The parade floats began their procession. Twenty-five floats in total rumbled closer. Many nobles in smaller carriages, on horseback, or walking joined them. Only the top families were allowed to use an actual float. Behind all of them would be soldiers, guild leaders, and then merchants. With the soldiers right behind the nobles, that could be an issue.
But the rebellion had thought it through. This plan would be hard to execute if tight security was on the nobles. Surely they wouldn't follow Cutlery into the safe wide alleyway if a real security officer was present. So this plan was happening on the first day. The following plans might have to deal with increased security because of the coming storm. Luckily third slivers were that form of protection. The jobs could get easier the more trouble they made.
The nobles came forward. A few parade-dressed soldiers shone brightly next to the floats. None of them would be slivered. As people outside of the tower knew, slivered soldiers were rare. So the guard's armor and power would but useless in the face of slivers.
After ten minutes Cutlery spotted the sparkling float. Criminals gathered in the square behind her. Fifty bodies from three different gangs and enterprises made up the crowd. Houses fully enclosed the space. Only one ally was larger than a wagon's thin width.
Cutlery would have to jump into the coming fight. Word had been slipped that she would be there. She, being a scary slivered guard. So the criminals would have a trap set up that would conveniently tie her up and keep her out of the way.
But surely no criminal would dare kill a sliver and ire the tower! Any real danger would elude all parties except the nobles.
As her mind went over the plan, the float reached the halfway point. It was time for step one. First, a bunch of pickpockets would draw some guards up the street. Later than Cutlery would have liked, a call came from ten building down. The sound carried well to her perch.
"Pickpockets!" The distant voice called. Quickly, all the guards within earshot rushed to the voice. This included all the guards near Cutlery.
As the protection walked over, the floats kept rolling. The nobles politely ignored the criminals. Another minute passed as the far guards pushed into the crowd to chase the small children that easily slipped between adults.
Then, a smoke bomb went off on the street ahead of the floats. Another went off on the far side of the road from Cutlery. In a world of magic, smoke bombs could mean any kind of spell was coming next.
Cries of alarm went out as Cutlery stood. Step two was that smoke. Step three, superhero Cutlery.
Cutlery threw her grappling hook. The hooks caught a rusted gutter on the side of the neighboring building. The rope she slowly uncoiled from her bag. Stepping off the edge of the roof Cutlery feels. She grabbed the rope with fingerless gloved hands and hit the alleyway stone. The crowd didn't look back at her as she ran to look out.
The floats had lurched to a halt. The guards chasing the pickpockets hadn't noticed. The eight ceremonial soldiers looked about in a panic from beside the floats.
"I am with the tower my honored nobles! Follow me to safety!" The guards, nobles, and crowd looked at her in surprise. The fourth step was proof of her slivered nature.
She ran to the alleyway and the crowd parted in fear. Crates had been set up with precut wood to block the alley. She punched the wall of wood and the crates exploded backward and out of the way. The wide alley was cleared for the floats to roll into. The crowd gasped at her show of power.
"A sliver!" One of the commoners said.
"Follow her! She can protect me- us!" A noble on the float barked. Cutlery smirked. She was nowhere near strong enough to simply smash a half dozen wood crates out of the way. But a half dozen empty broken ones, yes.
The sparkling water fountain float slowly groaned as the hidden horses inside were turned by unseen servants. Cutlery waited for them and did her best to look like she was a demigod.
"She's kinda short ain't she." One commoner said. She held back a smirk with a performative scowl. The float started to roll through the gap in the crowd. The nobles on board crowded to the fountain in the center of their rig.
The eight ceremonial guards stepped onto the corners of the float and held back any commoners who reached out to the nobles.
Cutlery walked slowly ahead and kept her weapons hidden. She walked with confidence. 'there is no more danger here' she wanted her stride to say. Slowly, the float crept down the alleyway. It scraped the edges of the encroaching buildings.
The front of the float came into the open space of the trap. The criminals had hidden well. The float came halfway into the area when step five happened, the trap.
"Alright, you should be safe in here until the issue passes!" Cutlery yelled to the float. The nobles and guards looked about nervously in the small space. Besides the large alley they blocked, only the buildings dusted windows, rotting doors, and extra thin alleys led out.
"What if they find us here!" One guard asked with concern.
"This is a prepared place, it is guarded well. Only an army could break in!" Cutlery told them with confidence.
Then a rush of movent came from her left. A thirty-pound net slammed into her.
Weights wrapped around her with a whipcrack of sound. A second after it hit, Cutlery was on the ground wrapped thrice by the heavy net.
Daggers, swords, bows, a few wands, staffs, brass knuckles, and broken bottles held in the hands of ruffians came into view. They rushed from every doorway, window, and thin alleyway around the float. The eight guards around the nobles raised their weapons.
The noble group ran off the float into the large alleyway. Several windows in the wide alleyway burst open. Rubble poured down. The falling debris stopped the nobles and began to pile up on the ground. Cutlery could just barely see wood ramps tilted against the window. These gangs were smarter than she had thought they would be.
The hoard sprinted at the nobles who raised their arms in fear. Tearing cloth, rope, and whoops filled the air. Cutlery felt pressure on her sides as her net was grabbed. Two young pickpockets from the first step dragged her into a doorway and threw a blanket over everything but her head.
The pickpockets did the favor for very little money. Everything else was paid for by the gang's greed and anger.
Cutlery watched from her doorframe as the nobles were quickly being split up. Bartering, brawling, and gusto were thrown about as each group of criminals tried to come out on top with hostages and jewelry. The barge itself was mostly just paper, cloth, and water, so it was left alone.
No rush of guards, other slivers, or valiant commoners came to save the nobles. The rich folk cried for justice. This was justice, Cutlery thought. These criminals would extract justice.
What would happen to the criminals later? Some tower soldiers or a ton of guards might find them and rip them apart. If they were lucky they could get rich. Their best bet would be to leave home with that same coin.
Each dagger-wielding mugger was just a tool in Cutlery and the rebel's game. Much like the tower wielded Zurkonia's resources. Would things turn out differently? Cutlery would have to stick around to make sure. When the golds died, things would be different.
Children wouldn't die to make some army better, heretics wouldn't be created just cause someone didn't like the tower, and freaking children wouldn't be soldiers.
The criminals were finishing up bartering over a few children who wore the green clothes of the noble family. The fountain stopped spewing water. Only Cutlery noticed. No one cared for the float. Curiously, Cutlery watched it for a dozen seconds.
Then a door in the side of the fountain opened up. Mlion, the mariner gold of the tower, wearing the green of the noble family on the barge, walked out.
One criminal looked at him. The criminal's head succinctly exploded.
