Chapter 2: Into Stromgarde...

“Damn it”…
From her observation post, on the steep slope that rose over the western walls of Stromgarde, Lainné studied again the half ruined city, using her gnomish lenses then tucked the device back in her pocket.

Time was crawling by. She looked nervously at the sky, arranged the cowl on her head so as to shade her eyes and stifled a yawn. Her limbs hurt after spending hours in a row in the same crouched position.

Are you mad?
Alynna Nials’ reaction still made her smile. Not that she had reasons to. Stromgarde was a dangerous place and to venture inside pretending to be one of them, even if at night, was clear proof of insanity.

No, she wasn’t mad, not yet. But she stood there, perched under the thin shelter of a shrub, waiting for the dusk to settle in, so that she could attempt her risky mission. The damn robe and cowl felt suffocating in the warm afternoon sun – but at least they would offer her some disguise at night. She wasn’t sure she could really pass for one of the Syndicate mages, not with the scarce information she had on their organization. Captain Nials’ men had provided her with the disguise – shaking their head at the obvious insanity of her plan.

Tears had filled Alynna Nials’ eyes when she spoke of the heavy human losses recently incurred. Lainné had found nothing to say. There were such times, too often of late – when all the soothing words she could think of sounded hollow to her own ears.

Damn, it was hot.
She took a small sip of water from a water skin and resumed peering over the walls of Stromgarde. The night had better come fast…

It took however another three endless hours until she considered it was safe enough to attempt entering the city. She stumbled down the stony hill slope, then run along the city walls until she came to the wide yet ruined gates. The black robe turned her into a shadow in the feeble moonlight – enough to hope she will not be noticed. From Captain Nials’ intelligence the Syndicate hadn’t set in place sentry posts or regular patrols. She kept a steady pace, using the passing shadow of a cloud over the moon.

Esarus thar no’Darador. Stupid words to live and die by…

Oh, honor was great…just didn’t keep you warm at night. And the blood that was more likely to be shed was yours. She wasn’t courageous, Lainné thought bitterly. Only forced by chance to do things she would otherwise very much avoid.

She had reached the dried fountain on the first level of the city without meeting anyone. It was hard to believe even a rogue organization could be so reckless – she had surely expected at least a couple of guards.

From the right, down a street with broken cobblestones, she heard the rhythmic pace of a patrol, carried to her by the wind. Mail armor clang softly as the Stromgarde defenders rounded the corner and peered into the darkness.

Lainné pressed her back against the fountain, crouching low under its edge. It was much better if no one at all knew of her presence…not even the Alliance defenders who controlled a portion of Stromgarde.

As the patrol steps were dimming in the distance, Lainné crawled towards the left wall and cautiously made her way through the ruins of a house. A startling noise - and she froze, holding her breath. It was an almost imperceptible sound, as if someone was stalking around as prudently as she did.

Light flickered at one of the windows in front of her. It was a more solid looking building than the rest, probably used as shelter by the Syndicate members. She berated herself again for the foolishness of her attempt. Maybe she would even manage to sneak in, mumbling something with an Arathi accent – she thought she could imitate Alynna Nials’ quite well. Better though to cast a glance inside first. She moved carefully, using each shadow to her advantage until she stood touching the wall of the house, right under the dimly lit window she had previously noticed.

Esarus thar no’Darador.
Damn it again, life could have been nice if she had chosen to remain in the Northshire Abbey. Teaching children and preaching the virtues of the Light. No risk to die violently at night with a dagger thru’ your heart.

She stretched to peer inside. There were a few Syndicate men as well as a woman dressed in an ample violet robe. A wizard, Lainné assumed. They appeared to be talking but the sounds came out muffled and she couldn’t understand anything. The object of their interest seemed to be some scrolls of parchment spread over the table between them.

She stalked cautiously through the darkness towards the back door of the building. Inside the house the voice rose to a heated argument; she wished she could get a better view of those papers before they tucked them away. It was obvious she couldn’t extract them from under guard but maybe…

With the corner of the eye she caught a glimpse of movement to her right. Swirling around, she turned to face the danger, hand gripping the dagger hilt. In the faint light she had just enough time to see a fast moving shadow suddenly spring by her side.
Rippling pain tore through her body – then the world went black.