Heir of Cinders [FADING EMBERS #1] - ON HOLD

26.1 - A Subtle Crescendo

The plan sounded awfully simple: sneak into the private manse through the waterways, kill Forseti, then escape to the winding backstreets of Vielarsburgh.

But assassinations were never quite so cut-and-dry... much less so when one's target was a government official. Especially when said government official seemingly paid enough money to close off his mansion from the rest of Vielarsburgh. Feal could understand building a high wall around the mansion, but even he had to admit that constructing a private waterway to isolate one's abode from the rest of the city was frivolous.

It was all thanks to the king's men that they managed to track down the entrance to the waterways quickly, though part of him wished that they would stick around to help him in more than just the initial planning. Still, Feal wasn't too surprised that King Baldur would forbid his men from interfering with his business any further, what with all the pain and losses that he had suffered in the hands of the ministry.

Getting into the waterways wasn't too complicated of a manner either. Forseti barely spared any thoughts in investing better security in the rotting buildings sitting along the coast of the great blue lake of Vielarsburgh. Any unfortunate guard that had happened to sight them had been permanently silenced by a single grace of his dagger.

It was once they got into the manor that the plan took a sudden turn in complexity. The group had prepared several backup plans for their grand escape. Using the waterways leading to the great lake would be far too predictable, though he didn't particularly like the chances of success their backup plans have.

The main plan was to have Nadrien secure an escape route through the manor's back garden, which led to the local business district in Vielarsburgh.

If by some unlucky chance that plan failed, they could either make a run for it through the main gate (with a high risk of blowing their cover away) or go through the path which they used to enter the mansion once more (with a high risk of intervention on the other side of the waterways). The party decided that the first would make them less susceptible to a pincer attack.

Feal supposed he could reduce the chances of having to use either plan by not alerting anyone once they'd finally taken care of the old hyrrean. After all, it was just one old man, in the dead of night.

It shouldn't be too difficult of a plan.

"Sorry for making the two of you wait in that damp and cold pipeline. Let's just finish this quick and get out of here already."

Magni's sudden gruff whispers snapped him out of his thoughts. His scarlet eyes flashed towards the elderly hyrrean, catching the small glint of light that reflected off his metal arm.

"I second that. I can't wait to finally annoy Mira again." Nadrien chuckled as she leaned her back against the cellar walls, with a lack of concern unbefitting of their dire mission. The furrows between Feal's brow deepened by a smidgen. Missions were to be conducted with the utmost care each and every time, no matter how much of a veteran one was. It was their duty to their client and to the soon-to-be departed, though his comrades did not seem to share his sentiment.

Feal brushed away the dust accumulated on his coat from their long walk in the pipelines. Without a word exchanged from his part, he merely gave a nod.

"The old senator has holed himself up in the bedroom. You could probably locate his bedroom through the loudness of his snores," Magni joked as he led the way. He paused to glance back towards Feal "There are no guards on standby. This should end faster than your last run through Roditerre."

"Well, that's comforting," Feal said as he leaned down to tap on Magni's obnoxiously short shoulder.

He looked towards the masked sniper, whose face was completely covered by a solid white mask devoid of any embellishments. It was a rare occurrence for a member of the Scarlet Masks to don such a plain mask — seeing as their masks were part of their individual identities to the outside world.