Chapter 46; Infiltration;
Characters of the chapter
Fenris Warrior, ally to the Second Sons, formerly a slave to Magister Danarius.
Iledia, Agent of the Inquisition, advisor in matters of the arcane in the court of Queen Daenerys
Jaqen H'gar A faceless man
Lyanna Mormont, Lady of Bear Island
Meera Reed Lady of Greywater Watch
Ser Caleb Threestones, Knight of Westeros,Second to Lyanna Mormont
Varric Tethras, Viscount of Kirkwall, businessman and storyteller
Tallis Ben Hassrath operative
The Iron Bull Leader of the Bull's Chargers mercenary group, former Ben Hassrath operative, Agent of the Inquisition
Iledia lay as low as she could, peering towards the walls of Bellidarius. Her eyes were on a group of four Tevinter guards circling the base of the walls, torches in their hands and swords at their hips. They walked along until they came to a sluice gate guarding the access to one of the sewer entrances, where they stopped. They inspected the condition of the bars and took a moment to observe their surroundings, then continued on their way.
"The patrol happens the same way every time. Team on the ground goes by, then another team on top of the wall comes along half an hour later. So now you have a window of opportunity to get in." Fenris said.
"I should get back to the others. Good luck to you." He said, then disappeared into the night.
There had been a lot of discussion about what Fenris's role in this operations was to be. Iledia might have preferred him with her team as an extra fighter. Varric also supported that idea, though his motive was likely to keep his friend close by, so he could better ensure the elf came out of this in one piece. Daario on the other hand was insistent Fenris take command of the troops participating in this operation while he himself was off luring away the Imperial counterattack with the rest of the Second Sons. Apparently he did not trust anyone else with something as risky as what they had planned. Eventually Iledia had relented, thinking it best to let the mercenary captain have his way.
While Iledia's group infiltrated through the sewers, Fenris would lead another group in from the far side of the city. Their job would be to seize one of the city's gates without raising the alarm, and wait for the right time without giving themselves away. Even if Iledia's team managed to get to the orb without trouble, sooner or later the Imperials would realize the situation and sound the alarm. At the very least this would happen when they discovered that their great weapon had been destroyed. Then the bells of the city would ring, calling the city's garrison to arms. When Fenris's troops heard that they would open the gates, permitting a force of some five hundred of the Second Sons to enter the city. They would attack any guards they encountered, set buildings aflame and generally make as much of a ruckus as possible. With some fortune the enemy would be fooled into thinking an entire enemy army was attacking them, and would send most of their troops against them. There would be chaos and confusion, their enemy unsure where their real enemy lay. With some fortune it would provide a chance for Iledia's group to slip away. Or one last chance to reach the Tevinter weapon in case Iledia's group made a mistake and the alarm was sounded early. Either way, Fenris and his troops would hold out as long as they dared, then retreat from the city.
Iledia had had some concerns about this plan, and had made sure to voice them during the plan. She wanted to get out of the city alive as much as anyone, but it seemed excessive for so many to risk their lives just for the few of them. But Daario had assured her it was fine. He had been wanting to make a raid like this for months. The presence of her team provided the perfect excuse. Just the damage they would get to inflict on their enemy would make it worth the troops he was putting at risk. In addition there would be a chance to liberate slaves from the city. A few more people that could be sent to safety in Westeros. She could certainly appreciate such a result, and the help they had been provided. She wished their allies good fortune in their coming battle, and hoped that their casualties would remain within acceptable limits. And that they would be able to liberate many from their miserable fates. At least the Second Sons had enough numbers to have the luxury to try.
For a while longer she waited to make sure the enemy patrol had truly gone on its way.
"Alright, let's go." Iledia then whispered sharply, and their group darted towards the gate. Even as they approached the stench wafting from the sewer was enough to make her wrinkle her nose. No wonder the city's guard were reluctant to post stationary teams at these entrances, despite the risk of infiltration.
Shortly they were at the gate, and Iledia took a moment to examine it for magical defenses.
"Okay, no magic it seems. Good." She said after a moment of magical scanning. "Right. Let's get this open. Varric, watch our backs while we work."
"Sure thing. Bianca is at the ready." The dwarf replied, tapping his weapon.
The rest of them reached into the filthy water at their feet and began lifting up the gate blocking their path. The gate was built to be very large and heavy, to make it harder to do what they were trying. In addition the gate had likely been opened only in rare instances, on many places so rusted it had nearly fused with its frame, making their task even harder. But, working together, putting all their strength to the effort, little by little they began forcing the gate open. Iledia dreaded every creak, groan and screech the gate made as it moved, feeling more worried the longer they took. She was painfully aware that the next enemy patrol was now less than half an hour away, and that during a quiet night like this sounds could carry far.
The gate proved far too heavy and far too stiff to be opened fully, but eventually they managed to create a sufficient opening beneath it for people to slip through. Tallis went through first helping to hold up the gate from the other side as soon as she was past the gate. One by one the rest of them followed. Bull took the longest, big fellow as he was, with horns that inevitably got in the way.
"There. That's all of us." Bull commented when Varric had finally made it through. "Should we close the gate behind us too?" He asked, noting how it was staying up on its own.
"Nah. Took us long enough just to get it open, and someone could hear us if we try to close it too. Let's just hope no one notices anything is amiss." Iledia replied.
"Let's get going. And keep your eyes peeled while we move. There were no magical traps on the gate, but the information I have suggests there is a good chance there are defenses somewhere in these sewers." She told the others.
"God's… wading up to our knees in filth, breathing in the worst smells one can imagine. Hell of a route you picked for us, mage." Lyanna commented as they walked.
"Seconded." Meera said, sounding nauseous while walking at the head of their group.
"Be quiet! We can't risk anyone hearing us!" Jaqen hushed them.
"Hear us? Who in the hells is going to hear us here? Rats?" Lyanna countered.
"Somehow I can't imagine even rats like being in this stench." Caleb commented.
"True." Lyanna chuckled.
"I agree, this is a foul place for us to be. Should we ever come to this city for some other reason than a secret mission, I promise we'll pick the scenic route. With clean air. But for now could we please keep our focus on the task at hand?" Iledia said.
"Right. For instance do we have a clear idea where go we go from here? Do we know where the orb is in the city?" Tallis asked.
"Well, the information I have spoke of a *pyramid complex* where the orb is housed. I think that means the orb is in the biggest pyramid in the city. It makes sense for it to be there. It would be easiest arrange defenses for the orb in that location. That will be our target." Iledia replied.
"Heh. Really. One wonders why the most important stuff if always in the biggest buil…dings?" Meera began to say before suddenly stopping in her tracks. She was now standing in a circle of blue light glowing at her feet.
"Don't move. Don't. Fucking. Move. A. Muscle." Iledia warned, her eyes wide.
"Wha- what am I standing on?" Meera asked, having gone pale in the face.
"Remain calm. It's a magical mine." Iledia said, keeping her voice as even as she could. "Don't panic!" She added hastily when she saw that Meera was on the verge of freaking out."
"A mine!?" Meera repeated through her teeth.
"Listen to me. The mine is set to explode if you move from that spot. But I know how to disable it. Just remain still and let me concentrate." Iledia said, kneeling next to Meera.
"That's easy for you to say. You're not the one about to get blown apart here." Meera countered.
"On the contrary. I'm well within the blast radius. I think all of us might be. Plus if this goes off there is a good chance the roof will cave in on us and crush us all under a pile of rubble…" Iledia replied while moving hands in front of her, palms glowing with magical energy.
"You realize that is not helping!?" Meera snarled. "Just… get rid of it… please."
"Yeah, okay. Sorry. I'm rambling. I'll get it." Iledia said.
For two very long minutes Iledia worked, her expression one of intense concentration. Then slowly the blue light faded and disappeared.
"Is it…gone?" Meera asked hesitantly.
Iledia nodded. "It is. It's safe for you to move again."
"Meera breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Thanks for that. That was a scary moment."
"From now on it might be best if I lead the way. I can scan the area around us with magic, to make sure we don't end up in this situation again." Iledia replied.
"Wandering in the night the night in the middle of enemy territory, fearful of running into traps they've planted, working our way to destroying some magical superweapon. And here I thought I was done with this crap after the Orlesians." Meera grumbled as their trek forward resumed.
"You've been in this kind of a situation before?" Tallis asked.
"Not quite the same. But certainly the same kind of trouble. I can tell toy the whole story later." Meera replied.
"If we manage to get that far I look forward to hearing it then." Tallis said.
"It's quite a story the way I hear it." Iledia commented over her shoulder.
They continued on. Along the way they encountered several more magical mines. Thankfully Iledia's magic allowed them to detect the traps early, so the first incident was not repeated. They avoided those they could, but several times they had to stop to disable the mines. It slowed their progress, but not so much that they would have fallen noticeably behind schedule.
"Alright. I think we're far enough along now. We should start looking for a way to the surface." Iledia said after a while.
Searching for a way out took a bit longer, but soon enough they found a narrow staircase heading upwards. Iledia climbed the stairs, and when she was almost at the top she discovered a small room guarded by a single Tevinter soldier, with his back turned to her. He had not seen or heard her as of yet. She halted, motioning for the others to stop as well. Then she closed her eyes in concentration, reaching out with her hand.
"Sleep." She whispered. The soldier's head began nodding, and shortly he fell to the ground, unconscious.
"We're clear." She whispered behind her and climbed the rest of the way. She took a moment to scan the wooden door leading out of the room for traps. She noted the door was locked and was just about to retrieve the key from the sleeping guard when she noticed Caleb had climbed the stairs after her. His sword was drawn and was pointed at the soldier at his feet.
"Wait. Don't." She told him calmly.
"Why not?" Caleb asked.
"Someone might come along. If they find a corpse they'll know something is wrong. But if they find him like this they'll think he just fell asleep at his post. Let's not make this harder for ourselves before we have to." She explained.
"Oh. Hadn't considered that. Good thinking." He said after a pause, sheathing his sword.
With a click Iledia undid the lock. She took a moment to observe her surroundings, then permitted the others to join her when the coast seemed clear.
"Whew. Some fresh air at last." Lyanna commented when she emerged from the room.
Iledia's attention meanwhile was drawn to the pyramid looming overhead like some mountain. "It seems that luck is with us." She said to herself.
"How so?" Asked Tallis.
"I can feel considerable magical energy coming from the direction of the pyramid. More so than anywhere else in the city at the moment. It appears the Imperial weapon is still here." Iledia explained.
"That's good. I would have hated to come all this way just to turn right around." The elf commented.
"Especially since we got the Second Sons involved." Iledia concurred. Then she turned around and locked the door. That still left the key in Iledia's possession though. Hopefully when he came to he would not notice the absence at once. At least now that he was locked in he would not be alerting anyone until he was found by others.
"Let's get going. Quick and quiet. There may be patrols, perhaps even people still up and about. Our group kinda stands out, so we should avoid contact with all of them." She told the others.
The others nodded in agreement, and onwards they went, moving along the smaller alleyways, darting from shadow to shadow where they needed.
"This city… it feels so familiar in its way. The pyramid aside it feels like walking through the streets of Minrathous." Tallis commented along the way.
"This part of the city at least. The Imperials have added their own architecture, making this place feel like what they're used to." Iledia said.
"Like some… tumor growing out from the old. I'm starting to understand why Daario did not like the renaming of this place." Lyanna said. "The Tevis would be doing the same to our cities if they took them over, yes?"
"Or worse. The imperium is less kind to cities that defy them. But we are here to make sure nothing like that will end up happening."
"Good." Lyanna said.
They arrived at the edge of a large plaza, taking care not to step into the open. The pyramid was on the far side of the plaza, its entrance guarded by thirty or forty guards.
"Woah. That's a sizeable group." Varric commented.
"Too many to take on at once I'd say." Caleb commented.
"At least not without waking the whole city. Better to look for a side entrance. There has to be one, for servants and such." Lyanna agreed.
"Agreed. Let's look for one." Iledia said.
They doubled back a bit, then approached the pyramid from the side. It took a bit of searching, but eventually they found a wooden door, only two guards flanking it.
"Now this looks much more promising." Iledia commented. "Still, we need to get rid of those two first."
"Think you could put them to sleep like the first one?" Caleb suggested.
Iledia shook her head. "Sorry. Haven't learned to do it to more than one person at a time. It's not an option this time."
"These two need to die. Quick and quiet, with a minimum of blood." She decided.
"I have something that can help with that." Meera said, producing a blowpipe from her pockets.
"A man as well." Jaqen said, bringing out a second blowpipe.
"You have blowpipes? That could work, if you aim carefully. You're sure the poisons you are using would be sufficiently fast-acting?" Iledia asked.
"Trust me. It's damn near instantaneous." Meera said with a slight smirk.
Jaqen nodded. "As she said."
"Alright then. Good. Make it happen." Iledia said. "Varric, you and I will be on guard in case one of them misses." She said then.
"Not going to, but I guess it does no harm to double check." Meera commented, placing a dart into her blowpipe.
"I'll take out the one furthers from us. You handle the other one." She said to Jaqen.
"Understood." The Faceless Man replied.
"On my signal." Meera said, then brought the blowpipe to her lips and raised a hand with three fingers up. Then only two. Then one. Then a pair of darts flew through the air. Jaqen's target dropped almost instantly, as if the life had just been sucked right out of him. Meera's target lingered a bit longer, coughing and gurgling, before also falling dead to the ground.
"Good shooting." Iledia said, then as one they moved to the door.
"Caleb, Bull, hide the bodies." She ordered.
"Uh, we have a problem." Tallis piped up. "The door won't budge, but I don't see a lock either."
"What?" Iledia said, placing her hand against the door, trying to push it open as well. "Damn. Must be barred from the other side."
"Great. Now what?" Varric wondered.
Iledia, bit her lip, considering. "Jaqen. Take a face from one of the dead guards and go around the front. Find your way here and let us in. Use the mark to find our position when you make it inside."
"Very well." Jaqen said, going to retrieve one of the bodies, then disappearing around the corner, dragging the corpse with him.
With nothing else to do, the others waited, listening to the sounds of the night, alert and ready for a fight in case someone stumbled upon them.