With my Concealment making it even harder for the guards to notice me, I rushed through the short street rapidly. However, my target was not the manor. I knew for a fact that Concealment didn't work on wards any better than it worked on the beasts, and had no intention of relying on it to pass the barrier.
Not when I had a much better way.
My first destination was the servant's quarters, which, unlike the main residence, was much easier to enter. There were still some wards in the way, but they were much easier to bypass, making stealing a set of official servant clothes and an identity plate much easier.
Then, I stepped by the kitchen, grabbed a large tray, and disappeared before the cooks could even notice. Once I was on the path between the kitchen and the manor, I suppressed my Concealment once more, and relied on more mundane acting capabilities.
I let my shoulder slouch and my feet drag, while putting on an exhausted and pitiful expression as I picked a decent pace, trying to time my arrival at the entrance. I trusted Limenta to be punctual in his mission.
Of course, I still took a precaution by stretching my Charisma toward the guard responsible for checking the arrivals, slowly pushing a sense of boredom, along with a sense of excessive confidence as much as I could mix.
I wanted him to feel complacent by thinking that no one would dare to challenge House Maell. That way, even if the commotion didn't start in time, it would work as intended.
That proved unnecessary. Just as I was ten steps away from the checkpoint, an explosion rang in the air, coming from the forge, followed by the alarm and panicked guards. The guards reacted better than the guards of our town … but that didn't prevent their reaction from being an uncoordinated eyesore.
That worked for my benefit, but at the same time, it offended my professional sensibilities.
With a sigh, I changed the nature of my emotional push, pushing the guard into a blind panic. He immediately abandoned his post and rushed toward the explosion, and I rushed in.
Amateurs.
The identity plate allowed me to bypass the security measures easily, and just like that, I was inside. I disposed of the tray in the first empty room, and walked into the depths of the manor. For the moment, I wasn't using Concealment.
I just changed my posture once more. This time, I didn't look like a frail old man, but like a confident old servant with a task, my stance shouting I had an important task. The guards and servants inside the manor weren't panicking as badly, but they were still worried enough not to question someone with a clear task.
The exact opposite of what they should be doing. Another sign of their lack of discipline.
However, that changed as I managed to arrive near the main hall, which was surrounded by several guards, unmoving as they carefully examined everyone that was approaching. From their attitude toward a guard who was trying to report the explosion, I could see that the same trick wouldn't work.
Clearly, they were careful about the security of this meeting.
Instead, I took note of the location of the great hall before climbing up the stairs, looking for an empty room that was directly on top of that hall. A basement would have been even better for what I had in mind, but it wasn't worth losing the potential escape paths. From upstairs, I could burst out of a window — the wards were much less effective at keeping people in unless they were designed for that purpose — while in the basement, my only choice was to fight through a dangerous choke that would limit my advantages.
Not a tradeoff I was willing to accept.
Luckily, the upstairs was mostly filled with guest rooms. They had their individual magic locks, but they were clearly there more as a courtesy than actual protection, as even with my meager magical abilities, I was able to unlock the door without destroying the lock.
Once in the room, I put my hand on the floor, carefully expanding my mana to examine the protections of the hall, trying to feel the structure of the ward. The existence of a silencing ward was a certainty, but I wanted to see if there were any other wards.
I closed my eyes as I interacted with the ethereal construct, trying to visualize its complicated structure. I noticed three layers, two I recognized from the quick lessons with Zolast. An alarm ward, and a silencing ward, both based exactly on System schematics with absolutely no change.
Stolen story; please report.
And, to make things better, they were built in sections rather than in one piece. It was shoddy construction, one that was a result of the rapid establishment.
It was not pure luck to come across such a weakness. The nature of the expansion meant hard limits on skilled labor and construction time, creating inevitable vulnerabilities. I had been betting on that all along.
Still, I was glad it paid off, allowing me to listen to their conversation without risking anything more dangerous. I held my breath and pressed my ear to the floor, though I was still unable to hear their voices. So, I picked a concealed spot, moved the bedside table away to make sure I could cover once I was finished, and started to dig through the stone.
Soon, I could hear them.
The first one I noticed was a familiar voice. The guildmaster of Endless Rain, bitching and moaning about House Maell's inability to keep their place secure, that maybe they were not the best target for the alliance. A tirade that lasted for another three minutes before the door opened, and footsteps interrupted him.
"My apologies for keeping such exalted guests waiting," an unfamiliar voice said. A member of House Maell, and likely a noble, I guessed considering he referred to the rest as his guests. "Let's continue from where we left off."
"Good, we were still discussing the allocation of the dungeon rewards once you're in control," another familiar voice interrupted. This time, it was the guildmaster of Night Blades.
"Yes. Could you remind me where we were?" said the House Maell member, his tone slightly confused. I immediately recognized that simple negotiation trick, one that forced the opponent to reiterate his point while simultaneously undermining that position.
A simple trick, and nice delivery. I admired it … even though I had a very good idea about exactly which dungeon they were talking about.
"We can't go any lower than fifty percent. We're the ones that are taking the biggest risk. Our needs—"
"Are immaterial," the House Maell member cut in. "You're going to do it, because your owner is unhappy with your failure, and another plan is required. You'll receive ten percent just like the other guilds, and House Maell will be receiving the remaining half. That's final."
Despite his clear declaration, it was clearly not final, as the guildmaster of Night Blades argued aggressively. "Unacceptable. We're the ones that will contribute the most forces. We're the ones that will slaughter that pesky outpost. We deserve more than a bunch of new guilds," he countered.
I tensed as I realized the extent of their plans. I didn't have a sheltered childhood, and I knew exactly how the world worked. Yet, hearing them casually discuss the death of thousands hit me hard.
It was a good reminder that I wasn't fighting against a bunch of upstart criminals, who, even at their worst, would have limited their killing to other criminals. Rare few shared my ethical concerns and beliefs that only the people who accepted the risks deserved to be targeted in such a final manner.
Most were scared of the police. No bribe would allow them to turn away once it turned into a public relations crisis.
A concern that clearly didn't exist here, considering they were talking about killing thousands of innocents like a distasteful chore. I would understand — just understand, not accept — if the outpost created a huge strategic barrier, but even with the recent improvements, they were useless in a pitched battle. Just a knight with his magical attacks would be enough to scare them away.
Well, if they wanted to play … I would play.
My silent rage didn't prevent me from listening to them, though other than the guildmaster of Night Blades casually declaring his plan to massacre thousands, there were no revelations, just a lengthy discussion about their deserved share.
I had to admit, for all the supposed disdain toward merchants, the member of House Maell was a shrewd negotiator, subtly manipulating the discussion to make sure it was between five guilds, making them argue against each other.
Not without help.
"Nonsense. Why should your failure give you more of the share? We all deserve equal credit," declared the guildmaster of Adamant Sword, turning the argument into a competition between the guilds, and not for the first time.
Clearly intentional, signaling that they were already siding with House Maell, but the others didn't notice. From his tone, I suspected the guildmaster of Endless Rain was aware of that little ploy, but if he was, he was letting it slide.
At no point, did the young man I had seen in the casino make a sound. An interesting issue. Either he was happy being a listener … or he was having a different meeting, which would line up with the aggressive nature of the guildmaster of Night Blades.
Considering Baron Maell was absent from the meeting — I didn't exactly know the name of the House Maell member, but the confrontational attitude of the guildmaster suggested that, while he was a direct member of the family, he didn't hold an extra title.
I wanted to say that I was surprised by their sudden attitude change and decision to intervene militarily, but I was not. Well, other than the first shock. I wasn't exactly a history buff, but I was still aware enough to know that nobles would have no problem using pleasant levies to address a slight political issue, leading to thousands of deaths.
Yet, they would avoid killing other nobles even in the heat of battle.
What I was seeing was an extension of that. They were more than happy to plan to destroy the young duke's power base, but at no point did I hear them planning an ambush against him despite it being much easier.
Unfortunately for them, I didn't share their perception.
As I continued listening, I looked around the room, taking note of the layout even as I tried to decide on the next steps. I had two paths in front of me. The easier one was to escape immediately. I had collected enough information to know they were about to deliver a devastating attack against us, giving us the necessary time to prepare.
Yet, leaving just like that meant losing the opportunity to strike first. An opportunity that wouldn't be as easily attained once the signs of my intrusion were discovered.
"I think we have discussed enough. Why don't we go to our rooms, and continue our negotiations in the morning," the representative of House Maell said, and after the reluctant sounds of agreement, they decided to go to their rest.
I stayed in the room.