Book 3 Chapter 33

Things progressed swiftly at the Raife mansion as more of Raife’s subordinates and colleagues gathered. While the number of shard users that went with Raife when he left the Confederation was small. He still had his own network of informants and fighters from before the Shards were even found.

It was one of the reasons he had lasted as long as he had. Combined with his colleague's forces, they represented a sizable threat. More than enough, Torvus assured Tirr, to help take down and control the already weakened Confederation.

Still, Tirr chafed at the waiting… Having been told where Maria and the children were by Silk, he wanted to head there straight away. But Raife and Tess had convinced him otherwise, stating that proper reinforcements would allow them to control the situation more carefully.

So Tirr sat watching as the outcast's forces gathered. Some appeared to be normal looking city guards, others obviously from the same Assassin’s Guild that Torvus came from. The young man seemed to move about their groups easily, chatting away with people as if they were best friends. Tirr even thought he saw the stable hand from when they first entered the city among the crowd.

Watching Torvus, his mind wandered again to Maria as he grit his teeth. He could feel through the Blessing that she was alive, but he couldn’t help but be worried about the young woman. He had hoped for a little while that she would appear suddenly, interrupting all the preparation with a smile and the children just behind her. But it was just wishful thinking…

Already a few hours had passed since the raid and kidnapping. Tess had told him that things were moving as fast as possible, and he believed her, but it still took a lot for him not to just go off after them alone. As he sat, keeping his emotions under control, Torvus came towards him with his usual hollow smile.

“Hey, we're about ready to take off… You ready…?” Torvus told him cheerfully.

Tirr just glared at him, making the former assassin wince and scratch his head awkwardly.

“Don’t worry boss. From what you said she’s fine. Either they caught her and are just keeping her with the children or she got lost in the tunnels while trying to follow after them. Either way, we’ll take care of it.”

Torvus gave him a thumbs-up as he continued, “Raifes gonna send some people to sweep the tunnels anyways to clear out any Confederation rats. They’ll pick her up if she is lost. If she is in the Confederations hands, once we go visit I doubt there will be anywhere left for those old bastards to hide her.”

Tirr sighed standing up and following after Torvus. They set off and Raife’s group moved through the tunnels in one mass group. Bystanders peaked from their hiding spots as one of the city's underground kings went to war. Everyone whispering as they tried to guess who would win. One thing they were sure of though was that things would be different. The fragile balance between the old and new council would be gone, and only one would survive…

Finally, they reached the cavern where the old assassin's base resided. The group stood back, staying out of sight in the shadows. The surrounding confederation scouts had been dealt with by Torvus personally. Looking down at the Confederation’s last hiding spot, they met to discuss their plan once more.

From questioning the few scouts that they were able to capture alive, they learned that there was still no suspicion on Silk, having believed the excused she had made before leaving. So the plan would start with her entering the fortress with her guard as normal. From there she would locate the children inside and do her best to get them away from any guards or danger.

30 minutes after Silk entered, Raifes forces, led by Tirr and Torvus, would challenge the fortress. Attacking it head-on, the hope was that Silk would get the children out of harm's way leaving Tirr to finish the Confederation. Crushing whatever remnants there were for a final victory.

Tirr watched as Silk went down, his fist clenched as he felt his blessings surge. As she entered the fortress. He breathed deeply. Gathering his Faith. He planned on going all out from the beginning leaving nothing to chance.

Torvus came over smiling pleasantly as the focused young boy, “Time to cause some havoc huh Boss…”

Tirr nodded, “If they hurt either the children or Maria…” He whispered.

“We’ll make them pay either way…” Torvus replied. They kept their eyes on the fortress as the time slowly counted down.