Despite being impressive, Sil's ability hadn't actually told us anything about the layout of the courtyard. I'd always remembered it as a wide-open space with open view lines. But, as we pushed through the door and out into the dark of early morning, I was struck by just how different it too had become.
Gone were the long, open swaths of land that surrounded the central tower where the vault resided. Instead, it had been replaced by various groupings of barrels and crates.
Ducking to the right, I immediately took cover behind one of the piles as one of the four guards that Sil had spotted came around another pile. The others fell in beside me, bodies hidden behind the crates.
I held my breath, waiting for a call of alarm, but none came.
"So what's the plan then?" Sil asked quietly.
I shot him an annoyed look.
"Do you ever shut up?" Ophelia asked, as if thinking the same thing.
He shrugged. "When the moment calls for it."
She rolled her eyes—something I barely spotted in the dim light—and then turned back to me.
"We're going to need to sneak our way around," I said softly. "Keep your eyes out for any guards and that dragon Sil mentioned."
Ophelia nodded and Sil simply stared at me. Taking that as confirmation, I turned back to the path toward where the guard had disappeared around another pile. Flickering lanterns along the outer wall and the tower in the center were the only light in the courtyard, and that left plenty of shadows for us to blend into. So I used them to my advantage.
I moved quickly, keeping my body low and my sword close to my side. The extra points I'd point into my [Attributes] seemed to pay off, though, as my thighs didn't burn nearly as much as they had the night I'd sneaked into Aurelion's warehouse. I thanked the Seven for that as I pressed my back against another group of stacked crates. I peeked my head around, watching as the guard from before—or was it another one—walked ahead of us, sword and armor clinking with his steps.
I waited for him to turn around another pile and was just about to start moving when he stopped and immediately turned back toward us.
Cursing, I pushed the others the opposite way around the pile. Our footsteps sounded loud against the cobblestones that lined the courtyard grounds. The guard passed by us without any sign that he'd noticed us a few moments later.
"That was a close one, huh," Sil commented next to me, his face suspiciously close to my ear. I pushed him away and made my way back to the corner, glancing both ways before motioning for them to follow me again.
We continued our trek through the courtyard, twisting around stacks of barrels and crates. We had to backtrack a few times because we almost walked into a guard's path, and once we even had to take cover behind a particularly tall set of crates when the dragon on watch started flapping its wings, sending a flurry of wind rushing into the courtyard. That had continued for several long moments before the wind had died down and the courtyard had grown silent again.
One guard had come close to our hiding spot during this time, thanks to the fact we hadn't been able to hear him coming, but Ophelia had cast her Hidden Hunter ability on us again, somehow masking us from their perception. That was going to be a handy skill to have around. I'd have to make sure I kept her close. Or learn how to use it myself—if I could. I wasn’t certain how skills like that worked.
Getting around the courtyard without alerting the guards was easier said than done. But, we finally managed to make our way to the center tower and around to the front. The door that led inside was unguarded.
"The Empire's most important vault is really that unguarded?" Ophelia chided as we watched the door, catching our breath. We'd just had to rush to our current hiding spot to avoid one of the guards as he crossed our path again.
"It might look that way," I said, keeping my voice low, "but there are other protections at work."
I focused on the door and cast [Insight]. Gold shimmered around the door before the window materialized in front of me and off to the side.
Magical trace detected
I chewed on the inside of my lip. I hadn't been sure the System would recognize the enchantments that we'd placed on the vault doors. Was that what the magical trace was? I'd hoped it might give me a more direct answer to work from. Each of the enchantments had been designed to allow entry for certain individuals, myself included.
Taking a moment to prepare myself to move, I said, "I think the door might have an enchantment on it. I can't say for sure which one, so we'll need to take things carefully. With any luck, it'll recognize me."
Ophelia grabbed my arm as I started moving. "You're just going to run up and ask it to recognize you? It's a door. It doesn't know you from the guard that pisses off the northern wall of the city every time he has to work the night watch."
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"We don't really have any other choice," I told her, pulling her fingers free of my arm. "We can’t exactly pick this lock. If it doesn't work, be ready to run."
I pressed forward, sticking low to the ground. I reached the side of the tower without issue and then made my way up to the door. I whispered a quick prayer to the Seven and then stepped forward, placing my hand on the large handle that hung from the center of the door. When nothing happened, I pressed my luck further, slowly pushing the door inward.
The hinges groaned with the movement and I winced, glancing around for any sign a guard might have been close enough to respond. I heard something shuffle behind me and turned to find Ophelia closing the last of the distance between us.
"Are we in?" She asked, disbelief painting her words.
"I think so," I whispered back, pushing the door open further. I stepped through the opening into the entryway beyond.
Ophelia and Sil joined me a moment later, both taking up a place on either side of me.
"Kind of dreary for a pricey vault," Sil chimed up, glancing around the entryway.
"The vault is still further down," I told him, making a move toward another doorway opposite of us. "But we're almost there."
Before I could close the distance, though, the door swung open and four guards rushed out, swords drawn and pointed toward us.
"Don't move," one of them shouted, sticking his sword especially close to me.
Instinctively, I brought my weapon up, knocking his blade away before it could get too close.
Behind me, I heard the clunk of Ophelia's crossbow loading, and soft music began to flit through the air as Sil did whatever it was he did.
"You're surrounded. Even if you somehow manage to take all of us out, you won't make it back out the courtyard." The guard, who had spoken before, said. He was off to my right, just in front of Sil.
"We don't need to leave yet anyway," I told him nonchalantly, trying to appear more in control of the situation that I clearly was. “We’re going downstairs.”
He scoffed. "You won't make it any further even if you kill us. The vault is protected by magic you could never hope to understand, thief. What do you hope to accomplish tonight?"
I shrugged. "A smash and grab? Does that make sense, I mean, my friend here did kind of smash up a door."
I saw the guard's eyes narrow behind the slit in his helmet. His sword shifted slightly. A part of me—a distant, tiny part—said I should wait for him to make the first move.
To hells with that.
I struck with a flick of my wrist, my blade ringing against the guard's in front of me. The thunk of a crossbow bolt slamming into armor punctuated the silence that had fallen in those short moments and Sil's music sudden grew louder, the tempo increasing slightly, before a bolt of lightning flashed out, striking one guard in the chest and throwing him backward.
Unlike the bolt that had hit Ophelia, this one burned right through the guard, his eyes turning to dark husks where the lightning literally burned its way through his insides.
My sword met the blade of the guard in front of me again, metal clashing against metal. We danced back and forth, trading blows as the others shifted around me, moving in their own dances to the battle.
The music continued to grow louder as we fought, my blade finding the shoulder of the guard where it met his chest piece, slicing up into his armpit. He yelped in pain as the metal bit into his body, drawing blood dripping down its edge.
I ripped it free and used [Swift Strike] while focusing on my swing.
The sword heaved straight through the small gap where his helmet met his armor, lodging in his neck with a wet noise. I kicked off into his chest, pulling my sword out of his soft flesh as he muttered through guttural noises.
In the corner of my vision, one of Ophelia's bolts smacked into the eye slit of a guard, earning a sickening crunch and clash of metal on stone as he fell to the floor, dead. Blue and green musical notes floated through the air around us, some pulsing into my chest and Ophelia's as we moved.
My movements became quicker, more fluid. A window pulsed in the corner of my vision.
Buff Applied: Steps of the Weaving Dancer
I didn’t have time to ask the System for an explanation. Whatever it was, I had to trust it wouldn’t interfere with the battle as I clashed with the last guard—the one who’d been doing the talking before.
"You can still stop this," he said as our weapons smacked into each other, the metal scraping loudly.
"Can I? The way I see it, it's you or me." I sidestepped as he moved toward me, dodging his incoming attack and striking out with my own. I cast [Swift Strike] as I did, and the blade slashed through the thin armor near his left wrist. Blood dripped from the wound and onto the floor.
"You bitch," he cursed, thrusting at me again.
I parried the blow, the buff that I'd been given making my steps even more sure than they'd been before. I danced around him in a circle, taking strikes at his armor, wearing him down. He tried to keep up, but Sil's music grew louder in my ears. I took a chance. It was risky, but it had been days since I'd felt this fast. This strong.
This in control.
I lashed out with a thrust, the tip of my sword digging into the crook at the bottom of his helmet. I felt the blade touch skin, but his armored gauntlet rushed upward, striking it away from his face and ripping the helmet off his head entirely.
It clattered against the floor.
"Stop moving so much and let me kill him," Ophelia yelled from behind me somewhere.
I ignored her and continued my dance, the look in the guard's eyes driving me forward. Unbridled fear, like a rabbit staring up at the jaws of a wolf before it attacks.
I lurched forward, sword swinging downward. The music in my ears cut off, and a yelp from behind tore my gaze away from the guard as he lifted his own blade—clearly hoping to parry my attack away.
Something hit me. A rush of air that felt like crashing into a wall. It sent me flying off to the side, my body slamming into the stones that ran the height of the tower. My vision swam from the impact, my head snapping against the wall, sending stars dancing across my vision.
"Enough." A voice said, commanding and cold.
My eyes struggled to focus as I looked for the newcomer.
"Commander, get them in chains."
A blurry figure stepped into my line of sight, drawing my gaze to it. I watched it grow closer, the blob slowly resolving into a figure dressed in a gold and purple cloak.
My breath caught; a lump lodged in my throat. It couldn't be.
The figure leaned down in front of me, my eyes stretching up its height as bright golden eyes lowered to stare into mine.
"Did you really think you could just waltz into my palace and do as you please?"
My blood turned cold. Shivers trickled down my spine. I stared into those golden eyes. My golden eyes.
"You," the word slipped across my lips unbidden.
A smile twisted across her lips.
Knowing. Accusing.
Then something slammed into the side of my head.