The sun set on Vanzograd. Lanterns were lit, and shifts switched. The great foundries of the city closed for the day, warm for hours yet from a full day of work. The towers of the city remained active, the lights kept inside making them easily visible throughout the entire city. And darkness fell. Jalmar sat on the roof of the Clanner embassy watching the last rays of the sun fade from beyond the walls of the city. The thoroughfares of the city were wide, both to allow for the passage of goods but also as an escape from the tunnels the Vaulters used to call home. But outside of these wide streets the workshops and houses were closely packed. They used the rooftops as much as possible, only climbing down to street level when they had a straight line towards the warehouse. A windowsill cracked as Matleena stepped on it during his ascent. By the time the guards had come to check out the crash of ceramics the group of shades were already well over the lip of the next rooftop.
During their days of scouting the patrols around the warehouse had increased in size and frequency. Initially Kiira had been nervous that their cover had been blown somehow but Kaleva had scouted a few other warehouses scattered throughout the city 'so Kiira will stop pissing and moaning.' All the other warehouses had seen a similar increase in activity, so the crew stuck to the job and adjusted their plans.
They carefully dropped to street level, taking care to choose their footing. A lantern in an alleyway was extinguished and a cluster of barrels provided a hiding spot while they waited for their moment. Before long a small patrol of two men rounded the corner of the warehouse, crossbows slung across their chest and a lantern in one hand. Brief signals were exchanged among the group.
When the patrol passed their little alleyway, Kiira sprang from her hiding place to land behind the two guards and, with a speed that was hard to follow with the naked eye, yanked their helmets off. Matleena had followed close behind Kiira and caught the helmets before they clattered onto the cobbles. The two men turned about in complete surprise only to receive the shade-woman's palms thrust onto their faces. Kiira's tattoos flared as she stepped forwards to grab hold of the men by their heads, holding them upright as their eyes rolled back and they lapsed into unconsciousness. Very few Forgotten could manipulate Dust like Kiira Soininen. Jalmar, and Kaleva hurried forwards too, the shades working in pairs to move the guards into the cover of the darkened alley before another patrol arrived. The next patrols came and went. After a tense wait, the gap previously covered by the now-comatose patrol arrived, and they hurried forwards again. It would probably only be a question of time before the patrols would notice their sleeping comrades or that there was a group-sized gap in their route.
The 4 shades crossed the divide between the alley and the building wall in a flash, huddling around the locked door. Shadows coiled around them as they waited for Kaleva to undo the lock. Jalmar always found it fascinating how the radiant Dust tattoos could draw in the darkness to conceal them, masking their own golden glow in the process. A muffled click told them Kaleva had succeeded and they were in, quietly closing the door behind them. They waited in the hallway of the warehouse until they could hear the voices and footfalls of the patrol pass by, then moved further inside. This warehouse was much like the previous one, a larger wide hallway lit by lanterns, open doorways leading into rooms with rows and rows of sacks filled with grain and similar long-lasting foodstuffs. Each room had at least one lantern to give light from a steady flame encased in glass and blue titanium. Matleena remained in the hallway while the others spread out, examining each lantern in the warehouse to determine which was most likely to fail under pressure. They could easily utilise all the lanterns to ignite the grain but that would rouse suspicion.
They had been performing that task for a while with promising results when Matleena knocked on the walls of the connecting hallway to signal trouble. A further signal simply said 'Guard'. Jalmar lowered the lantern he had been inspecting as quickly as he dared then darted into the darkest corner, willing the Dust to conceal him. It was only because the shade knew what to look for that he spotted the group's sentry-man using the same spot of darkness.
"One of them noticed the door was unlocked. They're waiting for the other patrol to come around then they'll quickly scout the warehouse and make sure the door is locked." The other man whispered while his Dust-golden eyes scanned the room.
"Let's hope for their sake that they don't notice us." Jalmar whispered back, one hand on the handle of the knife on his thigh.
They waited there for a few minutes before they could hear the door open and heavy footfalls enter the hallway outside the storeroom. Two marines burst into the far end of their room, each carrying a lantern and a loaded crossbow. From the wariness etched into their features, Jalmar guessed they had been expecting more of the glutton-beasts. The two marines took a few steps into the room and fanned the lanterns around to try and gain a better view of the room. Thoroughly washing out their night-vision, the fools. Jalmar thought, making sure to keep a relaxed grip on the thin dagger. The guards focused their attentions on the supplies, prodding and lifting a few of the grain-sacks to check for the glutton-beasts they must be sure had found this warehouse too. After a few painstakingly-long moments of searching the guards talked quietly between themselves and left, the connecting hallway growing dark again as the guards had clearly turned up nothing and left to continue their patrol. A loud click could be heard as the warehouse-door's lock was engaged. Jalmar waited a further long moment before rising.
"I should have locked the door behind us. That could have gone bad." Matleena whispered while he too stretched.
"That might be but keep it for later," Jalmar responded, "For now let's finish up and leave."
"Agreed. Check up on Kiira, see if they've found anything." When Jalmar just nodded in response Matleena left the room to continue his sentry duty.
Jalmar lifted the lantern again and finished his inspection. This one could do in a pinch, but he thought they would all prefer a more convincing culprit. Mentally listing all the lanterns he had inspected, for he was not finished, Jalmar knocked a signal on the nearest support-beam, kept low and crossed the hallway. He found Kiira and Kaleva sat in a shadow in the far corner discussing their next step in low tones. They each relayed their own findings.
Kiira relaxed to lean back against the wooden inner wall. "So, we have 3 lanterns that could feasibly break. Jalmar, you said that the one you found was only defective in the glass? The hook is fine?"
Jalmar nodded. The glass for that lantern must have been fired or shaped incorrectly for the heat of the flame inside was slowly breaking it, but the hook the lantern was hanging from was perfectly fine. It would last for decades without undue stress.
Kaleva pointed at a lantern hanging by the far wall on a peg close by one of the shelves. "The pecker on that one is coming out of the mortar and one of the hinges holding the hatches shut is loose."
"...And if it falls there is a good chance it would bounce into a sack. Seems like our best option. The one I got just had some dodgy metalwork but nothing serious. Kaleva, let's go with your find."
The other two shades nodded. Kiira stalked out into the hallway to inform Matleena while Kaleva showed Jalmar the faults she had discussed in detail. Jalmar reckoned they could yank the lantern out by hand, but best not to. It might leave more traces behind than necessary and they needed to begin setting the 'trap' first anyways. Traces of oil and explosive powder arrayed around where the lantern would land. That would help the shelf catch flame and then the sacks of grain would be rigged as well. Finally, they would damage the shelves slightly on one side to encourage their tumble onto the next shelf in line. That should start lighting up the whole structure, hopefully too quickly before the patrols would notice and help could arrive. And even if not, it would incinerate a lot of supplies in the process. And the shades would need carry out another raid to make up it.
All 4 of them were gathered in the storehouse-room. Outside the light of one of patrols passed by.
"Go!" Kiira urged. Kaleva rose and knocked on the top of the lantern. The moment they heard the faint crumbling of mortar and clay as the screw began tearing itself loose, bringing the lantern down with it, the shades were on the move. Matleena had picked the lock of the opposite door to their entry in advance. He held up a hand as the crew approached the unlocked door, ready to leave before flames began engulfing the warehouse. In the background Jalmar fancied he could hear the flames building as they waited but that was nonsense. Whatever Matleena had heard must have passed for the shade-man lowered his hand of warning and motioned for the group to continue. Kaleva was first out and she had barely cleared the threshold of the door before Kiira was on the move. Jalmar was next. He stepped through the narrow open slit and out into the darkness. Before the alchemy that had doomed them to exile, his eyes would need time to adjust to the darkness of the night. That had been a thing of the past for decades now. Even in the darkness he could see as well as if it was a bright summers day. To his left Kiira's slender legs were racing up the side of the warehouse as easily as if the woman was running along a street. Jalmar leapt up and grabbed the top of the door-frame and pulled himself up. The stone wall did not have many footholds, but the shades had practised long. Jalmar was hardly the most skilled acrobat amongst the group but by the time Matleena had locked the door behind them he was catching his breath in a shadow on the roof. The night was dark and cold, and the settling mist made the tiles of the roof treacherous and slippery.
"Once the guards notice either their sleeping comrades or the fire, we're out. Move to your safe-houses and lay low for a day or two. Then meet back at the hideout." Kiira whispered while the group waited for their cue. Their sharp senses could just about pick out the smoke and hear the crackling of the fire raging inside the warehouse. It took the patrols 2 circuits to notice the black smoke that was now rising out of the tiles. To their credit the alarm was raised quickly. A few guards ran off to fetch water and reinforcements while the rest ventured inside to survey the fire. Judging by their curses and rapid escape, the crew's plan was going well. At this stage the shades departed, their escape route on the opposite side of the group of guards. Jalmar stayed a moment longer so he could hear the large splash of the well's bucket falling all the way down the pit when the carefully weakened rope gave away.
Even in the darkening autumn-sky over Vanzograd, the black plume of smoke was easily visible. The flames that raged through any opening in the walls and roof lit up the scene more effectively than any lantern could hope to do. "At least the increased patrols probably got the alarm out sooner" was what Reija told herself as she looked with horror at the warehouse the city was about to lose. A woman in uniform shoved past her holding a bucket full of water. The flames hissed as the guards-woman dumped the contents through a window then turned about, her eyes wide with fright. Reija stepped in her way before she had taken more than 2 steps.
"Get out of the way! I have to put out the fire!" She shouted. The woman's voice nearly cracked.
"We have to put out the fire!" Reija shouted back. She put her hands on the woman's shoulders when she tried to muscle past again. "You can't do it alone. Where did you get the water from?"
The woman stammered some directions to a nearby well.
Hands still firmly on the woman's shoulders Reija turned about to look at the assembled guards and civilians that had left their homes to watch the inferno. "We need to put out the fire before the warehouse collapses or it spreads to other buildings. Follow me!"
Black smoke was billowing from every opening in the warehouse-building now. Their job was accomplished, at least for this evening. Jalmar knew exactly how he could get to his safe-house from here but he wanted to observe the city's efforts to save the building. He found some enjoyment in watching them run about with buckets of water, trying to establish a bucket-chain. They must have known it was too late but still they worked. A person that had arrived moments after his departure seemed to be in general control, pointing and shouting at the building, groups of civilians and guards and the directions of the various water-sources the shades had scouted beforehand. Had the woman arrived maybe 5 minutes earlier she might have succeeded in saving the building and a substantial portion of the contents. Jalmar knew the woman would know it was too late but also that she would not relent.
He knew that about a Dawn Officer from a city he'd never visited before a mere week ago because Jalmar recognised the armoured woman immediately, the realisation like a punch to his stomach.
The woman taking charge of the rescue of the warehouse was Reija Bogovil, his former wife.
He put his hand forward to steady him before he toppled from the rooftop, his easy balance on the shingles removed in an instant.
We can't be spotted. We can't be spotted. He thought to himself over and over like a mantra. In that moment all he wanted was to run to her, but it would compromise this and any future job in Vaulter territory. He couldn't stay here. Heedless of the precarious footing beneath him Jalmar turned about and hurried up and over the rooftop, his body taking him to the safe-house while his mind brought up old memories one by one.