A/N:Don't ask me how long has it been since the last update. I seriously don't wanna know.
And I have to say it out loud - if Rose ever confesses of having had nightmares about bad dialogue punctuation, then I am the one you should blame for her state of mind. Seriously. Thank you so much, Rose. All the cookies are your today.
"All cargo packed and secured, sir!" the ship's captain exclaimed and saluted. Hakim nodded with acknowledgement.
"We're setting off in few minutes," he said. The sailor saluted again, then boarded the vessel, shouting orders to his crew. The Janubian turned around and met with the cheerful smile of Vestholm's resident Viking ambassador.
"Off to the desert again!" Thordal's voice seemed, as always, to be packed with joy. "How long are you gonna be lost in there?"
"Lost?" The Janubian smiled as well. "Not a single day."
The Viking laughed, probably making the whole harbour hear him.
"No, seriously," he finally said when he settled down. "How long?"
"About two weeks. Adding that to the journey, I'll be away from Vestholm for a month and a half," Hakim replied.
"I'll keep a weather eye on the horizon, then," Thordal smiled yet again. Hakim waved to him, and boarded the ship himself. Right after he stepped on the deck, the sailors removed the gangplank, and the orders to launch were given.
Hakim stood by the railing and watched his friend wave to him. Suddenly Thordal squinted his eyes, like he was trying to spot something. Then, he pointed to his own shoulder.
The Janubian almost automatically reached for his scimitar, but all he managed to grasp was the air. He looked over his shoulder, but that didn't help as well. The weapon just wasn't there. Now, it was impossible that he would leave it with his luggage. Whenever he was leaving, the scimitar was right at his side, within reaching distance.
Not this time.
"Captain!" Hakim shouted to the sailor at the helm. "We must turn around!"
"No can do, sir!" The man spread just one hand, holding the wheel with another. "First we must leave the port, then we can bring her about!"
"Then that is what we're..." The Southerner did not finish, as something in the harbour caught his attention. A shadow sprinting through the road. A rider on a horse.
"Hold that thought," he said finally.
The shadow quickly approached Thordal, who then pointed towards the ship. The ship was not too far from the shore and Hakim could clearly recognise the figure.
Kestral pushed her horse into a gallop across the port, running parallel to the vessel, and closing in. Hakim leaned over the railing overlooking her running path. There! The crane!
"Captain, easy to starboard!" he yelled.
The man spun the wheel, now also seeing the situation. "Sheet home!" he exclaimed to the crew. The sudden commotion started on the upper deck, as the sailors held lines or climbed up on the masts, rolling up the sails. The vessel slowed down.
Kestral kept galloping, now catching up with the ship and overtaking it slightly. She was almost at the crane, when she stood up in her saddle and caught the hook, lifting herself up on it. Then, with all her strength, she pushed herself off the wall. The hook and its cargo glided swiftly on the rail, and at the very last moment the female Knight let go, using her momentum to fly the rest of the way on the deck. She caught one of the lines in mid-air and gracefully landed on the planks, greeted by the ovations and cheers from the sailors. She bowed like an actress, then sighed with relief.
Hakim could not help but chuckle when she came closer to him and unbuckled the diagonal belt holding a particular scimitar on her back.
"Look what I found left in the castle." She sent him a cheerful grin.
He took the weapon, still chuckling a bit. Kestral leaned over the railing, then pointed to the port's end. At the very peak a quay was sticking out of the shoreline.
"That's my stop," she said.
"Then, I assume you're not staying," he replied innocently.
"Love to, but can't, unfortunately." She smiled sadly. "I've got places to go. Parties to crash. Lackbeards to annoy." She grabbed the line and climbed on the railing.
"In any case, thank you for bringing this." Hakim waved with the scimitar.
Kestral turned around for a second, sending him the biggest smile she had in all her arsenal.
"Consider it an I-won't-be-there-to-save-you favour."
Then, just as quickly as she appeared, she vanished over the board, sliding down and landing on the quay.
Hakim observed her from the stern, getting smaller and smaller on the shore and finally disappearing completely.
"Set the course for Janub," ordered the captain.
Kestral fought hard to stay focused. Not a very good idea to faint, she'd be awakened by another punch in the stomach.
"Funny, isn't it?" She heard Alton's voice as if through a fog. "The only thing that has really survived in this God forsaken place are the dungeons."
"Yeah," she replied weakly. "Reeeal funny. I'm laughing my head off."
"I thought you might." The bandit took her chin, forcing her to look at him. "You've got your last chance to tell me where the third locket is, or I'm having your stupid brother bring it to me on his knees."
In reply, she gathered all of her strength and spat right in his face, She thought she would receive another punch, but nothing came.
"Shame," Alton said, cleaning his face with a scarf he was wearing. "Now I have no use for you." He turned to his men. "Get her armour."
"You think my brother is going to fall for a fake hostage?" Kestral tried to laugh, but the result was pitiful.
"Maybe." He shrugged. "But why waste a good armour if after today you won't be needing it?"
Kestral's eyes widened. No.
Alton turned to her once again.
"It's a pity that I won't be here to see your execution, Kestral. But unfortunately, I have a negotiation to attend to."
After those words, he left, closing the door and cutting the sunlight again.
"Ammae?"
"Yes?" she whispered, lowering her head behind the tall grass.
"Why are we meeting at noon? For a strange reason I thought of midnight as a more accurate … bandit hour."
"Nine. Do not believe everything they say." The woman shook her head, looking at the Southerner with a spark of amusement. "Like in the army. It's all about strategy."
They were lying down at the top of the hill, observing the meeting place from an adequate viewpoint. Hawker lay next to Hakim and peeked at the trail down the hill.
"What she means," he said, "is that in sunlight it's harder to perform any kind of trickery. No stealthy killers shooting arrows from unknown direction, for example."
The Janubian nodded.
"Then I believe it is better that our plan is based on something else."
"I just hope it works," Milo sighed. He was pale, his face showed his tension and focus. He turned around and looked at the Assassins awaiting their leader's orders.
"All right, the fun begins shortly," he said, but nobody felt any actual fun coming. "Let's repeat it. Betty, Zyrion, Variat. You're with me. We go and prolong those negotiations for as long as we can or until we get a signal from here. On this outpost stay Arno and Dominic. Inform us of anything happening. Mirror code won't work, it's cloudy. Betty is going to be observing you for a sign anyway, though. Gavin, Lumberjack, Vicky, you patrol the area, search for any Raider's troops. They just might keep my sister close to themselves, though it's a far-fetched theory. Your real job is to capture any Raider that looks dumb enough to spill the beans about their camp's location. Remember, they have recently recruited a lot of fresh men. Kestral is most probably in their hideout. Chloe, stay at the camp side. When we return, we might need a medic. Talon and Forman will stay with you. Last, but not least … Hakim and Hissler, wait here for the patrol's return and then go and find Kestral with them. You know exactly what to do later." Hawker sighed again revising every bit of the plan again. "Dismissed," he said finally. The Assassins walked to their assigned groups and positions quietly.
"Hey." Ammae held Hawker by the shoulder, forcing him to turn around. "You omitted me."
The bandit leader looked at her as if he had forgotten about her existence before.
"Oh, no you don't." She shook her head upon recognising that particular kind of look. "You can't leave me useless!"
"To put it frankly, Ammy, I want you to stay off this one," he murmured.
"What?" Ammae took her hand back. Even Hakim raised his eyebrows, but did not comment.
"You heard me. Take Chloe back to the camp and wait there."
"No!" she protested. "There's no way you can put me aside while I personally was there …"
"Exactly," he replied quietly and turned around.
Ammae stood her ground, speechless. Hakim came closer to her. She just sighed with disappointment at his sight.
"It's all right," she said. "I deserve it."
"No, you most certainly do not," the Janubian replied. "And even more important, I might need you. Only two days before I thought I was going to have you on my team. I will need all the support I can get."
"I cannot disobey his direct order, Hakim," she muttered, then went to find Chloe.
Hakim felt a drop fall on his nose. Then another. He looked up and quickly back down, as it was impossible to face the falling rain.
Milo put his hood on, with a faint smile.
"The rain is our ally, ladies and gentlemen! It'll cover all our tracks and leave the enemy slower. Make sure we can make good use of it." He scoped the mostly prepared men and women, then gestured on his team to move out. At the last moment he turned to Hissler, putting a hand on his shoulder. With the other one, he took of the golden locket and placed it in the boy's hand.
"Good luck, kid," he said. "If you pull this off, I'll make sure you get a royal title and a commendation."
"Just make sure it's worth the risk." The boy smiled.
"I will," the bandit replied, and left with his team. The other group, led by Gavin, walked away in the other direction.
Finally, Ammae climbed on her horse and Chloe sat behind her. The Assassins second-in-command looked at Hakim once again. She smiled faintly.
"Bring home the gold, Knight," she said.
He looked in the direction of their departure until the rainy curtain finally veiled their way.
Hawker resisted the temptation to look back where he left all of his hope to save his sister in the hands of a certain Knight of Vestholm, and walked towards the crossroads of two trails.
As they were in higher ranges of Gallos mountains, most of the trails were unused and seldom did anybody dare travel through the area known for vast numbers of bandit raids. A route was a perfect meeting place, not to mention the crossroads. The open space around excluded most of surprise attacks, though the hills were enough to hide one's support troops in case something went wrong.
"Mirror code won't work in this conditions," the leader muttered to his fellow, Betty Lou. She nodded in agreement. There was no way of communicating with the hidden outpost, unless they just scream hard enough if all else fails.
As they approached the meeting point, the other group appeared, swiftly unveiling themselves from the blur provided by the rain. There were also four of them – the one in the middle, a bit taller, was definitely Alton. Along came a well-built man, though short, looking slightly like a dwarf from a child's tale, and a woman, pushing a tied female figure.
The hostage's head was covered with a bag, but she was wearing Kestral's armour.
Hawker's eyes narrowed, as he tried to recognise any detail of his sister's figure in the pouring rain.
Alton's lips curved into a smug smile when he stopped about ten feet opposite to the Assassins.
Remembering all of Hakim's lessons and comments about how he should act, Hawker bit his lips, not yet saying anything.
"Often wondered if you would have the guts to show up, Hawkie," the Raider's leader said, still smiling. "Man, you've grown up since the last time I saw you! How old were you then, twelve?"
An obvious insult. The last time they met was just one year ago. Milo blinked rapidly, pretending to be outbalanced.
"I haven't come here to dwell on the past, Alton," he replied, making it sound like his voice was shaking.
"Aw, don't be that straightforward, my dear boy." Alton's smile became a wide grin when he noticed Milo's tension. "I would suggest sitting down and pouring some tea, but we unfortunately lack he comfort of either."
In his own thoughts, Hawker also grinned. Prolongation was ensured at this stage.
They could hear splashing of their boots in the muddy ground. Not exactly a sound bringing pleasure, for sure.
Victoria turned around and looked at their tracks. The watery soil, covered by moss, behaved a lot like a sponge in these circumstances, raising up quickly after relieved from the pressure of a person walking.
"No need to check, Vicky," Gavin said. "There is no way they can know we're here."
The female just shrugged, continuing on walking.
Suddenly, Gavin stopped and raised his hand to indicate that the other two should stop as well. All three crouched behind the bushes, observing two men passing in front of them.
"They look … stupid enough." Lumberjack looked at his comrades. Gavin nodded and Victoria just raised her eyebrows. She quietly stood up, and prowling like a cat upon it's prey, she circled the pair, now walking at their backs. Then, having closed at the reach of her arms, she made a very quick notion, similar to both men, pressing a single nerve on each neck she clutched. Both enemy troops dropped on the ground, suddenly not being able to move a single muscle in their bodies.
"Nice one," Gavin said, emerging from the bushes. "I smell Chloe's teaching in it."
Victoria nodded, without a hint of a smile. Lumberjack, a six-foot-tall muscular kind of man, picked up the two with ease, so that they were hanging at his hands, their feet swinging a couple of inches above the ground.
"Let's talk." Gavin's grin resembled that one belonging to a hungry shark.
The rain was a bit more bearable under the tree. A bit was just the right word, since Hakim did not feel a lot better even with less water falling on him.
Hisssler was sitting next to him, leaning against the trunk and playing with the golden locket, given to him by his leader.
"Don't lose it," the Knight said, and the young bandit gave him a chilly look. "I know, I know, you're not planning to."
"I'm going to pull this off, you'll see," the boy replied, clutching the medallion. "And I going to prove I'm worthy."
"Be careful with that theory." The Janubian smiled a bit. "Nobody is ever planning for their biggest ambition to fail."
"Did you?" Hissler murmured with a shrug.
Hakim looked at the soaked grass under his boots, suddenly finding it a lot more interesting than the conversation. Before he could form an appropriate answer, the two heard voices through the rain. Both stood up, and joined with Arno and Dominic, who were now talking to Gavin and Lumberjack. Victoria was standing next to them, silent as ever.
"... they said something about the big house," Lumberjack said. "They weren't sure for themselves, since they were really new. They didn't see it too well when they were leaving it. Or they were just told to sell us that."
"Blast." Dominic rubbed his chin, turning around. "What the heck is the big house?"
"You say they were the Raiders' new recruits?" the Janubian asked, receiving a nod from Gavin. "Then they wouldn't lie. They're probably taken to the group by force. Their loyalty is far from the Raiders. If it is even there at all."
"Yeah, but it still doesn't take us anywhere," Arno, the Assassins' resident trap expert replied. "Why wouldn't they tell us any more details?"
Now Victoria gestured. She put two fingers close to her eyes, then nodded her head. Then she pointed the back of her skull, then oddly enough, Hakim.
"Of course." Gavin understood. "They didn't see it. The first time you get to the hideout, you do it despite your own will. Just like you." He pointed to the Southerner.
"Unconscious?" Hakim checked.
"Yes," Lumberack replied. "So that if you decide to run away, you cannot give out the location."
"Think, gentlemen," said Dominic, who was pacing back and forth during the others' conversation. "What is the big house?"
"They called it the thunderstruck big house." Gavin grinned. "Must be quite an awful place if they call it that."
"Thunderstruck?" Hissler asked, blinking.
"Yeah. Seems like our duo didn't like their new home," Gavin replied.
Dominic stopped and looked at Hissler, then at the others.
"They didn't swear at it, when they said it," he said. "They meant it."
"What?" Gavin shook his head.
"And they said the big house, because they didn't see the whole of it," Hissler added. "They were walking through a particularly narrow valley when they were moving out."
"Not. Following. You." Lumberjack crossed his arms on his chest.
"It's not a house," Dominic said. "It's a castle. To be more precise, a half of it."
Down at the crossroads Milo was starting to struggle a bit about playing scared. As a matter of fact, the whole negotiation was only making him annoyed, since he definitely preferred to be the one rescuing his sister.
"Can I see her face, finally?" he asked, pointing the female figure.
"Not until I see the locket." Alton grinned.
"You first."
"No, you first," the Raiders' leader replied. "I insist."
At the edge of his sight, up on the hill, Milo noticed some movement. Just shadows. Could be the trees …
Betty Lou, touched his hand lightly, almost impossible to notice. Everything was under control.
The hooves upon the damp ground. Ammae stopped her mare right behind the entrance to the camp. Chloe dismounted quickly. Talon and Forman jumped off their horses as well and took them to the shelter under the rock, made into a stable.
Chloe looked at the female figure, still in her saddle. Ammae didn't move. Only her face revealed her anger.
"Well," the medic said, shrugging. "What the heck are you waiting for?"
She didn't reply.
"Look, sweetheart," Chloe said. "If I were you, I wouldn't hesitate. Go ahead, you've proven able to deal with far worse problems than Hawkie's direct orders."
"Thanks." Ammae smiled lightly. Then she turned her mare around and pushed her into a gallop.