Chapter 10: To Start a Revolt

I stepped to the side so that Leila and Matthew were in my field of vision. Though they had freed me from my cell, they were both unknown entities. Thieves, too, according to the data I saw. Knowing that, I kept my guard up and decided to observe for the moment before moving closer.

Matthew grinned. "So it went off without a hitch, eh? Great! Now all we have to do is-"

Leila glared at the blonde thief. "Quiet Matthew. You know that information is classified."

He shrugged. "Hey, if he's willing to help, why shouldn't we tell him?"

"Just..." Leila let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Hurry up and get him out of here. I have to return before they notice I'm gone."

"Yeah, yeah." The blonde thief waved Leila off. "I'll take care of it. Hurry up now, my pretty spy."

Leila gave him one last glare before turning on her heel and returning to the castle.

And that left me alone with the suspicious and arrogant thief. Or perhaps a spy? A thief was a good cover story for that, but why would he be so flippant about their mission?

Matthew sighed and turned to me. On instinct, I grasped the sword Leila handed me earlier and prepared to draw. The thief's eyes widened and he held up his hands in a placating manner. "Easy there pal. I'm not gonna hurt you anytime soon."

"...Who are you? And why did you free me?"

Their timing had been too perfect to be mere chance, and I doubted that they had done it out of good will.

The thief frowned. "I get that you're cautious, but don't you think we should get out of here first? We're right in the thick of Lundgren's territory after all."

Lundgren's territory? But that was Caelin...

My eyes widened. Then that meant I had been kept in Castle Caelin. Did Ephidel teleport me that far? It would be days before I could make it back to Lyn!

A rustling sound caught my attention, and I turned to see a pair of horses hidden behind some tall bushes.

Matthew followed my gaze, and then grinned. "See? I know you've got questions, but trust me when I say you'll want to save those for when we're far away from here."

I sighed and gave him a nod. "Alright, but I'm warning you. I don't tolerate being lied to, especially in a situation like this."

The thief turned his back to me and waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah. I get enough of those threats from my boss. C'mon, grab a horse and let's get out of here."

Matthew and I mounted the horses and rode off at a breakneck pace. It didn't seem like we were being followed, but it never hurt to get as far away from danger as fast as possible.

We spent the majority of the ride in silence, with Matthew leading the way. I was curious where he was taking me, but it matched up with where Lyn and everyone else should be, according to my memories of the geography, so I followed him.

We came to a small stream and stopped to let our horses rest. I spent the time filling my water flask, and then turned to Matthew. It was time to get some answers.

He took a brief drink from his own flask, and then caught my eye. A grin settled on his face and he took a seat, patting the ground next to him. "Take a seat, Mark. The story's pretty long, and I don't think you'd be very comfortable standing for it."

I raised my eyebrow but did as he said. The initial suspicion from earlier had worn off now, and I realized that he seemed trustworthy... if a bit strange. But that didn't mean I completely trusted him. I still had plenty of questions for the man.

He smiled after I was settled. "So, you're probably wondering why we freed you."

I nodded. "That, and how you knew I was there. I was under the impression only my captor knew where I was." Of course, it was possible Ephidel told other people. But then, I don't think word could have gotten out that easily.

"He was. But Leila had learned earlier that an important person would be transported to Caelin soon, so she sent word to me and planned your escape. Of course, we were expecting the upstart heir, but her lethal tactician works just as well." He shrugged.

So they would have been there regardless. I could accept that. "Alright, but you still didn't explain why you freed me. Who are you working for? And why would it matter to save this 'upstart heir' like you said?"

I had anticipated Lundgren and the Black Fang, but it didn't seem like Matthew or Leila worked for either.

Matthew shook his head. "Everything, Mark. Everything. You see, Lundgren has plans for Lycia. Not very good ones either."

I raised an eyebrow. "So? Why don't you just send an assassin if he's that much trouble?"

"Ah, but that's where it gets tricky. The current Marquess isn't long for this world either, and Lundgren has many, many supporters. If we take care of Lundgren but don't have a replacement for Marquess Caelin..."

I cringe. "Then his supporters would take over his position and seek revenge."

"Yep."

I took a moment to let the information sink in. "Well, that's bad."

"Obviously. Which is where you come in."

"Me?"

Matthew nodded. "You. Lyndis will need support before facing Lundgren. As it stands, that man has his a deathgrip around too many of Caelin's influential people." The blonde thief frowned. "We had hoped that Lyndis would be the one captured so that we could covertly introduce her to the people who could help, but now we'll need to take a different approach. Thank Elimine for contingency plans."

I felt my eye twitch at the unintentional barb. "Right. Contingency plan. So we still need to get Lyn support... how do you plan on doing that with just me?"

Matthew stood up and brushed off the dirt on his clothes. He gave me a wide grin. "Beats me. You're the brilliant tactician here. It's why we broke you out."

I groaned. This was not what I had planned. I just wanted to get back to Lyn before anything bad happens. But on the otherhand, Sain and the rest are with her, so she should be fine, even without me there. If anything, this was where I needed to be. "Fine. Since you're obviously a spy..."

"Hey, I'll have you know that I'm a thief, not a spy!"

I gave him a pointed look. "Whatever you say, spy. I need information on any possible people we can persuade, the most influential and beneficial allies. Lundgren's bound to have some upstanding people forced to work with him. We've just got to get them out from under his thumb."

"Glad to have you on board, Mark!" The thief patted me on the back and hopped back on his horse. "Let's plan on the road. I've got the perfect first target."

I sighed at the thief's antics but mounted my horse as well. This was going to be a long few days.

Matthew explained that the biggest supporter of Lyn and the current Marquess would be General Eagler. Lundgren had imprisoned the man's daughter, locking her away in a well-guarded fortress. Because of that, Eagler was forced to obey Lundgren though his loyalties lay with Lyn and the current Marquess.

Matthew slowed his horse to a stop and pointed at a towering stone fortress, just over a hill. "Here we are, Mark. The fair lady is waiting rescue in there."

I nodded and examined the terrain. Like always, electric blue numbers and letters gave me information on the battle field we would soon be a part of. An Elizabeth Eagler stood stationary near the top of the fortress while dozens of guards teamed the other floors. This would not be an easy mission.

"So, great master strategist. What's the plan?"

A tinge of guilt. Matthew's words were intended to be praise, although mocking, but it brought back the memory of how I had failed Kent.

No. I couldn't let his sacrifice be in vain. He told me to protect Lyn, so I couldn't doubt myself. I had to protect her, and the best way to do that was gaining support. Sain would be more than enough to keep her from harm and get her to Caelin.

I focused again on the tower, clearing my mind and letting the analysis occur.

Top floor. Guards on constant surveillance. Level 10 soldiers, with high stats. Stronger than myself and Matthew. Elizabeth was unarmed, and a healer. Even when rescued, she would be of no help.

Rescue mission. Rotation of guards analyzed. Circular shifts, time delay of one minute.

Possible route of stealth, sneaking past guards. But escape is difficult.

I frowned and reexamined the guards. There had to be another method to ensure success.

There.

Guards uneasy. Two factions, large majority and small minority. Most are upset of Elizabeth's captivity. The minority are sympathetic to Lundgren, willing to execute traitors on sight.

Plan compiled.

"Hey Matthew. How good of an actor are you?"

"How good?" Matthew laughed. "Good enough to infiltrate the Etrurian Opera House as a stage hand." He grinned. "Let me guess. You've got a plan?"

I nodded. "It's risky, but if it goes well... we might just start a revolution."

"Your orders then, master tactician."

xxx

"...Tell me about it! All I do is just stand here all day! The other guys get to stand indoors, walking around in the cool stone hallways, not even in their armor!"

Matthew patted the soldier on the shoulder. "I feel you, man. I feel you."

I smiled from my place in the shadows. The plan was working.

The first guard at the entrance was a new recruit, green and still malleable. The same was true for the rest of the soldiers, save for the few Lundgren sympathizers.

"So, what exactly are you doing here, man? Wait, don't tell me. I don't want you losing your job or anything..."

The plan was simple: convert the soldiers to our side. And Matthew was doing an excellent job at that. Only half a minute in and the soldier had gone from being an enemy to neutral. Just a bit more and we had an ally.

The soldier frowned. "Well... I think you're alright. And what we're doing... it's not really a good thing either." He sighed.

I couldn't see the soldier's face beneath his helm, but I was sure he'd be downcast if I could.

He took a look back inside the fortress and then leaned towards Matthew. "Lord Lundgren has abducted Eagler's daughter. We're keeping her here on the top floor."

Matthew gasped.

Huh. The thief really was a good actor. If I didn't know better, I would have thought his reaction genuine.

"Then... the rumors are true? He's really trying to seize Caelin from Marquess Hausen?"

The soldier gave a small nod. "Most of us aren't too happy about it, but we can't do anything. There are spies, and the ones that aren't fear for their lives. The first person who tried freeing Elizabeth was found murdered in his sleep the next day."

"That's terrible!"

"I know. But we can't do anything." He sighed. "If we could just find out who the traitors were..."

And that was my cue.

"That can be arranged, my friend."

My hood was drawn, leaving my head obscured by the shadows. My time with Ephidel had given me more than enough data to imitate the dark and mysterious impression.

The soldier tensed, but didn't seem too fearful. Hm. Maybe my short stature had something to do with that.

"And you are?"

I smiled. "Allies."

A/N: Hey! Remember me? Er... sorry about that. I do intend to keep writing this, and had intended to rewrite it. Yeah... rewriting something this long is harder than I thought. So! I'm just going to keep going from here on out and finish this part up til the end of Lyn's story. I've got a few other projects on hand, but I'll try to keep chapters for this more frequent than the... wow, has it really been almost two years already?

Er... yeah. Again, sorry. Anyway, this is a bit short, since I'm still getting back into the groove of this story, but after I reread it yet again this weekend, as well as pull up my old outline, I assure you the next chapter will be here by next week, as well as be much longer than this.

Until then, thanks for reading and sticking around this long. Oh, and I'm still really, really, really sorry for the delay.