The 13th Excursion

Watching

''Gosh what is it with Dewlight and their lack of redheads.. like damn help a guy out.''

A voice breaks the silence of the pair sitting in a kitchen looking out onto a quietening street. As nightfall came the sounds of the city would begin to die and the lights would dim, to be replaced only by the creaking of branches and the stomps of guard patrols. Those stomps had become very familiar to the two figures staring across the street branch making up this section of the city, watching the patrols come and go from the barracks. The house belonged to a member of the resistance who was more than happy to allow the two to borrow their kitchen table as an observation outpost. The stakeout had been ongoing for two weeks with mounting frustrations and boredom but tonight it was going to be worth it. It had to be else Namarill and the other Void Walkers would be disappointed in them. Isabelle sighed and looked away from the window, standing up to stretch and ease the growing pains in her back. The kitchen itself was a small space on the second story of the house, inside it was simple with thick wooden chairs and a table pushed up against the overlooking window. The counters were made of a dark rock and polished to allow for a gleam. A fireplace softly glowed in the corner as a pot of water hanging above slowly comes to a boil.

''How much can we really trust Namarill anyways?'' Isabelle asks as she paces the kitchen once more, it was comforting.

''We have the same goals I guess. She knows the evil the Dúlra can do and so do we. The resistance will overthrow them and the people will be happier! And maybe I'll meet a cute redhead..'' Klawz leans back in his chair, two of the legs rising into the air precariously.

''And save people?''

''Yeah yeah.. we'll get revenge on Yujen too!''

Yujen.. the wizards name brought a shudder to Isabelle's spine. The last time they had met the wizard in red robes he had used his magic to choke them all to death. Isabelle fingers the bracelet on her wrist, it was thick and made of a silvery substance etched with ruins. She almost couldn't believe that those bracelets were all that brought her soul home when she died in the void, whatever magic was powering them saved her and her friends each and every time. But death never lost it's terrifying grasp, even though it wasn't the end each and every death felt real, in those last moments she couldn't help but wonder if she would ever wake up, if the pain her body went through was finally enough. Each time she would wake in her room in The Bakery and each time she would go to the roof to watch the stars, to debate if this was real. Sleep never came easily anymore, dying over and over made it difficult to sleep apparently. Her mind returned to the wizard, last time they met it was after her and the other Void Walkers had infiltrated the Wizard Tower that hung above Dewlight like the Sword of Damocles, inside they had observed horrors the like of which they had never expected. Men, women and children in cages.. awful experiments.. people being used as slaves to meet the whims of the wizards. Isabelle shuddered and recalled one such slave who had helped them, he had helped them discover the horrors and had begged them to deliver a message to his family in the city of Lobhadh below. His name was Tharack and Isabelle thought about him often, when speaking to the other Void Walkers she often suggested rescuing him and all those other people trapped but until they were able to counter the wizards there was little they could do. So they fought back however they could.

The barracks Klawz and Isabelle were watching was simple looking from the outside. From the information they had gathered it acted as a sleeping area for the guards that patrolled this section of the tree-top city. The city itself consists of five trees connected together so Isabelle mused there must be many more barracks spread out across the city. Guard patrols came and left and there was always someone watching the gates. Behind the tall metal gates an old building of stone sat nestled into the wide trunk. The street before it is of polished ancient wood, befitting the branch that curls around the giant trunk of the great tree Plum. The barracks itself had an interesting history, in the early days of the city the building was used as a staging ground for the various wars the city fought, at the end of the branch sat portal stations not too different to the portal the Void Walkers used to come to Dewlight. Later on in the cities history the barracks became a storehouse for various weapons used and transported. In more recent times the building was only used as a barracks although Namarill suspected the building was still used to house important artifacts in some of it's ancient vaults. It was one of these artifacts in particular that the resistance wanted, something called the ''Bindings of the First'', said to be the handwrappings used by the first Dúlra. If the Void Walkers were able to get those wrappings and some other artifacts they would prove their loyalty to the resistance and would be told everything. Isabelle didn't like being left out of the planning process but she understood their hesitancy to reveal their secrets to strangers. From what she knew of Namarill, the resistance leader was currently a member of the Dúlra and managed a shrine in the city at the base of the trees, Lobhadh. She had asked around but she could find out very little about her. Isabelle didn't quite trust Namarill, dying over and over encouraged a certain level of paranoia but if they were against the Dúlra then she would do her best.

Isabelle took the pot of hot water and poured it into a clay cup, watching the steam whirl into the air before her. She turns to Klawz, breaking her contemplative silence.

''Do you want a cup of tea?''

The sound throws Klawz off balance as he leans on his chair, causing him to jolt and slam the chair down. He lies his head on the table and breaths hard for a moment.

''No thanks.. I'm fine. The tea here tastes weird anyways.''

''I brought some tea from The Bakery..''

''In that case, yes please.''

They sit in silence as they sip their tea, both getting mentally ready for the break-in. From their observations they knew that in a little more than an hour the guard shift will change and there will be a brief window were the gates were unguarded. They didn't know the layout of the building so they could only get past the gate and hope for the best. Isabelle takes a deep sip from her cup and stares at the gnarled bark of the streets below. She went through her mental checklist of equipment, there wasn't very much but at least she knew Klawz carried his sharp metal claws so if they got into a fight maybe they could stand a chance. Isabelle couldn't help but worry about what was to come.