Oliver's idea was simple, but he went over it in his mind again as he descends the rickety old stairs of the bell tower. The guards on duty were searching along an ever-expanding circular perimeter. As Oliver watched from the belltower he noticed that as the perimeter got wider and wider, cracks and gaps began to form where the guards were stretched too thin.
Oliver understood that the guards didn't care about The Realm Rats enough to devote the proper manpower to effectively search such a large and ever-widening area. As far as the guards were concerned, this was just Rat on Rat crime and an excuse to abuse the people in the area and make themselves feel superior. So he waited for them to get close and watched from his vantage point for which guard he was going to try and slip past.
at first groups of guards were formed, and as the circle grew, they continued to split those groups smaller and smaller, groups of 6, groups of 3, groups of 2, until finally each guard was alone and wandering further and further from each other.
By the time they got close to the belltower, single guards were searching an entire city block and their progress slowed considerably. That's when Oliver decided to move. Leaving the relatively safe confines of the bell tower, Oliver steps out onto the street. the Guards were 3 blocks away and Oliver had to hurry.
Oliver could feel the blood pumping through his veins as adrenaline flooded his system. if not for risking his life in a desperate bid to reach a legal slaver to voluntarily enslave himself...he might be having fun. The irony made him giggle, which he quickly stifled. He made his way towards the place he would slip through, sticking to the rooftops the whole way. Oliver was swift but did not run, not wanting his footfalls to give away his position.
Approaching near where the guard should be, Oliver took refuge behind a large crate that sheltered him from being seen by those below. Piercing blue eyes peeked out from behind the crate and stared into the darkness of the night below, watching the guards approach the house he was currently on.
Guards had always scared Oliver, this one, like the others, was big, and intimidating, with uniforms made of scarlet and black...colors designed to elicit fear, But none of those reasons were why Oliver had always feared them. He was afraid because, in the Outer realm, all guards were awakened tomebearers while none of the citizens were, and while they were only of the lowest possible tier of TomeBearer, this only created an inferiority complex in them that made them revel in cruelty and using their meager power on the defenseless citizens they should be protecting. as if this wasn't bad enough, the inner city Lords gave them full license to behave this way with zero repercussions.
This Guard was no different than the others in the city, which is what this plan hinged on. the hulking figure of the Guard pounded on the door of the wooden house that Oliver stood on. Oliver made certain to stay still, even the smallest movement could cause the guard to see him. especially if he had some sort of detection ability as most guards do. a young woman in her nightgown answered the door with confusion but practically yelped in fear when she saw it was a guard.
The Guard reached out and gripped the woman by the hair, dragging her into her home and they disappeared. Hearing the desperate cries of the woman as her home was torn apart inside, things crashing, and occasional yelling and interrogation to find him, Oliver felt the guilt rise inside him and his stomach struggled to revolt. Thoughts assaulted Oliver, this was his fault all these people suffered tonight because of him, but he knew better. this was also Raws fault, and the actions of the guards were the responsibility of the guards and those who empower them. Still, Oliver felt like garbage as he stepped slowly and carefully across the roof, wincing at each crash. finally, he stepped onto the next roof deeper into the city towards his goal, and essentially past the perimeter. Oliver hurried over the roofs of many houses as the womans screams seemed only to get louder as he got further....the guard must have done horrible things to her to make her scream like that. Finally, the screams faded in the background as he got far enough away, and Oliver could finally think straight without the sobbing screams of that woman pushing him to do something stupid like save her.
Oliver took deep gulping breaths and reorients himself In the direction of the recruiter's office and began the last leg of his journey there. After having gotten through the perimeter, he shouldn't have to immediately worry about any guards. Regardless of believing himself safe from being discovered, Oliver still moved carefully and paid close attention to his surroundings just in case.
The Recruiters office was a free-standing multilevel building stylized after the coliseum itself. Circular with Pillars surrounding it externally. The whole building was seemingly carved from white Marble, it was a stark contrast to the inky darkness of the night and practically glowed when the sun was out. Oliver snuck around columns to approach the front door that had been designed large and intimidating to make those who stand in front of it feel inferior, which gave the Recruiter a subtle advantage as soon as some poor desperate soul stood in front of the door and knocked on it begging for help. Unfortunately, this is exactly what Oliver had to do. He knocked and waited for the door to open, The door stayed stubbornly closed far longer than Oliver was comfortable with, it could have been as little as a minute, but to him, in this situation, it may as well have been forever. He was exposed and vulnerable standing out here, and it made him uneasy.
Eventually, the door creaked open and a Butler smiled at him and led him through the door.
"Welcome, please come in, can I get you anything to eat or drink?" the well-dressed Butler asked, seeming polite and innocent. But Oliver knew that the negotiations had already started the moment he stepped up to their front door.