They soon exited the confinement area, the guards closed the door and locked it, they began to ascend a flight of narrow stairs that lead to a massive underground warehouse filled with stacks of marked wooden crates. The masked man's associate stopped, moving to sit atop one of the crates, he brought out a notepad from his pocket and began to write.
"You seem to be taking notes a lot today," she noticed he was writing down notes a bit more often than usual.
"human memory distorts almost immediately after forming," the masked man said in place of his associate, their masks distorted their voices to sound more mechanical while remaining clear to anyone, which seemed to put the guards on edge.
One of the guards moved towards him, "I'm sorry but I'll need to sta..."
"There is no need, he will rejoin us on his own after he's done taking his notes." The masked woman gestured for her guards to leave the man alone, she had grown accustomed to these two's unusual behavior of being thorough to an extreme level. She knew there was no risk of either of them doing anything due to their professionalism and the fact that they would be patted down once they leave this part of the facility.
The masked woman went ahead flanked by her guards followed by the masked man who started a conversation about an item they heard would be available for bidding tonight.
As their footsteps became inaudible, the masked man's associate put down the notepad and began to move towards to bottom leftmost part of the room with a small ventilation shaft on the floor that was pulling in air, he opened a crate quickly removing its contents then bent down to remove the gratings on the shaft as quietly as possible. He then opened a hidden compartment located in the soles of his shoes, taking out a single piece of gold. He began to chant and purple smoke began to emanate from the piece, it coiled around his feat as its contents materialized from it. He then placed one of the items into the ventilation shaft before closing it then placed the other items into the crate. With that done he began to chant and seal the crate's original contents into the piece to not leave behind any evidence.
He waited an additional two minutes before rejoining the others.
Some time ago, 6:94 PM
"You going to be ok?" Jasmin came to see how she was doing but
Rayla held up a finger to stop her before she began coughing violently till she spat out a small folded piece of paper. She pointed Jasmin towards it while she continued to cough.
Jasmin picked it up and opened it, it turned out to be pretty big despite how small it originally looked.
The corridor leads to a small warehouse, upon entering it, head to the bottom leftmost area and look for a ventilation shaft on the floor, one of the wooden crates near it will contain gas masks and everything else you'll need. Do not leave the warehouse, just barricade yourselves till rescue arrives.
At 9:00 PM sedative gas will be released,
Troops will begin assault at 9:30 PM
ETA till they reach you: unknown.
3 knocks pause 2 knocks at the door to know its safe
PS: you swallowed the note, didn't you.
Jasmin raised an eyebrow upon reading the last bit, looks like those two left us some gear up ahead" She handed the note to Rayla who began to read it,
"Ah, So it's YOUUUUU!" Rayla crushed the note in her hands before unlocking her shackles then making short work of Jasmin's.
"I take it you know each other," Jasmin had a deadpan expression wondering if she should ask or not as they began to apply sedatives to Rayla's pocket knives.
"I know who wrote that note, no idea who the masked guys are."
"Here are your seats." the woman said as she gestured for them to take a seat, they were at a balcony overlooking a theater that was surrounded by well-appointed seating areas.
The two men walked to the edge and saw the lower areas had an unusually high occupancy, everyone wore masks, but the majority were undercoated. The guards and servants who worked in the auction all wore green-colored masks.
"You seem to be unusually popular today."
"Your gifts would naturally attract people here." The masked woman giggled as the two masked men took their seats.
"He will make the bids, you only need to tell him the amount you wish to bid." She gestured towards her butler before leaving.
"How many soul bound items do you have?" the masked man asked the butler.
"Sir, there will only be three soul-bound bows available for bidding, is that the item you seek,"
The masked man nodded as he took out his pocket watch, "Start with 500 gold."
"Understood sir." the butler noticed the man's associate remained silent as always.
30 minutes later, the auction had already begun.
"Next, we have coins containing freshly caught wild Ruby striped squids, these beauties are found only in the ocean depths but once a year these rare creatures come to the surface far off the coast. Starting bid is at 100 silver for a set of 100."
"110 silver!"
"120 silver!"
"125 silver!"
"140 silver"
. . .
The two men on the balcony watched on with mild amusement as bidding paddles were raised with amounts being shouted over each other.
"The amounts some people pay just to brag they've eaten something." the man steepled his hand while his associate simply crossed his. Eventually, someone got them at 280.
. . .
"Next, we have three soul-bound bows from Xadia, these particular bows were both 2000 years old, starting bid is at 50 gold each!"
"500 for each!"
Came a bid that resulted in everyone present being stunned silent, many turned to see the auction house mistress's butler on the balcony bidding on behalf of two men who seemed to not even care about the amount that was tens times the original bidding amount. The auctioneer looked at the other bidders who seemed to have lost the stomach to try and outbid someone who was given a balcony seat.
The butler turned around and bowed, "The items will be brought to you once the auction has ended."
. . .
"Next, we have 150 bars of Grade A5 etherium made in the dukedom as gift to the Evenere royal family 80 years ago but thought lost when CSS-Cannary disappeared during a storm." The auctioneer let the word hang for a moment, "Starting bid is at 5 gold per bar!"
"6 gold 20 silver!"
"6 gold 80 silver!"
"8 gold 10 silver!"
.
.
"12 gold 75 silver!"
The bids kept going up, the audience occasionally looking at the balcony hoping no bids would come from up there.
Much time had passed, and 150 bars had been bidden on and sold, most of the bidders who were mages or were representing one were eager to obtain as much etherium they could even if they had to do it on credit.
8:22 PM
"All clear"
The two of them quickly exited their cell and made a beeline towards the end of the corridor ignoring all the locked cell doors they passed knowing that even if anyone was inside they wouldn't have enough masks for it to matter. They quietly made their way up the narrow stairway till they met a door, there was no light coming from the small gap under the door which meant there would be no one on the other side.
"You take point, you got the eyes for it." Jasmin took a step back.
Rayla nodded as she made quick work of the lock, she opened the door to find a dark warehouse, her eyes could make out the general area, and quickly found a light switch. the sudden illumination made them blinded them for a moment especially Rayla before they began to look for the ventilation shaft.
After several minutes of navigating the maze of high-stacked crates, they found the shaft and quickly began to examine all the nearby crates till they found one that was loosely sealed. They both nodded and opened it to find several items.
Pairs of SM-55 Ether Carbine, Gunblades, and gas masks which they quickly put on.
KM-55 SMG's - full/semi-auto, 50 round mag with a total of 5 spare mags still in the crate.
Ether gunblades - ether gun on the crossguard, 300 energy bolts per blade, 100m max range.
"I'll go over and block the door with as many crates as possible."
"Why?"
"You've never killed before, I have and everyone loses their stomach for a while after their first kill." Rayla recalled what her first kill was like and knew Jasmin would have a hard time fighting once the initial burst of adrenalin wore off. she began lifting crates and moving them in front of the door till it was behind several feet of crates before moving crates around to set up more crates to acts as defensive positions. Meanwhile, Jasmin began to set up their guns and coating the blades in sedatives.
As they busied themselves, neither of them was close enough to hear the continuous hissing coming from the ventilation shaft.
The auctioneer announced the next item would be some herbs that only grew in Xadia which easily resulted in high bids. The items kept changing from magical ingredients to weapons to industrial components and chemicals.
"Next we have a grimoire from the Ars et tenebrarum set, specifically the seventh volume."
The butler nodded after the man told him the amount, he quietly hit a small transmitter in his pocket signaling his mistress that they were about to bid again.
Starting bid will be at 120 gol..."
"900!"
Once again the room was stunned silent, they didn't even bother to wonder who it was, the auctioneer decided to end this knowing that everyone knew that launching with such abid was a statement to everyone that they wouldn't allow others to outbid them.
"I believe that will be enough for today." the man said as he checked his pocket watch before quickly closing it.
His associate nodded in return, So its begun.
"Very well sir, I shall go ready your bids for transport, I assume they are to be sent to the usual location? the butler went to carry out his task after informing his mistress.
Once the butler left the two began to adjust their masks as the auction continued.
"Oh how I pity these fools." his associate spoke, his Erdus accent finally noticeable.
The masked man merely stated that he was going to enjoy what came next. He pulled out a gold coin and undid the spell to retrieve his sword and the key of Aaravos as his eyes emitted a bright glow visible even through his mask which his associate noticed.
Time 21:30
Aurora Estate, Northern Park, Capital City
The busy city had quieted down for the night except in a few areas, the Aurora Estate which was a large complex owned by a company that catered to the needs of nobility and wealthy individuals, groups, and corporations was conducting its annual invite-only event in its theater. The entire estate was opposite to one of the 5 large parks within the capital that contained a sprawling expanse that imitated a forest perfectly with recreational facilities located inside and to its side were several public buildings.
Hidden among the trees was a large contingent of knights from multiple orders which included the Legion of Chaos, the Red Quills, the Death Riders, the White Talons, and the Azure Guard. Three Death Rider APCs were carrying a ten-man squad, one from the Red Quills, with the remaining two comprising the Death Riders. A Squad of White Talons flew silently above training their rifles at all guards visible. The remaining units were hidden alongside the APCs. Vaeril was in a command unit coordinating the operation, once all units were ready he gave the order to begin.
Within seconds the guards were felled by sniper shots from above, they then began targeting any threats they saw. Once they gave the all-clear signal, the three APCs rushed in smashing through the gate and headed straight to the areas where they expected to be heavily guarded. The APC's once they reached their destination fired smoke shells, the defenders fired blindly into the smoke in blind hopes to hit something while taking cover behind windows, doors, trees, and anything that provided decent cover and protection.
The first APC doors opened and ten knights of the Red Quills lumbered out donned in full-plate armor, their ears rang with the irritating clang of rounds harmlessly bouncing of their heavy armor wielding massive shields on their left arms and heavy battle rifles on their right. The frontline held up their massive shields which projected a Sunfire light barrier which further increased the safe area as they scanned the area to find where the enemy was shooting from before letting loose 7.62mm rounds from their heavy battle rifles in return fire. Once the enemy was pinned down two squads of death riders disembarked from their respective APCs, they tapped their invisibility gauntlets and began moving to flank the defenders.
As the fight continued the Legion, and Azure Guard rushed into the compound going towards each building to secure them while the remaining forces worked to secure the outside.
Sirens began to blare interrupting the auction which sent everyone present into confusion. The soundproof walls rendered them completely unaware of what was happening outside.
"Attention, We are being raided by knights, all guests proceed to the emergency underground exists!"
Soon the guests fell into a panic and ran towards the large trap door the workers revealed from under the stage floor completely unaware that the far ends of the exit tunnels were now filled with sedative gas and several troops lying in wait. Several guards sought out the mages present to seek their help knowing that their own mages wouldn't be enough. Soon an explosion of smoke appeared from the balcony followed by the sound of gunshots. The Mistress saw it and knew she could depend on her bulter to get those two to safety so she focused her efforts to quickly repel the invaders to buy time for their clients to escape before they could join in the evacuation.
Unknown to them at the top of the balcony, the butler and several guards were lying unconscious as the two masked men's hands crackled with electric discharge.
Meanwhile Rayla and Jasmin were preparing to fight the guards trying to break their way into the warehouse
Almost four hours later,
The knights finally reached the warehouse door noticing bodies strewn nearby and knocked on it in the prescribed order before announcing who they were to the presumably still alive occupants they were ordered to rescue.
They soon heard a response which stated they were alive though one of them needed medical aid, apparently, some had broken through their makeshift barricade and it ended in the two having to kill them and barricading themselves again albeit in a rushed and less effective manner. They noticed more dead bodies inside but decided to leave that matter aside.
Several minutes had passed before the door was finally opened revealing the young elf with her compatriot sitting the distance with a piece of cloth tightly wrapped around her arm. the knights broke off into two units, one to continue their sweep of the area while the other would escort them back to the surface.
Once they reached the surface the fighting had already ended and the air wafted with the faint smell of smoke, gunpowder, and spent casings were littered everywhere. The knights were merely keeping an eye on the place as the capital police had moved into taking the criminals into custody. Jasmin. They were lead to the large park where they were treating the injured. Both of them looked at each happy that this was all over.
