As dusk falls, bathing the city in long shadows and twilight I scale the city wall without trouble. Once I'm up there a single leap takes me to the next suitable roof. Where I move to hide in the shadow cast by a tall chimney to take in the situation above the city's streets. Altogether, this earns me several partial skill increases. My [Perception] skill benefits as well as my [Stealth], [Climbing] and [Jumping] skills. It's pretty neat overall.

Even better, the chimney in my back is warm to the touch. Not too much either. No, its just right given the cool breeze that is coming in from the direction of the hills where I originally entered this world.

Never mind that though. I have to focus on turning a profit tonight! Otherwise I'll never be able to join the adventurers' guild. And I don't want to join them sometime in the distant future either. No, I want to join before they set of to deal with this fungal blight in the forest.

The house under the rood I'm currently squatting on seems to be an inn. A rather pricey one too. In theory I might be able to get my hand on some coin if I were to go through the guests' rooms, but I wouldn't even know where to start. Which rooms are rented out and which aren't? What is the schedule of the maids? When do they clean the rooms? When are meals served? Who are the guests staying here anyway? I'd have to do a serious stakeout before I can even think about burglarizing someone's room here.

No, this place is out of the question. I don't have the time for something like that. Not right now anyway. I need an easier mark! A nice unattended attic! That's what I need. I'm not looking for grand riches after all. A few coins hidden in an old mattress would do just fine. In all likelihood I wouldn't even take all if I could avoid it. Hiding stashes of coin like that was in general a silly idea, but I wouldn't ruin anyone without good reason if I could avoid it.

Which attic should I give a try though? Inns aren't really an option. The same is true for the guild houses. I haven't forgotten the lecture regarding those, brief as it might have been. Well, there still are plenty of other houses. Homes to traders or various craftsmen and women.

Oh, why am I worrying like this? I'll just browse through whatever is stored away on the first best attic. I'll probably have to go through several anyway to earn the coin I need. I may be pretty lucky, but I'll not trust in luck alone.

With my mind made up I set off at a sedate and careful pace. My first destination is a bakery that does moderately well. I pick the place because the people living and working there have to get up early. In turn they tend to turn in early too. Most people don't do too well without sleep after all. Not in the long run at least.

By the time I reach the rooftop in question the sun has pretty much set. There isn't a whole lot of moon and starlight either, as it's a little overcast tonight. That makes it harder to open the dormer window I have picked as my entry point. It makes it harder for anyone to spot me too though. Overall its a trade off I'll have to life with. It's not like I can just light a lantern while sneaking through other peoples' houses after all.

Thankfully the baker and their family, like most people, aren't in the habit of putting hard to crack, expensive locks on their dormer windows. It may seem only a small blessing, but I'll take whatever I can get.

After a little fumbling I manage to open the latch keeping the window in question shut with my little purse cutting knife. Other probably have custom tools much better suited for the job, but it works well enough. Without any delay I slip inside and close the window again behind myself, so no draft or a rattling in the breeze can give away my entry.

A divine whisper startles me at that very moment. It's not an unwelcome surprise, but right now I really would rather do without surprises.

[*Ding!* You have unlocked the Lock Picking general skill at Level 1!]

As I steady my breathing again, I take a moment to adjust to the darkness. Does this really count as picking a lock? Well, I guess I just opened a mechanism keeping an entryway shut, so it probably counts. I really shouldn't complain anyway.

There is something else to this notification too. Usually I only feel my attributes improve upon even levels. Not this time around though. It's subtle, but I'm sure, this divine whisper came with a boost to my agility right away. Pretty much like my [Sleight of hand] skill. I really should try to find a decent mirror and take a look at myself using [Identify] again one of these days.

First, I'll look around this dark and dusty place though. Treasures don't find themselves after all. My brows furrow. Or rather, treasures that want to be found are usually nothing but trouble. The kind that needs to be disposed off in the fires of ancient volcanoes. I have to stop myself from laughing out loud at the thought. Now is neither the right time nor the right place for that.

Moving slowly, I make my way around the attic. I keep my steps light and take great care not to stub my toes on anything either. Especially the latter is easier said than done in the almost complete darkness up here.

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It turns out it is a good thing that I'm here now while the place is asleep. Some of the things stored up here are sacks of flour. I steer away from those, as the stuff tickles my nose. Later, or possibly earlier in the day, people will be up here. Not now though. The sacks of flour give me pause for another reason too though.

Flour might not be the tastiest thing, but it certainly could attract mice and rats. Which in turn means that there might be traps. Just the thought alone that I might step into one is enough to make me wince. I move about with even greater care afterwards. It's enough to earn me partial increases for both [Stealth] and [Perception]. The latter as I do in fact spot a few carefully placed traps once I start looking for them specifically. Thankfully most of them are placed a little out of the way, in narrow passages in between walls and what little furniture there is mostly. Thus the risk of stepping into any is actually rather low. I stay on guard anyway.

I look through the rather sparse furniture, careful not to make any unnecessary sound and I'm already about to give up, when I finally find something worth my time.

There is an old chest that has clearly seen better times. Yet, it is locked anyway. The lock isn't too shabby either. In fact the padlock is entirely too good for this chest. It's wasted effort.

Since I don't have any actual lock picks on me I won't be able to open this thing. The knife I used to open the latch of the window won't do for this. I don't really have to though. As I feel around a little in the near darkness I'm quick to realize that there is another way to get at whatever is in there.

This chest's weak points are the hinges. Despite the lock, which probably has been added later, the chest itself hasn't been made to store valuable items, at least if their value is more than sentimental. Sure, its sturdy, or at least it has been a decade or two ago. Now though, I should be able to work the pins out of the hinges without too much trouble, since their ends haven't been shaped into rivet heads on both sides.

I shake my head. This is shoddy work. Honestly whoever thought it was a good idea to use this thing as a strong chest needs to be taught a lesson.

All this idle thoughts are a waste of time right now though. I need to get to work instead! Without any further delay I get out my utility knife this time. It's a little more sturdy after all. Using it as a lever I manage to get the first pin moving easy enough.

It's still fiddly work tying my patience though. It gets even worse with the second pin. That one is rusty it seems. Enough so that moving it takes a whole lot more effort. I have to bite back some curses at first, but eventually this little piece of metal gives in too.

I stow the splints in my purse for the time being, as I don't want to loose them. I intend to put the hinges back together afterwards after all. If all goes well, no one will be able to tell that I was here until they notice that some of the chests contents, whatever they may be, are missing. That's the intention anyway.

With great care, as to not make a sound, I swing the lid off the chest afterwards, using the still attached lock as a makeshift hinge. This is when another divine whisper startles me.

[*Ding!* Your skill Lock Picking has leveled up to level 2!]

So, this counts as lock picking too? Most curious. Almost at the same time I can feel my [Stealth] skill improving another little bit as well. So far, so good.

I lick my lips and take a first good look at the chest's contents. My brows furrow. It's hard to make out details in the near darkness, but what I see is still underwhelming. Very much so in fact. Old clothes? Not even good ones. Just threadbare everyday working clothes? Why would someone put a relatively expensive lock on a chest for these?

I'd understand, if it were a good suit or dress handed down from the grandparents or something similar. But old, worn thin everyday clothing? The lock has to be worth more than the chest and these old clothes together. This doesn't make sense.

My frown deepens. It doesn't make sense, which probably means that I'm missing something. I need to take a closer look or two.

Rising irritation makes way for curiosity and start to take out the old clothes, one piece after the other. I make sure to feel every single one of them before I unfold them and check them out against the light from a nearby dormer window. Afterwards I fold the old things back up and set them down in the turned over lid for the time being. It's a time consuming and frustrating task, but I don't hurry or take any shortcuts anyway. I don't want to risk missing whatever secret is hidden here.

If nothing else, at least my [Perception] improves some more, as I keep going through the contents of the chest one piece after the other. The clothes really aren't worth mentioning though. Honestly, this stuff should have been thrown out or handed over to one of the trash collectors ages ago. Maybe they could still be used as cleaning rags. I don't know, but they certainly aren't worth being kept under lock and key like this.

I'm pretty certain that they don't hold any emotional value worth mentioning either. If that were the case, they would be better cared for. And those things haven't seen love or care in ages. About that I have little doubt. Gods and goddesses, there are more holes that would need mending than I care to count.

Finally, as I'm almost halfway to the bottom to the chest, my persistence is rewarded though. There, nestled in between several pieces of old. But thankfully clean, underwear lie two sizable leather bags.

My lips suddenly become dry. This almost too good to be true. I only need a few coins and a bag of this size might a hundred or maybe a little more. And there are two of them.

My [Dangersense] isn't screaming at me, but I decide to be careful anyway. I prod at the clothes surrounding the bags with my utility knife to make sure there are no hidden traps. I don't want to be the first mouse after all. As I find nothing I let out a little sigh of relief.

Now it's time to find out what exactly I have stumbled across. Still extremely careful I open the first of the two sizable pouches. It does indeed contain the coin I have been hoping for. More than enough that I have high hopes that just one or two missing won't even be noticed for weeks if ever.

After opening the second bag, still hoping for more coin, I stop dead in my tracks. For one, the bag doesn't contain coins at all. No, it's full of a glittering dust of some kind. And, of course, this is the very moment my [Danger Sense] starts acting up. Oh yes, I'm having a real bad feeling about this.

I partially close the bag again. Just enough to make sure I don't kick up a cloud of the stuff by accident. Then I focus my attention it to trigger my [Identify] skill. I haven't been using it as much as I possibly could, to not strain my Mana reserves, but this feels like the perfect time to make an exception. I need to know what exactly I'm dealing with.

The effects are immediate. A little of my remaining Mana drains away and in return I receive the information I need about the glittering dust.