16 Intricate Scheme

Rai left the store with a big smile and a little bag. When he saw the tiny bag he was prepared to throw a bomb and blow the store up, but then they demonstrated that the bag had some sort of spiritual magic to it.

It could hold a lot more than what seemed possible for a bag of that size.

With a glance he confirmed that he had received a mountain of gold coins and then left without another word.

His devilish smile slowly revealed itself the further he got from the store.

As he strode back amongst the buildings and stalls, he noticed that the number of busy shoppers had reduced.

One of the shopkeepers shouted to his fellow salesmen before running off.

"The Lord has built a gallows! Sir Sylas and his men are to be hanged till dead!" As that man ran off, he was followed by every other shopkeeper in the vicinity.

A large group of people were all rushing to one direction. Even the children were being practically dragged out of their homes by their parents. It seemed like their attendance was mandatory.

Rai raised a brow, but then an idea instantly came.

He tucked the tiny bag into his robes and then ran around, checking every stall and store that he could get into.

"I won't have to spend anything at all! Mwahahaha!" His laughter echoed but went unnoticed.

Meanwhile, Rie, who had just purchased his basket of fruit, watched as the shopkeeper's face was overcome with fear and shock. Without even taking Rie's sword as payment, the middle-aged ran off.

A thick crowd also came through the area. They seemed to be rushing toward the tallest building directly in the center.

Rie was intrigued, so he picked up his basket and followed behind.

He paused for a moment but then continued.

"Niu will find us when he's ready." With that, he stopped his worrying and went along.

"The Lord of the City? Who's that?"

Niu laid flat on his back stop the table.

He stared at the dazzling rock ceiling, noticing tiny bubbles and pockets that he could hear air escaping from.

"He's a slimy little- well, that doesn't matter. My point is that he came out of no where and around the same time as the previous lord and his family went missing."

Niu nodded.

"Definitely not a coincidence." Niu sat up.

"Exactly. A friend of mine came here to investigate, but that was almost a year ago. We've got no word from him since."

"So, what's the spiritual diagram on the map about?" Niu was still trying to put the puzzle together.

"I've been slowly setting it up. That way, when I finally approach the new lord, I have some reassurance that he won't have the upper hand." Niu's eyes widened.

"It's that powerful? Just what does that diagram do?"

"This specific one is an enhancement-type diagram. How it works is that it takes a harmless amount of energy from a everyone in the area of effect. Given that there's a huge number of people here, it'll probably increase my own capabilities tenfold. That should be enough."

The woman smiled proudly. She and Niu had been talking about her purpose. After she gleamed some sort of secret about Niu and his brothers, she decided not to keep anything from him.

"Sounds like a great plan, but what if that Lord is stronger than you think he is?" The woman had considered that possibility, but she smiled to reassure him.

"I still don't know if he really is hostile. I'll only be in danger if things get violent, and even then I don't think I'll be in much danger." Her smile was calming, but Niu still worried about his new friend.

"Just in case, I'll ask my brother to give you some of his bombs." Her brows raised.

"Bombs?"

Niu leapt off the table, excitement plastered on his face.

"Come on, let's go find them!"

He took a breath and dove into the water. The woman shrugged and dove in after him.

They soon surfaced close to the bank, quickly noticing that there was no one around.

"Where'd they go?" Niu shot a stream of water from his mouth.

He shook his head a bit and squeezed his hear, meanwhile the woman got out of the water and looked around.

"Something's not right. We have to get to the City Lord's Tower!" She took off running, seeming to forget the boy behind her.

"Aw, shoot. I forgot to ask her name." Niu got up while muttering and started running. He would occasionally raise his volume as he called himself names.

As he was doing that, the woman entered the city. With a single leap she arrived at the top of a building. She sped along, her rags fluttering. She grabbed her sheathed sword, holding it at her side.

From the way she held it, it looked like she intended to fight with it in its sheath.

Niu was not too far behind, but he could not catch up to her. She was too fast.

As she ran along, she heard some mischievous laughter and came to a halt. She slid across the roof tiles, breaking some of them, and then peered below.

She saw a suspicious character moving from stall to stall, store to store, in and out of buildings.

She was about to act when she realized who it was.

"Weirdo." With that, she ran off again toward the tower.

At that time, Rie had seen what all the fuss was about.

There was a gallows built in the courtyard at the foot of the tower. Everyone gathered atop the stairs, but no one stepped down into the courtyard.

Standing atop the gallows were seven bound men with bags over their heads.

Off to the side was an armored man, a man in a black robe, and another sitting on stool.

Beneath the gallows, a table had been set up. A white cloth was spread over it and a few dishes had been brought out onto it. The person sitting at the table was pale-skinned, had long black hair that glistened in the light, and wore a dark red leather suit with a cape.

Everyone was gathered around in a semicircle. Some people fought to get to the front while others seemed to be panicking. There were a few that remained nonchalant, simply chatting about what was about to transpire.

Rie was particularly attentive.

"Ever since he came about, he's been steadily executing all of the Lord Magnus' men. It's like he's doing it for entertainment."

"Right? He's even got his lunch out, for goodness sake."

"I just can't believe it's Sir Sylas this time. I never thought he'd die in my lifetime."

"This monster is .... monstrous!"

Such were the words of the people.

No one noticed the approach of a certain someone atop a nearby rooftop.

She untied her hair, allowing it to move about freely in the wind.

The pale man at the table waved his hand, then picked up his eating utensils and began eating.

"The Lord says to begin. We'll start with Sylas. Send him forward."

The man seated on the stool was also pale, heavy bags under his eyes. He looked sickly, like he was constantly being drained of his vitality.

"Bring him!" The robed man barked his order.

One of them men, taller than most, was brought to stand above the trapdoor.

Collective gasps escaped the crowd.

"Goodbye, Sir Sylas."

"We will remember you as we pray to the Great Spirits, and beg that they bring your soul back to us through the Awakening Cycle."

A few people whispered prayers.

"That's enough, Vaeyon!" Finally, the woman shouted.

She leapt from the roof and crashed onto the dining table. The wooden legs could not support the weight and snapped, causing the table to fall flat to the floor.

Food and wine flew in all directions, however the man who had just been eating was already gone from his chair.

"I knew you'd come, Telavera. Though, your friend Visk did think that you would be here sooner. Isn't that right, Visk?" The intimidating pale man wiped his mouth with a napkin.

Telavera, our rag wearing redhead, watched as another freakishly pale man walked out from the crowd.

"Indeed I did. Looks like our bond of friendship was far more fickle than I thought." This man was precisely her friend. She had thought that he had been killed, but things seemed far more complicated now.

The man was also wearing dark red leather, but without the cape. He and the man on the gallows were the only other pale-skinned people present.

"Visk? You've betrayed us?" Telavera tightened her grip on her weapon.

The one she called Vaeyon, who was the man that had been sitting at the table, started smiling all of a sudden.

"Well, while you too catch up, I have an execution to oversee. Carry on, Dreney." Vaeyon then returned to staring at the gallows.

The pale man up on the platform nodded and sat down on the stool again.

On his command, the armored man fastened the noose around Sir Sylas' neck.

"Drop!" The robed man made a hand signal.

"WAIT!" A shout once again disrupted the proceedings.

Vaeyon growled and muttered something under his breath.

Everyone turned to see two youngsters casually making their way to the courtyard. They pushed through the crowd until eventually everyone made way for them.

Niu and Rai both kept their heads held high, wearing proud smiles and lofty expressions.

"Before anything else you should all know this."

At that point Rai had everyone's attention.

"I stole everything valuable from as many stores as I could. I put them all in their magic bag." He held out the bag for all to see and shook it around a little. Then he let it dangle and awaited the shocked responses.

There was a cough, then silence.

"Wait, your name is Telavera? What a sweet name!" Niu smiled and waved.

"Enough! Just get this damn execution over with!" Vaeyon was growing annoyed.

Telavera have Niu a smile and a thumbs up, then she slammed her palm down to the ground. He had bought her enough time to stealthily activate it.

"She's doing it! The enhancement-type diagram!" Niu was getting excited.

"Haha! Did you really think I wouldn't safeguard us against your signature move? I'm not an idiot, Telavera." Visk guffawed.

Her palm had started glowing, but that glow quickly disappeared.

The armored man was given the go-ahead and so he pulled the lever.

Telavera was now panicked, about to draw her sword.

Rie was thinking about going to get his brothers, but when he saw Rai make a certain movement he gave up on that. He decided to just slip away and let them handle it themselves.

"Plan B, Rai." After Niu said this, Rai took out two fresh bombs.

They were the kind of bomb that a lot of people used, but with that special Rai twist.

The black spheres had no wicks. They were made only to explode upon serious impact.

Rai tossed two of them out toward the gallows, his signature smile already on his face.

As he did that, Niu was shouting to Telavera with his hands over his mouth, "Run!"

It was as if the world had slowed. All eyes were on the bombs that currently flew through the air.

Rie closed his basket and held it over his head as he ran away.

Vaeyon scoffed and suddenly vanished from where he was. He reappeared in the way of the bombs, his hands already prepared to catch them.

"Heh!" Rai smiled even wider.

As soon as the first bomb touched his hand, it exploded. That explosion then caused the other to explode, thus Vaeyon suffered two bombs to the face.

"HAHAHA! Killer Bomb Assassin makes his big debut today!"

Rai's laughter was cut off by the thunderous and deafening sound of his bombs exploding. The entire courtyard was engulfed, and then some, to the point where everyone got scared and started to retreat.

The tower shook greatly, the gallows was completely destroyed, but no one could tell yet.

All they saw was a raging flame. One so giant and scalding, yet so beautiful and mesmorizing that it instantly became their greatest fears and their favorite sight.

Then everyone started running for their lives. It was far from over.