Chapter 58: Ceremonial Touch
Outside the ancient castle, shrouded in night, two agile figures were climbing the wall hand over hand. Their ropes strained in the darkness.
Bear and Husky—Hastin and Hares—might have been scammers, but they did possess genuine skills. They had easily picked out the route with the fewest magical traps, slipped past the outer wards, scaled the perimeter wall, and flung their grappling hooks onto the top of a tower.
One last climb, and they would be inside the tower itself, able to work their way downward through the castle.
Their plan was simple: make a quick circuit, scribble a rough map to fool their employers, and get out.
They had never wanted this job in the first place. The paladins had dragged them to the outskirts of Ambrose's territory at swordpoint, forcing them forward.
Worse still, those paladins had done something to them. If they tried to flee, they would be swiftly pursued. There were plenty of tracking spells in the standard light magic arsenal.
There was no easy way to botch their infiltration. Their only option was to minimize how long they spent inside.
Though they were confident in their abilities, both brothers felt a chill whenever they thought of the name Megaman Tiga. That legendary lich had ruined them utterly, leaving scars that went far deeper than flesh.
They'd have charged ten times the asking price if they had known he was the target. As it stood, their lives were on the line.