A Story of Evil

The second day of Sol and Jules' mission passed by in a flash. While the prince lazed around and picked up some of the harvest, Sol remained on the tower. Watching everything from a better point of view and, thinking of ways to improve the land. 

King Jubilee would surely have things planned out but, that didn't mean he couldn't add anything. After all, even the king lacked knowledge of. If Sol had to put a finger on it, this aspect boils down to a single factor. That is, the workers themselves.

How they behaved during work and after work. Their line of thinking. The things they strived for. Sol understood this better than the king because, he himself was once part of the workforce of the plantation.

Aside from this, there were some secrets that he knew of. Secrets that needed to be exposed and weeded out.

"There you are." He said, noticing some workers that dug through the soil.

Sol did nothing but observe that day. He did so with great focus, knowing that the next part of his plan relied on this. He was so immersed in this task that, he wasn't even able to notice that the day had already run its course. 

Sol met up with Alice and Cain right away. Both of which waited for him down the watchtower. But instead of leaving the plantation, the three stayed there. Putting together all they found out as Sol took note of them.

"Are you kids sure you're allowed here this late in the night?" Grumps asked, standing right behind the three who talked on a bench.

"Definitely. I'm you're one week boss after all so, I doubt there'd be any problem with that." Sol said. Not in a cocky tone but in a teasing one.

"Do you really have to say it every time kid?" The old man responded.

"Not really, I just need to say it enough to annoy you Grumps."

"Suit yourselves. I'll be cooking dinner on the staff house. Just head over after you're done."

"Will do. Thanks Grumps."

"Stop calling me that kid."

Jules and his two maids went back earlier than the end of working hours. The prince found nothing to do within the plantation but, Sol knew better. More than anyone else, he knew that the night is when the slum dwellers are truly active.

"Oh by the way, here are our weapons." Alice opened the bag she brought with her, containing two regular daggers. Two swords and, two shields. There were also pieces of long ropes and sleeping powder included. The last item being a courtesy of Lilia.

"Thank you Alice." Sol said, giving one sword and shield to Cain. Still perplexed about what was happening, Alice asked Solomon.

"So, the reason you made me bring our weapons is because?" 

"Because there aren't enough guards on the plantation. With all of the upgrades and advancements that have been done, they've somehow forgotten to properly light the plantation at night. That means our dear friends will be paying a visit."

"Dear friends?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, the harvest thieves. They take crops that remain in the plantation at night time. Not a lot of people know this but, there are actually spots where people bury their harvest. Hiding them a few days before ripening." Cain said, having just as much knowledge of the group as Sol does.

"And the reason you both know about this is because?"

"Because we tried stealing from the harvest thieves before." Sol replied in a flat tone. Like it was something one would normally do. 

"Why am I not surprised." Alice said, with her lips curved to a smile.

"So this is basically patrol and capture work right?" It was Cain's turn to ask that time.

"Yup. But for that to work, we need to show them that we've dropped our guard." 

"How do we do that exactly?"

"That's easy. We take our dinner." Sol said, standing up and moving towards the shed. 

"Come on you two, let's eat before the food goes cold."

If there was one thing that Alice and Cain had in common, its their inability to fully comprehend Sol's plans. They both sighed as they followed the boy, smelling the food that was being prepared for the night.

But while they were at it, the harvest thieves have already begun their move.

"Boss are you sure it's safe?" A good holding an empty bag said - his hands shaking.

"What are you talking about, we've done this plenty of times already. We all know that it's safe to raid the plantation at night." Their boss said in reply. Having a sickle prepared in case they were ambushed.

"But boss, word on the street is that Solomon is the one in charge now." Another goon said.

"Are you seriously scared of a twelve-year-old? Put your balls where it counts you numbskulls! This operation is a piece of cake." 

Unlike before, there were plenty more harvest thieves. Due to the fact that the plantation thrived, more slum dwellers aided in their cause. Thus, twenty thieves in total came to the plantation that time. With their numbers being distributed everywhere.

Of course, they weren't as organized as the thieves association Alice joined. They were simply a bunch of workers in the farm. Ones who decided to bind together for the common goal of feeding themselves and their family more.

The plan was simple. They were just going to take the harvest from the inner plantation. There was no method to it. They simply needed to act quick. They knew what time the old guard ate his dinner and, always took opportunity of this in order to do their mission. They would even double check to see if there was anyone around and, as soon as the coast was cleared, they began their mission.

But they weren't the only ones.

The crew separated into groups of three. With one being a lookout while two focused on looting. As always, they knew where to dig and, found the harvest buried like treasure. 

"Man this is really a convenient job for us huh." One thief said as he continued getting the crops.

"Yeah, all of this is basically free." The other thief said, opening up the bag they brought.

"Plus we've got double the amount of harvest now which is as sweet as it can get." The two moved quickly, thinking how easy the job was. Except; it wasn't.

The two heard a thud and, as soon as they turned, they saw their third member on the ground and out cold. The two immediately went to him and, as they did, they heard footsteps coming quickly at them. It was too late for them to react as something hard hit their heads. Stunning them momentarily as their noses where stuffed with pieces of cloth. 

The thieves flailed their arms a bit but, it was no use. Their energy rapidly drained from their bodies and, soon enough, the three thieves were rendered unconscious.

"How many of these guys do we need to fight?" Alice muttered.

"I'm not sure, my skill's range doesn't reach that far yet." Sol said in an almost whispering tone.

"How can you two be so calm in a situation like this?" Was all that Cain could say. Unlike the two who have been in countless near death experiences, the boy was relatively lucky from death's sickle. A disadvantage he held in that moment.

"What's this? Are you scared?" Alice teased

"Like hell I am." Cain said, trying to hide the nervousness from his tone of voice.

"Enough of that, we still have thieves to catch." Sol commanded, making the two follow right away as they moved to the next location.

One by one Sol's group was able to take down the thieves. After bringing down nine, Sol gave the tying up duty to Cain who willingly accepted it. His legs couldn't take much more of the nervousness and, would've definitely failed if he joined in another assault.

Unfortunately for them, their enemies weren't stupid. They heard the sounds being made in compete darkness and, have raised their guards. Deciding to retreat at that moment and group up. Unfortunately, this decision proved to be too late. There were only  six of them left and, waiting for them on the entrance of the plantation was Grumps.

"Out of the way old man before things get ugly!" The leader of the group said, pointing his sickle Grumps. Yet the old mand simply gave them a cocky smile.

"Oh I don't need to move to make things ugly. You guys got that covered pretty well."

"What did you say?" The thieves were just about to assault when they heard footsteps coming at them from behind. Their reaction was a second too late as Alice struck the nape of one thief, making him fall unconscious.

Within that moment of surprise, Sol followed up. Using his shield and blocking the frantic strike of one thief. With Alice following up for another strike. Using Sol's back as a stepping stone to jump even higher and kick the next thief on the face.

The three remaining thieves decided to run away. Attacking Grumps who was still blocking their exit. Yet the old man was far from being useless. He moved to the side, dodging one strike made by the leader and swept the thief to the ground. He then took this person's sickle and aimed it at his throat.

The two remaining thieves lowered their weapons then, knowing that they were already defeated. Alice and Sol proceeded to tying them up and, while they did, the thieves talked among themselves.

"You said this would be easy boss."

"Oh shut your trap."

With that, Sol was able to apprehend all of the harvest thieves. Grumps carried the other ones who were unconscious and, as soon as they were grouped together, they were tied up in another rope. With Sol promising that they would be killed if they tried to escape.

"What do we do with them?" Alice asked.

"I've got no idea actually. This is for the king to decide and not me." 

"So, we're done for the night?" Cain asked, eager to get some shut eye.

"Yeah. Let's head back for now."