Act 3: The Ball - Preparations of War

"I could, yes. I would suggest that your warriors sneak into the Grand Ward tomorrow with the help of my men and hide in a safe house somewhere on the eastern bank. Once the ball has started, they cross the river—by swimming or by boat, it's your choice—and climb the south-eastern cliffs here"— she points at the specific location on the map, right below the palace—"where the inclination is less steep than anywhere else. Then they'd just wait in ambush in the courtyard until the duchess has made her move.

"Or, you can have them assault the front gate."

"We must be ready to leave at 6:30 at the latest," she replies, "so we can arrive before the ball officially starts."

"You really don't want to be late either," Cacistus adds. "Or you'll have all the nobles gossiping about you."

"We won't be late." Konrad nods, and looks at Thirza. "We had the idea of controlling access to the island when attack begins, by sabotaging one of the bridges. I also believe it would be prudent to sabotage or wreck the bridge by the docks, to stall reinforcements by sea. What are your thoughts?"

"While I'm not against the idea of blowing up the bridges, remember that we are also trying to take control of the city. Our troops will be attacking everywhere at once and might need reinforcements at a moment's notice. The strategic value of the bridges cannot be understated however, and I fully intend to take them all, starting with the two next to the palace."

"Ah. It looks like you have that handled. Good." He gives her a stiff nod.

"There's a large garden where they can hide until it's time to strike. They'll need to watch out for the sentries and possibly a few guests, but it's too cold to take a stroll outside at this time of the year. As for the guards, I expect most of them to be inside the palace for crowd control once the coup starts."

Over the next forty minutes, Thirza explains the chain of command of her forces and draws a plan of battle that takes into account Hortensia's and Angelica's troops. She goes over every detail, such as the makeup of her troops, what formations to adopt, which streets they should take, what to expect from their enemies, and many more. Once the members of the alliance have settled on a easy way to identify Hortensia's men during the battle—they'll wear white armbands around their right arm—Thirza gestures at Marius and he brings out two woven devices from under the table, as well as a pile of green cloth.

"Here are the communicators and flags you asked for," Marius says.

"I'll have Marius go to your ship tomorrow morning, so he can help your warriors sneak into the Grand Ward," Thirza adds. "He'll make sure they get in without drawing attention."

Konrad grunts evasively at Thirza's initiative. "Ah, well, if you insist."

He draws her spyglass from his coat and puts it down on the table. "Here, I had this repaired for you. And I have one of my own, anyway."

The mercenary leader looks at the spyglass and widens her eyes in surprise when she recognizes it. She examines it for a second, then nods at the red mage while she places it in her inner pocket.

"Thank you," she says. "I didn't expect to see it again."

When Konrad doesn't answer and things start getting awkward, Steve says, "You're welcome. Well, we should really take our leave, we have a lot to do tonight."

"You're going to take care of Evander, right?" Thirza asks. "Do you know where he is?"

"Last I checked," Femke says, "he was at his office in the fort. He will most likely spend the night there."

Thirza and Marius eye Femke for a second, but the Coin leader simply nods and says, "Then this meeting is over. Be careful on your way back; we have less than an hour left before the curfew."

"May Dux guide us safely back home," Angelica says with a little smile.

Everyone stands up and gets ready to leave.

"We'll go first and make sure it's safe," Marius tells the group. "Wait a few minutes before you head out."

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