Dragon Falcon Ornament

"Are you guys ready?" whispered Kiyu.

They had reached the warehouse shown to them on the map by Slim's contact.

As Zhèngyi had reported it, only two guards were keeping post outside. If they were skillful, they could take out two of 14 guards without danger.

"Yes!"

Kiyu had thought of having the two guards distracted by Zhèngyi and Laki at first, so that Kiyu could then take out the guards unhindered.

But why pull off some kind of charade? Why not just take the direct, open route and give the soldiers a choice? It seemed to be the fairer way to Kiyu.

Therefore, she went forward alone. The warehouse was on a wider street, along with many other warehouses. At first, Kiyu seemed to walk past the building and the guards paying no further attention to them.

But when she was on the level of the gate, she stopped and turned to the two guards. She let a brief glance pass over them before approaching them.

"Stop!" they called out.

They reached for their spears in their caution, and held them in front of their bodies, pointing them at Kiyu.

"Don't take another step. Civilians may not enter the warehouse!"

"I know," Kiyu countered, continuing to walk toward the two. "You're going to let me in, anyway."

All at once, she grabbed one of the wooden spears and let the wood shatter in her fist. The tip detached from the spear and as she loosened her grip, countless splinters of wood fell to the ground.

"I really hate to hurt you," she added, staring into the eyes of her potential opponents.

Spiritual energy flowed through her entire body, with which she hardened and strengthened it.

The second guard with the still undamaged spear, however, did not seem thrilled by the idea. Instead, he lunged to attack.

"You asked for it!"

With a powerful swing, he directed the weapon against Kiyu's shoulder. But instead of piercing her skin, this spear also burst inch by inch, which the guard rammed the weapon forward.

The two men had their eyes wide open when the second spear also shattered into pieces, destroyed by Kiyu with ease even though she did nothing. But now they stood there without protection, trembling at the sight of Kiyu.

Without giving them a chance to react, Kiyu dashed at her opponents, sending each of them crashing to the ground with a concentrated blow to the pit of their stomachs.

The two were still stirring on the ground in pain, but getting up was no longer possible for them. While Laki and Zhèngyi made sure that it stayed that way, Kiyu opened the big gate of the warehouse.

At first glance, she realized what Zhèngyi had meant when he said he couldn't inspect. They had covered every area.

These guards seemed to be less talkative than the two at the entrance gate. Instead of saying a word, they stormed towards Kiyu as a group with their weapons raised.

"I guess there's no point in persuading you to surrender." she sighed and lowered her gaze for a moment.

'The hard way, then.'

There was no time to waste. They had no ropes to tie them up or anything similar to hinder the defeated opponents in the long run.

So the only possibility they had, apart from serious injuries or even killing, was to eliminate them fast and disappear even faster.

And so Kiyu did the same to her opponents and dashed forward into the crowd. This was to be a quick attack. She let the opposing weapons bounce off her steeled body, while she herself dealt steel-hard blows.

It took only a few seconds before all twelve men were on the ground, writhing in pain.

"Go quickly!" she shouted.

Without loosing time she opened the first boxes in front of her.

Zhèngyi and Laki also rushed into the building and opened all the boxes they could get their hands on.

"I've got it!" exclaimed Zhèngyi, retrieving the golden figurine from a small casket placed inside one of the larger boxes.

He tossed the figurine to Laki. She was the fastest runner of them, at least with no aids. If they got into trouble, Kiyu could stay behind and take care of it.

And in the worst case, she could swap with Zhèngyi, who could walk through walls and other things. So they got all the options covered just in case.

Together, they made their way to the port as quickly as possible. The branching streets of Oras were a hindrance, but apparently their plan had worked well.

'Not a single pursuer.....'

Something was bothering Kiyu about this, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Hey Zhèngyi?" she asked.

"What is it?"

"This golden statue should be a valuable item, not for the gold, but for its status value, right?" she verified.

"Yes, that's how the old codger put it," he replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know." she hesitated. "I'm wondering about all this. This low guarding. Only 14 ordinary guards for an object which was said to be so valuable?"

"A trap?" he interjected. "Do you think old Slim is working for Xianzhu?"

She shook her head, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but not succeeding.

"I don't think he's working for Xianzhu, and I don't think it's a trap," she summarized, "but something's not right."

"We'll just stay on guard until we get to the port," Laki interjected. "Especially at the port."

They had no other choice, and even if Kiyu didn't like the idea of groping in the dark like that; she had no other choice. She had expected a trap. 14 obvious guards, which should distract from an ambush.

But the expected ambush failed to materialize. However, it did not rule out an ambush at the port. Nor did she want to conjure it up, but she prepared for an ambush at the port.

Their escape route was quiet, and within an hour they had reached their destination. From the crowd of houses, they looked out at harbor, keeping an eye out for soldiers of Xianzhu.

Apart from fishers, merchants and dock workers, however, they saw no one. Here and there, some were checking the crates of goods that had been delivered, as well as those that were leaving Oras for other cities.

However, that would not stop the group from smuggling such a small object.

At the end of the pier stood it - their opportunity for leaving this nightmarish area. All they had to do to do so was board the ship.

"I don't see anyone who could be dangerous to us," Kiyu whispered.

To be on the safe side, she had checked everything again and, with improved vision, also looked for smaller objects like knives and other hidden weapons. But nothing.

The harbor seemed as peaceful as it looked.

"Seems all is well," Laki also confirmed.

"I'll go ahead. When I give the signal, you follow," Kiyu whispered, leaving the ornament with Laki.

She walked across the harbor square as if it were her natural destination. Like a fisher about to sail out to fish, or a merchant marveling at the wares. And indeed, she made it without incident to the ship that was to take her away.

She signaled with her hand behind her back that was meant for Laki and Zhèngyi, but before they reached her, she ran closer to the ship.

"Entering this ship has a price, young miss."

An older man who was standing next to some crates and examining the goods now turned to her.

"Can you pay that one, too?" he continued.

'Has a price.... not doesn't cost money?'

So it was true! If they handed him the ornament, could they get away with the ship here? But would he also be able to tell them what this golden statue was all about, anyway?

"She might not, but I can," Laki interjected, taking out the ornament. "I think this should suffice as payment?"

The old man's mood improved, and his wide-open eyes fell with a grin upon the small golden object the group delivered to him.

"This is indeed your means of getting onto the ship," he replied, taking the statue from Laki's hand.

"Good, good. Then we have done everything here and can depart.", he added

But instead of entering the ship, the man reached out with his hand and smashed the statue against one of the more massive wooden crates that were on the dock and not part of his cargo.

The beautiful golden statue in the shape of the dragon falcon, the symbol of unknown value hidden in the warehouses of Xianzhu, shattered into several pieces.

"But.... What?" Kiyu cried out in anger, looking at the remains, which were scattered on the floor, flustered.