CHAPTER TWENTY

20.

Florian found himself crouched behind some bushes. To his right had been Thorin who had still been dressed in Ashe's robe. To his left had been the woman Alaric called Savia. The past four days he watched as Alaric and Savia spar. He couldn't quite place it but it seemed she had some sort of hold on Alaric. He asked her about it but she did not answer. He was pretty sure she had not spoken a single word to him. He heard her talk silently to Alaric on a few occasions. He had not spoken to Alaric since that night. He can't be thinking about those things now, however. They were on an important mission. They watched as a blue-robed soldier stood waiting on the road. The soldier was a large mean-looking man. If Florian had a choice he would avoid antagonising such a man. It had been late afternoon, he noticed that Thorin alongside the soldier had been getting impatient.

"The shipment should be here by now," Thorin whispered.

Florian nodded. Savia just kept her eyes on the man.

"Do you think that Gwenllian betrayed us?" He asked.

Thorin shrugged. She had her blade firmly placed in her hands. Florian still had the crimson blade on his back. He had barely made progress with using it. He now could only hold it for a few seconds. He eyed the soldier's blade. He could probably steal it. After a few moments, he could hear a quiet rumbling. A man dressed in a full suit on horseback came slowly into vision. The horse had a wide metal container attached to it. The container had been moved by its many wheels. The soldier and the smartly dressed man spoke at first, then the soldier checked the contents of the container. He seemed pleased with what he found. They then worked together to unlatch the container from the horse. Once the container had been freed from the horse, the suited man took off on his horse. This was the time they had to strike. Florian was frozen. He watched as Savia charged. She had been incredibly fast and silent. The large man did not hear her coming. She kept her body low to the ground and once she reached striking distance she pierced the back of the man's calf with one of her daggers. The man dropped with a scream. What am I doing? I should be moving. When Florian got up from his prone, Thorin had already been upon the screaming man. She expertly dispatched the man. Her blade ran through the man's neck. The man stopped screaming. As Florian got closer he could feel the bile rising in his throat. It had almost been like that day. He knew he had to steel himself. They could not accomplish the mission without killing a few soldiers, not to mention Chapman. Thorin's voice brought him out of his trance.

"Let's go, we are already late," She said.

Thorin and Savia opened the container. They were met with large iron ingots. They began unpacking the container. They left Florian with a more difficult task. He had to undress the deceased man. He kept his eyes closed as much as possible. Eventually, he got the man out of his clothes. Luckily most of the blood was on the floor and only some remained on the man's clothes. Hopefully, nobody notices. The man's clothes had been a little loose on him. Not that he minded that much. Savia and Thorin got into the container. There had only been space for them to lie tightly side by side, much to Thorin's dismay. She had openly announced her distrust of Savia. He could understand where she came from. Alaric just brought in a random person to join them. Not to mention she had been a caster. He wasn't even sure Thorin trusted them. He placed the iron ingots softly on their bodies, according to Alaric's plan. He saw Thorin's scowl at her current position. Savia kept a straight expression. He placed the lid on the container. Okay, all you have to do is drag this container to the factory. Isern had not been far, probably a three to five-minute walk. Florian walked, pushing the container forward. It had been a bit heavy but nothing he could not have handled. As he got closer to the centre of Isern, his heart began beating out of his chest. When the factory came into sight he froze. This had not been part of the plan. A large squadron stood at the entrance of the factory. He knocked twice on the lid of the container. Their signal for telling each other something is wrong. He kept pushing the container. A few soldiers watched him. He put up his hood. As he reached the factory, the squadron made a path for him to walk through. At the end of the path was the factory's entrance. A soldier waited for him there. He had been quite young and seemed happy. Alongside him was an older blonde woman, she had also been dressed in blue robes. She glared at Florian. Next to her was a large cat-like animal. He recognized it. Alaric told him about it before. What was it called again? An ocelot that's right. He greeted the young soldier, trying to keep his nerve. The young soldier did not question him, instead, he just opened the container to check his contents. Florian had been tense. After a few moments, the young soldier smiled and closed the container. He motioned that Florian should follow him. He opened the steel doors of the factory and Florian pushed the container into it. The inside of the factory had been very humid. Probably due to all the metal. A loud clang could be heard continuously. It pulsated throughout the building echoing against the wall. The hallways had been wide. There had been a few soldiers roaming around the ground floor. They had chatted amongst each other casually. They walked past a staircase. Alaric told them to gather as much information as possible. The walls had been unbearably bare, there was no sight of any artwork. Instead in a few rooms, he noticed there were large full-sized models dressed in metal armour. The armour had blue accents. The young soldier brought him to a large cage-like container. It had been guarded by another soldier.

"Storage!" The young soldier said.

The other soldier nodded. The young soldier motioned for him to push the container into the cage. Then something happened that Florian never experienced. The cage began moving up. The young soldier seemed to be humming casually, not noticing the surprise on his face. This must be normal to them. Act natural.

"What is the deal with that large squadron outside?" Florian asked.

"They don't tell recruits like me much, but I heard that someone from Meinspir is visiting Lord Chapman."

"A large squadron for a singular person?"

"Ridiculous isn't it, but that is just how Meinspir is. Home to the elite. People like us could never understand."

The large cage jerked to a halt. The young soldier left first and then helped Florian drag the container out of the cage. They dragged the container through the long winding hallways. Florian took note of the location of the staircase. This floor had a severe lack of soldiers. Perhaps Chapman does not think anyone would be stupid enough to steal from him. They reached a room that had iron ingots packed on shelves.

"You can get back to your duties, I can unpack this," The young soldier said.

"I can help. I don't mind," Florian replied.

The young soldier shook his head and lifted the lid off of the container. Florian panicked. The young soldier packed out a few ingots before Florian got behind him. Florian held one hand over the man's mouth and he used his other arm to strangle him. The young soldier struggled. The soldier began to gesture with his hands. A phen user. Florian let go of him and kicked him. The soldier crashed into the container causing it to jerk a little. Florian rapidly withdrew the blade that he stole.

"What the hell-" The soldier could not finish his sentence as a blade pierced his chest. Florian could see the soldier trying to speak, nothing but blood escaped his mouth. Florian withdrew the blade with shaky hands. The young soldier fell limply to the ground. Florian could not think straight. He had just taken someone's life. He began hyperventilating. The soldier probably had a family and I took him away from them. Florian had tears waiting to escape his eyes. Calls of his name broke him out of his trance. The calls came from the container. He made his way to the container. Refusing to look at the body on the ground. He lifted the iron ingots out of the container. Thorin jumped out first.

"I'd thought I would suffocate in there," Thorin said. Florian could not focus on what she said. Savia slowly exited the container as well. She had said nothing, she just looked at the body that lay there. Florian knew that the plan was just beginning but he struggled to listen.

Thorin shook his shoulder. He looked at her teary-eyed.

"Where are the stairs?" She asked quietly. This was the quietest he ever heard her speak.

"Right, left and it should be on the right," He whispered. Savia took off immediately. She was really fast. Thorin grabbed Florian and dragged him by his arm. He knew this was part of the plan. He had to head up and confront Chapman.

"Don't think about it. Ashe's life is on the line," Thorin said, dragging him to the staircase. Thorin had been wrong, Alaric would save her. He knew it. But he steeled himself regardless. Once they reached the staircase, Savia had been long gone. He pulled himself from Thorin's grip and headed up as silent as possible.