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Book 1 - Chapter 2 - Part 3
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Alexandros follows behind Evera as she leads him to the back of the castle. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing? Why are we going to the back of the castle?”
“You ask too many questions,” she replies bluntly. “If we can’t get in through the front, we will get through the back. It’s pretty simple.”
“How is breaking into the castle simple?”
“Because everyone has eyes on the front. Sure, there may be a few guards back here, but nothing we can’t handle. We have to be careful and stay out of sight.”
“Why do you sound like you’ve done this before?” he asks, completely bewildered by her words.
“Maybe I have,” she replies in the same snarky tone.
Alexandros folds his arms against his chest. “I don’t think this is a good idea. If we plan on getting into the castle, we must develop a better plan.”
“You think I don’t know that? We don’t have much time to figure this out, and I would rather take the risk and see how things go.”
He shakes his head in response. “If you want to try and figure this out right now, then be my guest. While you’re busy doing all that, I will try and think of a better plan that won’t get me in trouble.”
Evera narrows her eyes as she glares at Alexandros. If you want to waste more time planning this, be my guest. I don’t want to do this alone, so you are lucky this time.”
“Thank you,” he says before starting to walk away. Before he can even make it a few steps, a quest appears before him.
Quest Available. {New Companion} This quest is available to Alexandros, Level 3
Quest: Work with Evera to find a way to break into the castle so you can speak with the king.
Requirements: The plan must be approved by both parties involved, and they must help each other to the best of their ability to ensure things go smoothly. Too much arguing will result in quest failure.
Failure Penalty: Failure to complete this quest will bring your friends with Evera down by 100 points, and you will need to build it back up before trying again.
Reward: Once completed, you will receive 150XP and gain 100 relationship points with Evera.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Accept? Yes/No
Alexandros reads carefully through the quest before accepting it. Even though things with Evera have gotten off to a rough start, he believes there is a chance for them to help each other.
He is snatched from his thoughts when Evera grabs his shoulder. “Wait, where will we stay while we figure this out? Because I certainly don’t have any money.”
“I have a little bit,” he replies. “It isn’t much, though, and I don’t think spending it on an inn is the best idea. We are going to need food at some point. Besides, I doubt anyone will take us seriously if we try to rent a room.”
Evera shakes her head. “That is not what I was hoping to hear.”
“You and me both,” he replies. “Anyway, let’s just find a place to try and get some rest, and we will work on coming up with a plan in the morning.”
***
The morning came and went, and Alexandros and Evera still argued about who had the better idea and why. They don’t get along, and they are constantly bickering. As a result, nearly an entire month passes before they finally can agree.
“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” he asks once they finish going over the details of their plan. The entire month was spent tirelessly trying to learn the guards’ schedule, how to maneuver through the castle once they were inside, and everything else they could think of.
“We’ve already wasted a month sitting around and planning things out, so I think it’s time for us to get moving. There shouldn’t be any guards in the back of the castle during nightfall, so that is when we will make our move,” she replies.
By the time the sky darkens, they find themselves standing in the back of the castle. Just as they saw every night when they were gathering information, no guards were standing outside the castle. They go to the largest window they can find and peer inside. Two guards stand by the doorway on the other side of the window, meaning they will be spotted when they can slip inside.
“What are we supposed to do now?” Evera groans.
“Maybe we should wait a few more days and try to devise a better plan. I don’t want to mess this up, and if the guards catch us, then all of this will have been for nothing.”
Evera isn’t thrilled with this idea but reluctantly agrees, and the two return to the city. For the past month, they’d been spending their nights in different alleyways, and there were a few times when they’d even managed to earn a little money and pay for a room at the inn.
They do their best not to draw attention to themselves and try to avoid people whenever possible. Evera says this is essential if they don’t want to get caught, but Alexandros isn’t sure he agrees. “We are going to figure this out. All we have to do now is try and figure out the schedule for the other guards inside the castle.”
Evera nods. “Fine. We will take one more week to learn their schedule, but I won’t wait any longer. We need to get moving, and we’ve spent too much time here just trying to plan this. If we work together, we must find a way to be more efficient.
Alexandros nods. “I agree. But does this mean you’ll stick around after we speak to the king?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. I suppose that depends on whether or not we will get out of this with our lives.” She flashes him an obnoxious smile before lying on the ground and rolling away from him. “Anyway, since we are not going to figure out anything today, I’m going to try and get some rest.”
Deciding it’s best to leave her alone, Alexandros leans against the wall and tries to devise a plan before eventually drifting off to sleep.