I stuck the shaper back into my pack, holding out my hand and pulling the bits of my armour to me. I cradled it in my hand, sitting down in my chair. To be expected… but still unwelcome, and unpleasant. I noted. Now the question is… what do I do about it?

Letting them continue to sneak into my room didn’t bode well, if they came in while I slept to go through my things… But to do otherwise risks showing my hand… I thought to myself. I sighed. Doesn’t matter. I doubt there’d be much of a difference if they knew I didn’t trust them. I grabbed my chair and jammed it under the door handle, shutting the windows as I went to sleep.

The next night I watched their schedules again, but this time I was alone, my mysterious companion nowhere to be found. The snow continued to fall, good for obscuring my tracks once I had left, but as it was it was nothing but another annoyance. I pushed the snow out of my face again, fighting the urge to simply go home for the night.

I had removed the chair from the door once I had left, though the shaper would remain on me for the rest of this time. Hopefully I don’t have to stay here for too long. I thought to myself. I’m not sure how long I can keep up with the constant tension I’m feeling. It’s frankly uncomfortable. I grimaced as another breath brought in a draught of cold air. The cold certainly isn’t helping.

[There is not much else you can do about your situation.] Page said. [I believe all things considered you have taken all the precautions you can.]

That doesn’t actually reassure me, I’d just like to nip at the bud of the problem, but I can’t, and it leaves me feeling caged. I thought back. Also there’s one thing I’m hoping. That they went through the door means that they don’t have any secret entrances to my room. If so, we’re safe, or safe as can be all things considered. I frowned, watching as one of the guards picked up his pace to duck into the building once more. Hopefully it snows tomorrow when I break in… I thought to myself.

The snow stopped for the afternoon, outside I could see children playing in the brownish slush mix that resulted from a few moments of sun. I’d not had snow back home. We didn’t really even have seasons, and my only experience with it was through pictures and books. I pulled on my cloak, heading out to the blacksmith.

“Hmm, yes, I could replace the blade on this.” The man said, carefully examining the woodcarving knife I showed him. It was beginning to show its age, and all that time spent whittling away at wood had both dulled the edge and shortened the blade to an almost untenable state. “It shouldn’t be too hard to make a blade that fits it.” He cupped his chin.

I left him to it, hopefully I’d have time to pick it up again the next day. I had deliberated with Page on several methods of breaking the lock, until Page provided a sobering insight.

[Considering that the guards merely opened the doors, would it in fact be locked at all?]

I dropped my head onto the desk. You’re right… It wouldn’t. Dammit, I really hope it snows tonight. I thought to myself. Carelessness is my ally… That’s for sure…

[If it doesn’t snow tonight, you can always wait for a night when it does.] Page said.

I could. But it would severely diminish my chance to find out exactly what I am handing to them. I thought back. I shook my head. I want to trust them, but that is simply a strange item to send me after. They didn’t even provide me with the function of the device, merely it’s description.

At the same time though, their suspicion was fairly justified. Hell, I wouldn’t trust myself considering what I had done and who I was. I sighed. I should check regardless. Can’t let my own guilt or sympathy affect my judgement. I won’t be played for a fool.

That night, in answer to my prayers we had a snowstorm. For gods’ sakes… This isn’t what I asked for! I snarled, staring into the flurry of snow and sleet. I sighed. Sense still worked, but it was like staring into an old TV screen, my visual of the area was clouded, only barely able to make out what was occurring in it. Still better than my eyes… I thought to myself. I couldn’t see my fingers in front of my face in this goddamn weather.

I managed to navigate to the door of the building, if only by Sense and memory. Drawing my pick, I pushed the door open. It swung open gently, without even a creak. A gentle breeze swept in from the outside, snow flurries scattering onto the ground. I shut the door behind me. No sentries. I thought to myself. Strange.

Barrels and sacks were stacked within the large room I found myself in. Lamplight flickering across and around them. I slunk into one of the shadows, Delving to peer into the room. The first thing I noticed were the dead. There were two souls that had begun to tear apart, dissipating into mana. I frowned. There were several other souls, but I couldn’t tell if they were the killer, or just other sentries.

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In any case, they didn’t seem panicked, and with a little speed and a little luck, I would have the item before the other sentries came across the dead guards. The instructions hadn’t specified the exact location of the object, just the name it’d be referred to, Koribite. From the specific deadline however, underlined as it was, I assume that it was to be moved to another location soon, perhaps one far more secure than this one was. Hopefully they prepared things to be shipped off. If not, the magical nature of it would most likely show when Delving.

I found a basket with it sooner than I would have thought, propped up against one of the walls. The name had been stamped onto the side, in the darkness it was hard to tell if it was a brand or just paint or ink. I lifted the lid of the basket, transferring the device from it gingerly into my pack. As I was about to pull up my pack a scuffling sound came from behind me. I dodged to the side, and something thudded into the basket in front of me. I spun, holding myself with my left arm forwards and my pick to the back. The short spear from my opponent pulled itself out of the basket.

I stepped forwards quickly, putting myself just abreast of the spearhead as it returned. I reached to grab it with my left hand, but the person stepped back, pulling the spear out of reach. As he redirected his spear I hopped backwards, darting for my pack and pulling it to me. “Crap.” The man behind me said, his footfalls echoing behind me as I broke into a dead sprint. I burst out of the door, and knocked a sentry back into the cold. He cursed, scrambling in the snow as I brushed past him into the snow. I kept running for a while, engaging Sense and running almost randomly down the streets.

[I don’t think they will be able to follow you through the snow anymore.] Page said. [Even in the unlikely fact that they do manage to come across your trail the snow will have filled it before long.]

True, but let’s leave nothing to chance. I thought back, carefully pulling myself onto the roof. Should make the trail harder to follow… I thought, crouching low and engaging my Sense. As I moved forward across the slanted roof my foot slipped. My heart leapt into my throat as I scrambled for a handhold. Settling on digging my pick into the snow. Bloody hell that thing has saved me more times than I can count. I thought, my feet dangling over the edge of the rooftop.

[This was a stupid idea.] Page said into my mind shakily. [Would you kindly return your feet onto solid ground?]

Probably for the best, but… just a little more… I thought back. Page balked at the suggestion, as I gingerly shifted myself across the rooftop. There’s just no point to it if my footprints appear right next to where I climbed up. I rationalized. We need to go just a bit further… I dug in the pick as I moved, gritting my teeth.

At the end of about two buildings I carefully slid myself down, gripping tightly onto any exposed sections I could find. Oh yeah this was a stupid idea alright. I thought to myself. How did I ever… My fingers slipped off the windowsill, and I barely had enough time to think as I slammed into the snow beneath. Well… that wasn’t too bad. I thought to myself, pulling myself to my feet.

[If we’re going towards home. It should be in that direction.] Page said.

I checked the device, comforted that Delving revealed no abnormalities, nor did touch reveal any broken pieces. Well if anything’s broken at least it’ll still be in the pack… I thought to myself. At least I know the shaper can survive worse…

I hauled myself back through the window. Snow scattered across the floor. It’s going to be all wet. I thought to myself, peeling back some layers of my armour to let myself breathe. Not like it matters. I sighed, pulling the window shut and shoving the chair under the door. No one in the building would likely know that I had returned unless they were keenly watching or listening to the room itself, and even so, I’d likely have time to figure out what it was first.

I lay down onto the bed, thinking back to my encounter in the storage building. What was the goal of the one who had chosen to murder the sentries? More importantly, how had they managed to sneak up on me? I had scanned the area before I had moved my attention to the device, they’d have to be exceptionally quick in order to do so, and yet… completely silent.

[Except for that scuffling they made…] Page observed. [Though it did seem like it was the movement of their short spear rather than their boots…]

Ugh, a dangerous opponent for sure, wonder who they work for… I thought to myself. And if we’ll meet them again… I frowned. If they’re after the same things as us though… that’s more than just a little likely. I thought of Cale, thinking of what he might have been sent after himself. I sighed, slipping into bed and pulling the sheets over myself. I can’t help but envy you here.

When I awoke the next morning I set to work on the device. The first thing that had to be disabled was a lock… A specific sequence of activations that disentangled the magic ensnaring the proper inner workings of the device. It was tied to a… pad of sorts, covered in glyphs and runes. I couldn’t read any of it, but peering deeper into the magic itself provided plenty of clues. Carefully I would touch on the workings of the device, puzzling out the interactions of the magic woven into the buttons and the magic ensnaring the core.

After that it was simply a matter of turning it on. As I did so it began to hum, and my waterskin began to shudder. What… I thought to myself, walking over to it and opening it. Steam gushed out, billowing into the room before being gathered around the device. The device flickered, once, twice, before settling into what reminded me of an old film reel being played.

A man formed within the steam, which now stood at slightly below my height, the steam itself moulded to form his body. A projection? I thought to myself. Curious.