Bayonet Battle

I left the mansion and made my way towards the temple of Medax. After a short while, I ran into a group of people fighting. Three masked and two uniformed. I had asked Nea to whittle down the masked group, but was going to get both of them myself. I moved through the shadows and approached the group.

With one person at the back for support, the other two masked men faced the soldiers head-on. Bayonet against Bayonet. The knife-headed rifles produced a thunderous clang as they clashed with each other. The occasional fire spells the support sent through burnt away the asphalt of the main street. With the houses around being quieter than a whisper, the occupants have already gone to the temple.

I walked over to an abandoned stall, unnoticed by the fools on the street. Being magicless, controlled, breathing, and footsteps made me invisible to most mages. The rain made the asphalt lubricious and the wooden-wheeled cart elusive. I first removed my dagger and then pushed the stall into the fighting group.

The cart barely missed the support masked man and crashed right into the four combatants. l ran behind the cart and jumped on the support mage. My dagger weaved through his neck and slit his throat.

The four had noticed me now and looked very surprised. The masked men dashed towards me with a growl. I lifted their dead friend on threw him on them.

"Hey, you two! What are you waiting for!?" I alerted the two confused uniformed soldiers with a shout.

They assumed I was on their side and engaged with the masked men again. Blades curved into the air as the bayonet battle continued. The masked man that was closest to my human projectile attack was slower in his movements. Opposing soldiers didn't miss this and attacked him with a large swing, slicing through his torso. The other masked man was easily overpowered by their combined forces but didn't go down before injuring one soldier.

I clapped my hands and walked towards them. The stuck-up soldiers assumed I approached to help them and the injured one pushed out his wounded shoulder towards me. I grabbed his hair and cut his neck with no hesitation. The other soldier was startled and moved to pick up his weapon again, but was too late. My dagger had already placed itself right between his eyebrows.

I yawned and searched them for anything of value. What a boring job

**

I took down a few more people from both ends and eventually reached the northern districts. I had to make a slight detour before going to the temple.

I passed through the streets of Kifestein with no destination in mind. Roads narrowed down into alleys, and soon, a pathway in the dark corners of the city. Past the dark and narrow pavements that reeked of moss and spit, an exuberant postal service faced me.

I walked inside and was greeted by the cheerful smile of the receptionist. Or was she frowning? Though she was right in front of me, I could not register her face at all. I picked up a paper and a pen from the stands and scribbled together a letter.

Folding it, I picked up an envelope, wrote my name on its back, and placed the letter in it. "A dove stamp, please."

Immediately, the girl (or whoever it was) tensed up. The receptionist's demeanor changed and a strange tension filled the room. The person spoke after a long pause. "... Have you mentioned the sender's name in the envelope?"

"Of course," I replied

The receptionist walked away for a while and returned with a plain white stamp. I placed a pouch of gems on the table and took the stamp from her. I pricked my finger and wiped my blood on the stamp. The plain white stamp seethed in my blood. Soon, an intricately designed, blood-red dove appeared on the stamp. I quietly stuck the stamp on the envelope and left the place.

Behind me, the receptionist took the letter and jumped in surprise after seeing the sender's name, but I was already gone by then.

**

After another hour, I finally reached the temple. The scene in front of me was just as I had expected. In the distance, I could see a perplexed Nea staring at the temple gates with her mouth wide open. I walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulders. "Yo!"

"Tell me you are seeing this bullshit," she said.

"Haha, you aren't well versed in Medax's ideologies, huh?"

"I have so many questions." People standing in 2 separate lines crowded the temple front. One line mainly comprised children and the elderly who were taking refuge in the temple, whereas younger folks inhered the other line. Waiting. To receive goddamn weapons!

The temple of Medax saw a revolt and a war as a rare and valuable experience and made it a point to let the people who wish to indulge in them possess the means to do so. The people who had received the weapons hoarded together in the vast backyard of the temple. I slowly led Nea that way.

The horde of people had circled one person in the center. A black-haired man with red eyes. Next to him was a hooded giant, probably bald. The man had just ended an impassioned speech and the surrounding folks erupted in a cheer.

"Yes! Fight for your rights!"

"We want better working conditions!"

"Follow our leader! Follow Tahiti!!"

Once again, I found myself unable to hold in my laughter. The second stage of my plan had started...