In Monte's manor, Silver stood staring down the room full of soldiers. Either the Baron was not as foolish as he looked, or he had caught someone using this method before. The design of his treasury was perfect for catching thieves, and like a fly he had flown into the spider's web. He could hear a bell and cries to rouse the house echoing outside. Soon even more people would be flocking toward him.

The Baron's order to kill him a moment before had barely registered. The Guardian was too busy planning his escape. The timing and angles needed to be perfect or what he planned would never work. Most important of all, he needed a little luck.

As the soldiers lunged toward him, Silver threw the torch in his hand in a wide arc over the men's heads onto the Baron's paper-laden desk. Thankfully, he did not have to wait for results; the tinder box lit immediately in a spectacular woof of energy. Those nearest the desk had to lower their swords to shield their eyes from the spray of tiny parchment-laden embers.

"My paper! My work!" Monte yelled. "Put it out, quickly!"

Confused by the Baron's words, the soldiers lost their cohesive attack. Pandemonium erupted as smoke filled the room.

Silver smirked beneath his hood. 'Hey look! A fire I actually started! They can totally blame me for this one.'

With catlike agility, Silver leapt and walked along the tops of the crowd's heads, the soldiers barely feeling the impact of his steps. Looking back, none of the men could be sure he hadn't flown. Years of practice flying through the trees was finally paying off.

Briefly pausing in the doorway to make sure the fire would be contained, the Guardian slipped through into the passageway. The soldiers within bumped and scrambled to follow him, but due to the smoke, they could not gauge exactly where he was. Dusting off his hands Silver turned to leave.

However, his escape was cut short as he was met abruptly with the edge of a spear. Silver sneered at the crude weapon as his eyes flashed beneath his hood. His adrenaline, frustration and anger all collided within him.

"Make your move," he challenged menacingly. "You'll only get one chance." His knees bent as he anticipated his enemy's move.

Miraculously unbothered by the silver orbs appearing beneath the hood's void, the guard hefted his weapon with a determined scowl. Like lightning, the shaft thrust toward the Guardian. The razor edge caught the lamplight of the hall as it shot to hit Silver directly in the chest. Time slowed as it the cloaked figure was about to meet his doom.

Yet, Silver was faster. He rolled one shoulder backwards, curving his spine toward the ground as the deadly spearhead nearly opened his chest. Nearly.

As soon as the sharp edge passed, the cloaked figure shot his hands upward and grasped the shaft firmly. Instinctively he pulled with all his might. One of two things was going to happen when he did this, and unfortunately the result was out of his control. Either the guard would be able to stand his ground and Silver would use his leverage to stand, or the other man would come tumbling toward him. Even as the Guardian made the move, he debated which was preferable.

As it turned out, the soldier had put his weight behind the jab. The downward pull caused him to come tumbling forward. The spear's sharp edge arced to the marble floor and collided with a terrible scraping sound. It nicked the ground and caught just enough for the entire spear to come to a sudden halt.

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While this allowed Silver to lightly lay himself on the ground, the soldier, who had been gripping onto the spear for dear life, felt the full shudder of the motion down both arms. The bone rattling impact finally forced him to release his weapon and his body landed stomach down across Silver's legs.

The guard was stunned, but the next words he heard made him shudder.

"You landed poorly. I'm sorry for what happens next."

Realizing what was about to happen, the soldier rolled off of Silver's legs just in time for the Guardian to kick them swiftly in the air. If not for the guard's self-preserving move, he would have received the full force of that kick in between his legs. As it was, Silver's kick, along with a spring like motion from his arms, sent a ripple of movement down his body which catapulted him to standing.

He picked up the spear, which had clattered to one side during his movement, and threw it toward the soldiers who were exiting the smoky room. It flew between one of the men's legs and he cried out in surprise, forcing himself and his comrades back into the office and out of the line of fire.

Silver did not look back as he raced down the corridors. His mind was fully focused on each turn he needed to make to get back to the window from which he entered. Unless someone had seen him come in, and he was relatively sure that no one had, that window would be his best option as it was already known to him. Opening a door to find another window could lead to yet another trap.

As it was, more and more soldiers and other members of the house were filling the halls trying to capture the intruder. Whatever the Baron had promised them, it was enough for even the untrained servants to try and take him down. The turnover rate at the manor was high, so loyalty was not what motivated the servant who threw a hot towel from a doorway to block Silver's vision or the chambermaid who nearly caught him with her full pot.

Although the interruptions were not deadly, they were unpleasant and enough to slow the Guardian enough for the soldiers to gain some ground. While Silver knew the path he had taken to get where he needed to go, the men who patrolled the manor knew each and every hall and shortcut. Their advantage allowed them to cut him off from the ballroom just before the Guardian reached the door.

The first soldier held his sword and slashed diagonally, threatening to cut the intruder in two. But Silver spun counter to the strike, and it glanced off the wall with a metallic clang and a deep gash in the beautiful plastered stone. From behind, Silver could sense another soldier lunging at him. He dropped quickly to the ground, allowing the man to trip over his crouching form.

Without looking, Silver could hear that the sword had found a different target as a man screamed in pain. Now that blood was being shed, things were going to get serious, and Silver knew it.

The Guardian pulled out a knife from his cloak with a strong cross-guard. Although he could fight with a sword, his agility was much better with a shorter blade and with the crowded hall and so many opponents, this was his preferred option.

The soldier nearest the man who had fallen went red with rage. He charged at Silver and lifted the sword to deal a devastating blow. Unfortunately, he did not see the knife appear until it was already entering his stomach. He crumpled to one side holding his wound.

Silver ducked and dodged as two swords came at him at once. Both blades missed their mark and hit the wall to which Silver was being penned. The first sword made the familiar sound of metal on stone, but the second's hit was hollow.

The sound caught the Guardian's attention. As he blocked the next hit, he took a quick glance at the wall behind him. It was plastered like the rest, so it should sound like the rest.

'Why would the hit be hollow? Unless...'

Pushing back and wounding yet another soldier, Silver exchanged his knife for a bow and arrow. The new weapon was impressive, and the enemy stopped the onslaught for a moment to gauge his intention.

"This was fun," Silver said, "but let's never do this again. Deal?" He let two arrows fly in each direction down the hall. The soldiers tried to avoid the attack, tracing the arrows path to make sure they were not the target. When their gaze returned to the Guardian, they realized their error. Silver had disappeared.

A thin wooden door, cleverly hidden within the framework of the wall, had been opened and closed while they were distracted. To them, the Guardian had vanished, when really he had slipped into one of the private rooms that led off from the ballroom.

'I wonder if the Baron's wife knows about that secret door,' Silver mused as he ghosted along the shadows and into the dancefloor. 'Or maybe she is the one who had it installed.'

The Guardian left the thoughts behind as he moved to the window. As long as no one awaited him, he was in the clear.

Luckily for Silver, Baron Monte had foolishly committed the full force of his troops to the manor and left no one outside, not even a lone archer. It was risky, and it had not paid off. Silver encountered no more resistance as he silently left the estate.

He tore through the countryside for the better part of an hour. He finally stopped for a half hour to rest hidden in a copse of trees. Then wearily the Guardian pressed on, knowing if he stopped any longer, he wouldn't not start moving again. In intervals of half hour jogs followed by quarter hour rests, the guardian plodded on toward home.