Disguises were assembled and the scouts turned into simple guards. They slipped into the main building unnoticed and unbothered by the guards. They were unremarkable and uninteresting. Soon a dozen scouts had spread out between the first two floors joining the patrols of other guards. For now, the basement level was avoided while intelligence was gathered about the floors above. Slowly the trickle of information was relayed to the other scouts in the building and then to Archer.
They searched for bedrooms and bunks where other guards slept. Quietly more guards filled the room without realization of what was happening. The empty guard slots were filled by the scouts who had poisoned them.
A few doors down the others waited for Archer to let them out. Alex pulled Archer aside.
“I’m not sure if this will work. There are too many people and too many variables to consider. While we might be able to avoid a brawl I don’t think we can avoid detection. We have to get people through three floors and a basement of people. Unless the scouts going out are exceptionally good then we will never get over a hundred people past the Seekers. I’m sure you have it all in your head, but I need confirmation and a clear way we are going to accomplish this.”
“I am just following orders as you should be now. Look I don’t like the Seekers but technically as a representative of the Law of Earth, I don’t want to anger them unnecessarily nor fund their ventures through their current extortion practices. The plan will work because I know these people who have joined us better than you. The ones who couldn’t cut it already went west. It has all gone to plan so far and there is no reason to think it will fail now. Even then I have backups as I briefly mentioned earlier. I would also hope you would remember two things as we move forward with this.” Archer put his finger to Alex’s chest. “First this is my caravan and if this fails it is on me. Not you. The Seekers won’t know who you are, and you can do whatever you want after you escape. Secondly,” Archer repeated the tap on Alex’s chest. “You could have left for the third floor five hours ago and been with your girlfriend if you so choose to do so. Instead, you are with me and will follow the plan. You are lucky as well that you don’t have to do anything but walk quietly.”
Archer turned his back on Alex and left him in the corner before he could respond. Alex frowned and kept himself in his corner while Archer spoke to other members of the caravan. Alex knew that Archer was right and that there was little he could do now. He could have left with Angela and the other crafters, but he didn’t and now he had to deal with choice and stick with it.
It wasn’t much longer that Archer called them all together and they began their exit from their hideout.
In groups of fours and fives, they made their way into the alleyway next to the main building. Their figures were hidden in the shadows of the night. Ropes were thrown up to the balcony and knotted together. They climbed up one by one and then entered the building. Some of the bigger fighters helped lift others up on the rope to speed things up. The process took a while due to their numbers and their need for silence.
Inside they were met by one of the scouts posing as a guard. They were led once more in groups of fours and fives down the stairs to the second floor and into the rooms within. They had to stay quiet due to the guards sleeping in some of the rooms. Next, they had to get through the first floor. The scouts found no openings on the first floor for the others to wait in. The first floor was too busy to knock people out and the rooms still active and occupied.
This is when the illusion mages began their work. The four assembled their spells and targeted the stationary men. It was subtle work but vital. Sometimes it was a flicker of light beyond the windows while other times it was the false sounds of other guards walking. The mages also created a bubble of camouflage. To the untrained eye the half of the room taken up by the mages weren’t even there.
In pairs of two the mages brought groups of four down to the basement. The teleportation circle provided no signal that it was being used. They carefully carted people down the stairs from the second floor to the basement. One held the barrier in place while they moved while the other illusionist dampened their sounds and kept the guards’ eyes away from the barrier. The illusions, skillfully crafted, held the full attention of the guards, their concerns firmly redirected away from the steady stream of people sneaking past them.
Meanwhile, the scouts diligently relayed each new development to Archer, their messages whisper-quiet but filled with crucial details. He navigated the stream of incoming intelligence with ease, his mind ever on the move, predicting, planning, adjusting. He seemed to be always one step ahead, smoothly guiding the operation.
As groups slipped past distracted guards and descended into the basement, the mages kept their illusions active, maintaining the diversion for as long as possible. Their stamina and concentration were being stretched thin, but they held on, the fate of the operation hinging on their unwavering focus.
In the basement, some of the scouts awaited the groups. They had already sneaked by with the skill of their stealth techniques. They further assisted by carrying and handling some of the larger items among the caravan members. With their help fighter’s shields and swords too unwieldy for the trip were carried to the teleportation circle for the people in question to pick up on their way through the teleporter.
Each arriving group was immediately led through the dimly lit basement and by this point well-trod paths, their footsteps masked by some magic. They walked, huddled close, whispering reassurances to one another, their faces a mask of quiet apprehension. They knew the weight of the situation; they understood the cost of failure.
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As the groups went by some of the scouts left who weren’t needed. Instead, they woke up the guards on the third floor and pretended to return to their housings. In reality they snuck down the levels with the help of the illusionists and entered the third floor.
Things went well for a while, but the guards changed their predictable patterns. A small group had been just about to emerge from a corridor when a patrolling guard turned the corner. The illusionists didn’t have their bubble up because the space had been cleared of people and they had planned on saving mana. Quick thinking and a bit of luck saved them. A scout in the group, posing as a guard, took control of the situation, using a quiet command to send the guard off in another direction. The guard looked away his eyes not peering down the hallway where the group stood waiting. The rest of the group breathed a sigh of relief and continued on their way.
Finally, it was Alex’s turn to walk the hallways with a group and enter the third floor. He felt nervous but ready. Alex had watched Archer’s plans come true and they had successfully gotten over 60 of their people through the teleportation circle without notice.
Alex followed behind the illusionists who guided him expertly down the hallways and stairs. They had performed this walk numerous times at this point and knew what to expect. Next to him on his short journey was a mage he knew by face and power when they fought against the undead, a rapier wielding swordsman, and a full plated paladin missing only his shield. Further behind them a scout followed carrying the man’s large metal shield with both arms.
The paladin to his credit was doing a good job staying quiet. Though the second illusionist seemed to have focused their attention on dampening the armor’s noises. They walked calmly as the illusionists instructed and kept their breathing steady and minds clear.
They stuck to the walls to reduce their footprint and allow the illusionist in charge of the barrier keep it small. Alex flinched when the stairs creaked as they stepped but the second illusionist kept the sound insulated to the barrier alone. The first floor was one of motion and business. Alex was sure that if they could explore the activities done in this building they would learn a lot about the Seeker’s. Thinking about it some more Alex realized that Archer had likely done that or would do that before they were done here.
They made their way to the basement stairs and took them slower this time. They had to maneuver their way around a guard posted at the stairwell. Inch by inch progress was made around the guard until they were past him. Descending the stairs, they took a few turns around the branching hallways. Behind them the scout carried their goods just outside of the bubble in the shadows.
They took one more turn and found themselves at the final stretch. Alex could see the teleportation circle resting silently waiting to be used. The guard paced from side to side between their path. They waited, watching for an opening.
Then the guard stopped finally finding a place to rest. Alex looked behind them a guard passing away from them. He held his echolocation active throughout the trip. Its power was not blocked by the illusionist’s barrier. Now they moved not wanting to waste time. The illusionist stretched the barrier’s size as they slid past the guard. Alex was sure that the guard would turn and notice the magic right next to him, but the guard did not look at them or have any indication of turning. The guard kept his eyes pointed away from the teleportation circle.
Alex was the last of the group to move past the guard. He looked past the man and watched the scout. The carrier of their goods was a master of stealth. Even while carrying the items his stealth still held. Alex could only ‘see’ him using his echolocation bouncing through the room and detecting a void where the man walked.
With intentional steps the scout moved with goods in hand. His focus was solely on being unseen. For a moment though it was not on the items in hand. Whether it was due to stress, tiredness or just a simple slip. The large metal disk in his hands began to slip. Alex watched in part horror and moved forward wanting to do something.
His powers activated instinctually as his hands touched the man lightly right as the shield hit the ground. It took Alex a moment to realize what he had done. With his mana sight active it was clear. He in essence was recreating the barrier just for the guard. Each time the sound and the signals from it were vibrating his ear Alex took the energy, the electricity, and dampened the sound. The guard could not hear the sound which he had never perceived. Alex sighed in relief then looked at the scout. The man nodded in gratitude but they both looked to the rest of the hallway.
“Thank you for what you have done but you must go,” the man whispered. “Other guards will come soon. They will be suspicious of the sound that this man should have heard. The next batches we have to send down will take a bit longer. Now go.”
The scout handed the shield to the now embarrassed paladin who quickly exited. Alex let his hand go and quietly stepped back into the illusion bubble. He knew the man was right and turned to the circle. They had to leave. He was about to enter the third floor and with it a modified way of using his magic.
<<<>>>
A week prior.
“We are finally here!” Rich proclaimed to his fellow climbers. “Come let’s get drinks. There must be a tavern near here somewhere.”
“Relaxing would be nice,” said Taylor. “The trip was quite dreadful at times. We can start hunting monsters tomorrow.”
“I don’t think I will join you this time,” said Kai. “I’ll look into gathering some information about the floor and let you know what I find.”
“No, no, no, no. You will join us and have some food if nothing else. Come on. You need the break if anything else. We can let lesser members of the guild gather the information for us. Those pencil pushers will likely have the documents prepared before we have sipped our first drink.”
“He’s right you know,” said Eric. “We’ve got better and more fun things to do than intel gathering.”
“How do you think things are going down on Earth?” asked the final member of their group, a robbed healer. “We were in the middle of the pack through the portal.”
“The pencil pushers have likely already taken care of it and the climbers still on Earth would have been notified immediately. We could return to Earth immediately if the line entering the third floor wasn’t so backed up currently,” said Rich. “But we have better things to worry about now and I don’t want to think about that now. We are one of the first people on the floor. That is an amazing accomplishment.”
“I for one am glad we have made it this far,” said Taylor with a smile. “And I am glad that I’m not the one who will be paying for drinks!”