We geared up swiftly. I donned the armor first. The helmet fit snugly over my head, the polished steel glinting faintly under the moon. Kent’s men provided us with horse armor—hand-me-downs from his knights and workers across his fief who’d previously served in the city guard. Though scuffed and rusty, they would pass inspection.

My wives, meanwhile, dressed in peasant robes that reeked of the stables. Alynna had wiped off her wedding makeup and had even sprinkled her face with dust to be more convincing.

“Alright, listen up,” I said, stepping forward to address them. “This city is already on edge. We can’t afford to draw attention to ourselves. I’ll be checking the grid constantly. Follow my lead and do exactly as I say.”

Alynna, already sprawled in the dirt perfecting her “pathetic” look, gave me a thumbs-up.

Lariel perked up and gave a salute. Camille, brushing at the ill-fitting armor she’d reluctantly donned, one hand grasping a standard halberd, simply nodded.

We each took a horse and rode through the gate and into the fields.

And questions inevitably popped into my mind.

I really needed to communicate with Aria better.

I had all these powers bestowed by her but couldn’t request specific instructions in regard to... finding this guy. Perhaps a pointer?

What we’d gathered from Kent’s people who’d spotted him, particularly from the stableboy he bribed, was that he rode out wearing a cloak in the dead of night.

If the idiot wanted to reach the wall and pass through it, he’d be in big trouble. What if he tried to bribe the city guard in the city proper? He might think it a good idea, except there was possibly a bigger reward for someone who looked like the king.

The lights of the city, few but existent, blazed across a couple of miles from the field. We’d have to advance through the fields, making our way among the cultivated vineyards, passing away from individual farmhouses belonging to Kent’s fiefdom and then to other lords, advancing downhill.

And then, I felt a tingle in my mind. Just about time. There was something out there. Something moving toward us. Hooves echoed ahead.

CONNOR: There’s a rider up ahead. Get your weapons ready.

I braced, grasping the handle of my sword. Yeah. It was better not to unsheathe it all of a sudden. What if it was a merchant? Or even worse, what if our actions were what awakened their suspicion?

I reached for Aria’s grid to get a better view of our opponent. But what I saw surprised me.

A riderless horse emerged from the other side of the fields, its reins dangling loosely.

Alynna dismounted immediately, her boots crunching softly against the dirt as she approached.

“Huh?” I mumbled, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ve seen that baby,” Alynna said. I could see the simple, nondescript saddle on its back. “This is one of ours.”

“Ours?” I asked.

“How’s my little boy?” she said, her voice taking on a caring tone, the creature lightening its pace as soon as it heard her voice. She reached for its neck and petted him. “Kent’s stable,” she said, facing us before patting the horse’s head. “I bet this is the baby boy that Malor took when he ran away.”

“What?” Camille asked. “What does that mean?”

I sighed in relief. “I think it’s a good sign. If he were attacked by bandits or soldiers, they’d take his horse. In this case, it seemed like he opted for another type of transport, and... the horse decided to go back home. So... either he decided to hike all the way there or something else. Alynna, are you good at tracking?”

Alynna frowned. “Tracking him now will be tough. It’s too dark.”

“Then he’ll aim to sneak into the city unnoticed. Overnight traders, maybe?” I glanced at Camille.

She scratched her chin thoughtfully. “It’s possible. There are traders who make deliveries at odd hours.”

“Perfect for him,” I muttered. “He’d slip in easily that way.”

“Come on,” I said, spurring on my horse. “The horse will make it back. We’ll reach the city before it’s too late and he gets caught.”

I could only trust that Aria would help us again.

We continued, looking at the vast city. Thank the gods it was still dark. The fact that it was summer, however, was worrisome, as the sun would rise early.

According to Lariel, it was still roughly two hours past midnight, and we were pushing through our fatigue.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

Alynna and Lariel went back to chatting and giggling. I wondered what they were talking about and could only guess. Yes, their eyes kept drifting toward me.

LARIEL: Seems like you exceeded Alynna’s expectations.

CONNOR: …

LARIEL: I wish I could’ve joined you guys.

CONNOR: Uff... Now that’s hot.

LARIEL: Guess we’ll have to leave it for next time.

CONNOR: Can’t wait. Let’s finish this and then have our time before anything crazy happens again. We had a task at hand, and we had to give our best.

I raised my hand to stop my comrades as the city walls became visible on the grid, and we got a better view from below. Soldiers marched lazily or seemed to gaze at the ground from above. I could see two of them, and closing in, I assumed they hadn’t spotted us yet.

CONNOR: Alright, Lariel and Alynna. There’s no reason for a beggar to have a horse, so I want you to bind the horses to one of those trees and follow closely. Move stealthily. There’s a guard on the battlements, exactly west of us. If you move across this path between the fields, they’re not likely to see you. Get to the wall and inform me.

LARIEL: Understood.

CONNOR: Camille. You know the city guard better. I’ll go in and get a better look at how many they are and whatnot. Then we’ll try to pass through. Lariel turned around and climbed down the saddle. Alynna did the same with an acrobatic move, crouching and guiding the horses toward the fields._

My eyes turned toward Camille, the moon casting silvery light over her face.

I signaled the princess to follow me, and in the meantime, I pulled up Aria’s grid in my mind.

The princess spurred, riding next to me.

“How do you feel?” I asked.

“Worried,” she said softly. There was something quite unnatural about seeing this woman, whom I’d just met as a princess, wearing that rusty armor.

Now we were together with her. I couldn’t just send her home.

“Camille,” I said, swallowing and turning to her. “You know the city guard better than I do. What can we expect?”

She hesitated, brushing dirt from her borrowed armor. “The gates are lightly manned at night. Two, maybe three guards every few spans. They’re usually too tired or too drunk to be thorough. But…”

“That’s good to know,” I said. “I’ll approach first and get a better sense of their numbers. Stay back until I give the signal. I’d say don’t talk until it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Got it,” Camille said, straightening the ill-fitting helmet on her head. She looked less than confident, but her resolve was clear.

I then took a look at the grid, scanning for Lariel and Alynna. It didn’t look that bad at first. It seemed to me like the guards hadn’t spotted them. As for us, they would definitely look at us.

The city drew closer, and I managed to spot a single guard leaning against the wall near the North gate. This section had no drawbridge, just a large wall and no access designed for guard duty. So whoever wanted to pass through this gate had to do it through the massive gateway. There was no way to get around it, it seemed, aside from riding toward the next gate.

They really weren’t that dumb.

One on the outside, through the grid I saw two more in a building nearby, just behind, and two more watching from the battlements above, equipped with crossbows. They’d see us any way we tried to approach. Unless we were climbing the wall. I was no rock climber and didn’t think I could do it easily compared to proven acrobats like my two wives. I’d take too long.

So we’d take our chances.

And a message popped up in the group chat.

LARIEL: We’re above. No one has seen us yet. We’re hiding behind a divider in the battlements, but they’d probably see us if we come out.

ALYNNA: It’s not easy to get down from here. We’ll have to either jump onto a nearby roof or jump into that ditch. I think it’s wastewater. Without them seeing us, of course. The gate that leads to the city is well guarded.

I narrowed my eyes, thoughtful.

CONNOR: Do you need any help? I can still see you through the grid.

ALYNNA: Really? Where are the guards? Is it safe for us to walk through?

CONNOR: The other guy to your west, I mean, closer to us, is currently not looking your way. You could pass. I also see a roof close to this side. Oh crap, there's like a sewage tunnel right between the wall and the other side. I'm guessing you can reach that roof I told you about.

LARIEL: Can we step out of this section to take a glance? To see if we can jump it, I mean.

CONNOR: Hmmm... Go ahead.

They exchanged glances. Lariel signaled to Alynna her intentions and took a step in front of the division.

I watched warily through the grid, advancing slowly toward the gate. The single guard at the north gate had already spotted me, taking his halberd and tilting his head to get a better view of us.

And then, a new message from Lariel broke through my concentration.

LARIEL: Shit. He just saw me.

I cursed to myself, as the grid displayed a real-time image of what was going on in the battlements. The man had spotted Lariel and was already walking toward her, a hand on the sheath of his sword.

LARIEL: Should I attack him?

CONNOR: He has a horn around his belt. That’s a problem we have to deal with first.

I hesitated for a moment, but I knew the solution was obvious.

CONNOR: Alynna, climb that concrete divider and shoot him. Get on top, get down, and get ready. If he makes a scandal, we're in trouble. Lariel, keep him distracted.

ALYNNA: On my way.

I gritted my teeth. Our Lariel did have a bow and arrow, but they were hidden between the bulky robes of her cloak. It would take a while. She got my message of pretending to be a harmless homeless person who had somehow made it to the battlements while Alynna did the dirty work. She lifted both hands, and the guard's eyes flashed with surprise.

Lariel giggled.

“What are you doing?” shouted the guard, his hand reaching for the horn. In that very moment, an arrow shot from Alynna’s bow, embedding itself in the man’s neck. The man reached for his neck, blood bubbling down, as the grid showed me a health bar that immediately went to zero. The man dropped to the ground with a thud.

In the meantime, Camille and I were trotting as slowly as snails. She had caught up to me and was staring intently.

She cocked her head.

“Connor? Why are you so pale?”

I spoke through my teeth, keeping my eyes on the guard ahead. “The girls were in trouble…”

“It looks like you just did something bad.”

“They had to kill a guy. It’s war, but I still haven't gotten used to it. I’m no military guy.”

“You’re the tactician.”

“Yep. It is what it is. I can only hope it's not all in vain.”

My second sight followed the girls as they ran, my heart uneasy and hoping that everything went well with them. They’d located the nearby roof that I’d told them about and had managed to jump across without the guards noticing.

As for us, we’d gotten the guard’s attention. He moved slowly and reached his head forward, standing tall and holding on to his halberd. The ones on the battlements watched us carefully as we advanced toward the gate.