A few hours past sundown, Kaiz sat atop a three-storey inn and scrutinized a map detailing the layout of Walddaun. He had still yet to return home, or rather seen his new home. He’d been too busy running around setting up Kilian’s reveal.

Now, only a day after returning with Kilian, he was prepping to kidnap a different man in the dead of night. The original blood run.

His eyes drifted up and down the map. The labelling left a bit to be desired, but that was a minor nitpick. Most maps of the city either lacked too much detail to be anything more than vague scribbles of landmarks or only showcased the production or market districts. The map in Kaiz’s hands however, showed everything. The slums, forests, parks, wallmarkets, farms, waterways, the noble’s district, the garrison, it was all there. He marvelled at how Snake had the means to acquire such a thing. He knew his power and influence reached far and wide, but how far was far?

He desperately wished he could have a private moment with the map to copy its contents, but Red watched him like an owl. He, or more precisely the map, never left her sight. Snake had no doubt briefed her on its value and importance. The fact he allowed Kaiz to see it at all was shocking.

While Emmrich’s goals had become clear to him, Snake’s were still a mystery. What was so precious about Herr Michel Rayner that Snake wanted him this badly? From the briefing, Kaiz knew the man was the inventor and main producer of Nightwatcher cloaks. That might sound like the obvious answer, but he didn’t believe Snake desperately desired mere cloaks. They had value, tremendous value in Kaiz’s line of work, but Snake’s operations were far greater than his. The map in front of him alone was a testament to that. How valuable could some incidentally useful enchanted gear really be to a man like him?

I’m missing something here.

“You done?”

Kaiz turned his gaze to see a deeply unhappy Red staring back, “Don’t remember you being so impatient.”

“Just hurry up.”

Kaiz didn’t vocalize a response. He was honestly taking an abnormally long time. In truth, he had already completed what he needed to. His desire to memorize as much of the map as possible was all that kept them.

I suppose this is enough.

“Alright, I’ve got it.”

“Finally.”

Kaiz silently shook his head. With Red sat next to him, both of them overlooking the map, he explained their plan of action.

“First, let’s review. Rayner lives in the White Turtle compound. That, as you know, is in the noble’s section of the city. Unlike the manors, it’s on the recreational side to the south, with all the parks and restaurants and whatever. That’s also where the Blue Shields base of operations is. The scouting report says the Blue Shields have taken to actively guarding the compound as if it was their own. Supposedly, the guards they put in the compound are at most level [21]. They leave it for their rookies or something. Anyway, the main difficulty should be that outer perimeter of Blue Shields. The security inside is reportedly unskilled at detection. I don’t really know what ‘unskilled’ means, everyone’s unskilled if we use Blue Shields as the example, but whatever. We’ll have to figure that out later. I doubt any regular guard could compare to their senses, but it’s better to be sure. Are you following?”

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“Yes. Go on.”

“Ignoring their ridiculous detection abilities, Blue Shields are slow. Outrunning them should be simple. Snake wants this to be a completely silent run, but if things go sideways our exit strategy is running through this park, it’s dense enough that we should be able to escape their range by the end of it, and getting to this restaurant. Behind it there’s supposedly a hole we can dig that would lead us to an abandoned sewer. We’ll have to see for ourselves if it exists and where it heads, but if it checks out, that’s our backup. Still following?”

Red’s face was a picture of annoyance.

“I’m just making sure. Whoever did the scouting report suggests we use the food and supply shipments as our route in. We can check the viability of that if you want, but I’d rather avoid it. They’d scan us at the checkpoint and while it wouldn’t be enough information to pinpoint us, I don’t like unnecessary risks. So, instead of that, I suggest we sneak through here.”

Red looked at the place on the map Kaiz was pointing at, then up at Kaiz, “What’s there?”

Kaiz was pointing at a portion of the huge sandstone wall that demarcated the noble’s district. Beyond it being thinner than the other three walls, there was nothing about it that screamed ‘security leak’.

“This wall only has one, small gate. And. It leads into District 47, not District 25. Meaning. At the bottom of the wall, in District 25, there are no guards..”

“And?”

Kaiz continued, “And. That means there’s no one protecting it or watching it. On the ground, at least. So, who’s to see if we say..dig under it.”

Red looked at Kaiz dumbfounded, “That’s it?”

Kaiz smiled back, “Indeed. Obviously, randomly digging a hole in the middle of a market district in broad daylight would be suspicious. Fortunately,” He moved his finger to point at a building next to the wall, “Snake owns a shop right here. Assuming it has a basement, the job is already a third done.”

Red scoffed, “You think he’ll just let you do that?”

“Well.” Kaiz shrugged, “If he wants the job done efficiently, yes.”

“You’re an idiot.”

And you’re a lot more vocal all of a sudden.

“Maybe, but that’s for you to find out.” He rolled up the map and handed it to Red, who was still looking at him as if he was a fool, “Until then, I’ve got some scouting to do.”

Thankfully, Snake didn’t put any particular time-limit on completing the job. Though it would be foolish to do it any time other than Low Sun. That was still weeks away however, so Kaiz planned to find time to scout the Blue Guards himself. The report wasn’t as detailed as he liked.

Red shook her head, “Digging a hole...wow. The plan when we’re in?”

“Depends on what your boss says. I can’t make a proper plan until I’ve scouted the area personally.”

“Course. I gotta g...”

The rest of the sentence drifted away as Red disappeared into the darkness.

Her voice doesn’t sound quite so ghoulish anymore. Am I getting used to it or is she faking?

He shook his head.

Left alone on the roof, Kaiz scanned the scouting report one last time. Even if he didn’t trust it fully, he did appreciate its thoroughness. Attempted thoroughness, at least. He quickly jotted down a few notes before slipping into the night as well.