| Thieving Little Bird |
| Summary: | Raevyn takes part, while disguised, in storming the Arkanin Manse. Opportunity knocks! |
| Date: | 1866-08-25 |
| Related: | None, Rumor board. |
| NPCs: | {$npc} |
| Players: |
 |
Knuckling the brim of hat upwards to sit on the edge of his brows, Raevyn found a perch that gave him a clean line of sight toward the Arkanin household and the forces of the d'Armaz that had marched upon it. He brought a few empty satchels with him, settled by his feet, while his own gear was belted around him with an additional coil of rope draped across his chest. His breathing had slowed considerably as he observed the streets, ears attuned to the noises, while he finished tying the knot of d'Armaz coloured fabric to his arm to identify himself. The sounds of the hired mercenaries wrestling down the gate of the estate had gotten to a point that he was pretty sure they figured out how to rip the iron bar off their hinges.
That's when he made his move.
As the flood of men hollering with the sounds of war in their throats stormed the yard of the estate, Raevyn felt himself running toward them and becoming a part of the wave of rolling men that surged forward. Acrid black powder smoke blasted into the air as hand cannons were fired and Arkanin men fell, some clutching what seemed to be invisible wounds. Had the Arkanin men not been trained with hand cannons? He leaped over a man on his way up the stairs toward the front doors and noticed the dying man's self-realization that it'd soon be over.
Raevyn didn't stop. Not for that dying man, not for the villainous looks he received from those he ran along with. He kept moving with the mass, the d'Armaz colours on his upper arm doing much to keep him from being sited down the barrel of a long cannon. By the time he leaped to the top of the outer stairs, the doors of the manse were already bowed in, one side hanging off a hinge as it could not withstand the battering used to crash it in upon itself. More bodies were scattered here. One or two d'Armaz along with the last foolish remnants of the standing force of Arkanin loyal men.
Once inside, he knew exactly where he was going and wasted no time. They attacking d'Armaz would torch the manse if they could. He raced across the polished floor of the antechamber and saw out of the corner of his eye one of the servants getting hauled to the ground by her hair, another screaming wildly as he was plunged through by a bayonet, and more trying in a desperate bid to flee. He knew if they had not gotten out… they wouldn't now.
He bounded down a long hallway, a cluster of men on his heels, each that would get distracted by rooms to either side of the hallway, where more screams came from. He didn't care about them, for fate of one's life was up to every man or woman. Inaction saw them doomed. Eventually he was on his own and found the stairwell that led up, grabbing the rails on both sides to help heave himself up as fast as he could go, skipping stairs as he launched up them. The men were not yet on the second story. He still had time.
He rushed for the library, the very same library the Lady Arkanin showed him. Thankfully, the books were still there. It hadn't all been for naught. Breathing deeply, gasps of it; he flung himself toward the corner section that Evae showed him. The glorious tomes of alchemy. He started to load up! His fingers were trembling as he took book after book, securing them in the satchels, looking over his shoulder as he heard the noises of the assault continuing to rise in volume as it came nearer to him.
In fact, one armed man rushed in, long cannon lowered at him. Raevyn had to throw his arms out to stop him from pulling the trigger, "I'm Adriono's man!" It made the man lower his musket with a nod as he looked around the library, grousing, "Books? Kid! You're missing out on the real loot!" Raevyn tried to flash a smirk, but it came out weak, "This is my loot!" The other man snorted, "Your loss kid. More for me!" And then vanished down the hallway.
Raevyn tried to control the pounding of his heart and was glad no more came in so far to snoop what was in the room. He knew the distraction of more interesting pursuits had been down the hallway where he was sure he heard a drone of laughter in amongst the fearful frail screams. He didn't want to know what was going on down there, though he could imagine. He only wanted the books.
Taking as many vital tomes as he could stack in the satchels, he ducked out of the coil of rope and began to tie the bundles with it. Moving toward the window in the room, windows that he observed on his previous visit, he threw the panes open. He scanned the immediate area below and was glad to see because it was in the back of the estate the shadows dominated the vicinity and the shouts of the assault were muffled. He wasn't going to risk leaving the manse the same way he came in, not with the small alchemy library he had just plundered.
Tying off a knot to a secure point in the room, he wasted no effort in swinging the books and himself over the window ledge. Using the rope, he scaled down the wall and made it safe to the bushes below with a soft thump. Slicing the roped bundles off, he shouldered those books and made his escape across the darkness of the back yard.