Complications Abound

After all the Alliance adventurers had left, Felix and his companions immediately cleaned up the scene of the crime.

"Everyone, hurry and deal with these bodies, and the carriage too," he said. "We'd better hide them all deep in the forest. That way, it'll take the Stormwind City Council of Nobles at least two days to discover that their money carriage has been robbed. By then, we'll have returned safely to Westfall."

Then the Defias rogues headed back toward Westfall with several large chests of silver and copper coins. Since the copper coins were so heavy, they moved much more slowly than they had yesterday.

"We have to hurry and reach the Mirror River before dusk today, then pass Westbrook Garrison under cover of night. Does everyone understand?"

"Understood."

"Quickly, move quickly!" he urged them without pause. "Elwynn Forest certainly has beautiful scenery, but we aren't here to sightsee. If we were, perhaps we could choose a better time!"

When they tallied the accounts, they found that this trip had yielded a considerable haul. At least the Brotherhood had enough to cover its food expenses for the next few months. So everyone was relaxed and cheerful today, and even the gloomy sky seemed to have grown brighter.

By dusk, they finally reached the eastern bank of the Mirror River, facing the sturdy Westbrook Garrison across the water.

"Stay here and don't wander off. I'll take a look first."

Felix silently climbed a tree, concealing himself among its dense branches and leaves. He reached out to push aside the branches blocking his view and gazed intently westward.

He watched silently for several seconds, then released the branches, letting them spring back into place. Once he was certain he had not attracted the attention of any bystanders, he jumped down from the tree.

"Twenty. There are twelve Westbrook Garrison soldiers standing guard across the river, all carrying spears and bows," Felix told the others waiting beside the tree. "There are also three cavalrymen among them."

"What? I remember there being only five sentries here two days ago," Dudmore exclaimed. "And there weren't any cavalry stationed here before!"

"Clearly, they've tightened security for some unknown reason." Vladimir frowned, but soon relaxed his brow. "A head-on clash would be unwise. Felix, isn't there another route nearby?"

Felix shrugged.

Well, there was, but they would first have to head east to Jerod's Landing, then cross the Elwynn River there into Duskwood, and circle back to Westfall by way of Darkshire and Raven Hill. That route was long and fraught with obstacles...

Another option was to find somewhere to the south and swim across, but Hogger Hill lay on the opposite bank, occupied by those ferocious Riverpaw Gnolls. Felix was also soon informed that the vast majority of their group could not swim.

They were mostly stonemasons who worked busily all day, with too little spare time to learn many skills unrelated to their work.

On top of that, it happened to be summer, when the river level rose sharply and the current ran swiftly, making these non-swimmers even less willing to enter the water.

So, uh, they had better return to discussing how to cross this bridge directly.

"Perhaps we could disguise ourselves first?" Joseph suggested. "We could pretend to be those Alliance adventurers, then launch a surprise attack and catch them off guard."

"We can't tie down all of them at once. The remaining soldiers would still be able to attack us with muskets and bows, and the rest of the garrison would rush out to fight us too," Vladimir rejected the idea. "When that happens-"

When that happened, defeat would be certain. Everyone fell silent.

"Let's wait here until night," Dudmore said. "Maybe they'll withdraw by then, and we can take the opportunity to slip away."

"Right. Joseph and I can use Stealth to get through first." Felix also thought this was a good idea. "Under cover of darkness, even if our Stealth isn't on par with Guildmaster VanCleef's, those soldiers definitely won't spot us. Then the two of us can start a fire in their stables to draw their attention, while everyone else takes advantage of the chaos to hurry through with the gold and silver coins."

Everyone thought this was an excellent idea.

Felix looked around, saw everyone's approving expressions, and continued, "Then it's settled. Rest for a while and get your strength back for tonight's operation. Meeting adjourned."

As soon as he heard those words, Dudmore toppled straight down like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Sprawled on the grass, he had no desire to move at all and muttered contentedly.

Lightfinger fared somewhat better. He first took the luggage off his back, then carefully sat cross-legged, leaning against a rock covered in moss from long exposure to sun and rain, and let out a relieved, weary yawn.

A sudden unease rose in Felix's heart.

To ambush that damned money convoy, the brothers had forced themselves to stay alert all last night, afraid the convoy would slip past unnoticed, and had not rested properly at all.

Today, they had marched hard under heavy loads for an entire day. Everyone was now exhausted, so it was hardly surprising that someone like Dudmore would simply collapse and lie flat. Why, then, did Felix still feel that something was wrong?

"Vladimir," he asked in a low, serious voice, "are you holding up all right?"

Vladimir raised his eyelids with difficulty and cast a listless glance toward him, his eyes involuntarily drooping half shut. "Felix, you... what is it?"

It seemed Vladimir would be of no use. Felix could only continue squeezing and exploiting the Stonemasons' Guild's key workers.

"Joseph, stop resting. We're going to keep watch on the little hill to the east," he said. "I keep feeling that something's wrong. Vladimir, if you notice the guards across the bridge leaving their posts, come over and tell us."

Night had shrouded the sky, and Felix still lay prone on the little hill beside Joseph, watching the quiet forest to the east with care.

Several hours had passed, but Vladimir had yet to appear, finally making those on lookout duty a little restless.

"Felix, do you think they... they've really all fallen asleep?" Joseph yawned and began to stand as he spoke. "You keep watch here. I'll go over and see how they're doing."

Just then, however, Felix noticed a rustling sound coming from the dense forest in the distance.