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Archives: New Marmo Republic

Chapter 9: The Safehouse

    Sura and her handler, Aelis, had been waiting for Jet’s return in an abandoned house they were to go to after kidnapping the princess. It wasn’t the team’s original intent to take her. In fact, they had only been sent to Valis to gather information. However, when they learned that the princess was sneaking out of the castle and gambling at night, it offered an opportunity too good to pass up.

    Their leader, Thrash, was a former Marmo knight who had been left behind during the Marmo exodus. Aelis and Sura met him while they were trying to make a living as bandits outside of Kanon. At the time, he was working as a mercenary, but when he found their gang of Marmo soldiers-turned-bandit, he began to plot taking back Marmo. For the last few years, they had been gathering forces within the Dark Forest. Jet was a tactician for hire encountered in Salbad, and Thrash had hired him. The rest of the men working under them were remainders of the bandit gang, other soldiers encountered along the way, and mercenaries whose only care was gold.

    The wait left Sura bored. She and Aelis killed some time, but that was over and done with at least an hour ago. The dark elf priestess was laid out across a sleeping pallet on the floor, fully dressed in her priestly robes again.

    “Do you suppose they failed? Perhaps they were captured,” the priestess mused. “If they failed, I will be most upset. I do not think Lord Thrash would be pleased if I killed another one of his men. They may be incompetent, but he says we need all the help we can get. Perhaps I should just kill one of those worthless mercenaries...one of them would not be missed...” Sura examined her hand, making sure her nails hadn’t chipped during her romp with Aelis.

    “Watch your mouth,” Jet growled as he entered with Elianna and the thugs. “I have never failed in any of my tasks. It’s called ‘lulling the victim into a false sense of security’ and it takes some amount of time to complete.”

    Sura hopped off her pallet as Jet barged in with the gang. The priestess sashayed over to him as his gang brought Elianna in behind him, then took his bottom jaw gently between her fingers. “It’s good to know you’re worth the money my lord is paying you,” she said with a smile, then turned away to look at the princess.

    “My, she doesn’t look much like a princess,” Sura said. Elianna gave the dark elf a piercing glare, but Sura was in too good of a mood to care about Elianna’s opinion of her. After all, she had just been kidnapped and bound and gagged.

    Suddenly, Sura sensed a shift in the dark spirits. They were suddenly paying very close attention to the people in the building. {“Dark sisters, what is it you seek?”} she asked in elven. A few of the mercenaries exchanged looks as Sura seemed to be speaking to nothing.

    {“We seek the one who calls herself Elayne,”} the spirits replied.

    “Isn’t her name Elianna?” Sura murmured aloud. “No matter. You’ve been followed,” she said, glancing back at Jet.

    Jet cursed out loud. “Remove our trail then,” he glowered at Sura. “And you, men, half of you ready yourself on the second floor, crossbows towards the street, the rest get into position on the first floor with crossbows drawn. Every man have your melee weapons at the ready,” he barked. In his mind he already began to strategize the upcoming battle if Sura couldn’t disperse whatever followed them. The men would unleash the first volley of arrows into the streets from the second floor, followed by another volley from the first floor, alternating volleys to detour whoever may be following them.

    {“Dark sisters, why don’t you stop telling that other elf where we are, hmm?”} Sura told the dark spirits. It was little in the way of a summon, but she had a better report with the dark spirits than most dark elves.

    Silent until now Aelis decided to participate in this little unexpected party and would wait till later to report this fiasco to Thrash. “There’s still room for failure, lets hope you don’t yet prove to be a disappointment or else I will let Sura make an example of you or your men like she so wishes to,” Aelis said with a scowl as he drew out his rapier. A battle is not what he wanted to do with his day after his fun with Sura earlier, controlling her chaotic nature was hard enough normal on a good day.

    “Sura my pet, try not to stray too far from my side. You know how you get when you run rampant and I’d like to be able to make a quick escape if need be,” he continued with a knowing smirk.

    Jet glared at Aelis. “How exactly do I get lumped in with them as ‘my men’? They are your lord’s men, not mine. I make use of them because I am hired to do so.” I would kill you if your woman wasn’t a nuisance without you. “Men on the second floor, release on my order, men on the first floor, release after the second floor has released. Reload between volleys,” he barked. Turning his attention away from the dark elves he set his eyes on Elianna. “Who exactly would these people coming after you be, princess?”

    Smiling to himself, Aelis loved getting under the skin of others, it was a good way to see what they were worth...if anything. Now wasn’t the time to provoke this mercenary though, it wouldn’t do to have to fight on multiple fronts.

    “Damned if I know,” Elianna replied with a defiant glare. I wonder if Itoya came after all? No, he trusts me. He’s probably sleeping. He’ll wake up in the morning and I’ll be long gone, Elianna thought sorrowfully, and lowered her head.

    Sura pouted, but she knew it was for the best. In battle, she could easily lose control. “Oh, you never let me have fun!” she complained, though it was only in jest.

    Tapping Sura’s nose playfully Aelis replied, “If you do well and we make it out of this as good as we normally do I will let you have some fun later on.”

* * *

    Zira felt as if a weight had been lifted off her and she stopped suddenly. The spirits were no longer speaking to her. The dark elf attempted the summon again, but with no response. She hadn’t lost her focus, but the spirits just weren’t responding.

    “I’ve lost the trail,” she said. “I think another shaman is blocking me.”

    “Really?” Alm piped up. “Well, which way was the last direction they told you? Maybe if we continue that way we could pick up the trail again. Or, alternatively, we could use a different spirit to find her, given we have her real name.”

    Linda followed behind the group, a bit sad by what had happened. As she followed the group, she started to pray silently to herself, Oh please Falis, please make that young lady be okay. I wish for you to bring her back safely, Falis.

    “Damn,” Gaidrich grunted. “So whoever they are, they have their own shaman and they know we’re after them. Fun stuff.” Rubbing his hands together, the mercenary glanced at Itoya, curious as to how the young man would handle this setback.

    “Thats may not be a bad thing,” Silemria said, giving a light chuckle. It wasn’t madness that fueled her, but a plan. “Aye, they know we’re comin’. I’d bloody prefer secrecy over goin’ in when they know it, but at least we know we’re goin’ in the right direction.”

    It was just unfortunate that they couldn’t spread out, they had no way of knowing what was waiting, only that a shaman was involved. “’Ey... uhh, sorry love, but I’m terrible with names... dark elf... ya can’t use the dark spirits ta track them, but can ya sense where there be the highest concentration of ’em? Wouldn’t imagin’ to many individuals could attract dark spirits, and especially in the same direction we’re headin’ now.”

    Alm closed his eyes. Darkness spirits...Nope, can’t say I feel darkness spirits...Wait, what do darkness spirits feel like? Is it actually like darkness or just the absence of light? Wait, if it’s the absence of light then I feel them everywhere. Oh wow, this is like totally communing with nature right now. I can feel some Undines, some Salamanders, hell, I’m sure I can feel Gnomes too...wait...aren’t spirits ALWAYS around? Doesn’t that mean that technically, you can ALWAYS sense them? Oh, that’s right, we’re looking for concentrations of spirits. Hmm, this debate seems awfully internalized, I should probably say something witty to make them see me as an air head.

    “If we had a pair of Elayne’s previously worn undergarments I’d be able to track her by nose alone,” Alm chirped. “I never forget a woman’s smell.”

    “Watch your tongue!” Itoya growled, though it was meager at best, at Alm. The inferred improprieties of knowing a woman’s scent was an offense to his class for certain. “Please, ma’am, you must think of another way. If they want her enough to use spirits against us, then that only makes the need to retrieve her that much higher. Irrevocable things could happen...”

    “Alm, that’s disgusting,” Zira commented. “I can’t say where they went from here, there are any number of alleys and side streets they could have taken. I don’t sense a concentration of dark spirits nearby either. Sylph may not be as reliable as dark spirits, especially when tracking humans. But...I can take a shot in the dark...”

    Zira prepared herself to summon Sylph, and spoke an incantation; “Sylph, spirit of the wind, show me the path of the last to pass.” They hadn’t seen anyone else on this street, Zira could only hope there was no else wandering these streets at this hour.

    A breeze blew over the group, then seemed to turn down one of the alleys. This time, Zira ran after it. “Follow me!”

    Itoya leapt at Zira’s run. The prince pushed himself, but knew he probably could not maintain this speed for too long. Unlike even his father, Itoya was no adventurer. He could barely gamble.

    Alm watched Zira and Itoya fly off into a run. The grassrunner rolled his eyes in disgust and followed behind at a leisurely pace. There was no point in him tuckering himself out by running, people ran at different speeds, and as long as he followed the direction of the people he could see, he could catch up. His legs weren’t made for long strides, after all.

    Edwin kept up with Zira, but kept looking back at Itoya. He held rear guard just case there was someone left behind to wait for them. Keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword, he knew this was not going to be easy, especially being joined up with a group of people he did not know, except for Zira.

* * *

    Zira chased after Sylph until the wind broke on the face of a dilapidated old house. It looked like it could be a safehouse—either that or they were tracking a beggar. Zira fell back into the alley she had just exited, and examined the house from a distance while she waited for everyone to catch up.

    Gaidrich, having passed Itoya in the run, pelted around the corner and slid to a halt beside Zira. The mercenary dropped into a crouch, more to catch his breath then anything. Who knew darks could run like that? he thought as he stood back up. Glancing at Zira, he nodded towards the house, “Cheery little place they got, anyway.”

    Linda ran up to Alm and Itoya and started to pull them. “ Please keep up you two,” she said looking back at them and smiling. She cleared her throat a bit as she watched Zira in the distance. Wow, she can surely run, she thought as she giggled. “You men are so slow,” she said to Alm and Itoya as she followed Gaidrich. “Well, except for him.”

    Linda saw Gaidrich stop and started slow up behind of him. “I hope we are at the right place,” she said clearing her throat at the end of the sentence. She looked back at Alm and Itoya. “Sorry for that,” she said softly and frowned a bit. She looked back at Zira and Gaidrich. “So, what will we do?”

    Silemria shrugged as Zira suggested a wind spirit. She wasn’t an elf, so she didn’t know what the whole spirit world entailed. However, she supposed she was willing to trust the wind more than the darkness...sometimes at least. She followed at a brisk speed, but it was just a warm up for her; if she went to fast and expended to much energy, she’d be in dire situation if she actually did have to fight.

    As Sil made her way to the building, she frowned. That building looked about as safe as quicksand. “Blood and ashes... more worried about fallin’ through the floorboards than fightin’ anyone.” And that was one of the many pitfalls that would entail... plus, the obvious possibility of an ambush. “If there wasn’t a hostage, I’d be bloody settin’ a fire right now. Heh heh... wonder if askin’ politely would work, eh?”

    Itoya simply could not keep up with Zira. Linda had to half drag the pampered prince behind her for him to make it, and even then, his untested muscles were not showing much promise. He felt like a fool, but if any of this was solving anything, he would take it.

    Alm was furious that he was dragged not once, but twice by Linda. The grassrunner’s lips quivered with the anger of the injustice, but remained unable to speak up on this matter. He took one look at the place they showed up and sized up the situation in his mind. “It’s a trap,” he stated aloud. “The place is so very well fortified it scares me. I figure archers will be stationed at each window facing this street and that we’ll probably be pin-cushions the minute we step within range. We’d need the calvary to mount a charge on the east side of the hill, then have our own archers fire from the safety of the battlements of the nearby forts. From there, we’ll have the magical arsenal lob off fireballs from the safety of our human meat-shield brigade-infantry. Of course, I’d feel better with a few giants carrying siege weaponry as artillery.”

    Alm stroked his chin then continued: “Frankly, general, I believe that this battle has been lost before it even started. We’d be walking into the lion’s den with nary on but our shorts around our ankles.” He shook his head and continued with his insane ramble. “You see, we’re quite unfortunately outnumbered by the sheer vastness of their army. They have all the same armaments as we do, but more so. We have been outclassed. It’d be better for us all if we just surrendered. Perhaps some of the younger men could escape if we gave up—”

    Alm’s eyes suddenly narrowed. “Give up? Give up!? My dear friend, we cannot afford to give up! Our kingdom depends on our greatest battle ever. So the odds are stacked against us, so we have no chance to live through this! We shall go out on a warrior’s death, a true warrior knows no fear of death! And with that, sound the charge!” Alm burst out of the alley and charged the house without any further hesitation, screaming at the top of his lungs, already swept up in his fantasy.

    The mercenaries inside watched as the young grassrunner came into view screaming at the top of his lungs and charging the building. “Sir! A child is charging the building. Should we fire?”

    Jet groaned. “Fire a warning shot, maybe it’ll run away.”

    A few arrows shot out from the building landing in Alm’s path. The grassrunner’s eyes opened widely, and he made his retreat back to the alley. “HolyshitIwasright!” he screamed, running into the safety of the alley.

    Zira groaned at Alm as he rambled on about a battle. It sounded like good advice at the start, but then it turned into delusion. Why the hell is this little whack job with us anyway? the dark elf wandered to herself. However, he at least proved slightly useful in showing that this was the place they were looking for.

    “Well, it looks like we found our quarry,” Zira whispered to her companions. “I figure the mercs we saw at the guild with her are all with them, so maybe a dozen men? They probably have a dark elf on their side. You...whatever your name is,” Zira pointed to Itoya. In the rush, they had never been introduced. “Do you want to try and bargain with them? I’ll provide you cover from any arrow fire.”

    Rolling his eyes at Alm, Edwin stopped and looked at Zira and then Itoya. If he wanted to bargain it would not be easy if this group had a dark elf with them. There was something about this that bothered Edwin; who was this girl? “Does it look like there could be any other exits? I rather not see them escape with the girl while someone tries to bargain with them.”

    Linda watched Alm and laughed softly to herself. His performance was a little funny and she couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “I hope he didn’t get hurt,” she said softly to the group.

    Itoya looked at Zira as if she hadn’t even spoken to him. For a second, his face was a blank. He froze, thinking hard. What to do? “I don’t know... I just...” Itoya had no clue whether or not these villains knew what they had. If so, it was all the more dangerous. He certainly could not reveal who he was. But what if they recognized him? “I... uh... I’ll try to speak with them. You are sure she is in there?”

    “It’s up to you. We could just surround the place and use brute force, but I’d rather not risk my life without trying other options,” Zira replied. Glancing back at her companions, she acknowledged Edwin’s comment. “It looks like a normal house, it probably has a back door. A couple of you should probably check it out.”

    “What in... what bloody possessed you ta do such a foolish bloody thing?” Silemria said, a bit shocked that he had done it. Whatever was wrong with the meadow sprite was not a small thing. “I think it might be a waste of time, but whatever works eh?”

    Giving a light nod, she looked back. They would have to double back and take the long way around. Trying to sneak out into that street would be suicide. “I’ll go around, but I’ll be needin’ a signal ta know when I’m suppose ta use the brute force. Just... I dunno, scream real loud if an arrow gets ya, lad,” the last part was a bit of a chuckle, and obviously a joke, although probably not used at the best of times. “Well, if this goes well, see ya back ’ere. ’fnot well, meet ya inside. Now, whose goin’ with me ta make sure they don’t decide ta skip out on us?”

    “I’ll go,” Gaidrich offered. The mercenary had had to bite his tongue to keep from bursting out laughing at Alm’s misadventure, but now he was all business again. “Beats standing here, anyway.”

    “Right then,” Zira nodded to Silemria and Gaidrich in acknowledgment, then turned back to Itoya. “Alright, if you want to try and make a deal with them, I’ll give you a shield of wind so their arrows won’t hit you, so don’t worry.”

    “But... what do I do?” Itoya asked, dumbfounded and green. “Do I just, err... walk up to the door? I have no proof or really anything...”

    Alm sneaked back to the group while Itoya was questioning Zira on what he should do. “Go tell them that you’re the crown prince,” Alm joked as he took a seat in the alleyway. “That’d be funny, if they believed it you could totally bargain with half of the country’s wealth. I’d attempt to do so, but I don’t look like a human.”

    Ultarik watched what was going on. He realized that he was only going to be useful if it came to brute force. Alm’s little exploit warranted an amused smile, but after that the barbarian became serious again. “If they come out and try to attack, give a holler. I’m not good at the social stuff, but I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

    Linda smiled to them. “I hope there will be some action. I love action,” she said, looking at the group. “Crown prince?” she said and then started to think. “You do act a bit high class, it could work you know,” she said, giggling to the end of the sentence.

    Itoya’s face went crimson, which he covered by looking away. “Please—ehh... don’t jest,” he sputtered. “I’m going to go knock on the door...”

    Itoya stepped out from the corner and began to walk forward. Every nerve shook, threatening to fall apart from fear. He didn’t know what he was doing. But was there a choice?

    As Itoya stepped out onto the street, Zira quickly summoned Sylph. Though it was invisible to everyone, the shield of wind was there and would protect him. “I hope they haven’t roughed that girl up too bad,” Zira thought aloud as she watched Itoya’s approach.

    Linda whispered to Itoya in a loud enough voice for him to hear, “If you come back I might gave you kiss!” She giggled at the end of her sentence once again. “But, that’s if you come back.” She turned around to the group and sighed.

    “Better get moving then!” Silemria chuckled, taking off at a full sprint back down the other end of the alley. It would take a bit of time to go the round about way, but it was better than trying to circle around with arrows flying at her.

    “Don’t wait up,” Gaidrich said to the others. With a nod and a grin, he tore off after Silemria. He didn’t try to keep up with her, which he probably couldn’t have anyway, but made sure to keep her in sight as they headed back to the street.

* * *

    “There’s a guy comin’ to the door,” one of the Marmo soldiers watching through a window on the first floor announced to Jet. “He’s alone and unarmed, far as I can tell.”

    “I sense Sylph,” Sura added.

    Itoya reached the door. Every pore on his body was sweating rivers. He had read books on diplomacy and bartering, but something like this was never described inside; even if they were, he doubted he could conjure anything like a serious face to represent the methods. His fist rose, though in horrified shakes, before managing a few weak taps on the door. “I have come to... uhh... speak with you on a very important matter. Please open your door...”

    Jet grinned. “Don’t bother firing a single shot. Aelis, be a dear and open the door to let the poor boy in. I doubt he’s much of a threat, regardless of ‘Sylph’ being with him or not.” Be a good little pawn and listen to the strategist’s commands, fool.

    Though not fond of being ordered around by a human, Aelis was not about to argue over a simple favor. The dark elf moved to the door and opened it for the boy, outstretching his arm inward to invite him in.

    A whisper in the air found it’s way to Itoya’s ears momentarily after the door opened. “Don’t go in,” came Zira’s voice.

    “Wha...?” Itoya sputtered, looking around quietly before he realized what he heard. “Uhh... No!” he said, a little too strongly. “We deal here, like this. I... uhh... I want to speak with who is in charge here. Is that you?”

* * *

    Quickly and silently, the female mercenary backtracked through the ally, then started up the street. Silemria knew if she wasn’t quick enough, an avenue of escape would open up—if there was a back door anyway. And while she did like a good hunt every now and then, hunting for people was generally more dangerous then a wild animal. People were a lot more unpredictable if you had them cornered after a long track.

    Unfortunately, she had to go to a full sprint as she went along the street the intersected with the house’s front. She didn’t want to be spotted by whoever was inside, and a quick glance noted Itoya at the door. She had a bad feeling, but she hoped he had the sense to stay close to the door, just in case he had to quickly run out. Last thing they needed was two hostages.

    As she made her way around to the next street, she noted where the house was. The place looked just as bad of shape from the back as from the front, and with a light sigh, she noted there was little cover. That would have to do, and the gate would have to be an ambush point. However, she didn’t move yet, but instead leaned against the building next to the wall, and listened intently. Closing her eye, she wanted to try to pick up on anyone that could see them. A sneeze, light talking even a loud breath. That, and she was waiting on Gaidrich to catch up. She could already hear his footsteps approaching, but still no tell tale signs of possible watchers.

    Gaidrich hustled after Silemria. The mercenary’s mind raced as he ran, considering the possibilities of the impending fight. If they were lucky, if the enemy was unprepared or short-handed, he and his partner might be able to enter the house from the rear. Taking part of the building would somewhat nullify the advantage of archers.

    Rounding a corner, Gaidrich saw Silemria pressed against the side of a building. She seemed to be listening for something. Gaidrich stopped his jog and stood at the far end of the alley, letting his breathing return to normal. If Silemria had seen or heard something, thundering in out of breath would not be helpful.

    Once his pulse had slowed, Gaidrich walked carefully up the alley, keeping to the wall. Reaching Silemria’s side, the merc peered into the house’s backyard. Like the front it looked abandoned, but anything could be hiding behind the sagging door and filthy windows.

* * *

    Across the street, Zira was starting to regret her choice to send him to negotiate. They had to get closer to the boy, but Zira was already pushing her summoning skills to the limit. The dark elf would be able to sense the summoning of invisibility spirits, but if they could get to the front of the house without the archers noticing, it would make things easier.

    “Linda, do you know an invisibility spell?” she asked the mage.

    “I know one!” Alm blurted out. “It’s a little complicated and requires a distraction.”

    Linda looked at Zira and was ready to answer, but she was interrupted by Alm. She started to think about what Zira said and she did know an invisibility spell. She sighed softly and then smiled at Zira. “Yes,” she said after Alm. “But maybe Alm’s spell will be more useful.”

    Zira looked down at Alm uncertainly. She didn’t trust the little grassrunner, but perhaps Linda wasn’t confident in her own skills. “Alright then,” she said to Alm, then leaned down and grabbed him by the collar. “Screw this up and I’ll throw you to that pack of thugs like a scrap of meat,” she warned.

    Linda laughed a bit at Zira’s comment to Alm. “That will be very funny to watch... and also sad,” she said, thinking a bit. “Poor guy,” she said, looking at Itoya. “Please don’t get him hurt.”

    “I’ll need a quart of oil, a good healer, and about a bottle of the hardest liquor anyone has on them. Not necessarily in that order,” Alm said.

    Zira drew back her fist momentarily, but resisted the urge to strike the grassrunner. “Linda, if you can, cast that spell on us,” Zira requested, as politely as she could. Bloody useless grassrunner. I’ll feed you to the damn wolves.

    Watching while Zira tried to get either Linda or Alm to make them invisible, Edwin kept himself ready to bolt forward if the need came to it. Unsheathing his sword with one hand and grabbing a dagger with the other, he did not like how this scene was playing out. “Linda if you could hurry a little, this is not looking good. I think they are trying to get our little ‘noble’ to over extend himself before striking,” Edwin sighed as he kept himself relaxed and ready to move, hating the wait.

* * *

    “You’re not going to enter, young prince?” Jet smirked, recognizing the young man almost instantly. “Ah, yes, well that could be quite hazardous to your safety, isn’t that right? However, I’m sure your own personal safety concerns are second only to your sister’s welfare, am I correct?” However juicy the situation to steal both children, that hardly makes fit for the plan I already have in place. Tsk. I hate when things deviate from the norm.

    Elianna’s heart sank when she saw Itoya in the doorway. Though she wanted to be saved, she didn’t want to disappoint him. However, since her kidnappers knew she was the princess, it was likely that there would be some sort of ransom and he would know about it anyway. She had been gagged again, so she could say nothing to him. Instead, she bowed her head in defeat and quietly began to cry.

    The mention of who he was, his sister, the whole of it, hit him hard. Something snapped. Anger, frustration... Itoya balled his fists and his brow furrowed. His voice became strong, as if he actually knew what he was doing. “If you will make any negotiations, they will be done here. I’m sure that’s not too much of a test on your senses.” His voice had a growl to it. “Show me her condition and state your terms.” Itoya’s character had almost flip-flopped. Angry, he almost sounded like a leader...

    Jet chuckled. “My, my. How the kitten roars.” He lifted Elianna up so that Itoya could see her, but kept his grip firm so she wouldn’t attempt to wiggle away. “She’s fine, unbruised, untouched, pure and crisp- for now.” He set his jaw. “She, however, will be coming with us no matter what unless the following demands can be met: give us all of Marmo, one quarter of Valis, and for compromise’s sake, we’ll say about a third of Alania. Surely, this being your sister, that’s a fair price,” Jet lied with a straight face. He had no intention of giving back Elianna, just like Itoya had no power or intention of seeing to Jet’s ludicrous demands. To Jet, this was only a game. At any time Sura or Aelis could put the boy under, either by knocking him out with a spell or a quick hit to the head. Giving the child a false sense of power to delude himself was part of Jet’s newly concocted plan.

    They want land? Elianna thought, looking up at Jet with her red-rimmed eyes. Oh Cha Za... Who are these people? Suddenly realizing what was going on, Elianna looked to Itoya. She was gagged, but she did all she could to give him a look that was pleading for him to leave. If these people wanted to ransom her, then they could, but they couldn’t be allowed to have both of them! Itoya was more important than her.

    “You know that’s impossible,” Itoya sputtered, shaking his head. This man was insane. Certainly mad. No king would do that, even if both heirs were taken. Even simply the fact that those were multiple kingdoms and they would not do that much to help a neighbor. “Even with every nation’s heirs, you would never get any land from any country.” Itoya shook his head, losing his nerve already. “Who are you to demand such things anyway?”

    “I’m aware of that, Prince Itoya,” Jet stated blandly. “I was merely giving you a price to set your sister free. If you can’t pay it, than obviously you can’t have her back.” He pursed his lips and drew Elianna into his chest, wrapping his arm around her neck and gave a brief tight squeeze, choking her a little. “And who am I, dear prince?” Jet laughed. “I’m the very man who has control over whether or not your dear sister lives or dies. You see, we only need one of you alive, and you are so very generous to have brought yourself to us.” His eyes set on Itoya with a deadly-serious stare with such seemingly fathomless contempt in his gaze. “Even if you ran just two steps from this building I’d have the men shoot out your legs, and take out or pin down whatever ‘friends’ you have out there. We need only one of you alive, as I said. So please remember your place, boy.”

    Itoya, run! Elianna pleaded in her mind, wincing as Jet’s arm closed around her throat.

* * *

    Opening her eye, Silemria frowned. Nothing. That could mean that either they hadn’t stationed a guard in the back, or the guards weren’t going to make a sound. She was betting on the second option; these guys didn’t seem like amateurs. Making a motion at the stone fence, she then made a downward motion. They might have had to get closer to the door, but preferably get close enough to the gate to lay an ambush in case. Crouching down, she started to crawl to the gate. She personally was going to decapitate someone in there for this, she was not in the mood for crawling around in the dark in the middle of the night.

    Heeding Silemria’s gesture, Gaidrich crouched and started forward, almost knuckle-walking up the alley. The merc flinched as his hand encountered some particularly pungent mud. Thank the Gods I’m wearing gloves, he thought as they crawled along.

* * *

    Linda smiled a bit. She started to focus and stir up her mana as she sung a soft tune to herself, then she closed her eyes. Alm and Zira started to disappeared as she sung. In less than a minute, they were completely gone. As she finished her song, her eyes opened back up to see Zira and Alm gone. “Did it work?” she asked Edwin. “Or did they run off because it wasn’t working?”

    “It worked,” Zira’s voice came from the air. “I need you to cast it on Edwin and Ultarik, if you can, then they can come after us as support,” she added, then her light footsteps on the pavement announced her departure.

    Zira rushed up behind Itoya, as quiet as possible without magic, and she waited. Hopefully Linda’s spell held. If they tried anything, she was there to pull him back. As she stood ready, and invisible, she overheard the conversation. Prince Itoya? The prince of Valis? What in the hell have we gotten ourselves into?! Zira thought.

    Sura stood by, anxiously awaiting for something to happen. Then Jet said that Itoya couldn’t make it more than two steps before he was shot, but not so long as that shield was in place. “Oh Sylph, loosen your hold on the air around us,” Sura spoke, but she could still sense the shield. Again, Sura tried to break the spell, and again failed. The elf on the prince’s side was stronger than she. “FALARIS CURSE YOU!” Sura shrieked suddenly, then slammed her delicate fist into a wall.

    “Sisters of darkness, steal the breath from my enemy,” she spoke to her most familiar and reliable friends.

    As Zira moved behind Itoya, she heard the shriek from inside the building and gave a start, but dismissed it. However, she suddenly felt the cold of dark spirits slithering around her. Her life was in danger if she did nothing! The enemy’s shaman had to be attacking her. “Spirits of Darkness, depart!” Zira called, disregarding the invisibility spell she was under.

    The spirits did not obey. She could feel the strength sapping from her limbs, her skin going ice cold. “Valkyrie!” Zira couldn’t even bother with a summoning spell, she reached out to the spirit of light in desperation, with all the will she could muster. She was rewarded and the spirit of light shot from a nearby lamp and burst about the dark elf. In the process, it broke Linda’s spell, revealing Zira to the enemy. She lost control of the Sylph shield as well.

    Fearing for the worst, Zira’s arm shot out and grabbed Itoya’s, yanking him back from the doorway.

    Itoya bit his lip, standing firm. He didn’t want to reveal his mercenary companions and their plans until he absolutely had to. “I understand what control you have, but that is not what I asked. Who are you to demand all of this land? Who do you represent? What group of people would use it? What use could a single man have for all of that if he did not have some greater populace to live there? Speak of your intentions. It would be impossible to deal this out to some scoundrel of no merit. Give me something to work with.”

    “Oh, but young Itoya, I am a scoundrel without merit. That is what it takes to be someone like myself. I demand the land because I know you cannot give it to me, I represent my employer, although perhaps I represent myself a little too much on the side. What group of people would use the land? Well, everyone. We aren’t making people leave the land, just giving them a new master to call their own.” Jet laughed hard. “I merely stated terms because you asked of them, I have no intention of letting your sister go, alive at least. But what do I really want? What are my purest intentions?” Jet’s eyes hardened. “War. Constant, unstoppable, all consuming war. A war to rival that of the gods themselves, a war without end, a constant struggle where the plans and machinations of greater men than you are given to idiots to play as pawns on the chess board of life. I want the war to not even stop, even when dead. I want the whole world at war.” Jet’s lips curled into a smile. “Still think someone of your piddling caliber can negotiate with me, boy?”

    “Yes,” Itoya replied. “I can.” He was trying his best, but this was no good. There was no actual negotiations going on to begin with. Talking was useless. All he could hope for was that his new mercenaries had something up their sleeve to help him...

    “I think you forget your place. You are in my city, in my country. My murder, or that of my sister’s, would mean a multinational manhunt for you. If you kill either of us, you will have sealed your fate. Make no mistake, because already, there are others who know what is occurring here, as we speak. Even the wings of a bird will not save you, for the dragon riders of Moss would assist. Falis will not stand for your crimes. The churches, the armies, everyone will come after you. If you want to survive the fortnight, sir, you should attempt to work with me.” Itoya glared the best glare he could. “Or else the only land you will get is the pit our soldiers toss your corpse in.”

    Sura could see from a dirty window what happened outside. Another dark elf, and a traitor at that! The dark elf priestess’s rage only grew into a greater inferno. With help from the dark spirits, she suddenly phased out of the room and onto the street in front of Zira, grabbing the taller dark elf by the throat, her manicured nails sinking into her skin. “Blood traitor!” she spat.

* * *

    Linda began to sing a spell and she, Edwin, and Ultarik disappeared. When she opened her eyes, she saw no one, not even herself. She moved her hands in front of her face to see if she had disappeared as well, and apparently she had; it was eerie. She quickly but quietly walked out of the alley. As soon as she looked at the house, she saw Zira re-appeared. “Zira,” she said in a soft voice. She started to think quickly as she saw a dark elf woman appear and grab Zira by the throat. “What can I do?” she said to herself. “Please Falis, help us.”

    Edwin was glad that the spell worked on him as he turned invisible with the second batch, through it might be to late as Zira was in trouble. As Linda prayed, Edwin was already in a dead run, he was not going to let this go on any longer. Getting up closer, he could finally hear what Jet was talking about and frowned. Too much was happening. Slowing down, he knew he could not let rage control his actions or everyone would be killed. As he worked as quiet as he could to get in place to be able to strike out at both the dark elf and the leader.

    As Linda thought, something came to mind; I wonder if my resting spell will put that woman to sleep? She quietly walked up a few more steps to get in a proper range of the woman, then she breathed deeply and closed her eyes. Linda softly sang a song that only focused on the dark elf woman that was strangling Zira. The air around the woman began to become cold and hopefully, she started to go into a deep sleep. She continued singing her song softly hoping that it would work. However, she neglected to realize that she couldn’t hold two spells at once, and the invisibility spell on everyone failed.

    Sura easily succumbed to the sleep spell from the invisible mage. The petite dark elf priestess went limp and began to collapse, but another dark elf was suddenly behind her. Aelis caught Sura in her fall. He would have let her have at the other dark elf who seemed to be working with Itoya, but someone had cast a spell on Sura and it wasn’t this new dark elf.

    Aelis didn’t waste time fighting the dark elf, instead he phased back into the building and laid Sura down on the floor. With some distance, he was able to assess the situation. Three fighters, the dark elf and two humans, a female mage, and a grassrunner. Was that all?

    Another dark elf, this one a male, had appeared as Sura fell. However, he merely retrieved the fallen girl and disappeared. Zira touched her throat, then looked at her hand to see blood on her fingertips. The dark elf girl had sunk her nails in deep enough to break the skin.

    Suddenly realizing the threat from archers overhead, Zira quickly called to Sylph again and the shield of wind was back up. Who had subdued the dark elf girl? Looking out onto the street, she saw that Edwin, Ultarik, Alm and Linda were visible again. Damnit girl, I could have handled her on my own, Zira thought as she realized Linda must have cast a spell on the dark elf. That idea failed...

* * *

    While Silemria wasn’t an elf, the yell was definitely enough to alert the female mercenary. Blood traitor? She wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but she got the feeling that things just got interesting on the other side of the building. While she was tempted to charge in, bash the door down, and rip apart anything that got in her way between, she restrained herself. There was still no signal yet, despite the blood traitor yell. Her reaction, however, was to grip at her swords. Sliding them carefully from their sheathes, the curve, and glint of steel in the moonlight was as familiar to her as her own face. Come on... if you need help, I need a sign...

* * *

    Alm sneaked up behind Linda while they were invisible, following her scent like a dog. Now that she was visible again, as were the rest of his troupe, Alm decided to make his move. His hands shot out around midsection and over her mouth as he began to drag her away from the others. “Don’t fight,” Alm whispered in her ear. “You’re hardly in the shape to be on the front lines, magic girl Linda.”

    Linda blushed as she saw everyone else had become visible. “Dammit,” she said softly as she felt weak. She was reaching for her staff but she felt a hand over her mouth. She was ready to strike, but she heard a familiar voice. Linda listened to Alm as he spoke then nodded her head as Alm dragged her away.

* * *

    Zira did a quick assessment of her men. Edwin had been sneaking toward the front door of the house while he was invisible, and Ultarik... Zira glanced back toward the alley and saw the oaf standing at the entrance. “Bloody barbarian. Dumb as bricks,” she muttered. Putting her fingers in her mouth, she gave a shrill whistle and motioned for Edwin and Ultarik to join her next to Itoya.

    As they did, she paused for a moment to whisper a message to Sylph; “Relay this message to the ones called Gaidrich and Silemria; ’Start a commotion in the back to draw attention, then fall back to the front of the house.’”

    Ultarik heard the whistle and joined Zira, moving forward rapidly. Once he was there he looked to Itoya and Zira. “What’s the plan here? How’re we gonna penetrate their defenses?”

* * *

    Hearing the whistle, Silemria’s knuckles whitened, her hands tightening around her blades. Every muscle in her body was tense, and she waited, albeit a bit impatiently, for any sort of attack; which came unexpected, as a whisper in her ear caught her attention. She would have believed it to be Gaidrich, if it hadn’t been very small sounding, and feminine. “Probably a spirit...” she mumbled under her breath. A commotion eh? Well, she would give them one that would definitely be noteworthy.

    Rising up, Silemria gave a chuckle as she started to walk towards the back door. “Come on out, little archers...” she sneered, her eyes on the windows, and her blades still drawn. The plan was simple. Smash at the back door for a few moments, and then run around front. Simple enough, but dangerous. A lone bolt was just as lethal as her swords, and they had the advantage of range. But then again, it was dark out, and worse yet for the archers, Sil was expecting them.

    Listening to and wondering at the noises from out front, Gaidrich jumped as a small voice sounded nearly inside his head. Magic? What... The merc’s train of thought halted as the message came through. With a grin, he drew his axe and rose to his feet, falling into step on Silemria’s left. “So how will we do this?” he asked softly. “Shall I take out the door or are we gonna go through the windows?”

    Looking between the two options, Silemria decided to take the one that would be unexpected. “The windows... I’ll take the right one.” There were many reasons for this, of course. The first, primary reason was the unexpectedness of it. Nobody used a window when there was a door right next to the window. But, since they were trying to draw attention, shattering glass, and any shout of surprise would best serve that purpose. The secondary was that she didn’t doubt that the door would be barricaded. Slamming your shoulder into it would be laughable, and ignorable.

    “Once we’re inside, I assume there’ll be a hallway. If there’s anyone in the room, kill ’em, meet me there. Then we’ll just use the door ta get out. I’d say just butcher everyone ’til we get up front, but I suppose a distraction would be best....wonder what happened out front ta warrant it though?” Frowning, her eye still scanned the window for movement. “On three... three... two... one... Go!”

    The few mercenaries watching out the back chuckled. An attack at the back of the house was as suspected as attacking the front, even more so for these mercenaries. Lighting a set of alcohol filled bottles with rags as wicks, the mercenaries tossed them out the back window from the second floor hitting the ground near Silemria and Gaidrich.

    Coarse laughter came from the mercenaries operating near the back windows. “Oi, gettin’ a little hot down there?” One of them called out through the back window. “Don’ worry, we got some oil to help with the burnin’.” They wanted to toy with the newcomers. If they jumped through the window they would fall directly into the bear traps and caltrops that were set there for just this occasion.

    Stepping back, Silemria watched the ground burst into flames with revulsion. She hated fire, for an obvious reason. Looking up at the window, she gave a growl. They dared to use fire against her? She would be sure to butcher them later on... she would cut them in ways they couldn’t imagine.

    “Whats the matter, boys? Can’t bloody come down and fight like men? I suppose I shouldn’t expect to much from little boys who kidnap little girls,” she snickered, rethinking jumping through the window. If they could get them just to open the door, they wouldn’t need to jump through the window. Then again, she scanned for any way to get up there to them. “So tell me... ya want to beg for yer life now, or when I get to ya later?”

    Their laughter echoed from the back window. “Yeah, we went and stole a ‘little girl’ alright, the princess of this fine country,” a voice called out. “As the main man says: ‘Why fight like men and suffer injury when you can fight like devils and avoid direct confrontation?’ Here’s some of that oil we promised!”

    They chuckled as two flaming oil sacks came out the window and splashed near Gaidrich and Silemria again. “Want some more, honey? Or are you ready for some of our ‘hot meat’ instead?” There was some raucous laughter that followed the crude comment.

    Gaidrich watched the oil bubble on the stones with a complete lack of expression. “Yeah, very nice,” the merc yelled up to the windows. “So are you all done playing dragon yet? I’ve got things planned for later and would like to wrap this up.” Gaidrich’s flip remark hid a furious train of thought. Princess? Gods! What did I get myself in for? If these rats were being truthful, this mission was of national importance, and his and Silemria’s careful action even more so.

    “I thought so,” Sil chuckled, and looked at one of her blades. “That boy’s mannerisms... too bloody good. Still, didn’t expect the princess, s’truth.”

    The blade she was staring at was not terribly different looking in comparison to her other one, however, along the edge ran runes. If they wanted to play with fire, she was willing to do the same. “If yer done playin’ around... ’ow about we make things interestin’? Want ta play with fire... thats fine, but know yer opponent before ya give her ideas. Ever think about what yer standin’ on? Old, abandoned house on the second floor... You’ve been goadin’ us, finding a smart ass little comment about it... but tell me, how do ya intend to recover from THIS!”

    With that, she threw her sword into the side of the building. With a ‘thunk’, the blade sunk into the wood without any difficulty. It hung into the wood, suspended for a few moments, until the briefest smoke began to manifest itself from the wood. Soon, a small spark formed, and then, a small fire. “Oh, looks like yer little hideout is on fire... guess me sword isn’t so fond of it.”

    The mercenaries were less than impressed with her setting the building on fire. Whispering amongst themselves, one was sent as a runner to go warn Jet of the imposing danger, the other two notched their bows and leaned out the window to fire a volley down on Gaidrich and Silemria.

    “Well, that seemed to get them bloody serious!” Silemria chuckled, taking a dash to where her sword was. Gripping it quickly, she got a good look in the window. “Bloody ’ell... well, windows wouldn’t ’ave been a good idea. We probably got their attention ’ere, lets complete the plan.”

    Giving a sneer up at the two archers, she laughed. “Ya have the accuracy of bloody children... who taught ya how ta use those things?”

    “Your mother while she was ridin’ our poles. That’s probably why our aim sucks as much as your whore mother did,” a merc called back. Lobbing a few more lit oil flasks at Gaidrich and Silemria they followed the fiery projectiles with another short rain of arrows.

    “Eh, better ta have a whore of a mother than be abandoned like trash on the streets like you,” Silemria stated, using her sword training to use random movements to dodge the projectiles. As the banter continued, the fire grew. Hearing something from out front, she frowned. So much for drawing attention back here. “Blood and ashes, looks like it backfired. Let the fire take care of ’em, we gotta get back up front.”

    Well, that all happened fast, Gaidrich thought as he twisted away from the mercenaries’ volley. The commotion out front had increased; it sounded like a full scale scrap was winding up. “See you out front then,” he told Silemria. Glancing towards the windows, Gaidrich gave them a short wave. “Have fun in Hell boys!” he shouted up. Breaking left, Gaidrich began to circle around the house. Hopefully, the other thugs would be more willing to give a true fight.

* * *

    The runner came down stairs and whispered in Jet’s ear. The news sent a large smile across his cold face. “It seems your friends in the back have decided to burn the house down.” Jet stated for Itoya to hear. “Obviously the life of this girl is meaningless to them, and thus, by you allowing your fellows to act in this way, to you as well. The negotiations are over,” Jet said, his lips losing his twisted smile. “Kill them all!” he barked loudly at the mercenaries.

    Mercenaries poured out the front door after Itoya and Zira brandishing steel. These were not your average mercenaries. These men were cold-blooded, war-hardened men whose weapons were an extension of their own bodies.

    “Shit,” Zira cursed. They had to get Itoya out of there, first and foremost. Looking between Edwin and Ultarik, she decided she was best for the job of making an escape while they held the enemy back. Grabbing Itoya by the arm, she pulled on him. “Ultarik, Edwin, hold them off, and fall back. Itoya, run,” Zira said as she began to pull the prince back toward the alley.

    “Elianna!” Itoya yelled as Zira pulled him back. Already he was fighting, but Jet was gone. With his lackeys charging ahead, the unarmed, disguised prince ran back. He hadn’t even noticed that he had shouted his sister’s real name, the name of the princess of the kingdom...

    As the mercenaries were sent out after Itoya’s guardians, Aelis picked Sura back up, as she hadn’t recovered from the sleep spell yet. It looked as if they would be making their escape out to the docks. The mercenaries were being sent out to fight, but Aelis’s men would be leaving with him and Jet.

    “Well then, shall we depart?” Aelis said to Jet.

    “Yes,” Jet responded. Taking Elianna under his arm, he opened the trap door that led to the sewers. They had chosen this place for just this reason, a quick escape. Taking three men with them as bodyguards, Jet, Aelis and Sura made their escape.

* * *

    ‘Kill them all!’? By the sounds of it, things aren’t going well, Alm mused while keeping Linda out of sight. “Good thing we got out of there fast,” he whispered to her. “Otherwise we’d be dead meat by now.” He released his hold on her and gave her back a little pat. “Keep down and stay out of sight, alright? I’m going to see if I can foster some assistance to the others.” He gave her a soft brush of his lips against her cheek and little wink before going back the way he came, staying low and out of sight of the archers and swordsmen.

    Linda nodded as she listened to Alm, that was the only thing she could do. When he released her, she turned and stared at him. “Yes, Alm,” she said to him as she suddenly felt his lips on her cheek. She was shocked for a bit, but still smiling when he left.

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