Part IV
Break from Fensview Watchouse

I awoke late the next day lying on a makeshift bed made from my padded cloak and a blanket I had found lying nearby. I stiffly sat up and shielded my eyes from a shaft of light seeping through a crack in a floorboard above. I got up and awoke Andrus sleeping next to me. Basso was still curled up in his own blanket beside Jevik, so we quietly dressed and left him a note explaining where we were. We had decided the previous night that we would take a place near the watch house in the morning, and then watch it by day until nightfall, when we would break in and attempt our rescue. Quietly and without a word, we left the room by the trap door in the ceiling, and emerged a few minutes later in the morning sunshine which had penetrated the end of the dark alley. Andrus and I set off through the streets, keeping a low profile until we reached the main square. It was largely deserted, as this was not a market or working day and so most of the city's population slept late today. We proceeded to the fountain in the centre of the square, and washed our faces, necks and upper selves in the clear water. After the refreshing splashes of the water, I put my shirt back on and went to buy breakfast from the same bakery that I had bought from several days ago. Andrus waited for me at the square's edge, and we walked the rest of the way to the watch house eating two warm croissants and loaves.

The watch house was surrounded by a small ground, made mainly up of grass and a few trees. The grounds hadn't been looked after properly since the Bluecoats had used it, and so the trees had grown wild and unkempt, and the grass had become long and deep, slowly covering the path up to the front entrance. Andrus and I approached from the back, springing lightly over the perimeter wall and into the soft lush grass on the other side. We quickly sought cover behind a tangled holly bush, where we split up and took positions on either side of the rectangular building, able to watch the front and so see any entrants to the building. I climbed into the boughs of a tall oak tree, and settled down in a small niche between the parting of two gnarled branches. I didn't see where Andrus went, which was probably a good thing, as if I couldn't spot him, no guard would be able to. I sat back to wait the day out.

After several hours of waiting, a rather dishevelled guard came tottering out of the front door to take up a post I guessed he should have been at hours ago. He muttered to himself, setting himself heavily down on a stool, which promptly broke. The man fell backwards off of the steps up to the door, landing in what I guessed by his curses and shouting was a holly or gorse. His sword flashed up in the air, and I watched with stifled amusement as he started to hack at the bush, cursing and yelling all the while. When he seemed to be satisfied that he had avenged himself against the now rather mangled plant, he took up his post again, forced to stand. I was glad that I had seen this- if the guards had been drinking last night then our job might have been made a lot easier.

I continued to wait out the day, and as lunchtime passed, my stomach growled at me, not content with by breakfast. I sat there through the afternoon, shaded from the heat by the tree I sat in. The guard changed several times, and by early evening the same guard I had seen first was back on duty, still looking extremely unhappy at being made to stand in the same place for hours on end. As soon as the last of the light had faded, I slipped silently to the ground, and softly made my way back to where we had originally entered the grounds. Andrus had been waiting there for a minute already, and without a word we scaled the wall to return to the street outside. The clock tower we planned to use to get in via the roof of the watch house was a small way around the corner. Andrus and I made our way noiselessly through the small network of streets to reach it. The base of the tower could be entered through a single wooden door, located at the front of the structure. As Andrus stood watch, I began to pick the rusted lock, slowly releasing the tumbler with my picks. I had to switch several times to spring the old lock, but after a small effort the door was unlocked with a satisfying click. We slipped inside unnoticed.

It was in here that we received our first surprise- the clock's mechanic was still here after dark. He was slumped over a table on which he had been writing, snoring loudly. We decided it was best not to wake him and then blackjack him, and left him sleeping as we crept up the spiral staircase to the top. We trod softly to avoid making the wooden stairs creak, and soon enough we had reached the top. Here another door lead out on to the top of the tower, where there was an open air section to allow access to the clock's workings. This door was unlocked, so Andrus opened it and then shut it again silently once we were both through, drowning out the sounds of the mechanic's loud snores.

The wind whipped at my face and threw back my hood, also causing my cloak to billow out behind me slightly. It was a welcome change to the sticky heat down below, as was the view we could now see. This tower was a lot higher than the rooftops, and I could see all the way to the docks and further out to sea. Tall spires and towers rose up out of the network of roads and highways in the wealthy quarters, and I could see clearly outlined in the moonlight three Hammerite Cathedrals and chapels, their blocky and imposing forms silhouetted against the sky. I pushed my mind back to the task in hand, and helped Andrus to secure a rope to an overhanging part of the tower. We let the rope fall down, and it was buffeted by the wind as it snaked down the clock tower's side. Andrus tugged hard on the rope to test it, before securing it further, and then taking hold of it. He took one last glance at me, and then lowered himself down it at an alarming speed. He was obviously a far more adept climber then me, I thought as he descended. When Andrus had reached the right height, he began to kick out at the building, pushing himself further out from the tower each time. After five or so of these kicks, he let the rope go, and dropped ten feet or so to land silently on the flattened roof. He ducked and rolled on impact with the stone, before getting up and signalling to be to follow.

I took a deep breath, took hold of the rope with both hands, and began to descend, gripping the rope with my knees as well. At first I progressed slowly, but as I gained confidence, I speeded up. Soon I had reached the right height, and I brought my legs up in front of me, as if I were about to abseil down the rest of the way. My arms were hurting me with the strain of keeping this position, so I kicked hard to get this over with as soon as I could. After four kicks, I estimated that I could make the drop, so I straightened up in midair and let the rope go. I dropped quickly, and as my feet hit the roof I rolled myself backwards to land standing up, extremely pleased with myself for the roll. Andrus nodded with a smile, and we crossed the roof together with no more noise than the wind. Everything had gone smoothly so far.

We soon found the balcony that Andrus had seen in his plans, and I dropped down on to it, closely followed by Andrus. Seeking a patch of darkness, I then leaned out to open the door a fraction. The room beyond was both dark and deserted, so Andrus and I crept inside, closing the balcony door behind us. The staircase to the second floor was just beyond in the next room, which was the officer's mess. I covered my face again with my hood, feeling the warmth and heat of the building close in on me again. I opened the next door a tiny way, allowing a thin crack of light to enter the room we were in. The next room was occupied by one solitary man, sitting at a table eating with his back to us. I opened the door fully, and beckoned to Andrus, who was crouching behind me. He indicated that he could take care of this guy, so I allowed him to carry on. Pulling his cloak tighter around him, Andrus stole into the room until he was crouched behind the man's chair. He had stopped eating now, and had started to get up when Andrus saw his chance. He edged backwards as the man got up, and with a swift blow with his blackjack, he felled the man with a muffled grunt. Andrus caught him as he fell, and dragged the unconscious man back to our darkened room. I then signalled to him to continue, and we crossed the mess room silently to a staircase which led down to the second floor.

Once at the bottom, we decided to split, as the next staircase was across the other side of the floor. The floor was being used for storage only, so I reckoned that there shouldn't be any major problems. I took a door to the left of the room we were in, and Andrus took the right. Beyond my side of the room lay a short corridor, lit by a single torch at the end. I heard no guards, so I made my way down the carpeted passage and quickly ducked into a room stacked with chests and crates of supplies. I crossed this room, and emerged into a much larger and well lit chamber. This room obviously served as an accounting department, which I noted due to the piles of ledgers and books beside a small desk covered in parchments and quills. I listened to pick up any trace of movement beyond this room, and sure enough I heard the footsteps of a guard approaching. Soon he came into view, swinging his sword by his side gently. He crossed the room, but stopped just short of my doorway, before turning around and going back the way he came. Once his footsteps had faded again, I fitted a water crystal to an arrow, and took out my crossbow. I set the force of the shot down with a small lever on the bow, and held up my arm to aim over. Closing one eye, I zeroed in on the torch opposite me, firing when I had taken aim. The arrow arced slightly, and extinguished the light in a small cloud of steam. I put the bow away, and creepy across the half carpeted half wooden floor, till I reached the small patch of shadow I had created. So sooner then I had taken my place, I heard the spproaching footfalls of the patrolling guard.

He came into the room and stopped just inside.

"Damn tor...." he muttered, but didn't get any further, because I had struck him across the back of his head with my blackjack, letting him fall forwards on to the carpet. I took his sword away, and dragged him into the shadow, placing his sword back next to him. Satisfied, I proceeded to the next room, which was now only one room away from the staircase. This room was also stacked high with boxes, but was unoccupied and dark, so I crossed it quickly. Beyond lay the room with the staircase, as well as another door that Andrus would take to reach it. I put my head round the door to take in the room's surroundings, but quickly retracted it when I heard a voice.

"I know you're there, don't try to hide from me, taffer!"

I backed away to the darkest region of my room, readying my blackjack, but nobody came. I waited a few more seconds, before curiosity got the better of me, and I put my head around the doorway to see who had spoken. I immediately saw my mistake- it was not me who had been addressed, but Andrus! I could see across the room that a guard was searching the room Andrus must be concealed in, and after a few seconds of searching myself, I made out his dark outline. The guard was closing in, I estimated that Andrus had maybe a few more seconds of concealment. Acting quickly, I took out my blackjack, and crossed the room as silently as possible. Luckily for me, the guard was too occupied with finding Andrus to notice me behind him. About half way across the guard spotted him, and shouted loudly, raising his sword. I hurried forward with as much stealth as I could, and just before the guard could bring his sword down, I brought my club down on the back of his head, silencing him.

Andrus got up from his shadows, and helped me to drag the guard out of sight, before thanking me for helping.

"Thank the Watchman you were there, Yorrick! That was nearly the end of my thieving days! Thank you- ye saved me there"

"No problem, my friend. What else would I have done?"

"Not sure, depends what sort of mood ye were in I suppose," said Andrus, and we shared a brief laugh before continuing on our way down. The next floor was easy- the staircases were practically next to each other, on either side of a darkened room. We snuck down the staircase, and arrived at the bottom in a brightly lit reception area. Both of us quickly hurried to the nearest separate corners of the reception area, and extinguished the torches on opposite sides of the room to each other. However, the room was still not in total darkness, as there was a central electric light in the centre of the ceiling. We could still avoid the light and get out of the reception though, so we came together and agreed to meet in a short while at the entrance to the cellar. The final staircase was across the other side of the building from us, so we had a long route on this floor, and had the opportunity to collect as much loot as we could manage. Again, I took one door, and Andrus took the next. My route took me into a smaller waiting room, where a chest had been placed beside a small row of chairs. I bent down and soon had the lock picked, to reveal inside several jewelled tiaras and necklaces, which I helped myself to. These would fetch me an excellent price, once I found a fence to sell them off for me. Happy with my collection, I continued out into a corridor, which was lit all the way along by electric lights. I could also hear many voices behind one of the doors on the right, where a lot of people were gathered and talking in loud tones. Since I could hear no guards patrolling nearby, and the hall was carpeted, I made my way quickly to the other end of the passage, into a room with several vases on pedestals. Much as I would have liked to take them, I was not equipped tonight to steal any, but I was able to take a small quantity of gold from a collection of pouches stored in a safe in one corner of the room. The lock was easy enough to pick, so I took out as much as I could with out causing myself to make clinking noises when I walked, and proceeded on.

The next room was noticeably different from the previous set of rooms I had visited. I was not wallpapered, carpeted, had no tapestries, desks or plaques informing the reader of the room's purpose. I was locked behind a heavy iron door, whose lock I had difficulty picking, due to its age and higher quality. Obviously, the Bluecoats had wanted to keep this area secure from both the inside and the outside. Once I had opened it however, I extinguished the single torch inside, and waited for Andrus in the corner. He arrived a few minutes later, and we spent a moment comparing loot counts, before setting off down the staircase.

The air down in the cellar was noticeably staler and had a feel of time in it. We emerged into a small, undecorated room with a single door up ahead. This door was open, so I watched as Andrus opened it a fraction before opening it fully, and we both slipped inside.

The area beyond was all stonework, a long corridor with rooms leading off of every side, the last three rooms on either side made up of what looked like prison bars. At the end of the corridor was an iron door, illuminated by an eerie greenish light, suspended by a chain above it. The lettering on the door was clear- it read 'INQUISITION' in black lettering. I shuddered to think what lay beyond it. I lead the way down the corridor, listening at every door on the way down to the end. The construction of the cellar was simply- every room seemed to lead off of this corridor. I was about half way down when Andrus alerted me to a sound up ahead. A few doors down, I could hear movement. I hurried down further in total silence, and out my ear to the door to listen. I could hear the slurred words of a man talking to somebody, followed by a sharp sound of an impact.

"Listen, pretty one.....pretty flower....don't you wanna, wanna get te know mme better? I... I... I's got a liking for you, pretty one..."

I heard the impact again, followed by a whimper. I put two and two together, and the realisation made my veins boil and my chest burn.

"Andrus! That's Jennivere! That drunk bastard inside...he's...he's hurting her! Help me open this door!" I whispered frantically, trying to keep the noise level down. Andrus nodded, and tried the door for the sake of it, but it was locked. Not having the time to fiddle with lock picks, We counted to three and kicked together at the door. It was old and moulding, and the combined force of out kicks broke it from half of its hinges, the other giving way after I kicked again. In the room beyond, I saw a crumpled figure lying in the corner, being over shadowed by a larger figure with its arm raised. I felt my chest burn with fury again, and I jumped over the door into the room. I rushed up to the man standing over Jennivere, and wheeled him around, before striking him hard across the jaw with my fist. His head snapped back, and I followed up with a quick kick to his stomach, causing him to bend double. I hit him again, uppercutting him in the mouth, and with that he stumbled and fell backwards onto his back, where he lay groaning. I drew my sword to finish him off, and I would have killed him if Andrus hadn't grabbed by raised arm.

"Yorrick! Take control of yourself! Look at you! Can you really kill a man when you've already felled him?"

I suddenly realised how angry I had become, and cooled myself down, aware at just how close I had come to overstepping the line between thief and common murderer. There was a rule to thieving- you could knock people unconscious, but a killing was unacceptable unless it was deemed absolutely necessary. I sheathed my sword, thanking Andrus for stopping me in time. I remembered then about Jennivere, and hurried over to her. She still had her arms above her head, expecting another blow from the drunk guard.

"Jennivere! It's Yorrick! We're here to take you back to Basso, hurry!"

"Yorrick? Yorrick, is it really you? Oh Yorrick!" she replied, hugging me tightly.

"Come on- we have to leave now. By the way- this is Andrus, without him I couldn't ever have reached here. Let's go!"

Andrus smiled, and motioned the lifting of a hat. Jennivere smiled back weakly, and I helped her to stand up. She leaned heavily on me, so I decided that it would be quicker simply to carry her. I scooped her up in my arms, and we hurried down the corridor together, Andrus in front to open the door. We slipped back into the room with the entrance to the cellar, and were about to emerge back to the main area of the first floor, when we heard a shout.

"Hear that? Somebody shouted, down in the cellar! Come on!"

I quickly set Jennivere down in the corner of the small room, and Andrus and I took positions on either side of the door, shielded by shadows. I reached into my cloak, and pulled out a small spherical device. I pushed a red button on the side, before rolling it outside into the room behind where the guards were approaching from. I saw through a crack in the opened door's hinges a bright flash of white light, followed by the muffles cries of two men beyond. Losing no time, Andrus darted out, and I heard two quick blows as he felled the men. I scooped up Jennivere again, and she clung tightly to my neck as the three if us made our way back out into the rooms of the ground floor. Andrus beckoned me to follow a different route back to the reception, which wouldn't take us past the room full of people. We crossed through a set of ornately decorated rooms with as much speed and stealth as we could safely combine, and soon had reached the reception area. It was still empty of people. Pushed on by the surge of adrenalin released by the thought of escape and success, we crossed to the main door, and Andrus tried the lock. It was open! He gently eased the door wide open, and dispatched the dozing guard outside, pushing him off the steps into the long grass outside. We noiselessly made our way down the path to the gates to Fensview Watch House, me carrying Jennivere, and Andrus running ahead to check for any last sentries. There were none, and I felt for the first time as we escaped true elation coming with the cool air on my skin.

I lay back into the soft recesses of a chair set at the window of my apartment, and closed my eyes to reflect on what the past month had brought me. After our rescue at Fensview Watch House, we had brought Jennivere back to Basso at the hideout. He had been overjoyed to see her, and she likewise, and both had thanked Andrus and I endlessly for our rescue. The next day Andrus had made contact with his travelling friends, and arranged the transport of Jevik, Basso and Jennivere out of the city and off to another small coastal town further north for Jevik to recover. In his last correspondence, Basso had mentioned that Jevik's wounds had nearly completely healed, and then he was able to function normally again, thanks to the aid provided by the gypsies as part of Andrus's request. It was good to know that Basso was safe from the Pool in a yet unaffected town, and that Jennivere was out of their hands. Andrus and I had stayed in Dayport, and he had been able to find an apartment close to mine with the total loot we had stolen from the watch house. We were planning more jobs together as freelance thieves, as joining another guild was too risky at the moment. Life was good at the moment.

And yet it was not over. The threat of the Pool was still lurking. It had not grown large enough to attract any attention from the other big guilds, the Hammerites, Mechanists or Bluecoats. Andrus and I were the only ones to know how much danger Dayport would be in if the Pool of Darkness was allowed to grow- and so it was up to us to prevent them doing so. I had been trying to avoid thinking about this for the last few weeks, but I knew that some time in the future, certainly soon, I would have to address the problem with Andrus. But that time was not just yet.

If you liked my story, please email me with any comments, criticisms or opinions you have at naartjie77@hotmail.com. I would very much like to hear what you have to say about Into the Pool of Darkness, as I'm planning on perhaps writing something much larger in stages about Yorrick and Andrus taking on the evil Baron Bastell and his lot. Thanks for reading!