The drum beats continued to echo through the city of Lys for quite so ti. The number of patrolling squads of the soldiers was insufficient to nab every drumr, and given that only one thousand n remained in the barracks, the Magisters were hesitant to deploy them just to chase ghosts. Until they were certain of what was happening, they were unwilling to send away the final line of their protection. These one thousand n were what gave them the confidence to survive if sothing unexpected were to happen.
"What is happening?" one of the Magisters questioned, craning his neck as far as possible to peer into the city streets.
The sound of the drums had brought all the Magisters to the roof of their command centre mansion. The rhythmic thundering continued in the background, leaving the n extrely nervous. They were trying to look from their roofs and trying to figure out what was happening.
Until now, they had felt a sense of security behind the city walls, tucked inside their mansion with a thousand n on standby. But the drums echoing throughout the city made it obvious that their city had already been breached. They did not know the specifics, but it was certain that whatever this was, it was not good.
No Magister replied imdiately. They were tense and paralyzed by fear.
"It must be the doing of that Lord Aeos," soone finally spat. "He did sothing similar in ereen and Yunkai. This must be his way of mobilizing the residents, hoping they will rise in rebellion. He must have planned to bring the city under his control using its people against us."
"Will they?" soone whispered.
No one answered. They did not know if the smallfolk would rise against them, but they knew for certain that if they did, the city did not have the ans to stop them. They might be able to kill thousands, or even ten thousand, but once the dam broke, there would be no stopping the flood.
"What should we do?" another Magister voiced. Still, no one replied. They were running out of answers, options, and solutions. They did not even truly understand the scope of the threat and all of this was happening even before the main force of Lord Aeos had landed at the port. They were losing the battle even before it had begun.
"Look!" one of the Magisters scread, drawing all attention to him. He was pointing toward a distant corner of the city. The rest of the Magisters followed the direction of his finger, squinting their eyes into the distance.
At first, they were unable to spot anything, but then they saw it. A thin, dark plu of rising smoke.
"What is happening?" soone whispered.
"Soone go and find out!" he roared at the servants standing guard outside the mansion. One of them imdiately sprinted in that direction.
Within monts, the rising smoke was replaced by blistering flas that licked high into the air. From their distance, the Magisters felt as if an entire house was burning from the inside out. The fire was massive and they were not far off in their guess.
.
.
.
(So Ti Earlier)
Inside the very house that was now burning, more than one hundred people had gathered. They had arrived into the building over the last couple of days. They had used the cover of the darkness of the night to deceive the patrolling squads of the soldiers, who were notably lax after dark. It was easy enough to fool them.
For two days, they had lived in this two story house in near total silence, ensuring no one outside would suspect that a hundred n were hiding within those walls.
These n were the spies planted by Lord Aeos in the city of Lys over the past three years. A few had been sent here imdiately following the capture of Astapor. Initially, they had no specific mission beyond settling into the city and reporting whatever news they could. But slowly, more specific tasks were provided, and their ultimate purpose was finally revealed. It had been a slow process, one that had duly tested their patience and loyalty. Now, they were ready for their final move. Their greatest task.
"Will this work?" one of them whispered to the man sitting next to him. He did not even know the man's na, yet they were comrades in arms, united by their purpose and their loyalty to Lord Aeos.
"Who knows," the second man replied with a shrug. "But if Lord Aeos says it will work, then it will work. I trust his words more than my own instinct."
"And even if it does not," he continued, "we are a hundred n. A hundred more will be joining us shortly. We should be able to accomplish plenty."
The first man remained silent, but his grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. He was just as firm in his resolve. He was about to speak again when a very faint sound reached their ears. At once, even the softest whispers died as they focused on the noise. In the following monts, the faint echo beca clear. The rhythmic thrum of the drums.
It was the signal that reinforcents had left for the port. From the specific pattern of the beats, they knew that only one thousand soldiers from the barracks had deployed. One thousand still remained. This made their job more difficult, but it made the task easier for General Sylvia. But it did not matter. They would have done it even if all two thousand n had remained in the barracks.
"Move!" a massive man in the center of the hall roared. His voice was nearly swallowed by the drumbeats, leaving little chance of it being heard outside. Not that it mattered now.
The n sprang into imdiate action. They scurried toward a corner of the room where a large pile of sacks sat waiting. They began hoisting the heavy loads onto their shoulders and hurrying toward the exit. The heavy clattering from within the sacks made it obvious what they were carrying: swords, with larger sacks of spears intermixed among them.
anwhile, the massive man, clearly their leader, unstrapped a flaming torch from the wall and began setting the floor ablaze. He moved with a grim efficiency, lighting the curtains, the rags, wooden furniture and anything he could spot that was flammable. By the ti the last man had exited the house, the interior was already a raging inferno. As the building roared with fire behind them, their own battle had finally begun.
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