Chapter 1: An Opening Gambit.

Who the fuck is this kid! Baron Zeyad thought to himself as he drew another set of cards and cursed his luck once more. His brow contorted with contempt as he looked up from the cards in his hands to the stony face of his opponent, the boy was peering at his cards through a mop of ginger hair that was in dire need of a cut. Had his guide not challenged him to a game of spire, The Baron wouldn’t have even looked twice at the runt. Zeyad cursed the ugly fool and placed down 2 shield cards. As his opponent drew 5 cards Zeyad took a closer look at him. He had the tell-tale look of a man trying to appear richer than he was, typical of aspiring merchant families. While the outfit was clearly expensive and purchased recently there was no thought to its construction. White undershirt, sky blue over shirt, and a navy cloak that was resting on the back of his chair with the coattails collecting dirt on the floor. All brought together with a pair of shit-brown trousers that could have bored half of the kingdom to death. The gods couldn’t have crafted a more generic outfit if they tried. The boy's father had probably just chosen the most expensive garments that his little backwater tailor had to offer and threw them together, and even then, he didn’t even bother buying any accessories. If there was a stylist involved, they deserved to be beheaded. Zeyad would have sooner hung himself than appear in public in this boy's outfit. As the boy placed a card faced down and added a counter with 3 dots on top, he flashed an insufferable grin at the baron.

BONG.

The bell in a nearby tower rang five times and then on the sixth Zeyad's guide promptly looked down towards the Baron sheepishly. “I'm afraid we're going to be late. Maybe the game can be postponed for another time?”

“Ah what a shame. I was about four turns away from an emphatic victory!” Zeyad bluffed as he instantly stood up from his chair, not even bothering to look at his opponent as he spoke. “We’ll just have to call that one a draw. You’re lucky I’ve got to leave kid. But a bit more practice and you’ll get there.” he said as he turned towards the palace and marched off. He wished nothing more than to never have to see this town's second-rate market and its infuriating inhabitants ever again. If he had thought to look back, he would have seen the young man who previously sat opposite him hand the guide 2 silver pieces as he stared intently at the barons back.

----------------------------------------

Edgar looked at his reflection in a mirror as he wiped the makeup off his face with a wet rag, as the bags under his stone-grey eyes, his sharp cheekbones and his chestnut brown hair emerged from their hiding. At 21, Edgar had been an adult for several years but he still felt like the baron looked down on him as a child. He couldn’t have been much older than 25! Edgar did not think the crude ginger wig on the floor to his right could have fooled anyone; but Zeyad was less attentive than he assumed. Actually, that was a lie. The Baron had quite a keen eye for fashion, Edgar noted his eyes wandered towards the clothes Edgar wore more than his face or even the cards played during their game. Zeyad was surprisingly good at spire, an aggressive player who took many risks, and had Edgar not been cheating the whole game he definitely would have lost. Spire was the one game that everyone in the kingdom knew how to play, and while Edgar didn’t believe much could be deduced from the way one played the game, it was very a useful method of getting someone to sit still in front of you for ten minutes. He really needed to improve at spire however, either that or he needed to get better at cheating! Edgar banished the thoughts of card games for another time and sat down at his desk to think. Baron Zeyad respected good style, but he was also a prick, and had an inflated ego. He liked to tell people things, but more importantly, he liked to think he was smarter than the person he was talking to.

Edgar stared at the blue ensemble of clothes that lay on his floor and laughed at how much thought he put into making it look like there was no thought put into the outfit. He debated wearing some of them tonight but decided not to tempt fate more than he already had this evening: just in case he was to meet with Zeyad again. He donned a plain but well-made cream shirt and a black pair of trousers, adorned them with a black blazer that had many pockets. The baron might care for fashion but whenever Edgar thought he could get away with not being in vogue he jumped at the opportunity. No doubt his father would not be incredibly pleased to find out he was attending tonight's feast with a low profile; however Edgar knew he could smooth him over if necessary. Being the third son out of four had its downsides, but to Edgar freedom and invisibility were not listed amongst them. Edgar realized he was just standing there circling in his thoughts and quickly stood up and exited his room and wondered how he was going to find his eldest brother Avian.

Economics on the scale of Empires. Quite possibly the least interesting book in the palace library. Yet here it sat in the crook of Avian's hand. Avian’s long hazel hair was tied behind his head, and he seemed in heavy thought as he speculated over coppers, silvers, and golds. His brow was furrowed in confusion, and he seemed pleased to be relieved of his reading as Edgar strolled towards him. “CA CAW CA CAW, how's the reading birdbrain?” Edgar leaned on a bookshelf near Avian’s chair. “Lovely bedtime story you’ve got there.”

Avian merely placed down his book and gave a disappointing glance towards his younger brother. “How did your little escapade fare earlier? It's a shame you went back to brown Ed, I thought the orange hair really brought out your eyes”. The words barely leaving his mouth before a toothy grin erupted on his face.

“It went quite well, if I do say so myself, the guys a stupid ass but at least he’s well dressed.”

“Anything I need to look out for?”

“Make sure you wear some nice clothes, and don’t play spire against him unless you know a good way to cheat. If you need to get anything out of him, just make it seem like he knows more about something than you. He’ll talk eventually.”

“Great, I love dealing with idiots. Speaking of which, what are your plans for the night? Off to swindle an unsuspecting merchant or steal a prized jewel now that you’ve had a taste of subterfuge?” Avian said with a smile as Edgar rolled his eyes.

“You might see me at the feast, you might not.” Edgar answered as he turned to leave. “If I'm not too busy stealing prized Jewels that is...” and as he walked out of the library a hint of a smile curled upon the mouths of both brothers.

Music was playing, drinks were flowing, yet Edgar indulged in neither as he stood in an upper rafter of the banquet hall. The feast was over and now the residents of Hanau and its surrounding county were mingling in the hall. With all the focus of an eagle encircling its prey he studied the crowd beneath him, lying in wait for anyone remotely interesting to catch his eye. His hunt was disturbed by the sound of footsteps behind him. Edgar turned around to see his younger Brother Cyrus emerge from an alcove behind him. The boy’s once blonde hair was shaved off in the traditional style of an aspiring mage, he was clad in the red robes commonly worn by academy students on formal occasions. Edgar was happy that his younger brother had such a passion for the magical arts; and the talent and capabilities to match. But there was a part of him that was deeply jealous that he wasn’t the one born with such abilities. Not that his brother would ever find out of course. Edgar had aspired to be a mage once, but those aspirations turned into dreams, which then turned into fantasies, and eventually they were left on the wayside as Edgar continued living his life. He snapped out of his spiralling thoughts to look at his brother before him. The boy’s face showed a forced smile only worn by those who weren't feeling especially happy. He had the same tired eyes as Edgar and despite the 4-year age gap they both stood at an even 6 foot. When had he grown so tall? Edgar wondered if Cyrus was secretly wearing platform shoes hidden beneath the flowing robes he wore and tried to sneak a glimpse as his brother strode over to him and leant on the rail overlooking the feast. “How did you find me up here?”

“Followed the smell.” Cyrus said nonchalantly, his real smile now appearing from behind the mask as he met with his older brother. “If you want the real answer, check inside one of your left inside pockets.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Edgar reached into the pocket and pulled out a handful of silver and copper coins. Inscribed on one of the silvers was a tiny set of runes that could not have possibly been carved. “I assume this is some kind of tracker?” He said, annoyed at himself for not noticing his clothes had been tampered with. He brought the coin closer to his face, upon closer inspection the runes caught the light with an iridescent, red sheen and the coin was slightly cold to the touch. Cyrus had probably made this one himself. The magical effects of the coin would probably run out in a month. Still, it was impressive that his brother had made this. Especially as it had been created with such a small object as a base.

Edgar had researched magical items before; it was the first thing he did after giving up becoming a mage. However, their rarity and the difficulty it took to create them permanently, especially for one with no innate magical prowess such as himself, meant a career as an artificer was abandoned and added to the pile of broken dreams shortly after its cousin the mage. It didn’t halt his interest though and any magical item that managed to find its way to their countryside county was at least investigated by Edgar, if not purchased.

“-And the best part is... It only cost you one silver!” Edgar only caught the last part of Cyrus’ monologue about the tracker as he snapped out of his reverie. The youth holding what must have been the silver coin that the tracker replaced in his fingers as he awaited a reply.

Hiding his envy behind a smile, Edgar pocketed the coin and stared back at Cyrus. “This is rather good; however, the stealth wards need a bit more work. I think there's a Kleberson book about them in Stargardts Library that you should read when you go back.” Edgar lied as he looked back up at his brother. That should waste a good hour of his time when he returned to school. “I know you didn’t just come here to show me how much better you are at magic than me though. What’s bothering you?”.

“That woman over there, the tanned one with black hair and the brown cloak” The anxious expression returned to Cyrus’ face as he leant on the railing and pointed to two people conversing near the corner of the hall. “She's got a concealed magical aura, and she won't sit still, I've never seen her here before either. Maybe I’m just barking at shadows here but I’m suspicious. You’re better at this thing than me, can you see what she’s up to?”

“I’ll scout her out. If you're saying she's magical then she's probably more interesting than most of the people here anyway.” Edgar said calmly as he reached back into his pocket for the tracker. Trying to mask his excitement at finding someone of interest, maybe this was his lucky day. He grabbed the tracker out of his pocket, held it up, and shot back at his younger brother “And the best part is... It’ll only cost you one silver!”. Cyrus simply rolled his eyes and walked away, returning to the main hall.

Edgar’s attention now centred on the woman as he observed her every move. She was wandering around the party, speaking to many people and often for quite a while. She didn’t seem overly suspicious. But then he caught it. As she leaned in to hug her latest companion, she jerked him to the side, ever so slightly, and just as she did, another figure leaned in and cut the man's purse from his waist, before re-joining the crowd. This process was repeated twice, with two different people doing the snatching, before a pale man with a grave expression and long black hair covering his eyes leaned into her and whispered something into her ear. Judging by her raised eyebrows and a hint of a smile, whatever he said must have been interesting. She turned her head and for the first time they made eye contact. She had large, dark, smoky eyes and a small tattoo of a heart on top of her right cheek bone, tattoos weren't especially rare, but Edgar had only seen a handful of people with ink on their face and he thought it rather impractical for a thief to have such a memorable feature. She had large brown lips that pressed together to form a toothless smile as she looked up at Edgar. He reckoned that she must have been around 40 yet she was still beautiful despite being almost double Ed's age. She raised her hand and motioned for him to come down and meet her, but she was met with an expressionless face for several seconds as Edgar mulled over his options. Eventually he responded with a nod and left his viewing platform wondering just what he was getting himself into...

Edgar paid his room a visit before going to the main hall. Whoever this mysterious woman was she could surely wait a little while so that he could prepare himself. He picked up a warm crystal from underneath his bed and closed his eyes as he felt the rush of magical energy flow through him as he crushed it. Arcane batteries, like the one he now held, provided a source of mana for non-mages to be able to use magic. He used this burst to attune to the coin Cyrus had given to him, now he was the one that always knew the coin's position. Edgar then used all the leftover mana to telekinetically pull a stiletto dagger from across his room into his palm. He didn’t want to leave magical energy unused; it wreaked all kinds of havoc when kept inside the human body. Edgar withdrew another dagger from underneath his desk and placed them both inside his blazer pockets. He then threw the navy cloak lying on his floor around his shoulders and smiled at the risk of bumping into the baron. Their interaction, if it happened, would probably be hostile and it was possibly going to be dangerous. But it would definitely be fun. That was a risk Edgar was willing to take.

Edgars final preparation was to remove all the coins from his belt purse and to replace them with rocks, just in case, those fuckers weren't taking his money tonight! Edgar looked back at the mirror, neatened his hair and said aloud to himself “You are going to find out who this woman is. You are going to find out what she’s doing here. You’ve already had 1 success today. Time for 2 out of 2”. Smiling to himself at the corniness of his speech, Edgar left towards the great hall as he steeled himself for what was to come.

The hall was slightly less busy than before when he returned. However, there were still enough people for Edgar to mingle in the crowd for a while before he went up to the mysterious woman, who was now standing in a corner looking at him with a smirk. Edgar went up to multiple people who previously spoke with her. He wanted to get as much information as possible before they spoke. Unfortunately, she was one step ahead of him. He couldn’t even find out her name as each person Edgar asked told him something different. Was she Julia the seamstress from Nataroun, or was she Natalia the Stargartian tattoo artist? While annoyed that he was on a wild goose chase, Edgar had to acknowledge the woman's craft, it seemed everyone completely believed the lie that she had fed them. To Edgars right baron Zeyad was arguing, rather aggressively, with a drunk man about how he could beat a brown bear in a fight armed with only a shield and spear. Edgar took one of his stilettos and discreetly palmed it in his left hand so that no one could see. He then looked out for a partygoer with ginger hair. He had an idea...

“Have you heard how loud that guy is getting over this stupid bear fight? I reckon he’d lose it if I went over there and said I think I’d beat him in a fight.” he commented to a short, ginger man who was watching the two arguers going at it.

The man simply replied with a nod.

“Do you want to help me cause a bit of chaos?” Edgar said as he looked into the man's pale blue eyes while a smile flooded his face. “I’m Alphonse by the way” Ed added as he offered his right hand to the man.

“Jacob.” The short man replied, looking up at Edgar as he shook his hand. “What did you have in mind” Jacob responded in a high-pitched voice, with a slur that hinted at his current state of inebriation.

“We go over there; I say something like you couldn’t kill a fly you spindly fuck. You immediately back me up by insulting him again and we watch the chaos unfold. If it comes down to it, I could definitely beat him in a fight; I wouldn’t even need a shield and spear!” Edgar practically watched the gears in the man's head turn as he drunkenly tried to comprehend his sales pitch but eventually, he responded with a

“Fuck yeah!”

“Here, can you take this cloak though Jacob. If stuff goes down between me and Zeyad, I don’t want it to get scuffed.”

“Sure, whatever. Now let’s go!” Jacob drunkenly garbled as he stumbled towards the baron.

Edgar sauntered up to Zeyad's right, following Jacob, and pointed at the baron. “A Bear! How absurd, you couldn’t beat a fish in a fistfight, you featherweight fool!”

“Yeah! And... and... you smell bad!”

Ed's heart sunk as he wondered if the ginger oaf's inability to create an effective insult had ruined his plan, but all his fears vanished when he saw the baron's eyes lock on Jacob as he pointed at him and shouted

“YOU! YOU CHEATING LITTLE FUCKER!” and raised his arm to strike the man. Just as he did this, in the tiny window of time that was presented to him, Edgar deftly sliced at the belt of Zeyad, cutting the purse of the man loose just before his fist connected with poor Jacob's face.

Edgar sheepishly retreated from the onset of a drunken brawl as Jacob managed to land one back on the taller man. It was clear that the baron would win if they continued fighting but luckily for the shorter man a few onlookers stepped in. Edgar hurriedly removed his blazer, rolled up his sleeves and rustled his hair. He went further into the crowd and took several deep breaths as he looked around to see if anyone had seen him. Then he advanced onto his real target for tonight. He threw her the baron's coin purse and grinned as he looked her dead in the eyes.

“How’d you like that!”