"What!" Alex said immediately, his suspicion growing by the moment.
"Yes, we are going to rob a house, well, a noble's house to be specific." Medric confirmed, still smiling.
"Ain't no way we are doing that." Alex countered quickly.
"And what do you want to do? rot here until you die of hunger?, and we only have a week before they kick us out, then we have to sleep on the streets, so what will you do?" Medric, not smiling anymore, asked him.
"And before you bring up working, do you think we haven't thought of that? This village is too small and the people searching for jobs too many. And they are bigger, stronger, and have more experience, we will never be hired, even if we find a job opportunity." Medric added, frustrated.
Alex had to say that Medric hit the nail on the head. He was indeed about to suggest working, but seeing his frustrated look, he knew they had tried before and failed.
They were also pressed for money. The trip to buy bread for a week and jerky for a month ravaged their pockets, losing a third of the money Mary gave them.
He turned to look at Marc, asking for a suggestion with his eyes
"Why don't we let him explain before deciding?" Marc, noticing his gaze, told him.
"…Okay." Said Alex, then he turned to Medric and said:
"Go on, I suppose you have a plan, right?"
"But of course." said Medric, suddenly beaming a smile.
"Look, guys, before you came, we 3 already spent a month studying the place, and we are fairly certain that it's empty." Medric started explaining.
"The reason we added you 2 it's because you'll hear us plan the thing inevitably. Besides it also is a good chance to have 2 more people. Because the patrolling guards have an unfixed patrol schedule, but every night they go to the mansion, check on it, and stay there the rest of the night." He continued explaining while drawing on the floor with chalk.
"The thing is that there are 3 possible ways they can come from, the East, West, and South." Medric added 3 streets to the drawing.
"We need a chain of command, 3 people watch for the patrol, 1 enters the house, and 1 waits in the entry point, and if we see the patrol, we tell the one waiting, which in turn enters to tell the insider to get the hell out."
Alex admitted that the plan was well crafted.
"I would like to discuss this with Marc." Alex said after a moment of thinking.
"Sure, go ahead." Medric replied.
Alex and Marc went to where they sleep.
"I don't know what to think about this, but everything seems a bit off." Alex began, confessing his doubts honestly.
"What I know is that the money we have will not last much, and if what they said is true, then we can make some quick money from this, leave for the city, and actually search for a proper job." Marc, thinking differently, said.
"You're right, it's that I don't really trust them." Alex spoke softly.
"But, do you think the opportunity of a new life is worth the risk?" Marc asked in exchange.
"Okay... We will go along with it, but we have to think of a plan B in case stuff go wrong." Alex finally conceded, but not before setting a condition.
"Sure, that's a nice idea, but we'll do it before going to bed." Marc agreed. He also thought that a plan B only for them was a nice security blanket.
They both returned to the others and agreed to Medric's plan.
"Wonderful." Medric said. "We will carry the plan tomorrow night. The brothers and I will look out for the patrol as we know how they look, Marc will stay on the entry point, and you, Alex, will go in."
"Why me?" Said Alex doubtfully.
"Because you are small and nimble, you can go in and out faster than anyone."
Alex was, in fact, the smallest here.
"Okay..." finally agreed Alex, letting out a sigh.
After the planning, everyone went to their respective bed and settled to sleep early. Alex and Marc went together to come up with plan B. After that, they also went to sleep.
Tomorrow was going to be A day.
Alex, on the other hand, was eager to sleep and see if he truly had gotten rid of the nightmare, or if the other night was a one-off.
The next morning, Alex woke up again as usual, but inside, he was as happy as he could get.
'It's true, the nightmare is gone!' Alex was so happy he could jump.
'Now I have to figure out why it's gone, and see if I can replicate the success.' He continued his train of thought.
In the bed next to his, Marc was also starting to wake up. He slept longer than usual, as he didn't sleep well the night before they were kicked out.
"Good morning." Said Marc after coming out.
"Good morning indeed." Replied Alex with a faint smile on his face.
"You seem happy, a wet dream?" Teased Marc, winking at Alex.
"No, Fuck off." Answered Alex, with he same smile.
The duo stepped out and, after greeting their accomplices, went out to eat their fill out of the watch of fellow homeless folks.
"What do you want to do if we succeed and reach the city?" Asked Alex to Marc. For the first time in a while, they had the leisure time to speak about the future.
"I don't know, honestly, survival has been the only thing in my mind the last couple of days." Marc replied honestly before continuing.
"But if I could, I would like to become a Knight." He finished.
"Huh, a knight thief, what a combination." Alex teased Marc with a smug grin.
"Shut up!" Marc looked like he was stepped on.
"I'm only doing this to get a better future for both of us!" He stated defensively.
Alex knew he was right. Marc was too much of a pure soul to be robbing houses. He knew Marc was doing this because he was taking on the load of having to take care of him.
They were raised in the orphanage together almost since birth, so more than best friends, you could say they were more like brothers.
Seeing Marc going to such lengths for him filled Alex with pride and warmth.
"What about you?" Marc asked in return.
"I don't know as well, probably opening a shop and chill working there." Alex said his honest wishes.
"Hm, simple and down to earth, much unlike you." Marc, of course, teased back.
"Fucker…" Alex could only say at Marc's retribution.
And so came the night, and with it the nervousness. The band marched together, and when they arrived a street away from the objective, they covered their faces with spare pieces of cloth.
Alex and Marc were also carrying their bags.
Medric looked at the rest of the people and said:
"Okay, let's begin the operation." While clapping his hands.
And it was on, tonight was a make it or break it kind of night.
And Alex planned to tell the tale.