Novigard - The warehouse district of Novigrad
The docks had fallen quiet, the merchants and laborers retreated to their homes, leaving only the creak of ships and the gentle lapping of water against stone. Sebastian crouched behind a stack of barrels, his hood pulled low, his body pressed against the cold stone of a building that overlooked the warehouse Dijkstra had marked on his little map. His yellow eyes scanned the scene before him, cataloguing, counting.
The warehouse was a squat, unremarkable structure of grey stone and weathered timber, its windows dark, its doors sealed. But the men outside it were anything but unremarkable.
They were everywhere.
Temple Guards, their halberds gleaming in the moonlight. Redanian soldiers in their distinctive red and white, their swords at their hips, their eyes sharp and watchful. Sebastian counted twenty of them at least, scattered around the perimeter, their positions carefully chosen to cover every approach.
"You weren't kidding, Dijkstra," Sebastian murmured to himself. "That's a lot for a random meeting in a warehouse."
He shifted his weight, his eyes tracing the pattern of the guards' movements. They were professionals, well-trained, their patrols coordinated. This was not a casual guard duty, this was the protection of something vital.
"What is even in that box?" Sebastian wondered. "Has to be something extremely valuable, considering all this secrecy. Though gold wouldn't make sense..."
He shook his head. "No matter."
He continued observing, the guards were heavily armed, halberds, swords, crossbows slung across their backs.
"Glad I came prepared," Sebastian said quietly. "Though I don't see this mysterious person. They could be inside already, but I've been here for some time. I'm sure no one arrived yet."
As if summoned by his words, the sound of hooves echoed from the direction of the main road. Sebastian's eyes narrowed, two horses appeared, their riders silhouetted against the moonlight. The first was a man in civilian clothes, fine wool, a traveling cloak, the bearing of someone accustomed to authority. The second was his companion, armed and alert, carrying something in his hands.
"That's it," Sebastian breathed.
The two men dismounted. The civilian spoke briefly with the captain of the guard, who nodded and gestured toward the warehouse door. The men entered, disappearing into the shadows within.
Sebastian's mind raced. According to Dijkstra's intel, there was an entrance on the roof of the warehouse. A maintenance hatch, old and rusted, that had been sealed for years but could be forced open with the right tools, and the right strength.
He began to move.
His body flowed through the shadows, his footsteps silent, he circled wide, staying out of the guards' line of sight, using the cover of barrels and crates and the deep pools of shadow that gathered between buildings. His hood was pulled low, his face hidden, but he needed a distraction.
He paused at the edge of a narrow alley, his eyes fixed on a warehouse not far from his target. It was old, its timbers dry, its roof sagging. Perfect.
Sebastian raised his hand and flames danced across his palm, small and controlled. He focused, letting it grow and swell until it was a ball of fire the size of his head. Then he threw.
The fireball arched through the night sky, a comet of orange and gold, and struck the old warehouse's roof. The dry timbers caught immediately, flames spreading with speed. The fire climbed toward the sky, casting dancing shadows across the dock district.
The guards reacted instantly.
"What the fook?!" one of the Temple Guard shouted, his head snapping toward the rising flames.
"Be on your guard!" another called, "Shite like this happens from time to time... bandits and all! No matter! Our task is to remain here, even if the Temple of the Eternal Fire itself burns! It is not our issue!"
A Redanian soldier spat to the side. "Bastards. Always causing trouble, but the captain's right, we hold our position, whatever burns is not our concern as long as this place is safe."
"Still, keep your eyes open," another said, his hand resting on his sword. "This could be a diversion..."
Sebastian smiled from the shadows. "Damn, that box is important..." he murmured.
He moved.
His body flowed up the side of the warehouse like a spider, his fingers finding purchase on the rough stone, his boots finding holds that should not have existed, his movements so fluid that within moments, he had reached the roof.
The maintenance hatch was exactly where Dijkstra's intel had promised. It was old, rusted, its hinges crusted with oxidation. But it was also sealed, a heavy padlock securing it to the frame.
Sebastian simply touched it and it took few seconds for it to melt away with his flames.
He lifted whatever was left of the hatch, sliding it aside with barely a whisper of sound. Then he dropped through, landing in a crouch on the warehouse's upper level.
The interior was dark, filled with the smell of dust and old wood. Crates and barrels were stacked everywhere, forming a maze of shadows and potential hiding places. Sebastian slipped behind a stack of crates, his ears straining for any sound.
Below him, in the main floor of the warehouse, voices echoed.
Sebastian crept forward, positioning himself where he could see and hear without being seen. Below him, two figures stood at the center of the open space, the civilian he had seen enter, and a man in the white robes of a high-ranking priest of the Eternal Fire. Two Temple Guards stood at the doors, their faces blank, their hands resting on their swords.
The Redanian man spoke first.
"Priest," he said, his voice low and urgent, "you have to get this done, and quickly. This city must change, and we believe this is the right direction."
The priest took the box, its surface gleaming with the royal sigil of Redania. He held it with the reverence of a man who understood its importance.
"Fear not," the priest said. "The plan is still in progress. Soon, chaos will unfold. We just need a little bit of..." he paused, searching for the right words, "...a good reason. A solid one to make the people stand with us without question, and to start the final part of the plan."
The Redanian smiled. It was a cold expression, the smile of a man who had plotted and schemed and was finally seeing his plans come to fruition.
"Our King is working toward that," he said. "And as long as the Church maintains its close alliance with the Redanian crown, you have nothing to worry about. Our goal is common after all."
Sebastian's eyes narrowed. His mind raced, trying to piece together the implications of what he was hearing.
"What are they talking about?" Sebastian murmured to himself.
But he knew he could not afford to wait. The box was in the priest's hands, the meeting was almost over, if he was going to act, it had to be now.
He reached into his belt pouch and withdrew three small, round objects. Samum bombs, blindness grenades, designed to disorient and confuse. He had prepared them earlier, knowing they might be useful.
He held them in his hands, feeling their weight. The powder inside was volatile, and the flash would be intense.
Sebastian smiled. "They'll be blinded for a few seconds... but that's all I need."
He took a breath. He measured the distance. He calculated the angle, then he threw.
The Samum bombs left Sebastian's hand in a perfect arc, three small spheres of darkness that spun through the air and they struck the floor between the priest and the Redanian man, their fragile shells shattering on impact.
The flash was blinding.
White light erupted in a cascade of searing brilliance, filling every corner of the warehouse, the sound that followed was a sharp.
The priest screamed. His hands flew to his eyes, the box tumbling from his grasp. "What in the name of the Eternal Fire!"
The Redanian man staggered backward, his arms raised to shield his face. His companion, the armed guard, stumbled blindly, his sword lashing out at nothing. "Fuck! What was that?! I can't see! I can't see!"
The two Temple Guards at the door fared no better. They reeled, their halberds swinging wildly, their curses filling the air. "Ambush! We're under attack! To arms! To.."
Sebastian moved.
His body descended from the roof, his boots striking the floor with barely a sound. His hands swept forward, fingers curling into the sign, and a wave of telekinetic force erupted from his palms.
AARD.
The pressure wave struck the five men like a hammer. They were lifted from their feet, hurled backward, their bodies crashing into crates and barrels and the cold stone of the walls. The priest hit a stack of wooden boxes with a sickening crunch, the Redanian man slammed into a support pillar and slid to the ground, his companion flew through the air and landed in a wine barrel, the two Temple Guards crashed into the doors they had been guarding, their halberds clattering to the floor.
Sebastian's hand found the box before the echoes of the impact had faded, he tucked the box under his arm and turned.
The Redanian man's eyes were still blurred, his vision swimming with afterimages of the flash. But through the haze, he saw something, a figure, dark and swift, propelled upward by a burst of fire that erupted from his feet. The flames carried him high, toward the ceiling, toward the darkness of the upper levels.
"Up there!" the Redanian man shouted, his voice cracking with desperation. "The roof! You fools! The roof!"
The priest, still dazed, reached blindly for the box that was no longer there. His hands closed on empty air. His face contorted with rage and fear. "The box! He took the box! Find him! Find him now!"
The Temple Guards who had been stationed outside burst through the doors, their weapons raised, their faces hard with urgency. "What happened?! Who attacked?!"
The Redanian man was on his feet now, his eyes still streaming tears from the flash, his composure shattered. "The roof, you idiots! Outside! Don't let whoever did this escape!"
The guards scrambled, their boots pounding against the stone floor, they burst through the doors, spreading out around the warehouse, their eyes scanning the darkness.
But the roof was empty, Sebastian was already gone.
He glanced back once, just once, and saw the chaos he had left behind. The warehouse was alive with shouts and running figures, the guards shouting orders and accusations, the priest's voice rising in furious prayer.
Sebastian allowed himself a thin smile. Then he turned and vanished into the night.
Behind him, the fire he had started in the distant warehouse continued to burn, casting a crimson glow across the docks.
/-\
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