Evie's weapons were gone. Her blades, short sword and firearms were all gone. Recovering them was essential, those weapons were an extension of her. But she had taken a shot to the shoulder and she checked her wound. Luckily, the bullet had barely grazed her skin. Deciding to dress her wounds soon, she inspected her surroundings. She had no idea where she was. The compound was fairly large and was perched on a cliff. The room she had been locked inside of was an abandoned warehouse of sorts. She could see nothing but snowy mountains on all sides. The tiny village was nowhere to be seen. She wondered if she should find a vantage point and wait for Thorne to show up but decided against it. She had no idea how many men would be escorting her.
There was only one way to go, the compound was placed beside a small, snow laden road. It was a tiny road, barely large enough for a cart or caravan to pass by. She followed the road for a quarter mile or so before she heard the sound of rushing river. There had been a small stream that flowed near the village. Hoping the river split into that stream, Evie followed the river downwards. There wasn't much to see. Occasionally, she would see tiny fishes swimming and foxes drinking water. She must have trekked for an hour and so when she saw the first signs of civilization. A large wooden bridge at least 50 feet above her connected the two cliffs that stood on opposite banks of the river. It was a fairly sturdy bridge, supported by large wooden beams. She scoured the river banks and quickly found a series of hand-holds on the cliff-side. She scaled the cliff and emerged right beside the bridge. Approximately a mile from her location was a camp. She could see several carts headed her way, pulled by powerful horses. She grabbed the ledge of the cliff and hung herself. She waited patiently as four carts laden with stones passed the bridge. She had found the mines the Templars were mining. Dawn was about to break and she used the little darkness that was left to approach the camp unseen. There were several more carts, at least a dozen more were being loaded with more stones. There were six Silver-Blood mercenaries outside, and probably more inside. The men were at ease and very few were armed. She took cover behind a cart and listened to the people closest to her.
"- more men have been brought as Miss Thorne demanded. The payment has arrived as well. Take this safe to the captain's tent. Make sure its padlocked. Miss Thorne retrieved these weapons last night and doesn't want anyone else rifling through it's contents."
A large miner carried a chest and walked slowly through the camp, hailing his friends and nodding to the rest. Evie followed him carefully, making sure that she wasn't discovered by anyone else. That chest most probably had her weapons inside. She waited for the miner to exit the captain's tent and entered it. The chest was locked tight but Evie broke it with ease. Alexander Bell had taught her how modern locks worked and how to break them. She was right. She quickly retrieved her weapons and snatched a letter besides her weapons. She would read it soon enough. She locked the chest again and slid out of the tent. She was about to escape the camp when an almighty explosion occurred inside the mines.
The power of the explosion shook the ground hard and she stumbled. Cries ensued and she heard the sounds of men running towards the mine entrance. Quickly, she scrambled inside the tent and waited as several pairs of feet ran past her. Dawn was breaking already and she knew that she would be easily recognized, but curiosity got the better of her. A small bubble of hope rose in her, hoping that George was making an escape; if George was here. She had barely reached the entrance when a man ran out and collided with her. She was knocked back into the ground in a tangle of limbs. On instinct she snapped her hidden blades outwards and steadied herself, ready to attack.
"Evie?" Jacob's voice was clear as he too sprang out of her immediate range and steadied himself.
"Jacob? Wh- What are you doing here?"
An all to familiar grin split across his face as he stood straight, dusting the snow off his robes.
"Vacationing of course!"
She opened her mouth and he interrupted her.
"Not now Evie, those men are coming after me, well us. We need to get out of here fast."
She shook her head in shock and disbelief. Jacob grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. Following Jacob's lead, the siblings climed on to a nearby carriage and Jacob took the reins. They were off, men were spilling out of the mines and making their way towards he remaining carriages. They gave chase and as danger loomed, Evie's mind began functioning again. Pistol in hand, she returned fire as three carriages came after them. Even as bullets flew all around her, Evie's mind was thinking of Jacob. On any other occasion, she would have rebuked her brother and chastised him for coming after her. Now she felt thankful. Jacob's presence gave her strength and she vowed that as soon as the battle was over, she would tell him how happy she was to see him.
