Edmund approached the south of Eisenberg in the company of Ashlyn, The Bowman, and The Baron. It was dark, and bitterly cold. The moonlight afforded him a refresher of the layout of the town. From his direction, the church dominated the town on the left. To the right, half a dozen houses started small, while those on the road were larger. On the opposite side of the road was the inn and the smithy, with more houses behind and to the left.

Altogether there were around twenty buildings. The brigands were likely concentrated in the more important ones, but could be anywhere. He rubbed his hands together, then exercised his fingers to stop them going numb. At least the temperature outside meant they were unlikely to encounter any enemies until they entered the buildings. It wasn’t as if Stiff’s crew were expected.

There was a small graveyard. Eisenberg hadn’t existed long enough for the dead to take up much space. The church looked dark and empty but that didn’t fool Edmund. The second largest building in the town, it was an obvious place to position some of the warriors who had descended on the place.

Taking care not to make a sound, they reached the rear of the church. The Baron’s crowbar made short work of the back door. Edmund hoped it wasn’t as loud as it sounded to his ears. He then gave the thief a leg up, and The Baron began to climb. A small tower with a spire on top was the highest point in town, and therefore a key strategic objective. They waited, watching him slither his way up, until he was out of sight.

Christoph put an arrow to his bowstring, while Edmund and Ashlyn had their swords at the ready. He nodded at the girl, and she swung the door open. Edmund entered quickly, but there were no brigands waiting for them.

The other two followed as he slowly made his way through the small rooms at the back of the church, then into a corridor. A head poked out from a doorway, the darkness making it hard to identify the individual. Edmund stopped, ready to react. But there was no shouted challenge. Instead, a hand emerged and gestured towards the other end of the corridor with one thumb. A priest, perhaps, or some other church official who had been forced to share their home with Eisenberg’s occupiers.

Edmund resumed his careful approach, until he drew level with a lanky man. ‘How many?’ he whispered.

‘Four,’ came the reply. ‘And one upstairs.’

Four was a good number. Edmund carried on into the nave. He stopped once more, letting his eyes adjust. The large open space, and the high windows, allowed more light, and he made out his quarry. Four lumps, all laid out. Two were on the floor, the other two had constructed makeshift beds from the wooden pews.

He pointed them out to his two companions and they advanced slowly. Every step closer was a small victory—closing the distance, giving the four brigands less time to react.

One of the forms shuffled, and Edmund decided he’d got close enough.

ACTION ROUND

Brigands

Human

Brigand

Action Stats

EXP Level

2

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Action Points

3

Hit Points

16

Edmund launched himself at the closest brigand. Holding Slayer with both hands, he plunged it down, killing him before he knew what was happening. The other three struggled to their feet. Edmund’s surprise was lost, but he still had the initiative.

He hurled himself at the next, but his overhead strike was telegraphed, and the brigand leapt out of the way just in time. But death was stalking him, and he couldn’t avoid Edmund’s next strike. The blade went through the padded armour, far enough to kill him.

With one action point left, he didn’t have enough time to move and strike, and had to settle with two kills.

Ashlyn attacked the third brigand. He parried her first strike with his short sword, but her second went under his block and Greenblade sank into his guts. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor of the church. Ashlyn was able to finish him with her final action.

The Bowman aimed for the last brigand from where he stood. The first arrow was a clean strike in the centre of his chest, halving his hit points. The second skittered to the floor, but the third struck the brigand in the neck, killing him instantly.

The Bowman punched the air in celebration, but remembered not to make a sound. They had cleaned out the nave quickly, with very little noise. Edmund was confident they had not been heard, but nonetheless eyed the entrance to the church warily.

‘Keep that bow trained there,’ he whispered to Christoph, then gestured for Ashlyn to follow him.

They located the tower, and began to creep up the winding stone steps. Edmund heard footsteps coming down, and readied Slayer.

‘I hope that’s you,’ came a small voice.

‘Baron?’

The Baron appeared. Edmund noticed a bloody dagger in one hand. ‘I was told there was one of them upstairs.’

‘Not anymore,’ The Baron grinned.

Edmund allowed himself a smile in return. Five down with no injuries to any of their own crew. Fifteen left. ‘We might just do this.’

‘Indeed. Our odds have improved markedly. Send The Bowman up and we’ll progress to stage two.’

***

Mila approached Eisenberg from the north in the company of Twerk, The Explorer, and Auntie. They were a sort of a backup to the other half of the crew, who had entered from the south. When asked, Mila had said she understood the tactics. She didn’t completely, but she knew they were supposed to join in the attack, not start it. Oh, and they had to be quiet.

The gnome led them towards the first houses, set farthest from the road. They were simple wooden huts. Inside were the families who had made their homes in this remote part of Gal’azu. But there could also be brigands, and so they had to be quiet, and crawl beneath the level of the windows. Twerk didn’t need to crawl, and instead put his hands to his hips as he waited for the others to catch up to him.

They stopped between two houses, facing the road. Opposite them was the church. They all looked at the building.

‘What now?’ she whispered.

Wilson and Jaelin frowned at her for speaking.

‘We just wait,’ Femke whispered back.

Mila liked Auntie. She could be strict, but she could also be kind. For her, she tried to be patient.

At last, Twerk pointed out movement from the church. The door opened. Manslayer and Ashlyn exited, crossed the road, and made for the inn.

Meanwhile, from the roof of the church, a beam of light shone towards the roof of the Pig and Iron. The Baron had been given Jaelin’s Rod of Light. It allowed Mila to spot an arrow soar into the sky, then fall, until the neighbouring house blocked its descent from her view. Smoke coming from the direction of the inn indicated it had set fire to the thatch, even if Mila couldn’t see the flames from her position.

Tense moments of silence followed, before they could hear shouts of alarm. Nervous energy ran up and down her body. She took the dagger from her belt, gripping the hilt until her knuckles turned white, as the anticipation of violence grew. The shouts grew louder—the sound when fear meets anger. Then, the first clash of weapons.

Mila, Auntie, and Twerk were fixed on the events at the inn, waiting to play their part. They were lucky that Jaelin was checking behind them.

‘Turn!’ he gasped, his voice strangled, so she could barely decipher the word.

She did as The Explorer bid her. The door to a house behind them had been barged open. The three figures who exited looked as surprised to find them crouching in the shadows as Mila felt at seeing them. The one in the centre was a giant of a man, wielding a large pike.

Oh shit. It’s Brickhouse.