A while earlier, after the group had separated into two, near the administrative building of the factory. A [Seamstress] was looking at the place from outside, debating how she should head in. The sloshing bottles she was carrying unnerved her a bit, but she trusted Fayette enough. They shouldn’t explode on her without warning. Hopefully.

She was feeling a bit nervous.

Sure, she had talked big game earlier and reassured Fayette that she could handle things on her own—but she was still very new to all this. Going from orphanage girl to would-be industrial saboteur in a matter of days was quite the career change.

Not the career change she had been hoping for, really. Hunter? Alright, maybe, there could be a career in that. The pay was decent, the rules lax, and schedules free. One had to have some initiative, but Mireille had never lacked for that.

This, on the other hand? She wasn’t being paid at all! It was practically philanthropy, something that was generally the purview of the wealthy. Why did I let myself get talked into this? Oh well, I guess I couldn’t have released Fay to wreak havoc on her own. At least I managed to get the pay for the rat job.

While Fayette and Olivia had been busy with their own tasks, Mireille had spent the time negotiating payment for all the rat corpses, with an added hefty bonus for the danger factor. Still... that bounty wasn’t really for monster-rat-things! Only double the pay hardly feels sufficient—I really should have negotiated harder. Gah, I need to focus.

She was walking the outside of the building, peering inside windows set between brick. Finding a proper entry point took some time and some circling, but soon she found a target. A window with a latch, above which was a narrow ventilation hole. Much too narrow for even a hand to fit through, but a [Seamstress] had her ways. Mireille focused herself and prepared to act. I better get some good experience for this one.

She took out her thread and needle and sent them through the ventilation hole with [Needle Control]. She had originally put a whole lot of points in the skill as a childish whim—it had felt the most magical out of all her skills at that time. A 15-year-old was liable to partake in some matters like that.

She no longer regretted the childish fancy, for the ability was proving very handy in her current line of work.

She carefully watched as the needle passed through to the other side, then guided it towards the window’s latch. The next bit would take some fine control, but she was practiced at this. She wound the thread around the latch for a few loops, then tied it off with a simple knot. She tugged at it to make sure it was secure, then pulled at the line.

The latch was pulled up, and the window opened.

Mireille let herself feel some pride—it was one thing to plan something, another to actually pull it off. Nice, I had hoped it would work this well.

She carefully lowered her bags through, making sure to not knock the bottles around too much, then followed. It was a dark room full of chairs and tables, many still holding important-looking paperwork. Mireille looked around, searching for the most important-looking door. A proper distraction needed impact, a factor which generally depended on two things: How valuable the thing under threat was, and how important the person it belonged to was.

Ideally, I want to find, like, the owner’s room. I bet it’s high up. If I was big and important and rich, I would definitely want to look down on the people under me.

There was one promising candidate—a stairwell. Her instincts told her to go up, so up she would go. First, she would however take a moment to look through this room. Unattended paperwork could hold surprisingly juicy tidbits. She took off her shoes, as she didn’t want to be clacking about on flooring like this. Silence was paramount.

Her soft steps made no sound as she padded on the mats, making her way through the room. She gave up on trying to decipher the paperwork after the first few files she perused. Efficiency throughput flowcharts? SWOT analysis diagrams? What is all this nonsense? I’m not educated for this!

She changed her tactic and started scanning for monetary symbols; ideally she would find some financial spreadsheets. Stealing some of those would really make this look like a case of industrial sabotage. She didn’t have much luck finding any though, this seemed to be the wrong office for that type of stuff.

I guess I do have to head upstairs. Bet they don’t let the lowly grunts get their hands on anything too compromising.

Just in case, she snatched the most important-looking papers she could find before heading forward. She walked over to the stairwell and started climbing the stairs. She took care to step carefully, stories always ended with the sneak getting caught by a creaky plank.

Atop the stairs, she met her first true obstacle—people. Well, a person. She carefully peeked around a bend in the stairs, and saw that a man was posted up top, leaning against large curtains, nodding off, but still awake.

Mireille backed off downwards until she was sure there was no possibility of him noticing her. Alright. How do I want to handle this? Someone guarding the way should mean that the way is important somehow. Heading through seems the best option if I want the most impact.

However, removing the [Guard] might be difficult. Mireille had acquired a new skill recently, [Durable Threads], which should help. It was still risky though, there was no telling what abilities others possessed, nor how they would be able to react to her. She needed to take the man out, without him having any chance for a counterattack. Difficult. She ran the scene through her mind.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I think I can reach him with my abilities from behind the corner, but he would notice anything too direct. I need to tie him down somehow. [Alter Garments] to restrain him, and threads around him to make sure he can’t move? Too slow. How would I get them on him in time? My threads don’t work that fast, and [Quick Stitch] only has a limited range.

Then, an audacious idea came to her mind. The curtain the man was leaning against. It was big, seemed sturdy, and was attached to the wall above through many links. It was also made of fabric. Could she attach him to it somehow?

What exactly counts as clothing? Could I use [Alter Garments] on it? That would make things easier.

She had seen Fayette’s creative interpretations of “Cleaning”—what was stopping her from doing the same? She tried to imagine it.

Can I really count curtains as clothing somehow? I could certainly make clothing out of a curtain, but [Alter Garments] only works on actual ready, wearable clothing. How could I see this? Could you wear a curtain as like, a robe?

She tried to run her mind through different options but came out empty. She just couldn’t picture herself wearing a curtain as some sort of crude toga. I have to think like Fayette would—simpler, more direct, often more effective. What could I—

Then the answer hit her. A cape.

That’s it! A curtain could totally be just a really big cape, one that is just being hung up on the wall for some reason. Yes! This should work.

Her answer found, she snuck back to the bend in the stairs, made sure the man was still leaning against the curtain, then sent out a needle and thread.

They snaked along the wood flooring, barely fitting into the crevices between the boards, just out of sight. It was at the edge of her range, but she could just barely make it. Good, no need to put extra skill points into that for the range.

She felt her needle connect to the curtains. She focused her mind on imagining the curtain as a cape, and felt her ability work.

[Take Measurements], [Alter Garments]. She got a picture of the curtains, and how the man leaning against them pushed against the fabric. She began to mould it, shaping it to fit against his back, careful to keep him from noticing. Soon there was a man-shaped depression in the curtains.

With the curtain in place, she started stitching it to his clothes, attaching them together. She only made quick, rushed stitches, and then started using [Mend] to meld the fabrics together, truly making them one. It was quick work, taking only another minute.

The man was now firmly attached to the curtain, like a fly caught in a web. None the wiser of it too, his nodding head had not moved one bit.

Now she only had to finish the job.

She started walking up the stairs, poised to rush out as soon as she was noticed. She held her breath with each step, hoping things would be easy, that she would not be noted at all. It took until the last stair. The treacherous step creaked at her passing, finally alerting the man. His head bopped up, turned to her and his eyes widened in alarm. It’s always a creaky step, isn’t it? Mireille rushed forward.

The man tried to move his right arm down to his sheathe to draw his weapon, but found it stuck. The arm wouldn’t budge, the clothes were sown onto the curtain too firmly. He opened his mouth, and only the beginning of a shout got out before Mireille reached him, and sent out her needle at his face.

[Quick Stitch]. His lips were sealed, sewed closed, and the shout stopped before it could begin. Judging by his expression though, he would have liked to shout a lot more—least of all from the pain.

Mireille saw his muscles bulge out, some sort of strength ability, and moved to restrain him further. Threads enhanced by [Durable Threads] were wound around him, restraining movements. His garments were shrunk and melded together, stopping the last of his squirming.

Mireille looked at her work, satisfied. “Sorry about that.”

The man did not answer.

[Good job with the innovative clothing! Keep it up!]

[Progress towards next level: 45%]

Hmm, looks like getting inventive is appreciated. I’ll have to think on stuff like this more.

Mireille focused back to the task at hand—finding an important looking place, and then throwing the mixtures she was carrying inside. The corridor had doors to the sides, but those were not what Mireille was drawn to. At the very end, there was an ornate door. An important and expensive looking door.

She was sure that just that door cost more money than she had seen in her life. Whatever is behind there, it has to be valuable. And besides... It’s not like we’re getting paid for this. Might as well help myself to something proper.

She walked forward, and carefully tried the handle. She didn’t touch it herself, rather using her durable threads to pull at it from a distance. Never could be too careful.

It didn’t open, and Mireille grimaced. There was a keyhole on it, but she had hoped she would be lucky. She looked closer and peered through the keyhole, trying to think of some way to bypass it.

Maybe I could stuff it really full of thread, and try to force it somehow? Could the fishing line work here? Hmm. Maybe I need to take up a [Lockpicking] skill. I do have one free slot now.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard an explosion run through the building, shaking things about here and there. She leaned against the wall for support, but it was over fast, the shockwave passing as fast as it had come. Guess Fayette managed it.

Mireille looked at the bag full of bottles by her side. Drat. I’ll have to hurry. I only have a few seconds before I really need to throw these.

As an experiment, she decided to try sending her needle through the keyhole, to the other side of the door. As she sent it through, she felt some sort of barrier break, and a shiver ran through her as she felt something settle on her. An ability, not one of hers. A voice drolled out inside her head.

“[Trespasser ward]. [Mark Trespasser].”

There was an an oppressive feeling to the ability, like an unseen eye staring at you. She could guess what it did based on what she had just heard.

Ok, that can’t be good.

She felt the beginnings of panic start up inside her, but she squashed it down. Her friends had managed their part, she would have to manage hers. She took the first of the bottles out of the bag, threw them, and saw smoke and fire spread. Then the alarm bells started ringing.

Mireille

Class: [Seamstress (Tier 1)]

Level: 10

Skills:

Needlecraft (3/4)

* [Quick Stitch] - Rank II

* [Needle Control] - Rank IV

* [Durable Threads] – Rank III

Tailoring (3/4)

* [Adjust Garments] - Rank III

* [Mend] - Rank I

* [Take Measurements] - Rank I

Capstone skills (0/0)

* N/A

Free skills (2/3)

* [Basic Trap-setting] - Rank I

* [Basic tracking] - Rank I

* Free Slot

Unspent Skill Points: 1