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"Katherine Aleister." Kate stated simply, never calling herself by her title in the midst of a battle. "And my guard."
 
The officer straightened instantly with a salute. "Ma'am. I'm glad to see you. Your forces have already halted the assault on the gate, and we've turned a quarter of our own toward cornering former Baron Alba. I assume you heard the bells. A small battle has broken out in the Northeast market between Alba's personal guard and some of our own. We welcome your assistance, there's more than we anticipated."
 
"With caution," Qira answered in Erygonian, following close behind her as the gate was opened for them to enter single-file. Qira sent the last man in their group back toward Kell to let him know they were inside.

Foulden itself was a lovely castle town, the outer walls having only been completed in the past decade. It looked almost idyllic with its home gardens and trees dotted between timber frame houses, like the perfect little quaint town. But there seemed to be no people, only a shadow darting here and there. In times of strife, many folk evacuated to cathedrals, churches, or inner bailies if possible.

The soldiers let Kate and her men by before resuming their watch, and their captain directed her to the north along the wall where now a black plume of smoke had begun to rise, and a few soldiers took the wall route to aid in fighting the fire and Alba's men.
 
Kate kept watch over everything happening around her, learning an awareness from Kell that she hadn't realized until that moment. Everything around her was a threat. Everything around her could possibly kill her. It was the life that she had to live in times like these, afraid of everything around her and ready for action.

As she and Qira rode towards the chaos, she drew her dagger and placed it to where it could be easily used. Glancing over at her guard, she simply nodded, at the ready for the fight that was to come.
 
Qira remained behind Kate almost constantly, at a position where he could see anyone trying to approach her as they went. They went unbothered until they reached the mentioned market square, and saw all streets into the square barricaded with wagons and debris. At the center, huddled behind another ring of barricades and under stalls, were more of the mercenaries like the ones outside, mixed in with men wearing Alba's coat of arms.

Kate's men dismounted to take shelter as arrows came flying at them, hiding the horses on another street. "We'd be fools to approach directly, ma'am," one officer reported. "And a slow approach with shields would be risky regardless."
 
"Then we won't give them the chance." Kate said, tossing her reigns to a nearby officer. "Qira and I will approach and see what is happening. We will report back shortly."

Glancing towards the panther, she gave him a nod. She trust him to act like a shadow and to take her along to see just what was happening with their own eyes.
 
"Good luck, ma'am," the officer she gave her reins to murmured. "We'll keep their attention."

Qira dismounted as well, coming to Kate's side as she prepared, ready to guide her in sneaking up to them if that was what she intended. Even though he knew Kell would never approve of such a thing, Qira knew Kate was capable and she was a woman who preferred to see things herself rather than rely on others all the time.
 
Kate followed after Qira as if she were following Kell. Often when they were slipping around the castle on their own or getting into mischief, Kell had taken the opportunity to teach her the finer points of espionage and slipping around unnoticed. She said nothing as she rested her hand on her dagger, following in Qira's footsteps as if she were his shadow.
 
Despite his immense size, Qira moved along perhaps even more silently than Kell. With a natural feline agility and footpaws suited for silent movement, he crept like shadow itself through alleys with Kate to get a new angle to approach from the northeast, a direction none of their enemies would expect.

As Qira brought them to a halt at the end of an alley behind a crate, he motioned Kate's gaze to a stall with cover, but it'd take a quick, silent run at the right moment to get there unnoticed. He placed a hand on her back, keeping her low and watching Alba's men for a long moment before suddenly tapping her to go.
 
Kate stayed low to the ground as Qira seemed to wait for an unseen moment. As soon as he tapped her back, she was off, running quietly as she could towards the cover that the stall offered. She crouched when she made it, turning to wait for him to make the run himself.
 
Qira was poised to follow when he suddenly turned to look behind him at something Kate couldn't see. He looked back to Kate and gave her a signal to be still and silent, before disappearing from her sight. Perhaps some threat had followed them all the way from Rothbury, or perhaps there were other enemies patrolling. Either way, Kate was close enough to the group huddled in the center to hear some mercenaries speak. They were tense, knowing death was approaching, muttering about the job not being worth the money, about the Baron being a rebel that jeopardized their lives and livelihoods by mixing them up in his ill-thought-out plans.
 
Kate shrank low to the ground as Qira gave her a series of motions and she watched as he seemed to dissolve into nothing. Her heart was hammering hard in her chest as she heard the voices of the mercenaries talking to one another in hushed tones, talking about their dissatisfaction with the task that they had been given. All she could do was sit and wait for Qira to come back, as quietly as she possibly could.
 
A small commotion soon broke out near where Kate's men were stationed, likely a small clash while the majority of Alba's bodyguards stayed put. Soon one of the bodyguards went past Kate's hiding spot, likely patrolling the surroundings to ward off flanking attacks or spies. Only a few seconds after he passed, Qira seemed to materialize and bolt to Kate's side, silently panting as if he'd been exerting himself in some way in the time he'd disappeared.

"We are being followed," he whispered in Erygonian. "It isn't one of Alba's men."
 
Kate looked up at the panther as he told her that they were being followed and the man wasn't one of Alba's. "Who then?" She asked softly, wondering who might be following the both of them.
 
"I don't know. But I imagine someone similar to that Axeman that attacked you. Someone related to whoever sent him," Qira explained his theory. "The remnants of Oliver Colton's men, perhaps."
 
"Do I need to turn back?" Kate asked him, knowing that if he wanted her somewhere safe, he wouldn't be having this conversation with her.
 
"It's up to you. He may be just shadowing us right now. If he attacks you here, he'll draw Alba's attention and risk failure or death." Qira glanced around them briefly. "We're too far out in the open for him to risk it if he's smart."
 
"We didn't come this far to turn back now." Was Kate's simple answer as she placed her trust entirely in Qira to keep her safe. "We will deal with him later.'
 
Qira nodded, slowly glancing out and around them before asking quietly, "Now what is it you're aiming to do? Spy, or strike?"
 
"All of the above. If we can do both safely, and shake them to the core, it would be a success. I know one is more risky than the other, however." Kate answered back softly.
 
"Leave the attack to me, then. It'll be easier to escape if they're only aware of one of us." He glanced out once more. "There's another stall closer to them. I'll get you there and then circle around." He drew her to the corner of the stall, his huge form casting her in shadow as he leaned over her. His black form would be less noticeable if anyone happened to glance their way. "Be ready," he whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder and watching Alba's men. It was nearly two minutes before he gave her a nudge. "Quickly, go." He sent her toward the stall that was almost dangerously close to the men, close enough to listen in and even figure out if Alba was still with them, and Qira himself disappeared off in another direction.
 
Kate tucked her small frame into a corner of the stall, aiming to not be seen by anyone as she waited for some information to come her way. She could hear men talking beyond the wall, words that weren't quiet clear enough for her to hear.
 
As Kate waited and listened, she eventually heard men coming toward her position. As they walked past, she could see one seemed to be an actual officer from Alba's former estate, backed by several mercenaries as they secured the area. All fighting was at a stalemate for the moment, and the soldiers and mercenaries were trying to secure a way out by the conversation Kate could overhear.

"If we can just reach the wall alleys, we should be able to break past the north gate," the officer muttered to the mercenaries.

"Why th'hell're we still here?" One growled in a Scottish accent. "My boys're walkin' into death with no chance o' victory. Tha's no worth any amount o' money."

"You're here because you all made yourselves criminals with what you did to that border lord. You were supposed to subdue his family, not butcher them."

"Fucker 'ad it comin'," the mercenary captain snapped. "Bastard seized my brother's farm."

"I don't care," the officer stopped and faced the mercenary. "If you even try to surrender and betray us, we'll shoot you down before you make it five steps. You signed a contract. Get us out of here, and you'll be freed from it."
 
Kate's hand immediately went to the hilt of her dagger in case the men suddenly came across her. In the shadows, she felt that she was relatively hidden, but she knew there was always room for error. She knew that Alba certainly was still there, but there were more involved in this plot against her lords than she previously knew. That was certainly something she wasn't expecting.
 
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