As they had planned, Cobal and Mana met up with Eliana and Grac on the outskirts of town. They’d excited through the western gate so as to not tip off anyone to where they were going. It was unlikely that the town guards were in cahoots with the cultists but Eliana assured them that it was much better to simply not take that risk at all. The wind had picked up quite a bit and now that the sun had gone down, the dark forest seemed increasingly ominous. It would be hard to move through it without any light, but they wanted to stay hidden as long as possible. Luckily, Eliana had something prepared for a moment like this. She had a small artifact that functioned like a hooded lantern but emitted much less light. It was risky, but it was likely better than traversing the forest in total darkness. After Eliana activated the artifact and a dim light was lighting up the path ahead of them, the four made their way down the path. The plan was clear. Get to Solin Manor and take out the guards near the shed where Grac’s wife was presumably being held. If that went well, Cobal, Mana and Eliana would sneak in through the rubble on the far side of the manor and Grac would create a distraction out front. If they were spotted before that, there were a bunch of different ideas that they discussed, but they were all desperately hoping their first plan would succeed. The quiet of the forest was eerie. Cobal never realized how two forests could feel so very different. The forest and clearing near Milinia was tranquil and pleasant and even at night he would feel at ease there. This forest felt suffused with magic in its own way, but the reason they were walking through it put a very different feeling in his mind. Fear. Cobal was far from a coward, but he was scared of what was about to happen. Too many things could go wrong. Grac’s wife could be elsewhere, Eliana’s count of the amount of cultists in the manor could be off or they could simply be caught off guard on their way there and the entire plan would fall apart before it ever began. Despite his many worries, Cobal was determined to go through with it and to his relief they made it all the way to where the manor came into sight. Eliana dimmed the light completely and they carefully inched closer.
“Now then,” Eliana said to the group, “everyone knows exactly what to do, right? I’m the one with the most experiences so I’ll take charge.” Eliana pulled out her dagger and ran her finger along the flat side of the blade. “And a final reminder that we’re not a prince and a hero here, we’re here to deal with some very dangerous people in the best way we can. Quick and easy, I’ll take out one of the two guards and you all will focus on the other. I’m counting on you to come through here, is that clear?” They all nodded. Although Cobal had killed a man before, he was still extremely uncomfortable with the thought of doing so again, but there was really no other option. Eliana turned to Grac. “If things do go poorly, it’s up to you to break open the shed as quickly as you can. We can’t be of much help with that, understood?”
“Understood.”
The shed was on the west side of the manor, while the east side was the collapsed part of the building. For this reason it was very important that they didn’t get spotted early on. The fence around the property was in disrepair and Eliana had already found a good place to enter the premises through her earlier reconnaissance. They snuck in through it and got low, which was difficult for Grac, as they crossed the courtyard. Eliana split off from the rest of the group and before Cobal even realized how she did it, she had completely disappeared from sight. They waited for a few moments until Cobal spotted her again, behind the shed. How she got there that quickly and quietly, he had no idea. Just like Eliana had gathered during her time scouting, there were indeed two guards next to the shed which all but confirmed that something worth guarding was in there. One of the guards was sitting against the shed, eyes closed and presumably asleep. The other guard was lazily leaning on their spear. When Eliana and Cobal exchanged a glance, the captain duck low and in a sprint so fast it took Cobal by surprise, she shot towards the man and with her dagger glimmering in the moonlight she struck him in the neck, killing him immediately. Cobal didn’t hesitate and dashed forward as well towards the second man who was asleep. He wanted to stab him in the stomach but hesitated. Killing a sleeping man wasn’t something he was prepared to do. Right as he was in his moment of hesitation the man’s eyes opened and went wide. Cobal panicked and it looked like the man would have screamed for help if not for the dagger that pierced out the front of his chest. Eliana looked at Cobal. “I get it, but don’t screw up again.” A moment passed and the place was quiet again. Cobal nodded to Eliana and got started on the lock on the shed. Luckily, one of the two guards had the keys hanging from their belt and it didn’t take long to open the shed. While he did so, Mana and Grac quickly walked up.
After shining Eliana’s lantern into the shed, they saw that there was indeed another Irkan inside. Grac quickly pushed Cobal out the way and stepped forward. “Mesra?” He said, his voice quivering with emotion.
The other Irkan stepped forward, thin brown hair covering her eyes a bit. “Grac, is that really you?”
Grac nodded. “I’ve come to get you, we’re going home.” His face hardened. “After we finish business here.” He quickly got to untying her. “I need you to be quiet and make for the edge of Marsolin to the south of here, can you do that for me?”
Mesra looked at him worried. “What’s wrong, aren’t you coming with me?”
Grac shook his head. “There’s more work to be done here. My friends here helped me save you, now it’s my turn to help them.”
Cobal nodded. “We’ll make sure he comes back in one piece.”
Mesra wanted to argue but Grac squeezed her hand and shook his head. “I need to do this, wait for me at the edge of town.”
She nodded. “Be careful.”
“I will.”
After Mesra left the premises and was out of sight, Grac returned to the other three. They were standing outside the shed and Eliana had moved the bodies inside while they waited for Grac.
“Well, we split up here.” Eliana grabbed Grac by the arm. “Be careful big guy, we need you out of here in one piece. Remember that you’re here to distract, not to be a hero. The moment things look dangerous you run, am I clear?”
Grac nodded. “I’m the last one here who wants to be a hero, although I’d like to get a good punch or two in before I retreat.”
“Don’t worry Grac, we’ll take care of that part for you.” She looked at the other two. “You kids ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Cobal said, the pit in his stomach sinking even deeper.
“Good. Then wait roughly five minutes before you put a big dent in that front door.” Eliana said to Grac. Then the trio split up while Grac stayed behind the shed, out of sight from the manor itself.
As they crept towards the broken down part of the manor Eliana stayed slightly ahead of the other two. They reached the base of a broken down wall and Eliana stopped and turned around one more time. “Remember, self preservation is what has gotten me this far and I recommend you both to keep that in mind. It’s better to fail and try another day than to push your luck. These are dangerous people and although I think we’ll be okay, given how few of them seem to be here, we do not know what they’re truly capable of. Besides, we don’t even know if they’re holding your brother here or elsewhere. It would be an awful story to tell if one of you dies only for me to find out that the prince is in another castle.”
Mana chuckled at this comment although Cobal couldn’t really see the humor in it. “It seems like you’re more worried about us than about yourself,” he added.
Eliana smiled. “Don’t worry about me, I’ve been doing this for a long time.” With the dexterity of a cat she leapt onto the first bit of wall and quickly grabbed hold of the beam that was part of the first floor foundation before swinging up and hooking her leg around the splintered wooden floor of the first floor. Once she was properly situated she reached out a hand to help Mana up. Both Mana and Cobal went up the wall a lot slower than Eliana had, but with her help it wasn’t terribly difficult. They found themselves in what seemed to be a small storage room of sorts. This was as far as Eliana had managed to scout out so from here on out they had to figure things out as they went along. The dank space was incredibly dark and the musty smell of goods gone bad over the years mixed with the smell of the forest made for an unpleasant odor that irritated Cobal’s nose. He had to be careful not to start sneezing loudly. They walked through the room, the creaking of wood being a worrisome accompaniment in the otherwise quiet manor. They had to hope that the people inside were far enough away from the broken down part of the manor that they wouldn’t be spotted easily. The door to the room was slightly blown off his hinges and no one seemed to have bothered repairing it. There were still traces of burn marks and a lot of the wood was completely blackened. Looking at the way the wood was splintered Cobal couldn’t help but wonder what really went down here. It looked like some sort of a massive explosion happened inside the manor. “This door should open fully, but I don’t know how much sound it will make. I suggest taking the other door leading to the room next to this, although I don’t know what we’ll find there.” Eliana said.
“We’ll follow your lead.”
As Eliana got to the door she let out a curse. “It’s locked. Of course it’s locked.” She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out some lockpicks. “Luckily I’m always prepared for something like this.”
“Dionil wasn’t lying when he said you were dependable,” Cobal jokes.
“The old man said that? How nice of him.” She crouched next to the lock and after a few clicking sounds it quietly opened. The three of them were instantly on edge for there was no light inside yet the smell of a recently blown out candle still hung in the air. They weren’t alone.
The trio stepped back and both Eliana and Cobal reached for their weapons. Blade in hand, Cobal held a close eye on the doorway while Eliana fiddled with the lantern. Cobal was ready to pounce on whoever was here, knowing that the person here might give their entire plan away.
The light turned on and shone into the room. Cobal was the first one to spot the shape, crouched in the corner. With two quick steps he was looming over them, ready to swing his sword at the figure holding a small knife in front of her.
Cobal’s eyes went wide. “Selvia?”
“Cobal?” The woman replied.
Whatever she said next was drowned out by the sound of something heavy crashing into the front of the building.
Opal Kaharis 