The map of Baybreach covered the entire desk. Each wall was meticulously detailed, describing faults and cracks that had appeared over the years, as well as the repair attempts that had been made. Each complete breach through the history of the city was marked as well, describing how the attacking force had punched through the walls. The city’s defenses were marked on an opaque map, designed to overlap the first. When laid on top, the map now showed in-depth positions of guard barracks, armories and anti-siege weaponry.

The inner parts of the city were equally detailed, showing the current location of every merchant stall and shipping warehouse. The cartographer had even taken the time to outline who was likely to make moves during the coming winter, and where they were likely to end up. He had even researched the royal quarters, describing offices and bedrooms, as well as numerous secret passageways between the various buildings. The Treasurer’s Office and the Governor’s Mansion both had tunnels that led to the mountains to the north and to hidden areas along the docks.

Ana had to give it to the man, her cartographer had earned his money. She turned from the desk and faced the poor man, gagged and bound to a chair near the back of the room. He pressed against his restraints. She licked her lips. Yes, he’d earned his money alright, but she couldn’t risk him running off and telling the wrong people.

His eyes grew wide as she applied a dark red lipstick to her lips. Ana sauntered over, flaunting her curves beneath her form-fitting black dress. She bent over him and leaned to his ear.

“You’ve been a very good boy, putting this together for me,” Ana whispered. “Would you like a kiss?”

The man quickly nodded, and she offered him a seductive smile. Ana pulled the gag down off of his mouth and made out with the man before he could say a word. For a moment, he returned the gesture, but soon his motions slowed. His eyes, once wide with excitement and fear, now drooped. Ana stood back and watched as the poison coursed through the man’s veins. In under a minute, he was dead.

She wiped the lipstick off her lips, careful not to miss any before drinking the antidote. Never hurts to be cautious. She turned back to the desk, as Elisabeth entered the captain’s quarters of their ship.

“Did you have to kill him so quickly? He was kind of cute,” remarked Elisabeth as she joined her co-conspirator at the desk.

“You can have the next one, this one knew too much of the plan to be left alive,” replied Ana. “Have you confirmed the sword is still here?”

“Saw it myself this afternoon when I went to complain about the unfair inspections we’ve been dealing with,” Elisabeth explained. “Of course, the governor himself handled the situation when he realized it was me.”

Ana rolled her eyes. “But you saw the sword, yes?”

“You could say that,” Elisabeth said, smirking at Ana. “But yes, I saw Lazarus too. It’s in his office most of the time, he only seems to take it out when there’s a reason to.”

“Good. Clive sent a report back from the mountains as well,” Ana continued. “Apparently, there’s some nice pieces hidden away in that village that we would probably want for the next stages of the operation.”

“Add it to the list, I don’t mind doing a little detour,” replied Elisabeth. “I’m sure our boss will be pleased as well.”

Ana nodded and rolled up the map. She stashed the document away in a hidden drawer in the desk, then moved to leave the room. Elisabeth followed her and locked the door behind them.

===========================================

The kid showed up at Tobias’s workshop like clockwork. Clive had the whole team work in rotations through the day to keep an eye on things. The old man might tell the boy we’re interested, and scare him off. We’ve got to be careful with this.

He’d thought about doing the stakeout himself, but figured it would draw too much attention. Better to let the townspeople see different crewmen keeping watch throughout the day, he thought. Instead, he waited at the inn.

His morning crew reported a bit of an argument shortly after the kid entered the shop, but they couldn’t make out much of what was said. After that, they had someone pass behind the shop a few times throughout the day but it seemed the two had made up. Listening to an old man and his apprentice rebuild a forge had been exceptionally boring, according to the reports.

Finally, after most of the day had been wasted waiting around, the kid emerged from the shop. He headed straight to the bar, where Clive watched him from across the room. This group of tourists is providing good cover, I’ll just see what he does and tail him when he leaves.

He couldn’t quite make out what was said, but Clive didn’t think it mattered much. Just some guys drinking at a bar, seems like he fits in with the group. Maybe he is just a kid that comes by and helps the old smith. As it started to get dark, Clive watched the kid get up and leave. He waited a moment, then paid his tab and left the inn as well.

Clive’s men were positioned throughout the town and saw him leave the inn. He glanced at each pair and flashed a signal, telling them to follow him out of town. He waited a few minutes, and when Enzo was through the gates, Clive gathered his men up.

“Alright, we're gonna tail that kid. Stay quiet and out of sight. If you get caught, we’re hunters,” he quietly told the crew. “Don’t screw this up.”

The men nodded and set out from the town. His son, Darren, was along with them for the stakeout. Clive wasn’t happy about the situation, but the boy had to learn sometime.

As they left the gates, the men were perturbed. There was no sign of the young man on the road anywhere. Clive panicked for a moment before someone spotted a shadow running across the fields toward the western forest. He waved, and the men set off at a loping run, trying to close the distance.

They bobbed and weaved through the trees in the darkness, fighting to keep the kid in their sights. This guy must be part elf. There’s no way anyone can run through a forest at night like he can without stumbling or getting lost.

Finally, the group came to a plateau with a steep mountain face at the opposite side of it. The sound of ocean waves crashing into a cliff resounded through the area. A small cave entrance displayed flickering firelight through the darkness.

Clive motioned for his men to stay hidden in the trees. Thank the Gods it’s an overcast night. It's dark enough, I should be hidden if I stay quiet. He crept across the plateau, careful to stay within the shadow of the mountain. Eventually, he made it to the opening in the cliffside and peered in.

The kid stood near a fire, a sword in his hand. He practiced swinging it around, but clearly had no idea what he was doing. Clive surveyed the rest of the cave, but didn’t see anything of interest. No sign of a dragon, no sign of any wolves either. Just a weird kid living in a cave by himself.

He was about to return to the team, when he noticed it. A glint in the flames. He continued to watch, and was finally rewarded. A swipe of the sword over the flames caused a break in the light. For just a moment, Clive could see into the center of the fire. Just long enough to see the large, ruby red dragon egg.

He turned from the cave and hurried back to his men. This is it! This is the last job I’m ever going to do! There’s no sign of that dragon, and it can fuck right off. We’ll kill the kid, take the egg and sell it. I’ll live like a king! I’ll never see those bitches again!