ANGEL OF JUSTICE (2014 revised)

Chapter Fifty Three - An Assassin treads the line

Bane arrived back in the underground headquarters two hours later, after ensuring his route included some snooping around the Poor District. That way at least if the seeker was watching he wanted it to appear convincing he had been about his mission of searching for the rebels. He hoped also that the enchantments over the sewer entrance were as effective as Arc had told him they were, in hiding his movements while in the area. He had managed to lose the several guards that Captain Grey had sent to trail him and when he finally took to the tunnels and entered the wizard chambers, he found Arc, Harne, Kait and Daniel sitting around a dinner table in a small room.

"Has the Captain accepted the plot?"

"He has no notion that there will be five times the number of men I stated preparing for the attack." Bane nodded as he took a seat. "As I suspected the Captain had a truth seeker hidden in a room nearby. He has been told to be extra studious in my movements and has allocated more forces to start breathing down our necks from now on. I stayed nearby long enough to hear him assign an extra two thousand men to watch over the Poor District and ensure the curfew is obeyed. And with the extra men he will have on the streets after tonight, we can expect things to get a bit tricky in keeping everyone out of harm's way."

Arc frowned slightly. "You'll have to warn the other members of the underground, Harne."

He saw Harne yawning out of the corner of his eye and turned to him. "I take it that all the other elements of your plan are coming together?"

Harne released another yawn trying to keep sleep at bay. He too had not slept since returning from the meetings with the merchants and then the fight in the ice caverns that took the lives of many members to their cause. His body still hurt like he had been run over by a dozen wagons even after Kait managed a session of healing that mended the cracked ribs.

"All is on course for the allotted time. I had a quick meeting with Raz before coming here. He has a few hundred loyal followers preparing for the swim over to the garrison on Military Island. They will co-ordinate their attack to take over the catapults the same time as ours once the signal is given. And the Iceman has a few thousand men from his outfit ready to go when we say. Although I might add that it has almost bankrupted the treasury to get and keep their assistance. Thomas will not be overly happy when he learns the cost of dealings with the Merchant's Guild's less than wholesome associates. But at least they will remain loyal while they have enough gold lining their pockets. And last but not least, all the weapons have been moved and are now stockpiled in the cavern directly below the area in the Merchant's Quarter where the attack will take place. I will meet will some of the other merchants tonight to ensure everyone's up to date with our plans. Now we just need to get word to Thomas as to when to go ahead."

"The people we have helping us from the university have put together quite a little show for the guards on the night." Kait added. "There will be more than a few distractions to keep the guards busy both on the wall and out in the streets. Bane, we intend to keep the soldiers occupied along the wall so that you will get your chance to go nail up the tower doors. So you will have to warn the people you take inside the gate tower to be on the lookout for the odd fireball that might come your way."

Bane nodded slightly then Kait continued. "The training in the caverns is going well even though we lost nearly fifty people in the attack by the beasts last night. Hamish has reported that he has a hundred archers which will come in good use placed on the rooftops they will be lethal. More than a few youngsters have been found to be of exceptional talent so Hamish has taken them under his wing. I have no doubt that between Hamish and Lara there will be a few bouts of heroism over the next week or so. Already the casualties of the cavern massacre are nowhere as high as they would have been had those two had not of taken charge."