255 Opponents Far Apar (1/2)
Earlier, when the apprentices had entered the manufactory's hall, the street outside had been almost empty. By the time they returned back to the light, the roads were packed with people. However, the crowd of Saniya wasn't in its usual constant flow. At this moment, the entire city had halted, and everyone had come outside, to stare across the river. Despite the masses, Kizco could see the two noble ladies through the crowd, across the street where he had seen them earlier. Again, a feeling of discomfort overcame him. However, this time again, he didn't have the time to care about two spoiled noble girls.
Once he had become part of the crowd, his sight followed the countless heads to the east. Over there, across the Mayura and two islands, a stack of black smoke rose up into the sky to join the white layer of clouds up above. Once he had glanced around to make sure no one was watching him, a tiny smile rose around Kizco's lips.
Part one of their plan had been a success. Chukru Island was on fire. When he looked over to Zirao, his colleague nodded his head and slowly stepped back, before both of them left the group of confused apprentices and disappeared into the crowd.
A fire was considered a worst-case scenario for any city. Right now was when Saniya's defenses would be at their weakest. If at all possible, they would use the confusion brought about by a burning city to cross over the bridges and steal themselves onto Chukru Island. Soon, both of them had disappeared from everyone's sight.
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\”Mother, why are we back here again? Is there anything special about this restaurant? What is there to do here\” Tama asked her mother and boss, Lady Antaya di Pluritac.
\”There is no need to do something all the time,\” Antaya sighed. \”I just like this spot. We get a nice view of the river, and whenever we get bored of the panorama, we can watch life pass us by on the streets. Life has been harsh on our family, so why not enjoy the early sunlight here now that we can?\”
Around them, the birds had been singing their songs since dawn. Across from the street, vendors had set up their stalls to sell all kinds of goods to the workers and strolling couples for the afternoon. Right beside them, the dark gray of the street made way to lush green grass, which sloped down towards the slow waters of the Mayura River. Indeed, the outdoors portion of this restaurant was a good place to sit.
\”Sure, but we have been here too many times in the last few days,\” Tama insisted. \”Mother, I know you are not this frivolous, or boring. Rather than string me along, could you please tell me what it is we are trying to do here?\”
Of course, Antaya hadn't come here only for the nice view. The first time she and her children had walked past this area, she had spotted some suspicious figures around the new manufactory. At that time, she had already suspected foul play. Those suspicions had only become more manifest the following night, when she tossed and turned without sleep. Somehow, she simply couldn't forget the eyes in the dark alleys around this building.
Although she had learned to trust her instincts over the years, at this point she had little more than a hunch to go on. Even more, she didn't want to get involved in issues which weren't part of her official orders, at least not in the southern kingdom's capital. Her master wasn't someone who took kindly to that sort of power grab.
At least that much Antaya could tell after she had heard stories from her children, and after meeting the grown-up Corco herself. Since she couldn't and shouldn't answer her daughter's question for now, Antaya focused on the pleasant scent from the steaming cup before her instead.
\”Is this not a lovely tea?\” she said with a smile.
However, before she could put the city's representative lavender tea to her lips, a loud bang from across the river made her flinch. Somehow, she didn't spill a single drop, something only her impeccable education allowed her to do. However, there was no time to feel pride in her juggling skills. Confused people charged out of their homes and workplaces and congregated into a crowd on the street. Soon after, a second, smaller explosion followed the first one and elicited a few shrieks from the stunned crowd.
\”What was that?\” Antaya asked and jumped out of her seat as well.
\”It sounded like it came from across the waters.\” Both mother and daughter turned towards the river besides them. As soon as they did so, evidence for Tama's words presented itself. In the distance, across the Mayura River, a large plume of black smoke rose up into the sky.
\”Damn, that's an explosion on Chukru,\” Tama said in a very crude manner. However, Antaya had more important issues to worry about than proper etiquette.
\”What manufactory could explode like that?\” she asked in confusion. Although she didn't know the details about all the city's secret projects, she was sure that most manufactories wouldn't contain anything explosive enough to create such chaos.
\”Maybe it's the lab?\” Tama mumbled to herself in worry, before she turned to her mother. \”No way to know for now, but we should get back to the castle and make sure everything's under control\”
Just as Antaya was about to agree with her daughter, she was reminded of the reason for their presence here, in this scenic spot right across from the new manufactory. When she turned, it didn't take her long to find a group of young craftsmen huddled outside the streets. With a frown, she searched for the faces she had seen on her first visit here, and seen again earlier this morning. When she failed to find them anywhere, it only intensified her bad feeling. Shouldn't all the apprentices be together? They looked quite complete, yet the suspicious faces were missing from the crowd.
\”Tamaya,\” she said in a stern tone as the two of them stood up. \”Do you trust me?\”
\”Of course, mother.\” Although her daughter looked confused, she nodded, before she tried to follow Antaya's stare into the masses.
\”In that case, I need you to call together the ghosts in the area, to guarantee no one sets foot onto the main islands. And I want to stress 'no one'. Even if everything burns to the ground, watch the guards and the shores and make sure no one slips through.\”
For a second, her daughter stared into Antaya's serious face, before she produced a hidden weapon from somewhere within her clothes. The ornate pistol was as short as its barrel was thick. Without a word, she began to load, as the people around them backed away from the scary weapon.