Dreadlords WFC: An Underhanded Affair

[Lothar]

The Holy City of Kortes

"Why are we here again?" The obstinate voice of his fellow Initiate, Seren, echoed through the tiny warehouse that for the next week would be their home. Lothar glanced at her for a brief moment, adjusting the bandage which covered his hand and reached up all the way over his forearm. It was still odd, but necessary, without the bandage his new...acquisitions would be too easily seen.

Despite the discomfort of covering the eyes, it was best to keep them from the others.

"Because the Republic has a vested interest in this war." He answered, remembering what Proctor Ebersol had explained about their mission. "And, if we get caught, it's easier for them to denounce us as rogues than any full Dreadlord."

Seren's face turned into a frown. "Oh."

The answer really was that simple. When it came to Cortell, the Republic had sided with Tychos. Though they refused any military intervention, at least publicly, they intended to throw their full weight behind their chosen city. Up until now that had added to little more than a few arms shipments and Dreadlords to train soldiers and mages, but now things were different.

Through one way or another, it had been discovered that one of the Bishops of Kortes was apparently carrying on an affair with the Archbishop's daughter. An offense that could very much see the man hanged, which was why of course it was a complete secret. Seeing opportunity, Vel Anir intended to find proof and then hopefully turn the man to use him as an asset within the Holy City. Because actual Dreadlords were far too valuable, and far too...noticeable, the Initiate's had been sent instead.

Their mission was a simple one; find proof of the affair, and then blackmail the god Bishop into doing as he was told.

A task, easier said than done. "So, where do we start then?"

Seren asked.

 

[Ivan Skender]

As Lothar and Seren were having their conversation, an indistinct figure coursed through the rooftops above their heads.

Swift, and silent as a cat, it stealthily traversed the labyrinthine meanders of Kortes' tiled roofs, before halting in front of a small opening on the ceiling of the initiates' warehouse.

Glancing around to make sure he hadn't been seen, or followed - unlikely though as it may have been - Ivan went inside, removing the hood that had covered his blonde head as he did so.

The opening led to a beam which held the building's ceiling. Treading through the narrow woodway, Ivan would drop from his porch to land a few steps away from Lothar, making nothing more than a dry, muffled thud as he landed.

- "The bitch's house." - He replied indifferently to Seren's question.

- "There's also the Episcopal Palace, where the bishop lives, but that's too well guarded." - He continued, reporting on the findings of the preliminary scouting mission he had just finished undertaking.

He made his way towards a small, wooden table on the corner of the space and proceeded to take an apple from a fruit bowl on its top. He took a bite, glancing at the other initiates in the warehouse.

- "Unless you lot have a better plan?" -​

 

[Zinnia]

Being potentiality used as a scapegoat didn't entirely sit well with Zinnia. Espionage and blackmail weren't exactly her specialities, either; Zinnia was fine at stealth, sure, but this seemed a bit...much. Likely this was some attempt by the proctors to toughen her up, surely. Or get rid of her. Hopefully not the latter.

Even so, Zinnia's devotion to her homeland overruled her bewilderment at the circumstances. She was needed for this, and so she heeded the call. Now she stood among the others in the warehouse, having reduced her usual armaments significantly in order to suit the nature of the mission.

Black-dyed leather armor was the extent of her protection, a simple short sword and a couple of daggers for weaponry, and a few of her personal, magical gadgets for utility. No hammer, no shield, no plate armor. If not for her hood she would've felt entirely naked.

With Ivan's return and subsequent report it would be time to get moving. Zinnia swallowed, mouth dry.
"I w-wouldn't know, b-but the d daughter's house seems like as g-good a start as any."

 

[Kyros]

Travelling with the other initiates, Kyros wore a simple black tunic over very light armor. His wrist gauntlets blended in well with his outfit – making him appear to be unarmed despite the fact being opposite.

During the journey, Kyros gave very few words to any of his companions. He only spoke when necessary.

And as the group sat in this warehouse, Kyros apparently felt that this was one of these moments.

“Faster to split and search both,” Kyros told them, “The larger the group, the more suspicious.”

 

[Lothar]

Lothar frowned for a moment. "Is the Archbishop's not guarded as well?"

The man ruled over the entire city. Lothar couldn't believe that there wouldn't be more than a few of those strange Knights stationed all around the manor. The Kortesian, for all their bluster of religion, were not fools from what he could tell.

But, Ivan was correct. It would be easier to slip into a residence than the central palace of the entire city.

"I think Kyros has the right idea." He said quietly. In all their wisdom the Guard had not put any one of them 'in charge' really, but had instead told them to work together. Lothar, only recently finding his voice, took the opportunity to make amendments to the plans already suggested. "If two of us can somehow ensure the residence is empty, that should mean there will be less Guards."

How they would achieve that, he wasn't entirely sure yet. "Making it easier to search for evidence."

Which was what they needed the most.

 

[Ivan Skender]

- "Splitting would make us less likely to be discovered." - He conceded to Kyros. - "But the palace is huge. We'd need more than two or three of us to cover it properly." -

He shrugged.

- “The residence should be well guarded.” - He replied dryly to Lothar. - “But a regular house is still easier to break into.” - He raised a brow at the other initiate, looking at him from top to bottom. Someone was getting too big for his boots.

He rolled his eyes, taking another bite from his apple. He hadn’t been particularly happy to have Lothar on the mission, though he understood that, as far as the initiates sent to Kortes were supposed to be expendable, the Academy couldn’t have asked for a better fit for that role than Lothar.

- “Yeah, and how do you suggest we do that?” - He asked condescendingly to Lothar, his tone a clear hint for the other initiate to shut up.

He shook his head.

- “There should be a change of the guard in the house sometime during the night.” - As far as he was aware, the guards’ rendez-vous were at around midday and midnight. - “If we time it well, we could intercept some of the guards as they are arriving, and infiltrate the house that way.” - In this fashion, the infiltrators would be able to open the way for the rest of the group, and they could search the residence while everyone was asleep.​

 

[Zinnia]

Zinnia did her best to listen carefully to the conversation unfolding before her, but she still wasn't quite up to date on the specifics of this little foray. She knew that it was expected that full Dreadlords would be able to think and fend for themselves while in the field, but it would have been nice if the proctors had given the group a little more direction

"I don't kn-know how any of this w-works, but won't the on-duty g-guards get suspicious if their r-replacements don't show up?" She wondered aloud before sitting down on a crate and swinging her legs idly in thought. "Unless...you're p-planning on stealing the g-guards uniforms and p-posing as them? That m-might work!"

 

[Garik Talindor]

Garik didn't like it. Not one bit. Dabbling in the affairs of other lands while their own still was as flawed as it was. Yet, service came with expectations. Soldiers followed orders, so it truly mattered little what Garik thought on the matter. So he kept it to himself. Deal with the mission. Keep money flowing home. Simple as that.

It seemed they were over their heads the best he could imagine. Too quickly trying to move without properly casing the places. Zinnia's hesitation was well founded. Though he imagined it was rooted deeper than simply seeing issues.

"The guards would still be quite missing," he posited to the group of initiates, who like him were thrown into this mess like expendable trash. "Guards not being present would raise alarms. Uniforms tend to fit as well. Why do we assume they would meet at their residences? Surely, they would have the discretion to meet elsewhere, away from the eyes of their households?"

Upon speaking part of Garik wanted to retreat. He was the least of these. Better to move with the will of others, but he had spoken. Foolish, but he had.

 

[Kyros]

Kyros listened to the rest of the Initiates speak. And talk. And talk.

Standing up, Kyros began to adjust his gauntlets and their fit, their comfort.

“I’m ready when you make a decision,” Kyros told them as he walked away from the group.

Kyros would not stop short of any physical imposition to him leaving the conversation. If left alone, he would go over his inventory – sorting through the items he planned to take on this expedition. It seemed he planned for the same thing regardless of what the group decided to move forward with.

 

[Lothar]

Lothar's teeth clicked together, fingers curling into a tight fist as Ivan rebuked him. Eyes shifted almost frantically beneath the bandages covering them, squirming as the magic within almost seemed to thrum through them.

A slow breath drew into his lungs. Not yet.

He reminded himself. Forcing at least a small measure of calm to take hold again. There would be a time and a place, as there had been for the others. He glanced at Ivan for a brief moment, then drew his gaze over towards the others.

"Maybe Garik is right." Seren offered. "Maybe we'd be better off following one of them."

There was a pause, then Lothar added through half gritted teeth.

"Ivan is right." He said, seeming as meek as he had been a year ago. "We can replace the guards, disguise ourselves, the others can follow her to see where she goes."

It was the only plan that made sense really. All six of them couldn't pose as guards, but a few could and would have the time to search the residence. At least in theory. Now they just had to decide who did what, and apparently let Kyros know about it.

 

[Ivan Skender]

- "That's the plan." - He said, flashing a grin to Zinnia. - "We take their uniforms, and infiltrate their ranks to gain entry." -

Garik did raise a good point about them not knowing where the guards met, but, in all honesty, that would probably not be such a big problem anyways. - "They probably do." - He conceded to Garik. - "But even if they meet away from the house, we can hijack them on their way there." - He shrugged.

- "The change of the guard happens pretty late in the night, so there probably won't be that many people out. That should make it easier to identify, and take the guards out." - As far as he was concerned, in a parallel rationale to that of Lothar, the best course of action would be for half of them to take out some of the guards, while the rest could stand by somewhere near the house, waiting for the impostor guards to clear the way in.

He looked around, at his fellow initiates. As it stood, for most of his companions, he had barely any clue of what their skills were, or what they were good at. Well, that was except for Lothar - the doormat - and as far as Ivan was concerned that one would be about as useful in this mission as an apron on a cow.

It was then, as if on cue, that Lothar expressed his support for Ivan's idea. The blonde rolled his eyes. He lazily took one last bite out of his apple, before tossing it away as Lothar finished speaking. He did it so the half-eaten apple would fall and splash by Lothar's feet, in yet another hint for the initiate to shut up.

- "I'd say two or three of us can take down some of the guards, and steal their uniforms. The rest infiltrate the mansion as soon as our impostors secure a way in." - He suggested, before glancing around at the other initiates gathered. - "Any takers?" -​

 

[Zinnia]

For all intents and purposes it seemed like the plan was set in stone. All there was left was to execute on it. She only hoped she could rely on these people--and that they could rely on her. Zinnia was out of her element here, surrounded by initiates she knew very little of. Probably didn't help that they all seemed to hate each other, either.

Oh well. Perhaps she could help in fostering the brotherly/sisterly bonds that Dreadlords were supposed to have between them all.
"The closest of ties are those formed from sweat, blood, and tears, together as one," Proctor D'Amour would always say. There had to be truth to that.

"In for a p-penny, in for a p-pound." Zinnia conceded. "I'll help with the g-guards."

 

[Kyros]

Eventually, Kyros was brought back toward the group now that a plan had been formed. Kyros offered no comments to the scheme itself. He silently checked the straps for his gauntlet then looked up.

"I can do either," Kyros told them.

The rest of the Initiates would know that Kyros was skilled in moving about silently. Good in close quarters combat, too. But acting, should the imposters need to do that? Kyros's terse speech left much to be desired in that field.

 

[Lothar]

Lothar hesitated for a brief moment, frowning as he glanced over at Ivan. The thought of traipsing around the manor with the other boy made his stomach turn, but it might also be a good opportunity to ta-

Zinnia spoke, and inwardly he cursed.

The meek little mouse wasn't one that had ever done him any wrong, and if he went with them into the manner to try and get at Ivan...

Bandaged fingers scrunched together in a tight fist, and he glanced over towards Kyros as the other boy made it known he didn't mind either way. With a slight frown Lothar nodded. "Kyros and I can follow the girl."

It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do.

Beneath the bandage covering his arm, he could feel some of the newer eyes twitch slightly. Moving back and forth as they felt the eagerness dragging through him. A slight breath filled his lungs, and he looked back at Ivan.

"Did you see the path the Guards take back to the Barracks?" He asked the other Initiate, loathe to even hear his voice after everything he'd done. But, Ivan had been the one to go scouting, meaning he would likely already know half of what they needed to get this mission started.

 

[Ivan Skender]

"Kyros and I can follow the girl."

A perceptible snort escaped through his nose. - "Yeah, no." - He spat assertively at Lothar. - "Kairos and Seren can infiltrate the house. I'll take out the guards with Zinnia." - He continued, turning to those other initiates whose opinion, and willingness to perform this task, he actually cared about.

- "We cannot afford fuck-ups inside the mansion." - He continued to his comrades - barring Lothar, of course - his tone somewhat apologetically as if offering an explanation for his hostility. As far as he was concerned, Lothar was a useless fuck-up that ought to have been purged a long time ago. He was also sure that, no matter how simple this mission was, the other initiate would find a way to mess it up if given any responsibility. It was only fair then, that his colleagues had an idea of how useless Lothar was.

He continued facing the other initiates, while seemingly ignoring Lothar altogether.

- "The guards are scattered through the city." - He stated matter-of-factly. - "But they converge on the house through the Tanners' Street." - The official name of the street was the Street of the Holy Light or something as pompous and self-righteous as that; though everyone in Kortes knew it as the Tanners' Street, due to the high concentration of leather works in that artery of the settlement.

The good thing about that street was that it was flanked on either side by many narrow streets and alleyways, which were perfect places to launch an ambush. - "We can take them out there." - ​

 

[Zinnia]

Zinnia shrunk back a bit. Awkward...it didn't take a social butterfly to figure out there was some bad blood between some of the group members here. Leave it to the proctors to pair initiates who didn't play well together on the same mission. The wallflower rubbed her shoulder uneasily. She felt like she'd somehow put herself in the middle of the rivalry, and she really didn't want to be there.

Ivan's plan seemed sound, yes, and he'd been the one to gather the bulk of the intel the group had so far. There was, however, one concern she had based on his specific phrasing.

"R-really, I'll g-go where I'm needed. G-guards it is, b-but..." Zinnia trailed off. She really hoped that what she was about to say wouldn't piss anyone off any further. "We w-were sent out as a u-unit...shouldn't we use all the m-manpower we have? L-Lothar can surely do s-something..."