Blind Spot

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The prince sat and thought, removing his mask to get some fresh air and clear his head. With his senses renewed, Angel began again. "If we are to do them both, we will need to prepare. The mudslide will prevent any hope of retreat back to the forest, so if we split up, I'll have to wait for you to return before causing it. With that in mind, I think we should stick together. Two pairs of eyes will be better than one when locating the storage tent, and we can keep each other's backs covered in the process. As for a route for escape, the ground will likely be to difficult to climb back up, even without the mudslide...I have an idea, but its risky." Angel let his thoughts gather before continuing, his blond locks already soaked and hanging in front of his eyes from the downpour. "If we can find two axes for each of us, we can use their heads as climbing tools. If not that, then perhaps a spade or shovel could substitute. It's likely that axes will be the most available though, so we'll need to find the armory tent." The prince finished his review of the strategy in his head, and looked expectantly at Sayomi for feedback. He didn't bother to mention that the entire plan revolved around them being totally undetected. Angel figured they both already knew that.
 
Sayomi nodded. "If you think that we could both get through. The more people, the harder it is..." She trailed off, clicking her tongue to see where the horses were, nearly jumping when she heard one almost directly behind her. She reached into her pouch pulling out an apple and stuck her hand out, Prometheus, the black horse came out took it from her. She began to stroke his neck as she thought. "You know.. We have two places to be in the camp, and two people... And you said that their is watch guards out here.. If we can find one, I can get his armour. Then you wear it and go fetch the axes. My only main concern is that I am not sure that I can lift an axe. They are typically heavy, made for large blows. I use a dagger and stealth to get what I need done." If they had people stationed on watch towers, that would make it easier for her to get to them, and to get their uniform.

She still was not sure if there was actually going to be an army or not, but Angel seemed very sure that there was, and she trusted him. "If they only have attacked specific caravans, then they are getting information from the inside. There are only certain people that know the schedules of caravans, especially ones like that. Most people will remember when they are getting typical ones, because they like to know when they should go to get the freshest stuff, and to look at other things before they are gone. But weapons aren't usually talked about." She began to think even more that they needed to find the captain's tent.
 
Angel snickered at Sayomi as she jumped, glad to have a spot of humor on such a difficult task. "I have an idea for the axes that will make them easier for both of us to use for climbing rather than wielding, so don't worry about that. As for the guards, I would have a few guard towers set up, then I would post a patrol around the camp. It would be an efficient use of soldiers, and it would allow them to switch posts smoothly...then again, the southern kingdom has rarely followed logic as their main strategy. Finding a weak point in the border of the site will be the only difficulty to start. After I dawn the armor, I shouldn't have a problem finding the armory and storage tents. If you keep to the shadows of the tents, you shouldn't have a problem staying hidden, and you can take out anyone who gets too close to learning my identity. Then again, we are relying on very spotty predictions on my part..." Angel clamped his head between his hands and began massaging his temples to relieve worry. One screw-up, and he could be sealing both of their fates, as well as that of the kingdom.
 
The chestnut horse came up and nudged Angel's back. The horse was Sayomi's father's and had no name yet. The horse wasn't even three yet, so was still young but was extremely well trained like Prometheus. "Is there trees in this valley, around near where their towers may be? Either way I can get there. Trees make it easier though." She could tell how much more stress he was showing. She pulled down the mask and looked him in the eye. "No matter what happens, I promise that you will get out. You are the prince. I'm just a nobody. If we can't make a difference here, then you can go and try and get the people ready. I won't be able to do anything. They wont listen to me." She continued looking at him, the only thing showing any emotion was her eyes, showing a mixture of sadness and deviousness. "When we are in, I'm going to go into the leaders tent. We need to be able to find something. A plan, or who they are working with or for." Sayomi whistled and then started to walk again. They couldn't wait too much longer.
 
Angel stroked the nose of the horse as it nudged him, admiring the power and grace of the creature as Sayomi spoke. "The valley has very few trees, but it's likely that they have been cut down if I'm right." The prince said in response. When she pulled down her mask and made her promise, Angel was astonished. His heart skipped a beat, and his priorities shifted slightly as a response. Angel knew that there was more to Sayomi than she told. He was still unsure whether Nadia was her real name at this point, but it changed nothing. As she turned to walk away, the prince got up and reached out for her shoulder. Turning her around to face him once more, Angel leaned down and kissed her, just for a brief moment. "...It feels nice to live without regrets for once. Thank you for...for everything." Putting his mask on once again, the prince was able to hide the massive flood of red that plastered itself on his face. Without skipping a beat, the prince walked ahead, preparing himself mentally for the challenge that was to come.
 
"Trees or not, I will get up and will get the armor. Do not fret." Sayomi knew that her small stature helped her in most of the things that she did. If for some reason she did not think that she could get up without being seen, then she would do the next best thing. Even though she was not outrageously tall, her body was still well toned, and she found that she could men, especially men who hadn't seen a women in a long time, to approach her so she could do what was needed. She was in the middle of thinking when she was turned around, at first thinking that something was wrong, until Angel kissed her. She felt her heart stop, as she stood for a moment bewildered at what had just happened. As he went onto walking, Sayomi felt her cheeks grow hot. It was something she was not used, so her brain had to process for a moment what was going on. When she regained herself she pulled up her mask, and followed after him, the cold starting to get in. She wished it would at least stop raining so perhaps she could dry off some. As they walked, the horses fanned out again. She stayed close behind Angel as they walked. She was unsure of where exactly this valley was, so she depended on him for the moment.
 
Before long, the pair reached the valley, a steep decline in altitude from their current position. With the valley's entirety in sight, hundreds of tents could be seen. The tree line of the forest seemed to cut short just a few dozen meters from the first guard tower, which was manned by a couple of heavily armored blades-men. To the right could be seen another guard dozing off mid-patrol. A few meters past the first tower were a neat line of trees marking the borders of the camp, few and far in between. After that, the steep and muddy descent began, carrying with it many dozens of tents filled with warmongers and barbarians. Angel turned to Sayomi to speak again. "It looks like we'll need to eliminate everyone around and in that tower before advancing any further. Afterwards, we'll need to find a straight path of descent, because it looks like we will be sliding down. No secure footing will be had on such a muddy descent. Once we reach the line of trees past the tower, we can locate the largest tents, and proceed towards them. Hopefully it will be obvious which tent is which." The rain grew in strength as he spoke, with cracks of lightning and explosions of thunder littering the skies. Angel wrapped his cloak around himself tighter as he awaited a response.
 
Sayomi nodded as he spoke. "I'll get up there, I can take one down, while I push the other off. You will have to get that one if he survives." In a matter of moments she knocked an arrow, and pulled it back. The arrow was just as dark as it was outside, making it more hidden. Even the feathers were a dark black. Through the darkness she aimed at the sleeping man, she took a deep breath and let the arrow fly. There was no sound as it went through the air. She hit the man in the throat, allowing him to suffocate silently as the blood poured from his neck. She looked at Angel and smiled softly. "I can't take out two that close together like the big ones. One will rise an alarm before I would even get another arrow off." She felt bad not wasting any time, but this was something that she could do quickly. She cooed out softly, receiving a small noise in return before Prometheus went out of the wooded area that they hid. He did not neigh at them, but instead let out a series of snorts to catch their attention. How the horses were trained she did not know, her mother and father was who took care of that, but they were trained well, and never broke a command. On more than one occasion he had saved her by coming and stomping on her captures.

"Lets go." She said quietly, already taking off. The longer they waited, the more likely of getting caught was. She ran quickly and quietly with every step, never stepping on more than her toes. She went to where the sleeping man was, pulling her arrow out, wiping the blood off on her pants. She looked at the horse who was bucking, trying to keep their attention. As she approached the tower she could hear them talking about what to do. One wished to take the horse, while the other said to just leave it alone until after their shift. She waited for Angel before continuing farther. She was so used to doing it alone, she almost forgot that he was in this too.
 
Angel followed along as well as he could, awestruck at Sayomi's proficiency. She wasn't even trying to hide the fact that she did this for a living, but frankly, he didn't mind. The prince kept his footing in line with hers as they moved along, letting his muscles mimic her own actions as well as possible. It was a skill he picked up while training with his bodyguard. To the realm he may have been royal, but to her, Angel was a worthless maggot to break through blood, sweat, and tears. Despite differences in stature, Angel was able to closely copy everything Evelyn did until his own muscle memory took over. The same principal applied with Sayomi's stride. For every misstep, the prince would adjust his body and try again, almost like a dance. It was his preferred method to learn anything. While they walked, Angel equipped his buckler to his left wrist. Its rounded edge was sharpened for offensive purposes, and its reach leapt a few inches past the prince's fingertips. As moralistic as he was, the prince was ready to be as merciless as necessary.
 
After she was sure that Angel was with her, Sayomi started up the tower. She didn't use the ladder, afraid of being seen. She was glad that she had gloves on, feeling the uneven texture of the wood. She would have had pieces of wood everywhere in her hands had she not have them on. As she neared the top she pulled out her dagger and lunged up. She grabbed onto the closest man's neck and pulled him back. She used his weight to pull herself up while pushing him back as she climbed onto his shoulders. Before he madr more than a soft grunt she kicked herself off of him, sending him backwards and down to the ground. She gracefully went across the air, her dagger landing in the other guard's mouth. They both fell to the ground. she twisted the dagger then stood up. The only noise that came from the man was air escaping his mouth. She looked down to Angel awaiting what to do next.
 
Angel dug the heel of his boot into the neck of the man who had fallen, snapping the bones that were under him. Looking back up at Sayomi, he began to formulate the next phase of the plan. After motioning Sayomi down from the tower, the prince began to dawn the armor of the man beneath his boot. Initially speaking to himself, the prince began analyzing the approach he had planned. "We need to find a straight shot down the hill. In this mud, there is no way we can secure our footing. After that, we should land a good ways into the site. Locating the specific tents should be a breeze, but gathering the equipment I need may prove an issue. We're likely to become separated while searching for individual tents, so we should plan on meeting back at the base of the valley at a specific time..." Angel continued to talk absentmindedly as he approached the barrier of trees that signaled the drop into the valley, hoping that Sayomi at least heard a bit of what he said. Though, the more he talked to himself, the more obvious it became that he was trying to keep his nerves in check.
 
At his signal Sayomi jumped off the tower, landing on her feet. As she tried to stand she realized she was stuck in the mud. After fighting, and a few swear words of another language she got herself free. Taking off after him she was only able to hear the last part. "Tell me a time, and I will be there." She looked as far down as she could without letting herself slip or become visible. She looked back at him "You lead from here. Once you find where you need to go, I am going to take a detour to the captains tent, then I will find you again hopefully so that you don't have to be alone. His tent should be the easiest to find." She looked at him, for the first time knowing that there was not just herself in danger, and for the first time someone that she was willing to put herself on the block if it meant him getting out. With solemn eyes, she unhooked her container of Calabash from her belt, replacing her dagger.

She went over to him, handing him the container. "This should be plenty, since they will ingest it compared to the powder where they would only inhale a minute amount." She put her hands on his shoulders. "You will be fine. I have never broken a promise, and I will most certainly not start with this. if anything goes wrong, I will be able to get them to me, giving you only a few minutes to escape. The horses will take you away. Prometheus is faster than the chestnut one that you rode. He is a couple years older and has more experience." She looked him in the eyes, her eyes not showing all the emotions that her entire face did. She was unsure of exactly what they were going to find, and that set her on edge. She had always had at least some sort of exact knowledge going into something. Unlike this, she had nothing. "Lets this going okay? Before the rain worsens."
 
Angel, awoken from his trance by Sayomi's touch, began thinking clearly again. "Thanks for the kind words... Wait a minute!" The prince exclaimed as he headed over to the trees. After a minute of observance, he came back and began speaking again. "The armory won't be necessary anymore. The army was smart enough to keep grappling ropes attached to the trees, both to tether the tents and to provide a way to ascend and descend with ease. Oh...and my estimations were, unfortunately, correct. The bulk of their force is amassed in the valley. This likely means that there is more than a single supply tent. I saw three when I looked last. Luckily, they are easy to spot. However, do you think these two cans will be enough, especially with the supply we need to poison tripled from what I first expected? *sigh* And as much as I agree about the rain lightening up, we need it to keep up if we hope to pull off a mudslide." As he finished, he once again made his way to the hillside and began tying a rope around his belt, making sure it was attached well.
 
Sayomi looked at him and called the horses over. She began to dig through her saddle bag and pulled out her last container. That made three. One for each supply tent. She was glad she had stopped on the way to the kingdom to get some. Now it just meant she would need to go back. It was a very expensive powder due to the complexes it took to make it. Her only hope was that the small tribe would have it prepared when she showed up.

She went and handed him the container "This is the last that I have. That makes three. Do you think that with the mudslide we can at least take out one supply tent and the third of the army that goes with it? Then we could only hit two of the supply tents. With the army this large, there is definitely inside help. So we need to find out who as quick as possible." She knew it had to be someone in the castle but who. Her first two guesses was Darius because of his wish for her to kill the prince and the Queen because of him not wishing to answer her questions about the Queen. There was something everyone was hiding and she was tired of the lies. She wished that she could tell Angel the truth but she knew that he would hate her. Even though she did nothing that she was supposed to have done already.
 
"I'll get it done. We should meet up at the base of the hill in about an hour. I think that should give us enough time to do what is necessary. As for the inside help, I'll do what I can around the castle find out." Angel spoke calmly, ready for the task at hand. With a last glance into Sayomi's eyes, the prince began the slippery descent down the muddy valley. It was a straight shot down, so not much maneuvering was required, allowing the prince to focus on the silence of his decent. Upon reaching the bottom, he began making his way to the first point of interest. As he bypassed the storage tent closest to where the mudslide would end up, Angel wondered how Sayomi would fare. He knew the best course of action in a crisis would be to leave her behind, but he wasn't sure he would be able to under the circumstances. He pondered this heavily as he made his way through the cold, dreary grounds.
 
Once Angel was down, Sayomi followed his trail down. once she reached the bottom, she quickly went off. She had to find the tent, but where was so many. Usually there was a flag of some sort to mark it. She started looking for it. Finally she saw it. She smiled, until she realized how far it was to get to the tent. She was going to have to be careful. She started to make her way to the tent, staying to the shadows. She hoped that she could get there and back up in time. If not, she was going to be stuck in the valley with the men. Not only was she an intruder, who more than looked like she was going to kill someone, she was also a women. So if she was trapped or captured, she could only imagine what they would do. Quickly she rounded a corner and jumped back. It looked like it was their commander. But he was talking with someone in the shadows, away from his tent. She crouched, and leaned in a little, trying to hear through the rain.

(I'm sorry I disappeared. I got my wisdom teeth out, so I have been really weird.)
 
Even in armor, Angel's steps were graceful and silenced as he maneuvered through the muddy grounds. Reaching the first storage tent without incident, Angel quickly mixed the toxin into the barrel of mead. Upon leaving, he was met by two soldiers, each deprived of sleep and totally gullible. After seeing them on their way, along with many others after, the prince reached the second tent. Following the same procedure as the first, he quickly got in and out without incident. It took less time than he had imagined to plant the poison, so Angel backtracked to the hillside to wait for Sayomi. Figuring he could use his time more efficiently, the prince climbed back up to the guard tower and hid amongst the trees that masked the valley, ready to silence anyone who came to replace the recently deceased guardsmen. It also gave him a view of the entire camp, allowing Angel to observe any large amounts of commotion. Now all that was left was to wait for Sayomi's return, and so the prince kept a sharp eye out for her.
 
Sayomi tried to hear who the commander was talking to, but the rain was pouring too hard. She wondered why they were out in the rain and not in his tent. Whoever it was, did not want to be found. She gave up on hearing them and took off for his tent. The quicker that she got there and out the better. She swerved through the tents nimbly, only stopping once when the mud she stepped in turned out to be a hole, causing her to sink down. She had to fight for a moment, before she was finally able to get herself free. Once she approached the commanders tent, she slipped underneath, covering herself in mud until she hit the solid floor that had been put down for his pleasure. She had no idea what she should grab, knowing that she couldn't grab it all. Sayomi decided to grab anything with an official stamp, and anything that was with them. She doubted that he would be too unorganized. She folder up the papers, and placed them in the small pack that was attached to her hip, exiting the tent silently. As she came out, she was inches from a guard, his back was turned, and she felt herself hold her breath. He hadn't been there before so why was he there now?

Looking around quickly she took off down the side of the tent, the opposite way that she knew Angle would be. She would have to go around to not be seen. Hastily she made her way to the edge of the tents and around till she thought that she was about to where she needed to be to meet Angle. She could hear loud shouts, which she assumed was from the men slowly dropping due to the toxins that they were drinking. The rain started to pick up as she started to climb up the hillside, fighting the mud. Her entire trek was narrorated by soft cursing and grumbles. As she got near the top, Prometheus came to assist her the rest of the way. Hands on her knees, Sayomi stopped for a moment "I swear on all things living if I could I would kill Mother Nature for this stupid rain." She grumbled as she straightened up, looking for the prince.
 
At the sight of Sayomi arriving atop the hill, the prince heaved a sigh of relief and began to start the second phase of his plan. Angel began digging up the roots of nearby trees, loosening them from the wet and slippery soil below. After finishing that, he put his weight into pushing the trees down the hill. They fell easily, shifting quickly with the waterlogged mud to move down the hill. The roots still ingrained in the mud began drawing other trees, along with large masses of soil, down toward the valley in quick succession, activating a sort of domino effect on the hillside. After the first tree fell, the prince ran to Sayomi before the mudslide could grow any worse, taking her hand and dragging her away from the hillside while speaking to her. "Nadia, call the horses! We need to leave right now!" He spoke urgently, looking behind them to observe the rapid progress of the mudslide. The trees were dragged along with the heavy rain, rushing down and out of sight quickly and silently. Therein laid the true danger of the mudslide. It came without warning, relentless and without mercy.
 
Sayomi watched in amazement at how easy the hill feel on its self. It could have taken just a wrong step by one of them or the horses to set the ground rolling and ruined everything. As the earth shook with the sheer weight of the mud, she was brought out of her daze when he grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the edge. The black horse at her heels, neighing loudly with fright. It was enough to bring even the most tenured and strong animals to fear. She whistled as loud as she could for the chestnut mare, but she knew it was not loud enough for him to hear. It was somewhere, waiting for her call, as taught. She looked about, then her green eyes looked up into his. "Take Prometheus. I have to find the other mare. He can't hear me." She put his foot in the saddle, and with all her weight, shoved him up onto the horse. She may have been petite, especially compared to him, but she was determined. She took the papers that she had in her pouch out, and handed it to him. "I told you would get out before I did if it came to it. I will be on your heels once I find him. Do not wait for me. He will take you to my house first, then you can either wait there, or go back to the castle if I cannot catch up to you."

She looked at Angle again, seriousness written on her face. There was no arguing with her. She looked at the horse, and placed her forehead on his. "Ride true, my friend." She then took off to the right. The chestnut was always to the right, her horse on he left. She needed to find him and get out before the entire valley caved in on itself. She started to whistle as loud as she could, looking for him through the rain, having to already retreat farther from the new downgrade of the valley.
 
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