The next morning, after a lonely night underneath the stars with a fur blanket for cover, the sun hung low on the horizon as the rogue cultivators approached Sandspire Village, creating shadows from the dunes for them to hide behind as they advanced.
The group moved in silence as they prepared for their raid. Lassim flew at the back of the pack, keeping his eyes forward but his mind spinning. The snippets of conversation he’d overheard the night before still lingered in his thoughts.
Whatever this "reward" was that Kierlan had promised, it had the rogues whipped into a frenzy, but only he seemed to be out of the loop and not know exactly what it was. Still, he had to keep up the charade.
He’d taken part in their caravan robbery without actually harming anyone, but the attack on Sandspire would be different. This time, Vaela would be defending the village, and he needed to make sure she remained unharmed and not slain accidentally while not blowing his cover.
"Stick to the plan," Selira had instructed the group of 4 before they left. "Hit them fast, grab the supplies, and get out. Don’t engage with Vaela longer than necessary. We can’t afford to lose more people."
The rogues, all in the spirit Transcendent stage, nodded in agreement, but there was a quiet undercurrent of unease. They had lost contact with the previous group of 4 they sent and labeled them potential deserters. However, there was a worry that they received reinforcements and they lost their potential easiest target.
Regardless, even if Vaela was alone, she had a reputation—She was no easy opponent.
Lassim kept his face neutral as they neared the outskirts of the village. His eyes scanned the horizon for any signs of Vaela, but so far, the desert remained quiet, its stillness broken only by the crunch of sand under their boots.
The plan was simple: attack from three sides as 2 individuals from North and South and him and Selira as a duo from the West. Then, cause enough chaos to distract Vaela, steal the building supplies, and escape. Lassim would be directly facing Vaela when she showed up.
As they crested the final dune, Sandspire came into view. The village was a collection of half-built buildings made of stone and metal, half-reconstructed walls and sparse undamaged structures scattered throughout the area. Workers moved between them, unaware of the approaching danger.
"Alright, move in," Selira’s voice was a harsh whisper. "We take what we need and leave before they can regroup. Be prepared for more of a fight than we’re used to if they got help from their shitty Sect." She spit onto the sand as the spoke those last words.
The rogues split into three groups, each moving toward their assigned direction. Lassim fell in closer behind Selira as they moved swiftly toward the nearest storage area where Selira said the building materials were kept. His spirit senses stretched out, alert for any signs of Vaela.
Suddenly, a loud crack of lightning split the air. Lassim’s head snapped up just in time to see a bolt of pure electricity in the shape of a lance crash into the ground ahead of them, kicking up sand and debris.
Vaela had arrived.
"She’s here!" one of the rogues yelled, but Vaela was already upon them, her lance crackling with lightning as she descended from the sky. Her figure was imposing, her long, jet-black hair flying behind her in a braid today as she thrust her weapon forward, forcing the rogues to dodge or be fried where they stood.
Lassim had expected her to appear, but the sight of her in action as an opponent was exhilarating to watch compared to the last moments they spent together and her mistresses. She seemed so much more intimidating with her fluid movements, almost graceful despite her giantess size, and every thrust of her lightning lance sent waves of electrical energy piercing through the air.
"Hold her off!" Selira barked from somewhere nearby, her movement technique faster than Lassim could blink, her voice strained as she focused on securing the supplies. "We don’t need to defeat her, just buy enough time to get what we came for!"
Lassim didn’t need to be told twice. He moved forward, his halberd materializing in his hands as he faced Vaela in tandem with the other rogues distracting her.
He needed to make this look convincing, but at the same time, he couldn’t actually harm her.
"Vaela!" he called out, hoping to draw her attention away from the others.
She turned toward him, her green eyes narrowing in recognition. "Lassim," she muttered under her breath, clearly catching on to his act. A smirk tugged at her lips as she twirled her lance while remembering the message she received on her communication disc last night from him, electricity creating a shower of sparks flowing from the tip of her lance as she built up energy for her next attack.
"Former Lightning Sect Disciple! Ah, there’s a reward of 5,000 Thunderstones if I bring you back to headquarters! Who exactly did you piss off? Eh, who cares… I’ll just collect you and find out later!," she taunted, loud enough for the other rogues to hear.
Lassim charged forward, directly between a rogue about to attack and Vaela, his halberd crackling lightning.
He somewhat shoved the rogue out of the way as he swung it toward her, but just before it could connect, he intentionally stumbled in the air, his sloppy projectile blade of lightning attack veering off course and slamming into a stack of crates down below instead. The impact sent supplies flying, scattering them across the ground in a cloud of sand.
Vaela’s eyes flashed with amusement, but she didn’t let up. She countered with a swift strike of her lance, forcing Lassim to dodge awkwardly. He managed to deflect the blow just in time, sending a shower of sparks into the air, but once again bumped into the other rogue that was just about to launch his own attack.
"Hahaha! I’m glad the sect got rid of an idiot like you, Lassim," she said. "You’re going to make my side split open from laughter if you can’t do better than that!"
Lassim gritted his teeth, sending a wave of lightning thrusted from his halberd toward her as he called upon his [Lightning Lash] technique. It looked like a standard lightning bolt, but was instead his capture and paralyzing technique.
The bolts crackled through the air, but just as they were about to hit her, he twisted his hand silently as his spatial manipulation of the threads redirected the attack toward the first nearby rogue instead. The man yelped in surprise as the electricity coursed through him, dropping to the ground, stunned, with a grunt.
"Sorry!" Lassim called out, his voice laced with fake panic. "I—uh, missed!"
Vaela let out a low chuckle, clearly enjoying the spectacle as she swept her lance in a wide arc, sending another lance of lightning crashing into the ground near the rogue’s fallen form. "Keep missing like that, and you might just survive this! I might’ve even put in a good word for someone as clumsy as you if you weren’t worth so much." she whispered with a grin.
As the fight continued, Lassim did his best to hold Vaela off without actually engaging her directly. He sent out bursts of lightning that conveniently missed their target, creating just enough chaos to keep the rogues moving but not enough to do any real damage.
Vaela, for her part, played along, letting him push her back just enough to make it look like she was struggling against the three, especially once the others recovered, without actually losing control of the battle.
Selira, meanwhile, had managed to grab several crates of building supplies and metal bars from the storage area. She had filled her bags and even had ropes with additional crates attached to her arms, allowing her to carry a full load as she appeared.
"Time to go!" Selira’s voice rang out again, sharp and commanding. "Fall back, now!"
The rogues began to retreat as they fled toward the edge of the village. Lassim stayed behind for a few moments longer, exchanging a few more clumsy blows with Vaela to sell the act.
"Go," Vaela muttered under her breath as she deflected one of his attacks. "I’ll take care of the rest."
Lassim gave a small nod, sending one final bolt of lightning toward a nearby pile of crates before turning to flee. As he took off into the sky, he cast one last glance back at Vaela, catching her eye for a brief moment.
He winked.
Vaela’s smirk widened, and she gave a subtle nod before turning her attention back to the remaining rogues.
Lassim flew after the retreating group, his heart pounding in his chest. The raid had been a success, but he knew that Selira would be watching him closely from now on. He had managed to hold off Vaela without compromising himself, but the hardest part of not receiving too harsh of a punishment for his "poor performance" was likely yet to come.
~~~
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When they returned to the camp, the atmosphere was electric with excitement. The rogues were celebrating, their stolen goods from today, and even the previous raids, all piled high in the center of the camp as they reveled in their success.
Selira was waiting for Lassim as he landed, her sharp eyes scanning the group with a mix of approval for the regulars and suspicion towards Lassim. Her gaze lingered on Lassim for a moment longer than necessary, but she didn’t say anything at first.
"You held her off," Selira said, her voice cold but approving. "I didn’t think you’d last against Vaela as a Spirit Ascension stage, but you did. You bought us the time we needed."
Lassim forced a smile, keeping his tone casual. "Just doing my part."
Selira’s smirk didn’t quite reach her eyes. There was still something about him that made her suspicious, but for now, she seemed willing to let it slide.
"You’ve proven yourself, for now," she said, her tone sharp. "But don’t get too comfortable. There’s still one more test you’ll need to pass."
Lassim raised an eyebrow, but didn’t press his luck in the situation yet. It was odd that she didn’t even bring up his sloppy performance, yet the other two rogues were glaring at him with strong hostility. Surprisingly, they were also biting their tongues and not blaming him or causing trouble. "[How odd…]," Lassim thought to himself.
Selira then continued and turned to address the rest of the rogues, her voice rising above the chatter. "Tomorrow, Kierlan will give us the reward we’ve been working for. Everything we’ve done has been leading up to this moment!"
There was a fanaticism in her eyes and the rogues as they erupted into cheers, their excitement palpable as they began to prepare for whatever was coming next.
Lassim, however, couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that settled in his gut. What was this "reward" that Kierlan had promised? And why was it being kept a secret?
As the camp buzzed with anticipation, Lassim kept his thoughts to himself, knowing that tomorrow would be the day he would learn the truth of what had made them all so motivated and organized.