Well not immediately at least. In a calming wind swept grassy plain dotted with gently rising knolls a pair of soon to be infamous bandits lay in wait. They were a rough and tumble pair, decked out in black, tight, slightly chaffing disguises that were as menacing as they were stylish. Codenames V and Iron Link the Swift prepared themselves ready to pounce upon-
“I am not calling you that.”
… V announced startling Iron Link the Swift out of her silent narration that may have been louder than she intended.
“But it’s part of our persona! You’re the mysterious no-nonsense V while I am Iron Link the Swift! Bandits so devious and ruthless we take no prisoners and leave no evidence!”
Iron Link the uncontested leader retorted enlightening her wayward miscreant companion to the true showboated nature of thugs such as them.
“You’re not the leader either, stop talking like that and stay quiet will you. They’ll be arriving soon.”
Valerie a.k.a. V demanded her tone brooking no argument from Iron Li-
A glare from the huntress shut up the bored to narration Samantha. They had been hiding amongst the tall grass for a few hours now waiting for their target to appear. A carriage carrying high value goods was meant to be passing by a road that intersected the grassy plain on its way to the Capital some five miles away. Darrian acquired the wagons schedule and recommended the pairs current spot as an ideal ambush point being somewhere right in the middle of the Capital and the carriage’s origin point. Wanting to be ready, the fledgling thieves scouted the unremarkable location the night before, camped half a mile away and then waited for the cart to arrive with the crack of dawn. That was over an hour ago and there had yet to be any sign of the carriage they were targeting. Valerie felt something was wrong and scratched at her neck from under the full-face mask she wore, she might be allergic to the fabric or perhaps it was the build-up of sweat causing her to break out into a rash. Darrian supplied a pair of fake bandit outfits to mask the girl’s identity, a safety precaution in case the carriage driver was to spot either of them. They only realized after dawning the gear just how well fitting it was despite neither giving the kingpin any of their measurements. It was actually a little tight in some areas best left unsaid much to the pair’s annoyance, they would be certain to take their grievances up with the boss man after the job was done. A job that was slowly approaching their position at last. Samantha spotted it first, announcing the discovery in third person.
“Iron Link has spotted something, an object in the distance is drawing near, ready yourself underling, our time is nigh.”
She spoke in a grizzled tone like a man who’d seen far too many winters and not enough fires to warm them. Valerie ignored her friend and focused her sights on the approaching carriage trying to make out its features and assess the driver, but they were simply too far away. Remaining still, the fake bandits watched as their target rolled up, the sight causing Valerie’s heart to sink. In addition to the casually dressed driver there were four heavily armed and armoured guards surrounding the carriage on horseback. Although she couldn’t see beneath their helmets, she got the feeling all four were seasoned warriors ready to lay down their life for king and country. What was in that carriage that was so worth protecting? The huntress thought, her mind racing at possibilities and exactly how badly they messed up getting involved in this. Monsters were one thing, but trained knights were another matter entirely, she wasn’t sure either she or Samantha could take on that many combatants all at once and walk away to tell the tale. Lowering herself as close to the ground as she could get, she hissed at Samantha.
“Get down! Forget the job, we’re just going to let them by.”
Samantha followed the command, resting her ear to the ground while looking her friend in the eyes.
“But what about the package?”
“Forget it, we’ll find another way to make money.”
Valerie stated though how exactly she wasn’t sure yet, regardless anything would be better than getting killed out here. Although she didn’t intend to, Samantha capitalized on the uncertainty by asking a simple question.
“How? We don’t even know if they’ll let you back into the guild and I am definitely not doing it without you.”
Valerie felt a little touched by the solidarity but couldn’t revel in it hearing the whinnies and brays getting closer by the second. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place; let the carriage pass and risk losing out on a big payday or try to continue with the admittedly in shambles plan. A decision needed to be made, and Valerie chose the wrong one.
“Bollocks, okay listen here’s what you’re going to do…”
The horses bred for Capital City elites were, by most accounts, all style and no substance. They weren’t trained to handle large cart louds or travel for long periods thus they were unused to real challenges. The pair of stallions that pulled along this carriage were no exception and in fact they were actually much poorer examples coming from show stock that hadn’t so much as chipped a hoof let alone been made to gallop for more than a few seconds. This made them much more susceptible to a certain girls utterly terrifying aspect suddenly and violently appearing out of nowhere to ravage their untested nerves. It was only for a second, not enough for the guards to fully notice or recognise should they encounter it again. Samantha had been slowly getting better at controlling the eery aura her aspect leaked out and a quick burst was the culmination of that training even if it did give her a splitting headache.
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The stallions were suddenly inundated with fear and an instinctual fight or flight response neither had ever experienced before. From seemingly out of nowhere the horses pulling the carriage jerked to a stop and tried to yank themselves free of their restraints to run for the hills. The caravan came to an abrupt halt and the driver had to climb down and tend to his animals before they went haywire. He was barely able to calm the spooked stallions while his entourage waited patiently for the horses to settle. Just when they thought the creatures were pacified another wave of fear struck them, affecting the guard’s horses as well causing one to charge off, rider still attached, and another to buck and kick with its back legs catching a stallion’s harness and snapping it. The freed horse took off down the road they came from forcing two of the guards to chase after it while the last remaining one stood watch and the driver stayed by the horse’s side trying desperately to ease its nerves.
With the carriage halted, Valerie waited for a moment when the driver and left over guard were distracted before scrambling forward to silently roll under the wagon itself. She waited a second before peeking out from each side ensuring she hadn’t been spotted and slid out from under neath to inspect the cart. She had seen several wagons during her journeys from Dale’s rickety hay filled cart to Joanne’s top of the line carriage, this one however was more regal than any that had come before. A marvellous white oak base with gold trimming along the edges, flower patterns etched into the wood, and a sturdy ornate door with silk curtains obscuring the objects inside. It undoubtedly cost more than either adventurer could fathom and then some.
“If this is just the transport then what is inside?”
The huntress thought to herself as she cautiously approached the entrance door to the carriage. From a cursory glance, it appeared the cart was also magically warded given by the slight shimmer along the surface although the exact nature of the enchantment was lost on Valerie. Her time was running out and someone was bound to notice her if she didn’t act so, she did something very unwise and clambered inside the carriage. As the last guard circled around to the side of the cart, he noticed the door was slightly ajar. Chocking the issue up to their sudden halt, he nonchalantly closed the only exit in or out of the carriage and moved on with his day.
Samantha, still suffering from her recent headache, held her head in her hands and waited for her friend to re-emerge ready to spring into action the second they got the goods. The package should be easy to locate as it would be marked with a coat of arms featuring a goat, a lion and a snake, the symbol of some old Guild associated group that was forcibly disbanded years back. She watched the perfectly still carriage expecting Valerie to erupt at any second even if she had to smash the door open to do it. They were in the clear so long as they had the package, so what was talking so long? Samantha waited and waited but nothing happened, not even a sound escaped the carriage. When two of the guards reappeared sans the missing stallion, they opted to proceed relying on the remaining horse to shoulder the burden. One guard lead at the front while the other two stood watch at the back, ever vigilant of all angles as they escorted the driver and his wares. Samantha watched the caravan, one guard and two horses down, continue on their merry way failing to realize they had a new passenger.
“Well… this isn’t good.”
She summarized, completely underselling the seriousness of the situation. Hoisting herself up by her bootstraps she stalked after the carriage trying to stay out of sight and make as little sound as possible. She kept expecting Valerie to kick the door open and leap out, package in hand and maybe something a little extra for their troubles. It might increase their pay out if Darrian received an additional treasure from the regal carriage. Yet, as they approached an unoccupied entrance into the city her friend failed to emerge. The gateway was not connected to the city’s outer walls but was situated some distance away between a number of large hills and odd stone monoliths Samantha never paid much head to. She and anyone else who observed the landmark could be forgiven for writing them off as nothing of particular note as the craftsman who manufactured them deliberately added an enchantment that made people ignore the structure. It was a type of magic discovered by reverse engineering the effects a temple has on people although in the opposite direction and to a much gentler degree only creating a general air of indifference rather than outright disgust. Unlike a temples attractive mystic air which Samantha could resist, the aloof feeling these statues gave her almost caused her to lose sight of the caravan.
Between the tall monoliths stood the entrance to a tunnel that snaked underground although the assembly could not progress immediately. Before them stood a large iron gate which could only be viewed by coming from a certain direction and being flooded with the monoliths disinterested aura. Samantha’s own brand of aura didn’t affect her thus she couldn’t fight off the oppressive enchantment by replacing with another and was forced to summon all her will power and mental focus to remain on target. There was not a lot of it to start with, so she had to make do with what she had on hand. Appearing unaffected, one of the guards climbed down from his horse and called out to someone unseen who responded asking for a code phrase. The guard couldn’t answer and was soon joined by the other two, all three getting into an argument trying to figure out who had the password. They eventually figured out it had been the one carried off by his terrified horse and were left scratching their heads to guess the password themselves.
Seizing the opportunity, Samantha slipped around the unoccupied back and crawled underneath the cart as Valerie had done. She tried to mimic her friend’s graceful movements but, with her mind focused elsewhere, she ended up fumbling, making a noise and breaking up the guards argument. The self-appointed leader ordered the other two back to their positions while he handled the entry code himself. Grumbling, the two guards returned to the back waiting by their horses until they were permitted entry. Samantha meanwhile clung to the underside of the carriage using a shadow chain to secure herself in place. She wanted to knock at the wood and grab Valerie’s attention but knew the guards would hear her. Finally, the de facto leader remembered the password recited by his colleague on their way to meet up with the carriage. Snapping his fingers, much to Samantha quiet dismay, the man announced his answer.
“On a string carried by a pair of swallows!”
After a beat following the seemingly random statement the gate slowly opened admitting the caravan and its unwelcome stowaways. As they descended into the uneven tunnel, Samantha forced herself against the wagon’s underside with all her strength, thankful she didn’t have her cloak with her. The disguise she wore did come with a hood and small scarf like apparel that draped down her back, but it wasn’t the same. Didn’t have the same style nor the history as her original and most treasured piece of clothing. When asked why she set it on fire, Samantha simply responded that she needed something flammable and didn’t have a lot of options. Ultimately the charred mess just added to the fabrics character and, when her death finally came, she hoped her cloak would still be right by her side, a tapestry to the life she had lived. It was an integral part of her now, she couldn’t imagine a life without it. Some might say it was her brand and without it people wouldn’t recognise her. Ofcourse you could say the same about her eery aura, pitch black irises, creepy smile or even the black chains. Her cloak however, was what completed the uneasy feeling she gave people, it was the ribbon that wrapped around her-
“Uh oh.”
Samantha said under her breath, finally noticing exactly where the cart was heading. The monoliths effects ended some way back, but she was too lost in her rumination to realize they had exited the tunnel somewhere in the city. The road gradually smoothed out until the carriage was gliding along the cobbles and joined up with the hussle and bussle of the streets before veering off. The procession moved through districts until passing straight through a series of grand royal gates. It would seem whatever this wagon was carrying was on a collision course for the Gentile Palace.