Chapter 141: Movement in the Shadows
The evening hadn't been very fruitful. Jonas had talked to whatever servants he could from the various guests, under the guise of acquiring gossip for his 'Lady,' but nothing that was said indicated that there were any ill feelings towards the king.
Though, he had been surprised at how late it was when the prince arrived. Then even more so that the king was the one acting as a chaperone for him. While it wasn't really that strange, it did bring to Jonas' mind that the prince's uncle was normally the one to act as his chaperone.
Something felt off to him and he quickly scanned the grounds and was satisfied that the area was dark enough. So, under the guise of needing to go relieve himself, he quickly lost himself in the darkness and carefully made his way to the building where the party was.
He had a feeling there wasn't much time to act, not that he really knew why. Although, as he neared an open window, he couldn't help but hear sounds of people talking quietly as well as something going on.
Jonas carefully moved down to take a look. As he peered around the corner of the building, he saw small catapults being loaded with what he could only identify as small wooden barrels that were about a foot tall of some kind that he was pretty sure filled with some kind of booze, based on the smell.
These people were working without light, so it was clear that they didn't want anyone learning about what they were doing. Not that it kept Jonas from not seeing clearly. Though, the people working there looked like they were getting their job done either through sheer repetition of having likely run through this often enough or just by touch.
He saw them fitting pieces of cloth in the barrels, almost like primitive Molotov cocktails. Not that he had anything against that kind of method, but he couldn't help but wonder if the plan was to destroy any evidence or maybe even kill any witnesses of whatever was going to happen.
Then as he was about to head back to the open window, he couldn't help but notice someone who was dressed much more finely than any of the others working with the barrels at the moment. Whoever he was, he didn't seem surprised at what was going on, so Jonas decided to get closer, to see if he could make out any specific words against the clatter of noise currently going on in the area.
"...ought is son. The first attempt failed as we suspected it might. So, now light the cloth and launch the casks into the room," the man said, his features hidden behind the cloak he was wearing. "All the exits have been secured and if they do manage to open one up, we're ready to kill anyone who tries to leave."