman and coursing the hallways of Grimdawn castle.
“Lady Istlin,” he smiled and bowed.
“What is it?” she continued in an impatient tone.
“I need plans of the sewers and whatever else lies under the city and is documented. I need those tonight. I also need access to keys to whatever gates there are. I will tell you which keys I need once I see the plans,” he explained.
“Would you like a couple of whores dipped in chocolate with it?” Miranda shot at him.
“Sure, after we are done, that is,” Lucas smirked.
“Oh… so we are going to work. Tell me you have something more interesting for me… other than getting a shitty blueprint and old keys,” Miranda suddenly got serious.
“I will need you to secure the local representative of the Slaver Union, Mr. Woonard, together with his family. Be ready sometime between tomorrow night and three nights after,” Lucas commanded.
“Dear or alive? Where is the interesting part?” Miranda inquired, dissatisfied.
“Doesn’t matter, just need the bodies to be intact. The interesting part is that he is sure to be guarded by a bunch of Bs and potentially an A,” Lucas revealed.
“How the hell would Bs and an A get into the city?” Miranda demanded.
“Sewers, that’s why I need the sewer plans,” Lucas conceded.
“Come two hours before midnight to my room, I will have the plans. We solve the rest later,” Miranda confirmed.
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, lady Istlin,” Lucas made a deep bow, then opened a window and snuck out through it.
He heard Miranda sigh before she closed the window behind him.
Lucas went back to the roof and headed to the western wing of the castle. That is where the lord lived.
Lord Weannu of Grimdawn was just returning from the meeting of the tournament organization. This time around they were discussing the blatant ignorance of the tournament rules by the current chairman, count Salazar himself. Not that he broke them, but he showed how little he cared about anyone else a bit too obviously. Then again, lord Weannu had little choice but to play whatever game count Salazar had started. The Slaver Union was already threateningly powerful and he could not afford to depend on it. Not depend more than he already had.
He made his way back to his chambers. He headed to the cabinet for a drink but found it open. He turned around and realized a man was sitting in one of the chairs at the small table. He was dressed in pitch black; his hair was straight and silvery, his eyes strange shade of blue and his stare was grim as their eyes met. He had a bottle of brandy on the table and a half-full glass in his hand.
“I apologize for the intrusion, but please take a seat, your highness. This will not take long,” the man said in a soft and steady voice.
“How did you get here? GUARDS!” Lord Weannu shouted.
His guards entered the room instantly, four of his best men.
“Please recall your men, there is no need for violence,” he said calmly.
“Who the hell do you think you are to order me around?” lord Weannu demanded.
“Agent Lucas, Palai Order.”
“Oh… leave us,” the lord dismissed his guards and sat down at the table.
“I apologize for the rude reception; it is just that I am more accustomed to my guests arranging a meeting rather than making themselves comfortable in my private chambers,” lord Weannu opened up the conversation as Lucas was pouring him a glass.
“The matters are too urgent to be handled with proper protocol,” Lucas said as he took a sip from the glass.
“The archbishop is coming to town for mass, as you know, I would like to go through the details of its preparation,” Lucas added.
“I believe that is a topic that should be handled by the captain of the city guard,” lord Weannu countered.
“He would run to you anyway. We require your men to completely vacate the streets starting tomorrow evening and ending the evening of the day after the mass is held,” Lucas said.
“Are you asking me to completely give up on enforcement of the law and protection of the citizens for three nights and three days? That’s madness!” lord Weannu protested.
“We believe the Slaver Union shall use the opportunity to attempt an assassination of the archbishop as a retribution for the unfortunate departure of their head, Mr. Palcher,” Lucas revealed, “should such an event happen, the Order and its followers will rightfully demand a reciprocal action that would further escalate the conflict.”
“Are you threatening me, agent Lucas?” lord Weannu sharpened his tone.
“As a matter of fact, yes, I am,” Lucas nodded. “If there is any incident and you are not fully cooperating with us beforehand, we shall have you branded as a demonic conspirator or whatever else the priests come up with. Since a third of the city population is made of Palai followers and we happen to have an army within the walls already, the city would quickly turn into a civil conflict, which we will use to wipe out the Slaver Union from within it in return. Not that it would matter t
o you because you and your family will be burned alive as traitors within hours of the incident,” Lucas added calmly. Lord Weannu turned pale.
“You can’t threaten me like that without consequences!” he spat back.
“And what will you do about it? Go tell the slavers and beg for help?”
“Why not? How are you different from them?” lord Weannu calmed down a bit and turned his tone to stone cold.
“We will leave in less than a week and not come back anytime soon. Also, we are going to win this little skirmish between us in either case, so the Slaver Union won’t be around for much longer,” Lucas breathed, “I am not here to negotiate, your highness; I am here to tell you what to do so you and your city are alive and well by the end of this week.”
Lord Weannu paused to think about it.
“Frankly speaking, this isn’t a bad deal. Your Order wipes out the slavers and leaves to go fight its holy war elsewhere, while I consolidate my power over the city and live happily ever after,” lord Weannu evaluated, “so where is the catch and what’s in it for the Order?”
“The Order plans to start practicing the freedom part of its preaching. We get followers and fame; there is no real catch,” Lucas replied.
“Can you guarantee me that there will be no losses on civilians who are unrelated to both the Order and the slavers guild?” lord Weannu demanded.
“Of course not… but I can promise we will try to keep them to the minimum.”
“Come to think of it, can you prove that you are who you say you are and it isn’t all just some prank?” lord Weannu inquired.
Lucas reached under his shirt and pulled out the massive golden pendant inlaid with rubies in shape of the Palai symbol.
“You know, you could have just shown this at the city gate and we would have been talking within half an hour,” lord Weannu.
“That would cause a massive panic in the city and all the other nearby cities as well,” Lucas smiled, “but yes, I could have done this without making your guards look like idiots. I just felt that your secret services need a little push to take the lord’s security a touch more seriously,” he added.
Legacy of Dreams: Freedom Page 19