Niklaus wrapped his arms around himself, he hated the feeling and the light crunch of the snow as he walked. He hated the cold that nipped at him despite all the warm gear he wore, saints knew how the Fjerdans lived this. "See you in Djerholm harbor" Specht called. "No mourners"
"No funerals" The Crows replied in unison. Matthias gave them a weird look. They began the march from the rocky shore up the cliffside. Spring was coming, but ice was still thick on the ground, and it was a tough climb. When they reached the top of the cliff, they stopped to catch their breath. The Ferolind was still visible on the horizon, its sails full of the wind. "Saints, we're actually doing this" Inej murmured "I've spent every minute of every miserable day wishing to be off that ship, so why do I suddenly miss it?" Jesper asked. Wylan stamped his boots. "Maybe because it already feels like our feet are going to freeze off"
"When we get our money, you can burn kruge to keep you warm" Kaz said "Let's go" He'd left his crow's head cane aboard the Ferolind and substituted a less conspicuous walking stick. Jesper had mournfully left behind his prized pearl-handled revolvers in favor of a pair of unornamented guns, and Inej had done the same with her extraordinary set of knives and daggers, keeping only those she could bear to part with when they entered the prison.
Niklaus had to hand over most of his weapons, almost all of them were engraved though he'd taken along a few of them. He had a few for missions like this specifically. "I'm going to pay someone to burn my kruge for me" Jesper announced Kaz fell into step beside him. "Why don't you pay someone else to pay someone to burn your kruge for you? That's what the big players do" he asked. Niklaus fell into step beside both of them "You know what the really big bosses do?" He asked jokingly "They pay someone to pay someone to pay someone to burn their kruge for them" The three of them continued the joke as they walked, eventually stopping as it got colder and the terrain got harder.
Niklaus hated how the snow had caused him to lose his usual silence and made him feel awkward as he tried to find the trick to walking on it. The others were the same way, stumbling and staggering as they too tried to gain proper footing. Pretty soon Matthias was in the lead, he set the pace though Jesper kept a steady eye on his compass. "Put your..." Matthias trailed off and gestured to Wylan. "Keep your eyes covered, or you could damage them permanently" he instructed.
Niklaus pulled the snow goggles over his head, yet another article that kept him from freezing to death but felt incredibly foreign. Throughout the first day there were no voiced complaints after the start. A few times he felt the urge to complain aloud but he squashed it, he forced himself to endure it in silence. If the merchling could then surely he could too.
When the sun began to set, they ate their rations of dried beef and hardtack and collapsed into their tents without a word. The next morning Kaz began explaining the details of his plan. "If we get this right, we're going to be in and out of the Ice Court before the Fjerdans ever know their prize scientist is gone" Kaz said as they shouldered their packs and continued to push south.
"When we enter the prison, we'll be taken to the holding area beneath the men's and women's cellblocks to await charges. If Matthias is right and the procedures are still the same, the patrols only pass through the holding cells three times a day for head counts. Once we're out of the cells, we should have at least six hours to cross to the embassy, locate Yul-Bayur on the White Island, and get him down to the harbor before they realize anyone is missing" he explained.
"What about the other prisoners in the holding cells?" Matthias asked. "We have that covered" Kaz replied curtly. Matthias scowled.
"Once we're out of the cells" Kaz continued, "Matthias, Klaus and Jesper will secure rope from the stables while Wylan and I get Nina and Inej out of the women's holding area. The basement is our meet. That's where the incinerator is, and no one should be in the laundry the prison shuts down for the night. While Inej makes the climb, Wylan and I scour the laundry for anything he can use for demo. Niklaus will keep watch. And just in case the Fjerdans decided to stash Bo Yul-Bayur in the prison and make life easy on us. Nina, Matthias, and Jesper will search the top level cells"
"Nina and Matthias? Far be it from me to doubt anyone's professionalism, but is that really the ideal pairing?" Jesper asked. "Matthias knows prison procedure, and Nina can handle any guards without a noisy fight. Your job is to keep them from killing each other" Kaz said. "Because I'm the diplomat of the group?" Jesper asked sarcastically.
"There is no diplomat of the group. Now listen, the rest of the prison isn't like the holding area. Patrols in the cellblock rotate every two hours, and we don't want to risk anyone sounding an alarm, so be smart. We coordinate everything to the chiming of the Elderclock. We're out of the cells right after six bells, we're up the incinerator and on the roof by eight bells. No exceptions" Kaz said. "And then what?" Wylan asked.
"We cross to the embassy sector roof and get access to the glass bridge through there" Kaz said "We'll be on the other side of the checkpoints. The guards on the bridge will assume we passed through the embassy gate and had our papers scrutinized there" Matthias realized, a hint of admiration in his voice. Wylan frowned. "In prison uniforms?" She asked.
"Phase two, the fake" Jesper said. "That's right, Inej, Nina, Matthias, and I will borrow a change of clothes from one of the delegations and a little something extra for our friend Bo Yul-Bayur when we find him and stroll across the glass bridge. We locate Yul-Bayur and get him back to the embassy. Nina, if there's time, you'll tailor him as much as possible, but as long as we don't trigger any alarms, no one is going to notice one more Shu among the guests" Kaz said.
"So what I'm getting from this, is that I'm stuck with Wylan" Jesper said "Unless you've suddenly acquired an encyclopedic knowledge of the White Island, the ability to pick locks, scale unscalable walls, turn invisible in the shadows or flirt confidential information out of high level officials, yes. Besides, I want two sets of hands making bombs" Kaz said.
"Such potential wasted" Jesper looked at his guns mournfully. Nina crossed her arms. "Let's say this all works. How do we get out?" she asked "We walk, that's the beauty of this plan. Remember what I said about guiding the mark's attention? At the embassy gate, all eyes will be focused on guests coming into the Ice Court. People leaving aren't a security risk" Kaz said "Then why the bombs?" Wylan asked.
"Precautions. There are seven miles of road between the Ice Court and the harbor. If someone notices Bo Yul-Bayur is missing, we're going to have to cover that territory fast" Kaz drew a line in the snow with his walking stick. "The main road crosses a gorge. We blow the bridge, no one can follow" Niklaus grinned while Matthias put his head in his hands, both imagined the havoc they were about to wreak on the Fjerdan capital.
"It's one prisoner, Helvar" Kaz said. "And a bridge" Wylan put in helpfully. "And anything we have to blow up in between" Jesper added "Or anyone" Niklaus said. "Everyone shut up" Matthias growled. "Fjerdans" Niklaus drawled with a shrug "I don't like any of this" Nina said. Kaz raised a brow. "Well, at least you and Helvar found something to agree on"
•~•~•~•
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