Jonathan finished off his drink, and then got up, weaving his way through the crowd. It was getting close to dark outside, and he wanted to check on the light outside. They were planning to infiltrate the storage facility during the dark, rather than during the day, so as to have as much cover as possible.
Outside, the light was almost gone, and the dusky hue of the night was stealing over the clouds. Jonathan nodded, and then walked back into the tavern, signaling for Edgar to come out. The other man left his drink and quickly exited the tavern, reaching Jonathan’s side a few seconds later. Neither man spoke, already knowing what it was that they needed to do.
As the streets cleared of people, as they headed off for the night, Jonathan and Edgar raced down the streets towards the city center. Their possessions were sure to be found in the central storage facility of the city, and the two men ran as quickly as they could without attracting too much attention, flitting down the road like ghosts in the night. With the effects of their masks they were practically the same thing, and nobody noticed them at all.
The streets of the city were vast and winding however, and it took them a lot longer than they had expected to head for the center. The sector of the city that they had been in was almost fifty miles away from the city center, which meant that all of the landmarks that the two men had seen earlier must have been truly massive. The men made sure to avoid the wandering patrols of guards, just in case any of them could see through their disguise.
In that way, they managed to make their way to their destination safely, and they eventually arrived on the outskirts of the city center, immediately met with a problem. There was a massive wall separating the central part of the city from the rest, and the wall was heavily guarded, with hundreds of guards patrolling the top of the wall. There was only one way in, a massive iron gate that even Jonathan would have been hard pressed to break down. It was covered in hundreds of glyphs, presumably to render it even more impenetrable than it already was. The walls were completely smooth too, with nowhere that anyone could get a handhold, no matter how small.
Jonathan paused, and looked up at the imposing edifice, which stretched over a hundred feet into the sky. This might be a problem. There was a rumbling noise a few seconds later, and the gate began to creak up, revealing the feet of a patrol of guards heading out into the night. Jonathan and Edgar ducked behind a nearby building, and watched the procession go by. Perhaps, if there was enough time, they could sneak in after the guards and get through the gate that way. However, as soon as the last of the guards departed, the gate slammed down, far faster than mere gravity would have dictated, sealing off the entrance. It would not be that easy, it seemed. Jonathan sighed, and turned to Edgar.
"Any ideas?” He asked.
“That gate looks like it's enchanted to provide as much security as it can muster. However, did you see any guards controlling the gate? The wall is too thin to have any sort of portcullis, or anyone meaning it. As far as I can see, the thing is completely automated, and operates on a set of controls. Perhaps we can trick it?”
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As if in answer to his question, a wandering troop of guards turned the corner, and headed towards the gate. As they neared, the gate began to slowly open, letting the guards in. It slammed shut a moment later but Jonathan already had an idea.
“Wait there,” he said to Edgar, racing off into the streets.
The other man watched him go and then resumed watching the gates. Edgar was not used to being around people stronger than himself, as his position within his old kingdom had necessitated his being the most powerful in any given area. However, Jonathan was proving to be a great ally and a valuable friend. Edgar had never really possessed anything along the lines of a friend back in Telvaria. He had always been too busy, and too far removed from the rest of the world to have anything of the sort.
As Edgar watched the gate, Jonathan was hunting down a small pack of guards, and he overtook them in an alleyway, knocking them out and stealing their armor. In the dark, none of them would have recognized his face, especially with his mask, so he should be safe. Jonathan took two suits of armor under each hand, and then raced back towards the gate, ready to present his find to Edgar.
As he ran, Jonathan stuck to the back alleyways. His mask might have been able to protect against general scrutiny, but most people would be hard pressed to ignore a man carrying two suits of armor at this hour.
He neared the wall a few minutes later, and headed for the alleyway where Edgar was waiting. Jonathan set down one of the suits of armor, and started to don the other one, watching as Edgar put on his own one. The two men soon were dressed in the attire of a city guard, and they both inspected one another, trying to see whether they would blend in. Luckily, most of the armor pieces fitted well, and it didn't look too suspicious.They kept the masks on under the helmets, glad for the little bit of extra space there that allowed for them to keep the obfuscating aspect of the masks active. Combined with their armor, nobody would suspect them at all.
As another patrol came by, Jonathan and Edgar dashed out from behind the alleyway edge. They remained as silent as possible, given that they were wearing full plate armor, and they found their place in the back of the array of soldiers, not drawing any attention because of their masks. As the first of the soldiers walked through the rapidly opening gate, Jonathan and Edgar gave each other a look. They had made it.
As they stepped through the gate, it slammed shut behind them, causing their ears to ring. The gate was almost five feet thick, and made entirely out of metal. It was a gate that could stop almost anything in the world, save for that attack that had been leveled at them from the dark tower. Speaking of that tower, it was clearly visible from behind the roofs of the many mansions that lined the streets. It seemed that the closest servants of Granath reaped some benefit from their servitude. Houses that would not have looked out of place on some billionaire’s row back on Earth jostled for attention within the walled city, and the area was heavily patrolled by guards, likely ensuring the safety of their wealthy charges.
In the very center was a titanic palace, which was visible even from here. The entire complex was about ten miles across, and the palace took up almost half of that, which Jonathan supposed made sense given the size of its primary occupant, Granath. The tower was near the center of the complex, and the sigil on its side was clearly visible, lit up in the night by some sort of magic. As the patrol of soldiers clanked down the road in their suits of armor, Jonathan and Edgar peeled off, heading into the darkness between two of the nearest mansions.