"Overdue"
"Overdue"
Roysia sat nervously as King Blackthorn paced back and forth. Her dirty and charred armor told of the fierce battle that had taken place in the Papua swamps; in an effort to locate and bring back the wisp Ixon Uxis.
"He was attacked and killed during the fighting." Mumbled Roysia. Blackthorn stopped his pacing and took to his seat in the chamber. He then replied:
"As we had discussed earlier, we are out of options. Anumi must be separated from the power of the Tomes."
Roysia nodded in agreement as she sipped a mug of cider. Blackthorn then continued:
"I can get you safe passage to and back off the island. The rest is up to you."
"Let me gather a few provisions and I will depart in the morning." Replied Roysia.
Blackthorn nodded as he smiled. After a few moments of pondering, he stood and walked to a shelf in the room and removed a few parchments. After inspecting one of them he spoke:
"Do be careful in your travels. Do not trust anyone in Nujel'm. Anumi has spies everywhere, even in the castle here. It is no surprise Mazetti agents found Ixon before you and the citizens arrived."
Roysia nodded softly in acceptance as she stood to leave the chambers. She then made her way down the many winding corridors and staircases of King Blackthorn's Castle and eventually the streets of Britain. She pondered how she was going to get inside the palace undetected...
*****
After a week's voyage at sea, the merchant ship finally arrived at the docks in Nujel'm. The sun had just set a few hours prior, and the streets were softly glowing with torch light. The sounds of singing and laughter could be heard from the Mystical Spirits tavern just up the road. As the dockworkers and sailors exchanged pleasantries and unloaded cargo, one of the sailors slipped away unnoticed into the night.
Roysia stealthily made her way down the streets of Nujel'm, carefully avoiding drawing attention to herself and constantly looking and observing the movements and stationing of any guards.
As she drew closer to the palace, the number of stationed guards began to increase.
As Rosia passed the tall walls of the palace, she continued on into the slums of Nujel'm. From outside a small building across the palace, Roysia sat in the sand and observed the guard that was patrolling: Counting his paces, observing the areas the guard was watching, sizing him up.
After several minutes Roysia abruptly stood up and darted unnoticed across the sand and up to the side of the palace wall. After she counted in her head for a few moments, the sound of footsteps from the guard above began to grow quieter and she began to scale the wall. Once she was high enough, she peered over the side to see where the guard was located. Roysia quickly crept over the wall, a few steps across and over the other side before the guard turned and started making his way back.
As she stood inside the palace compound, Roysia observed where torchlight illuminated the gardens and palace. After a few moments of waiting for the guard to continue his patrol, Roysia then darted towards the side of the palace, carefully sticking to the shadows and darkness.
After a few moments of listening to sounds inside of the palace, Roysia climbed through an open window and found herself inside a dark room. After she determined she was alone, she crept up to the doorway, slightly cracked it and peered down the hallway. No one could be seen, but Roysia determined that from the sound of voices there were a few of the palace servants close by.
Several minutes later, the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard. As the servant entered the room Roysia was in, she concealed herself behind the door that was now opened. The servant made her way across the room towards the window Roysia had entered and picked up a candle off of the table to light. Before the flame of the servant's candle touched the other, Roysia quietly subdued the servant and proceeded to undress her. After a few tense moments, Roysia donned the servant’s attire, exited the room, and closed the door behind her.
Far down the hallway, a few other servants could be seen, but it was too difficult to make out faces in the darkness. Disguised as the servant, Roysia quietly walked down the hallway to the Sultan's study. Keeping one eye on the servants down the hallway, Roysia quietly opened the study door and peeked in. When the moment was right, she quickly slipped inside and closed the door behind her.
Anumi's study was littered with parchments, magical reagents, bottles, vials and potions among other things. The room was dimly lit with a few candles on a bookshelf. Roysia quietly walked over to the candles and blew them out. She then peered across the now darkened room and her gaze was caught by a stack of books. A faint blue glow could be seen emanating from one of the books. Roysia quietly walked over to the Tome and inspected it.
"A Tome Written In The Language Of The Wisps" Roysia read to herself. She smirked as she took the time and carefully placed it into her satchel. A drawing of a raven grasping a scroll that was next to the stack of books caught her ire for a moment. Before exiting the study, Roysia spied a brightly colored violet potion. She picked it up, shook it violently and placed it just on top of the slightly cracked door as she exited the study.
Looking down the hallway to the servant's chamber that she came from, Roysia stealthily made her way back. Upon entering the room, the servant was regaining consciousness. Roysia stopped dead in her tracks as the gaze of the servant met her own. Noticing Roysia wearing her clothes, the servant let out a loud scream which drew the attention of those down the hallway in the palace. Roysia quickly darted past the servant and dove out the open window she had previously entered.
The sounds of guards running, and a frantic servant could be heard from inside the palace.
Moments later a bright flash of light from the exploding potion that fell from the study doorway illuminated the palace courtyard. This drew the attention of the guards patrolling on the outside of the palace and they began to rush inside. Roysia smirked as she waited for the right time to dart across the courtyard and scale the wall.
As she made her way back to the slums, the palace was now very much alerted to the thievery that had taken place. Roysia quickly and quietly shed the servant's clothing and stealthily made her way back through the city towards the docks.
The merchant ship's crew had finished unloading their cargo on the docks and were waiting on deck. As Roysia approached, she made eye contact and shot a nod to the ship's captain. She quickly got on board and walked over to the captain. Exhausted and catching her breath, Roysia whispered:
"Anytime you are ready to leave... We should set sail soon..."
The ship's captain did not respond, only offered a smug grin as his gaze met Roysia.
A white raven that was perched flew down from the ship's mast and landed on the captain’s shoulder...