Wake Marcos now

"Wake Marcos now." You tell him, Lady Sophia will guide us to this mansion tonight. If we're lucky we'll be able to surprise Rastus' guards, if not we can at least scout out the location; either way I want to be there and back by dawn. Our main forces should be arriving here before much longer and I don't want to just hand over this prize without a fight. "Oh and let Sarge know I want to see him before we leave." With a nod and a hint of a salute Antonios backed out of the room followed almost immediately by Sophia heading to her room to find more appropriate clothing for a late night jaunt leaving you alone with Adriana.

"Does this mean you're not going to capture the Kyliadese twins tonight?" Adriana asks with what might almost be a pout, and you wonder just how much she wants to see those proud young women put in chains, stripped by your men and fucked raw.

"Don't worry, my Dear, I haven't forgotten about those lovely twins, or their pretty little sister either." Or the hoarded valuables of a wealthy family hidden away for safekeeping, but no need to bring up that mercenary detail. "But if they are as well hidden as it sounds, they'll still be there in a few days; there's no need to pry open the oyster if you know the pearl's safe inside."

You have only a few minutes before you'll have to leave, but Adriana looks so very tempting sitting on the bed with the sheet clutched between her breasts. Two steps take you to her side and with a rakish grin you tug the sheet from her grasp exposing her for you to inspect.

"Are you going to behave while I'm gone or should I chain you to this bed so you don't get into trouble?"

"I'll be good, Sir." Her reply is so blatantly submissive that you suspect she is teasing you. "I'll stay right here on this bed reading my fathers dirty stories until I'm gushing." You nod curtly not sure how to respond, and then she adds coyly. "If I'm not a good girl, you'll have to punish me most severely."

"Stay away from my men." You warn her sternly trying not to let your mind wander onto dangerous ground, "I need them focused tomorrow." The next few minutes pass quickly as you dress again in your armor, give instructions to Sarge about securing the mansion and then lead Lady Sophia downstairs to where Marcus and Antonios are waiting."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The walk through the night-time streets is nerve-racking, this deep in the city you have no friends and so every distant yell, flickering shadow or muffled footstep is a potential threat. You easily spot a patrol of a dozen or so armed citizens in the distance because they are carrying torches to light up the streets, but other than that the only living things you see are a few stray dogs and a tomcat that disappears through a crack in a retaining wall.

Ahead of you you can see the gleam of the river in the moonlight, a silver snake that winds through the heart of the city. Rising above the town on the far side of the river is the Citadel where the Regent, his High Council and the other most powerful men of the city have taken refuge. Luckily, according to Sophia, Rastus's mansion lies on the river-front on the Southern bank so you won't have to cross the wide, slow waterway to reach your destination. Lady Sophia pauses and you step to her side to see why she stopped.

"There are two possible paths from here." She tells you in her elegant, refined manner, "you can follow the main concourse along the great houses." She points to the highroad that crosses the boulevard ahead of you, "or continue all the way to the river and make our along the Riverway. I've always taken the concourse, it's the fastest and easiest path, but the smaller track might be better if you are trying to be stealthy." She shrugs her pretty shoulders in the moonlight "the Riverway is a narrow, muddy track that hugs the waterline, it is used by porters, longshoremen and teamsters for deliveries during the early morning. At night, especially now that the city is under siege, the great houses will most likely have locked the gates, so moving along that path will be slow."