"What d'you think happened?"
"Didn't you hear? There was a dark arts cultist spotted within the plaza. Apparently he wrecked the place, so now the guards are lookin' for him,"
Two men chatted to each other over the strong scent of beer and spirits. They were both mercenaries just having a drink to finish off their day.
"Ay man, don't kid with me. That's the funniest crap I've heard all day,"
"Oi! It ain't bull alright!"
*Boom!*
Just a district away from the pub an enormous explosion occurred followed by the fumes of engulfing flames.
"Gods damn!"
"Think we should check it out?"
"I dunno man, it feels kinda suspicious,"
Similar interactions happened between many other citizens around the district as they pondered on the cause of the explosion.
…
"How!?"
Savage wasn't sure how he had done it, but he somehow blew up the entire building. They were supposed to just use this building to climb into the sewers and escape the city, yet Jeffrey had miraculously found some way to screw them over.
"You do realize we're both in the same boat, right?"
"Well yes, but actually no,"
They were indeed stuck in the same situation, but Jeffrey just couldn't find a reason to prove why they were in the same boat, or in any boat for that matter.
The entrance to the sewer had collapsed as a result of the explosion and the guards were hot on their tail. A magnificent way to start an escape plan.
Savage didn't know whether to laugh or cry at their situation anymore. They were particularly close to the city walls, meaning that they would be surrounded instantly, and with their escape route having been dashed, they most likely won't be able to run away again.
…
"Commander! There has been a reported explosion in the North Western districts! Previous information suggests it's the dark cultists!" A footman reported to his commander hurriedly. For the most part, the guards and footmen had been informed of wanted fugitives within the walls, but not that they were Heretics. Public order was important after all, so it would do no good to cause a ruckus and breed chaos.
"I know already! I'd need to be deaf and retarded to not get that!" The Commander was rather stressed due to the situation as of late.
To think those Tanz guards they took in, were gods damned cultists. It was already a pain to deal with the complaints of his decision to accept them back then, but pushing that out of his mind, he focused on the situation at hand.
"Shall we send troops there?" His aide de camp asked.
"Hmm, this smells suspicious." Cool headed, the commander spoke.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Think about it, how convenient would it be that there would somehow be an explosion right where the fugitives are? If I had to guess, this is a diversion."
"Oh! I never thought of that, you truly have a good foresight commander!"
Well, in most cases the commander would have guessed right, however, this was not a usual case.
"Therefore, I think it best to only send a couple investigation teams to clean up the area whilst we bolster the walls.
"If I had to guess which walls they would try to escape through, considering that the diversion was in the North western district, they would most likely infiltrate the South eastern walls whilst our attention is on the other side of the city."
The commander, having considered the prerequisites and variables, quickly made a plan of action on the spot. Having his aide de camp hurry to organise heavier defence in the South eastern district, whilst alerting all the guards. In most cases, this would be a rather smart move that would catch the enemy off guard and disable basic plots, however, he had made a huge miscalculation. This was no scheme, and shouldn't be so overthought.
Or perhaps, that was all part of the conspiracy…
…
"Damn, Joost is really slacking, huh?" Savage noticed that despite the not so little ruckus they caused, the guards streaming to their position were rather thin, allowing them to not be noticed, yet.
However, they would be caught sooner or later, so it was best to act now. Deciding that there wasn't enough time, Savage pushed forward the plan that they rush the North eastern entrance and improvise from there-
"Hey! Who goes there!"
Turning a corner, the two were met with a patrol team. An encounter! Suddenly confronting another party in the alley, the team captain immediately issued a demand.
"Identify yourselves!"
Phew, looks they don't recognise us.
Savage gave a sigh of relief as he realised that they most likely didn't have time to show all the guards a portrait of them, so as long as they gave good enough excuses, they should be able to evade this group.
"We're part of the guard patrol team, we were attracted by the explosion just then,"
"Hmm, you don't look it, you two show some proof!" The captain yelled, finding their cover story suspicious. Fight? Item? Run? Savage wouldn't just put himself in a corner like this, he had kept his guard token, and due to that, it presented a valuable option to present itself in this conversation. Item!
"Here," Savage spoke in a deep voice as he presented his guard token.
But! This wasn't enough to alleviate the captain's suspicions.
"Hmm, this would be pretty solid evidence…
"If you ignore the fact that patrol teams have a minimum of three people!"
Critical hit! The captain immediately pointed out a major flaw in their argument from the beginning. He was just playing along the whole time!
*Tch!*
Staring down at the dagger in his chest, he gaped inaudibly, as his lungs filled with blood. The other members were stunned, only till his body hit the ground did they register the situation.
But by that point, it was too late. Four bloody corpses lay in the middle of a dark dank alleyway, as two people walked away.