Caster held his broom still and straight, mimicking how the knights were holding their spears. He stood in silence for a moment, trying to think of his next move.

Think, Caster. You’re just a normal servant with a broom. They think you’re just a kid going about your chores. If Griffin sees me, he’ll know who I am. But no one else is the wiser. Just go!

Caster raised his broom. Bringing it close to his chest, he held it proudly with both hands. Silently he walked across the empty and open lobby of the City Hall. He stopped just before the shut double doors that the Old God and Griffin had traveled through just moments ago. The crowd gathered around the carriages outside still hadn’t shrunk.

Caster turned around in as ‘knightly’ of a way as he could muster, then looked up the stairway. Sure enough, the steps led up to a second floor, and just beyond its railings were a set of double doors with engraved, golden knobs.

I bet just beyond those doors is a fancy meeting room. There’s no way I’m going to be able to just waltz in without Griffin and the Old God blasting me on sight. But maybe…

Caster lowered his broom and began to sweep.

Back and forth, he pointlessly shuffled what little dirt the visitors had tracked into the building. He kept his head down as he pretended to work.

It already feels like the guards aren’t watching me anymore. Looks like my plan is working.

Caster made his way up the stairs, trying to think of his next move. As he reached the top, he stopped as he swept in front of the double doors. He could barely hear muffled voices speaking inside.

If I want to hear what’s going on, I’m going to have to find another way. I should leave, it’s too dangerous for me and the Zz’Wrath to be in the same place. But...

Caster looked back toward the stairs and the lobby below. None of the guards could see him from where they stood. He quickly peeked around the second floor, realizing that a hallway had been built on both sides of the meeting room. He peered down the righthand path and began to walk down it.

The new hallway seemed empty, just as the last had been. But Caster kept his eyes wide open and his head on a swivel, he couldn't risk getting seen by Griffin, or raising the suspicions of the knights now.

The wall of the meeting room on Caster’s left was too thick for him to hear the words of the conversation going on inside, but his plan wasn’t finished yet.

If this place has a vent or some other kind of airflow ducts, I bet I could crawl inside one over the meeting room so I can overhear what they’re saying. This place is better built and more luxurious than any other building I’ve seen in Perdita, so if any place has something like that, it’s going to be this one.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Caster reached the end of the hallway.

A dead-end? Why would they even put a hallway here?

Caster eyed the dead-end carefully before he turned in place. But before he looked away, his eyes caught the outline of a hairline crack in the wall.

Wait a second…

Caster faced the wall again, then ran his fingers along the crack, following it down to a point in the wall where a normal door handle would have been. He pressed in, and the hollow panel gave way, revealing a dark space beyond it.

A fake wall?! It blended in almost perfectly!

Caster peeked his head through the opening, but he could only see less than a pace inside. He took one last glance back down the hallway behind him to make sure the guards weren’t following him, then he stepped through the false wall, letting the panel shut behind him.

It was dark inside the outhouse-sized room, too dark to see anything at all.

I could probably cast a Scaling Strike to see. No, that’s a terrible idea, it’d probably make a huge noise. Oh, I know!

Caster reached around his neck and pull off the Zz’Wrath. In his hands, he grew it ever so slowly. Just as he hoped, the soft purple and violet glow gave off just enough light to illuminate the outline of his surroundings.

The space was small and the walls were cramped around him. An empty shelf stood with its back to the left-hand wall.

I was hoping for a secret tunnel, not another storage room.

Caster sighed when he saw a bucket with a mop sitting in the corner of the space. He put his Wooden Broom down alongside it.

Is that…. A draft? Caster narrowed his eyes. He didn’t see any ventilation or tunnels in the wood overhead. However, he could feel a slight breeze flowing over his shins and feet.

Caster crouched and looked under the empty shelf. There, right under the lowest shelf arm was a tall, wide hole, covered by a flimsy leather barrier that’d been draped over the hole. The fabric weaved ever so gently from the breeze within.

Level Up! Luck Increased +1!

Lucky!

Caster shrank the Zz’Wrath and hung it over his neck once more. He got on all-fours, removed the dingy leather flap, and crawled inside.

The space was cramped, but Caster managed to move forward bit-by-bit with his forearms and knees pulling him forward like a snake.

It took seconds for him to hear the first murmurs of voices from down the tunnel. He could see sparse rays of light coming from around the bend at the end of the shaft. Two other pathways split off from where the light reached, turning the tunnels into a four-way crawl space.

Reaching the end of the path, Caster carefully maneuvered his body to face the left tunnel. Now he was less than a handful of paces away from another tattered leather flap that was hidden from those inside the meeting room by a wooden grate.

With the nimble grace of a panther stalking much larger prey, Caster sidled right up to the leather flap. It smelled horrible and must have never been changed, but the only senses Caster was focused on were his hearing and sight.

Through the holes in the leather and the slits in the wood, Caster could see into the room now, and he began to watch the half-dozen men gathered around the table and listened to their words.

“Surely, Lord Griffin would have easily defeated any of the other Lords vying for power in the Badlands. Especially so in a beam-duel.” The words came from one of the balding Hale’s Pass officials wearing blue and grey ceremonial robes.

“I agree. The boy can’t do much, but when it comes to spewing fire, I’ve yet to see any with the raw power outside of the Old Gods that could match it.” The Old God spoke, his tone was sure, yet condescending.

Caster looked at Griffin’s face. The Lord of Ambition’s rosy cheeks betrayed his obvious embarrassment at his defeat from Caster’s disintegration ray.

Wait… they‘re talking about me!