"Halt. Who goes there?"
Regis approached a group of elite guards.
They wore the symbol of the Liforia guild over their shoulders made visible by the oil lanterns hanging from their waists.
He took out the Liforia token and held it up in front of them.
"Toss it here."
A flick of his finger.
The guard catches it.
He takes a look at it, nods and tosses it back to Regis.
"Passphrase"
The assassin takes a pause.
The guard raises an eyebrow.
He glared at the assassin tensely.
His hand resting over his sword.
"Herda's magical saddle."
"Haha. good man."
The Liforia guard signals his men.
"Alright. Let's go. Keep it quiet. Don't make eye contact with the town guard. If a mobster throws a powder bomb at you, just block it with your shield and let it go. We are not paid to chase them down."
The guard taps Regis on the shoulder as he walks past.
His aide behind him walks up to the assassin. He held up two belts.
"Powder bombs filled with tranquilizers. A bomb to the face without any defenses should knock anyone out. Remember, there is a steep penalty on your payout if you happen to kill anyone."
Regis accepts it, strapping it diagonally from his shoulder to his waist.
The guard takes out another belt.
"Silent flares. The mana in our guild tokens react to it. Scout ahead and light a path for us. Avoid even the guard patrols. Even though we have the legal right to be on the streets, they can still give us a lot of trouble."
Regis straps it on.
The guard joins the rest of the group.
…
The troop moves along the empty streets.
Eight of them. The porter carrying the package in the middle.
The crate covers the entire area of his back.
His armour was specially designed to hold heavy loads.
Above the street level. Regis shadows them.
He was on the roof top two junctions ahead of them.
He sees a guard patrol on a collision course.
Pulling out a flare, He tossed it into the area in front of the moving troop.
They halted.
The guard patrol passed the junction.
He tossed another silent signal.
The troop continues their journey.
Regis relocates to another high point.
"This armor feels great." He whispers to himself.
"Didn't remember that it was easy to traverse the root tops of Kalaris."
Indeed, the rooftops were extremely uneven. Plenty of jagged and malformed structures.
Potholes that would throw the novice assassin crashing down onto the street and ending their career and possibly their life.
He stood perched to a high point.
The damp old stone felt unstable.
He had scanned the area for a landing spot.
"There's the target. The customs office. The thugs shouldn't prove a challenge to the well armoured guild guards. But rival guild ambushes had become common as of late."
The troop below was making progress.
He scans the streets in all directions.
The coast was clear.
"But, once we get to the customs office. Even the largest guilds wouldn't assault it."
The troop safely traversed another junction, he began scouting forward.
"That chest they are holding. Doesn't look like it is the type to hold imbibed objects. Mana shielding runes have a distinctive shape to them. This one just looks like a waterproofed chest with perhaps an inscribed lock."
The troop stopped.
Regis tossed an all clear signal.
They continued.
"Wonder what's in that chest though. Probably depleted mana cells? Expensive herbs and medicine? Whatever. I can only get stuff from the black market anyway."
They were nearing a check point.
It was right up ahead.
The journey thus far had been uneventful.
The guard captain signals for Regis to join them.
He lands without a sound and emerges from the shadows, seemingly materializing out of thin air.
"Ah! There you are. Glad you didn't sneak off on us. We are going to pass the check point into the next district now. Just stay close, don't do anything sudden and just let me do the talking."
Regis quietly fell in with the troop.
It was wise not to test the security measures at this time.
The checkpoint guards stopped them.
The merchant guild captain stepped forward and pulled out his papers.
Regis watched as they engaged in some back and forth.
But nothing of note happened.
The captain signaled for the troop to move forward.
It felt rather uncomfortable for Regis to move in the light.
He was ready to draw his sword.
But he didn't have to.
They passed the checkpoint peacefully.
The only one they had to pass to reach the customs office.
They continued on.
…
Boom. An explosion a few blocks away.
The troop stopped.
From his vantage point, Regis could see what's going on.
A robbery was underway.
The sound of smashed windows. A wagon was wet on fire.
Guards rushed to the scene. The perpetrators clashed with the guards as they attempted to get away.
"Amatuers. There is no need to get into a fight if you're just trying to steal stuff."
He tossed a silent signal.
The merchant guild guards could see the brief and faint of mana.
The signal guided them away from the commotion.
A stop signal.
A guard detail rushing out of their barracks was on a collision course.
It was too late to guide the troop away.
The guard detail notices them and approaches.
The captain signals his troop to stay still.
Regis looked over them.
They started bickering with each other.
It was out of his hands now.
He just needed to be ready to jump in if things get dicey.
He took out a powder bomb.
It fit onto his palm like a pearl.
"No leaks. As expected of a reputable merchant guild. Some of the thin wrapping on the black market crumbles easily even when you rest them on your hand."
The guards bickered on.
The night wasn't exactly quiet.
He scanned the rooftops for any danger.
The coast was clear.
He glanced down.
The two guards were chest to chest in a shouting match.
He could overhear them arguing over inspecting the contents of the chest.
Regis takes out a stick and puffs.
"They are going to be here for a while. Doubt they'll draw their swords"
Regis looked around.
The district was still technically a mid street with the amount of security.
But that's the only mid street thing about it.
The homes were dilapidated. Unfurnished for years.
The stone that stood for generations still sheltered them.
But under that, there was little to their name.
Poverty was festering.
"Maybe I should move back to Escher. I have been in Kalaris for almost a month now. There isn't even a decent restaurant open in this dump anymore. Heck, I can barely find a decent place to take a d*ump."
He takes another puff.
"From what I hear, a lot of people are moving to Moradale. It's a nice city. But dang their security is tough. As tough as the high streets. An outcast like me would have a tough time there."
Puff.
"I need a lot of gold too. Real gold. not the phoney pieces of ply wood they had been handing out. Gonna be able to make back some of the amount I spent on this armour. And then perhaps retire in Moradale?"
He glances at the troop below.
It appears that the merchant guild captain had convinced the town guard to leave.
"Looks like it's settled. Whether through persuasion or bribery. He got it done. It looks like he didn't have to open the chest. Shame. I'm actually a little curious as to its contents."
He stands up, takes a last puff and tosses away the stick.
The troop continues, having smooth talked their way past the guard inspection.
Their destination, the customs office, was just several blocks away.
They take the longer route around.
The sound of musket fire in the distance.
A burning wreck a few blocks away.
They get paid for delivering the package, not for getting into a fight.
Regis repositions himself.
A zigzag away from the customs office.
The pay for the job is decent.
Pretty good actually if nothing happens.
Just as he was about to reach for another stick, shadowy figures started appearing.
All directions.
He tosses away the stick, cursing quietly to himself.
He draws his sword still sitting tightly in its scabbard.
A quiet signal tossed onto the street.
The troop stops.