The city was covered in darkness, with only the occasional torch or lamp lighting a small area. The streets saw almost no traffic at this hour; the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Lucullus and Aela crept through the city streets with black cloaks over their normal attire; Aela’s bright red and white robes would certainly have been a liability without some sort of cover. From one block to the next, they kept a constant watch around them. Matilda’s agents gave them many warnings before they set out, and it only served to heighten their anxiety about the whole operation. Any slight illumination would catch their attention in an instant, and not even the subtlest of noises went unnoticed.
Following the directions given to them by the agents, the two went from landmark to landmark; past the plaza with the fountain, a right turn two blocks north of there, a left down a narrow alley behind the farrier’s shop, and a straight path east until the street opens up to a large building that towers over all except the lighthouse. Lucullus had the directions memorized, and led the way. They were behind the shop, and felt a rising tension as they paced further east and saw the street beginning to open up. The massive structure that unfolded before them felt ominous in the dark; its towering presence was like facing a giant from Thalassa. They approached with more apprehension as they came closer to it. Lucullus’s breathing became heavier, and Aela’s breaths were becoming more irregular.
They calmed themselves as much as they could just before crossing the street to the imposing structure. The guards made regular patrols around the building, with a narrow gap to slip by. Carefully navigating the blind spots, Lucullus and Aela navigated to the back of the building, and sneaked through one of the back windows. Inside the building, they stayed in the shadows as much as they could, but there were far more areas of light than in the city streets. Aela fortified her Mystiko in anticipation of a confrontation.
Each footstep they heard in the hallways seemed like a clap of thunder against the dead silence. Going on the instructions of the agents, they headed for the stairs to ascend to the third floor, which contained the records room. Round each corner, Lucullus kept a careful watch before signaling to Aela to keep moving. They could hear conversations happening in nearby rooms, but hoped none of those came from the records room.
At last, they came to the door of the records room. Lucullus put his ear to the door, and listened for any evidence of unwanted company inside. He heard nothing, but was still apprehensive to open the door. Aela reached over to pull on the handle, but it was locked. Both of their hearts sank, and they exchanged worried looks. Lucullus composed himself, and prepared to pick the lock. If he had known that he’d be picking locks again, he might have tried getting proper tools. But he knew he could make it with improvised tools; he has before. He dropped down into a squat, and pulled out his trusty needle and knife. Aela, worried that someone may discover them in the time it was taking to get in, went and put out the torches near them. And she used a very weak flame spell to keep some light where Lucullus was working, but not so much light that they couldn’t block it with their bodies. After much effort, he managed to open the lock, and carefully opened the door. The slight squeak it made as it opened spooked both of them.
The room, as Lucullus guessed, was empty except for a guard sleeping in the corner. They crept through the room, and began their search through the records. Aela took the lead in the search, and methodically scanned over the shelf labels until she found the box of manifests labeled Protos Sporos, and for thoroughness she also took the one labeled Telos Cheimona. Lucullus assumed they must have been the names of months or of ships. One of the labels sounded familiar, but he wasn’t certain, and it refrained from asking any unnecessary questions, lest the guard in the corner were to hear their conversation and wake up. Instead, he patiently waited while Aela searched the records, and kept watch for her. Few torches in the room were lit, and the patches of darkness made for blind spots in his watch, but his ears had no such impedance.
The suspense was almost too much for Lucullus to handle, but just when he thought his nerves couldn’t get worse, he heard the guard in the corner stirring in his chair. He gave Aela a light nudge with his elbow to hurry up her search. She scanned the manifests as fast as she could. Lucullus felt as if he had sweat a river by the time Aela triumphantly, but silently, raised up the manifest and related documents for Olivia. She gave them to Lucullus to put in his scrip, and took the boxes back to where she found them. At that time, the guard stood up from his chair, and they hid between the shelves to evade his watchful gaze.
Lucullus peered through the boxes, and seeing an opportunity, he started toward the door. But he halted, and kept Aela back as he saw the guard moving toward the same door. Both of their hearts sank as they heard the sound of the door being locked. Seeing the guard going back to his comfortable repose, they searched for another way out; there was not a chance they could pick the lock without the guard noticing at that point. Lucullus checked the other door out of the room, which was close to the shelves they were hiding behind, but it was locked, too. He looked back at Aela, and she nodded toward the door.
Seeing no other viable way, he figured the shelves would provide enough visual cover that he might get away with some noise. Once more, he did his picking routine, which was rife with struggles. He could hardly grip his tools from all the sweat he worked up. His panic increased as he heard the guard get up once again. The footsteps seemed to be getting closer, but the lock wasn’t budging an inch. Thin lines of the guard’s torchlight shone through the cracks between the boxes, and Lucullus could see them hitting the door above him.
The guard rounded the corner around some of the shelves, and inspected between them. “Is someone there?” He moved his torch around. “Heinrich, bist du das?”
Aela moved back toward Lucullus, and crouched lower.
“Was ist das für ein spiel?” The guard’s voiced seemed to get closer, and the growing torchlight confirmed it.
Finally, the lock opened, and Lucullus slowly opened it, and slipped out with Aela. He closed the door behind them, and it creaked.
The guard darted his gaze and torch toward the door. “Halt! Wer ist da?”
Lucullus and Aela quickened their pace as they heard the door open.
“Du zwei, stoppen!”
They stopped as they came to a dead end. Lucullus frantically looked for another way.
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The guard approached closer, and drew his sword. “Was für ein Gesindel bist du?”
Aela turned around, and squeezed her hands together.
The guard grunted, and dropped to one knee after taking a step. He nearly dropped his sword as he tried to balance himself. Even with his sudden burst of pain, he pushed forward, staggering as he did.
Aela opened her palms and pushed forward. And out from her hands came a ball of flame toward the guard. But it was just shy of its target as the guard staggered at the last second. The blast hit a torch on the wall behind the guard, and knocked it to the ground.
Lucullus spotted a window as he looked to one of the walls on his side. He forced it open, and grabbed Aela’s arm while pointing out the window toward the awning below on the other side of the narrow street.
As a deterrent, she shot a large stream of fire in front of the guard to block him.
Lucullus pulled her along, and directed her toward the window. She climbed out the window, and jumped toward the awning, letting out a small grunt as she smacked into it. Lucullus followed close behind, but landed much lower on the awning, and grabbed onto it before dropping himself to the street. Once he recovered from the landing he helped Aela up, and the two dashed into the dark alleys of the city.
It wasn’t long after they had made their getaway that they glanced behind them to see a growing fire engulfing the top floor of the building, and the ringing of bells soon followed. They continued to flee into the night, and once they were sure they escaped, they stopped for a minute to catch their breath.
Aela said a short prayer silently, and whispered to Lucullus, “What should we do now?”
“I’m not sure,” he whispered.
“We can’t go to Matilda’s agents in the city without drawing suspicion.”
“I know.” He took a few calm breaths to steady his mind. “I say we leave the city on our own. We can make it back to the castle if we follow our maps.” He looked at the distant roaring flames engulfing the Fahrmanner’s headquarters. “It would be unwise to stay here.”
“I don’t care much for camping in the wilderness, but I would have to agree on this one. The whole city is probably under the thumb of the Fahrmanner.”
With no further room for discussion, the two ran out from the city and into the countryside, taking shelter under a patch of trees a couple miles from the city gates. They picked up their journey again at dawn, and kept a watchful eye during their travels.
Matilda warmly greeted Lucullus and Aela as she entered their chamber. “I knew the they would be nothing for individuals of your talents. How did it go?”
Lucullus pulled the documents from his scrip. “There was no time to make a copy, but we did get what we needed.”
Matilda looked at Aela, then back at Lucullus. “I see. And you know where you two need to go?”
Lucullus nodded. “We will pack our things, Duchess. Leaving as soon as we can works for me, as I’m sure it does for you.”
“Good. I shall like to have the original copy of those documents. Duplicates will be provided for you, but I can’t allow you to leave from here with those.”
“I understand, Duchess.” He handed her the papers.
Matilda left the room, and returned late in the afternoon the next day. She ordered her servants to escort Lucullus and Aela to the main island, and waved goodbye to them as the boat departed. It was a small vessel, but still had all the comforts of the Fahrmanner ferry. They arrived at a harbor on the main island after two days of sailing.
Tullius knelt before Sabina’s throne and saluted her. “I received your letter, Archduchess Sabina. I came as quick as I could.”
She approached him, and motioned for him to stand up. “It’s good to see you, Sir Tullius.” She pulled him into a warm hug.
“This seems a little informal, Archduchess.”
She released him from the hug. “You’ve done much for Lucium, and on behalf of this nation, I have extended a display of gratitude to you.” She motioned for him to follow. “Let’s take this conversation away from such a crowded atmosphere.”
He followed behind her. “I gathered from your letter that this was something of great importance.”
“It is of great importance indeed, Tullius,” she said as they entered the hallway lined with doors to private offices and the war room. “I’ve heard of your great feats of diplomacy, as well as your might in battle. And, of course, I can’t forget your timeliness in going from place to place, especially when urgency is key.”
“I am honored to receive such praise from you. Duke Ignatius has said similar things, though he is not as enthusiastic about my diplomacy as you are.”
She chuckled. “Not everyone can see the brilliance one can display in calculated diplomacy.” She glanced back at him. “Your display of that with the recent wave of rogues was quite impressive.”
“I’m not sure I understand, Archduchess.”
“That duke sent you to deal with a large group of rogues from Emporikos, right?”
“How did you know?”
“I have my ways.”
His confusion only intensified with her response.
“Duke Ignatius understands the problems that are happening in Lucium. He might not have the full picture on how to solve it, but he knows the problem. And you directing those savages to the eastern province will perhaps wake up some of its people to the faltering leadership of King Titus.”
“Where are you going with this?”
“Titus has proven himself to be weak in the face of trouble. His inaction with Lucium’s most pressing concerns has made us a nation of fools to the rest of the world. I’ve heard reports of a rift in House Nikitis. The Queen’s sister has tried to usurp power; more than that, I think she may have already done it. And that means we will have a more unstable position.”
“Wouldn’t instability in Emporikos be good for us? It means they would be too busy to fight us.”
“Quite observant, Tullius.” She opened the door to her war room. “But what you have missed is the flood of those sorcerers, those rogue mages, into our homeland. Any instability over there will result in chaos over here, too; that is, if we keep Titus as king.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I have seen your expert diplomacy at work. That is why I ask you to be my legate to Duke Ignatius. You have already gained his trust and support; ask him to join me by swearing an oath of loyalty.”
“How would you hope to face the royal army, even with a great coalition? Surely you would seek to do things without such bloodshed.”
“As diplomatic as ever, Tullius,” she said with a smile. “Indeed, I seek a peaceful way. I don’t think I will even need to march a soldier into Multa. A council is going to be held on the summer solstice. There I shall challenge Titus, and all of my allies shall proclaim their loyalty to me, and they shall also renounce Titus. With that, I shall assume the throne, and Lucium will enter a golden age.”
“And you want Duke Ignatius to be part of this?”
“He is the key to me gaining the support I need in the south. If you do this for me, I will show you secret knowledge which has been known to so few. These secrets will make you powerful beyond what you can even imagine.”
“It is not power that I seek.”
“Not power in battle, but power of a spiritual kind. Those Dasosan sorcerers fear it greatly, and for good reason. They fear what we could achieve if we were closer with the Divines.”
“King Titus’s rule has been a weak point in Lucium’s history. I have encountered many brigands in my various missions to destroy lawlessness wherever I find it. Your province seems to be in the best shape of all of us. If you believe this to be the path, I will help you in this.”
She nodded, and smiled ominously. “Excellent. Return when you have his written word, and I will show you great spiritual secrets.”