The Tale of the Heraldic Knights

Part 2

Chapter 2

Blazier was definitely the toughest to convince among the current knights. No matter how much I reasoned with him, he would not be convinced. Even now, as he joins our table, I can see the boredom in his eyes. How can he be so care free in these dark times? If we let this scourge go unchecked, everyone will be affected, even him. His constant insubordination also makes things harder than they should be. I wish he did not know how much I need him. -Solomon

     Deep breaths, Vera told herself. Relax, you've got this covered. She stood atop an old tavern, shrouded in the night's darkness. Although Kerbos was well-lit at night, welcoming technology as it came, the dark clouds and mist in the air made it near impossible to see, which was good for Vera. She took another look around, making sure it really was a quiet night. No one was in the streets, and you could hear a pen drop.

     Normally, Vera wouldn't be concerned; she'd been on a streak of successful robberies, and she'd been gaining some infamy around Tortan. She didn't like the attention and public knowledge of her; it made them more on guard, which made her job tougher. She looked through her binoculars one last time. Despite the mist, she could still see her target. The ever-looming Orches Tower. One of the few buildings in Tortan still made of brick, it was as tough a job as Vera had ever done. The tower itself was massive, a round pillar shooting up from the ground, decorated by stained glass windows, depicting the previous Orches family heads. Vera planned to make her entrance through one of them.

     The tower was also surrounded by a fairly large wall, although it was made of steel, since it was added in more recent years. With walkways on top, it was constantly patrolled by guards. The gate was also something special: rumors said it could only be opened by the current head's Oculus. Vera had no idea how this was possible, but it nonetheless was a good security tactic. She didn't plan to test the gate, though.

     The plan was simple: get in, move down quickly to the underground vault, get as much gold as possible, and then get out. Easier said than done, but Vera usually could pull it off. This job was different though, the Orches were sure to have a lot more security inside than she was used to. She'd spent days trying to gain any helpful information she could, but had no luck. The Orches family was tight-lipped about their arsenal. There were rumors they had a Regalia wielder, but no one knew his or her power, or even what he or she looked like. Vera thought it could certainly be true; a family as wealthy as the Orches could certainly have the resources to track and hire a Regalia-user. Vera was confident in her own abilities, though.

     Vera then looked to her right through her binoculars, at the local Guardian HQ. The lights were off, meaning they'd all turned in for the night. One or two might be on watch for the city, but that wasn't anything Vera couldn't handle. She took one final deep breath, trying to slow down her pounding heart. It didn't work, but she closed her eyes and began channeling her Regalia. Vera then opened her eyes, then ran across the roof, taking a leap when she reached its edge. Her regular leap wouldn't have even let her make it to the next rooftop, but then she pulsed, channeling the wind towards the ground beneath her.

     Her small leap then sent her flying into the air, arching high above the city, nearly into one of the lower-floating clouds. As she began to fall again towards the ground, she pulsed downwards again, sending her flying in another arch, this time a little lower to the ground. She flew over the rooftops quickly, keeping her focus on Orches tower. She quickly began approaching, and its already large stature began growing larger. It certainly was intimidating. Vera was focused on the stain glass window that showed Darius Orches, the second head of the family. The glass was mostly purple outside his image, and Vera planned to smash right through his head.