The next day, Aly woke up to a knock on the door coming from downstairs.

  “Master Gilith! Open up!” a child’s voice came from outside. Aly rolled out of bed, alarming Randan and Tallioth. They both woke up quickly and soon all three of them were ready to defend themselves. Aly stood by the window, Randan behind the door, and Tallioth in front of the door – ready to pounce on anything that came in. They heard Gilith walk through the house, his heavy footsteps going down the stairs and mostly disappearing as he hit the stone tiles of the ground floor. Aly then heard him open the door.

  “Xandris, what are you doing here so early?” he asked in a much warmer tone than his usual speaking voice.

  “Master Gilith, it’s my father! He overheard some guards talking and they said that your house is on the list to be searched today!” the child continued.

  “Damn it!” Gilith hit the door in frustration, causing the child to take a step backwards and audibly yelp. “I’m sorry Xandris, I did not mean to scare you. Now go back to your father and give him my thanks. Tell him to come find me in the evening, he knows where.” Soft footsteps ran away from the shop as Gilith closed the door.

  “Al!” he yelled upstairs. “Get down here, take your friends. I suspect we have an hour to get out.” Aly and the others quickly gathered their things and hurried downstairs.

  “What’s going on Gil?” Aly asked as she jumped down the last few steps where she saw Gil in his workshop hiding as many weapons as he could while stashing others into large sacks to – presumably – take with them.

  “Octari runs a damn military state in Nyth’Aren these days Al, it’s nothing like what it used to be. Daily searches, weekly executions, there’s barely enough to eat for anyone not directly tied to the church. Apparently I’m on today’s search list, which is not good – especially not considering I’m harbouring you lot.” Gil gestured vaguely towards the three of them.

  “So what do we do?” Aly asked. Gil stopped for a second, before turning around to face her. Unexpectedly, he was smiling.

  “We execute the plan,” he said.

  “The plan? What plan?” Aly asked.

  “Did you really think I’d just lay down and take Octari’s punishment Al? Of course not! I’m part of an underground organisation working directly against him and his damn church. It’s a bit early for all of this to happen, but I bet that with your help we should be able to kickstart the plan. If we’re lucky, Octari will be out of power by midnight. Now help me pack everything and let’s get going!” he shouted, clearly excited but with an undertone of fear that no one but Aly noticed. Tallioth and Randan immediately began to help him gather his things, while Aly hesitated – unsure whether to focus on comforting him or helping him pack.

  “Randan, take this,” Gilith said as he threw something wrapped in cloth to Randan. “I followed your directions to the letter, but still I have no idea how you’re supposed to use it.”

  “It takes a man like me to use it properly mate, don’t worry about it,” Randan laughed. “Besides, there are parts of it even I don’t know how they work – all I know is that there’s something in the mechanism that responds to people of my kind,” he explained.

  “Well, I cannot wait to see you use it. Although I do hope we manage to hold off on that that for a few more hours,” Gilith replied.

  “Let’s hope so, mate,” Randan said as he swung the weapon wrapped in cloth onto his back, fastening it to the belt he wore diagonally around his torso – something he had made himself from some spare metal and leather lying around the workshop.

  This exchange pulled Aly from her dubitative trance, and she walked into the kitchen to get as much of the food packed into satchels as she could. She focused on the foods that would stay good for a while. As she did this, she couldn’t help but wonder what matter of chaos they had found themselves in. It was supposed to be a simple task; find a blacksmith, get some weapons, get some supplies, then continue on to Krilm. Now they were involved in a plot to overthrow the local government – which was led by Octari for crying out loud.

  Aly remembered him – remembered all the things he did for the church. Essentially, he was the head of the Church of Alen’s prosecution force. His job was to maintain and monitor a large system of intelligence to keep track of any ‘enemies of Alen’ that roamed around the north of the continent. A long time ago, she had been identified as one of these persons of interest, and he had relentlessly hunted her until she escaped and went into hiding in the largely deserted west of the country – in Hunter’s Rest. She had had to change her appearance, her name – albeit very slightly – and had been forced to abandon the people who had taken care of her in her time of need.

  Now Octari was probably after Elion, and even if he found her she doubted he would be all that interested. A Shadowkin refugee was one thing, but the alleged heir of Artoris? Now that was the main prize. If he caught Elion, that would probably result in Octari climbing up to an even higher rank in the church hierarchy – perhaps even make him the next in line to lead the organisation. This had also been a big reason for her to support Elion not entering the city. The risk was too big.

  Something Aly did not know at the time – but would figure out eventually – was that no matter what Octari did he would never lead the Church. In fact, the Church had recently fallen under new management. Quite… undisputable management. A leader whose main mission was to hunt down Elion and extinguish any spark of hope he offered the enemies of Alen.

  Soon, they were done packing – just as they ran out of time. Gilith looked out the window and spotted a small squadron of soldiers – not large enough that they would pose much of a threat against the four of them, but large enough for one of them to flee and alert their superiors. So, instead of fighting, they fled. Together with Tallioth, Gilith lifted the heavy solid stone slab that made up the floor of the workshop. This revealed a tunnel – one that led to the underground hideout of the rebellion – and they hastily went in. Just as the first knock on the door could be heard, Tallioth gently lowered the stone slab back and the four of them started to make their way through the narrow and dark tunnel.

  Randan led the way, followed and guided by Gilith, with Tallioth and Aly making up the rear. They had successfully escaped, and no traces of rebellious activity could be found in the workshop except for Gilith’s sudden and suspicious disappearance.

  ???

  As they made their way through the dark tunnels, the sounds of destruction could be heard echoing from behind them. For a moment, Gilith stood still, thinking about how the soldiers were probably wreaking havoc on his home and his workshop. They wouldn’t find anything though – least of all the tunnel. Even with all of them they were unlikely to be able to lift the stone slab, even if they identified it as an escape route.

  “It’ll be alright,” Aly comforted him, gently petting his shoulder.

  “Aye mate,” Randan said – his eyes a bright yellow with slits for pupils, which apparently allowed him to see better in the dark. “We’ll give those elves what they’ve earned. By midnight, they’ll be bloody toast!” As always, Randan’s optimism started to infect the others.

  “Yeah, I suppose the two of you are right,” Gilith said. Randan slapped him on the shoulder and almost hit his head as he jumped up.

  “That’s the spirit right there! Now let’s keep moving,” he said before turning around and continuing on through the tunnel.

  There were a few forks in the tunnel – most of them leading to dead ends in the case someone found the tunnels and decided to explore them – and so Gilith led them through. Eventually, they arrived at a hatch.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Gilith went through first with the help of Tallioth. He then helped Tallioth up and together they quickly pulled Aly and Randan up out of the dark tunnels. They found themselves in the underground hideout of the Nyth’Aren rebellion.

  From the inside, it looked like an abandoned house. Some of the beams were charred, the windows boarded up, the floors creaky. In truth, it was actually a subterranean hideout. Once, this complex of houses had been a mansion privately owned by the former mayor of Nyth’Aren – before its local government was replaced by church officials. When Octari’s predecessor took over, he wanted to literally bury any sign of the system that had been around before his rather hostile takeover. So, he turned the mansion complex into a hill, and built his church on top of it.

  The rebellion was hiding right underneath Octari’s very own office, and he had no clue. Of course, the only thing that protected the rebels from the Church was the thick layer of sand and rock above them. Its chaotic and repetitive structure blocked Octari’s telepathic abilities, making it one of the only blindspots in the city.

  Octari knew this of course, but then again – why worry about the buried remnants of a decaying mansion? As with most leaders, his hubris would be his downfall.

  “There’s a room over there that we occasionally use as barracks, you will find space to put your belongings there,” Gilith said, showing them around the complex. “Once you’re done settling in, meet me at the war room – it’s the one adjacent to the tunnel entrance. We have much to discuss and many plans to go over before the big execution tonight.”

  Gilith left them to their own devices as he walked over to the war room. Tallioth followed immediately, leaving Randan and Aly on their own in the barracks.

  “What do you think?” Aly asked. Randan looked up, surprised to see a rather pessimistic look on her face.

  “About what?” he asked.

  “This rebellion? It all feels rather forced to me. Maybe it’s because of my past here, but I just can’t fathom a ragtag group of civilians overthrowing Octari,” Aly explained.

  “In their defence, Aly, you left. They have been here while you weren’t,” Randan said, his accent waning as it always did in more serious situations. “I’ve been part of a rebellion before…”

  “Really? How did that go?” Aly interjected.

  “A lot worse than this one will go I hope. A lot of people died on both sides. Conflicts like this… they’re never easy, you know? I’ve seen war – so much of it. Do you know how members of my species are born?” Aly shook her head.

  “Well, we aren’t born through conventional means – far from it, in fact. Shiftlings are created when light and dark energy clashes and combines with strong emotions and a vessel. I myself was born towards the tail-end of the second divine war; the one between the Aengils and the Daemons. As a Shadowkin, I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Perhaps you were even there.” Aly nodded, but refused to elaborate.

  “Either way,” Randan continued, “I sprouted from the corpse of a man who had simultaneously been struck down by an arrow of light and a spear covered in black flames. The first few decades, I heard his final thoughts echo through my mind every waking second. They’ve subsided since then – or perhaps I just grew numb to them – but I still remember them very clearly. ‘If only I had never left home’, those were the words.” Randan sighed heavily, letting a few seconds of silence pass before continuing.

  “The point I’m trying to make is this. That man died in vain in a war he could have never won no matter what he did. There were forces at play beyond his control, and he realised that. But this… this war, we can win this one. Octari might be powerful, the organisation he represents may be way beyond us; but we can give these people their freedom back. I feel it.”

  “Thank you, Randan,” Aly said softly. She knew he was right, even if she couldn’t fully put her hope into it. She was cautious, but Randan’s words had filled her with optimism – a power no blade could take from her.

  ???

  When they walked into the war room, they noticed Tallioth was studying a map of the city carefully laid out on a large table placed in the exact middle of the room. Gilith stood next to him, pointing out certain points of interest and explaining what they had planned. As they walked through the door, Gilith looked up and waved them over to the table.

  “I was explaining to Tallioth over here what I could use your help with,” he said. “Essentially, there will be three teams all operating at the same time. The teams all know what to do, but there’s a problem – strength. Each team contains some fairly skilled fighters, but none that come even close to your level. I want each of you to join a different team and act as bodyguards. You protect them while they do the tasks that have been assigned to them, and get them out of trouble if you happen to run into it – clear?” He looked at Randan and Aly, Tallioth had apparently already agreed. Randan and Aly both nodded, no further exchange of words needed.

  “Great!” Gilith smiled. “With your help, my coup might actually stand a chance.”

  “Of course we’ll help, Gil – I owe it to you. Besides that, I think it’s the right thing to do,” Aly said. Gilith put his hand on hers – although he did have to reach across the table a bit awkwardly.

  “Thank you, Al. And trust me; in my eyes, you don’t owe me a thing.”

  The moment lingered for a while – not a romantical moment mind you, these two were raised as siblings for a short time after all, but it was a very tender moment – until Tallioth cut it short by redirecting everyone’s attention to the map in front of them.

  “Ah yes, you are right Tallioth. Regarding the three different teams. Randan, you will be in charge of my ‘loud distraction’ team. I need you at the city wall, making as much noise as you can. The evacuation of this area is already in progress – silently of course – and I want you to burn it down to the ground if you have to. You need to draw all the guards out into that part of the city and then start to take out as many of them as you can. All guards wearing the Church sigil can be killed – there is no reconverting them to our cause – but I would prefer it if you left those without allegiance to the Church alive. If you do not, there will be no capable guards left to defend the city after we force the Church out. Does that sound like something you could do?”

  “Mate, it sounds like something I’d be great at – but doesn’t burning the entire place to the ground sound like more of a Tallioth job?”

  “You would be correct, except I need him to lead the second team.” Randan shrugged and started thinking of fun ways to get rid of an entire group of guards at once.

  “I have labelled my second team the ‘hit ‘em hard and fast’ crew. Tallioth will be riding together with my demolition experts to take down as many Church buildings as they can. I would suggest you focus on the administrative and military buildings – court houses, financial buildings, most certainly the gallows. Take down the buildings that embody the oppressive regime and rile up the citizens to partake if they are willing. Show them that the Church and its elite is not invincible.” Tallioth stuck his thumb up before he continued inspecting the red and blue pins that were drawn through the map and into the table – each of them representing a different building of importance to the Church.

  “Finally, Al, we have you. You lead the smallest squad, my ‘silent subterfuge’ team. Everything else may fail, but if you succeed we will nevertheless wake up in a better world tomorrow morning.” Aly had already suspected something like this. She had known it would come to this. Seen it in Gil’s eyes the moment they arrived at his workshop. He had known it immediately, that she was their best chance at salvation.

  “Aly, I want you to kill Octari.”