Chaos of Choice: Book Five - Chapter Three

 

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Chapter Three

Two nights later Fairris and the group of thieves were moving through the tunnels under The Ladder. They were not dirty and stinky sewer tunnels, rather storm water drains specifically built by the Thieves Guild many Ages ago.

Word had been heard that Cardonian’s warehouses had been burned to the ground a few nights ago. That, combined with the attack on a Varrintine warehouse previously, had made a lot of the Lords of Port Na’brath very uneasy. So in an effort to secure their money most of the Lords, including Varrintine and Cardonian, had deposited large sums into the Merchant Bank.

“Every one of those vaults is going to be overflowing with gold,” Belfur laughed as they moved through the tunnels, “We should have brought more satchels and manpower.”

“We are only to empty Cardonian and Varrintine’s vaults,” Grenorl said emphatically, “Besides, even if all the current members of the guild, and all the retired ones, were to come help it would be morning before we even emptied half of them.”

“It is a shame that the Counter Rune will only work once,” Lillien remarked, “I am excited to see what will happen. I have never seen a Counter Rune work before.”

“No one in recent years has,” Grenorl added, “The only time they were ever used was when Mandrel was around, for he was the only one skilled enough to craft one.” 

“Where did your client get yours, Fairris?” Belfur asked curiously.

“I didn’t ask,” Fairris shrugged.

Icy water ran through the middle of the tunnel as they walked along, their breaths coming out in clouds of steam, and the constant sound of trickling water echoes through the dim hallways.

“Belfur,” Fairris spoke up, “You did not grow up on the Morrow Plains, did you?”

“You ask because I talk normally?” the Mōrgul laughed, “I grew up here in The Port, as a matter of fact, a regular alley cat. If you like I will tell you more of my sad life once this heist is finished.”

Lillien laughed aloud before Fairris could reply.

“A sad tale indeed,” Lillien jested, “Don’t believe a word he says Fairris. It is all over dramatized I assure you.”

“You always have to ruin my fun,” Beflur huffed and the rest of the group laughed, except for Garren.

Little else was said as Garren led the party through the dimly lit tunnels, and soon they came to some metal rungs of a ladder heading up to the street above. Outside the tunnels the night was dark with low hanging clouds, and a misty rain was falling lightly and melting the piles of snow along the streets.

Fairris followed the group from the narrow alley and was amazed to see that they were right alongside the large bank. Garren’s navigational skills through the tunnels was remarkable, if it were Fairris leading she would have become lost within minutes.

Immediately around the corner from the alley stood the door that marked the employee’s entrance into the bank. Belfur dropped to his knee beside the door and began picking the lock, his cat ears detecting the subtle clicks easily.

The large dome roofed building towered high above them, with marble pillar marking the entrance which went down some grand stairs and into a large square where daily markets were held. At the centre of the cobblestone square stood a tall obelisk of green stone that had many fairy lights floating about it and making it look ominous in the mist.

Belfur had the locked cracked and the door open soon and they all moved quietly inside. A light glowed from the crystal wall lanterns greeting Fairris as she followed Lillien through the hallway. They came to a small room where a single desk sat and a few doors lead off from it, but they took the path up the stairs to the left. Moving through another door they came to the grand service floor where the bank employees met the merchants and other clients as they came to make deposits and withdrawals.

The high ceilinged hall was quiet and empty now and their soft footsteps echoed around them. Garren continued to lead the way behind the service desks and to the wide arch way that lead them to an even larger black stone door.

The security door stood from the floor to the high ceiling, its smooth black stone shimmering in the dim light. On both sides of the entrance were carved tall knights, each holding a halberd, as if protecting what lay behind the entry. At the door’s centre was carved a large Rune which was encircled by hundreds of smaller ones, all seeming to glow from within.

“I hope those knights are not going to suddenly animate and attack us,” Lillien remarked with a nervous laugh. 

“Come now Fairris, use your Counter Rune,” Grenorl said as he gazed at the immense door.

“You should all stand back,” Fairris said as she took the plate sized stone from the pouch, “Who knows what is going to happen.”

The others followed Fairris’s instructions and she hesitantly stood before the door and held the Counter Rune in both hands before her. As Fairris spoke the command word the large Rune at the centre of the door flared angrily. Suddenly the two large knights became animated and they crossed their halberds in front of the door. The stone in Fairris’s hands began to vibrate and an aura of Fog glowed about it. The sound of rushing wind sounded in her ears and wisps of Fog began to be sucked up by the large Rune on the door. Her head began to throb and the vibrations increased as the stone in her hands also began to absorb the Fog.

All the Runes on the door were burning fiercely now and the outlines of the guarding knights were glowing. Fairris’s feet began to slide backwards across the smooth floor and her arms felt as if they were about to be ripped from her body. The sound of cracking glass was heard and Fairris saw a glowing line fracture the stone on her hands. A similar crack shot down the centre of the door turning the glowing Runes into blinding dots of light.

Suddenly the light of the Runes went out and all was silent but for the throbbing tension Fairris felt in her head. The sound returned suddenly as the security door shattered like glass and tumbled to the ground. The stone in Fairris’s hands exploded into a shower of tiny shards that cut into the skin of her arms and face. Thankfully the leather gloves she wore saved her hand from being ripped apart, but she would have lost her eye if she had not turned her face to the side and shut her eyes. Fairris slumped to her knees feeling exhausted as the last of the security door crumbled to the ground.    

Lillien helped Fairris to her feet as they others walked towards the gaping hole, their faces marked with awe.

Fairris took a deep breath and steadied herself, luckily none of the cuts were deep, but her hands and arms were sore and numb.

Moving between the rubble of the door Fairris followed the group through a much smaller archway which led into a large white marble room that had golden framed portraits lining the walls. A small gold desk sat on the left as they entered and aside from that the room was empty. But Grenorl knew what to do and he led the group to the wall directly across from the entrance. As they neared the wall a golden Rune came alight before them.

“The Vaults of the ruling Lords,” Grenorl spoke clearly and the large Rune dimmed.

To Fairris’s surprise the very floor they all stood on began to move downwards steadily, and it was not exactly a small portion of the floor either. Looking back up to the void Fairris reasoned that this lift had to have taken up nearly half the room. Soon the hole above her head was but a tiny dot of light way above her and many lights lined the stone shaft. Eventually the lift came to a halt and a white marble corridor opened before them. More beautiful paintings hung on the walls and a thick red rug stretched along the wide corridor. Large round vault doors sat intermittently along the hallway, each bound with silver steel and gold designs, and each with an ornate plaque beside the door with the name of the Lords house upon it. The first on their left was the vault of Lord Cardonian, the golden gears of the door exposed behind a glass surface and set in a deep green stone. Fairris shook her head in wonder and continued to gaze about the hallway. 

“Why could we have not just dug our way in?” Fairris asked curiously as they stood in front of the large vault door.

“These tunnels are not natural,” Grenorl replied, “They were dug specifically and laid with iron plates which have special Runes upon them that create a form of magickal barrier. We did in fact make a tunnel shortly after the Fog magicks disappeared, but we found that we could not get in.”

Fairris nodded slightly and turned her attention back to Garren and Belfur who were simultaneously picking the two locks that were on either side the door of Lord Cardonian’s vault.

“Bit slow there Garren,” Belfur joked as he finished and waited from his companion.

“Give me your ears than,” Garren replied coldly and Beflur laughed.

Garren had the locked cracked shortly after and together they turned the locks at the same time and stood back as the huge door seemed to roll into the floor. The vault itself was no larger than a small room, with a single glowing crystal opposite the door. But this small room was piled high with carefully stacked gold coins and about the pile in the centre were many iron bound chests all filled with gold, gems and expensive items. All the thieves, including Fairris, gazed in wonder at the trove of treasure and wide smiles were upon their faces, and even Garren was smiling.

“Get to it Lillien,” Grenorl said happily.

“With pleasure,” the Valenthor replied as she moved in front of the group and began to cast a spell.

Like many of the Elder Races Lillien could still use magicks of the Fog and the spell she cast caused all of the items within the vault to float in the air.

“Ready when you are,” Belfur said as he held one of the large satchels open towards the vault.

With her eyes glowing white Lillien motioned with her had towards the Mōrgul cat and a stream of gold coins flew through the air and into the satchel. The stream of coin continued until the bag was full. Belfur tied the satchel off and Lillien sent another stream of coins into the bags that Grenorl and Garren had ready. The coins were soon gone and with a wave of her hand Lillien moved the chests from the vault and carefully placed them onto the lift along with the full satchels of coins.

The very next vault on the right side of the hall was Lord Varrintine’s and Garren and Belfur went about quickly unlocking the large black stone and gold door. Similarly the round door rolled down into the floor and allowed the thieves to steal the loot inside, although there seemed to be less in Varrintine’s vault. By the time they were on the way back to the surface they had a total of ten chests and fifteen large satchels of coins. The lift was so full that they each had to stand right at the edges of the lift as it moved quickly back up to the bank.

As they unloaded the lift they each had to carry one of the satchels for Lillien was having trouble controlling that many large objects at once.  But none complained about the weight, and to Fairris the satchel was not as heavy as she imagined it would have been. They were each laughing and smiling about their incredible success with the heist as they moved through the rubble of the broken security door. Those smiles disappeared when they saw the half dozen guards waiting for them.

“Think your clever don’t you? Damn thieves,” the leader of the guards spat, his sword resting easily in his mailed hand. “You will all be executed for this, don’t you doubt it for one second.”

“Stand back,” Lillien said menacingly, her eyes glowing white as the chests and bags floated behind her, “Or we will do to you what we did to the security door.”

Many of the guards looked hesitantly to each other and shuffled their feet uneasily, but the leader smirked at them.

“Well go on then, you filthy elf,” the leader growled, but Lillien did nothing, “Just as I thought. Now put them goods down and come quietly. Backup is on the way and I don’t want any hassle.”

“You lot go on,” Fairris said as she placed her satchel of gold coins on the ground. “I will deal with this rabble.”

“Fairris,” Grenorl whispered, but she cut him off.

“Go,” Fairris insisted, “This is why I came along after all.”

“Alright,” Grenorl nodded quietly, “Lillien get that bag and let’s go.”

The leader of the guards smirked, “I don’t think so,” he turned to two of his guards, “Block ‘em off.”

Just as the two guards began to move Fairris drew her gunblades and sent a volley of magickal blasts into the guards. Both fell to the floor groaning, many bloody marks and blasted holes in their mail showing.

“Filthy elf,” the leader of the guards cursed, “You reckon you can take me apart like you did the security door?”

The tall strong looking man raised his sword before him, his face marked with hatred.

“I’ll settle for your head,” Fairris replied as she moved towards the guards, “And the heads of your four remaining guardsmen.”

So cold was Fairris response that one of the guards at the back sheathed his sword and went running from the bank, only three plus the leader remained.

“Get her,” the leader snarled.

Two of the guards screamed and charged at Fairris, but she was ready. The female guard stabbed ahead with a spear, but Fairris executed a pirouette to the side and knocked the spear away from her body. The next guard was before her then, axe and shield in his hands. Fairris slapped the axe away with one gunblade and sent her other one for the guard’s chest, but his shield intercepted and the strike. Thinking quickly Fairris squeezed the trigger of her gunblade and sent a heavy blast into the shield. The guard stumbled back from the blast and his wooden shield splintered. Fairris moved to attack again but the spear wielder lunged at her again.

Fairris got her gunblade to her side just in time to block the strike from the female guard. Heavy steps behind her marked the approach of the axe wielder. Thinking quickly Fairris clamped the spear to her side and twisted so that the head of the spear moved and drove deep into the gut of the coming guardsman.

Fairris broke away from the engagement with a flurry, her gunblade’s flashing brightly and taking the heads from each of the guards. As the heads thudded to the ground she turned her attention fully onto the remaining guard and his leader.

“Get her,” the leader screamed at his lackey, “Rip her face off.”

The guardsman screamed and raced towards her, his flail spinning dangerously. With a smirk Fairris levelled one of her gun blades and squeezing the trigger the magicks had built within before launching a powerful blast towards the coming guard. The magickal blast thundered into the foolish guard, ripping his head from his shoulders and splattering the walls with blood.

But the leader was right behind that guard and his sword swung for Fairris’s head. Nimbly she stepped back from the sweep and then darted back forwards her gunblades slashing and stabbing from all angles at the leader of the guards. But this man was good and defended her attacks well before countering skilfully.

Fairris broke from the engagement and skipped back a few steps and onto a large block of black stone that had crumbled from the security door. Squeezing the triggers of her gunblades a stream of magickal bullets thundered into the leader of the guard, sending him back a few steps and ripping into his plate armour. But the man’s armour was strong and the blasts only dented and broke apart the steel plate on his chest.

The leader yelled in anger and slashed at Fairris’s knees. With incredible agility Fairris launched herself forwards off the stone block and somersaulted over the head of the guard leader. As she landed one of her gunblades sliced at the back on the man’s legs. Her dwarven crafted blade easily cut through the chainmail and into the flesh of the man’s leg.

The guard leader hollered in pain and spun about quicker than Fairris thought possible. The man’s sword slashed for her head and she just managed to block the attack. But the power of the strike knocked her sideways and across the floor where she tumbled into and across the rubble from the security door.

Fairris hit her arm painfully but rolled to her feet as quick as she could to meet the guard leader as he limped quickly towards her.

“I am going to rip you apart, you filthy whore,” the man yelled, “Limb by limb.”

Fairris gritted her teeth and raced ahead, her gunblades leading the way. Metal echoed loudly around the large hall and were accompanied by grunts of pain as an attack would slip through defences and cut flesh.

Fairris got a few stabs through the guard leader’s defence and through the holes in the man’s armour which were previously opened by her magickal bullets. Another slash collected the man in the face, opening his cheek and displaying his teeth.

But Fairris suffered a few cuts of her own when her concentration lapsed as she became tired. Blood flowed from many shallow cuts on her arms, legs and bare midsection. The worst happened when she misjudged a sweep from the guard leader and tried to step back out of reach, but she did not step far enough and the tip of the man’s sword cut just below her collarbone, splattering the ground with her blood and severing the left strap of her top.

The guard leader tried to bring his sweep back the other way but Fairris moved quicker and one of her gunblades severed the man’s hand while her other blade severed the rest of the man’s arm at the shoulder.

The guard leader wailed and fell to his knee, clutching at his bloody stump. Breathing heavily Fairris crossed her blade across the man’s neck, her eyes burning with anger.

The guard leader looked menacingly up at her and spat at her.

“Filthy thieving elf,” the man cursed before his head fell to the floor.

Fairris almost collapsed from exhaustion and pain, sheathing her gunblades she pulled forth a healing potion from her pouch and swallowed the liquid. A warm numbness instantly flowed through her and the bleeding from her wound subsided. But such a weak potion would not heal her injuries completely and the cuts would open again if she did not find aid soon.

The sounds of heavy feet and clanking mail echoed into the building and brought Fairris from her exhaustion induced delirium, gritting her teeth she staggered to her feet and as quickly as she could Fairris headed down the stairs that she had first come up with the rest of the group.

Soon she was outside and on the street, the cold rain felt good on her face and skin as she moved down the alley way and to the grate that led into the thieves tunnels. With great effort she managed to lift the heavy grate, opening the wound on her chest in the process, and she dropped into the tunnel below. The drop was further then she expected and Fairris collapsed onto the grimy stone and trickling water. Fairris managed to push herself to a sitting position against the cold wall and the rain fell in through the grate above her.

Grenorl was beside her then and forcing another healing potion down her throat and helping her to her feet. With Grenorl supporting her they moved through the tunnels and slowly Fairris regained her senses. Soon she was walking un-aided, though still slowly, and they met the others as they were transporting the stolen goods across the river that divided the merchant section of the city from the slums. Above her head was the underside of the bridge which had many metal rungs built into it to allow the thieves to cross the wide gap.

As she and Grenorl arrived Lillien was moving the last of the chests across the expanse with her magicks and to where Garran and Beflur were.

When the chest touched down on the other side Lillien turned to Fairris and Grenorl and gasped.

“Fairris, are you alright? You look awful,” Lillien held her hands over her mouth in shock.

“I will be alright,” Fairris strained a smile.

“But if you climb across you will open that wound again,” Grenorl remarked, “Lillien glide her across.”

The Valenthōr nodded, “Try not to squirm Fairris.”

Before Fairris could object Lillien had already cast the spell and Fairris felt herself become light and watched in surprise as the ground simply drifted from under her.

“Stay as still as you can,” Lillien instructed, “I don’t want to drop you into the river.”

Fairris held her breath and her muscles went tight as she began to float out over the rushing water as it cascaded down the rocks and towards the sea. It was even more nerve racking as the wind picked up and she felt herself being blown about. But Lillien held her and before long Fairris was on the other side of the river and being guided to the ground by Belfur.

As Lilien’s spell vanished Fairris returned to the ground and her normal weight, and she almost collapsed from the sudden change, but the Mōrgul kept a hold of her and stopped her from falling.

“A strange experience isn’t it,” Belfur smiled, “I fell flat on my face the first time Lillien did it to me.”

The Mōrgul smiled, and his golden tooth glinted in the dim light.

By then both Grenorl and Lillien had joined them and once again they set off through the tunnels.

It was near on dawn by the time they reached the basement of the Thieves Guild and moved up into the main rooms. Grenorl and the others headed directly for the guilds own vault to place the money but she was told to go straight to Sārlien to have her wounds looked at.

Completely drained of energy and nearly fainting Fairris arrived at the Lithinüer’s room to find the elf awake and watching the coming day. But Sārlien quickly moved to help her when she realised why Fairris was there.

Sārlien helped Fairris to the bed and gave her another potion to drink. But this potion was not like the minor healing potions she had drank earlier and soon Fairris became drowsy. As she fell asleep Sārlien began cleaning her wounds with a wet clothe, concern on her face. 

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