25 Little Rats and Black Dogs

The three of them waited near the iron gate for it to open. The last ration cart of the day was moving in their direction at a steady pace. Raivi peered around to see if they were caught but there were no signs of anything being amiss, so far. The two Black Dogs waited patiently at the either side of the gate. So still that they might as well have been statues for decoration and not guards for the Academy. Raivi wondered if anyone was even alive underneath those massive suits of metal.

He could hear the cartwheel and the horse hooves on the plain cobbles, louder each second. Everything seemed like a dream under Vynder's invisibility cloak, like looking through clear flowing water. The Black Dogs moved, and grabbed the thick grills of the gate and pushed them on both sides. Before the cart had closed-in on the entrance, and the Dogs had made enough room for it to precede, the three of them skipped past the gate with a practiced maneuver and no sound.

They quickly ran out and made way for the cart to pass by and waited. Once it was out, the gate closed behind the card with a violent thud and was locked for the night.

They hurried after the cart for a while before it outran them. Invisibility didn't let them move faster after all. They followed the road soon after in utter silence. The Dogs had excellent senses.

"So useless! If you were more talented we would be on that cart," came the slightly high toned whisper of Cinsa from somewhere in front of Raivi after they were out of the Dog's earshot. A suspicious silence followed as Raivi waited and then he heard the sound of fist hitting a face and a grunt quickly tailed which sounded like Vynder's.

"So you can see?"

Cinsa brought out their old argument again that Vynder could see both of them while the other two couldn't. Raivi and Cinsa only had a rough idea of where each other were.

Raivi also thought Vynder could see.

"An accident, I swear." Vynder answered, tone light and no real conviction behind it. He was hit again with a knee this time.

"And I believe you. My knee also slipped." Cinsa hissed, but her tone too was light. "One more of your accidents and my Knee will slip harder."

"Is there anything even there?" Cinsa quipped again after a momentary pause. Raivi didn't know what she was talking about but that was mostly the case with these two. So he had learned to tune them out most of the time. But sometimes their conversations did entertain him, though he would never tell them that. Vynder gasped in shock somewhere near him and Raivi could basically feel a smirk playing on his lips.

"Oh, my poor innocent virgin love! That's not how they work. And what's behind your blouse? I couldn't tell nothing from a touch… You could use some massage on them. I was just helping you-"

Vynder said, in a tone full of condescending pity.

"Shut up!" Cinsa responded, defeated from keeping up with their pointless bickering.

She had lost their little spat and Raivi lifted his hand getting a light tap on it from Vynder, he guessed. The winner would always celebrate with Raivi. It had become an automatic response for him by now. Every time they quarreled and one lost, the other went for a celebration involving Raivi. Raivi would comply without complaint, easier and less exhausting than to argue against it.

"Shhh…! Dogs."

Cinsa wheezed suddenly, deathly serious. The three without a word stood back facing the wall in the alley and waited for them to pass. The Dogs patrolled the night in groups of four. The massive black armored warriors of Sharak. They looked more like a construct than a person wearing armor; golems with no individual identity.

Both men and women joined the Black Dogs. But once they passed their training and donned their armor, no matter what gender, height or kind of body one had, with the armor on everyone was same, no distinction, like mass produced cast-figures.

Four Dogs walked horizontally in a perfect line across the narrow street dimly lit by oil torches. Raivi saw the figures approaching the wall he and his friends were standing against. He felt his breath hitch as the sound of boots clanking heavy on the stone surface grew closer. They were now ten feet away. The magical aura they had was suffocating, unfamiliar and strong. He sighed slowly to make sure he didn't let out any voice by mistake. He had seen how sharp the Black Dogs' senses were. He was sure it was the magic that enhanced everything once you were inside the armor.

That evening in total the three had passed fourteen patrols. It was easier on the wider roads and avenues but the smaller alleyways they took for shortcut were truly a nightmare. Invisibility was good, Vynder even muffled most of the sound they make, but the tracks they leave behind could end their mission right then.

But they were used to it. Creeping around at night, running errands, finding criminals, stealing valuables, smuggling nearly illegal goods were all what their usual jobs were. They were breaking academy rules, a lot of them, but also the city laws. And it surprised Raivi that they could undertake such felonious tasks with The Greatest Guild, Sharak right around the corner. In his six month career as a hired hand he and his friends were never caught almost as if the Guild didn't want to catch them. Raivi knew that it wasn't their talent that was letting them live outside the law. It made him anxious thinking how vulnerable they were and how easily they could be snatched out of their little games and shunned behind bars.

Vynder dispelled the cloaks as soon as the gate between the districts came into view, a simple entryway from the district of blue to gold where thousands passed every day with nary a thought, but for the three of them it was their biggest hurdle. It was invisible to the naked eye but Raivi felt it like he felt his own skin, scores of runes buried under the cobbles on the ground littered around the portal to detect and undo any and all kinds of spells that touched it.

Cinsa had dug into her sling bag and pulled out three sets of costumes, two exorbitant ones for the rich merchant and her manager and a dirty rag for their servant, Raivi. Cinsa's dress was a midnight black velvet gown even a queen would treasure and for Vynder a pale doublet with gold embroidery and a dragon skin trouser.

Before the effect of the cloak had worn off they had quickly disguised themselves as a rich tradeswoman and her two employees. Cinsa and Vynder fit into their role like they were born into it and Raivi like always, played the part of a quiet submissive.

Once they had approached the portal to the other district, they were supposed to draw as less attention as possible to them, and pass through the gate without raising a suspicious eye toward their little façade. However, it was their biggest challenge, two fifteen year olds pretending to be fully grown adults. Vynder was a natural at disguises, he could get into the skin of an old dying woman if he wanted to, but Raivi and Cinsa didn't yet have the physical stature or the face to pull off every role as Vynder could.

No matter how much fun it was to get into the skin of a new character, Cinsa had a habit of taking it too far that Raivi worried could get them into trouble. He on the other hand was happy being a mute peasant.

That night, Cinsa was not just a rich merchant; she was a drunken one at that. They were close to the exit when Raivi saw Cinsa bump into a middle-aged man, who, if his thick body was to be believed, was nothing but a farm owner.

'Ey, Man! Look where you goin'…' Cinsa said lethargically, raising her hands in the air.

Raivi paused in his tracks and glared at Vynder who was grinning like an idiot. He took a slow turn to his back and saw two Dogs flouncing their way. He wanted to pull Cinsa by her arm and shake her out of her bold act of foolishness, but he was not her friend at that moment, he was her servant, he had to be true to his character.

The man scoffed at her. 'Huh! I didn't see ye there Miss.'

'Make YOUR OWN way for your paunch, Man!' Cinsa said animatedly.

Raivi wished he could get into the cloak once again and disappear into thin air.

'Whaat d'ya say?' The man's tone was stern but his face wasn't. He looked like he didn't care as much about her insult. 'That mucky mouth doesn't suit that pretty face, ye know?' He replied with a hurt smile and started marching his way.

'What's the matter here?' One of the Dogs asked as soon as he got near them. The old man paused after a few lazy steps and said, 'No matter, No matter. It's all good now' and continued walking once the Dog nodded.

'Oh hey, Where can I find one of ya?' Cinsa grinned as her head swayed. She was committed to her act. 'I got the money… now I need me some my own Black DOGS!' She added coyly.

The Dog remained unmoved at her loose behavior. Cinsa the drunk, rich merchant lost her temper and started shouting. 'Ye think I'm kidding?' She said with her eyes wide with anger. 'Ye think I'm poor like him?' She pointed at Raivi who was doing his best to control his shaking. Cinsa's legs were trembling wildly, and she was about to trip when Vynder, her assistant caught her by her waist and dragged her away from the Dog.

'My apologies.' Vynder laughed with embarrassment. 'My Leigh had a few many drinks for dinner.' He started walking away from the Dog, with Cinsa by his side.

Raivi hurried after them, heart aching from beating too fast.

Sometimes his friends liked playing too close to fire.