After leaving Roque’s apartment, gutted with disappointment, Krayat did a quick scavenge through all the other currently vacant apartments in the barracks. Since unlike Roque, everyone else actually sensibly locked their doors. She’d pulled out her lockpick before turning back into a hand, tucking it under her pinky during transport.
But alas, there was nothing of value worth stealing, at least nothing she could get away with. In Chorus’ room, there had been a vintage dress from one of Krayat’s favorite movies as a child, almost by default because it was one of the few she got to see. The woman stared at that dress for quite some time trying to figure out if she should or could take it, even going so far as to turn back to normal and compare it against her body.
It would’ve been a tight fit, but she could’ve pulled it off if she sucked in her gut. Krayat was limited to stealing items that she could either wear, stuff in her pockets, or carry with her hand. The last time she was here, she never got the opportunity to change into any other form besides her hand, so she’d only been able to make it out with the vial that she carried the entire way.
To steal that dress, it would’ve meant having to take off her current clothing and leave her pants behind, which would cause a whole new slew of problems. So ultimately, the dress was abandoned, but Krayat would be back for it… maybe… if she even made it out of this caper alive.
The whole ordeal was starting to feel hopeless, not a speck of useful intel so far and no riches gained. But she had to persist, since the result of her failure would be even more severe. The thief knew of one place that would certainly have something worthwhile; the secret lab which she had visited once already. But in the ensuing chaos of that day, she hadn’t dared to stick around for too long, though she did get a few good pictures.
If everything else failed, she’d somehow make her way back there and steal whatever goodies she may find. But getting there was certainly a problem. The woman had lucked out the first time, flying through the cracks in the mechanisms that lowered all their buildings into the ground while they were in motion. Infiltrating the lab had been easy during that time, since it had to be lowered for the workshop above.
But now, especially since she’d have to pass the barrier, the odds of her being able to get into it anytime soon were minimal. She’d have to find the right person going to the right place at the right time, and with a big enough aura. Most of the members were suited based on her list, but some like Rezin were not. Though, Krayat doubted he’d leave his room any time soon anyways.
Really, this infiltration could last days, or even weeks, but she couldn’t give up until it was done. Being stuck in a cramped form would surely suck. Maybe she could find an unoccupied room to spend the night in if it came down to it.
So far, besides Roque’s TV remote, all she’d stolen was a snack from one of the apartments just to keep her hidden stomach from rumbling. But the day was easy-going at least, and there’d only been one incident where she came even close to being caught. The girl Niloy had quickly run in and out of her room to grab something, causing the thief to hide her hand into a pile of rather ugly stuffed animals for a few minutes.
Not expecting to find anything more of worth, Krayat shifted back into an eye and loitered in the lobby, waiting for her next opportunity to hitch a ride. No one came by for a while, and the first one that did was a bust. It was some Fiend she didn’t have much intel on with too weak of an aura to use as a cover. He hadn’t even been listed in her intel, showing how new he was.
Another use of her contact lens was as an aura scanner itself. She hadn’t needed it so far since she had a good idea of the range of those she’d seen, but she’d been forced to switch over. Unfortunately, that meant temporarily disabling the barrier lens, so she’d be left blind to its existence. But that had been more useful when she was worried about the process to begin with, and she’d memorized the location of all the barriers they’d passed through on the way over to the barracks. She shouldn’t need it again unless she got stuck somewhere without a body.
Not too long after that first failure, another gentleman came down the stairs with a briefcase in hand, clearly headed somewhere. Ipucco; the thief finally recalled his name, and his aura would do. It was a bit smaller than she’d care for, but there was a nice spot around the brim of his hat that was just within range.
The man had a briefcase with him, so he was clearly headed somewhere with purpose. If he hopped into a car, she’d jump ship—err, hat. But there was still a good chance that he could be doing business in the compound. Her hope was that he’d be heading to the Headquarters building to meet with a client, or something along those lines. Regardless, it was a building she wanted to visit,since it had one of the higher chances of intel. If she could post up behind the receptionist and just snap pictures all day, that alone should be worthwhile.
But to the thief’s surprise, the man walked in the complete opposite direction when he left the barracks, up to the northern side of the compound. Krayat’s up-to-date blueprints had shown the new school up there, but she hadn’t even remotely been planning a visit.
At least it wasn’t out of the compound, so Krayat didn’t try to make a daring escape. The annoying mawhger she was using as a taxi just had to stop and chat with every person and child he came across. Luckily, he was rather tall, so she was well hidden on the brim of his tophat, but she still made sure to roll around to the opposite side of whoever he was having a conversation with.
Seeing that he was headed into the headmaster’s office now made a lot more sense. Krayat made sure to jump ship before the man could grab his hat and put it on the rack, and went and hid on top of a display case in his office. She watched him sit down for only just a brief minute, just long enough to pull some files from his briefcase, write a few notes, and then head back out his office door.
From her high vantage, the thief could already see a few interesting items around the room. The man was clearly a history buff, and while Krayat herself had never been too interested, being a thief required at least surface level knowledge of the subject so she’d know what was valuable.
And look at that, she found Cosdamn gleaming gem in this so-far barren landscape of mediocrity. After she slid down the display case and looked inside, she found something she immediately recognized—something that still haunted her nightmares. It was an arrowhead.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
At first glance, it looked like countless other stone arrowheads that had certainly been crafted over the rise of human history. But this one had a specific icon in the middle of it that dated back to the very first human tribe, at least the first that had any historical evidence. It would be the dream of a history buff to own one, and this mawhger had two. Surely, he wouldn’t mind sharing.
The reason she knew about them, and was so obsessed, was her own error in the past. During a museum heist—not the Cotagerie museum, which she was still envious about since the Drazahs had beaten her to the punch—she had passed by those arrowheads, thinking them mere cheap trinkets from the past.
Instead, she stole the most valuable painting from the museum, which ended up being worth nothing compared to the historical artifacts she’d spurned. And after that, the museum had beefed up their security, making the relics that much harder to steal, not that she would, since it went against one of the thief’s rules. But yet here she found some again, and she wouldn’t let this opportunity pass by.
After picking the lock on the case, Krayat wrapped the arrowhead in a cloth she always brought with her and stuffed it into her pocket. But before she slid the glass back into place, the thief went and grabbed one of the tissues off of the nearby desk. She then dabbed the tissue around the edge of the glass, creating small, fake fingerprints with the dusty residue.
It would be so much easier for the headmaster to believe that one of the kids had gotten curious or selfish and took an arrowhead themselves rather than it vanishing mysteriously with no evidence. Sometimes a misleading trail was better than no trail at all. This could possibly lead to one of the children taking the blame, but just from the impression she’d gotten from Ipucco, she doubted he’d punish anyone too severely without concrete evidence. But they were surely in for a lot of disappointed glares.
Speaking of the children, this office would be a good place to observe them and spot any with adequately sized auras. Krayat didn’t really want to wander around in the school, doubting she’d find anything else of use unless the Fiends For Hire were teaching them some sort of new science that the rest of the world didn’t know about yet. Possible, but improbable. She’d rather stay put in the secluded office, especially since children tended to be more observant than adults, at least at spotting when something was amiss.
Krayat posted up at the window which was cracked open since the headmaster didn’t have to worry about the weather suddenly turning foul. She reverted back into an eyeball with just a single ear attached so she could be observant even if her mind wandered, which it quickly did. The fatigue of her Curse quickly caught up with her, and her eye was feeling strained from so much effort, even though at some point she’d swapped to the one she hadn’t been using all day.
The thief came close to nodding off, not quite, but her mind was blurring the reality between conscious and not. But she was suddenly jolted back to attention when the school bell rang. The yard within her view was quickly swarmed with children. Some ran to the playground, eager to burn off some energy after being cooped up inside. A few had some words and then headed back into the school, and a handful of others looked like they were walking towards the town.
But one in particular drew Krayat’s attention right away because her aura was so big and blindingly bright. Hell, she hadn’t even been able to make out the girl’s figure itself until she turned off the sensor. That was when she recognized Mazie Pozin from her intel—one of the few children she looked into because the circumstances of her joining were so interesting.
While the thief doubted that the girl would lead her to riches, she was like a walking free-ride. Krayat didn’t even need to touch her to take advantage, just to stay within a few feet. Her aura was just that big. This girl could get her anywhere if steered in the right direction, hopefully to at least the Headquarters building. If nothing else, Krayat could probably just draw an arrow in the dirt and a child’s curiosity would take over.
It was a decent plan so far, but the thief still had to get close without being seen. Without a second thought, the eye jumped out of the window down to the bushes below. Her hovering ability kicked in before she got scratched up, but it still caused her a great deal of strain to catch herself like that.
Fortunately for her, the children were quite wrapped up in their game, running and screaming. The thief got an earful as she weaved through the somewhat tall grass and one boy tackled another to the ground. Screeching ensued, playful but still painful to hear. While Krayat didn’t want to lose her hearing entirely, she did fold one half of her ear over the other to muffle the sound.
The thief got a lot more cautious when she approached the boundary of the playground, trying to decipher how she could attach herself to Mazie without anyone noticing, especially her leering mother in child form who watched the girl like a bird of prey. But then Krayat noticed the pile of backpacks that the children had chucked when they got outside. Such a simple solution, as long as the thief could identify which was hers.
‘Mazie’ was written in fancy font and glitter gel on one of the backs of the backpacks, surrounded by dozens of sparkly stickers. Well that was easy. Krayat wiggled one of her fingers into existence, all she’d need to undo the zipper just a smidge and sneak inside. She left the small gap open, so she could watch the children play while waiting for her opportunity.
Despite their seemingly endless energy, the crowd of children dispersed quickly, most heading back to the school. It was a little disorienting feeling the jostling around her as the other kids picked up their bags that had been piled next to Mazies. The bigger hoist when the girl picked up her own backpack almost brought the eyeball to the edge of vomiting—however that would work.
“Bray, Bray, let’s go see Aunty Rishaki!” Mazie eagerly cheered to her mother-friend.
Rishaki, eh? Krayat couldn’t help but get rather excited. The first Merchant Queen of Zjiksa, despite no longer living there, and collector of all things rare and valuable; that Rishaki. If this girl could lead her to that treasure trove, she’d be indebted forever.
Krayat couldn’t help but daydream about swimming in all those riches on the ride over. She started making plans of how many rings and necklaces she could fit on her body before it got too insane. The thief was so lost in wonderment that she didn’t hear the conversation around her that led to the bag she was in being dropped.
Are we there already? The woman poked her gaze through the gap of the zipper. But they weren’t in Rishaki’s shop. In fact, at her angle, all she could see was open grass along with Mazie, Bray, and Tize Scound walking away together somewhere. She heard something about a mission—all telling to know they probably wouldn’t be back for a while.
Damn it, the thief had gotten careless. She wormed her way back out of the back to see just how screwed she was, most likely stuck somewhere between barriers. But when she whirled her eye, she couldn’t believe anything else but that fate was looking out for her. Krayat had been brought right where she needed to go most. Somewhere she’d been struggling with figuring out how to get to: the generals mansion.