Qualin
The wall around the palace is approximately four stories high. Too high and too sheer for most to climb without the guard patrols noticing.
That isn't an issue for me. I found a secluded spot with the least frequent guards. For anyone else, the steepness of the hill the wall was on, and the distance to the near by trees would have made it especially difficult to breach. But I knew I could clear that distance.
From the top of the tallest tree nearby, I leapt as high as I could, which was several body lengths. Then I reached out and ignited some of the energy around me, and instantly snuffed it out by dispersing the condensed energy. The result was a nearly imperceptible flash of light, followed by a concussive force that propelled me in the direction of my choosing.
The subtle light and sound wouldn't be noticable to most people from a distance. and the fireworks and sounds from the festival would help cover it. It only took a few such propulsions for me to clear the wall and one more to slow my descent. My feet landed softly on the grass in the palace gardens.
Without hesitation I began racing around the inner wall, looking for the best entry point. I had no idea how boss man and the others were planning on getting into the palace, but that wasn't my problem. Boss was big on fancy tech, I preferred to rely on my agility and natural abilities.
Stealthily avoiding a few guards and palace staff, I finally found an open window on the second floor. A leap I could make without breaking a sweat, and with my heightened sense of hearing and smell, it was easy to make sure the coast was clear.
It helped that everyone still left in the palace was distracted by talk of the festival. I made my way to the east wing in only a few minutes. According to Boss man, this is where the armory was. Obviously not the treasury, and tech wise, LaMihinnia was more known for defensive capabilities as opposed to weaponry.
However, the swords their warriors were so proud of were supposedly made of a special kind of metal that was worth a fair amount in certain markets.
I wasn't sure if it was really an armory... it looked more like a training area. But there were several different kinds of hand-to-hand weapons on the wall. Good enough. I grabbed a few with the most metal. Compared to the short sword and dagger I carried, the metal did seem like good quality.
I wrapped them up, using the leather bands around my arms and a tarp I found.
"What are you doing in here?!" A stern voice called out from behind me.
Time for my real job to begin.
I threw the bundle over my shoulder and put on the cockiest smile I could muster before turning to face the man. "Oops. Guess you caught me."
He was already drawing his sword. I could see the natural flow of energy around it. The blade seemed to repel the energy. I let out an impressed whistle. "Not bad. That's much better quality than the ones I found here."
"My sword? That's what your after?" He scoffed. "Filthy thief. Drop what you've taken and surrender now and you may receive a merciful sentence."
"Hmm... nah." In a swift motion I reached out and ignited a chain of energy that was wrapped around the man. The explosion distracted him long enough for me to close the distance and slash him with my claws before he had time to react.
He still managed to take a swipe with his sword, barely grazing my arm even though I was fairly certain the blade didn't actually make contact. The way the sword cut through the energy around me essentially extended it's range. I could see why there was a market for this material, and why LaMihinnia guarded it rather than exporting it as a valuable precious metal.
And yet, this wasn't the actual goal. Still, I was supposed to get anything I could of worth as a bonus. Another explosion or two and a few more well aimed swipes of my claws and he finally went down. I had a few scrapes but nothing serious.
"I'll take that." I barely had time to retrieve his sword before more guards arrived, presumably drawn by the noise. There was no hesitation or call for surrender before they attacked.
One. Two. A slice across my back. A third guard down before turning to deal with that one. I had never been so grateful for my agility, and I still could barely keep away from these fighters. I was even forced to draw my own blade. The metal it was made of wasn't as good at cutting and manipulating energy, but I was better at it then these men, and the blade was better for blocking then my bare hands.
As my arms began to ache from the power of their blows, and I saw my own blade begin to tarnish, I started to feel a little desperate. I'm not fond of trying an unfamiliar weapon for the first time in a real fight, but as I faced the sixth and seventh guard, I figured it was worth the risk.
Dropping my own short sword, I drew the weapon I had taken from the first man. It was longer and felt unwieldy, but the shock from the next attack I blocked was much easier to take. And my suspicion was confirmed: with this blade, it was much easier to move the energy and redirect is flows. The effect would seem minimal to even the most expert fighters, unless you can actual see and ignite that energy like I can.
Weaving between my opponents, I twisted the blade through the air, causing streams of energy to wrap around them. It would only last a moment and was seemingly harmless. But the moment I was clear and before the streams were too disrupted by their movements, I raked my claws threw the stream connecting them all, like striking a match on a line of accelerant.
The energy ignited into streaks of lighting that wrapped around each man. They screamed in pain, their bodies rigid and unable to move. When it finished, several fell to the floor. I moved quickly to slash the ones still on their feet before they could recover.
I wasn't hitting vital organs. I was told to kill them, but incapacitating them seemed sufficient. It wasn't like they'd be getting up soon, and without medical aid they could bleed to death. The need to help the wounded could be a good distraction and division of man power, so that was better anyway. Boss man couldn't possibly punish me for that technicality, if he ever found out.
I turned to continue running down the hall, surely a few more minutes of this would be enough, then I could start toward the shuttle. the guards would still chase after me, especially with all the damage I was doing, and give the others the opening they needed.
I only got a few steps when a chilling shriek and flash of white light made me whip back around. Standing over one of the fallen men was a creature I had never seen before. My mind turned to stories of great winged reptiles. This one was only about my size, but still terrifying.
The man under this beast was also getting to his feet, which was strange. He mumbled a thank you and both of them lunged towards me.
Time to go. I turn and began to sprint full speed for the nearest window. Before I could get there, the beast was in front of me. It didn't pass me, it just appeared in a gust of wind and energy. I whipped the sword up to block it's fangs. It looked savage and it's shriek seemed to pierce my mind, making it hard to think. I tried to shake it off as the swordman sliced my side.
Damn. This was bad. I began to ignited the energy around me. I would take some damage too but it would be better than what these two would do to me.
As I broke away, my skin and eyes burning, I saw two more swordmen running down the hall. I was in big trouble.