Meeting the boss

Iro and Mina made their way through the building quickly, thankfully not running into any guards along the way.

“So, what’s the plan for if we have to fight this guy?” Mina asked Iro as they ran.

“I face him head on and keep him focused on me while you hit him with your arrows from afar.” Iro replied.

“… That’s it?” Mina asked. “I just sit in the back shooting arrows while you fight the guy yourself?”

“Mina, that’s all you CAN do. You’re a ranged fighter, and as cool as your ability to spawn rain clouds is, it’s not useful in a fight.” Iro explained.

“No, I can do more. I can fight him head on right alongside you!” Mina insisted.

“And how exactly are you going to do that? And don’t say you can use a sword, because I know full well that Lefteris and my mom haven’t started you on that.” Iro challenged.

“No, but I’ve got my tomahawk.” Mina said.

“… Your what?”

“My tomahawk.” Mina replied, putting a hand up and spawning said weapon.

“… Ok, not going to lie, that’s pretty cool, but since when could you do that?” Iro asked.

“Since my fight with Nik against those two guards… yesterday… I just remembered I forgot to tell anyone I learned how to do this.” Mina said mostly to herself.

“Ok, well, that does make me a bit more confident in doing this, but I still don’t want you trying to fight this guy up close.” Iro said. “I know I probably won’t be able to beat this guy by myself, so I know I’ll need your help with this, but your safety is more important than beating this guy. So please, stay out of his sword range the best you can, ok?”

“*Sigh* Alright Iro, I’ll stay back.” Mina relented, knowing this wasn’t an argument she could win. “But that goes for you too. You need to keep yourself safe too.”

“Yes Mam.” Iro said teasingly, and Mina rolled her eyes.

It was a few minutes of running through the building after that point before they finally reached the entrance to the warden’s office. Once the door was in sight, the pair slowed down to a stop and made a plan silently as to not alert the warden. Iro made a few gestures towards Mina, and while it took a few tries, Mina eventually got the message.

‘You go to the door first and get ready to open it while I prepare in front of it. On 3, you open the door and hide behind the wall while I charge in first, then you follow.’

Mina nodded in agreement, and the pair moved into position as quietly as possible. Once Iro was ready, Mina reached up and tested the door nob to see if it was locked. Luckily it wasn’t, and Mina turned to Iro and gave her a thumbs up letting her know she was good to go.

“Astrapi Rogmi!”

Recognizing the sound of a magic spell being cast from her training with Lefteris, Mina immediately threw herself to the side to dodge whatever was being thrown, and just in time as the door she was in front of was promptly destroyed in an explosion of lightning.

“Well, it’s about time you got here, assassins. You took so long I was beginning to wonder if I’d guessed wrong about your go-wait… you’re just kids!”

Through the smoke a dangerous voice echoed, and as the smoke cleared Mina and Iro got a better look at the warden, a man with short spiky blond hair and wearing large golden armor. He also had a surprisingly friendly looking face. However, what was the most strange thing about him wasn’t the way he looked, but it was how the moment the smoke cleared, his face changed from a dangerous smirk to shocked and confused.

“What are kids like you doing here? How did you get in here in the first place? Wait, no, that doesn’t matter.” The man said with a shake of his head. “You two need to leave. I know my office might seem like the safest place, but the people who are outside attacking are almost certainly here for me, meaning this is probably the least safe place here.”

And well, Mina didn’t know how to respond to that. The man that they had come to take out wasn’t even registering them as a threat because they were kids? Why? Was he underestimating them? Was he some kind of weirdo? Was it some kind of psychological warfare? Did he just have a soft spot for kids? How did they even respond to this?

Iro knew how to respond, she knew exactly how to respond.

“While you weren’t the initial plan, yes, we are here for you.” She said as she stood up to full height and leveled her sword at him. “In the name of Anaktités, and in the name of Chamiloran, we are here to take you and your organization down and save this kingdom from your evil!”

The warden stared at her for a moment, visibly confused.

“Hold on, you two are part of the group attacking the prison?” The man questioned.

“Liberating would be the correct term.” Iro replied. “We were here to free the prisoners, but with them not here we’re instead going for the head of the snake.”

Hearing this, the man’s eyes narrowed at Iro.

“So, you say that you are willingly members of a terrorist organization?” The man asked dangerously.

“TERRORIST!?” Iro exclaimed in shock and anger. “You call us terrorists when you and your group killed the old king and replaced him with a puppet of your own?!”

The warden suddenly looked at her in confusion for a moment, before shaking his head.

“Blind loyalty to one who has fed you nothing but blatant deception. Either that or you’re just a plain old idiot. Either way, it’s clear that talking to you is a waste of my time.” The warden said. He then raised his dual swords. “I shall do my best not to harm you too much, but don’t think I will allow you to defeat me just because you are a child and a victim of this Anaktités.”

“The only lies I’ve been fed are from your mouth!” Iro shouted, and she charged in for the fight.