Teclos stepped through the door of the pub and saw three men armed to the teeth. Plated tunics, shin guards, and weapons strapped to their backs or waists.

All three of them gave him a stare that made his skin crawl.

"Oh, it’s you, kid," Derrick said absentmindedly while strapping on his utility belt. Then he looked Teclos over more thoroughly and stepped toward him, shaking his head.

"Take that off, kid."

He grabbed the company insignia and pulled it off him, then handed it back.

It made Teclos embarrassed by how stupid he had been for wearing that during a silent mission like this one.

Zaxx spoke up. "Just relax, my friend. No need to be so nervous. The plan may be simple, but we are all capable people here—"

He wanted to continue, but Derrick slapped the back of his head.

"Don’t talk to him about capable people. You lunatic should be the last one to say such things."

Zaxx pulled out two of his knives in anger, but immediately retreated upon seeing Derrick’s face. If he had even insinuated stabbing him, Derrick would have broken his arms.

In a frontal clash, there was no one above Derrick in this mercenary company, and all three of them knew that.

"Phew... alright already," Zaxx said, waving his hands in a placating motion, like one would with an angry beast.

Teclos noticed that everyone was on edge. Even Falcon gave off a bloodlust unlike anything Teclos had ever sensed from him before.

Well, except for Zaxx, maybe.

He seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Let’s go already. We are wasting precious time," Falcon said.

"Sure. It should take us about half an hour to get there," Derrick nodded.

As they walked toward the gate to enter the city, they split into teams of two, since four armed men were far more suspicious than two. They would rendezvous at an inn inside.

Teclos walked in with Falcon first and instantly got worried about how the other two would get in... they were not exactly subtle or harmless people.

"Don’t worry about them," Falcon reassured him. "They will take care of it somehow."

They waited at the inn for more than half an hour after that.

"Are you sure they are coming?"

Falcon grew nervous for a second and seemed ready to go back to the gate to check.

But then they heard loud yelling.

It was unmistakably Derrick.

"Alright, if you want to be such a fucking hothead today, I’ll spar with you right after this is done and beat the shit out of you!"

"Calm down, man. I said I’m sorry already..." Zaxx said as they turned the corner and saw Teclos and Falcon. "Oh, look, there they are..." he tried to deflect.

"No. This is happening."

It was a promise set in stone, and Zaxx was sweating bullets now.

"What happened?" Teclos asked.

"This knucklehead almost messed up the whole job by arguing with the guard..."

"He wanted to take my knives! And nobody takes my knives away from me!" Zaxx growled.

They all just shook their heads.

"I need a cup of ale after this shit..." Derrick muttered, rubbing his face violently.

"Let’s just concentrate on the job and go," Falcon added.

They quickly arrived at the baron’s mansion and kept low behind the stone fence surrounding it.

Derrick wanted to go over the plan again, but Teclos quickly shushed him as he sensed a guard on the other side of the wall.

"What ki—"

"Shhh!"

He signaled with his hands that a guard was on the other side.

After a second of concentrating, Falcon looked at Derrick and nodded.

"Ohhh... okay."

They waited a few more moments until Teclos gave the signal after saying it was clear.

"Alright," Derrick started. "You two infiltrate whenever you’re ready and give us the signal. Try not to kill unnecessarily, unless they see your face. If that happens, don’t hesitate. Kill them. Remember, if we get exposed, it’s over for us. The whole city will be after us."

"Even the servants?" Teclos asked.

"Everyone, kid..." Derrick did not sugarcoat his words, and Teclos’s stomach twisted uncomfortably.

He prayed no one would discover them.

Derrick and Zaxx both waited across the street.

Falcon and Teclos scouted the perimeter, and for once, Teclos took charge. One flank had three dogs near the servants’ quarters, so that was a no-go. Another had a dangerous presence nearby, disguised as an ordinary old man. He seemed to be one of the knights, and his shadow felt far stronger than even Derrick’s. The remaining choices were the front entrance, heavily enchanted and guarded, or a flank with a guardhouse nearby.

"Guardhouse?" Falcon asked.

"I’m actually leaning toward the dogs..."

"How? They will instantly sniff you out," Falcon asked, slightly shocked.

"I could get past them, I’m fairly certain... I tricked wolves before, so what can a few dogs do?"

"Haha, I like how confident you are, but no. Guardhouse is safer. We have no time for a hero right now."

Teclos nodded, disappointed that he did not get the chance to see what result his new control over the darkness could yield. The dogs would have provided a similar opponent as the wolves had back in Kolma.

They went to the wall near the guardhouse and silently jumped onto it. What surprised Falcon the most was that Teclos was even quieter than him. Not only that, but his presence suddenly dimmed until it disappeared completely.

Falcon opened his eyes wide and looked beside him, where Teclos stood. A dark sheen of pitch-black mana wrapped around him like a thin veil of night.

Even when Falcon looked directly at him, Teclos appeared blurry, blending perfectly into the darkness.

"Hah! Damn, this is better than I thought!"

Falcon suddenly jumped high into the air and disappeared.

A guard from the guardhouse looked in their direction. "Huh?"

He walked closer and closer, but did not see anything besides the wall.

Then, after looking around for a few moments longer, even glancing directly at Teclos, he turned around and returned to the station.

Just then, Falcon landed back on top of the wall, slapped Teclos on the back of the head, and whispered, "Are you out of your mind?!"

Teclos apologized to Falcon, but the fact that the guard had looked directly at him and still failed to notice him was cause for celebration.

At least in his mind.

Falcon clearly disagreed.

"Celebrate later," he whispered. "Move."

They dropped from the wall onto the inner side of the estate, landing behind a row of trimmed bushes. Falcon’s feet touched the ground without a sound, but Teclos was even quieter.

Six segmented limbs of darkness unfolded from his back like strands of living ink, bending into spider-like legs beneath him. His real feet never touched the ground. Instead, the dark limbs carried him forward, placing each step with unnatural precision, silent as a shadow crawling across stone.

Falcon shuddered at the sight, as Teclos looked like half a monster, but he could not deny the usefulness of his powers.

The garden beyond the wall was too clean. There were hardly any trees to hide behind, and the grass was fully trimmed. Lanterns hung from iron posts along the paths, casting golden circles across the grass. Servants moved near the side entrance, carrying trays and empty bottles, while two guards patrolled near the fountain with bored expressions.

Teclos closed his eyes for a heartbeat, and his senses spread outward.

"Follow me," he whispered.

Falcon followed his gaze and looked confused as Teclos pointed toward the guardhouse.

They moved along the garden wall, never crossing the lanternlight directly. When two patrolling guards turned down the path ahead of them, Teclos raised one hand slightly and broke a stick from one of the trees remotely, somewhere behind those guards, drawing both men’s attention.

Teclos and Falcon slipped behind a stone statue.

One guard paused.

"Did you hear that?"

The other lifted his lantern and turned.

For a second, the light swept dangerously close.

Teclos held his breath as his six arms of darkness unfolded from his back and lifted him silently off the ground, pressing him flat against the shadowed side of the statue and hiding him completely. Falcon, on the other hand, simply flew up again.

The guards stared for a moment longer.

Then one of them scoffed.

"Damn wind."

They moved on.

Only when their footsteps faded did Falcon drop back down beside Teclos.

"That’s a useful power," he whispered.

Teclos almost smiled.

Then his expression stiffened again.

Another presence had entered the edge of his senses.

A smaller and weaker shadow, moving from the direction of the servants’ quarters toward the guardhouse.

Teclos raised one hand.

Falcon stopped.

A maid.

And she was carrying something.

A moment later, she came into view beneath the lanternlight, young and tired-looking, her hair tied back messily beneath a plain cloth cap. On the tray were two clay cups, a small pitcher, and a covered plate.

Refreshments for the guards.

Teclos cursed inwardly.

Of course she had to do it now of all times. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

She was walking directly toward them, and Falcon’s hand moved toward his blade.

Teclos caught his wrist before he could draw it.

Falcon looked at him.

Teclos shook his head once, trying to stop him.

The maid was not a threat. And if she screamed, the whole estate would go on high alert. Either way, they could try to avoid her first.

Falcon’s eyes narrowed, clearly disagreeing, but he did not argue.

Instead, he lifted two fingers, gathered a thin thread of wind at their tips, and flicked it toward the bushes.

The leaves rustled sharply.

The maid stopped instantly, her shoulders tightening.

"Hello?"

No answer came.

She looked toward the sound, then back toward the guardhouse. She hurried along with a scared expression.

The guard in the station stirred. "What is it?"

"I thought I heard something," the maid said.

The guard sighed, annoyed. "Probably rats."

"In the garden?"

"It’s a garden, for gods’ sake. Just bring the wine."

The maid hesitated for another second. "Can one of you accompany me back to my quarters?" she asked.

One of the guards rolled his eyes and nodded. "Don’t you dare drink all the wine while I’m gone!" he yelled.

Teclos held his breath.

But just as they wanted to continue, a dog barked from somewhere near the servants’ quarters.

Once.

Then again.

Teclos’s blood ran cold.

One of the dogs had been brought out.

Holy shit! Can my luck get any worse?

A servant boy stepped into view, half-dragged by a lean hound on a leash. The animal’s nose was low to the ground, sniffing eagerly as it pulled toward the path. Toward the same area Teclos and Falcon had crossed moments ago.

Falcon’s expression darkened.

The maid turned toward the boy. "Why are you walking him now?"

"He wouldn’t stop whining," the boy complained. "Cook said if he pissed inside again, I’d be cleaning it."

The hound sniffed the air.

Then its head snapped toward them.

Teclos felt every muscle in his body stiffen as the dog growled softly.

Falcon used a faint current that blew through the garden, barely strong enough to stir leaves. The current redirected their scents so that they came from the bushes on the dog’s right.

The hound’s ears perked.

Its nose followed the false trail.

Then it lunged toward the opposite hedge, barking loudly.

The servant boy yelped as he was dragged after it. "Hey! Stop! Damn beast!"

The maid flinched so hard that one of the cups nearly tipped from her tray.

The dog kept barking at the hedge as the boy struggled to pull it back.

The maid suddenly hurried forward, clearly afraid as well, and pulled the guard by his hand.

"Oi! Stop pulling..."

Teclos waited until they passed and until the boy finally dragged the dog away, still muttering curses beneath his breath. The hound looked back once, nose twitching, but Falcon sent another thin breath of wind across the path, and the animal lost the trail again.

The remaining guard had taken the pitcher and was drinking straight from it, his attention fully on the wine now. Better yet, he had set his spear against the wall beside him.

A small opening.

Possibly the only one they would get.

Teclos let the darkness gather behind the guard.

Multiple tendrils curled around the guard suddenly, blocking his mouth as well as stopping him from moving.

Falcon instantly appeared behind him, and with a sharp strike to the temple, the guard dropped instantly.

Together, they lowered the body down slowly.

Then Teclos grabbed the lever and pulled.

The gates opened.