I sat on the bed in the room I had managed to secure. If I’m going to be staying here a while I seriously hope that Oroen of his can help tide over my expenses. I thought with a wry smile. This place sure isn’t cheap. I thought with a laugh. Though it’s not like there are many places that are…

Cale had decided that he would send a missive to Oroen, hopefully allowing him to enter the grounds at night to meet with him later on. In the meantime, I’d wait for either his return, or someone who bore his bracelet.

[I suppose that’s part of the reason most irregulars take to the roads.] Page mused. [Expenses.]

I snorted. While that’s possible it’s also highly unlikely. I thought. They could easily have settled as guards or perhaps even carved out their own place in the wilderness. It’s not like the experienced ones have much to fear from the beasts of the forest…

[Was I not supposed to be the one overanalysing matters?] Page asked me, amused.

It’s providing me with something to kill time… I thought, smiling faintly. The last time we’d done something like this was back at Greil’s place wasn’t it? After we’d shoved her through.

[I remember.] Page said sombrely. [You were lucky that that portal came when it did.]

Have to wonder about that. So much coincidence, but is it really? I thought. Could something be guiding the portals, guiding me? I took out my sword, checking the edge and giving it a once over, it hadn’t seen that much use, but better to have my blade properly cared for. I was definitely going to be needing it soon.

[If so, that does not explain why there is such a high body count for being a Rifter until the formation of their own group.] Page noted. [It is highly improbably, but not impossible for it to have been just luck.]

Or some kind of trial. I thought, frowning at one of the nicks on my blade I hadn’t even noticed was there. I drew out another strip of armour to use as a strop, pressing my teeth lightly against my tongue as I aligned the edge straight again. Some way for whoever it is to ensure a certain mentality? Or even just some arbitrary form of entertainment. I guess it’s pointless, I’ve got no way to prove it.

At that point a knock came on my door. I frowned slightly, thinking for a moment, and settled the sword on the nearby desk, drawing a dagger and hiding it against my palm. I opened the door, careful not to have my face in easy reach. A man stood there, dressed in a tunic and the garb of a regular citizen. My eyes flicked down to his wrist, and saw a silver bracelet with the sigil of Qwell.

“I am to understand that you are with Cale.” The man said. “Oroen has decided to trust you, and so you will have my aid in this matter. A plan has been decided upon by Oroen.” He said, attempting to push past me into the room. I frowned, keeping him there.

“I’d suggest writing it out and passing it to me.” I said simply. “This isn’t the most private inn I’ve been in, the walls and doors will have ears.” He seemed to glare at me silently for a moment, before sighing and handing me a folded piece of parchment and a small pouch of coins

“We will come again in four days to receive word of your success.” He said quietly. “This is payment for services rendered.” He explained, pointing to the pouch, before turning away to leave down the hallway. I watched him go, clicking the door shut and walking to sit on the bed.

They already have a plan ready huh? I thought. That’s rather fast, I guess Cale put some serious thought into the plan after we told him to. I looked over to where the shaper sat on the far end of the room. Didn’t need him to come in and start questioning about that…

[You should try to hide it under the bed.] Page spoke in my mind.

You and I both know they phase through solid objects like they’re nothing, I don’t really need them poking out of my stomach as I go to sleep or when I wake up. I thought back, leaning over the other end of the bed to tap some of the buttons on the shaper. I wondered how the war was going for the elementals, hopefully they hadn’t suffered any casualties. I shook my head and spread out the parchment, starting to read it.

It was a short, curt note. Pointing me towards a nearby building, the note prompted me to find financial ledgers, communications, or any other form of evidence that might be pertinent to the investigation. I frowned. That’s not a lot of information to go on, for starters: who even owns the building? I thought. I sighed, setting it on fire once I had memorized the contents. Well, here’s to hoping they’re sloppy about their evidence…

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I watched the building for a day, watching the comings and goings that transpired to get a feel for what I was looking into. There was not much activity at all, once or twice people would enter the building, and occasionally they’d leave it. Makes sense not to draw too much attention. I thought, huddled against the roof, camouflaged by my armour.

During the night I surveyed the layout the of the building’s exterior, noting places I could climb, enter, and in a pinch, escape through. Wouldn’t be fun to do, but it would certainly keep me alive. Another day was spent procuring equipment, or at least some of the equipment.

“A club?” the carpenter asked, unsure. “Why would you need a club?”

My hand cupping my chin I cocked my head. “I need to catch some people without actually killing them, the bandits I’ve been hunting are suspiciously organized. I think if I could catch one of them without them being spitted on the sharp end of my sword.” I gestured to the blade. “Or brained by the pick.” I gestured to the pick. “I’d actually be able to find out why.”

“But… there aren’t that many bandits around anymore are there?” He asked. “And why here? We don’t have bandits in this area.” I let out a long-suffering sigh.

“The problem is that my partner has decided to come home to visit family.” I gestured towards the outside. “And I haven’t had the time to get the weapon commissioned. Since he’ll be staying here for a while…” I said, giving a wry frown. “I figured I’d get it done in this city, besides, with a city this large the artisans tend to be much better.”

He laughed at that. “I hope you’re not expecting a discount. I could fashion something… A wooden body with leather to cushion the blow… It would require you to get close however, and swing hard… I would caution you against using this in open combat.” He said, placing a thumb on his cheek.

I nodded. “All I can ask for.” I said. If I have to enter combat I’ll have to dispense with more lethal force anyway… “When will you be done with it?” I asked.

“I’m not too busy, and it’s a fairly simple task, come back again in maybe a day or two.” He said. I thanked him, moving on. I got a small flask of oil for hinges, ostensibly for sword maintenance, a small lamp, along with some rope. A grappling hook would have been too obvious, and there were few proper substitutes. I fashioned some lockpicking tools from spare pieces of my armour, testing them on my own room’s lock, wasn’t much of a challenge, but I was expecting far better security inside.

As night arrived on the third night I checked that everything was in place, clicking my tongue. I’d changed my armour slightly, covering the rest of my body and adding a hood and half mask. First time I’d ever gone breaking and entering, but I supposed it was for a good cause. I quickly scaled the wall around the building, Delving beforehand to ensure that the lone guard was nowhere near. I tried the door with a half-hearted twist. Locked… I sighed, pulling out my tools.

Working in the dark was not particularly helpful for getting the picks in the right place, having to feel the clicks was an even greater pain. After several agonizing minutes the lock clicked open, and I slipped in. There were more guards on the inside, wandering quietly through the hallways. Nothing important lay on the first floor, just the kitchen, several bedrooms and what looked like a games room.

One of the guards was standing besides the staircase to the second floor, and for a moment I contemplated walking back out and scaling the walls instead. Thinking for a moment, I shifted my hand to the opposite side of the hallway, sliding my fingers across the ground in a skittering movement before ending in a large thump of my palm. He looked over, startled, walking over to the corner to take a peek, while I quickly moved behind his back to steal my way up the stairs.

I heard a sigh of relief as I got halfway up. I froze, engaging my Sense. He had turned back, low muttering to himself as he leaned back onto the wall. I let out a held breath, slowly making my way up the staircase. There were two guards on this floor, their souls burning like lanterns as I Delved. Dodging them was mostly a matter of staying in between them. In a way I was reminded of stealth games that I used to pick up, and the vision powers that often came with the later ones.

Slowly walking around revealed nothing in particular out of place, there seemed to be several study rooms on the floor, but all of them were conspicuously devoid of material. I could feel some frustration building as I wandered. Where is this thing? I thought, wondering if I should just knock out the guards just so I had free reign of the floor. Not a good idea, if I can avoid them knowing I was ever here it would be for the best…

Wait… how large is this room? I thought with a pause, mentally mapping the floor out with Page’s help. “Ah…” I breathed. A hidden room… Now the only problem is where the entrance is… I sighed internally. I guess I’d need a light for this… Good thing I rigged a hood for the lamp I guess…

I raised the hood and lit it, an odourless oil had been impossible to find, but I managed to acquire something that at least wouldn’t be immediately obvious. It didn’t really matter so long as the sentries didn’t catch me while I was in the building. Even so, the light was unsteady, flickering and dancing, I couldn’t quite see anything at all. It’s too bad it can’t be some false book in a bookcase…

Minutes passed, I drew down the hood each time that the sentries passed, hoping that they hadn’t seen the dim light that escaped the slits around the door. Dammit. I snarled, engaging Sense. Show me something… I thought, frustrated. As I did that I noticed a shift node, leading into the space. Perfect… I thought, shifting my arm through.

As I did so I could feel my Sense expand into the room, there was a desk inside, and several books lay on them. A lever sat to the side of the room. I chuckled to myself. That’ll do… That’ll do… I thought, reaching over to it and jerking my whole body back to pull on it. A part of the wall popped open, and I grinned. Hah, perfect.

I pulled the door outwards, stepping into the secret room, before closing it behind me.