I move through the eerily animated street towards the mark Wiktor indicated. I take great care not to bump into any of the moving mannequins, as to not jostle any of their bells.

I can't avoid every collision and every life sized dress up doll brushing up to me, but that isn't exactly the purpose of this parkour anyway. People would certainly notice if I were to try and avoid all and any casual contact on a real street. It would possibly make me stand out more than bumping into some people.

Thus I keep going, even if a bell jingles a little every once in a while. Besides I'm sure Wiktor would call a stop if I mess up for real. This is supposed to be a lesson after all, not some casual entertainment.

I won't deny that it is fun though. It really is, in a spooky way. The doll's movements are uncanny in away. It isn't that they move jerky, as I initially expected. No, quite the opposite is true. All their movements are so smooth and graceful, it is hard to believe. It is like I'm watching a professional ensemble perform a carefully practiced ballet piece. Except, I don't really have time to watch. I have a purse to snatch! Even if it's just the purse of a doll.

A problem quickly becomes obvious to me as I approach the mannequin in the red dress. The purse is firmly attached to her belt. There is no easy way to just snatch it. Much less so to do it unnoticed. I won't give up just like that though. I have to at last try.

I could try to open the purse's string and reach in to grab its contents. Tricky but not impossible. I bite the tip of my tongue lightly as I slow down and reach out casually.

I manage to tug the purse open, but I don't even come close to doing it without making the little bell attached to it ring in alarm. This time it is enough to make this most curious simulation stop. My efforts don't go entirely without reward though.

[*Ding!* You have unlocked the Sleight of Hand general skill at Level 1!]

It isn't much, but it is better than nothing. Much better in fact.

Wiktor whistles and motions for me to come over. As I rejoin him the mannequins move to resume their initial positions. I watch them fro a moment or two, but then my companion, or rather teacher, speaks up.

“Don't worry, no one succeeds on the first try. There is one important question though. Did you get a skill out of it?”

I nod.

“I did. Sleight of hand.”

Now he whistles in appreciation.

“That's an uncommon one. Congratulations! Most only get the more specialized pick pocketing at first and have to pick countless pockets to eventually upgrade it. I don't have to explain the difference, or do I?”

I tilt my head slightly and ponder this for a moment.

“Its spectrum of application is much wider?”

He chuckles but nods anyway.

“It sure is. That makes it much easier to train too. You don't have to actually pick any pockets to level it up. Doing some stage magic should do the trick too.”

Just talking about it like that seems to be enough to get him thinking too.

“Maybe we can set up a shell game scam for you one of these days. Or you could try your hand at being a cardsharp. For now though, we'll make the best use of our little training facility, yes?”

I'm already about to get started again, focusing my attention on the lady in red already, when he speaks up again.

“The farmer selling turnips this time.”

Of course he picks a different mark this time. The purpose of this exercise isn't that I memorize patterns, that I'm sure are there, after all. I don't have trouble spotting the new target anyway. My mentor picked one of the more recognizable ones this time around. Probably to get me used to these changes.

I decide to try something different this time around. Opening the strings of purses and then reaching into them seems all too troublesome in hindsight. Instead I draw my knife this time around to cut the purse and grab whatever falls out. It isn't perfect either, but it is worth a shot.

My biggest problem is the size of the knife. Getting a big utility knife seemed like a good idea just the other day. Right now I wish I had gotten something smaller though. Something I could hide more easily, maybe even within the palm of my hand. Well, it is no use complaining now. I have to work with the tools I have, not with those I wish I had.

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I make my way in between the mannequins acting like city folk, softly humming to myself as I go. The farmer picked by Wiktor turns out to be a harder mark than the lady in red in the end. He is not one of the many just milling along the street after all. No, instead he is one of those actively peddling his wares. At least he isn't just standing behind his stand, otherwise this would be downright impossible.

I still have to time my approach just right, as the farmer dummy moves up to another, which pretends to show interest in the turnips on display. This is the best chance I'll get anytime soon. Even more important, on a real street I couldn't loiter around without drawing undue attention to myself. Thus I make my move instead of wasting any more time.

I don't cut open the purse itself this time. Instead I do my best to cut the string keeping it attached to the mannequin's belt with a quick move of the one hand, while I try to catch it with the other before the bell attached to it can make much of a noise.

Of course the attempt doesn't go off without a hitch. In all likelihood I put a little too much force into the swipe with the knife. I have to though, as it isn't all that sharp. Thus I can't avoid the attached bell ringing quite audible.

Even as the mannequins around me come to a stop at the sound of alarm, another disembodied bell heralds a divine whisper rewarding me for the attempt anyway.

[*Ding!* Your skill Sleight of Hand has leveled up to level 2!]

Wiktor claps, a slow cap not meant as an commendation. Then he waves me over back to the start.

Ah well, can't have everything. I take the purse along, since I already cut it's string, as I make my way back.

Wiktor accepts it and puts it on a workbench next to the exit. He makes a note on a blackboard above it too. Is it for whoever gets to maintain this training facility? It'll need some maintenance eventually. I'm probably not the only to cut purses after all.

Then, before he appoints a new mark for me, my mentor rummages through a drawer of the workbench. After a little search he pulls a much smaller, slightly curved and apparently very sharp blade from it.

“Not a bad attempt either. You don't have quite the right knife for it though. Try again using this one instead.”

He pauses for a moment, after handing me the knife in question, to tap his lip.

“Oh! Lets do something daring this time around. Why don't you try to lighten the purse of the guard walking down the street for a change!”

My left eyebrow rises a little.

“Are you trying to teach me fancy ways of committing suicide?”

He just snorts.

“Bah! Guards are just people too! And besides the coin they carry is in all likelihood coin the took off some other poor fool not to long ago anyway. The world will be better off, even if just a little, if you make a first step in redistributing it instead.”

Well, I can't really argue with that. Or rather, I probably could, but it wouldn't do either me or him any good. Besides, I don't have a terrible high opinion of the local guards so far anyway. If anything they probably deserve to have their purses cut more than anyone else.

This time I move with greater easy and some confidence. The small knife fits well into the palm of my hand, entirely unlike my own which really is too cumbersome for this particular purpose.

I don't have any trouble spotting the mannequin dressed up as a guard either. Indeed there are two of them moving through the crowd alongside, almost like real guards patrolling a real street.

And like anyone else the guards are wearing purses on their belts. Do they really? I have never checked, but I guess the guild wouldn't make up things like that for their training parkour, so it probably is true. Besides, they need to put whatever fines they collect somewhere.

I follow the duo of mannequins for a little. Wiktor hasn't specified which guard is supposed to be my mark. In the end I decide on the one that should be easier. Their purses are about equal in size, thus there would be no additional reward if I were to try my hand at the other one's purse. Well, not unless the other one carries all the nice silver shilling and fat gold pound coins. There is no way to know beforehand though.

I move a little aside and wait for them to finish their route in one direction. As they turn to head into the other direction I start moving again. I carefully match my steps to theirs, and just as they pass me I reach out and cut the purse of the one closer to me.

The loaned knife cuts the leather easy enough and something that most certainly isn't a coin tumbles out and into my palm. I catch it and move along without ever breaking my stride. I don't even look at the thing I palmed. For now the resulting divine whisper is reward enough for me.

[*Ding!* Your skill Sleight of Hand has leveled up to level 3!]

Eventually I loop around and return to Wiktor, to take a look at what I got. It is a small, roughly coin sized sprocket. Not exactly like a modern sprocket, but close enough for me to recognize it for one. Curious, but well, whatever. I hand it to Wiktor.

He places it on the workbench too and adds another note to the blackboard, while the mannequins return to their starting positions.

It's still incredibly eerie to watch them move about in silence like that. Their movements aren't the jerky movements I kind of would have expected from automatons either. No, there is nothing crude or jerky about them. Instead they move with a surprising fluid grace. They have to of course. Otherwise they would set off their own bells.

Wiktor must have noticed me watching the life sized dress up dolls.

“Don't ask me how they work. That is Beldrogar working some kind of magic. Probably some kind of advanced Telekinesis. A little like the string he levitated to you downstairs.”

My left eyebrow rises again.

“And he does all that free of charge?”

Wiktor snorts and shakes his head.

“Nothing is ever truly free. Everything comes with a price. Sometimes it might just not be obvious. In this case though, our scaly business partner gets to train his own skills too. I'm sure that with everyone who drops by to use the place he gets some solid levels out of it.”

He pauses to tap his chin once more.

“Anyway, maybe we should quit for now. You still have to keep up your end of the bargain with Beldrogar after all. By the way, keep the knife. I'm sure you'll be able to put it to good use eventually.”

I blink once. Then I slip the purse knife into my pack. I can't help but think about Wiktors very own words. Nothing is free. Everything has a price. I guess I'll figure out what the tag attached to this gift will be eventually. I don't protest though, since it really is a very useful little tool.