Contract 3: An Unlawful Presence

"What do you think we thought?" One of the fuards chuckled before he was killed by Ayane. The other guard attempted to retaliate but his wrist was grabbed and his head smashed upon the table. The surviving guards gasped at her sword skill, one looking up and grabbing the lantern off its hook on the cieling. He leapt out of the puddle of alcohol that encircled his feet on the floor and pulled his friend out as well. He smashed the lantern upon the floor, the flame catching alight. Since the floor was made from stone but the nearby table wood, it would burn up. Ayane was likely to be close to the table since she had killed a guard upon it.

"Che" Ayane scoffed before she leapt through the flame before it could surround her, "I've had enough of this...I have somewhere I need to be" she said as she sliced one of the guards in half before the other one tried to slash at her but Ayane parried the blade and kicked him to the wall before ramming her katana into his body.

She then quickly made her way to where the bandits would be, she would need to be quick as no doubt the flames would alert every guard in the fortress about her little massacre and she could not afford to fight through the entire fortress.

The guard who had been off getting alcohol from the storeroom stepped out again upon smelling smoke. When he saw the bodies of dead guards and pools of blood all over the place as well as the table, shards of glass and a patch of floor burning, he cursed. He turned in the direction of where Ayane had gone - presumably down the stairs.

With a few quick footsteps, the guard dashed to the main part of the prison where more guards were stationed at their posts - the opposite direction Ayane had run.
"We've had an intruder, most likely an Assassin or Templar!" He announced, alterting all the guards. It would no doubt take them some time to track down Ayane but this was better than nothing.

Ayane could hear the clamour of footsteps as the guards mobilized against her, "Perfect..." she muttered as she quickly found the place where the bandits were, she opened the door and gestured for them to come out, "the guards have already been alerted...if you want to get out do so, if you want to stay then do so but make your decision quickly" she then turned and quickly walked out towards the exit.

Among the confusion between theguards being mobilized and everyone having to make a decision quickly, the four bandits all dashed into the nearby armoury which was sadly sparsely stocked. They all grabbed an iron sword, running to follow Ayane to wherever she was going.

Ahead of Ayane was a T-junction, the right hand leading up some stairs to a huge, wooden door. The left hand of the juction was two metres further ahead and rounded off to the left. The echo of ferocious footsteps and metal clattered around the coridoor. No matter Ayane's decision, the four bandits all started to turn right to run upstairs.

Ayane shrugged as she decided to follow the bandits, wherever they go she would need to go for protection than anything else, the more people she had the better her chances of survival. Besides her mission said to free them from prison, not to protect and babysit them, so if things went bad they would be useful canon fodder.

The four bandits smacked into the large wooden door, their bodies hitting it uselessly. They cursed amongst themselves, attempting to fiddle with the lock.
"You'll have to defend us!" One spoke to Ayane as he pulled his sword out and readied it to smack the huge lock that secured the door. Just down the stairs, the gold flicker of a torchlight could be seen casting itself against the stone walls.
A guard rounded the corner, sword drawn.

'Great...' Ayane thought to herself as the bandit ordered her around, she was sorely tempted to kill the offending bandit right there and then but that would look bad for her, so she gritted her teeth and decided to draw her katana to defend the bandits just as a guard rounded a corner. With a speed faster than it should be Ayane lunged at the guard and sliced his neck open, blood spurting from the wound and splattering the walls, "make it fast" she growled to the bandits, "there'll be more coming and I can't hold them off for long."

"We're trying!" They shouted back, smacking their weapons against the padlock in vain attempts to break it. Soon, they would get somewhere but that moment was not to be now.
Another guard rounded the corner, carrying a lamp. With a cry, he placed it on the ground and drew his halberd, thrusting it toward the Templar.

Ayane was barely able to dodge the halberd, sparks flying off from her armor, before she punched the guard making him reel in pain then she thrust the katana into his body making cry out in pain before she kicked him off the stairs then holding the halberd like a spear she threw it towards his falling body and it dug deep into it before pinning him to the wall.

The remaining guards rounded the corner with their flickering lamps. They called out at Ayane, drawing their swords. Realising the danger, one of the bandits dashed toward Ayane as she spared one of the guards, killing him. The spear's end cracked due to the force of it being smashed against the wall. The bandit grabbed the back of Ayane's robes / cape, pulling it back up the stairs.

At the same time, the lock on the massive door smashed open from the impact from a well-placed sword blow. The pieces scattered around the floor and the three bandits at the top of the stairs grouped together to push the doors open, allowing the light to come pouring in.
Outside was a large field surrounded with a wooden fence. This prison was set between the city walls and the outside of the city to allow the movement of undesirables from one place to another.

Ayane roundhouse kick the guard holding her cape making him let go in surprise then she went with the prisoners making sure to close the door and bar it with a nearby heavy object. She then quickly thought about what to do next while she looked around her.

"We have to escape from this place." One of the bandits bowed in thanks to Ayane. "We will call our horses from here and escape into the hills for now."
The four bandits then regrouped in the fields, discussing further plans.

Mission complete!