62 – Looking For Lucius

The cell was dark and smelled of old straw. Alexandra stood with her back against the wall, sickle in hand, and listened.

The guards pushed the door of the fifth cell open.

Marick and Dustin were moving. Slow, silent. Their hands were empty. Their backs left the door frame.

What followed was brief. She heard the guards’ voices. A word. Maybe one and a half. Then a sound of impact. Then a second one.

Silence.

Louis stepped out, then Alexandra and the other two.

The corridor looked the same, except for the two guards on the floor. One face down near the door, the other against the wall with his chin on his chest. Dustin was already crouching over the first, grabbing his weapon.

“Fucking swordsman,” he grumbled. “Can’t they get heavier weapons?”

“I’ll take it,” Louis said.

They all agreed. None of them used a sword. The other guard had an axe. One handed. Marick took it.

Dustin dragged the first guard into the nearest open cell. The older man took the second without being asked.

Alexandra stood in the corridor and watched the group move around her, efficient and quiet, like they’d done this before. Maybe they had. She bit her lip. The two Gold ranks had ended the fight so quickly, and the guards were Silvers. What did it say of her chances to survive the upcoming battle?

She looked at Louis. He was free. Free to lose his life as he wished. If he wanted to fight, she couldn’t stop him.

But did she have to go down with him?

Then she thought of her quest. If they succeeded… If Lucius Merinus died without her intervention…

Perhaps Adventuring Party would make it count. Perhaps not. It was her first time using this perk, so she couldn’t be certain.

She took a deep breath, then Dena put a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you certain you wish to come with us? I cannot thank you enough for this chance you have given us, but this fight will be difficult. Even for us.”

Alexandra shook the hand off. “I’ll be fine.”

“Lucius is far from being the only Merinus Gold. Not to mention the Wardens. We’re outnumbered.”

Their eyes met.

The quest reward was only an uncommon skill. Not nothing, but nothing much either.

“I’m already here. I’ll see this through to the end.”

“That’s idiotic,” the other woman said.

“Luce,” Marick said. “Alexandra is more capable than you think.”

Louis nodded, and came to stand beside her. “Her spell is perfectly suited to counter verdant beasts. We need her with us.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Verdant beasts… Even if Merinus is using the Yshant, we’re still in the middle of Esmera. There won’t be any beasts in his estate.”

“There are,” Louis said. “Inside the main building.”

Dustin and the older man came out of the cell.

“Enough talking. Let’s move.”

Marick went first. Then Dustin. Single file, with Alexandra last.

The staircase was narrow and dark. She kept one hand on the stone and climbed, leaving the basement behind her.

Marick stopped at the top with his back against the wall, axe in hand. He listened. The other stacked below him on the stairs.

Not a sound.

He moved through the door.

The room was the same she’d passed through on her way in. Completely empty. On one side was the corridor leading to the courtyard, on the other three doors.

One, they just came from. The staircase that went to the basement. This left the other two.

Louis pointed at the one on the left, and Marick went to open it. He tried the handle. Locked.

Alexandra stepped forward and placed her palm on the lock. She sent a thread of mana inside. It wasn’t enchanted. Just a regular lock. She retracted her thread and shook her head. Then she turned to Louis.

He understood without a word. The thief unbuckled his belt and used the prong to pick the lock. It only took a few seconds for the door to creak open.

It was a storage room, not large. Weapons racked on the far wall. Swords, spears, two crossbows with bolts bundled beside them. A shelf of leather armor, mismatched. A crate on the floor with the lid half open, chainmail.

Dustin let out a low chuckle. “Now we’re talking.”

They moved fast and quiet. Dena found a shortbow on the bottom rack, then rummaged the crates for arrows. The older man and Luce each found an axe similar to Marick’s. Dustin picked up a larger and much heavier one.

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Alexandra kept her sickle. A weapon she’d never used before wasn’t an improvement, and her training with the axe hadn’t borne fruits yet.

Marick was at the shelf of armor, sorting through it by touch. He passed pieces without looking. A pauldron to Dustin, a vest of boiled leather to Luce.

“Chainmail?” Alexandra asked.

“You wear it,” Marick said. “You need it more than us.”

She frowned. “Won’t it be too heavy?”

“How high’s your strength?”

“Twenty-six.”

Everyone turned to look at her.

“Twenty-six? At the Iron rank?” Marick paused. “And you’re worrying about a chainmail vest?”

Alexandra looked for Louis. He met her gaze and nodded.

She put the vest on. It was a strange sensation. She knew it was supposed to be heavy, and she could feel it, in a way. Yet, it wasn’t cumbersome, nor was it tiring at all. She didn’t feel slower, only better protected.

“There’s a gathering in the main building. Ten people. All Golds,” Louis said. “Lucius is there.”

“How do you know?” Marick asked.

“Skill.”

Dustin nodded. “Then that’s where we’re going.”

“Ten…” Dena said. “That’s a lot.”

“We knew that already,” Luce said. “Don’t get cold feet now.”