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'So' began the man as he settled behind his desk. The room was small but comfortable, and connected directly to the brawl room through a side door that they had entered through. The 'desk' was a huge slab of oak balanced on top of two mead barrels, with multiple score marks along its length and a huge hunting knife stuck in almost to the hilt at one side. A dark stain lay on one half, suspiciously blood coloured. 'What brings you to my humble abode?' he boomed. He this he spread his arms heartily, accidentally slapping the attendant to his left across the face.
'Eugene!' He glared at the man now rubbing his jaw 'I told you not to sneak up on me like that!'
'My mistake sir...'. The man said sarcastically, eyes rolling. He was skinny, probably in his late twenties. He wore eyeglasses and the tight fitting clothes of a steward, with expensive looking shoes on his feet, but his clothes let his well defined physique be seen clearly.
'Hmmph' the man said, as he returned his attention to the three standing before him. 'I'm Bovem. My graceful assistant here is Eugene, as you may have heard. You three are a very rare breed nowadays, didn't think any of you thieves got out of that shit show the keeper cooked up for you. Nasty business. We were going to send help but...' he shrugged 'There wasn't much we could do.'
Danil piped up for his group. 'I'm Danil. This is Brill and Eloise. We got sent to come and find you by a thief called Vita. She's--'
Bovem interrupted with a grunt and scratched his stubble. 'Don't worry, I know who Vi is. We got in to some sticky situations in my youth if I recall correctly. If you're looking to rebuild your guild though, or for some kind of revenge? I can't help you there. That's your call. I gotta look out for me and mine. Right now business is booming, and we're under more stress than ever. Lots of turmoil within the guard nowadays. Lots of anger.'
'That's not what this is about.' Danil replied, 'We know of a document, a plan really. The Northerners are going to invade Misteria.'
Bovem laughed mightily and eyed the thieves with disdain. 'An invasion of Misteria? You must be out of your mind. Talibut is one of five heavily armed fortresses lining the border, thousands of guards waiting to repel any attack. And between them lies miles and miles of mountain passes, marshland, and the roughest terrain in the country. How exactly are you expecting this to happen?'
Danil tried not to lose his cool at Bovem's blatant disbelief. 'The keeper is a spy sent from the North' he said, exasperated. 'He's planning for Talibut to be a weak link in the defences, it's a complete inside job'
'Really?' The brawler replied, raising an eyebrow sceptically. 'And I suppose every guard in the city is fine with letting thousands of northerners waltz into Misteria? You're dreaming. Besides, even if that were to happen, why would the Brawlers guild get involved? We're fine as we are, out of sight and underground. We can always set up again, in another part of the country, and wait for the armies in the south to squash any invasion, like I can swat a fly.'
Bovem suddenly yanked the hunting knife out of the desk beside him, and slashed the air in front of his face. Two halves of an unsuspecting insect floated down in front of him.
'Sir' Eugene began. 'Maybe they have a point...'
'Bah!' Bovem replied. 'They want our help. When have the Thieves guild ever helped us? When the city watch stormed our fight rings and clamped our seniors in chains?'
'We want you to fight with us' Brill chimed in from behind.
'For yourselves as much as for us' Eloise continued.
Bovem reached behind his chair and pulled a bottle of mead from a crate. He uncorked it with his teeth and started pouring it into a large goblet in front of him.
'Now that is interesting'
Bovem eyed the gleaming point of his knife. 'Even if I accepted that this invasion was coming, which by the way I don't, what makes you think the Brawlers guild would need to join forces with you? We can handle ourselves if needs be, I assure you.'
'Against the entire Northern invading force?' Brill said. 'Unlikely.'
Bovem grinned 'I wouldn't underestimate us if I were you, squirt.'
'Funny' Brill replied. 'Because your man out there underestimated me before our fight.'
'Listen' Danil said, cutting off an angry retort from Bovem. We need your help. Please. We can't stand up to the invasion on our own, it is going to happen, whether you like it or not, it's just a question of whether we're going to roll over and show our belly or stop them from taking everything you've built. Everything we stand for.'
Bovem grinned. 'I like my chances if there's going to be a throwdown. I appreciate the heads up though. Now if you can be on your way—'
Bovem was cut off suddenly as a huge tremble ran through the room. A man burst through the door, his hair covered in dust. 'An explosion, on the floor above sir!' he yelled. Muffled yells and screaming could be heard from upstairs, along with the pounding of armoured feet. The unmistakable sound of combat was getting louder.
Bovems neck tensed up as he clenched his jaw. 'Shit!' he yelled, as he turned to his assistant Eugene. 'Rally the brawlers!' he ordered. Eugene picked up a thin sabre lying by the door and rushed out of the room, bellowing for the fighters around the ring to follow him and defend the stairs leading the brawl room.
Bovem stood and moved over to a second table where a gauntlet was lying; a huge, thick, leather affair, with reinforced steel plating lining the forearm and knuckles. He slipped his arm in and started lacing it tight along his massive forearms.
'Looks like you may be right' he said. 'If we're working together, we're starting now. Stay close.'
He followed his attendant out the room, the thieves close behind. Each of them was always equipped and combat ready, with super light black, reinforced leather armour under their cloaks. Each piece was flexible and fitted perfectly, allowing for the full range of motion needed for Thief work.
A line of massively built men, mostly with makeshift clubs and maces from table legs, were holding back a line of the keepers' elite troop in front of the stairs. The brawl spectators had disappeared down a passageway seemingly carved in to the rock wall that definitely hadn't been in the room when the thieves had come down. Though the line was holding steady for now the strain was beginning to show and the superior training of the keepers troop was gradually winning out. The group dashed over, with Bovem in the lead. He rushed to intercept the attackers, parrying a sword off his gauntlet and delivering a devastating blow to the face in return. Danil flicked out his knife and slammed the hilt into the chin of one soldier, before kicking him backwards into a sea of his comrades. Eloise likewise threw herself into battle, dodging and whirling among the enemy, spreading confusion and fear throughout the ranks. A blade fell through the air towards Danil's neck but Brill's throwing knife appeared suddenly in the assailant's throat, along with two more slicing through the air towards the men at his side. The room was filled with the shouts of the injured and the crash of metal on metal. For a brief moment Danil and Eloise were fighting back to back, their combat skills flowing from the muscle memory drilled into them over the last year.
However hard they fought, the line was being pushed back further and further until suddenly a rift formed between the opposing forces, both sides holding their wounds and recovering their breath. Danil knew they were hopelessly outnumbered. Brawlers were strewn about the floor, dead or dying, and the sandy floor was stained red. They were backed up against a wall, with the tunnel lying to their right past a thin wall of the Keepers troop.
A fight in the middle of the opposing soldiers continued until eventually the form of Eugene could be seen, wielding his sabre with devastating skill in the centre of a ring of enemy soldiers. Dead men lay all around him at his feet, but he was badly wounded and the strain was showing on his body, his movements becoming more sluggish by the second. The circle closed around him slowly, a wall of swords surrounding his escape. His arm had fallen to around his waist, and a sudden strike from one of the soldiers around him finally caused it to fall from his hand.
Bovem lurched forward and clenched his fists. 'Eugene!' he shouted. 'Damn it man, you should have stayed with the line!' there was raw emotion in his voice and Eugene smiled, a trickle of blood falling from his mouth. 'Sorry, sir' he rasped.
'Well then! A voice called from inside the mass of enemy soldiers. The sea parted and a tall man in gleaming gold ceremonial armour stepped out into the gap between the brawlers and the Keeper's men. A captain. 'It looks like we have a standoff. In times like these I like to offer a choice. You're outnumbered and out skilled, and I have a hostage.' He unsheathed his sword so fast it was difficult to see, and placed it behind Eugene's neck. It was a long cavalry sword, with what looked like an edge sharper than a razor.
'Surrender' he called. 'Or he dies'
Bovem gritted his teeth. His show of concern for his steward had not gone unnoticed. A critical mistake.
'Alright' he said slowly. 'You win'
He unlaced his gauntlet slowly, and dropped it to the floor.
Eugene swayed slightly but opened his mouth to speak.
'You were insufferable sir, but you're a good man. Quicker than a snake, Eugene grabbed up a stray dagger and impaled it into the Captains calf. Without a second thought the captain drew back his sword and brought it down in a lightning fast stroke. Eugene's head fell from his body.
Bovem screamed in anger and pain, and tried to jump forward before his men pulled him back, barely controlling his fury.
'Kill them' the captain shouted to his mean
Bovem roared and re directed himself towards the line of soldiers to their right, ploughing in to them and knocking them over like pins. His men followed, rushing towards the tunnel like a tidal wave and slashing madly to keep the enemy away. The thieves followed swiftly, Brill sending gleaming throwing knives spinning through the air and thudding into the armour of two pursuers. The soldiers sprang after them, but a deep rumble in the tunnel walls made them hesitate. The defending forces were now all inside the cavern and Bovem had pulled a wooden lever on the tunnel wall. A massive boulder came crashing down from a ramp and smashed across the exit, leaving the entrance sealed and crushing the soldiers pursuing. The Captains roar of anger could be heard from the other side.
The thieves sheathed their knives and turned to Bovem, who was shaking with anguish.
'You were right' he said, a venomous anger in his voice. 'We'll help you. Nobody messes with my guild, my family, and gets away with it.'
He paused.
'That captains head is mine'