[i]Previously, in Broken Honor…[/i] The three trainees snuck around behind the houses, weaving their way between buildings and alleys as they made their way toward the Elder’s house. The entire time, they were silent as mice - nothing detected their presence. They snuck past several sentries cloaked in the same black clothes as the men from earlier they crouched behind a shop, looking at the courtyard leading up to the Elder’s house. The front door was barricaded to the max - furniture, tables, and even glyphs strengthened their defenses. Outside, in the courtyard, stood seven men cloaked in the distinguishable black style. Among them, two carried swords strapped to their waists, and another two carried bows slung on their backs. Of the last three, one carried a vial of blue liquid, one wore a pair of metal gloves, and the third carried a single revolver holstered on his hip. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rysko almost let out a cry of alarm at what he was seeing, but Ichiro managed to catch him before any of the villains in the courtyard heard him, dragging him back down under cover. “Quiet! We don’t want to get caught. We have the element of surprise, let’s not lose it, okay?” Ichiro’s voice was quiet, almost silent. He spoke barely above a whisper to Arte and Rysko, both of whom looked up to his leadership capabilities in that moment. After all, he was the oldest of the three. Ichiro took one last glance at the courtyard then guided the other two trainees back behind the shop. “All three of them are there - Jain, Aku, and Cmirg - plus some goons of theirs, I’d guess. How do we do this?” Rysko thought for a moment, scratching the back of his neck. Obviously, the three trainees wouldn’t be able to take on seven different enemies. Even if they were fully trained Samurai, that would be a tough fight. As it was… they would need some sort of distraction. Something big enough to attract everyone’s attention while they slipped inside. Something like… “Blast powder?” Rysko looked up at Ichiro, tilting his head slightly. It was a bold plan, but it could work. Set off enough blast powder, and maybe the three villains would be too distracted dealing with the aftermath to see the three trainees. Arte and Ichiro nodded slowly, in agreement. “Let’s collect a bunch, then, and set it off on the opposite side of the street,” Arte suggested. With the plan readied, the three trainees snuck out and collected as much blast powder as each of them could carry. All in all, the team collected enough blast powder to rig an abandoned house on the opposite side of the street. Once the blast powder was set, Ichiro took out a match and lit it, then ran as fast as his legs would allow him back towards where Rysko and Arte were hiding in safety, about a few buildings further down the road. It meant a longer distance to sneak, but they were willing to take the risk in order to not get blown up. [b]BOOM![/b] The very earth trembled as the last light of day vanished beneath the horizon, the fireball providing enough light to see by. Rysko, Arte, and Ichiro made a break for it, sprinting toward the entrance to the Elder’s house. [i]500 feet… 450 feet… 400 feet…[/i] The thunder of their footsteps on the cobbled road was masked amongst the chaos, with Jain and Cmirg ordering troops to check out what had happened in the building, and Aku investigating the remains of his blast powder used to trigger the explosion. More than simply seven men cloaked in black were in the courtyard now - the explosion had attracted the attention of at least 30 henchmen, plus the three top villains themselves. [i]350 feet… 300 feet… 250 feet…[/i] Rysko concentrated hard as they ran, causing long shadows to cover the three trainees. Luckily, the illusion worked - the darkness seemed to hide them in plain sight, at least for now. Cmirg and his men were much more occupied with trying to determine how the building had blown up so suddenly. [i]200 feet… 150 feet… 100 feet…[/i] They were so close… Almost there… However, as they sprinted towards their finish line, a bolt of lightning arced over their heads, striking the roof of the Elder’s house and causing it to shake slightly. “Cmirg! Over here!” Jain’s voice echoed through the courtyard, signaling the discovery of the three trainees. Ichiro leaped into action, ice crystals flying from his palm and striking the ground between the enemy and the three trainees, who were now closer to the Elder’s house than any of the villains or their goons. The ice spread quickly, forming a line to separate the two groups as Rysko dashed to the entrance, beginning to yell desperately for help, “Hey! It’s Rysko, Arte, and Ichiro! We need to get in! We’ve been spotted! Help us!!” However, at that moment, a huge wave of gravity strengthened beneath each of the three trainees - none of them could stand as they all fell to their hands and knees, coughing from the effort to breathe. Cmirg chuckled softly, stepping over the pitiful line of ice and approaching Ichiro with his revolver drawn and aimed at the poor boy. “You just couldn’t stay away, could you? Now… Which of you is the Half-Elf?”