City of Fallen Souls: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 3) by Jez Cajiao (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📕

idiot!” Mal snarled, reaching out and grabbing Jay, hauling him inside the wagon as they approached the far end of the bridge and the four watchmen of the city guard stationed there. “We’re supposed to be waggoneers, remember? And you’re a city guard!”

“Oh, right… so what should I do?” he asked as the guard stepped out of the small lean-to and waved for them to stop.

“Oh great! Now they’re suspicious!” Mal snarled at Jay. “Just make them happy, and let us go,” he said, pushing Jay forward. He turned around and hopped down from the wagon as Soween brought it to a halt, and he licked his lips, staring awkwardly at the four guards who looked at him in confusion.

“Oh, er… hi,” he said, nodding his head. “I’m a guard. Yer know, like you.” He pointed to the wagon. “Nothing to see in there, so… can we go?”

“Who are you?” asked one guard, leaning out past the brazier to get a better look, and lifting a lantern.

“I… err… oh, fuck it!” Jay said, and he punched the first guard in the face, his massive fist knocking the unprepared man to the ground, unconscious.

“Dammit! Mal!” Soween called, dropping the reins and lifting her crossbow. It hummed to life as she flipped the activation runes, light flaring from the crystals embedded in the hilt to activate the weapon. The arms flexed out, locking into place as the string tightened, a low ‘hummm’ filling the air as Mal’s matching pair appeared in response.

“Ah, ah!” Mal called out, shaking his head as a guardsman reached for the bell. The man froze, and the three guards stared in confusion at one another. Jay loomed awkwardly, Soween and Mal standing over him on the wagon, pointing their weapons at the guards, and everyone stood motionless for a long minute.

“So, now what?” one asked eventually, and Mal sighed, shaking his head.

“Look, this is a heist, that’s all. Ain’t nobody needs to die. Maybe Jay here knocks you all out, and I accidentally drop a pouch of gold as we make our escape. You don’t see anythin’, and we don’t need this to go no further…?”

The older two guards looked at each other speculatively, but the younger man, more idealistic and stupid than the others, snarled and jumped for the bell, just managing to grab the rope in time.

Jay grabbed him by the collar, yanking him back and swinging him around before throwing him out over the side of the bridge with a splash, as the bell rang out once in iron warning. The sound hung in the air, as the other two guards glowered at Mal and his people.

“The lad’ll drown!” one said, peering over the side of the bridge to see the boy frantically trying to keep afloat while pulling at his armor.

“God damn it, Jay!” Mal snapped, and the man-mountain twisted around to snap back at him.

“It’s not my fault! I didn’t see you doin’ nothin to help!”

“Just… throw the bell over into the water, and you two go help the boy,” Mal said after a second’s hesitation. The guards looked at each other and Soween sighed, pulling a small pouch out of her cloak.

“Here…” she said, throwing it to the man on the right as Jay ripped the bell free and threw it out over the river to vanish with a splash.

The guardsman caught the bag as his partner quickly stripped off his armor, heading to the river with a muttered imprecation as the wagons started moving again, with everyone glowering at each other.

“I swear, Jay, you’ve got to be the dumbest son of a bitch…” Mal started to berate the massive man, and Soween tuned him out, cracking the leads and trying to make the oxen move faster, hoping the damn watch wouldn’t respond too quickly.

***

“God, I hope I’m not making a mistake…” Romanus Perival muttered to himself as he gathered the Legion and its dependents in the middle of the Enclave. He drew a deep breath, bolstering his courage, and pushed down his doubt, ignoring the little voice that whispered he could just go back into his office, just for a few minutes… the bottle in his hidden cubby would make everything better…

“Sir! They’re splitting the Guard!” A Legionnaire called down to him, and he prayed that the guards outside didn’t overhear.

“How many?” he called back up.

“Less than a third are still there, sir; maybe fifty of the Guard and a couple dozen civilians!”

“Legion!” he called out, forcing his voice to steady as his stomach roiled; butterflies the size of dragons danced and swooped inside. “On three!”

“Are we really doing this, sir?” asked Tribune Alistor, stepping up to his shoulder. The dark-haired Legion Tribune had been one of the loudest and most fervent dissenters to Romanus’s acceptance of Lord Jax’s orders, and even now, he tried to sway his commander to his way of thinking. “These actions are criminal; they go against all the Legion stands for!” he whispered anxiously.

“Not if you go by the old Imperial laws, they’re not,” Romanus countered, shaking his head. “We’ve got no more time to argue this now. Take your place; that’s an order!” he said, glaring the other man into submission before he took a deep breath and raised his voice again. “One!” he called, nodding to the Legionnaires on the parapet of the surrounding wall. They lifted torches into the air and spun them in slow clockwise circles, halting and searching for the countersignal.

After a long pause, they turned and waved confirmation down to the courtyard, where the rest waited, and Romanus let out a breath he had not realized he was holding.

“Two!” he bellowed, and the Legionnaires on the parapet pulled the levers they’d been positioned next to, then whistled a short tune, one which was picked up inside the wall, where the chains vanished. The pattern repeated as a second, far louder pair of ‘clunks’ echoed out, the chains holding the drawbridge up releasing suddenly.

The huge wooden structure balanced precariously for a