The sun rose over Silvermoon City as it woke from its slumber. The merchants had begun preparing their stalls and already there were eager shoppers spreading through the clean streets to get first pick of the best wares. The sounds and sights of the rousing morning was enough to conceal Kalendras and his guild mates as they milled about the city. They had all converged, some in armor and others in plain clothes, around the town square, attending to mundane business with various merchants. None of them were, of course, but they had to pretend to be in order to avoid suspicion. Aegon Sharpsword has parted ways with them in the dark before the dawn, claiming that he had to go and prepare his troops. Over an hour and a half had passed and now they were just waiting for Aegon to return before they could set their plan into motion.
Kalendras did not manage to get a wink of sleep the previous night. His entire consciousness had been plagued by visions of his friends being killed in their daring attempt to rescue Belcarm and Livinia. At one stage he had become completely and utterly distracted by the horrible thought that perhaps even Belcarm or Livinia would die in the attempt. He had no idea of what sort of condition the paladin would be in when they found him, he just had to hope that he would be strong enough to protect himself or fight if need be. The most disturbing part about that particular thought was that he actually felt some sort of preemptive sense of loss when he pictured the prissy elf slaughtered by the enemy. It wasn't just the fact that Livinia would mourn his loss either. However confusing, it was something that Kalendras did not want to dwell on.
The biggest problem was that once he had managed to put thoughts of his friends (Belcarm grudgingly included) dying horribly out of his mind the thought that they would be too late to rescue Livinia haunted him and he found himself tense and unable to think of anything else. Surely, though, Mitrae and Rioden would have better sense than to kill her? The reasons they had to snatch her had nothing to do with wanting to kill her; a live bride was worth infinitely more than a dead one. Whenever his thought had become too grim to bear he had pushed his anger and despair aside and imagined holding Livinia safe in his arms.
Kalendras sighed and shook out his feathers impatiently. Luckily for him, he didn't have to engage in the pointless bartering or conversations that the others had to. The fact that Mitrae's turn-cloak Guardians would be on high alert for him meant that he had no choice but to remain in flight form while they waited. It suited him just fine though, as it meant that he was free to flutter about as he pleased, he could even remain in the one spot and eavesdrop on the guardians. Right now two of them were having a rather amusing conversation about some of prostitutes they had picked up at one of the shadier inns that had turned out to be very pretty males rather than average looking females. If he was in his natural form he would have had some joke to make about it, so it was lucky his still had feathers and a beak.
The low chatter of the two Guardian's by him muffled the sound at first, but when he felt the ground vibrating he turned to see Aegon leading a long column of Guardians through the streets. The people of Silvermoon City stopped what they were doing and turned to watch the glimmering snake of well-armored bodies winding its way through the picturesque streets. Kalendras's heart beat faster, not liking such a blatant show of rebellion, but Aegon had insisted. If it were up to Kalendras they would have just broken into the jail at the dawn change of guard and then infiltrated the Warlock's Guild straight after. It was Livinia's Aunt Caristra's letter that had inspired this bold plan; she had secured the information they needed to clear Deanna Sunspeaker's name and provided the leverage they needed to free both Belcarm and Livinia. The only problem was that they wanted it done now, and if they had to wait for the diplomats and legal system to work in their favor it would take too long. So Aegon had decided that while a quarter of his guard went to arrest Goldentongue, the rest would be used to force his Son's freedom.
The Guardian's at the door of the jail gave each other nervous looks when Aegon and his men approached. Aegon has said last night that the loyalty of these two was in dispute, but judging by the matching looks of shock on their faces, they would most likely step aside for their brothers and sisters; political allegiances be damned. When Aegon was five feet away from them they both jumped aside and opened the doors, letting their leader pass through. Before entering the prison, though, Aegon turned to the force he had gathered.
"The Third Legion is to remain outside the doors and ensure that no one, and I mean no one is allowed to enter without my permission. The rest of you are to follow me."
Kalendras launched himself and took flight before diving through the open doors. His razor sharp talons skited across the marble as he struggled to come to a halt, and then the next instant he had transformed back into his normal self. He watched as the remaining Guardians and his disguised Guild Members were led into the large foyer of the prison.
"Legion Two, secure this room. Anybody providing resistance are to be apprehended, but you are to use non-lethal force."
A group soldiers sluiced off from the main party and begun to check the many entrances and exits of the main hall.
"You can't just come in here and-" One of the guards who was seated at the front desk, who had previously been wearing a look of stunned silence, started to argue.
"Apprehend him!" Aegon ordered, and two of the Second Legionnaires complied with his order and had the desk officer in their possession before he could raise another cry of protest. Kalendras couldn't help but grin at the Master of Sword's efficiency. He knew it was completely delusional, but he hoped that the rest of the plan would go just as smoothly.
Kalendras followed Aegon, his Guild mates all looking just as pleased with the progress as he was. The cavernous halls of the prison's administration level echoed with the sound of marching boots and the constant thunder was becoming deafening.
When they reached the gate before the stairs that led to the subterranean cells, Aegon was stopped by the two guards at the door.
"State your business," One of the sentries said, crossing his spear over his body and barring entrance.
"Move aside,"Aegon order curtly, his voice dripping with malice.
"On whose orders?" The second sentry snorted, Aegon's razor green eyes cut into him with distaste.
"I am the Master of Sword," Aegon said warningly. "Move aside or you will be apprehended for failure to comply with a direct command." The two sentries didn't even bother to contain their smirks.
"We have other orders," The first said defiantly.
"I am the Master of Sword and I am in control of the Guardians. Deathwing take your other orders. Guardians, apprehend these men."
Kalendras thought that it spoke of at least some measure of good sense when the two Guardians went without a fight. While Aegon had warned against lethal force, Kalendras was reasonably sure that near-lethal force would not be as frowned upon. When Aegon gave the two rebels a smug disdainful look Kalendras couldn't help but think of Belcarm. After spending time with both the father and the son they were almost indistinguishable from the other. The only real difference that Kalendras could see was that Belcarm wanted his woman. Kalendras sighed as they moved forward through the now open gates. Both he and Belcarm had turned up that morning at the Orgrimmar portal. Both turned up knowing that the other might also be there. With gruff snort Kalendras told himself that he would have to get used to the idea of sharing Livinia, because he sure as hell was not giving her up.
As they descended into the bowels of the Silvermoon City Jail Kalendras couldn't help but wonder how deep down this tomb went. They descended at least seven flights of stairs, meeting very little resistance from the guardians at each level's gate, before they came to a halt at the bottom of the winding spiral staircase. Aegon had left one legion halfway down the staircase and told them to be on guard for people going up and down. The remaining legion of Guardians and the guild members were all threaded around the steps of the lower level, cramped tightly by the stone structure. Kalendras was lucky to be at the front of the column with Aegon, knowing that anyone more than four rows back would have no idea of what was transpiring on this final landing.
"Halt!" A female Guardian said, holding her hand up to her commander. "State your business." Her voice was soft but stern and not completely unpleasant.
"My son has been apprehended on false accusations and I am here to release him," Aegon told her, her and the male Guardian beside her looked at each other skeptically.
