“Good morning children!” Varsylos made a rather heroic pose and strode confidently down the few steps. “Everyone’s gathered, which is great! Because I really wanted to give you all some toys today!”

“Toys!?” Tilia, whom up till then had been watching Ferran working on her writing, shifted her focus instantly.

“But first! We should give some space for learning… It’s important to read and write little Ferran, the greatest secrets in the world, are hidden in books.”

With everyone eagerly waiting for her to finish up, she began to feel a little pressured. Looking at the jumble of letters, she spotted a pattern of slight improvement for each letter, as her grip normalized around the feather pen.

A short while later, and she had finished. Her wrist was aching terribly, but at last, her two letters looked vaguely like Rein’s; Flawless.

“Hmm, not bad. I think you’ll get the hang of it. So? Varsylos? What did you have in mind?”

“With all your great help in keeping away those particularly pesky people, it’s time to pay up as they say! Follow me! I want you to pick something of your fancy!” Leaving the note behind, a little saddened to leave the note like it did not matter, she followed the others. Varsylos led them down into his basement, through another hidden door. This hidden area turned out to be even more heavily secure, with actual steel bracing the walls, floor and ceiling.

“I see you’re surprised little Ferran! I assure you it’s just to keep idiots from digging in here… They’ve tried… The fools.

“Flooding and collapsing tunnels are just that much more fun with people in it!” Tilia chirped.

“Exactly! Anyway… Let me see. What was the sequence again?”

He began turning the various knobs and pulling different levers, and after a good while of fumbling, the mechanical doors swung open with a sound reminiscent of the doors in the Imperial Archive.

“This is where I keep all the things I don’t bother to destroy! No world-changing weapons or anything in here, but surely something useful for my lovely little friends… Don’t be shy, don’t be shy, go ahead and have a look!”

Tilia immediately rushed in like it was some sort of nobleman’s toystore. Even Carys and Rein seemed unable to contain their excitement. Indas bore his usually indifferent appearance, but was still appraising every item on display. She walked along one of the rows of display cases. To Ferran, it felt like she was walking through some eccentric’s display. Like the nobles who liked to keep dead animals on display, or an impressive array of finely polished swords. She stopped in front of a case filled to the brim with dice.

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“Ah, those are cheat dice… Loaded down and everything, but you don’t seem a gambling type. Perhaps you Rein might have an interest?” Varsylos, who was trailing after her, called out to Rein whom politely shook his head. “I quit gambling, drew too much attention!”

“Hey! What are these lovely cubes!?” Tilia shouted from the corner closest to the door.

“Oh, I imagined you’d like them! They’re gas dispensers! With a little wire line to reel them in afterwards, there’s also a ball version.”

“I want them! Right now!”

“Alright, I’ll be right over!”

She feigned interest in a pair of high-heels with a nasty-looking blade poking out of them, to peer over at the others. Carys seemed to be locked in place, looking at something small and pretty. Rein was appraising a set of whetstones, while Indas seemed overwhelmed with the possibilities.

“Can I take these hairpins? They are lockpick hairpins, right?”

“That’s right! Good eye Carys, you can have those, no problem!”

“Hey Varsylos? I found a pair of curved blades upstairs…” Rein began.

“You can have one of them. They’re very expensive, I bought them off a merchant from the East, those whetstones too! I’ll help you choose the right one after this!”

…

“I think he wants help!”

To this, he nodded at her, pleased that his simple message had gotten through.

“Go over to where Rein is, there should be something you’ll like over there!” Varsylos shouted back, while heading over to Carys, whom was waiting patiently. Rein motioned for Indas, and it was not long before he appeared to find something of interest.

Ferran kept going down the row of display cases when an item caught her eye. It was a pair of vambraces, at least at first glance. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that they were akin to a type she had seen in the armory back in the city.

Not noticing him, she suddenly felt his warm breath down the back of her neck.

“Those huh? You should definitively have a pair. I know the old ones are still back there. But these are improved, stronger, reusable darts with contact injection, in a pinch the vambrace can even resist longsword blows… Just don’t expect them to protect against axes or morning stars.”

He unlocked the case and handed her the two, strapping her in and explaining the mechanism. Its design was straightforward, press a release and the small thing bolts would fire. A small hook pin was used to draw the firing mechanism, though finger practice could eliminate its use.

“Yes, yes! Those look perfect! You can have them, and this set of bolts too!”

“Um… Just like that?... Thank you very much sir…”

“Don’t sweat it little Ferran! I want you to be a very successful assassin! Just like the rest of your friends! Listen to them and learn from them. Oh, but be a cutie and try to get Tilia to give up her explosives recipe…”

“I heard that! And no, you’re still not going to get it!” Tilia stuck out her tounge.

“Was worth the try. Take good care of them, and they’ll take good care of you too!”

“Yes sir! I will, thank you so much!”

“Hm hm.” Varsylos nodded, patting her head.