Elara woke, in delirium, to complete darkness and the shuffling of feet and rustling of clothes. She realised a strong hand was shaking her shoulder.

  'It's time Elara.' Said a voice, which she recognised as Jidae's. Her sleep had been restless. Since the moment Thanborn told her that she'd be taking part in the heist as Knight recruit Pax lay choking on his own blood just a few feet away, she'd been able to somewhat disassociate herself from the actual event. In truth it had been easy, as so much of her mental energy had been spent on the planning and training, a suitable distraction from the countdown. Now the day was here, and there was a cold, steady panic creeping through the sinews. It reminded her of when she'd spotted a silver frost scorpion on a climbing holiday with her parents many years ago. Excitement and fear mingled as one.

  A few lamps were lit, and Elara could see the others had nearly finished changing. She quickly clambered from her padded canvas sleeping bag and pulled on the clothes that had been provided: Straight, black pocketed trousers, a tight black leather waistcoat, a port-wine overcoat and a brown-burgundy cross-sash made of thick cotton that she fitted over her shoulders and around her waist.

  'We are to meet with our contacts at the quarter of four, in forty five minutes.' Said Vizaranu amongst the chorus of movement in the room. 'Convene in the war room in five minutes. Be swift.' Elara spotted Vizaranu putting an object in his breast pocket. It was tricky to make it out through bleary eyes but it was about the size of a baby's palm, coin shaped with a small handle, and it looked like some small spikes were protruding from one of the sides.

  Elara was the last to join the group in the room where she had met Vizaranu. It was empty of all others now, aside from the mission party, who were standing around a slightly-ajar high table in the centre of the room. There was Jidae and Callask, who was whispering something to his little brother, Cosmo, as well as three other Attekant Knights whom Elara half remembered from the previous night.

  'Final points and reminders before we embark.' said Vizaranu, who was looking at a map of The Brigg - the building housing the offices of the Institute of Military Phytology Seed Vault - drawn with pencil on cheap paper. 'Charges are to be planted here and here, in the East wing, lighters will hide here until three quarters of four. Myself and the base party will enter with the contacts fifteen minutes prior, giving us enough time to reach the doors and snuff out any guards who manifest suspicion. We picked this time specifically as the guards will be nearing their shifts and so will be growing weary and muddled.'

  'How do we know we can trust these contacts?' Queried Jidae. 'Have you a good history with them? A significant portion hinges on their loyalty.'

  'When the cause is honourable, the people seek the honour.' Vizaranu stated. 'They will come through when the time requires. Now, collect your things. En Holistis, Glory.'

  The eight of them crept carefully out the front door of D6 Bespoke Money Lenders & Depository. It was dark still. Like Collosea's city of Embestour, Attekant faced the Central Triskellion Valley, but Attekant's semi-circular opening at the base of the Hollytree mountain was far more extensive compared to the mousehole-like doorway all the way to the east across the valley. The sky could still be seen easily from most parts of the city, and when Elara stopped for a second to watch it on that crisp morning, she could just about make out the faintest blues emerging at the fringes. She thought for a second about how this might be the day she dies, but then left the notion there on the pavement and followed the others towards District 3.

  The Brigg blossomed into view when they were navigating the roads of District 5. It held a sturdy trapezoid stature, solidified in the skyline by urgent, grey concrete edges; the type of structure that would remain long after the surrounding buildings of wood and brick would crumble into dust. When they entered into District 3 it appeared to engulf most of their view.

  They turned a corner of a narrow alley running down the side of the Brigg, and Elara spied two unfamiliar soldiers dressed in the same clothing as they were, the Burgundy and black of the Haemonine guard. They were standing by a small side door armoured with latticed Iron bars. Vizaranu told the party to wait by a veiled empty market stall before walking casually over to the guards. Then, after a few seconds of conversation, he motioned the rest of them over. When they neared, Elara heard Vizaranu talking softly to the pair.

  'And you had little trouble arranging your post for today, no suspicion? Good, good work.' Elara noticed Jidae eyeing them with such intensity it was as if she were reading their very souls.

  'When you hear the fireworks, head to the base in District 6, the others are expecting you.' Said Vizaranu to one of the guards, who had a shawl covering his mouth. Vizaranu then turned to the Attekant Knights and nodded, and the three of them, whose names Elara had yet to learn, departed south at a quick but casual pace. The guard with the Shawl then opened the door and Elara, Vizaranu, Jidae, Callask and finally Cosmo, entered the maze of the Brigg.

  They immediately found themselves in a hallway stretching for such a distance that, when the heavy door closed behind them, a metallic, thudding echo ricocheted into the distance. The walls were made of the same dark concrete as the exterior of The Brigg, as if the whole building were cast in a single pour, and it was gothically-lit by flickering torches set at three-metre intervals.

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  'I can see why this place used to be a prison.' Thought Elara.

  The others had their hands near their swords, in the unlucky event that they walked in on a restless guard taking a lap, but the hallway was eerily silent.

  'Let's go.' Ordered Jidae, as she took off leftwards.

  'The Seed Vault is located on the 2nd floor of the Eastern Wing,' Grand Duke Thanborn had said during the planning stage back in the Tom Stemme Hideout, 'where the Institute of Military Phytology is based. There's an eastern entrance, a backdoor really, monitored by usually only two or three guards, which leads to the sub-levels, places of no real import, such as archives and storage. Their manpower is concentrated at the Eastern Wing, near the vault. Putting myself in the shoes of a faceless realm-toting government architect, I imagine the thought process was thus: "By the time any intruders would've made their way through the labyrinths of The Brigg to the vault, they'll have surely been spotted by our proud and astute soldiers." It is this type of pseudo-patriotic arrogance we'll be exploiting.' Thanborn had then concluded, crossing his arms.

  They continued through the halls for what felt like a long time, passing uninspiring-looking doors with nameplates on them like 'Accounting Archive Hold I-O 4th Age.' They moved with purpose, but not too hastily, in a two-by-two-by-one pattern as practiced, with Elara at the rear keeping an ear out for followers. The five of them eventually reached the halls of the Institute of Military Phytology, where they started passing their first guards, dressed as they were in the same black uniform with the burgundy sashes, until they came to a room the size and style of a manor house kitchen, with square concrete pillars at all five corners propping up the tall unpainted ceiling, and six guards sitting at a table with mugs of ale before them and rings under their eyes.

  Jidae signalled to stop and retreat calmly, which they did until they found protection in the shadows of a staircase. And there they waited. Elara had gathered an unexpected calmness during the walk, finding distraction and mundanity in the action. Now the fear was growing once more, growing like the geranium under the spells of Knight Recruit Pax. She looked to Jidae for some peace of mind, who's sharp, drawn face was as intent as ever. Elara felt better, but the anticipation was circling them, and then, a thunderous force felt first through the ground and then as a cacophonous bang rattled Elara's bones. Cosmo, who was standing beside her, uttered a split-second yelp before stifling it with his hand. He appeared more boyish than ever, his black, curly hair bouncing with the shock.

  The explosion had come from the Western Wing, although to the uninformed it would be difficult to determine how far away it was. After a few more seconds, four of the guards who'd been sat at the table rushed past them in the direction of the calamity, one of them hastily pulling a black military coat on. They waited until the guards were out of sight, then headed back towards the room with the steel door.

  The two remaining soldier guards were standing at the silver, pull-handled door. 'Everything is going just as planned.' Thought Elara, with a feeling of suspicious surprise to pair with it. The designs had been laid as if by perfect premonition, all down to the number of guards. The five of them marched into the room slowly, each looking subtly for any other hidden sentry men. Vizaranu then called to one of the guards at the door, as he and Jidae approached them.

  'Hey, here quickly, there's commotion down the hall.;

  One of the guards, who possessed a long scar over his right eye that ran upwards behind a black military helmet that seemed too big for him, looked at Vizaranu a little confusedly. Elara wanted to turn away but forced herself to watch. It was necessary, formative in her advancement as a New Becoming Knight. The guard opened his mouth to speak but before he could, Vizaranu drew his shortsword and plunged it into the guard's chest, while covering the gawping mouth with his free hand. In perfect tandem, like some choreographed dance, Jidae did the same with the other guard.

  Their legs began to buckle, and Elara could hear a struggling whine from the one who'd been gutted by Jidae. With ruthless speed, Jidae and Vizaranu then removed and sheathed their swords, and pulled and fastened the jacked coats in front of the wounds, to prevent too much blood from spilling on the flagstones. Cosmo and Callask came over and grabbed the lifeless legs, and the four carried them to the end of the room and stored them in a munitions locker they'd been informed about by the contacts several days ago. The robbers gathered before the door, and, after flashing a look of fellowship into each pair of eyes, Vizaranu opened it using a key he'd extracted from the now-expired guard.

  Elara entered last, and so was tasked with shutting and securing the door behind them. They had entered not a room but another hallway, far more modern looking than that they'd encountered thus far; an extension made entirely of metal built into the existing concrete Brigg. It was like stepping into a large, rectangular metal pipe. There were well-crafted gaslamp candelabras hanging from the ceiling, about a foot above their heads, and at the end were two broad guards wearing black chainmail with burgundy belt sashes containing black bolts, and at each their sides hung a large burgundy crossbow. Both their foreheads had creased into frowns. Elara locked the door as instructed by the plan.

  'Hm. I know every fuckin' guard in this wing,' the taller one on the left said in the gravelly voice of one who's been drinking beer since they were in their tenth year, 'and unless today is your first shift on the fuckin' job, I'm guessin' it's youse who's responsible for that big bang just now. Sadly for you, I'm an artist with this crossbow.' He locked a bolt and raised the weapon in the direction of Jidae. The weapon was about the size of Elara's torso but it looked dwarfed in his swollen arms.

  The other guard then quickly followed his lead.