The barracks of District 10 were a rare stone building, and metal bars were positioned in front of the ground floor windows, preventing beings from either inside or outside easy access. Light shone brightly from two lanterns hanging at the main entrance steps leading to the foyer where the desk sat. The double doors allowing access to the barracks were still open even at this late hour, and SJ had walked past the front and observed a woman sitting at the front desk. She had been leaning back with her feet propped on the desktop, and as SJ walked past, she was smoking a pipe, a thick stream of smoke being blown towards the ceiling of the room.
SJ was now standing in an alley opposite with Carlito hidden in the shadows. The building was only two storeys and stood alone with no buildings being built up to its stone walls. The timber frames of the surrounding buildings looked dark and sinister in comparison to the light grey stone from which it was constructed.
"I think we head around to the rear and see what's on the other side of the wall," Carlito said.
"I will go and scout," SJ said as she shrank. She had changed her dress to black and shortened it, putting on a black cloak. Her cowl was pulled up to cover her hair. She flew up to the roof of the building they were standing by before crossing the road and heading over the roof of the barracks.
The rear yard of the barracks wasn't very large. It had room for a small two-stall stable and what looked like an exercise area. A wagon was unhitched and stood vacant by the stable, and in its rear was a metal cage for transporting prisoners. There were no beings outside, and a lantern hung burning at the rear entrance. A couple of the rooms on the ground floor cast light out into the yard. The first floor was in darkness. SJ flew down to the first-floor window and looked in. There was enough light from the night's moon that, with her vision, she could see what appeared to be two rows of bunkbeds that ran down either side of a long room, which seemed to take up much of the first-floor area. She could see the bodies of some beings asleep underneath blankets on several beds. It had to be where the guard force slept when not on duty.
Dropping down to the ground floor, she cautiously moved to one of the windows with light. Peeking around the frame between the bars, she could see the back of a broad-shouldered being sitting at a desk. She then headed to the next window, where she found three beings sitting around a table playing cards. After checking the other windows, she returned to the alley where Carlito had waited.
"The first floor looks like sleeping quarters for the guard, and there are several sleeping upstairs. I have seen five beings on the ground floor. The desk guard. There was another sitting in an office and then three others playing cards or similar," SJ said.
"Probably a third of the guard force is inside then," Carlito said, scratching the bearded chin of the human male he had transformed into. SJ had never seen this disguise before, not that she believed she would have a clue who he was without the map interface telling her his position. It was still very disconcerting, knowing how easily and rapidly he could switch his form.
"I think I need to identify them and see who is inside. I doubt any of them have particularly high wisdom that can counteract my skill."
"That sounds fine, although I don't care who is inside. If the leaders of the guard are corrupt, which is what appears to be the case, then they all have to be aware of what goes on. There were too many names on the list for them not to be."
"How large do you think the entire force is?" SJ asked.
"I would guess they have about fifty members, then the leadership. Groups will be on patrol and then swap as the night goes on. At this hour, you will find that most are down by the bars and inns. I doubt many are in the main housing areas unless they have been called there. In the daytime, I would expect a larger force to be on patrol."
"Well, I doubt there are more than about ten inside currently. What size patrols do they usually take?"
"Four or five beings. They like dealing with issues in force. You never find single guards on patrol. They would not be much of a deterrent to many beings alone."
Carlito stated that although this was the main barracks, there were at least two smaller depots in the district and the jail.
"Will any of them be mages?" SJ asked.
Carlito had to stifle his laugh. "No. The only guard force in the city with mages is the tower. A district force wouldn't be willing to pay for mages. Did you see any open windows on the first floor?"
"No. They all appeared closed."
"Did you try the rear door?"
SJ cursed. "No, sorry. I can go and check?"
"No. It's okay. I think from what you have said that we go in through the front anyway."
The comment surprised SJ. "The front?"
"Yes. Once we are inside, we can secure the outer doors, trapping everyone inside unless they decide to jump from a first-floor window. Right then, let's go," Carlito said, stepping off.
"Wait. What are we planning to do? We haven't discussed it yet."
Carlito tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at her.
"I thought that would be pretty obvious. We enter, hit them hard and fast, and then leave again. You said the desk guard seemed to be alone, so she should be easy to silence, and then we clear the ground floor before dealing with upstairs. The recent guard changeover with the patrol should mean we have some time before one returns."
The whole scenario of attacking a guard barracks weighed heavily on SJ's shoulders. She had no idea what the repercussions would be in the long term for the actions. Although General Crawford said that he wouldn't deal with it, it didn't mean that nothing would happen. If there really were fifty-odd guard members, they also had to return at some point from their routines.
"I can't just go in there and kill them indiscriminately. I need to make sure their names are on the lists."
"Did you not identify them?"
SJ blushed at his comment. The nervous tension she had felt while checking the barracks had prevented her from completing what she had intended to do initially.
Carlito rolled his eyes. "Do you want to go and identify them first, then?"
"I would prefer to."
"Go on then, but be quick. We don't want to have to deal with a patrol changeover, which will mean waiting again while they switch."
"Okay," SJ said as she again took off and flew directly back to identify those inside.
It didn't take her long to confirm her display notifications with the parchment of bribes. All were listed, bar one of the beings upstairs in the sleeping area. The one in the office was a dwarf named Lieutenant Varn. He looked to be one of the highest bribe earners. All the others, including the woman at the front desk, Corporal Welks, were minor in comparison but still named as accepting bribes. "The highest level of any of them was the Lieutenant; the only one not listed was the only elven guard in the sleeping area," SJ said.
"Right then. Let's do this," Carlito said. "I am going in. Follow me once the front guard is down. Then we head upstairs to deal with the sleepers first."
Carlito's shadow stepped across the street and appeared next to the entrance in the dark shadows created where the door frame stood out, preventing the lantern light from reaching it.
SJ looked up and down the street; a being was crossing further down but not close enough to raise an alarm. She flew across and reached the shadows as Carlito stepped inside. All SJ heard was the sound of a sword being slashed through the air. Peeking around the edge of the door into the entrance, the female guard was nowhere to be seen, and Carlito stood looking down behind the desk at where she now lay dead. SJ flew inside and landed. She grew and, before following Carlito, moved to close the outer doors as he moved the lifeless body, positioning it as though it were asleep on the front desk. Anyone entering the barracks would assume just that; anyone inside, though, would clearly see the pool of red that now stained the floor beneath her body—he then turned, moving across the open area of the front of the barracks towards an ajar office door.
"That's the Lieutenant," SJ whispered.
Carlito nodded as he checked and passed in front of it, heading for the stairs. As SJ followed, her heart hammered in her chest, and even though she had equipped her claws now that she was inside, she felt remarkably defenceless. Carlito slipped silently across to the stairs before he shadow stepped, appearing at the top. SJ copied him, appearing at his side. Without speaking, Carlito made hand gestures that he would go left and that SJ should go to the right when they entered the sleeping area. The door was open, and the stench of stale sweat filled SJ's nostrils, as did the sound of heavy breathing from within. Carlito moved inside the room. SJ following and immediately moving to the right side. She knew from looking in from outside that the elf had been on the right and at the end of the set of bunks, which stood out into the room from either side. It reminded SJ of an Army barracks.
The first bunk was empty, but in the second, there was the sleeping form of a human male. SJ moved silently towards it. Her vision took on a green-tinted glow, and her night vision kicked in. The man was lying on his front, his head resting on a pillow and a blanket pulled up under his chin. SJ leaned over his body and, with a swift and sharp thrust, sent her claws directly up into his brain. There was no reaction from the man as she withdrew her claws, and her display triggered.
Congratulations on defeating Wendell Hargreaves. 175xp gained doubled to 350xp for an instant kill.
SJ let out a slow breath, not realising that she had been holding it since she entered. Her palms were slick with sweat, and thankfully, her gloved claws weren't affected by it. She knew if she had been holding a weapon, it would have been different. She glanced towards Carlito, who was already moving toward his second target. He had three on his side to deal with. The next on SJ's was the elf in the end bunk, who wasn't taking bribes, or at least wasn't named. SJ moved slowly down the room, watching her every step and ensuring that the path was clear. The floorboards creaked under her weight, and she froze at the sound, which seemed a million times louder to SJ than it probably was. SJ watched Carlito reach his second target, and within an instant, he began moving towards his third. SJ was still frozen and had to spur her legs to move as she continued towards the elf.
That was when a door that SJ had paid no attention to at the end of the sleeping area opened, and light from a lantern lit the end of the barrack room. SJ stared in disbelief as a bear of a being stepped through from wherever the door led. His eyes looked half-focused, and he stopped at seeing the two shadowy figures as Carlito was dealing with his third target. The sound of his blade being withdrawn was the only sound in the room as the being looked at Carlito and then at SJ. Their eyes met, and SJ stared momentarily before spurring into action. Triggering her shadow step, she appeared in front of the man. Her claws extended as they punctured where she hoped his heart might be. Her reaction had been almost instinctual once the initial shock had passed. The large being grunted from the impact as SJ's display triggered again.
Congratulations on defeating Javier Killsock. 245xp gained doubled to 490xp for an instant kill.
As SJ withdrew her claws, she attempted to grab the being as he slumped forward. He was at least a foot larger than SJ and weighed a ton as she strained to lower his now lifeless body to the floor. Letting out a groan as she strained against his dead weight. Thankfully, Carlito reached her before he fell fully. He grabbed him, took his weight, and finished lowering him. Carlito nodded at SJ, not saying a word before disappearing into the room from which the being had come. The elf in the end bunk, near to where the being had entered, stirred. SJ shot him a look, freezing and staring, feeling bile catching in her throat through fear and nerves. As she stared, eyes wide, the elf rolled over and pulled the blanket up around its face that had slipped from its shoulder. SJ just stood, not moving.
Carlito reentered the room, shaking his head and then indicating downwards. They had successfully cleared the upstairs, thankfully without drawing attention. Silently, they both moved back through the room and left again. Shadow stepped, and they both appeared back in the main open room on the ground floor. Carlito tapped SJ on her arm, then indicated with two fingers at her eyes, pointed towards the Lieutenant's, suggesting that he would move to the room where voices could be heard behind a closed door. It was the room where SJ had seen the guards playing cards. SJ nodded in understanding as she approached the Lieutenant's and stood to the side, listening intently.
As SJ stood silently, she watched Carlito open the door where the guards were, and he vanished as he stepped inside. SJ heard a gasp and a raised voice as though a being were about to shout, and the sound of shattered glass filled the room. The voice from the office she was standing next to erupted, almost causing her to jump out of her skin.
"You better clean that up," the Lieutenant called from his office.
SJ stood stock still, not daring to breathe. Her claws were held at her side, and her back was pressed to the wall at the office's doorway.
"Did you hear me?" the dwarf called.
SJ heard the scrape of a chair and the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the office door. She immediately shrank and took off, flying up and above the doorway.
The door was pulled inwards sharply as the Lieutenant shouted again.
"Oi. Don't ignore me, you worthless sacks of kobold dung," he shouted as he stepped from the office. The dwarf was wearing full chain mail, its clanking sound supported by his heavy boots that thudded on the wooden floor. His thick dark beard and hair were dishevelled, giving him demonic features in the lantern light of the room. SJ could see the anger on his face from not being replied to. SJ dropped from above, her claws aimed at the top of the dwarf's head. As her claws struck, they met the resistance of its bony skull, but it wasn't enough as she grew, her claws easily shattering its body's natural defence. SJ watched the look in the dwarf's eyes change from shock to realisation as they fogged and his body crumpled to the floor. SJ's display triggered as she landed on top of his lifeless body, awkwardly rolling off it to stand up.
Congratulations on defeating Hurthune Varn. 415xp gained doubled to 830xp for an instant kill—doubled again for killing a being ten levels higher, 1660xp awarded.
Carlito appeared from the room behind her and smiled.
"That's it. Good job," Carlito said, his voice calm.
SJ felt anything but calm; the fear, panic and sheer terror of what they had just done made her head throb as though it were about to explode.
"Are you okay?" Carlito asked quietly.
"Just a little shaken by it all," SJ admitted honestly. "Every assassination I have performed before has been quest-related. These make me feel more like a murderer."
"Don't be. They deserved what they got. Now loot him and check his office quickly, then we must go."
SJ followed Carlito's instructions, looting his body and entered the office. Hurriedly, she grabbed whatever parchments and books she could find. She was about to leave when she saw a locked cabinet. Quickly checking the loot she had taken, she found keys calling to her hand. Fumbling through the bunch, she found a small key that fit the lock and opened the cabinet. Inside, there were several thick volumes and two rolled parchments with a ribbon tying them. She added everything to her inventory before leaving the office. As she approached the door, Carlito glanced at her, lifting his finger to his mouth. SJ then heard the creaking sound of a wooden bedframe upstairs. The elf must have woken as she heard footsteps before a scream filled the silence.
"Let's go, now," Carlito said, not waiting to see if SJ was following as he shadow stepped back to the entrance to the barracks. SJ followed, not paying attention to the Lieutenant's desk guard as she hurried behind him, shrinking before taking off. The street was still quiet outside as SJ heard the footsteps of a being coming down the stairs inside the barracks. Looking across the road at the alley, SJ Shadow Stepped, reappearing and nearly crashing into the alley wall since she was flying. Only just preventing herself from a rather embarrassing mistake. Carlito was already there, crouched down, looking back at the barracks entrance. Screams and shouts could be heard from inside as the elf discovered what had happened to the others. It was only moments before he appeared in the doorway to the barracks, screaming and calling for help. SJ watched as some lights came on in a nearby window.
"We better go back to the Griffin for now so we can check what you collected," Carlito said.
"I agree," SJ said as she lifted towards the roof before leaving as swiftly as she could from District 10.
