Chapter Fifty One

Out of the Frying Pan

ELSA

Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Or more like the damn furnace. Elsa crouched at the entrance of the canal that snaked through the city, opening into a river mouth which was largely frozen over. Thanks to yet another of the Duke's endless contacts in the infrastructure and engineering industry, Ludwig had managed to secure them the layout of the tunnels and drainage system in Exon, which helped them plan their route immensely. They couldn't possibly be seen skulking through the city from shadow to shadow, so using the underground pipes that carried people's waste was the next best option.

Skimming through pages and pages of tunnel records and sewage disposal, Elsa had learnt that Exon's founders had built the city in a modern and very strategic way. Ditches ran through every street, sometimes even running parallel to the roads in the heart of the city. These ditches and drains connected to larger canals which ran through various intersections across the multiple districts that made up Exon. The west had a major canal system, and so did the east, north and south. All were linked, looping round the entire city and running along the perimeter walls as a river. With enough patience and planning, Elsa had managed to draw up a route from the Voda Residence in Modeley District all the way east to where the castle was located. It was a viable plan, but just damn difficult to execute.

Elsa was up to her ankles in cold, murky waters and it didn't feel good at all, especially since she was wearing open toed shoes instead of boots this time. Reason being boots wouldn't help her get a good grip as she infiltrated the castle grounds. Leather sandals would.

Anxiety nipped away at her as she stared up at the castle which loomed over the rest of the capital. What if she wasn't ready? What if she couldn't cut the mustard? What if Janus is right and I get myself captured again?

A fiery determination gripped her. No. I won't get captured again. We're both getting out of there alive. Their escape plan had been very well scouted by Janus, who'd spent the past few evenings painstakingly coming up with various contingencies in case they ran into resistance, that is, until she dragged him to bed.

She was dressed light for the gruelling, physical tasks that lay ahead. Clad in a tight dark grey blouse with matching tights, Elsa had her hair tied in a high ponytail like one of those ancient Warriors during the Ibersian Revolution. If nothing else, it made her feel ready for the uphill battle ahead of her.

Most of the river was frozen over on the surface, so Elsa lightly dropped down onto it. The ice barely cracked at all under her weight, and she stuck to the sides, inching her way downstream towards the castle's first wall. The river water would pass through a sluice gate at the base of the wall, but since it was frozen over, it left no gaps. But she was prepared for this.

Elsa removed a pickaxe from the pack on her back and began chiselling away at the ice. In all honesty, she felt stupid as she worked at making a gap large enough for herself to squeeze through. She was a damn Elemental Sorceress who could control, manipulate and shatter ice! But as Tracy had warned, the Mage Slayers could track their unique sorcery signature if they used their powers. And so it had become an issue not of how to use their powers, but how to not use them.

The ice out of the way, the sluice gate was now exposed and allowed her to squeeze through. With the first wall behind her, Elsa looked up. From the outside, the castle was truly magnificent in all its glory. Towering high in the sky, it struck an imposing figure, especially at night. It was a fortress all by itself, with bastion walls and the river separating the rest of the capital from the emperor's residence.

Fishing out a spyglass that Janus had given her, Elsa put it to her eye and surveyed the castle's defences. Men in white were patrolling the barbicans and high towers overlooking the castle. Blitzguard soldiers. They brandished rifles with bayonets attached, some standing guard at specifically demarcated posts, while most prowled the grounds, walking along the paths on the castle's side of the river.

She panned the spyglass to scan for the bridge. The bridge was up ahead, just as the schematics had detailed. And also as expected, soldiers were stationed on both sides of the wooden draw bridge. The bridge was meant to be a temporary replacement while the engineers worked on constructing a more sturdy one made out of concrete that wouldn't be destroyed in a siege. For reasons unknown, work on the bridge had ceased, possibly due to a workers' strike during the labour unions that had taken place some time before her arrival. Or more likely, because the emperor was directing funds into the war and neglecting to approve other important things such as the improvement of infrastructure in the capital. In this case, it would work in Elsa's favour.

Elsa removed her sandals and used a short rope to tie them securely around her waist. As quietly as she could, she crept to the side of the river where there were rungs embedded in the side of the wall. She began to climb higher and higher up to ground level, though she stopped short of clambering over the parapet and landing herself in the midst of the patrolling Blitzguard soldiers on the sidewalk. She couldn't just cross the river either, for there were snipers up high watching the frozen surface for intruders, and soldiers prowled the surface of the ice with rifles in hand. No, she would have to stick to the underside of the bridge.

The parapet she was clinging to was a blind spot for the men on the bastion walls, so it let her shimmy sideways on a narrow ledge towards the underside of the wooden bridge. There were small gaps between the wooden planks that made up the drawbridge, and those gaps were just big enough for her to get a grip. Stretching out both hands, she stuck her fingers into the gaps and gripped tightly, allowing her feet to leave the narrow ledge. Her legs dangled in the air and she stifled a gasp.

If she fell, the seventy foot drop would land her heavily on the ice and possibly send her plummeting through it, drawing the attention of the soldiers. She couldn't afford to let go, or the mission would be over before it even had a chance to begin.

Gritting her teeth, she used her core to pull her legs up, and her feet scrambled frantically for purchase as she tried to jam her toes in the gap between two planks. She could feel her fingers growing numb, weak, slipping. Then at the last moment, Elsa managed to wedge her toes in the gap and get a firm grip, relieving half of the pressure on her fingers. Heaving a silent sigh, she clung tight and let her breath steady.

Orientating herself so that her head faced the direction of where she needed to go, she inclined her head to see how far she needed to go before she successfully crossed the bridge. Her heart sank. It was going to be a long night.

JANUS

"You're sure about this?" One of the Exonian volunteers from the Equalitar who looked like a simple dock worker looked down at Janus with incredulity. Obviously he'd never been part of a heist before.

"Yes." Masked and hooded, Janus settled deeper into the crate, having squeezed himself into a ball, arms and legs folded as tightly as possible to fit into the crate which was meant to hold weapons.

The Imperial Blitzguard was due to receive a new shipment of weapons. Rifles, blackpowder, knives, tactical gear and protective armour for their uniforms. These fresh supplies would all come from the docks, which had to be processed and approved by a representative from the Ministry of Trade. Fortunately, Duke Voda never seemed to run out of connections.

So here he was, getting packed away together with the numerous other crates of weapons that were to be delivered to the castle tonight by way of supply wagon. Finding the least unbearable position, he looked up at the dock worker. "It's the only way to get into the castle. Shut me in."

The dock worker shrugged. "If you say so. May Emrau be with you," He nailed the wooden crate shut, and Janus was plunged into darkness.

He felt another crate being stacked on top of the one he was in, and a couple more were pushed up against his. All the crates and boxes were flushed to the front of the supply wagon where it wouldn't be jostled out onto the road if the wagon went over a pothole or an uneven stretch of road. Before long, he heard someone shout to the driver.

The horse pulling the supply wagon set off, and Janus felt himself bumping around inside the crate. He grimaced. It wasn't the most uncomfortable spot he'd been in before, but that didn't mean it wasn't unpleasant. The wagon was pulled over onto cobblestones which told Janus that they'd just left the docks and joined onto the actual roads paved with a thin layer of fresh snow. There began the long and arduous journey across the capital.

The docks were on the south side of the city, and getting to the castle in the east would take them at least an hour or so, at the plodding pace they were going. In his mind, he willed the wagon driver to spur his horse faster. By now, Elsa must be nearing the end of the canal in the east, possibly already debouching from the drainage system. The idea was for both of them to stay tightly on schedule so that they would rendezvous at the right time. But at the rate he was going, he guessed that she would be left waiting for him, and he couldn't have that.

The wagon went over a particularly rough spot on the road and Janus' head hit the lid of the crate rather hard. He winced and reached up to nurse his head, only to have his hand restrained from the severe lack of space and breathing room. Shit, he swore silently as his forehead manifested a dull pain. In spite of the bitter chill of the winter night outside, big droplets of sweat were running down his face. Perhaps it hadn't been the best of ideas to wear his mask and hood before being shut in a tight crate with piss-poor ventilation. It was insufferably hot and stuffy, and all Janus wanted to do was pull at his tight blacks to allow cool air to neutralise all the body heat he was radiating. It feels like a goddamn furnace being stuck in this crate.

Finally, Janus felt the wagon turning, and felt the wheels going over smooth stone in place of snow-covered cobblestones. If his memory served him right, this was the road going up to the castle's southwest corner, overlooking the vast plains of Luftzeit. The rider must have jerked on the reins inexpertly, for Janus could hear the muffled snort from the horse as the supply wagon came to a stop.

"Halt!" Someone shouted in Exonite and heavy boots clattered across the smooth stone. "Identify yourself!"

"Shipment of armaments from Bastrus," The driver said lazily.

Janus could hear the crates around him being unloaded, most likely by the Blitzguard soldiers themselves. He'd been told by Ludwig that the Empire had ordered a large shipment of weapons and equipment, so he wagered that each of the crates were fully loaded and heavy. One could only hope that the weight of his crate wasn't an outlier among the others, for that would raise suspicion far too early.

"One…two…up!" Janus felt his crate being lifted from the supply wagon and set down on a trolley together with a couple of other crates that had already been unloaded.

"Heavy as Trunco's mother," One of the voices complained. "What the hell did we order? A cannon?"

"Shut your mouth and help me get this next one out," said another. "One..two…up!"

Janus waited patiently - or with as much patience as he could muster - as the Blitzguard soldiers unloaded the rest of the crates and piled them up. Then at long last, the trolley was wheeled across the ground, and screeches could be heard as the heavy iron doors of the castle were pulled open.

When he was first hired by Eleanor, he'd been given a tour of the place. He knew that the Empress' elite guard stored their weapons and equipment in the castle's big armoury. It stood to reason that the emperor's men would follow the same protocol. The trolley came to an abrupt stop and a few of the crates fell off and crashed onto the ground. Wood splintered open and rifles lay in a mess.

The soldiers groaned, muttering and swearing.

"Damn you, Sigdun," One of the Blitzguard soldiers growled. "You had one job. Just push the goddamn trolley."

"The wheels jammed, you asshole," Sigdun snarled.

"Course they did," Another said. "Now look at the mess. Shit. Pyke's going to have a fit." Another said.

"We're going to have to unload everything now if we want to keep this quiet." The first soldier suggested.

Good. Janus's mouth formed a tight smile behind his mask. When they got to his crate, they would all be in for a surprise. He didn't know exactly how many of them there were, but he estimated by their footfalls that there were at least seven or eight of them.

"Some of these are still intact," Sigdun called out. "Help me get these open!"

As quietly as he could, Janus reached for the sword at his hip. He would have to make quick work of them. No one could be allowed to escape to sound the alarm. The hilt of the falchion in one hand, his other hand went to his belt and a small pellet fell into his palm. His breath steady and controlled, he waited. The lid of his crate began to be peeled away, and a small measure of light from a lamp began to seep in.

Janus exploded up from where he'd been lying, knocking the closest soldier off balance. There really were eight of them, just as he'd estimated. As he vaulted out of the crate, he tossed the pellet in his hand at the feet of the nearest three soldiers. The pellet broke and thick, grey smoke began to fill the surroundings.

The soldiers quickly backed away from the smoke as they'd been trained, fanning out to form a net around him. They've been taught well, Janus mused as he charged into the smoke and pulled the first soldier he'd felled back to his feet. A swift stab of the falchion ran the man through, and he jerked and went still. Janus pulled his blade free as he kicked the man away. It was slick with blood, but it was nowhere near finished for the night yet.

One of the soldiers shouted something unintelligible and the rest began to tighten the net.

Bent low, Janus dove out of the smoke and tackled the nearest soldier to the ground. Flicking his blade gracefully across the man's throat, he sprang at the next man and slapped the rifle out of his hands. Another quick thrust spitted his prey.

The remaining five Blitzguard soldiers adapted fast. Two grabbed Janus' arms and a third wrestled the falchion out of his hand. But Janus didn't need a weapon to kill them. He twisted his right arm free and drove three of his fingers into one's throat, causing the man to choke up blood. Grabbing another's collar, Janus slammed him against a nearby wall, lashing out with a vicious knee to the gut and driving his head into brick.

Janus faded as another swung the butt of a rifle at him, and pivoted till he was behind the soldier before the man could reorientate himself. A swift but vicious jab to the small of the back and the rifle fell out of the soldier's hand. Janus caught it before it fell and flipped it about one-handed, skewing the man on the bayonet.

Two more clobbered him to the ground, but Janus rolled sideways and got up quickly, two daggers sliding into his palms. He tossed one of the daggers into one of the two men's eye, and lunged forward. The second soldier never had time to react. The dagger disappeared into his stomach to the hilt, and Janus yanked it free together with the one embedded in the other's eye.

He whipped one of the daggers round as he heard footfalls behind him, and narrowly missed one of the recovered soldiers who avoided his throw. The soldier was faster than he looked. A fist connected with Janus' jaw, snapping his head back, the other dagger falling out of his hand. The man tackled his legs, and Janus fell. As he hit the ground, the last soldier clambered on top of him, attempting to land yet another punch across his face.

Catching his fist, Janus twisted maliciously. The man gave a cry of pain and Janus kicked him away, sliding to safety. Standing, he sidestepped as the soldier charged past. He caught hold of the soldier and wrapped his thick arm around the front of the man's neck, pulling him backwards into an inverted face lock. Before the man could cry out for mercy, Janus gave a vicious tug and the man went limp, his neck broken. Letting the man drop to the ground lifelessly, Janus looked around.

They were much better than the average soldier, though they weren't what he was expecting from the elite Imperial Blitzguard. Perhaps these were the reserves, placed on quartermaster's duty. Whatever the case, he'd made sure they wouldn't be a problem again. Sweating under his mask and hood, he went back to the crate he'd broken out of and fished out his bow and quiver. Slinging his quiver across his back, he wiped the bloody falchion on one of the Blitzguards' white uniforms and sheathed it. Bow in hand, he surveyed the area for the exit. Finding it, he raced off towards the door. Now to get to the rendezvous point and regroup with Elsa.

ANNA

"This is madness," Kristoff looked utterly unconvinced and worried.

"I agree," Field Marshal Frederick said as he once again bent over the documents on the foldable writing desk. "But not entirely impossible."

Anna stared round at the people in the tent. After telling Frederick and Kristoff her idea, the three of them had fleshed out a feasible plan and sent for a few of the best possible recruits for this mission. The Witch Hunter siblings stood in the centre of the Command Tent with arms folded, flanked by Honeymaren and Ryder - two of the Northuldra's best skirmishers. Marquess Horatio was also present, owing to the fact that he had expertise in conducting night raids before. With them were three of the League's veteran sorcerers - Vonco, Rikhard and Cornelius.

"It's the only way." Anna insisted. "We can't beat them in a slugfest. Like you said, it's Hydrech in there pulling the strings. He's too good to let us get anywhere near those walls. That is, in broad daylight." She smirked.

"I must admit, we've never attempted anything quite like this before." Frederick glanced at her. "It goes against the rules of civilised warfare."

"Screw civilised warfare. We're going to die if we don't do this," Horatio said.

"Hate to admit it, but I have to agree this time." Anna glanced at him. "You'll be running point on this operation."

"Gladly," Horatio smirked. "It's time to give those bastards their due."

"Calm yourself, my Lord." Honeymaren said in her no-nonsense voice. It was clear she didn't have much of a tolerance for the hot-headed marquess. "We need time to pack our equipment and familiarise ourselves with the layout of the fort."

"Time we don't have." Vonco muttered.

"Take half an hour," Anna glanced round at the people in the tent as Frederick began handing out sketches of the fortress schematics. "We'll move out at one on the dot."

"Hold on, we?" Kristoff stared at her as though she'd just grown another head.

"Yeah. Why?" Anna asked.

He looked horrified. "No, no, no. You're not going."

"What? Why?"

"That's all, thank you," Frederick told the rest. "You will gather at the camp borders in an hour's time and set off together. Good luck."

"You can't go out there!" Kristoff continued as the mission's operatives began filing out of the tent in a haste to avoid the ensuing argument. "It's suicide!"

"No it isn't," Anna folded her arms and saw Frederick also leaving the tent from the corner of her eye. "We can do it."

"That's not the point. I don't want you out there! It's dangerous!"

"And since when have we not been in danger?" Anna squared her shoulders. "I'm going."

Kristoff looked distraught. "No, you-"

"This was my plan," Anna said indignantly. "It's my mission, so I should be the one overseeing it."

"I can't let you put yourself at risk like this." Kristoff shook his head. "Anna, you're not-"

"Not what?" she glared at her husband. "Not good enough? Not strong enough?"

"A soldier," Kristoff finished simply, steely meeting her gaze. "Anna, this job is for combatants. Mercenaries. Maybe even sorcerers. But you're a queen and your place is here. You're not going," He took her arm and marched her out of the Command Tent.

"What are you doing?" She hissed. "Kristoff! Let go!"

"Please don't make a scene," He said in a low voice. His grip was firm but not tight enough to hurt her. They arrived back at their shared tent and Kristoff turned to the sentries stationed outside. "We're conducting a night assault and I need my wife to be safe. Under no circumstances are you to let her out of the tent for the rest of the night. Is that understood?"

The sentries glanced at each other hesitantly, and then at Anna who was red with fury.

"Is that understood?" Kristoff repeated sharply.

"Yes, sir!" The sentries saluted.

"You can't do this." Anna snapped as he pulled her inside their tent where Talya was still waiting. "I'm the queen, damn it!"

"You may be queen but I'm your husband. And apparently even the sentries have better sense than you," Kristoff gripped her shoulders. "Please stay here and don't try to leave. If not for your sake, then for mine."

"Uh…what's going on?" Talya said from the corner of the tent where she was seated on Anna's bedroll.

"I need you to keep an eye on my wife," Kristoff told the envoy. "Make sure she stays here for tonight. I'll be back soon after I'm done giving out orders to the general staff for the raid. We're going to capture that damn fortress before sunrise."

"Aye, sir," Talya glanced at Anna, who scowled back.

"Good. I'll be back soon," Kristoff told Anna. "Stay here."

Anna glared at him. "You're making a mistake."

"No. I'm trying to prevent you from making one." Kristoff shook his head. "Please don't do anything stupid," With that, he slipped out of the tent, leaving a red-faced Anna behind to seethe at the back of his head.

Pouting in a very child-like manner, she sat down at her desk with a deep scowl plastered across her face. The nerve! This was her plan to begin with, and now she'd been sidelined?

"Wow," Talya crossed over to the desk. "That…was awkward."

"Tell me about it," Anna scoffed. "Look, I don't need anyone here to keep an eye on me. It's late, and you should probably go back to your own tent. I don't really need anyone else telling me that I should be safe and away from danger."

"Actually, no, I'm not here to tell you that." Talya stood in front of the desk. "If anything it's really the opposite. I think you should be out there."

Anna looked up at the envoy. "What?"

"I've heard so many tales of you charging into fire and saving the day. I mean, you're freaking Queen Anna! You're telling me you're really gonna sit this one out?"

"What are you saying?" Anna leaned forward. "You want me to get out there and join the night assault?"

"Yeah, absolutely!" Talya lowered her voice. "Off the record, of course. I'll just say I needed to go back to my tent to get something, and came back to find you gone."

Anna chuckled. "It's a nice sentiment, really. Thank you for that. But I don't see how I'm going to sneak past my own sentries."

"Ah. But something like that never stopped you before, did it?"

"No, I guess not," A genuine smile formed at the corner of her lips, and she looked round. "Now how do I get out of here?" Her eyes rested on her trunk where she kept her belongings. Moving over to it, she rummaged in the trunk and pulled out a sharp hunting knife - a gift that Kristoff had given her some time back so that she could join him hunting in the woods. How ironic that his gift was going to be her means of escape.

"I'm gonna go," Talya's eyes twinkled. "Good luck. I'll see you in the morning."

Anna flashed her a grin and set to work cutting a hole in the back of the tent, one that would be big enough for her to escape from. It was harder than it looked, seeing as how the tent she'd been given was made of rather durable material, making it hard for her to slice through the fabric. But the hunting knife she had was incredibly sharp, so with some effort she was able to successfully ruin their shared tent.

Good. Anna felt hope surge in her as she pulled away the fabric to reveal a gap. Cold air began to breeze into the tent, and she shuddered. Changing out of her dress into a thick shirt and pants, she grabbed her scabbard, purple coat and pocketed her pistol before slipping out the back of the tent unnoticed.

The camp was still alive but quiet, the soldiers preparing their kits for the assault that lay ahead. They'd no doubt already begun to receive orders for what to do. Soldiers bustled about the camp, cleaning their weapons, double checking their ammunition, and going about as though it was the middle of the day, albeit with far less noise.

With a hood pulled over her lowered head, Anna made her way to the camp borders to rendezvous with the other recruits. She found them already there and preparing to set off. And like she expected, they looked shocked to see her moving towards them.

"What are you doing here?" Vonco was the first to ask, his voice low so as not to attract the attention of the Molcorran pickets at the camp borders.

"I'm here to join you," Anna pulled the hood further over her head so as not to be seen by the sentries. "It's my plan after all."

"That's the spirit," Hansel chuckled. "Nothing like a little night assault to get the blood up."

"It's going to be dangerous," Gretel said apprehensively. "I don't think-"

"I can take care of myself, don't worry." Anna tried not to let her vexation show. She was quite tired of people treating her as though she were a fragile doll that needed to be kept safe. "Now are we going or not?"