Elemental Thief Part I : Child of Calamity

Battle

Darya was grateful her sister had thought well enough ahead that there was a horse waiting for her at the end of the dock. Once the prisoners had been carted off and the crowd, both winged and otherwise, had dispersed, she turned the routine over to her second and walked onto dry land, swinging herself onto the back of the mount she recognised from her sister's stables and started along the road, following the route of the carriage.

Though she thought little about her destination or why she followed the carriage, she did so unerringly, as if she knew exactly where it would turn, even in a city she had only wandered through a handful of times over the years.

That city was quieter than she remembered, with less angry, hungry people watching her and more Royal Guard patrolling the streets. She wondered if the Rulin and Feysha had acted as quickly as Reynald's reports had made it seem. And in short order, she found herself catching up to the prisoner transport as it pulled into the gates of the prison, immediately surrounded by more guards.

She had expected more crowds, more tension and less security as they made their way, half prepared for clogged streets, finding only clear laneways. Something felt off, telling Darya that she needed to stay aware of her surroundings and that she needed to remain where she was, despite the fact that most of the Royal guard of Clairval had either left or began letting down their guards as they fell into their routine in the prison yard ahead of her.

Darya glanced up and noticed the rest of the winged warriors cut away once they were at the gates of the prison, heading toward the palace, watching them for a moment, before she glanced down to see Sir Reynald issuing orders to a few of the guard on the ground. They had soared overhead once they'd left the ship, but now it seemed that everyone had accepted the fact that the job was done for the time being.

Everyone but that worrisome feeling in Darya's gut that told her she needed to get ready to fight. That feeling that she always followed when she had no reason to do anything else.

Reynald finished his orders and glanced at her for a moment, offering her a nod and a questioning look.

Darya offered a shrug, because she didn't have an answer to that question herself; she was dismounting to lead her horse across the bridge into the prison when she caught a movement in the surrounding alleys. It didn't take more than a few moments for Darya to pick up the armour and weapons of soldiers, complete with masked faces that told her they were aware they were on the wrong side of things.

As if summoned by the fact that everyone had let their guard down, a fighting force of what appeared to be hired soldiers was advancing toward the prison, weapons drawn.

They were close, only a quick sprint away from where she was standing, and the gates were wide open, with most attention turned inwards toward the prison. Soldiers were moving the prisoners out of the cart, weapons were sheathed and no one was nearby to mount any sort of defence. No one expected an attack from the outside, and even their winged friends hadn't caught wind of this well-executed incursion and were already gone.

The world slowed into certainty then, as if every decision she had made in the last hours and days had brought her right to this moment and the world felt right, even as she realised how wrong it was that mercenaries were gathering to attack the Queen's force, in the Queen's city.

Reinforcements weren't very far away, but they were far enough that she knew things were about to go very wrong, very quickly, unless she stepped in to do something. And she did not have a lot of effective options to choose from without the time to think of alternatives.

She could run into the jail and try with the others to form up and prevent the prisoners from being taken. Darya might even survive a fight like that, if the sole goal was to break the two men out of custody. She would have others fighting with her, and they may just be able to hold things off long enough for reinforcements to come. It was the safe bet, and the bet that the enemy surely assumed she would take. It would give them time to rush in behind her and injure others, possibly rescue Kethan and Corvin.