Chapter 23 - Chapter 23: The Edge of Dawn

The pre-dawn hours of June 1610 draped Ahmedabad in a restless hush, the stars dimming like fading embers as Jai Vora and his team—Amir, Kofi, Ravi, Manoj, Sarita, the 15-year-old girl leader, and Vikram Singh's stealth guards Dhruv and Sameer—prepared in the haveli's armory. Black outfits clung to their forms, Kofi's sharpened spears, daggers, and smoke arrows gleaming under torchlight, each piece of light armor crafted to boost Agility and shroud movement. Jai, nine but sharp as a honed blade, checked his quiver of smoke arrows, their sulfur tips a nod to his modern ingenuity. His mind churned with strategies to breach Arjun Mala's estate, a fortress of wealth and treachery. The Emperor System, his secret AI-spirit guide, thrummed: "Dawn's your window, Jai. Mala's guards are ripe for the picking, but that basement warren's a snake pit. The girl's your ace—don't lose her."In the locked chamber, the girl stood, her sharp eyes locking onto Jai's. Her silence, once an iron fortress, crumbled under her resolve. "I'll help you," she said, voice resolute yet laced with doubt. "But can you promise to save my sister—and not use her as your bargaining chip, even after?" Jai's response was swift, his Charm a beacon of sincerity. "I promise. Work with me, and I'll save her, free her, and you both. I want Mala, not your chains." Her loyalty, a fragile spark, flared to 10%, her gaze softening like dawn's first light. Sarita, her People Management a gentle strength, untied the girl's coarse ropes. Flexing her wrists, the girl selected a pair of Kofi's sleek daggers, their balance perfect for her Agility. She slipped into a black outfit, her Stealth a shadow reborn, ready to lead them into Mala's lair.The team glided through Ahmedabad's sleeping streets, their footfalls muffled on cobblestones slick with dew. They climbed to the rooftop of a merchant's house, its tiled expanse a vantage point mere yards from Mala's estate. The fortress loomed—a sprawling complex of high sandstone walls, iron gates spiked like teeth, and torchlit towers casting jagged shadows. Watchtowers flanked the perimeter, their sentries' torches flickering like fireflies, while a central mansion rose three stories, its second floor—Mala's residence—lit faintly by lamplight. Two guards, among the strongest in the estate, stood sentinel at the second-floor door, their silhouettes broad and menacing, though not matching the girl's skill. The estate's grounds were a maze of gardens, stables, and outbuildings, with a hidden trapdoor to the basement warren concealed near a gnarled banyan tree, its roots twisting like Mala's schemes.The girl crouched beside Jai, her voice a whisper. "Twenty to thirty guards patrol at night—ten on the walls, the rest in the grounds. Twenty more sleep in the guardhouse by the stables, stirring at dawn for the shift change. The basement's a warren—training rooms, cells, armories. Twenty-five to thirty assassins and trainees are down there, including my sister. Eight are children, like her, locked in cells at the warren's heart." Dhruv and Sameer, scar-faced and hawk-eyed, nodded, their intel from Vikram aligning: guard shifts grew lax at dawn, the guardhouse vulnerable as sleepers roused. But the basement assassins were a hidden blade, a threat Vikram's spies hadn't uncovered.Jai's eyes narrowed, his Wisdom slicing through the intel. "Do the assassins do guard duty, or stay below?" The girl shook her head. "They don't surface unless on a mission. The basement's vast—tunnels, sparring pits, locked cells. Of the fifty I knew, twelve died in your warehouse. A few are out as spies, like Keshav. I'd guess twenty-five to thirty remain, with eight children." Jai pressed, "Are they loyal to Mala?" Her lips tightened, a flash of disgust. "Some are, some aren't. The girls, especially, are treated badly—by guards, by assassins. I clawed my way up with strength." Her voice hardened, daggers glinting in her grip. "No one's more powerful than me. I can take any two with ease."Jai exhaled, relieved. Her skill—Agility=41, Stealth=30—made her a linchpin. He glanced at the second-floor windows, where Mala slept, guarded by two elite warriors—not as strong as the girl, but formidable, their blades ready for any intruder. The system pinged: "She's a weapon, Jai. Those twenty-five assassins and two door guards are trouble, but her edge gives you a shot. Mala's living like a king up there—hit him where it hurts, but plan tight, or you're done." Jai's hatred for the East India Company flickered—Mala's assassin network felt too polished, too calculated, but no proof tied him to the EIC yet.He gathered the team, their black-clad forms blending with the rooftop's shadows, the estate's torches a constellation of threats below. "Here's the plan," Jai began, his voice steady as the dawn crept closer, painting the horizon in hues of fire.