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Book 1 - Chapter 2 - Part 4
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A week passes, and Alexandros and Evera are as ready as they will ever be. Their plan to sneak into the castle isn’t the greatest, but he believes they can do it. They spent the entire week discussing it and figuring out how they would handle it all. Now that the time has finally come, Alexandros is having second thoughts. However, he doesn’t mention them and continues with the plan as though everything is fine.
Once they decide they are ready, Evera turns to Alexandros. “This is our last chance for any last-minute ideas, so if you need anything else, you better say it now.” Over the last week, they learned the guards’ schedule, so their timing needs to be perfect. “Do you think it might be a good idea to try and get some new gear?” she questions.
Alexandros shakes his head. “As much as I would love some new gear, I don’t think we have the money for it right now. I spent all my coin on the inn for the past week.”
Evera frowns. “Honestly, I’m not feeling too confident about my stats right now.”
“Neither am I, but we can’t put this off any longer. We need to get moving to catch them during the shift change. It’s our only chance to get into the castle tonight.”
Evera nods, and the two of them return to the castle. Doing their best to remain unnoticed, they slip around to the back and see two guards standing a few feet from the entrance talking about something. Alexandros can’t hear what they are saying, nor does he care. All he is focused on is getting into the castle so he may speak with the king. He notices the gates are still wide open and nods toward Evera to let her know it’s time.
When the guards are about to finish their conversation, Alexandros and Evera move as quickly as they can to slip through the gates. Once they are through, they dip around the corner and crouch to catch their breaths. “That could have gone worse,” Evera whispers.
“It still can, so be quiet.”
Evera rolls her eyes, but Alexandros does his best to ignore her. Once they calm down, Alexandros pulls a rope from his bag and ties a small hook to make a grappling hook. He can still hear the guards speaking behind him as he works and knows he needs to finish before they are caught.
When he finishes securing the hook, he steps back and throws it up toward the window. The first time it doesn’t even come close to reaching the window, and Alexandros’ cheeks burn with embarrassment. He sees Evera stifle a laugh and throws the rope toward the window again. This time the rope manages to wrap around something. After testing his weight on it, he looks back at Evera. “Are you ready?”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Evera doesn’t respond to him as she latches onto the rope and climbs. Once she reaches the top and slips through the window, Alexandros hurries after her. As soon as he is inside, he pulls the rope back up and looks around the room. There isn’t much inside besides a few tables and a desk. Walking over to the desk, he opens it up to see if there is anything useful in the drawers but finds nothing. “Great,” he mumbles before walking to the door on the opposite side of the room. He places his hand on the knob and tries to turn it, only to realize the door is locked.
“Hurry up,” Evera urges him from behind. “I don’t want to be here longer than we need to be.”
“The door is locked, and I can’t get it open,” he replies. “We might have to find a different way to do this. The last thing we need is to get trapped in this room.
Evera shoves him to the side to test the door herself, only to slam into it when it doesn’t open. She grumbles something unintelligible before looking at Alexandros. “Well, what are we supposed to do now? We can’t exactly go back the way we came.”
“I guess we need to find a way to pick the lock or something,” he replies before walking back to the desk. He begins going through it again to find something. As he runs his hand under one of the drawers, he feels something attached to it. Alexandros does his best to grip it before pulling it free. He realizes it's a skeleton key when he lifts it to see what it is.
Skeleton Key:
A mysterious key was found under a desk. What is it for?
Rarity:
Rare
Condition:
Excellent
Stats:
None
Special:
Unlocks specific doors.
As he reads the stats, his lips curl into frowns. He has no idea what this is for. The item information isn’t helpful. He hands it over to Evera, hoping she can figure it out.
She looks it over before returning it to him after only a moment. “I don’t think we need to worry about that right now. Unless it unlocks the door before us, I couldn’t care less.”
Alexandros is about to respond to her when there is a loud bang on the door. They pull their weapons free and prepare themselves as the doors burst open and guards enter the room. All of them are armed with swords, and the one in the front is dressed in far more elegant armor, leading Alexandros to believe he is their leader. The rest of the guards surround them as the one in front points his weapon in their direction. “Drop your weapons and surrender before we take your heads. This is not up for negotiation.”