For evil to fail, it is only necessary for a good man to rise
We met Ariadna in front of the Mercenaries Guild, we said goodbye to supervisor Sancor and Miss Cilia and started our trip to the town of Aube, the town was located north of Dumai in a mountainous area, approximately seven days on foot, but as we are both strong warriors, we can get there in half the time, Ariadna set some rules while we walked, not asking about one's past or their private life, in addition to equitably distributing night watches and work every time we camp, Ariadna does not she seems to be interested in chatting as we walk, as i quickly got bored i decided to speak one-sidedly about my adventures on the border.
At noon we took a short break to eat, i tried to ask her about her tastes about food but i only received "shut up silly", "it's none of your business", "do you want to die?", she seemed strangely in a bad mood, at the end from the day we got ready to camp, i quickly set up a tent which aroused Ariadna's curiosity, "why did you set up that?" he said pointing to the store, "in case it rains at night" I said, "do you know it will rain?" ask something annoying Ariadna, "it's just a precaution, in the south it is quite common for it to rain suddenly" I said while lighting the fire, "are you a rookie from the south?" he asked in a curious way, "true i did not tell you, but I am from the tribes of the great black forest in the south" I replied, "you do not have the face of being someone from the south" he said with an annoyed tone again, "it is because i am half blood, my father was from a country far to the north and my mother from the southern tribes" I answered what left Ariadna deep in thought.
"You know you're breaking your own rule, but don't worry, i don't mind talking about myself" I said with a smile, "I hate your stupid smiles, I'll prepare dinner" Ariadna replied, although she seemed a Ariadna answered me, although she seemed a little calmer and in a better humor, so i kept talking about my days at the border to keep her entertained, the following days followed the same pattern, obviously something made her uncomfortable, but she calmed down a bit when i talked about my family, especially my younger brothers, finally when at dusk on the third day we could see the town of Aube in the distance from a hill.
Looking with a spyglass we could see several guards and a protective palisade, the palisade seemed more to retain people than to protect the town, there were several flower crops similar to royal poppies around the town, it made sense since the royal poppies only grow and mature well in specific conditions of humidity and height, you could see many people working in the crops and many guards with dogs walking the perimeter of the plantations, "it seems that they treat them like slaves" i said and passed him the spyglass Ariadna, "they are damned, we are going to kill them all" said Ardiadna as she began to emit a murderous aura, "hey wait, we must wait to contact the resistance" and i took her by the shoulder to hold her "I don't remember giving you permission to touch me" Ariadna countered and hit me on the shoulder, "damn you're too impulsive, you should take things more calmly" i said but immediately received a kick in leg.
As night fell we could see how the workers were led back to town, we also saw what appeared to be a procession, several ostentatiously dressed bodyguards walked around an old man dressed in a striking tunic, that must be Morok , it really fits the description of arrogant selfish that Knuckles and his friends gave us, he went out to do his evening inspection of the crops, after a slight tour of the crops he returned to the town, the number of guards decreased but still so many remained patrolling around the crops, we rested that night without lighting any bonfire, first we would cautiously explore the surroundings of the town.
We had to recognize the terrain as best as possible to avoid unpleasant surprises later, for that reason we spent the next two days exploring the surroundings of Aube, taking note of the most important details, number of patrols and their frequency, number of guards in each palisade sector, possible escape routes, at first glance the organization seemed to be impressive but upon looking in detail i discovered that the surveillance was indeed quite relaxed, they were absolutely confident that no one would dare to attack them, after we both memorized all the details and the general plan of the town we prepare to infiltrate, first we would contact the younger sister of Knuckles and then we would attack.
At nightfall on the third day, we sneakily approached the stockade, according to the available information there was a blind spot in the surveillance on the west side of the town, apparently Knuckles and his men had been planning an attack on the town for a long time to liberate to his relatives but they did not have enough combat strength, we reached the palisade without being discovered, in fact the guards were more concerned about not letting the inhabitants escape than about guarding the surroundings, we furtively climbed the fence, until now there was no problems, then there were the patrols inside the town, fortunately for us the guards who patrolled were quite careless in their work, we hid in the shadows and listened carefully before changing position again, finally we reached one of the few houses of two floors in the village.
"It would be better for you to talk to her, she will be less cautious if she talks to another woman" i said to Ariadna, she just nodded and approached the house, while i watched from the roof of another house across the narrow street, Ariadna crept up to the second floor ceiling and deftly hung on one arm while knocking on the window; i prepared my bow with a poisoned arrow, the window was cautiously opened and a small figure emerged from the interior, it was Knuckles' little sister, she must have been 14 or 15 years old, as Knuckles had told us her name was Clara, i can hear Ariadna whisper but i am focused on watching the surroundings, then i see that he signals me and enters through the window, after a quick check of the surroundings i cross the street and also enter the house through the second floor window.
Once inside there were several young people, "Clara he is my subordinate Lykas", Ariadna introduced me, "thank you for coming to our aid Madamoiselle Aquila, Monseiur Lykas" Clara said while bowing, "you don't have to worry about anything, better let's go straight to business" i say as i take out the map of the city that Knuckles had made, "your brother gave us this, i want to know how accurate it is" I said and placed the map on a small table, Clara and the other young people exchange glances , "It's totally accurate, it's the last map we sent to my brother" Clara says confidently, "well, is there a place where the villagers can be safe while we fight?" I ask as i point to the map, "the old stone barn" says a young man while pointing to the map, "the doors can only be opened from the inside and they won't be able to set it on fire" he says once again with conviction in his eyes.
Ariadna and me exchanged glances and agreed to the proposal, "then first we will make a big scandal to attract the guards, you will be in charge of leading all the people to the barn and you will lock yourself in the" I tell you, "but what will happen to the guards that patrol the town?" asked Clara, "first we will eliminate them so that they do not interfere, then we will do the distraction" adds Ariadna, "once we finish with the patrols we will find ourselves in the well north of here, after that we will attack the guards' barracks, it will keep you busy but still be careful" I add, "Can you really do it?" another young man asks fearfully, "of course, i've already taken care of Orlan the Assassin, now it's Morok's turn" I say confidently, they all make surprised faces when they hear him.
We say goodbye to Clara and her friends, "how are you planning to attack the rookie barracks" asks Ariadna while she watches, "I have been told that you can use high level fire magic" I reply, "I can use level 3 fire magic but it will exhaust me quick" says Ariadna thoughtfully, "I only need you to throw a large fireball at the main barracks, the confusion will do the rest" I answer, "and what will you do?" Asks Ariadna distrustful "I will support you with my arrows, I will also prevent you from the guards approach the villagers, once I confirm that they are locked in the barn I will join the fight" I say confidently, "I hope you know what you are doing, do not blame me if they kill you" Ariadna answers me with a face mockingly, "I trust you will have finished with enough of them by the time the main dish arrives" I say with a smile, "tchhh you trust strangers too much" says Ariadna with a sullen face.
"You are my partner in this, that's why i chose to trust you" I answer, "you are very strange" Ariadna answers me, "I am the type of person who prefers to trust, even if it means that they will betray me later" she said confidently, "That does seem like something that an idiot like you would say" says Ariadna while smiling, "be careful partner, remember we must meet at the well before going to the barracks" I answer, "I don't need you to worry about me, they are no more what insects" he says with an embarrassed expression, "yes yes what you say" I answer him one more time, then we part ways, first we will eliminate the patrols in the streets.
I see two guards walking the streets with a flashlight in hand, i move quickly, i draw one of my swords and run straight at them, stab one of them in the spine while i cover his mouth, the other guard is just assimilating that i pass with his partner when i stab him in the throat, in the distance i see the light of two lamps extinguish, Ariadna has also started to eliminate the patrols, there is no time to lose, i re-sit up and run in search of the next prey.
