I tied the canvas sack to my pack with a bit of thick twine to keep my hands free. It had to be at least 30 to 35 pounds. I looked around the room one more ti to check if I wanted anything else. I shrugged, grabbed a black silk sack roughly palm-sized, stuffed it in the folds of Felis’s dress, and walked upstairs. Drawing the sword, I tied it to the energy furnace, and by the ti I returned to the office, it was glowing white hot.
After reaching the office, I found four guards in full plate with swords drawn staring at .
“Greetings, gentlen,” I said with a smile.
One man was kneeling next to the dead body of Denny.
“Murderer.” He shouted. “Cut her down.”
The n rushed forward. I extended my right hand, bathing them in fire as I retreated towards the stairs. I couldn't see much beyond the twelve-foot stream of spiraling fla, but the screams of agony were enough proof that it was potent.
Armor was ineffective, since my fire cooked the n inside in seconds. I cut it off and examined my adversaries.
Two were on the ground writhing in agony, while another man was cooked to death, lying prone as his armor smoked. The sll of burnt flesh, leather, and hair filled the room. Using my glowing sword, I ended the lives of the screaming n and continued through the hall, only to hear more boots thundering down the hallway.
I took a deep breath, extended my hand forward, and unleashed more fire. A dozen n turned the corner only to be t by a wall of spiraling fla. Paintings, drapes, furniture, everything in the hall burned as I walked forward.
n tripped over themselves as they ran away from the flas. Soone shot an arrow at , only for it to be redirected by my dallion.
Five n lay dead or dying on the ground. One after the other, I finished them off with my sword.
I stood still for a mont, considering an optimal path of escape.
‘I could head to the gardens, scale the keep walls, follow that to one of the outer walls…’
Shaking my head, I abandoned that plan. Even if I made it outside via the keep walls. I would be on foot; if they sent riders, they could catch up to . Worse yet, if they sent one of their magi.
‘They don’t know I can climb the walls yet. That’s my advantage, right now, they’re probably fortifying all the exits. Then there is my plan to consider, I still need to get back to Lowtown.’
Sprinting through the halls, I headed back to the energy furnace, finding the entire house abandoned, save for a few terrified servants who shrank back in fear as soon as they saw my glowing sword.
I entered the energy forge and began taking off my clothes, rapidly replacing the maid uniform with my grey clothing and cloak. I found Felis’s body and draped the dress over her to cover her nakedness.
‘If I were them, I would send a ssage to the keep to mobilize the two magi against .’
I pushed through the door, sprinted across the grass, and climbed over the wall.
‘A few minutes, to ride to the keep, inform the commander of the guards who would then pass it unto the count, then finally, he would command the magi to take to the streets.’
I landed on the ground and imdiately headed east. I retraced my steps, hiding in bushes and shadows. From around a corner, I spotted nearly thirty ard and armored n heading inside Enoras’s ho through the gilded entrance.
‘Looks like regular guards,’
Other houses noticed the commotion and doubled or tripled the guards outside their hos. n, in various colored liveries, walked in groups patrolling the grounds around the manors.
‘Word is spreading. I just need to get out of the residential area.’
After waiting for nearly thirty seconds for a break in the patrols, I took to the streets.
My progress was slow but constant, and I managed to make it to the main road, eager to get to the next district. I sprinted across the street.
“You there, Halt!” A rider on a grey steed ca sprinting around a corner. He reached to his neck and pulled out sothing tal.
‘A whistle?’
Even from a hundred feet away, the sound was deafening.
The smart move would have been to keep his distance from , but the fool kept charging, sword drawn, and blowing the whistle.
I shrugged, “Can’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, stealth is all but gone.”
I stood in the center of the road, unmoving as the man charged , ready to end my life in a single blow.
The second he was within my range, I strengthened my binding on my protection amulet to its maximum and dodged to the side. The man was knocked from his horse, and his sword flew off into the distance.
‘By Anier, I love this amulet.’
The man lay prone, while the horse ran off down the street. I ignored him and chased after the horse.
It took a solid minute of chasing and calming the terrified horse down before I could mount. Just as I got myself in the saddle, a dozen n on horseback and three of those horseless carriages ca barreling down the street.
I kicked the horse into motion, and the chase began.
~
I flew down the main road with n chasing on horseback. My heart pounded in my chest. A small part of was ecstatic; I felt so alive.
Every so often, soone would loose an arrow at , only for it to be deflected by my amulet.
“Make way, make way.” The n from behind yelled. I turned to see the tal carriage catching up to .
In the driver's seat was a man in armor. He was controlling the carriage via two levers. I wasn't exactly sure what the levers did, but he was slowly maneuvering the carriage to my right. A man stood in the rear of the carriage holding a large tal crossbow.
Fear spiked within , and I increased the binding to my protection amulet to my maximum strength.
He released a bolt with a loud crack that sounded like a whip. My protection amulet pulled a massive amount of energy from my reservoir to deflect the bolt. It ricocheted into a building and then exploded, scaring my horse and sending debris everywhere.
‘No normal crossbow could fire a bolt at such a high velocity. Much less produce an explosion.’
“Load another, aim at the ground around her; so magic is afoot. Archers, keep up the arrows, try for the horse,” the driver yelled.
‘Well, ti to leave the main road, let's see how maneuverable the carriages are.’
I veered off to the right, following a much smaller road. The horses gave chase, but fortunately, those cursed carriages couldn't make such sharp corners.
~
That lasted half an hour, though I was weighed down by the jewels compared to the n in armor, I was practically as light as a feather. That ant their horses would tire faster than mine.
“Finally,” I muttered as I reached the street with the eatery. I glanced behind to see a dozen horses a few hundred feet away and another horseless carriage trailing farther behind.
I activated my animus, bringing up the six rings I had floating in the river. One after another, I bound them to the plates in my hand, ignoring my right knee; I bound that ring to my reservoir.
Feeling the flow of energy into the reservoir, I grinned and prepared myself. I pulled on the horse's reins and directed it towards the wall.
“What is she doing?” A rider behind shouted.
“Don’t know either way she’s trapped,” Another voice responded.
“She’s mad, I tell you.”
I couldn't bla them; I was galloping straight towards a wall. Turning the horse east, I pulled up alongside the wall. Then, with a deep breath, I stood on the saddle and leapt towards the wall. Activating all five plates, I extended my hands and was pulled quite violently to the fortifications.
I yelled in pain as my montum was suddenly halted. My shoulder and knees hurt, but they didn't feel damaged.
‘That was easy. Perhaps I’m more acrobatic than I thought.’
Like a spider, I scrambled up the vertical face of the wall.
“By Anier,” The n shouted as they watched .
“Arrows, Arrows, you fools bring her down.” I glanced down to see the tal carriage approaching with the man with the large steel crossbow taking aim at .
I extended the sphere of influence for the pushing field to its maximum and pushed the binding to the limits of my ability.
He loosed a bolt with another loud crack. It was deflected to the wall on my right, around 30 feet away. The explosive power was impressive, and my ears rang from the power of the shock wave. If not for the strength of the bindings, I would have been blown off the wall to my death.
“Load and loose, we can’t allow her to get over the wall.”
They loosed two more bolts, only for them to be deflected, destroying the wall around . The n on the wall started acting, loosing arrows at as I crawled.
With the energy ring constantly replenishing my reservoir. They couldn't fire the bolts fast enough to outpace the energy being replenished, and normal arrows were useless.
‘Thank Anier, they only had one of those things.’
I reached the top and crawled over, finding a dozen n with swords being pushed away by the field. They fought it to get to . This many people being pushed at the sa ti was a far greater strain on my reserves than the bolts.
I didn't pay them even a second glance and sprinted across as the press of bodies forced their way towards . Halfway there, my reservoir ran out, but I was already in a full sprint.
Without hesitation, I leapt over the crenulations twisted in the air and fell with my arms outstretched towards the wall.
I didn't push the bindings to full strength; instead, I used the friction created to slow my fall and descended rapidly. The tal plates sparked and heated as I slid down the 150-foot wall.
At so point, I began laughing at the insanity of my situation. It took less than ten seconds for to reach the bottom. I reduced the bindings and sprinted west.
I breathed a sigh of relief and jogged lightly since my amulet was recharging, and at this distance, their arrows would do little.
Sothing blew past , through my pushing field, and collided with the ground, creating a massive explosion of mud and debris a few hundred feet in front of , and tossed to the ground. It drained the entirety of my reserve, and I was reasonably sure that it had almost no effect.
‘A ballista! If a crossbow could do that much damage, I can’t imagine what a siege weapon could do.’
I sighed in relief since, in the dark of night, they couldn't aim properly, though that bolt ca very close.
As I ran through the pitch black field, using only the moon, stars, and river for guidance, they loosed more of those massive bolts, each resulting in a massive explosion, though they were clearly firing at random.
Eventually, they stopped firing entirely. I was gone. I sighed in relief as I found Cole half an hour later. Tossing my clothes into the river, I donned my armor, mounted Cole, and galloped off into the night. I tapped the sack of valuables and smiled.
‘It's ti for the final gamble. Rennah, you showed the power of words, how they can twist hearts and break minds. Now I will use it to control the minds of every peasant in the empire.’
~
Hours later, after sunrise, against all good sense, I tied Cole off near the edge of Lowtown and walked the streets holding a log in my left hand. The streets were bustling with loud conversation all centered on the daring heist committed by none other than Myr, the Maiden of Fire.
There were dozens of variations, but all suggested I escaped with a massive fortune. An hour earlier, a massive force of soldiers rode out of town to chase down, completely ignoring . I really couldn't bla them. Who in their right mind would return to the city? That ant the guards' force in Lowtown was nearly nonexistent.
I stood and stopped in the center of the main road between the industrial district and residential, where the most through traffic was.
No guards were around; no doubt most were assigned to search the surrounding countryside for .
My heart raced. Fear? Excitent? I couldn't tell.
A few people looked at oddly as I walked into the middle of the street. I removed my hood, revealing my ink black hair, a little past shoulder length. I combed and oiled it for the occasion.
So stopped in their tracks and stared at , though they failed to make a connection in their minds.
Holding the log in my left, I extended my hand to the air and strengthened the binding from my potential energy circuit in my glove to the reservoir and from the reservoir to dragon's breath in my hand.
A five-foot-tall stream of spiraling fire launched into the air, and everyone froze. n, won, young, and old, all stopped in their tracks and watched the fire in unhidden awe.
After the log burned to ash and the fire stopped, their faces turned to . As if everyone had the sa thought, eyes widened, and whispers echoed through the crowd. The maiden of fire was not fleeing north, south, east, or west. She was standing right in front of them.
For a city to be completely silent in the middle of the day was rather ominous.
“You’re, Myr.” A child said. Staring at .
“Yes,” I responded with a serene smile.
Breaths caught, hands twitched, the ones not struck dumb by awe realized that a massive fortune stood before them. But none moved. I was still a magus after all.
“Why are ya here?” The sa child asked.
‘Alright, first obstacle cleared, they didn't try to mob . Ti for a performance. I have maybe ten minutes before the word gets to the guards.’
“I’m sure you're wondering if the rumours are true. Yes, I did reappropriate so wealth from rchant Enoras.”
The crowd was growing larger, surrounding , but they kept their distance. I was cut off from escape.
“Why ain't you runnin’?” a man asked.
“Why should I run? I’ve committed no cri.” Confusion was clear on their faces. I continued speaking. “ Hightown, even at night, is a paradise. Clean streets, well-lit roads, every building made of fine white stone.” I put so anger in my voice. “I grew up poor and hungry, working myself to the bone for just a bit of bread.”
A few heads nodded in sympathy. “I saw my friends and family starve in the winter. I thought that was just how the world was. Until I saw how the wealthy lived. I wanted to help those around using magic. I tried to learn, and for that cri, I was sentenced to death. Anier’s blessing saved my life that day. How else could I explain how one lucky throw of a dagger kept from being burned alive?”
‘I couldn't care less about religion, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it to my advantage.’
Everyone loves a story, and to hear a first-hand account was a treasure. For the mont, they cared more about my story than collecting coin.
“So you ain't plan to murder ‘em.” A woman asked.
I laughed without humor, “Murder? We were attacked by Farketh, and I barely escaped with my life. I risked my life for my baroness. Surian asked what I desired as a reward. I asked to learn magic. She laughed in my face and told peasants should know their place. So I tried to sneak a peek at one of their books.”
“That’s when she ordered ya dead?” Another added.
I nodded, “I was scared. I didn't want to die, so I threw my dagger at Elis. I hit sothin’ important. And Surian ca at as well.”
With the deepest regret and sadness, I muttered, “I didn't want to die.”
I sighed and continued.
“I learned from those books and reached Grenwood, and I tried to help the people who suffer every day. I did well for so ti, only for the Bastard Lord Heywood to butcher my people without rcy, destroying the hos of the innocent just to kill . Even in the deep winter, the man had no rcy, even though I pleaded for them. Once again, Anier’s blessing saved my life.”
“I fled for months, helping as I could, only to find the Magisterium painting as so cruel murderer without conscience or soul.” I affected an air of grief and exhaustion.
“Now I arrive in Greystone to see the wealthy nobility and rchants living like kings and queens in castles of their own. While my own people work themselves to the bone just for a al and a roof over their heads.” I paced back and forth, my voice gaining in strength as if it infuriated .
“They offer you five hundred golden royals as a reward for . Are you really willing to believe their lies? Do you really think people who hoard their wealth behind those massive walls would spare even a single bit if you turned in?”
I shrugged, hopeless, “Perhaps they would. They hate nothing more than soone else having even the slightest bit of power.”
I stared out at the crowd; most were enraptured, but a few were shifting, eyes focused.
‘Ti for the grand reveal,’
“They offer you gold,” I laughed sarcastically. “Gold that you earned for them. Gold earned from the sweat of your backs. How many n die to black lung in bloories and forges every year, to make the iron that fuels their city? How many of your brothers, sons, and fathers die in the quarries to build their perfect stone hos? What do you get but a few copper bits?”
My voice grew in volu and power, “How many of us won work our hands to the bone sewing their clothes, cleaning their houses. Ho, many tis have those sa noble lords used threats and intimidation to get us into the beds?”
I stared at the crowd, my eyes filled with accusation. “You think these people, content to sit by as you work yourself to death, will pay you fairly.”
I didn't have them quite yet, but the next part would surely cause a stir. “I didn't steal anything from Enoras; I only recovered what is rightfully yours.”
I reached into the sack and pulled out a handful of gold, silver, rings, necklaces, chains, sapphires, and eralds, all gleaming in the sunlight.
“This does not belong to Enoras; this belongs to you. This is what your years of labor have earned you.”
Then I cocked back my arm and threw hundreds of golden royals' worth of gems and jewelry into the crowd.
People dove for the jewels and forgot entirely. Before the people behind rose to join the frenzied, I tossed more gold and gems at them. Then, my left and right, each ti, throwing a handful of precious tals and gems into the hungry crowd.
It took several minutes before the crowd cald down, and the sack wasn't even half empty.
Most who had picked a gem or a ring were running off, while others remained staring at the sack, ready for more.
“This is not even one in a hundred of what Enoras has hidden away. I, the Maiden of fire, return the wealth that you earned through your blood and sweat, to you.”
“Why do this?” Gorill asked. I smiled as I spotted her and her brother.
“Because I can.” I tossed a gold ring to them both.
“They'll hunt you down for this.” An old man said.
I shrugged, “Perhaps they will. Perhaps they will succeed, but I have no regrets.”
I reached into the sack again. “Be fair with one another; each family can walk away with a good fortune for those cold nights.”
I tossed so more valuables to the far back of the crowd. “You can use this wealth to build sothing for yourself.”
Again, I kept throwing away thousands of golden royals to them without hesitation. So people who already had a ring or gem were tossing them back farther into the crowd.
“But be smart with this wealth, they will try to take it. Hide them away in the fields, under rocks, in trees for weeks and months if necessary. Wait it out, then you can use it to build a life for yourself.”
“What if we don't want any?” A rotund woman asked.
I shrugged, “Then pass it on to another or throw it in the river. This is yours to do with as you please.”
“Maiden over here, I need a new roof.” A young man said, waving his arms.
“My boy wants an apprenticeship.”
“My daughter needs a dowry.”
People kept shouting their needs at , each ti I tossed them sothing from the bag. Worried that I was running out of ti. I threw caution to the wind and emptied the bag into the surrounding crowd as fast as possible. The cheers were deafening. Then I dropped the empty sack, allowing it to blow away in the wind.
“This is all I can do for you. You all will have to be smart with your gains. Rember, hide them away far from your ho until you find the chance to use them to your advantage.” I reminded them.
“Guards are comin'.” Soone shouted.
‘Now for the most risky part of this. I will give them the choice to turn in or let go. Of course, if they choose to turn in, I'll kill my way out and call this a failure.’
The crowd's emotions were varied; a few stepped forward, eyes gleaming, while others looked uncertain.
The question hung in the air. Before, it was not a hard choice, but now almost everyone around had a ring or gem tucked away in a pocket. Why risk fighting a magus when you can just run with the fortune you already have?
“A magus’s abilities need a source to fuel their magic. I used wood,” I said, gesturing to the pile of ash next to . They instantly realised what I was alluding to.
“Yes, right now, I am no magus. I have no magic to fight against you. And I cannot stop you if you wish to rush now, tie up, and send to the hangman's noose.” I lied.
“I am just one woman, and now I am at your rcy; the choice is yours. I hold no regret in my heart regardless of your decision.” I said, then waited. The shouts of guards beca louder as they made their way through the crowd.
Hesitation, fear, everything was warring on their faces, until a single voice shouted. “What’re you fools doin' make way for ‘er?” Urn shouted, and he ran across the distance, his sister following closely behind.
As they reached , they spun around forcefully and shouted at , “Stop standing around, run, run, don't let 'em catch you.”
I turned around to the people blocking my exit, “I ask you, good people, will you give leave to pass?”
They were silent for a handful of seconds before another man shouted, “Make way.” That was the spark that ignited the rest of the crowd. A few had shifty eyes, but didn't act.
‘I can deal with them later, if they try to collect.’
I walked forward, and the crowd slowly parted as shouts of ‘make way’ echoed.
“Goodbye, friends,” I said to Urn and Gorill. Fresh chapters posted on novel•fire
They actually hugged , then shoved forward. I started running.
People yelled and cheered as I ran towards the edge of town. The emotion echoed through the crowd, and as one, they ushered out of Lowtown.
I lost sight of Gorill and Urn as I reached Cole, still; the crowd followed. I mounted, reared Cole up on his hind legs, my hair fluttering in the wind, turned south, and galloped away. The crowd scread in encouragent as I rode off into the distance.
‘Let's see how you handle that, Heywood. They're mine now.’
Reviews
All reviews (0)