Chương 62: Looking For Lucius

The cell was dark and smelled of old straw. Alexandra stood with her back against the wall, sickle in hand, and listened. The guards pushed the door of the fifth cell open. Marick and Dustin were moving. Slow, silent. Their hands were empty. Their backs left the door frame. What followed was brief. She heard the guards' voices. A word. Maybe one and a half. Then a sound of impact. Then a second one. Silence. Louis stepped out, then Alexandra and the other two.

The corridor looked the same, except for the two guards on the floor. One face down near the door, the other against the wall with his chin on his chest. Dustin was already crouching over the first, grabbing his weapon.

"Fucking swordsman," he grumbled.

"Can't they get heavier weapons?"

"I'll take it," Louis said. They all agreed. None of them used a sword. The other guard had an axe. One handed. Marick took it. Dustin dragged the first guard into the nearest open cell. The older man took the second without being asked. Alexandra stood in the corridor and watched the group move around her, efficient and quiet, like they'd done this before. Maybe they had. She bit her lip. The two Gold ranks had ended the fight so quickly, and the guards were Silvers.

What did it say of her chances to survive the upcoming battle? She looked at Louis. He was free. Free to lose his life as he wished. If he wanted to fight, she couldn't stop him. But did she have to go down with him? Then she thought of her quest. If they succeeded… If Lucius Merinus died without her intervention… Perhaps Adventuring Party would make it count. Perhaps not. It was her first time using this perk, so she couldn't be certain. She took a deep breath, then Dena put a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you certain you wish to come with us? I cannot thank you enough for this chance you have given us, but this fight will be difficult. Even for us." Alexandra shook the hand off.

"I'll be fine."

"Lucius is far from being the only Merinus Gold. Not to mention the Wardens. We're outnumbered." Their eyes met. The quest reward was only an uncommon skill. Not nothing, but nothing much either.

"I'm already here. I'll see this through to the end."

"That's idiotic," the other woman said.

"Luce," Marick said.

"Alexandra is more capable than you think." Louis nodded, and came to stand beside her.

"Her spell is perfectly suited to counter verdant beasts. We need her with us." The woman rolled her eyes.

"Verdant beasts… Even if Merinus is using the Yshant, we're still in the middle of Esmera. There won't be any beasts in his estate."

"There are," Louis said.

"Inside the main building." Dustin and the older man came out of the cell.

"Enough talking. Let's move." Marick went first. Then Dustin. Single file, with Alexandra last. The staircase was narrow and dark. She kept one hand on the stone and climbed, leaving the basement behind her. Marick stopped at the top with his back against the wall, axe in hand. He listened. The other stacked below him on the stairs. Not a sound. He moved through the door. The room was the same she'd passed through on her way in. Completely empty.

On one side was the corridor leading to the courtyard, on the other three doors. One, they just came from. The staircase that went to the basement. This left the other two. Louis pointed at the one on the left, and Marick went to open it. He tried the handle. Locked. Alexandra stepped forward and placed her palm on the lock. She sent a thread of mana inside. It wasn't enchanted. Just a regular lock. She retracted her thread and shook her head. Then she turned to Louis. He understood without a word.

The thief unbuckled his belt and used the prong to pick the lock. It only took a few seconds for the door to creak open. It was a storage room, not large. Weapons racked on the far wall. Swords, spears, two crossbows with bolts bundled beside them. A shelf of leather armor, mismatched. A crate on the floor with the lid half open, chainmail. Dustin let out a low chuckle.

"Now we're talking." They moved fast and quiet. Dena found a shortbow on the bottom rack, then rummaged the crates for arrows. The older man and Luce each found an axe similar to Marick's. Dustin picked up a larger and much heavier one. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Alexandra kept her sickle. A weapon she'd never used before wasn't an improvement, and her training with the axe hadn't borne fruits yet.

Marick was at the shelf of armor, sorting through it by touch. He passed pieces without looking. A pauldron to Dustin, a vest of boiled leather to Luce.

"Chainmail?" Alexandra asked.

"You wear it," Marick said.

"You need it more than us." She frowned.

"Won't it be too heavy?"

"How high's your strength?"

"Twenty-six." Everyone turned to look at her.

"Twenty-six? At the Iron rank?" Marick paused.

"And you're worrying about a chainmail vest?" Alexandra looked for Louis. He met her gaze and nodded. She put the vest on. It was a strange sensation. She knew it was supposed to be heavy, and she could feel it, in a way. Yet, it wasn't cumbersome, nor was it tiring at all. She didn't feel slower, only better protected.

"There's a gathering in the main building. Ten people. All Golds," Louis said.

"Lucius is there."

"How do you know?" Marick asked.

"Skill." Dustin nodded.

"Then that's where we're going."

"Ten…" Dena said.

"That's a lot."

"We knew that already," Luce said.

"Don't get cold feet now."

"I'm just saying, we don't have to act now. We could leave, gather help." Louis raised his hand.

"I'm afraid we can't do that. As soon as they notice we're gone, they'll move forward with their plan and unleash the Yshant on Esmera. I'd rather not fight the beast and those assholes at the same time." Marick nodded.

"He's right, Dena. It's now or never."

"Then it's now," she said.

"May the Seven guide us." Marick looked at the group. His eyes moved from face to face.

"Dena."

"Ready."

"Luce. Edran." The older man nodded.

"Dustin."

"Let's get on with it."

"Louis. Alexandra." She tightened her grip on the sickle.

"Ready." Marick looked at the corridor leading out of the annex, to the courtyard.

"We'll be spotted as soon as we're through that door."

"There are guards," Alexandra said.

"Silver ranks. Thirteen spread across the courtyard and the servant quarters," Louis said. Marick nodded.

"We move fast. To the main building." Nobody answered. He led the way through the corridor, and opened the door. The courtyard was bright. After the basement, after the annex, the morning light forced Alexandra to squint. The first guard saw them before she'd cleared the doorframe. He was standing near the pump, on the other side of the courtyard. He looked at the group emerging from the annex and his hand went to his sword. He shouted.

"The prisoners are escaping."

"Go," Marick said. The guards came from three directions at once. Two from the main gate, one from the servant's. Eight more filtered out of the servant quarters. Silver, all of them. She kept her eyes on the main building and ran. Dustin hit the first one at a full run, shoulder down, and the man left the ground entirely. Marick was already past him, axe moving in short controlled arcs, cutting through the encirclement before it could close.

The two of them together were unstoppable, Dustin drawing attention and absorbing it, Marick moving through the gaps he created. Dena was following right behind them. She had her shortbow up, drawing and releasing arrow after arrow. Each one found their targets, sneaking in the gaps between armor pieces. The older man, Edran, fought with his axe against two guards. Despite the numerical disadvantage, he held the upper hand. An arrow from Dena opened a window for him to plant his weapon into the first guard's skull.

Alexandra held her sickle tightly, moving with the group. She looked for Louis. Couldn't find him. Then he reappeared in the shadow of one of the guards and planted his sword in his back. Something caught her arm. A guard she hadn't seen, coming from her left, had her by the sleeve. Young, maybe her age. She could see the fear in his eyes. The hand holding her arm was shaking. He raised his sword. She felt his grip through the chainmail. Pulled. He lurched forward a step, off balance, the sword going wide.

Then he stopped. An axe took him in the shoulder from behind. He went down. Luce stepped over him without breaking stride, close enough that her shoulder brushed Alexandra's. She didn't look at her.

"Keep moving." One by one, the guards went down. When they reached the door of the main building, only two had survived. They stood behind them, sword raised, not daring to come forward. Dena nocked two arrows. They fell. Dustin looked at the columns flanking the door.

"I'll knock those over when we're done."

"Everyone's good?" Marick asked. He looked at Alexandra. She nodded.

"Then let's get inside." He opened the door. They walked into a wide hall, stone floor, and a grandiose staircase at the far end. It was empty. The room opened on all sides, to more halls, corridors, and closed doors. Marick caught Louis' eyes.

"Where?" Louis pointed to the open corridor located to the right of the staircase. They moved through the corridor, slowly. The stone floor was carpeted here, which helped. Doors on both sides, all closed. Portraits on the walls, Merinus faces going back generations, each one looking slightly more pleased with itself than the last. Louis was at the front. He moved, small steps, deliberate, even his shadow seemed muted. He stopped. Held up a fist. The group stilled behind him. Alexandra listened. Nothing at first.

Then, muffled by the door at the end of the corridor, voices. Several of them, overlapping, too low to make out words. Louis turned. He held up ten fingers. Marick nodded. He looked back at the group and his eyes moved quickly, assigning positions without words. Dustin to the left of the door. Edran and Luce to the right. Dena back, far enough to draw. Louis looked at the shadows along the wall and was already deciding something. Alexandra stood in the middle of the corridor.

She felt the chainmail press against her ribs. Louis reached the door. He put his hand on the door handle and looked back. One by one the group gave him a nod. Dustin last, already rolling his shoulders. Alexandra gripped her sickle. Louis opened the door. The room was large, wood-paneled, lit by an ornate chandelier. A long table ran down the center with ten chairs around it, all of them occupied. Maps on the table, weighted at the corners with cups and ink bottles. The windows were shuttered.

At the head of the table, a man with grey at his temples looked up from the map in front of him. He sighed.

"Cael, I knew those guards were useless. How many times did I tell you we don't need more Silvers than the bare minimum to manage the servants? All these coins wasted…" He turned to the group in his doorway.

"This is futile. I can assure you that—""You're dead, Lucius!" Dustin roared, sending himself forward.