I watched Seth for a little bit as I perched on a window sill. Honestly, I thought the kid had a solid plan. Easy in, look around, get what he needs, and then out. And none should be the wiser. The best burglaries were the ones no one knew happened.

He was surreptitiously checking everyone he encountered, and gossiping with the waitstaff. He'd have all the dirt on everyone by the end of the party, and I was sure he'd find a ring for me, if I didn't find one first.

Booth was nearby too. He was doing his level best to not be seen by anyone. But the main person he was hiding from was the Steward. Kid didn't like doing work.

I did not have eyes on Owen.

That was fine. As Seth did his thing and searched for a skull ring, I had work to do on the next part of my plan to keep my awesome ring. I'd keep an eye out for Owen while I did that.

I knew full well that the Skull Gang would not be satisfied with a copy. They wanted the real deal. I needed a target for them to chase looking for the 'real' ring—someone powerful enough that the Gang couldn't just send a few goons in to break knees, and small enough that it wouldn't be a political disaster for the kids to run afoul of them if things did go to shit.

I was looking for a patsy.

This was challenging. I knew nothing about the political nuances here. I knew there was a king and queen. This was a typical kingdom, as near as I could tell, and there were no special councils or senates or anything that I knew of.

I kept my ears pointed at the crowd below and listened. As the guests got introduced I discovered something interesting. Most of the titles tended to correspond to some type of administration task. For example, a baron tended to administer a smallish town. A count ruled a larger city, sometimes with smaller towns in its jurisdiction. In addition to administrators and city rulers, some lords were judges, and others were tax collectors.

That was the part that interested me. If I could find a guy that was a tax collector, and make it look like they had the real ring, that would work perfectly. Tax collectors were generally hated, they traveled all over, and they took taxes from people in the form of both money and goods. I couldn't ask for a better fit. Now I just needed to find one.

Alternatively, I hoped to find a lord with a skull ring here. Lies based on truth were always the best lies.

As the party ramped up, I hopped down to get a better look at some of these people. I headed to the cloth covered tables near the Royal Pavilion.

From under the table I observed what was shaping up to be a nicely drunken frat party disguised as afternoon tea. Not that I knew what a frat was, but I could look out at this shindig and know what kind of party it was. Who knew royals would party like this?

I guess it's universal. When mom and dad are away, the kids will play.

There were responsible adults present, of course. Can't leave the kids without babysitters, such as the Palace Guard, professors from both the Magic Academy and Combat Schools, and some older family members of the young adults. But Crown Prince Aster wanted to have a good time, and he was being indulged.

I moved to the shadow of some hedges where I could get a better look at the guests.

Whooee. There was some money in this place.

I was just looking for a skull ring. Really I was. I wasn't that distracted by a fat oval-cut ruby flanked by diamonds. Or that triple sapphire wrapped in silver. And that's a gorgeous opal; it had to be at least twenty carats. And what about that guy? Just how many rings could he fit on his fingers?

The bling was blinding. I could totally make a living here in just a few minutes. But this was the type of shit I'd need to go out of town to fence, and my ride was a boarding school kid that didn't travel much. Not to mention the kid would probably insist I returned anything I took. Noob.

And then it occurred to me that these weren't the valuable pieces.

Some people were wearing magic. Not a lot, as near as I could tell. But what a few of the really wealthy people were wearing was just that little bit different.

They still wore gemstones, sure, but they didn't look like the clear and shiny gems I was used to. They had a cloudy look, and had carvings on them. That enormous opal was one of the cloudy gems.

I didn't need confirmation from my whiskers though. Not that I got a lot of that with all the ambient mana around here getting in the way. I liked the idea of there being fantastic magical jewels around, so I decided they were all magic. Don't judge me, I know. Let a cat have her fantasies.

It did make me wonder if people who had no mana could use magic items that were not vaults. Maybe you needed a vault to activate other items? Huh, probably not. How else was the Skull Gang using the ring?

Back on task, Mau, I scolded myself. If I wanted to keep my special ring, I needed to find a suitable substitute.

I glanced down at the far end of the garden. Seth was still searching the people over there. I could tell he was stressed, and he was getting a little conspicuous about checking fingers. I debated stepping in when he started chatting with a waitress again. That should keep him busy for a bit.

I made my way towards the woman working on the ice sculpture. The Crown Prince had been talking to her a bit ago. There might be some leftover sycophants in the area. Owen should be near here somewhere, too. After I got eyes on him and looked over patsy candidates, I figured I'd go find Booth and see if he's had any luck yet.

It took me a hot second but I recognized the ice sculptor. She was none other than the Wizard of the Ice Tower. I hadn't formally met her, but I'd seen her around campus. She was a short and dark woman with a gray and white rabbit familiar.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Her sculpture was shaping into an enormous and intricate ice wyvern. The tail coiled on the ground and swooped up as the support for the sculpture. The wings arched over a story tall. The head glared down at the guests below, the maw open and filled with icicle teeth.

All I could think of was fucking Chicky Chicky. The lady nailed it, that thing was as creepy as the real thing. The bunny rabbit on its back didn't lessen that creep factor at all.

I didn't consciously duck under a nearby table, but putting even a tablecloth between me and it made me feel better. I figured I'd see the rabbit around campus and I could strike up a conversation later.

I was expecting to socialize with a pack of familiars around somewhere, but that wasn't happening. All the familiars I could see stuck really close to their wizards. Weird. I didn't feel the need to do that at all. Eh, it was probably better for the rabbit to not know I was here anyway.

While I was distracted with bunnies and bling, the Prince had wandered back this way, and was currently daring a member of the Fire Brigade to cast a spell at him. Of course.

Put a pack of twenty-somethings together with alcohol, weapons, and magic, and shit was going to happen.

In this corner, we've got a young hopeful, a new and untested (I think) member of the Fire Brigade. Let's call him Private Fire! Let's hear it for this sucker!

And over in that corner, well, not really a corner since he's scoffing at the sparring rings, we've got the one, the only, Crown Prince! His name is Aster and he's bringing the disaster! Woot!

Welcome folks to the Rumble by the Dessert Table!

The Prince of Disaster is leading off with a wicked rapier. The man's got moves, I'm telling you. Look at those sweeping circles! With a quick one two three, he's showing off just how fancy an education he's got while not even coming close to little Private Fire.

Private Fire is shaking in his boots (not really) and draws his own sword! Because who goes to afternoon tea without two and a half feet of sharpened metal? Idiots, obviously, because how else could we have duels by the desserts? Is that a cheesecake? Oooo with strawberries.

Whoops, back to Private Fire. He's casting a spell! I don't recognize this one; what will it do? It's coating his blade in red flames! The guy has a burning sword now and he's swinging it dramatically! It looks like he might burn all the pastries! Save the cheesecake!

And lo, we've got first contact. Prince Disaster is as fast as he is drunk. Amazing! Private Fire blocks! And his burning sword burns! That's it. It's just on fire and doesn't do anything else. But it looks cool! Or should I say hot? Nah, it actually doesn't look that hot, more flamboyant than anything, really.

Private Fire is looking scared! He's backing up. Could it be that he's worried about harming Prince Disaster? Could he actually have a modicum of sense? He waves his glowy showy sword at the Prince.

The Prince is not deterred. He presses the attack, and slices into Private Fire's uniform! Woah, he cut the Fire Brigade emblem right in half! Prince Disaster is mocking Private Fire. How will the Private react? Will he do something more than light the grass on fire?

No! He casts another spell!

Private Fire flicks tiny candle flames at the Prince. But the Prince is not a birthday cake and is unfazed! Even the grass is unharmed, wow what an underpowered spell. Well that was a pointless round, Private Fire would have been better off flinging matches.

Prince Disaster strikes again and again. He slices buttons, he severs a belt. Whahoo! Private Fire is getting fired up! (Not literally.) He's lost his cool and wants to keep his privates private! He casts again! With his pants at half mast!

I'm not sure what that was. Did he flub it? No effect? Flaming Privates thinks it worked, he's pressing the attack!

Prince Disaster sweeps Useless Burning Metal right out of Private Fire's hand and it crashes into the dessert table. The tablecloth lights, and the pastries burn! Oh, tragic day, the cheesecake is doomed.

Alas, my friends, we have no time to mourn. Prince Disaster stabs forward, but his blade hits a barrier! That was a barrier spell! Why the fuck was it different from the one Seth knows?

Oh, this one works differently. It's not a hard shell, like a shield. It's a flexible one that covers the body. Okay then, back to our featured event.

Hooray! Somebody saved the cheesecake! But Private Fire is looking in dire straits. He's facing the drunken dasher Disaster with no weapon but his wits! Has he been fully disarmed? Who knows!

Prince Disaster is shredding that barrier! I have no idea how those things work. I think it's going to go down!

Raging Flame Private Fire casts again! Just how many spells does this guy know? At least three! Maybe four! I kinda lost track a bit when I was worried about the cheesecake.

This is a big one! There's way more mana in this one. Oh fuck, I've seen this before; it's a fireball. The Prince doesn't have any protections up. The dude is totally going to eat it. I can hear other people chanting, but I don't think they will cast in time.

Private Fire cast the fireball at the Prince and the instant he finished the spell his eyes widened. "No–" but it was too late; the spell had launched.

A concentrated ball of heat and flame shot at the Prince. On one hand, it was a muted fireball. There were the same suppressors here as in the school. On the other hand, it was still a fireball.

When the flames cleared a Palace Guard with the Town Guard sash stood between the Prince and the Private, holding a shield that had protected them both.

It was Owen.

Damn. I hadn't even seen the kid around. And I had no idea a physical shield could do that. Neither of them were even slightly singed while the grass had blackened.

In a single second after the fireball, a bubble barrier snapped up around Owen and the Prince.

"Care to explain why you are not sparring in one of the sparring rings, Thomas?" Professor Kaban asked Private Fire.

"I'm sorry," Thomas exclaimed. "The Prince didn't want to. I didn't know how to tell him no, so I tried to use little spells, but then I got so mad, and I…" Thomas choked on a deep breath.

"Go report to your captain," Professor Kaban told him. "This was really stupid."

Thomas grabbed his sword and held up his pants with the other hand and scurried off.

Professor Kaban touched the bubble surrounding the Prince and Owen and it dispelled instantly.

"You've got great reflexes," Prince Aster was saying. "You're wasted on the Town Guard. You absolutely should be in the Palace Guard."

"Your Highness," Professor Kaban said, his tone strong with rebuke.

"Oh, Sir Kaban. Um." The Prince looked around at the destruction his spar had caused.

Sir Kaban? The ol' professor was a knight too? Or was my brain interpreting that weirdly?

"You've already been warned to use the sparring rings," Professor Kaban said.

"They're lame. It's way more realistic without them."

"I have the authority to shut your little party down, Prince Aster. And if you object, I can fetch your father."

Heh. Disaster has been busted. He looked so sullen.

"No Sir. I'll use the rings." Prince Aster flicked his rapier before sheathing it and walking away. With a glare from Kaben, most of the gathered crowd dispersed too. The pair of guards that had arrived followed the Prince.

Owen went to follow them when Professor Kaban laid his hand on Owen's shoulder.

"Excellent reaction, young man," Professor Kaban said. He leaned in close and whispered, "Care to explain why one of my students is masquerading as a Palace Guard?"