A boy draped in shadows sat cross legged atop a ledge, his dagger dangling loosely from his fingers.
Below him, three soldiers wearing the crest of House Night spoke freely.
"She was a knockout if I have ever seen one! Lemme tell ya! King Rider never disappoints with the spoils of war."
The man in the middle laughed as he strolled through the streets of Equus's shopping district.
The boy dressed in darkness gracefully fell over the ledge, landing behind the men without a single noise in his wake.
"I bet, man... But did you see the lord last week? Drenched in blood and laughing like a mad man..."
The middle man covered the left soldier's mouth and hissed.
"Do not speak ill of the king... You know that he has ears everywhe-"
Before he could finish speaking, a blade sliced across the throat of the middle soldier.
Then before any of them could react, an arrow pierced through the heart of the right soldier.
Just as the last soldier was about to scream, Gabriel jumped on top of him, holding his blade inches away from the man's throat.
"Speak swiftly, and speak honestly... Answer every question I ask and you may yet see the light of day..."
The man trembled, dropping his weapon and putting his hands above his head.
"Y-yes!"
Gabriel snickered underneath the black cloth that covered his face.
"The sewers... Where is the entrance...?"
Gabriel asked, lowering the blade closer to the man's neck with every word he spoke...
"Outside the Western wall... There is a well that leads down there. Just please don't kill me man..."
The soldier pleaded, spilling answers to every question Gabriel asked.
Yet they were all the same as the previous nights, it had been a week since Gabriel and his ally had arrived in the large kingdom of Equus, yet with every Night watch soldier they killed, they learned nothing of the schedule of King Rider.
Once Gabriel had asked his last question, he lifted his blade slowly.
"You are free to go..."
He whispered, letting the man stand.
He quickly started running like an idiot towards one of the alleyways, but sadly...
The man took a quick look behind him, probably trying to make sure that Gabriel had not started tailing him.
Gabriel smiled as an arrow darted through the air, piercing the skull of the man.
...
Throwing a bag onto the couch, Gabriel cursed quietly.
Equan on the other hand, only sat down at the dining room table, pulling out a map of the kingdom with a detailed drawing of the sewer system below, and all of the locations that could lead them down into it.
Gabriel took his mask off, letting his body collapse onto the soft cushions of the sofa.
The place they had rented took the last of both of their savings, which was quite bad when you took into the account of the debt that The City of The Sun was in.
And their king had no ways to obtain gold either, meaning that they were in a terrible position no matter how you tried to put it.
Luckily, Ricardo had convinced them that he would continue to be their blacksmith whether they were able to pay him or not.
But that was only one blacksmith, and they now had seven hundred troops, not including those of the alliance between them and The City of Factions.
Gabriel put a hand over his eyes, feeling a sense of hopelessness as he tried to ponder ways of getting out of this terrible situation.
Equan on the other hand, continued to scribble away at the map, never bothering to even look up from his delicate work.
...
Onyx, of House Dragon...
"Eyes up soldiers!"
He yelled at the several rows of novices standing before him, all with poor posture and even worst coordination.
Two boys stood out thankfully, so it wasn't a complete loss.
One had the hair of a dalmatian, with black speckles in his white hair.
He was a timid boy who continued to constantly flirt with the women soldiers, and always end up failing miserably, yet Onyx admired the boy's dedication.
His name was Kono...
The other boy had crimson hair that had been cut off entirely, and a very punchable face.
Yet, he always outworked the other recruits when it came to the labor that Onyx tasked them with.
His name was Jack, and he was a noble's child.
Onyx frowned as he singled Kono out, pointing at him, and instructing him to stand in the middle of the training grounds.
"Unsheathe your blade soldier."
He ordered, standing directly in front of the flustered boy.
This was going to be a long day, just like the last couple of days.
And they only had a few more before Chase would begin his march on the kingdom of Equus.
Onyx cursed under his breath, remembering that the king hadn't been seen in nearly a week.
Zephyr had been put in charge of the kingdom, and had done a surprisingly good job of handling political affairs for having no experience.
He had even saved a bit of money and put it straight into the training system, trying to salvage what little time they had left.
Looking up into the sky as Kono made swift movements with his sword, Onyx felt his body go cold as the dread of the coming days finally began to sink in.
...
In a cold prison cell...
Ivy shuttered against the cold skin of Rayan's back.
She had forgotten how long it had been since she felt true warmth.
It had gotten to the point where they had begun to eat the flesh of their own cellmates, yet somehow in the midst of all of this hell, the three of them had stuck together like glue.
She didn't know how long it had been since they had all greeted each other on that cold night, but Rider had came down around three or four times, and ruined everything he touched as he did.
The King had lost any resemblance of sanity, taking advantage of anyone who even looked in his direction.
A couple of days ago Rayan had returned to his cell after being dragged out in chains with a bag over his face.
She did not know what had happened underneath the bag, but she knew that it could not have been pleasant.
Granted, she had her fair shares of encounters with the king, but he had not harmed her nearly as much as the other two who sat in that cell.
Six or so prisoners had been thrown into this cell, and all six had been killed by Rayan...
The man had so much blood on his hands that his skin had turned dark red from stains...
She whispered once the guard snuffed out the flame in the lantern...
"Three more days..."