I trailed after Booth and Owen, wondering how to get my paws on the ring they found. Booth was a good enough pickpocket that he might notice me. He might not, because who'd expect a cat to pick pockets? But my paw dexterity wasn't amazing, and I'd likely flub the attempt anyway.

"I'm going back to rounds," Owen said. "Be careful."

"Keep looking. There might be more." And the two of them split up.

Shit. One of them has the ring. Which one do I follow?

Booth. He's more likely to meet up with Seth, having the same job here and all. I'm still hoping I can get a copied ring planted on a patsy, but I'm not stuck on the idea. I haven't even found a candidate yet.

I wonder if I can scope out Booth's pockets? Maybe?

As he was walking away, I leaped up onto his shoulder.

"Ahh! What the hell, cat? Get off, you don't belong to me."

He dropped his shoulder and rolled it under me, trying to get me to jump off. Nope! I'm staying! I rubbed my face against him to show how useless his protests were and then leaned against his head and draped myself over him. I'm kinda surprised myself how long my body is.

He looked at me in confused horror. "Get off, Mau. What are you doing?"

I yawned. I'm going to be riding here, of course!

"Ew, you smell like fish."

Now, which pocket would have that ring? Booth raised a hand to pet me. I knew he'd give in.

Next thing I knew he'd grabbed me under the shoulders and was holding me at arm's length with my feet dangling. Dammit.

He marched me right over to where Seth was talking to the girls in one of the little alcoves set in the hedges.

"Your cat is annoying," Booth announced.

"I'm sorry," Seth said as he took me from Booth. I grumbled my displeasure and glared at Booth. He was not impressed. I glared harder.

I was interrupted by Seth slinging me over his shoulder like I was a fur boa. Well, I had the length to pull it off. I bet I looked good. You know, slinky, like a mink.

Booth's gaze flicked from Seth to the girls and back. "Success, sort of. I need to talk to you."

"I need to talk to you too." Seth glanced past Booth. "We only have a couple of minutes at best. The Steward is going to be looking for us."

Oh, right! These two slackers were supposed to be working! Okay Booth, hand that ring over so I can swipe it from Seth.

Duvessa stepped between Seth and the Steward. "Not to worry. I will insist on your service."

Seth nodded. "Thanks, but I'd rather not make trouble I don't need to. Did you find it, Booth?"

Booth hesitated a bit. I got it. The fewer people who knew you were up to shenanigans, the better. But honestly, Duvessa already knew, and she was not great with secrets. Blaise was going to find out anyway. Booth came to the same conclusion.

He pulled out a bag that clinked. "There's more than one. I don't know which one it is."

Oh, oh, oh! That was even better! No sooner than Booth handed the bag to Seth than I shoved myself forward and stuck my face in it.

"Mau, stop it! What's gotten into you?" Seth complained as he tried to push me away.

None of my whiskers wiggled. Not even a smidge. These were all normal rings. Perfect.

There were probably about eight or ten rings in that bag. I didn't know if Booth had counted them or not. I suppose it didn't matter. Seth jerked the bag away so I couldn't grab one with my mouth. Instead, I tried to grab the bag with a claw, not really caring if I ripped it or spilled it. I did snag it. I got my paw inside as Seth tried to get it away from me, and that was all I needed to pinch a ring in the toes of my oversized paw.

"Down, Mau," Seth said, aggravated with me now.

And being dumped to the ground was the perfect opportunity for me to lick said paw and get that ring positioned securely and buried in the fur of one toe. I'd need to be careful, I didn't exactly have fingers to hold the ring, and my toes were short. When the kiddos wandered off, I'd make it a copy.

Ring obtained!

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"I need these checked, I don't know if the master is in there," Booth said.

Seth put the bag down, closed his eyes, and cast Detect Mana. "None of them are showing up as magical."

"Shit." Booth kicked the grass.

Duvessa picked up one of the rings. "So this is what we are looking for? I can help with this. Blaise," Duvessa showed her the ring, "can you check the elemental guards to see if any are wearing this, and I'll check the nobles here?"

"Sure. But what are we doing about our suspect?" Blaise asked.

"The plan I have is rough, but pretty simple. Booth, see that woman over there? Can you get a gulliant in her pocket? Then we need her over by the wall there. Mau set up a distraction yesterday, I think this is the best way to use it."

Kid, that was supposed to be a last ditch 'get out of jail fast' plan. I flicked my ear in 'tell me more'.

And Seth did. He explained the woman he guessed had Blaise's power, her connection to Thurstan, and his plan.

I eyed Lord Thurstan. I wanted a tax collector for my patsy. But this guy was a minorish lord and was also connected to a bunch of shit, and we didn't know how he was connected.

On one hand, siccing the Skull Gang on him might get some pressure off Booth, while also starting to crack open this whole power thieving mystery.

Or, he's connected to the whole thing, and the Skull Gang will see right through it. That could bite us in the ass.

The likelihood of this guy being an innocent bystander is approaching nil. He was in it somehow.

Someone has been swiping Duvessa's power. We believed it to be the Skull gang. Speaking of that I took a quick look around. No shadow beasties here.

I'm surprised by that. I'd expect them to be trying to spy. Unless the Palace has protections against that? I bet they do, come to think of it.

Yeah, I want to use this guy. If nothing else, it'll cause some mayhem. I'm kinda disappointed I probably won't be able to witness that drama. The kids and I should be safe enough from that in school. And as long as no one knows I planted that ring, there shouldn't be any blowback on Booth's fam.

Now I gotta figure out how to get that ring on his person in such a way that the kids notice it, and without him noticing I did it.

The kids finish hashing out the plan and split up. Not a moment too soon, as here comes the Steward. Poor Booth. You gotta do some honest work now.

As for me, I'm heading inside the Palace.

The Great Hall is open to the guests, and there are several partaking of the hospitality. This wing is set up like a medieval fort or castle. There is a huge room that could easily fit hundreds of guests. It has a fireplace big enough for a horse to stand in. Stone staircases spiral upwards in the corners.

None of the guests so much as glance at me as I slip in and wander around. I got time. The kids will take a bit to get set up anyway. One thing that gets my attention is the guard at the stairs up. So naturally I want to head upstairs.

I don't think the guard even saw me circling the stairs behind him, and it was super easy to make the leap up the spiral from behind him.

Third floor, all kitties off. Except for furniture, this hallway is empty. I scoot under a chair and look around for a moment to be sure.

Yup. My whiskers picked up a lot of magic in a spot along the wall. This particular spot had no furniture, just artwork. And I spotted the seams in the paneling.

Yeah. I need a peek. Curiosity is totally my thing. Fitting I'm a cat now. But I do have self control. Mostly. I'm not here to take anything, I just want to know what's available. You know, checking out the menu before committing.

The door swings inward for me. It's a treasure room. With more security inside.

You can tell a lot about a kingdom by what they value. The things this country valued the most, what they secured, were weapons and armor. I was hopeful for crown jewels or something, but instead we've got spears, swords, and a white coat? It doesn't even look like armor, but they've got it behind glass in an already locked vault behind a secret panel door.

This was definitely a place that warranted attention. I don't take more than a quick peek before I heard someone comming. Shit. My whiskers didn't tell me about any alarms here, but that doesn't mean there weren't any. I booked it down the end of the hall to the room I was here for, trusting the vault door to close.

I pushed open the door and dodged inside. Yes, I fucking squawked. The door shut behind me.

This room is a storage room. Or rather, it had become a storage room due to disuse. Sheets draped over all the furniture, the light sconces were empty, the fireplace cold and swept, and piles of random boxes and things were strewn about. There was an armoire with railing pieces and paintings leaning against it. Flaking mirrors in ornate frames leaned against the fireplace.

And what I was here for. Windows that opened and overlooked the garden. And a little thing I'd set up yesterday was here, waiting for me.

I jumped up to the sill and looked out. I could see the whole party from here. Laur was still with the purple robed guys on a balcony. They were very focused on monitoring the people below them, and I didn't think they would notice me.

Professor Kaban was talking to people in the Fire Brigade uniform. The Ice Tower sculptress was working on another sculpture now, this one smaller and flatter. I wondered if she was doing that so she wouldn't have to socialize.

I saw Professor Isolde, the one who'd done the familiar ritual and the Ritual Geometry teacher, yelling at Lord Derinheld, the guy who'd been in charge of the Blaise kidnapping investigation. Whatever she was mad about she was very animated about it. Waving her arms, poking him in the chest. Guy had the patience of a saint though. He was just standing there, not looking at her, with a handkerchief over his mouth. He let her yell and didn't react.

Meh. She wasn't the most stable of teachers. Letting the storm blow by might be the best tactic.

Duvessa was actively helping the cause. She was greeting every noble she could, and would grab their hands as part of her greeting. I bet having a reputation for being a bit eccentric was probably helping there.

I saw Booth walking away from the woman in the hairwrap. She looked at him and then headed over to the wall beneath my window. There was a seating arrangement there, with braziers and a cloth covered table. She looked under the table.

And there we go. Seth just signaled.

A quick swipe of my claws, and it was done. Now to get out of here.

When I turned to hop down, the Princess was standing in the doorway, looking at me. I had no idea how long she'd been watching me.

"I thought I heard a chicken come in here."