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“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
― Charles Dickens
Said captain was perched on one of the rectangular roofs, a spyglass in his hand. What was he looking at? The stronghold a few dozen meters ahead. If the captain's intel was right, the target whom he sought oughta still be imprisoned there. Given the madness recently, they wouldn't have moved him. Instead postponing whatever punishment he had coming and locking things down until things were stable again. Another lucky break in the process, that was for sure.
As Zufar observed the stronghold, a plan began to formulate. Zufar had circled the stronghold a couple of times, and was able to conclude that there were less people stationed there then the previous few days. Again, thanks to the coronation. It made getting in and out a bit easier, but it'll still take some leg work to get away cleaning. On top of all that, Zufar was unable to spot any of the jail ceils from the outside. This could of meant that they were kept within the buildings...but luckily, one of his trusted companions had already scouted the place. Most of the buildings were barracks to house the troops. This only meant one thing: The prisoners were being kept underground. Wasn't a far fetched idea, it would have been a secure place to keep them and hard for anyone to break in/out. Though harder did not immediately mean impossible...it just meant that Zufar had to use a few more tricks then normal to keep out of immediate trouble.
Now or never, the Captain thought. Clasping his spyglass and returning it to it's position, Zufar lept off the side of the roof, landing on the structure's foundation before making a dash forward. Zufar was now leaping across the roof tops, moving forward towards the stronghold in a rapid advance, taking care to try to avoid any of the guards stationed on the roof tops.
A few meters before the captain was to reach the stronghold, he descended from the rooftop and into the ally, before depositing himself into the moving crowed. Had this been anywhere else, and people might have gawked at the stranger in his clothes. But Amol-Kalit was closer to his home then any other region upon this continent, so Zufar seemed nothing more then just another passerby. Which certainly worked for him. As the tide of the crowed shifted, so did Zufar with it, moving from one side of the street to another. Eventually, the captain would duck into another alleyway, sticking close to the shadows that cloaked the narrow passage way.
A moment later, two guards came into view. It was the rear entrance of the stronghold, a perfect place to slip into the compound. Had he tried to do this at night, they'd beef up the security. The two guards were talking to each other, so Zufar lowered himself towards the ground in order to minimize his profile. He'd have to wait for an opening...
"Did you see the palace?..." One of the guards spoke through his chain mail mask, which caused Zufar to smile. The captain had done more then see that day...
"Yes, my patrol passed by this..." The other guard replied, he seemed rather on edge about it. "...it was bad..."
"Dragons, liches, wizards, and the like...this is all madness! I tell you!"
"I agree...But what can we do about it? We're not exactly people high on the Sultan's preservation list. "
"...we could...leave..."
A moment of silence passed, as one of the guards tried to process what had been said.
"Watch your tongue..." A hiss came from one of the two, his voice having lowered. "...Have you gone mad? Talking about desertion, here of all places!?"
"Well what is the alternative? The new Sultan's attracting enemies like a moths to a flame! You saw the damage...it's above our pay-grade to deal with monstrosities like that, if we even survive!...Besides...he doesn't care about the grunts like us...the nobles have sold out...and his top ranking officials and bodyguards are all foreigners!...Treats his mercenaries better then us..."
"But is the risk worth it? You know the penalty for desertion..."
"What's the difference? We don't have long to live with him as Sultan...Besides... I know this much: I'm not dying for that overgrown hunk of rock...and I am not getting resurrected as a puppet..."
"Fates, you make it sound like it's the end of the world...even if we do leave...people will notice if some of us are gone..."
"Listen, no one is going to cry a river of tears over a couple of missing guards...at worst, they'll think it's an intruder..."
"And what do you propose we do once we do leave? Have you thought that far ahead?"
"I have, in fact...I hear up North there is a Lord recruiting people into his service. He doesn't ask questions, so as long as those whom serve are natives...and he grants favorable terms to those with experience..."
"I don't know..."
"We could be officers! And we won't have to do anything more then we do now...maybe even less...and we'll be getting out of the city before things get worse..." The guard almost exclaimed, glancing about haphazardly, before lowering his voice even further. "...listen...me and some of the other lads will be posted on the Northern walls tonight...we're thinking about making a break through the tunnels...there's a merchant camp a few miles North of here where we can get transports...take the time to think about it, but be quick...we leave when the moon is all the way up...password is..."He cannot bind us"...remember it, because if you don't, we might have to kill you..."
"I...I-I'll think about it..." The other guard said, not seemingly sure about his words.
"Do what you need to...just remember, when the moon is up, we are leaving...and we're not waiting for anybody..."
The guard whom last spoke grunted, before turning about and wandering towards the edge of the compound walls, presumably to patrol the area. Meanwhile the other guard stood in place, seemingly a bit uneasy at the information presented.
Now this was some interesting information. Zufar thought. Seemed like the new Sultanate had his work cut out for him, he wasn't inspiring the most confidence among the rank and file. More importantly, a section of the wall would be exposed...plus a merchant camp? Might be a suitable option for the remaining leg of the getaway.
Still, that was a long ways off. For now, he'd have to focus on getting his target out of the stronghold first.
Pulling up his scarf to mask his face, Zufar reached over into his little pouch of goodies and retrieved what looked to be a tiny stone. In actruality...it was a tiny little stone...which the captain threw with great force at the wall away from himself.
The pebble didn't do much, except bounce off the wall. But the movement a nice was enough to attract the stationary guard, whom turned around with a "huh?", taking a few steps to investigate. This was enough time for Zufar to quickly exit out of the alleyway, remaining low as he slipped past the guard. The captain was now in the compound.
Sticking close to the shadows, the Captain made his way up a small flight of stairs and into an open hallway, halting before a tall window. The man peered into the courtyard, observing a couple of more guards and soldiers going about their business. Not many of them seemed to be paying particular attention.
The noise of a door opening caused Zufar to shrink back a bit, but moment from bellow caught his attention; a set of guards exiting a doorway. The captain grinned, as he quickly leaped out the window, taking care to descend quietly downwards. Just as the last guard turned around, Zufar would reach ground, catching the door before it shut completely and slipped in...
It was the underground portion of the compound, which was lucky for Zufar. Now he needed to navigate these tunnels to find his target, a process easier said then done.
Zufar would descend upon the stairwell leading deeper into the tunnel, taking the time to peer over the corner for guards. Twice he encountered some patrols, taking the moment to slip into a barrel or box, allowing the patrol to pass-by. The man discovered store rooms and passed by guard posts...but eventually, he'd come up to a locked door with a small bar windowed.
Peering in, he was able to see a series of jailcells...and no guards. Lucky again.
The lock was easy enough to pick, as Zufar creaked the door open just enough for him to slip in. Closing the door behind him, before standing up stright. Brushing himself off, he'd abruptly make a 180 degree turn to face the cells, eyes scanned the room at the occupants of the cells...behind his mask...a knowing grin...
Abomination Faelyn Daestra