Chapter 86
"Left here," Falen said as they split away from the main column of people marching the last kilometer or so to the palace. "The main roads are going to be the most crowded, but I've picked a spot that should see us clear of the main press of bodies."
"Will we run into patrols?" Allora asked.
"Likely," he answered, as he peeked around a corner. "We've pushed them back into the Cloud District, but they aren't exactly hiding in holes. The last reports I got said they were setting up defensive positions all over the place."
The brightening sky revealed more of the mostly empty streets as people funneled themselves to the main avenues as Falen had predicted. Mitchell noticed that the closer they got to the Cloud District, the nicer the buildings and homes became.
"Guard post up ahead," Falen called back as they turned a corner. "About forty meters up the road."
They were close now. Mitchell could see the walls of the palace about half a mile distant, the protective shield glimmering in the dawn light. The shouts of the enraged populace filled the air almost like white noise. It reminded Mitchell of being outside a packed stadium.
"Any civilians in the street?" Mitchell asked him.
Falen poked his head out again and nodded.
"Looks like a handful of citizens throwing rocks at the soldiers and guardsman from cover," he reported. "I count at least ten behind some hastily built barricades but there may be more. Three bodies on the street."
"It sounds like there was a small engagement here," Allora said, then looked to Mitchell. "How do you want to proceed?"
Realistically, Mitchell knew there was no way to get close to the palace without engaging with the enemy forces at some point. But once a fight kicked off, it would likely draw attention and make getting to the shield that much harder. Still, it could not be avoided.
"Should we go for a frontal assault?" Mitchell asked no one in particular.
"That's always been my favorite, aye," Khardin weighed in.
"Says the dwarf in full plate," Hackett noted sardonically.
"Hide behind me, and you'll be fine, aye," the grizzled old dwarf gave the halfling a wink.
Mitchell saw Lethelin then, eyeing the building they were pressed against. He knew that look by now.
"What are you thinking, Leth?"
She gave him a distracted look and shrugged.
"The buildings here are all pressed together."
"Okay..."
"Well, I could scale this pretty easily, run across the rooftops and get behind them, then create a distraction and you can do the frontal assault when their backs are turned."
"That would work," Gilriel said. "They're focused on the street ahead of them. Likely they think their backs are covered."
Without warning, a black shape leapt up from the center of their group, and Mitchell heard the sound of six sets of claws digging into the wood of the building. In seconds, Vras had disappeared over the edge of the roof nearly thirty feet up.
"Stollar's cock!" Vanthella swore and jerked so hard she almost dropped her blades. Hackett was pale as well.
"He's so fast," Eldrick said. "Balls..."
"I think he likes the idea," Allora said, trying to hide her grin. She was well used to the shadow cat by this point but Mitchell knew the others were barely keeping it together being so close his little murder death ball.
As they all stared at the edge where Vras had disappeared, his head suddenly popped over the lip and stared down at them. Mitchell chuckled.
"Go for it, Leth. We'll wait for your signal."
She grinned at him, then pulled up the edge of her cloak, which had become a nondescript gray color. Immediately her edges blurred and several of the knights swore at the display. This was new to them, as well.
At this distance, the enchantments were ineffective so everyone in Mitchell's party saw her hazy form leap for a trellis decorating the outside of the building, perhaps manor home or hotel, and she began to climb. They lost sight of her before she reached the top though, and only the sound of the occasional grunt and the scrape of a boot told them of her assent.
"You keep very interesting friends, my lord Mitchell," Eldrick said as he squinted trying to see where Lethelin had gone.
Mitchell just smiled.
"Everyone get ready," he told them.
"Did we decide on a signal?" Elrin asked.
"Knowing Vras, you'll just have to listen for the screams," Mitchell told her.
"Ha!" the elfin woman said, thinking he was joking. When he didn't smile back, her face went flat and she muttered something under her breath in a language he didn't recognize, so assumed it must have been Elvish.
The group shed their cloaks. Once the encounter started, there would be no point in hiding anymore.
"Try to use magic sparingly," Gilriel cautioned everyone. "This is a small engagement, and there will be bigger fights after this. We don't want anyone running out of mana too quickly."
They all nodded their agreement and Allora stepped up next to Mitchell.
"Stay close," she advised him. "I will catch any offensive magic with my sword until we close with them."
"Sounds like a plan," he told her.
Right on cue, the first scream ripped through the morning air. Not needing any further encouragement, then group broke from cover and began to charge down the street.
Mitchell's heart was pounding in his chest and it felt like everything was happening too quickly. In his peripheral vision, he saw the shocked looks of the citizens who'd been hiding behind whatever they could find to taunt and throw things at the soldiers behind the barricade. He saw the bodies of three people on the ground, one with two arrows in the chest and two more that looked scorched by magic. Then he focused on the barrier up ahead. It consisted of two large carts and some crates that had been spaced across the road. The carts were about chest high and allowed the soldiers to see over it clearly, while ducking if they needed to. At the moment, every head was turned away from the charging squad and there was a lot of shouting. As he watched, an arrow suddenly sprouted from the neck of one of the soldiers behind the makeshift wall and the man dropped like a stone.
Beside him, Allora held out her hand and Mitchell saw the air ripple in front of her outstretched palm. He felt a strange vibrating pressure on his eardrums as the distortion hit the piled crates that Mitchell had been prepared to vault over. The move was unnecessary though as the spell shattered a hole through the assembled debris wide enough for the two of them to pass right through it. The explosion finally alerted the panicked soldiers to their presence, and the real fight began.
Mitchell cut down the first man just beyond the carts as he turned in response to the noise. He pushed through, trying to make sure he left enough room behind him that the others could enter the opening without clogging it, and found himself surrounded by four enemy soldiers. Their eyes were wide at the incursion but they recovered quickly. One of them fired off a spell, but Allora was there, the defensive magic of her sword stopping it before it could make contact.
