Flight of The Harpy's Heart

Chapter xx: Gotcha!

In the early morning before..

"Hand me those steel clamps, will you Victor?" Marcus said, grunting as he finished anchoring the heavy netting to the floorboards. Early dawn light filtered through the shattered windows of the decaying house, illuminating dusty furniture in shambles after the harpies' last visit.

"Aye, coming right up!" Victor called from the far corner where he was unfurling coils of razor-thin wire. "Just picturing how I'll spend my share of those royal crowns once we snare one of those wretched bird women." He passed Victor the curved steel vise grips specially fashioned not to break the harpy's bone.

"So you're still planning to buy that vineyard on the Sungold Hills?" Victor latched the vises onto the netting's edges and pressure plates. Enough force would snap them tightly around any harpy limbs ensnared in the mesh, immobilizing the creature without causing permanent damage.

"Of course! Can't you just see it?" Marcus spread his hands wide, framing the mental picture. "Row after row of lush vines basking under the summer sun... An estate with its own wine cellar and tasting gazebo where I'll host only the finest nobility..."

Victor chuckled as he concealed pressure trigger lines beneath the rotted floorboards. "Don't forget us little people when you become the countryside's most famous vintner."

To set up the trap, Marcus chose a ransacked house on the southern side of the village near the courthouse. That was the direction the harpies most likely appeared first every time they attacked the village, thanks to the knowledge shared by Gilbert and their new friend with the ridiculous bowl cut.

Marcus clutched his heart in faux indignation. "Scrap that thought! I'm buying this for us. We can leave the smuggling business for good. We— me, you, and Ethan— can run the vineyard and winery together. You have no need to worry about your daughter's needs anymore. We can admit Oliver to any knights academy we want in all the Wessen continent."

Both men laughed as they worked, a former actor and sailor turned smuggler, and today, volunteers of the Empire. The four of them – Marcus, Victor, Ethan, and Oliver – had been through thick and thin, their bond forged in the crucible of illicit activities. Smuggling, heists, swindling, human trafficking – they had delved into nearly every cross-border crime imaginable, all in the pursuit of their dreams, the ultimate goal being to own a legitimate business that could provide them with a comfortable life.

Their last job had been to break into a magister's vault and steal a valuable object kept in a small box. They had meticulously planned the heist, each member of the crew carrying out their part with utmost diligence.

But when they finally acquired the box, curiosity got the better of them, and they opened it, only to discover that it contained no ordinary treasure.

Instead, they found themselves in possession of a piece of a crown, a fragment of the last Valueldor king's crown, believed to be a clue to the location of the legendary Valuel Gate – a gateway rumored to guard the main treasury of the wealthy Valueldor's treasures.

Marcus, driven by ambition and opportunity, hatched a plan to keep the crown piece for themselves. He discussed the idea with the rest of the crew – Ethan, Victor, and Oliver – and they agreed, their eyes glittering with visions of untold riches and power.

With a Valuel Piece in their possession, they could raise an army or even claim lordship over the former Valueldor's territory.

Seizing the opportunity, they double-crossed their employer and attempted to flee to Efron, a free city-state on the Neck south of Arumia, where Marcus's family and Victor's daughter resided.