“All right your turn to hunt,” the lead instructor points at the two of us, “Everyone else can go.”

He flips the hourglass over again and the other groups scamper off as quick as they can and I stay in my seat and look at Melodiana. She is sitting next to me and is resting her chin in her hands while looking at the hourglass.

“So a fifty-fifty on her getting found,” Shiva speaks up after a moment and I nod my head, “It's not awful for someone so big.”

“Twice on either side isn't bad for someone without proper training,” I agree with her praise, and while I am glancing over Melodiana looks at me at the same time.

“Is there something you need?” she asks and after a moment I nod.

“So how do you think we should proceed?” I ask and she tilts her head and examines me for a few moments.

“I assume that since you are asking that you have had a thought about it,” she says while nodding to herself, “So what is your suggestion?”

“That's not what I was thinking about at all,” I quietly complain but it feels like I can't say that now so instead I cough lightly, and form a plan as quickly as I can, “I think we should separate again.”

“Oh?” she asks and raises an eyebrow at me while I tune out Shiva's laughter.

“If this were an actual patrol I would never suggest it, that's a foolish way to wind up with a dagger in the back” I shake my head, “But this is a game right?” She takes a moment but she nods her head, “And they never said that we have to patrol together.”

“So it would be more efficient to split-up and search separately,” she finishes the thought on her own and I nod my head, “I think that is a good idea.”

“She may be a bit sheltered but she is also like a sponge,” Shiva pays her a compliment and I nod my head again.

“Then I will start in the left building and meet you in the middle?” I ask and she nods her head and we go back to watching the timer in the middle of the room, at least until there is about a minute left.

I stand up and do some gentle stretches to wake my legs up and Melodiana follows suit and I glance at her, “It's okay to move fast and messy every now and then. A strike like lightning is sometimes safer than all the careful planning in the world.”

It takes her a moment but it looks like she catches onto my meaning and she nods her head, and the lead instructor flips a new timer and shouts, “Go.”

We take off in opposite directions but she reaches her door before I do and I hear the wood rattle slightly as I reach out and throw my door open. A few of the instructors are behind me as I quickly run down the hallway and into the next building.

I slip through the door and take a quick glance around but I don't want to start on the middle floor so I turn and run towards the stairs and make as little noise as I can while maintaining my speed.

I don't bother slowing down as I reach the stairs and I vault myself over the banister and twist my body around while I have a hold of it and use the lower rail to drop to the first floor and I head towards the first door on the left.

I throw the door open and take everything in for a moment and I raise my nose slightly in the air to get a feel for the scent of the room. I don't notice anything that seems recent, and there aren't any good spots here either so I turn away and head towards the next room.

“I'll leave any Magik to you,” I say as I open the next door and I glance at the big closed curtains in the room. The sun is shining against them so I would see a shadow if someone was holding themselves in the frame.

The air smells clean as well so I move on and I run to the next door, and Shiva laughs “Don't you think that they might consider it cheating?”

“Even if it was could they prove it?” I giggle to myself and reach out and grab the handle. I open it and immediately get greeted by a slightly sweet smell and I pause as I look around. This room is more cluttered than the last two and there are a few immediate blind spots from the door.

I step into the room and move to the left and examine the places that someone around my size would fit, but they are empty, and I move to the other blind spot. The scent doesn't get any stronger so I take a glace at a few more places before I give up on the room.

“Maybe one of the girls used it in the last round,” I click my tongue and run to the next room. I open the door and stop and stare in awe at the man sitting on the bench with a glass of what is probably wine in his hand.

“Ah found me,” he sounds bored as he stands up a shrugs, and I hear one of the instructors behind me sigh but I just ignore them both and look around the rest of the room. The wardrobes are open and the curtains have been thrown up and over the rod, while the desk has been turned up on its end.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“I am almost impressed with his gall,” Shiva murmurs and I just nod my head and move on to the next rooms. The rest of this floor is empty and I quickly run back up to the middle floor.

I approach the first of the bedrooms and I swing the door open yet again and glance around. It is a fairly plain room with a medium sized bed sitting in the middle of the room. There is a closet around the corner and a small desk with a mirror on it against the wall.

I give the room a quick once over and open the closet to find it empty and I eye the bed for a moment before I lift the matress out of its frame. I don't see anyone there so I drop it and keep on searching.

I clear another two room before I open a door again and get greeted by the scent from before and I pause as I look around. It is about as faint as before so I don't expect to find her again but I do a check again.

“So it is a scent that you like,” Shiva teases while I finish my sweep.

“It's not bad,” I shrug another door open, “Not quite something i would use but it isn't one that I hate either.”

I clear the next two rooms and as I approach the next door I catch a different but recognizable scent. It's a bit musky but not overpowering, like one of the brothels that cleaned up regularly, and it makes me almost want to not open the door but I toss it open anyway.

The scent is stronger and definitely recent and the bed sheets aren't nice and neat like the previous rooms and I sigh to myself and look at my instructors, they don't seem to have noticed anything so I step inside and move towards the only place were two people would be able to hide, without having to go near the bed.

I grab the closet door and try to open it but it is stuck in a strange way, almost like someone is trying to keep it closed from the inside and I consider how to approach the situation as I tug on the door for a moment.

“I'm curious how they are keeping a hold of the door,” I murmur as I look at closet, “These doors were smooth in the other rooms.”

“They aren't doing it with magic,” Shiva informs me and I nod my head and look at the hinges and I feel my lips curl up. I draw the plain knife that I brought with my and I slide the blade under the pin and flick it up.

The pin slides away smoothly and I quickly disassemble the doors as quietly as I can. The instructors are watching me intently but they don't say anything as I move to the side and examine the door again. I nod my head and place the blade into the crack and I pry hard against the door and I step away as it falls out onto the floor with a thud.

I take a moment to examine the two and their disheveled clothes and the woman blushes hard under my gaze, and I turn away, “Found two more.” Before I leave I check the door and spot the daggers wedged into the frame that he must have been using to hold the doors.

I rush out of the room and away to continue my hunt and I shake my head, “I'll never understand people that sneak away to have sex while on the job.”

“It is certainly an interesting decision,” Shiva says.

“Usually a needlessly dangerous one,” I complain, “In fact I think I've had more jobs go wrong because of idiots that can't wait a few hours. I mean really, who just leaves their post to chase after someone that isn't the target.”

Shiva doesn't offer me anything else as I clear another room and almost crash into the next door when it doesn't open like the others and I give it a jiggle and find myself smiling again as I reach for my picks.

“This one I like,” I compliment whoever had the thought to lock the door, “Even if they aren't inside it will buy them more time if I have to stop and unlock every door.” Even if it doesn't take me that long to get in every second is precious and I open the door while I put my picks back away.

I immediately catch the perfume from before and easily spot the Elfin woman sleeping on the bed underneath the sunshine and I sigh and shake my heart of the jealousy picking at me for not thinking of taking a nap like that before I turn away move towards the third floor.

This building didn't have an attic and instead the rooms went right up to the rafters and into the roof. They were also all very cluttered and I hope that there isn't anyone actually hiding up here or I really wont be able to find them easily.

I open the first door and step in and look around. “Okay lets think where would I hide,” I murmur to myself and my gaze instantly goes up to the rafters. It is always amazing how rarely people look up when they are searching for a target. There isn't anyone there this time so I look back around.

There are several dust cloths draped over everything but the room itself isn't dusty so I can't even tell if someone laid a trap like I did earlier. I shake the thought from my head and I rule out the shapes of furniture that it would be impossible to hide on and instead I approach the taller umbrella likes cloths.

I don't pull them away but I give them a quick pat down to see if someone might be hiding around a thin pole, but I don't find anyone and I give a quick check behind some of the larger furniture as well.

I can't spare much more time on this room so I head over to the covered wardrobe since it is the last good spot I can see and I pull the cloth to the side and open the door to find it empty.

I pause at the door before I rush out and I look around. “Is there even a reason to try so hard?” I ask, “There doesn't seem to be a prize to any of this, or any punishment for doing badly.”

“They might make you train more if you don't do well enough,” Shiva whispers in my ear, “And just think of all of the extra early morning you will have if you need more training.”

I feel a chill go up my spine and I have to suppress the shudder that follows and I redouble my efforts while clearing this floor.

I don't come across anyone else up here but I can't be sure if it is because there a too many hiding spots so everyone decided to avoid it because they assumed everyone would search it more thoroughly.

Or it might be that I am searching too quickly and am missing someone hiding in an obvious spot and I haven't caught any distinct scents either so I decide to cut my lost time and head back to the middle building.

“I wonder how Melodiana is doing,” I ponder her tasks as I run back to the stairs and skip several steps at a time.