Ossol, Kingdom of Breoch
Year 104 of Leahra, Second Age
"The king is bleeding us dry with his taxes!"
A murmur of agreement from the crowd followed the desperate merchant's statement. Braithe shifted a little in the rafters to better see the room below. The Merchants' Guild Hall was bustling, its members gathered for their monthly assembly.
"My cousin had to close his shop last week!" Another merchant chimed in.
"I will go to debtors' prison if they don't let up soon!" The hall erupted in similar cries of despair and anger. Not one member seemed to be safe from the tax collectors.
Braithe shook her head, saddened by their struggles. The Kingdom of Breoch was in a terrible state, and the complaints of the merchants were unfortunately only part of it. Her gaze scanned the crowd below as the meeting continued, her eyes coming back to a man she had noticed earlier. He didn't look like he belonged, and she wasn't the only one who had noticed. The men and women of the guild were also casting him suspicious glares.
He didn't speak, standing at the back of the room observing. Was he a spy sent by the authorities? If so, he was a bad one. His clothing was finer than anyone else's in the room, making him stand out like a sore thumb. When the assembly broke up not much later, he left before anyone else.
Braithe climbed down from the rafters into the attic space. Pulling the hood on her coif up, she fastened the piece that covered the bottom half of her face, leaving only her eyes visible. It was dark out, but she couldn't be too careful. The bandages wound tightly around her upper body to give the appearance of a flat chest were chafing, and she was looking forward to getting home to take them off.
Slipping out into the night, she kept her head down as she followed the streets of Ossol to where she'd agreed to meet Lyssa. She didn't make it more than a block before hearing the sound of a scuffle. It was too late for the tax collectors to be out harassing the citizens, but desperate times created desperate people and she'd come across more than one robbing during her excursions. She hurried her steps.
Around the corner, she found the stranger from the meeting under attack by three men. While he was defending himself relatively well, he didn't stand a chance one to three. Braithe cursed under her breath and pulled out her daggers before running into the group. The first attacker went down from a knock to the back of his head by the butt of her dagger before anyone had noticed her presence. The moment of surprise allowed her the chance to crouch low and kick the second man's legs out from underneath him. She didn't want to kill or seriously hurt anyone; they were usually only disgruntled citizens.
The stranger and third attacker had halted their fighting to stare at her, both looking equally shocked.
As she advanced on them, the attacker's eyes widened. "It's you!" he gasped and raised his hands. "We don't want any trouble. We thought the king sent him! We're on your side!"
"Scram," Braithe ordered, keeping her voice low. As far as anyone knew, she was a young man, and she wanted to keep it that way.
The man helped his mate up from the ground, and together they carried the unconscious one between them down the street. Turning to the stranger, Braithe sheathed her daggers again. He was rather handsome, she supposed. Tall and lithe with a wiry build, a shock of dark curls brushed back from his face. In the dim light from the flickering light posts she couldn't tell what colour his eyes were, but dark lashes, a shade darker than his hair, framed them.
"I had heard that Ossol had a vigilante." The stranger almost sounded amused. "Definitely didn't expect to meet him. Thank you for helping me."
"You're not from around here."
He shook his head, even if it hadn't been a question. "Just arrived today."
"Try to stay out of trouble," Braithe muttered. "Maybe stay out of assemblies where you don't belong."
The stranger did smile then. "I will keep that in mind."
"What brings you to Ossol?" She wasn't sure why she cared, but he piqued her interest.
"Business." He wasn't exactly forthcoming with information, but then neither was she.
"Well, I wish you luck. I must be off." If he wasn't talking to her, she might as well be on her way. Lyssa would be waiting by now. She nodded towards the stranger before turning down one of the alleyways to meet her friends.
Lyssa was waiting in the door when she arrived, her pretty face anxious.
"You're late," she said, ushering her inside. "I was getting worried."
"I had to stop to help someone." Braithe scratched at the bindings underneath her tunic. "Is everyone here?"
Nodding, Lyssa motioned to the next room. "They're waiting."
They walked into the main living area together, everyone looking up as they entered. There wasn't a lot, three men in total, all gathered around a table with a map spread out on it.
"Daggers," Jowan said in greeting. He was a giant of a man with a bushy, red beard. It was a nickname he'd given her based on her weapons of choice. "We've been going over the plan for tomorrow. I think we're all set. Did you find anything out tonight?"
Braithe shook her head. "Nothing we didn't already know. So, tell me about tomorrow."
"Right. The transportation will come along this path," Evrei, a young blond man with a pockmarked face said, pointing to a road on the map. "We will hit them here." He moved his finger slightly further north.
"Are you joining us, Daggers?" The third man, Steffan, looked hopeful. He was older than the others by about a decade and often an invaluable voice of reason with the younger hot-heads.
"I will try, but I can't promise anything. If I'm not there, go ahead without me." She wanted to help, but the raid was happening in the afternoon, and she couldn't always get away during the days.
"Don't worry," Jowan said. "We'll do you proud, boss."
Braithe made a face, even if they couldn't see it. "Please, don't call me that. I'm nobody's boss."
"We're all in this together," Steffan said, mimicking her usual reply, but he was smiling.
"Have we found out where they're holding the prisoners?" She changed the subject. Anyone sent to debtor's prison was sent to an undisclosed location away from the regular prison.
Steffan shook his head. "Not yet, but we are working on it. We're thinking it must be out of the city because we've not found anyone in Ossol."
"I'll see if I can look into it." Braithe worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she considered the options. Someone must know where. She just needed to find the right person and then ask the right questions without raising suspicion. Easy, right?
Lyssa nudged her to get her attention, and they stepped a few steps away from the men.
"Princess," she whispered insistently. "We must return to the castle before they miss you."
"In a moment," Braithe promised, casting a glance towards the men to make sure they hadn't heard. "And I've asked you not to call me that when we're out."
"I'm sorry!" Lyssa's eyes widened and she clasped her hands in front of her mouth. "I forgot."
"Not to worry." Braithe took the hands of her lady-in-waiting and gently pushed them down. "I'm nearly done here, and no one pays attention to me at home. I doubt they'll notice." Before Lyssa could interject, she added. "But we will play it safe, just in case."
She walked the few steps back to the table and rolled the map back up, handing it to Jowan. "If I don't make it to the raid tomorrow, I will see you in Nowhere at night."
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Author's note: This is my ongoing story for the Open Novella Contest, so it will probably need heavy editing down the line. I apologise now for any bits that drag too much/mistakes etc. Please feel free to point anything out that's wrong/doesn't work!