*** Guard ***

  The guard stood on the fortified wall, over the gate, looking down at their new guest; a fully geared assassin walked towards them. He was alone, and he wore a cape, brandishing the Johnson family crest.

  “Another goddamn noble.” the other guard grumbled.

  “Open it up!” their captain commanded.

  The gate wings creaked wide open, and the wrought iron yett slid up into the wall. The assassin walked in, then was greeted by the captain.

  *** Kody ***

  “To what do we owe this honorable visit, Master Johnson?” the captain asked.

  “You know exactly why I'm here, captain.” Kody said, looking him directly in the eye.

  “Perhaps we should continue this more privately.” the captain said.

  “Good.” Kody followed the captain silently, looking around, as if surveying the location. He'd never really gotten used to how accommodating empire soldiers can be when there's a noble around. Especially when he acted rude and condescending.

  He was led slowly through the base, giving him a good opportunity to size it up. Double stone walls reinforced with iron, many watchtowers, several sets of ramps and stairs leading to higher elevations and into smaller and smaller enclosures, the buildings and sleeping quarters getting fancier the further they went. Latrines were dug and covered with huts, small sewers, too tiny for even Zeenie to pass through, leading out into the forest.

  As they passed, soldiers stood at attention, scrambling to clean clutter off of surfaces or to sort weapon racks, working really hard to appear responsible and busy. What were other nobles doing when they visited?

  They arrived at the captain's cabin. It was a small stone hut, decorated with empire regalia, ornate weapons lining the outer wall.

  They went inside and sat down.

  “So,” Kody said, “It's pretty obvious what you're doing here captain. What's the situation? Where can I help?”

  “Nearby towns are flooded with rangers and assassins.” The captain said, ”We can't march the army in without it escalating to civil war.”

  “Who do you want me to take out?”

  “This many… agitants must have some center of coordination. I want you to find it, and eliminate it.”

  “Any leads?”

  “There is town about an hour south. Beryl, they call it. There's a tavern there under constant surveillance. I think that's your best starting point.”

  “Just came from there in fact.” Kody said, ”The place is certainly tense, but not a command center. Your men there are also slacking off, captain.”

  “Are they now?” the captain raised an eyebrow.

  “I doubt they've seen me enter or leave the tavern, but I'm sure once mentioned they'd report me traveling with a ranger, maybe a patron even. What they won't tell you is the one they were harassing in front of me. If I were in your place, captain, and really didn't want to risk a civil war, I would tell them to stand down and do their job instead. Am I clear, captain?”

  “Clear as day, sir.” the captain sunk into his chair.

  “I will continue my search for the command center. I hope you'll appreciate my efforts when I find it.”

  “Generously.” the captain forced a smile. Kody enjoyed playing with the man. He could almost understand other nobles. Almost.

  “Well, in that case, my business here is concluded.” Kody watched the captain's eyes light up for a moment, ”But seeing the state of your reconnaissance and your operations, I think I'd better conduct a full inspection of the base.”

  *** William ***

  William watched as Kody was led to the captain's cabin, emerging a mere two minutes later, with a considerably angry, sweaty, and disheveled looking captain, seemingly about to throw up. They'd begun a full inspection of the base.

  “That's our cue, Zeenie!” he said.

  They snuck along the base walls, unnoticed by soldiers now much more worried about the shine of their armor and the patina of their swords than about any potential intruders. Reaching a side gate, William picked the lock fast, and let Zeenie in.

  “Back in five.” she said as she slipped in, past a guard cleaning his shoes.

  *** Zeenie ***

  Zeenie lowered her hood. Her hearing was much better than she'd ever let even William know, and her small form was ideal for sneaking about. She slipped past the guard and scurried along the wall. The key's magical aura was faint, but she quickly worked out its general direction.

  The shortest way to the key was a zigzag of ramps leading up the incline of the base, flanked on all sides with walls. Too visible. The sewers? Too small. She then found a narrow set of stairs leading up a level, with guards at the end, a ladder leading onto the wall. She bolted up the stairs, then climbed.

  At the top was another guard, hurriedly trying to polish his sword before Kody and the captain arrived. In his nervous rush he dropped it, the metallic chime deafening both of them as the blade hit the stone. He grabbed it, and walked away in shame.

  She stepped onto the wall. A long, winding path stretched before her, now much emptier than before. There was another ladder at the end. She climbed one level up, then another, and another. It almost felt too easy. She took great care to avoid even passing notice; her current form wasn't suited for combat.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  At last she was getting close to the key. The magic radiated stronger from this part than the last. She could feel it through several feet of stone and dirt. It was underground, there should be a door somewhere.

  She looked around, carefully circling the source of the magic. Dashing from building to building, hiding under tables and behind weapon racks as soldiers scrambled around her to get the base in order, she snuck closer and closer. At last, she found a pure iron cellar door, closed, at an angle like a storm shelter, way too heavy for her to lift. From her safe vantage point, she looked and thought.

  She picked up a pebble from the gravel, and tossed it at the door. It hit right in the middle, making a loud banging noise that echoed through the base.

  *** Kody ***

  Kody could hear a loud bang from near the middle of the base. He looked at the captain, who suddenly looked equally scared and angry.

  “What was that?” he asked.

  “Sounded like the cellar door,” the captain said.

  “Should we check it out?” Kody still enjoyed playing with the captain. He was visibly sweating, and perpetually on the verge of saying something that could cost his career. He sighed, nodded, and led Kody to the cellar.

  The door was lying almost completely flat on its hinges. Two soldiers were ordered to open it, and with some considerable effort, they hauled it open, letting it fall with another loud bang. Sturdy.

  The captain led Kody down into the cellar, then took out an oil lamp and lit it. In front of them stretched a large cavern, filled to the brim with shelves, armor stands, and weapon racks. He could feel the same sensation as back in the camp; the key was somewhere here.

  He strolled casually among the shelves, inspecting them thoroughly. He stopped on occasion to pick something up, a weapon, a piece of armor, ballista bolts, trinkets, carefully checking it. At last he stood in front of an ornate vitrine, filled with magical artifacts, stolen and confiscated from the people of the neighboring settlements and from ruins. The key was among them.

  He took a glance at the captain, who looked just about ready to resign on the spot. He then opened the vitrine, and picked up the key. This half of the twelve-pointed star also only had six of its points, but it also had a tiny, light blue crystal in it. It glowed faintly, then lit up momentarily as he picked it up.

  “Where have you gotten this from, captain?” he asked

  The captain swallowed. “We confiscated it from a merchant a few days ago.”

  “Where’s the other half of it?”

  “What do you mean, sir?”

  Kody raised an eyebrow. So they were not consciously locking the area down, and just happened to get the key from a thief.

  “Even if I didn’t know what this was, captain,” Kody said in a condescending tone, holding the key visibly in front of the captain's face, “It’s obviously missing half of it.”

  The captain’s shoulders sagged.

  “I expected better, captain.”

  “We… will search for the other half.”

  “No need.” Kody said, “I will find it for you. I won’t even charge extra for it.” With that, he marched out of the cellar, but made sure to ‘accidentally’ keep the key in his hand. Once they were out, and once the heavy door was shut, he brought it out, frowned at it, then handed it to the captain.

  “Can you take care of this for me?” he asked. The captain nodded, then marched off with it to his cabin.

  *** Zeenie ***

  Zeenie watched as Kody entered the cellar, brought out the key, and handed it over. She snuck after the captain, and could see he was very unhappy with the entire situation, silently cursing Kody out the whole way, once he was out of earshot. He tore open the door to a small stone hut that looked like his personal cabin, tossed the key onto his bed, then marched back to babysit their guest.

  As he left, Zeenie scanned the area. No soldiers were paying attention, but the cabin was a dead-end and had only one door. She mustered the courage, and bolted inside. There, on the bed, right in front of her sat the other half of the key. Uncontained, unbothered, the crystal inside glowing slightly. She grabbed it, and was about to head out when a soldier opened the door on her.

  “Freeze!” he shouted, pointing a sword at her. She backed into the corner. Her free hand touched the wall, and she could feel the cold ball of fear in her stomach flow like water through her arm, into the rock. She took a deep breath, and the wall exploded in icy shards behind her. The soldier got startled and fell back. She got up and ran.

  The exit was far, too far away, several levels down, through dozens of armed soldiers. Not even her magic would be enough to escape here. Panic overcame her. She ran, without knowing where, just out as fast as possible, all the while gripping the key so hard her knuckles turned white.

  She ran past a soldier, who jumped at her. She dodged and froze the ground to make it slippery. It worked against Kody, hopefully the soldiers would take it worse. Next, along a wall, she dragged her hand on the stones, freezing them rigid. A few crossbow bolts flew past her and hit the stones, shattering them. The wall started crumbling. With a loud crash, it toppled over and crushed a few cabins.

  She slid down the ladder, and found herself facing three soldiers with freshly polished swords. To the left was a considerable drop, but also freedom. The nearest ballista was on the wall segment she’d just collapsed. She took her chances, and jumped.

  The landing was painful. She couldn’t hear bones cracking, but she had surely sprained her ankle. She desperately tried to limp on, getting closer to the river, hoping she’d be able to use it, when she spotted the soldiers running towards her, closing in. She wouldn’t reach it in time.

  William was nowhere. He was probably still waiting for her at the side-entrance, or running towards her. The soldiers were closer however. In her desperation, she tossed the key as far as she could, and watched as it plopped into the water, without a trace of it remaining. The magical glow she'd been feeling from the key had vanished under the surface.

  She tripped painfully, and fell over. As she rolled over to look up, she found a sword tip in front of her face.

  “Got you.” the soldier said. He didn’t have time for much else, as his comrades both stopped in their tracks, and fell over, arrows sticking out of their backs. In the confusion, he looked away for a second. Zeenie grabbed the blade between her palms, and immediately yanked it at an angle, simultaneously cooling it beyond any temperature it was designed for, snapping it in half. With as much force as she had left in her, she threw the sword tip at the soldier, grazing him with it. He did not have time to turn back towards her as William barreled into him and knocked him down.

  “Where’s the key?” he asked

  “In… the river.” Zeenie said, wincing from the pain in her ankle.

  William looked angry at her. He paced for a few seconds, then grabbed her.

  “We don’t have time for this.” he said, and dragged her to safety.

  *** Kody ***

  The captain had just returned to Kody, when they heard a loud noise, as if something had exploded. They both started running towards the noise. Then another one came, and they saw one of the mid-level walls with a ballista on top crumble under its own weight.

  Kody took a right-angle turn, and quickly climbed the wall to his left.

  “Captain!” he screamed, “Surround them! I’ll come around the other side!”

  He threw his rope around a weapon rack and used it to dampen his descent on the outer wall, pulling it over once he was down. The scattered weapons would make it hard for anyone to follow him. He ran along the outer wall, and saw as Zeenie jumped off of it. Three soldiers were chasing her, coming from the side gate, and three more looked on from above.

  He knew he shouldn’t be seen helping, so he started planewalking. He closed the last few hundred feet totally invisible to anyone, then waited. The onlooking soldiers from above could not see him even as he popped back into normal space, then watched as William shot two of Zeenie’s pursuers, barreling into the third one at full speed. He grabbed Zeenie over the shoulder and the two of them ran out of sight. With some purposeful delay, he ran after them, ‘chasing’ them through the woods. Once they were well out of sight from the base, he caught up to them.

  “Are you alright?” he asked Zeenie

  “Sprained my ankle” she winced.

  “Where’s the key?”

  “She dropped it into the river” William growled

  Kody sighed. A well-executed heist that went wrong at the last minute.

  “Let’s go to a safe house. I've got one nearby.”