Cat & Mouse

Chloe scanned the streets around the back door of The Stake and Stocking. “Are you sure about this plan?”

“It's not ideal,” Hektor replied in a whisper, “But it's the best we have. Hold on tight, Ms. Agnes.”

“I do apologize for being a burden,” Agnes added with a soft chuckle.

The three sprang out from the alehouse into the night air. Chloe took the lead, using her knowledge of the backstreets of Zylpolis to keep away from the soldiers and panicked throng as best they could. Tumlin followed, slowed down by carrying Agnes whose knee wasn't conducive to a quick getaway. Though they figured this arrangement might better allow her to toss off a quick spell if necessary even if it meant Hektor wouldn't have a free hand to fight should things come to blows. Hektor was confident with a shortsword, but a melee with multiple soldiers may as well be a death sentence.

Unfortunately, while it gave them an opportunity to get out of the building itself the chaos of the warehouse fire brought out many more off-duty soldiers and a fair few vigilantes certain the moment had come and the city was under attack by an army from Geppol. With Chloe taking point though their arrangment had little trouble with their dance of watching her race to the next easy hiding place and waving over Hektor with his precious cargo until they came back to the plaza from the afternoon before.

So they progressed in stages. Chloe would shoot out from one hiding place to the next, then wave Hektor carrying Agnes when she thought the timing was right. The alleys widened and buildings pulled further apart as they neared the southern gate but there were fewer people. Eventually Chole made her way to a wagon and hay pile overlooking the plaza. Hektor waited, and waited, then when the signal didn't come he advanced on his own. Making it to the spot to find a panicked Chloe gnawing on a fingernail. “I-I don't think we can make it out this way.” She stammered, pointing to a cadre of armed men standing in front of the closed portcullis.

“What do you think, Ms. Agnes?” Hektor asked. “Got some kind of spell that could deal with that?”

Agnes drummed her fingers on Hektor's shoulder in frustration, “Doubtful. It would be tricky enough to get those men out of the way for long enough to cross the plaza and even if our little cat burgular friend knew where the lever for that gate was--”

“I think I do...” Said Chloe, her fear at the prosepect obvious in her voice.

“But it would take so long to raise and be so loud we'd just be chased,” Agnes finished her thought. “There's no way we're keeping up with horsemen in open plains either.”

“Do you know a way to the other gates from here, Miss Chloe?” Hektor asked.

Chloe turned back to them and slumped back down against the barrel. “Well, yeah but we'll need to either cut back by where we started or take that high street running out of this plaza.”

“If that's all we need...” Agnes mused as she peered over Hektor's shoulder. “Does our little cat burgular trust her fleet feet enough to provide a diversion and double back?”

Chloe met Agnes's gaze, studying it intently and deciding to trust the mischevious smile on her elder's face. She surveyed the plaza and shook out her limbs to limber up. With a deep exhale, Chloe shot off across the stones in the direction opposite the high street. Things began to move quickly, starting when the guards at the gate spotted her and gave chase. A tap on the shoulder told Hektor when to head the other way, hugging the shadows of the buildings as best he could.

Agnes trusted her travelling companion to find the way, keeping her eyes on Chloe and her pursurers. She waited until she had the perfect moment, as Hektor broke out of the shadows to make his way to the high street. A perfect line. Remembering the scene from when they arrived in town, Agnes raised her shepher's crook. Though this time she focused intently on the line made by Hektor, the soldiers, and Chloe dashing further away from them.

She wasn't quite sure what told her the timing was right, but when she slapped the ground with the tip of her staff Agnes knew she had struck true. Like before, the upper layer of the cobblestone street welled up in a growing wave. This time though, Agnes tried to use the wind as a way to shape the spell in more of a cone than a wave. It helped she has a successful experiment earlier and knew the basic concept would work too. After a few seconds that felt like hours, the wave had grown to shin-height as it rolled under the party of soldiers and knocked them to the ground.

Agnes had banked on young Chloe being able to recover from the same quicker than the gaggle of armored men, especially as her hope of them falling into a chaotic tangle paid off. What happened next though exceeded her wildest expectations. She never saw the lithe girl look back, nor did she call or clue Chloe into her plan. She was still learning the ins and outs of this particular application of magic, after all. But when the first grunts of the soldiers pierced the relative quiet of the plaza, Chloe chose to duck. Leaving Agnes little time to ponder what she could be doing before the wave of roiling cobblestone reached her.

When the stones below welled up under her, Chloe leapt. Propelled by the kinetic energy of the wave she was able to fling herself into a graceful backflip that carried her over the soldiers that Agnes now realized only got as close as they did because the little cat burgular let them. She twisted gracefully midair to land facing the high street Hektor was nearing, and Agnes swore she caught a brief glimpse of the girl blowing the guards a cheeky kiss before executing such a magnificent maneuver. A type of magic even a younger version of Agnes could never hope to replicate.

With an immaculate landing, Chloe shot towards the high street in a stunning display of her full speed. Racing past the first alley Hektor took up a hiding place in with Agnes and vanishing into the night. This left the throng of soldiers to bicker and cast blame on each other before all agreeing to act like they saw nothing and shamble back to their original post with pride and bodies bruised.

Agnes slumped down against the wall and massaged her bad knee. Even with the guard unit so close by, the two relished a chance to rest and calm down from the high-stakes trip through town. “What do we do now, Ms. Agnes?” Hektor asked after a moment to catch his breath. “Think that thief took her chance to leave us behind?”

“Oh Tumlin...you should have a little more faith in others.”

“Like I'd ever leave such interesting companions behind.” They heard Chloe's soft voice before the gentle thump of her landing in the alley. “But I did take a moment to scout ahead. We're not going to have an easier time with the Western gate I'm afraid.”

“Should we try to wait out the search and slip out tomorrow?” Asked Hektor.

“Doubt that will help,” Chloe said as she was busy dusting off her clothes. “They got the warehouse fire under control, and even if they don't follow up with a major search effort tonight they probably won't let the opportunity to tighten security at the gates pass them by.”

They let their predicament hang in the night air for a while before Hektor finally broke the silence, “Well Ms. Agnes...what's the call?”

“Little cat burgular,” Agnes began as she rose to her feet. “Did you see any guards hanging around to the north?”