Don't Forget

#14 Down the Rabbit Hole

"Alright, then", Lachlan nods, "You leave immediately". This surprises Mitch. He thought that they'd wait until tomorrow, but the General obviously doesn't want any interference from the other Captains. Lachlan's always been smart like that. Him and Rob used to talk a lot about that kind of stuff.
The thoughts give Mitch a sharp stab of grief. Him and Lachlan are the only two left. Would Jerome have followed this plan? Would Preston or Vikk?
      "You already have everything for the journey together, am I right? You were going to go through with this wether we agreed or not", one of the other Captain frowns.
     "I am the General for a reason", Lachlan smirks. It's great to see him acting like himself. Lachlan was a little messed up after Vikk disappeared. Mitch still thinks of his unit everyday.
      "Wes will have to take some horses fors a few days", Barney says, standing up.
     "There's already someone waiting for you at the camp's entrance", Lachlan explains. He really does have everything figured out. Mitch only knew that Ty was suppose to learn from an assassin. Said soldier looks extremely uncomfortable. Mitch can't help but think that Ty looks like an animal about to bolt.
      Mitch gets up first, giving Ty a chance to follow. The General and the other Captains keep talking as Barney follows them out the door. Being out of the meeting and heading towards the camp's entrance gives Mitch a sense of relief. He's never enjoyed being idle.
     "So how far is this place?", Ty turns around to face Barney, walking backwards. Mitch entertains the thought of tripping Ty before mentally slapping himself. It would be funny, though.
     "Depends if you want tos spend the night in a creepys jungle filled withs trained killers", Barney says with a huff.
     "That jungle is in the middle of the continent, right? The only reason none of our camps are there is because of the assassins", Mitch grumbles. If the GoldenEye soldiers could make space on the center of that small jungle, they'd be untouchable to outside forces. There just happens to be murderers living there, instead.
     "How about no? It's not a good idea to stay on someone else's turf", Ty frowns, "I'm willing to be out an extra day to stop at an inn or something". Mitch agrees with him, but staying in a town has its own risks. Regular civilians don't carry swords.
     When they get to the camp's entrance, there are five horses waiting for them. A red-haired man stands holding them. Mitch can't help a smile at seeing the soldier out of his own camp.
      "So, I take it things went well?", Max raises an eyebrow. His voice is a lot less 'booming' or loud. It doesn't command attention anymore.
     "I thought that you were a Captain?", Ty asks in confusion.
      "Not anymore. I was gonna take over again later, but my replacement is doing a better then I would", Max shrugs. He steps onto one of the horse's stirrups then and swings into the saddle as Mitch does the same.
      "Well, I'm glad to have you along. It's like back when the army first got out here", the Captain smiles.
       "Hey wait! Who's gonna watch people here if the Captain's gone?", Ty asks again. Doesn't he ever stop asking questions?
     "Lachlan can handle it", Mitch point out, "It's his plan, after all. Barney just gave us a starting point". The noble was meeting with the General when Lachlan straight up asked him if he knew any assassins. And now, here that all are.
      Mitch locks his sword in its sheath and wraps the entire thing in cloth. He then straps it to his horse's side and drapes a blanket over the saddle. Ty carefully copies him. Max had already done so, and Barney doesn't carry a sword. Although, Mitch is sure that the Nobel has some kind of knife in the pocket on his belt. The Captain makes sure to check the saddle's cinch before mounting.
      Max and Ty travel at the back, the spare horse tethered to Max's horse. Barney leads the way with Mitch next to him. The group has to travel through miles of vegetation before reaching any road. It's the only way that the camp can stay hidden. Even then, the road is nothing more then a narrow trail.
     Barney leads down this trail until it meets with an actual dirt road. Two of the main streets in the country are paved, and it is better for the horses, but there's more people and squids traveling on those.
     Instead, Barney leads the team over the least used roads possible. They only encounter another rider twice throughout the day. Thankfully both human, they don't give the group more then a glancing look.
     It's almost dark by the time that the jungle comes into sight. They had only stopped once for lunch and to give the horses a break. Ty had bit his tongue trying to talk on multiple occasions.
     Mitch watches Barney fidget as they near the trees. He's the one that knows this place, and it sets off alarm bells in the Captain's head. They could be killed on sight with the gathering darkness. The vegetation is becoming too thick to see their surroundings very well.
     "Stop!", Barney suddenly shouts, jerking his horse's rains. Mitch and Max react quickly, but Ty's horse has to jerk to the side to avoid walking into the two at the front.
     "Are we here? I don't see anything", he says after stopping. Mitch shoots him a glare for how loud he is. The only other noises are bugs waking up for the night.
      "Is that a rose?", Max narrows his eyes. Looking ahead, Mitch can see two rose bushes planted on either side of the road leading deeper into the jungle. They're obviously well cared for.
     "It's not always flowers, but the boundaries are marked by anything that's red. There was even some dead parrots here at one point", Barney explains, "If we cross here without permission, the assassins will picks us off one by one".
     "Do you think they're watching us?", Ty says, looking around. He seems more alert then scared. Ty knows how to pay attention to detail. Maybe that's why he nearly falls off his saddle when a stick flies in front of his face. He shouts a cuss and grips the saddle horn for balance. The stick hits Mitch square in the face, and Barney grabs it when the stick bounces off.
     "Looks like we have company", Max mutters. He looks uneasily at the shadows all around them. The vegetation offers many places to hide. Mitch is a little ticked off about the stick.
     "We're looking for Red!", Barney shouts, facing the roses. He breaks the stick in half and throws it back into the trees.
     Almost immediately, part of the shadows melt away from the rest. A figure clad in all black steps out onto the path to face the group. Mitch is unsettled with how he can't see the stranger's face. They wear a scarf covering everything except his eyes, and a hood over his head. They're sleeves are long and strangly skin-tight from the elbow down. What Mitch sees are the curved short swords that they're tightly gripping. Nothing else can be seen about them.
     Barney seems a little put off guard. He doesn't recognize this assassin. He knew Red wouldn't be out in this jungle, but he did expect to meet someone more familiar.
      "Are you part of the guild?", Barney asks softly, watching the stranger. They don't answer, scanning Barney up and down. They glance at Mitch and Max from underneath the hood. Ty meets their stare dead on. They lock eyes for a few moments before the assassin looks back at Barney.
     "Get off the horses", Barney sighs, dismounting.
     "What!? We're miles away from the closet town", Ty argues. Losing the horses now would leave them at the complete mercy of the assassins. Mitch gets off without argument. This isn't his 'comfort zone'. Trusting Barney now may be the only way to get back out if this jungle. Max tethers the horses to the trees in awkward silence. Ty jumps when the assassin speaks.
     "Follow the trail", they say, voice muffled. The stranger then ducks and slips into the underbrush. Mitch can't even hear footsteps or branches being pushed to the side. They're just gone.
     "Damn. Am I gonna be able to do that?", Ty gawks. He's finally off the horse and looking around at the thick trees.
      "That's kinda the entire point", Mitch chuckles. He's a little uneasy with the entire plan now that they're here. Anything could happen with multiple killers hanging around. They're probably still watching.
     Barney leads the group deeper into the jungle, past the roses. Mitch still can't get over the fact that one of these killers enjoy gardening. And with obsession for the color red, if the name is any indication.
      Only a thin slit of the night sky can be seen though the tree canopy. The sun has fully set by now. The dirt path is the only way that Barney hasn't lead them astray. The moon barely lights up anything with all the trees in the way.
     Ty grumbles as he swats another bug off his arm. Mitch can't help but find it funny with how many times he's been bitten. Bugs don't really bother him, but they seem to love Ty. All the humidity makes this the perfect breeding ground for almost any insect. At least it's not raining.
     "I really hope that we've done this right", Max sighs, "Might as well surrender with our weapons still tied to the horses".
      "We never would've gotten past the rose bushes if you had drawn a weapon", Barney chides him. Max just shrugs in response. He still doesn't really know why Lachlan sent him on this mission. It could just be to get Max out of his slump. He's just along for the ride in all of this, always watching and taking mental notes.
     Slowly, light starts to appear from between the trees. Barney doesn't hurry his pace, walking calmly around the bend.
      Mitch is taken aback by the assassin's guild house. The massive structure has to be at least three floors, maybe even with a basement. Giant wooden beams support the corners, but the rest of the building is made of stone. Windows are only visible on the third floor. Light is coming from them with a figure watching them from one. This place must have cost a fortune to build! The army barely has enough to feed itself.
     "Someone's a little paranoid.....", Ty raises an eyebrow, motioning to the deep pit dug all around the building. It's impossible to get to the windows with the pitfall. The only way over is a small bridge leading to a large double door. Ty ties to walk towards the bridge, but Barney pulls him back.
     "It's not that easy! The bridge would collapse under you!", the noble snaps, "There's a different entrance in the trees".  Barney walks over to the nearest tree and walks around the back. Mitch quickly follows to see that there's a hollow at the base of the tree.
      "I feel like Alicia in wonderplace", Ty snickers, "Do we really have to climb down there?".
      "There's a ladder", Barney rolls his eyes. He gets down on the ground slips into the hollow, easily downing the ladder's bars. The Nobel starts climbing down without saying anything to the others. His entire body fits down into the hole.
"That is kinda cool. Secret base, and a secret entrance", Max chuckles. He's the next one to climb down. Ty looks up at Mitch with an almost pleading expression. He won't admit it, but being buried alive is one of his worst fears. The Captain doesn't know this and forces Ty to start going down before Mitch follows.