Valorian mentally swore as he watched. Few would notice the shadow perched next to a gargoyle on a nearly moonless night. Fewer still would care, as the noble house had been exterminated months ago. Overpromises on bad investments with worse people had a way of turning out like this. But that misfortune didn’t bother Valorian a bit. No, it was his target several streets away that was giving him grief. His perch was the closest he could get to the target mansion that was high enough to see over the walls. Seriously. He thought to himself. Who builds a two story wall in the middle of a city?
Whoever it was, they were paranoid about secrecy and security. The front gate had two perpetual watchers. Shaped like buzzard heads, they had four unblinking eyes facing the gate. Two set wide on the head to give nearly 180-degree coverage on each side of the head, and two eyes set forward to cover the minimal blind spot in front of the construct. Who combines the sight profiles of rabbits and wolves, and sets it on a guard construct? Not only that, but it had a wider range of vision than even the demons, and could easily see magic as well. Add in the anti-sneaking spells littered throughout the area and there was no way to get in without an invitation.
A two story wall. Normally not too bad of a barrier, but again the paranoid owners had taken precautions. The walls weren’t on the edge of their property, but were set back several feet to give the guards a bit of a killing ground. Of course, this was devoid of decorative rocks, trees, or bushes that could possibly give anyone some semblance of cover. To make matters even worse, the nearest houses had all accepted heavy bribes to limit their height to one story. Even from where he was perched, there was a large swath of the yard inside the wall that was going to remain a mystery.
All this could have been thwarted, at least with the proper planning. Except the idiot whose body he had stolen had gone and fucked things up. With the target knowing that they were under threat, they had gone all out. In the last three days, Valorian had tried his best to determine the guard rotation. Four sets of guards would patrol at random times, and the rotation was staggered so that only one set was replaced at a time. Of course, they couldn’t be bothered to bunch up, and instead worked in a 1-2-1 pattern with at least ten feet between groupings. There would be no easy and silent takedown of a group. Then there were at least three groups that randomly patrolled.
That was just on the outside of the structures. Valorian was under no doubts that there were guards inside that were just as vigilant. As unfortunate as it was, he would have to deal with that as he came across them. Valorian couldn’t even plan as to where things were located, as the building plans were under royal seal. Not even the sources in the Thieve’s Guild could gain him access to those, not that they were interested anymore. To them, this heist was a lost cause. One they were more than willing to pin on him. His only road to redemption would be to pull it off somehow.
Gently sighing, he made his way down to street level. He spat at a nearby sewer cover, as even that seemed to taunt him. Underground, there were three times the detection spells as there were above ground. Add in a few guard constructs that were eerily similar to the Beholders in shape back home coupled with random grates, and even that route seemed impassable. Cursing his bad luck, Valorian ducked down an alley and gave a random seeming knock on a hidden door.
“T’skaen. Didn’t think you would be showing your face around here much.”
“Fane. You going to do your job and open the door or not?” I growled back.
“Sure, sure. Though from how your last one turned out, you shouldn’t be telling anyone how to do their job.” The squat demon said with a chuckle as it opened the door for me. I ignored its taunts, though I was completely in agreement with them. “Don’t worry though, I’m sure you’ll find someone willing to trust you with another job soon!”
I shook my head as I continued deeper into the hidden bazaar, though this one was much quieter than any you would find on the surface. Clients and shopkeepers alike used a plethora of skills and tricks to keep their identity secret, and nobody was crass enough to try and force the issue. A veil of undulating shadow lowered from the hood of my own cloak, even though several nearby were likely snickering at the exchange between myself and the doorman. I ignored it, meandering through the maze of shops while keeping an eye on anyone who might be trying to tail me.
Ten minutes and two cloak changes later, and I was satisfied that I was as anonymous as I could be. Time for some shopping. My first stop was a space mage. “Greetings.” I said, slipping into the only stall in front of his desk.
“Hello friend.” The shopkeeper said, and with a flick of his wrist I saw a red curtain dropping behind us to cut off the view from others. In addition, I felt a barrier snap into place. Nodding at the security measures, the shopkeeper continued, “What can I do for you on such a fine day?”
“I find myself in need of a small storage ring, one sized to fit on a pinky finger. In addition, it needs to have as small of a magical signature as possible.”
“Interesting. How large does the interior space need to be?”
“Three feet by two feet by a foot.” I replied.
“Interesting. Am I to assume you want it as unobtrusive as possible?”
“Correct.”
“This is possible. Five gold.”
“Two. And I need it by dusk tomorrow.”
“Ten gold. Rush fee.”
“Four, as you probably have it in stock.”
“Ten. Demand has skyrocketed.”
“Three. Asshole tax.”
“Ha! Very nice, I may have to use that myself in the future. Six.”
“Five, and the promise of future business.”
“Five it is.” He said, reaching across to shake my hand. I returned the shake, giving him the five gold I had palmed in the process. Smiling, he reached under his bench and pulled out a small copper ring. “As requested, one small storage ring.”
“Many thanks.” I said, grabbing the ring. With a snap of the shopkeeper’s fingers, the barrier dropped and I exited the store. Part one of the plan was a success, now for the most expensive part. Not wanting to give away his true purpose, he meandered between stalls. One stall was promoting body guards, slabs of beef who had perfected weapon arts. A few had gone the route Valorian would have taken, and instead of pure power had emphasized speed and dexterity. Several pawn shops were selling stolen items, and the markup would let you know how just how sought after the goods were. It was an odd thing. Things that were unlikely to be missed often had a higher markup, but then again so did some incredibly rare items that would be highly sought.
After a half hour had passed, Valorian decided the time was right and headed to the jeweler. As he entered, he patiently waited for her to finish with another customer before heading towards her. “Greetings. Might we have a private conversation?”
“Of course sir. SEBASTIAN!” At her call, a servant seemed to flow out of the shadows. “I’m in a meeting. Watch the store.”
“Of course, mistress.” The thing said with a bow. Valorian shuddered as he noticed the extra limbs. This jeweler must have some good business to be able to afford a more human seeming arachnoid to serve. She led the way into a smaller side room, and took a seat across a small table.
“And how might I help you out today, sir?”
“I’m in need of four mana stones.”
“Easily done.” She waved him off while interrupting.
“Not quite.” Valorian replied. “I need a topaz with a marquis cut, two rubies with sunburst cuts, and a square cut emerald. All of them need to be high grade stones as well.”
“Oh?” She asked, leaning forward a bit. “Now, this is a bit more interesting. I was recently commissioned for something similar in the past, but the grade of stone was much lower. Would this be related, perhaps?”
“That information is not necessary for you to know.” He replied, voice getting dark.
“Easy there, friend.” She said, waving away his concerns. “I’ve no issue with someone trying what you are thinking. It just so happens that I have the full set ready to go. See, when the previous customer commissioned this, I had an inkling that a low quality fake just wouldn’t do. Even if I was wrong, I could still sell the stones for a tidy profit. I can sell you the entire set, tonight, for a single platinum.”
“Ridiculous. The stones themselves are barely worth 30 gold. Since you have them ready to go, I can pay as much as 40 gold.”
“Hmm, that is true. But the skill required to craft high quality mana stones like that isn’t easy to come by. And then you will need to factor in the rush, you wouldn’t walk out paying less than 85 gold.”
“You have a point there. I can’t quite justify double the price, but 55 gold should be plenty.”
“Oh, that’s just a pity.” She said, shaking her head. “Tell you what. If you pay me the full 60 gold, I will teach you to change out the stones without damaging anything, and include the tool required to do so.”
“Very well.” I said, placing six stacks of ten gold on the table.
“Oh, I just adore a customer who trusts me enough to pay up front!” She said, swiping the coins into a storage space. With another wave of her hand, four stones that radiated magic appeared. In addition, there was a small locket with a ruby inset. “Now for the training. These pliers have been enchanted so that the very tips are incredibly soft. Along the edge of the jewel will be a few prongs holding it in place. Simply bend them away, and you can remove the old jewel and replace it. I highly suggest leaving at least one prong in place so that you can get the exact positioning.” As I watched, she gently bent the prongs and popped out the gemstone, reinserting it and closing it back up.
“Satisfied?” She asked.
“More than.” I nodded, placing everything into my lead lined bag. As I sealed it, I nodded in satisfaction. It would take some dedicated probing to detect the mana stones as something other than belonging to my aura.
“Oh my, what a delightful bag!” She said, eyeing it greedily. “You managed to cover all mana fluctuations without the use of spatial magic? Any chance you could tell me where you obtained it?”
“Made it myself.” I said with a shrug. She stared at me for a moment, tapping a perfectly manicured nail on her lip.
“I see. Perhaps I have underestimated you. What would it take to get you to craft me one of those bags?” I flinched just a bit at this unexpected development. Crap, what would I offer?
“Sorry, but there’s too much of a chance of you reverse engineering it and selling them yourself.” I said, thinking quickly.
“A soul vow to not reverse engineer it, either myself or through proxy, as well as a permanent 10% discount.” She immediately countered. By Apophis, she wanted this bag!
“Same vow, 30% discount.”
“The vow, 15%, and I refund you 13 gold from your most recent purchase.”
“Very well. Draw up the contract, and I shall be by tomorrow with the bag for you.” I said, not wanting to push my goodwill. While I was confident in my skills, who knew what someone with pockets as deep as hers could buy?
“Ah, how perfect! A most wonderful day.” She said, sliding my gold back across to me. “See you tomorrow then.” She said, smiling as the door behind me opened on its own.
“Until tomorrow.” I said, nodding as I made my exit. Crafting the bag wouldn’t take long, but heading back into the underground bazaar would take time out of an already full day. I sighed as I meandered through the crowds again, heading toward a different exit than where I entered from. Satisfied there were no people following me, I headed back to our little hovel for some sleep. Tomorrow would be a busy day.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The sound of raw meat meeting a screaming hot pan woke me in the morning. Soon enough, a delicious aroma invaded my bedroom, drawing me from the bed. I threw on some clothes and headed into the kitchen to see Sten carefully watching the steaks cook. “Steak for breakfast?” I asked, though I know he had already sensed me.
“The rust monster is surprisingly tasty.” He explained with a shrug. “We had some good luck, though hunting them is hard on equipment. Our group got to split some of the sub-prime cuts of meat, not that it will affect the taste at all.”
“Well it certainly smells good.” I said, sliding into a seat at the table. “And I’m glad you’re back. I have some obligations to take care of, and having a decoy do some of the shopping will be more than helpful.”
“Oh? What do you need me to get?” He asked, sliding the steak onto a plate in front of me. Minimal seasoning, cooked to a medium rare, exactly how I liked it.
“Another spool of lead wire. It seems our jeweler was rather intrigued with my magic dampening bag and wants one. In exchange we get a permanent discount.”
“Do you really expect us to be here long enough to take advantage of it?” Sten asked, glaring at me.
“Of course not.” I waved off his concern with a piece of steak on my fork. “But it would look far too odd for a middling operator in the guild to turn down that offer, especially since he was in a bad situation.”
“Damnit.” Sten grumbled, tearing into his steak. We ate in silence for a bit, before he continued. “So. How is your plan to assault the mansion going?”
“Terribly.” I replied with a sigh. “They have most of the security measures I would have implemented, and the layout of the place is a bigger unknown than I really like. I don’t think I can assault it without using some dangerous skills.”
“Are you going to risk discovery with them?”
“I think I have a plan. I’ll need to pick up a snake at the market though.”
“Alright. When do we do it?”
“Tonight.” I replied. “The moon will be just a sliver, just enough ambient light.” Sten nodded, and we finished eating in silence.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sixteen hours later, and everything was in place. Or, as in place as it was ever going to get. Sten was a short distance away in the desert, doing a minor black magic ritual in the hopes of causing a distraction. Meanwhile, I was sitting in the sewers near one of the grates by the target mansion. I had hurried through my errands earlier, and had barely enough time to get a bit of a nap to ensure that I was fresh for the assault tonight. Stealing the previously faked equipment was trivial, as they were tossed into a storeroom and unguarded. Replacing the old gems and leaving them in the box was a pain in the ass, but I was able to confirm that the metal insets the stones were set into would easily fit into the storage ring I had bought. I had done the fine work of putting the higher quality stones into the forgeries back at our hideout, working under a leaded box as much as possible. While I had ventured into the underground bazaar to drop off the lead bag, I also picked up the last bit that I would need for my plans tonight. A midnight asp.
Just as I finished double checking that everything for the ritual was in place, I felt a vibration from a stone in my pocket. That was Sten’s signal, he would be beginning soon and I could start in one minute. That should be plenty of time for him to build up his ritual and gain anyone’s attention. The snake was set in the middle of the circle of blood, runes gifted to us from Apophis surrounding it at the cardinal and ordinal directions. Leaving my lead lined bag and new storage ring outside of the circle, I began. Walking widdershins, I spoke a language that took intense concentration just to speak. It was almost as if the words would try and change as they passed through your throat, the end results of which would no doubt be disastrous.
“Dread Apophis. King of snakes. Grant this descendant of yours a fraction of thy limitless power, and create within him a void for me to inhabit. As I yield to the gulf between our powers, so let your descendant yield to the gap between his and mine. Let my soul dominate the body, my intelligence to take control. And when I decree that this spell shall end, leave all parties unharmed.”
As I spoke, the blood blackened and warped, raising from the ground. The darkened tunnel grew darker still, as an oppressive force pressed down on everything. As I finished my circle, I was disoriented with a bit of double vision. A red sigil appeared on my forehead and was mirrored on the snakes, and was suddenly connected with a gray line. The snake opened its mouth, much wider than it should have been able to, and my body was rapidly sucked into the swirling purplish black vortex that appeared within.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
And then it was over, and I was watching through the snake’s eyes. It was slightly disorienting, as the eyesight was rather poor. Details were lacking, though I could clearly see differing points of heat. I let enough of the snake soul come forth and taste the air, letting me know what was nearby. Satisfied that there were no dangers, I slithered forward and swallowed both the lead bag and the ring. I could feel them inside me, but knew that I could easily bring them both back up. Satisfied, I turned and slithered through the grate. The only thing left behind of the ritual was an opened cage and some decayed splotches of blood.
While a more sophisticated alarm system would likely have detected a snake moving with as much purpose as I was, those would be unnecessarily complicated and expensive. I moved through the sewers, slipping right by the magic detectors and statues. A small snake was far below their notice. Building a mental map as I went, it only took fifteen minutes to reach where I figured the mansion was. From there, it was a simple matter to find a route in, though I was disappointed to realize that the one I found was through a toilet. A bit of shadow magic to roughen the walls of the pipes allowed me easy access, and I immediately moved up the wall to the ceiling.
The mansion was rather barren, avoiding most of the clutter that most rich people tended to put on display. Instead of objects, the walls themselves had been turned into pieces of art. I could make out that it was rough in places, most likely from carvings, but that was about it. The ceiling, while mostly bare timber, also sported several carvings. I wasn’t about to complain, as it gave my scales a much better grip than they would normally get. I passed several sets of guards, all of which were patrolling in pairs. Luckily for me they never bothered to look up, though I always found a shadow to hide in and remained still until they were past.
Fifteen minutes of scouting, and I was in the main hallway. Here was where the owner spent lavishly, as the route to the upper levels was a grand staircase that split at the midpoint and curled off to two balconies that overlooked the main entrance. A massive chandelier lit the area, though it was incredibly artistic. Instead of rings of candles, there were gemstone raindrops that glowed within from mana stones hidden within a main cloud. It truly looked like it was gently raining motes of light.
All of that was unimportant to my mission, though the staircase did present some problems. I could sense several detection spells littered throughout, as well as guards posted at the top of each split. With all the ambient light, there was no way that I was getting past undetected. I flicked my tongue in annoyance, and gave the equivalent of a snake grin. I had tasted just a hint of roasting meat on the air, and set about to finding my way to the kitchen. Not because I was hungry, but because the kitchen meant servants. And servants meant hidden access ways throughout the mansion. I paused just outside of the kitchen, and eavesdropped on a conversation I heard inside.
“Dishes done and fire banked?” An old, grumpy voice asked.
“Yes sir.” Came the response from a much younger voice, roughly around eight to ten years old.
“Alright. Head to bed then, we have to get up early tomorrow.”
“Yessir.” Was said with a petulant sigh.
“Stop. What is all this attitude about? Oh, I think I see, you are upset with doing most of the scut work, yes?”
“It’s not that-“
“Yes it is.” The grumpy voice interrupted. “Let me ask you a few things. Your father, he was a powerful warrior, yes?”
“Yes sir.”
“And did you ever watch him training? He probably practiced every day?”
“Of course! He was up early in the morning working on his sword forms.”
“Ah, there we go. So, your father, powerful warrior, worked every morning on the basics. Why do you think that it only important for a warrior to do?”
“Huh?” Came the confused response from the youngster.
“Your father. He likely knew plenty of sword forms. And yet, every morning, he would go out and practice them. Even though he already knew them, and had likely mastered many of them. Do you think that dedication to the craft limited to warriors?”
“I don’t know.” The younger voice trailed off.
“It’s all right. Watching someone work on sword slashes can be exhilarating to a young mind. But every profession requires the same amount of dedication if you want to go far. Even now, I still work dough when I can, practice my knife cuts, and yes bank the fires in the ovens. What I want you to realize, is that these are all important things to build a solid foundation. Your father likely started by working on a simple overhead slash. Banking fires in the ovens is the chef’s overhead slash. Everything starts with it. You have an easier time restarting the fire, the oven comes up to temperature faster, dough that is using the ovens to proof reacts at the proper speed. Do you see?”
“I think so.” The voice replied. “Everything revolves around the basics.”
“Exactly. Now, tomorrow will be a busy day as we will have several important guests. The day after, though, will be a bit more relaxed. I think that we can have you assist with luncheon and get some actual practice. How does that sound?”
“Really?! Thank you sir!”
“Don’t thank me, you have earned it. You are improving on your skills, and I think this conversation will light a fire under you. Just remember, even though the system may increase your skill level and help you, those that rely on it cripple themselves. Be like your father, and always strive to improve yourself. Figure out what the system is trying to show you, and incorporate it. Now, off to bed with you.”
“Yes sir! Goodnight Sir!” I stayed still as the kid ran out through the door right next to me, but there was no danger. He was far too worried about other things to bother with looking up into a darkened corner. Soon enough, an older man walked out, chef hat in his hand. His steps were light as he too headed towards bed, and I didn’t waste any time slipping into the kitchen and searching for the right door.
Apophis bless a snake’s senses! I was more than able to taste the food residue for the most used pathways out of the kitchen. Obviously the most used one went to the dining room, but there was one that had the faintest of trails leading upstairs. Jackpot! This had to be to an upstairs study or something. I swiftly made my way upstairs, coming out in a heavily carpeted study. Two of the walls were covered by bookshelves, and there was an array of comfortable looking chairs next to a table with a crystal jar of brown alcohol. This was one of the likely spots that the items were at, and I truly hoped so. Lifting them from the master bedroom without waking anyone would be much harder.
Shifting to magical sight, I gave a slight hiss. This place was very well guarded. Only three areas of books didn’t have any spells on them, but this was almost too good to be true and had to be a trap. A painting obviously had a safe behind it, but again the lack of spells was definitely a trap. Even the crystal container had spells on it. I slithered forward, heading toward an object that just seemed out of place. Why would someone place such heavy spells around and on a reproduction of the planet?
Tasting the air let me know that there was a lot of traffic around here recently, but even more telling was the view from below. The upper portion must have had some sort of concealment array, but they didn’t bother concealing the magic from below. A message to the snake, and suddenly I was departing from its mouth to appear in an area cleared of detection spells.
“Thank you my friend.” I whispered as it regurgitated the ring and bag I had it swallow earlier. Now was the hard part. A quick check let me know that the globe’s security wasn’t tied into anything else, but something about that struck me as odd. Sending the most gentle of shadow tendrils down, I moved under the rug the globe was sitting on and sucked in a breath. Clever bastard, they had sent a single strand of magic through a small hole in the carpet and down to a magical relay system. If this wasn’t disarmed first, the entire thing would set off alarms.
While this was a setback, there were only so many ways to set up a detection array and none of them were foolproof. This one was a simple one, and five minutes had it disabled. The next steps were cautiously disabling the remaining detection spells, as well as probing the globe to ensure that there were no mechanical traps waiting for me. Almost an hour was spent on the magic portion, while a half hour let me get through the three traps that were in waiting for me. The first was a simple poisoned needle that would shoot out from the side of a button when pressed. A simple stick got around that, though I was going to throw it into the fire as soon as an opportunity presented itself. Sympathetic magical tracking could lead back to me. The second hidden needle would press up through the button itself if it wasn’t held down for more than five seconds. I used the same stick just to be safe, though it wasn’t necessary. The last trap was the most difficult. If you weren’t careful and simply opened the globe after pressing the two buttons, a blast of air would coat you in some sort of powder. If it were me, it would be a long lasting paralytic combined with something that I could magically trace. That way I could still track the thief if he had a poison immunity. I really didn’t want to trigger it, so I cracked the lid just a fraction of an inch, then swiveled it a quarter turn clockwise. That disengaged the mechanism and finally let me look into the contents.
Oh, but the craftsmanship was gorgeous! I didn’t spend too much time looking, but there are some things that you just can’t help. The silvery white sheen of mythril greeted me as I saw the completed set. Two gauntlets with bright red mana stones embedded in the back of each hand. A necklace with a square cut emerald that would position itself just above the heart. And a double banded diadem that wove back and forth, containing a marquis cut topaz in the middle of the forehead.
Aside from the brief glance, I didn’t dare waste any time. As soon as a piece of the set disappeared into my storage ring, I would pull out one of the fakes to replace it. That kept the ambient mana at roughly the same level, though it was still higher than it should have been with me having opened the globe. Seconds later, and everything was switched. Another ten minutes, and I had reactivated all the magical alarms. Just before I initiated transfer back into my snake friend, I heard voices coming down the hall. Swiftly grasping the snake in as gentle of a carry as I could manage, I darted into the servant’s hallway and made my way downstairs. At the bottom of the steps, I couldn’t risk it any longer.
“Alright friend, swallow me one last time, then the ring and bag.” The snake nodded, and the process seemed to go just a bit quicker this time.
“Did you feel that? Are your men casting magic?” I heard from upstairs, and cursed my rotten luck. As fast as I could slither, I made my way deeper into the kitchen.
“Absolutely not sir. Everyone, alert! Possible intruder! I want a full sweep of the mansion and surrounding grounds.”
Shit! Escaping outside wouldn’t be possible, my only hope lay in the servants. Hopefully there was a bathroom near the kitchen for them to use. I headed out through the one door I hadn’t tested, not bothering to make it to the ceiling. It wouldn’t have worked anyway, as the walls and ceiling were completely unadorned. Tongue flicking nervously, I was happy that nobody had bothered to wake the servants. Just as I tasted a bit of fecal matter on the air, I felt steps behind me. Slithering like my life depended on it, I just managed to dart under the bathroom door before I heard voices approaching. Not paying attention to what they were saying, I plunged headfirst down the drain. The guards would be looking for magic usage, so I could do nothing but slide down the pipe and hope that there would be a soft landing.
Thank Apophis! I thought to myself, as the pipe didn’t drop down for long. After a few feet it tilted a bit, and I was able to get just enough traction that I could slow myself from a headlong plunge. By the time the pipe ended, I had managed to stop myself. Poking my head through the end let me see that I was dropping into the sewers again, though most likely still in the guarded area. Feeling much more confident, I used a bit of shadow magic to assist me reaching the wall and eventually the floor, before cutting it off.
The snake and I both had gotten our directions turned around during our flight, so I picked a random one and started slithering. Our escape couldn’t have come at a better time, as even the statues down here were up and wandering around. Luckily none would bother with a lone snake, and I simply kept slithering along. Two gates later, and I figured I was far enough away that I could thank my snake. I sent him a pulse, and he opened up his mouth again and forced me out.
I turned back to see the snake once again regurgitating my bag and ring, and I bent down to retrieve them. “Many thanks once again my friend.” I said, lightly stroking the top of his head. “As a final present, I have this for you. It should help boost your shadow magic, and maybe help you evolve.” As I spoke, I put a thumbnail sized piece of black opal right in front of him. It flicked the stone a few times with its tongue, before swiftly swallowing it. It gave me a contented hiss, and slithered away.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Traveling through the sewers took a half hour to find something familiar, and another hour of travel and I came to the basement area of the public bathhouses. Long ago the guild had purchased an interest in the service, and I slipped in through a hidden door. Perfect, nobody was around. Slipping among the furnaces, I gently opened one and tossed in the stick that I had used to set off some traps. It slowly burned, but that was fine. Within hours the bathhouse would open to the public, and a raging fire would ensure its destruction.
A half hour spent in the bath, and I was out through a self-locking door. It wouldn’t do to go to the rogue’s court stinking of the sewers. A three block journey, and I was at one of the brothels that could let you in. The madam sneered at me when I gave the proper password and paid the correct fee, but that was fine. This body wasn’t redeemed just yet.
Ten minutes later and I was finally in the court. It wasn’t lavish, but there were plenty of couches spread about to relax in while waiting on court’s business. I headed over to the magistrate, as he decided who got to see the upper echelon and his word was law.
“Magistrate.” I nodded in respect, waiting for him to acknowledge me. It took nearly a full minute, but again that was to be expected.
“T’skaen. What brings you here?”
“I understand a meeting directly with the rogue is out, but I at least need to see one of the Lieutenants.” I replied. “It needs to be in a private room.”
“Hmmm. Court’s rather busy tonight. Lot of plans trying to placate some upset customers, y’see? I can get you in, but it’ll be a while. Long enough that a man could get awfully thirsty.”
“Ah, I understand.” I said, placing a stack of five gold coins on the table. “Hopefully this will prevent a man of your stature from getting a dry mouth.” I said, knowing full well I had paid almost ten times the bribe he had been expecting.
“Hmm, it seems your business is a bit more pressing than I had originally thought. You do realize the consequences for wasting the court’s time again?”
“I do, and am certain the court will not find this a waste at all.” He nodded, and I headed over to a couch to wait. While doing so, I nodded to a bartender and soon found myself sipping a watered down ale. It was all part of the process. You had to spend some coin to meet with the rogue or his direct underlings, unless of course you had clout. Annoying, but the way of the world. An hour and a half later, and I felt a tap on my shoulder.
“Dervish will see you now.” A goon said, and I mentally cursed. Dervish was in charge of the wet works of the guild, and was an incredibly shrewd lieutenant. While she wouldn’t try and take it from me, she would be smart enough to get a cut of the profits.
“Dervish, a pleasure.” I nodded as I entered the room. She was lazily draped over a chair, idly flipping a dagger around like most would do with a coin.
“T’skaen. While you have paid the dues to see me, my time is still valuable. You have one minute to impress upon me a very good reason why I won’t personally see out this contract on your life.” She answered, tapping a sheet of paper. Before I could step forward, a second goon placed a hand on my chest.
“Weapons?”
“Of course. I have at least three blades secreted on me along with six metal spikes. And I would be double the fool you are to even think of trying to draw them while Dervish already has at least one weapon in her hands. The only thing I am going to remove is this small storage ring, and if you try and inspect it I will slit your throat before sliding it across to your boss. Understand?” I growled out.
“Oh, what is this?” Dervish smiled, smoothly flowing into a sitting forward position. “Our meek little thief managed to steal himself a spine? Let him through.”
“Visual access only to Dervish.” I said, putting limits on the ring and sliding it across. It was a built in safety feature in any ring purchased in the underground. That let the client see the goods without running the risk of them being stolen. She picked up the ring and put it on, only to have her eyes widen in shock.
“Oh my. If these are real, its no wonder you could treat my underling how you did. You didn’t just find a spine, but some balls of steel. Tell me, do they clang when you walk?”
“Not if you pad them properly.” I responded to her smile, getting a small chuckle out of her.
“Now, something this big I absolutely have to bring in front of the rogue, as even I am not qualified to appraise them. You do know the penalty if they are fake?”
“I’ll become an example. That’s fine, these are legit.”
“Very well. Francis, take my ring to the Rogue. T’skaen come with me.”
“Aw boss, can’t you call me something else? Clamps or something?” The goon asked as he picked up the ring and headed out. Poor fellow, his parents must have hated him. Before I could get the ring back, I felt a meaty hand on my shoulder.
“Dervish is one thing, meeting the Rogue is another. Place all weapons on the table. You will get them back if you live.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I went ahead and did as he asked. He did have a point. Two flat throwing knives under the back of my arm bracers. Three spikes woven through them to provide extra support. One dagger at my hip, one at the small of my back.
“Interesting.” Dervish said, holding one of the spikes in her hand. “Uses?”
“Throwing if you have the skill. Stabbing vital points. I use it to reinforce my bracer for blocking weapons, but it could also be concealed as a hair accessory.” I said with a shrug. Smiling, she quickly coiled her hair into a bun, holding it all together with the spike.
“You like?”
“It looks far better on you than it does on me. Perhaps you should keep it?”
“Aw, you’re so sweet!” She said with a grin, leading the way out through a door opposite of where I came in from. “So, we’ll head in there and you should immediately place the goods on the table for the Rogue to inspect them. Be respectful, and try not to talk unless you get asked a question. Ya?”
“Thanks.” I said, smiling at her. With that, she swiftly opened a door and led me into a darkened room with a table illuminated in a circle of light from above. I didn’t waste any time, and swiftly moved to the table and set out the stolen set. Immediately a wave of concentrated mana filled the air. I stepped back with a bow, and waited.
“Archivist.” An imperious voice ordered from the shadows. A small man scurried forward and started inspecting the goods.
“Appraisal. Greater appraisal. Legendary appraisal.” He went through a list of skills, and sucked in a breath on the last one. “They are all legit.” His work done, he disappeared into the shadows and out a side door. As he left, the lights came up to reveal the Rogue himself sitting on a throne with a crossbow pointed directly at my chest.
“So. T’skaen. You managed to botch the job, lose the guild a lot of prestige, and yet somehow manage to overcome some of the most formidable security with your meager skills? And you expect us to believe this?”
“Well, when you put it that way it does sound like a trap. I’m sure you have already checked out the target and know that they likely entered a state of heightened security very recently. That was during my escape, after I managed to lift these while leaving replacements behind.”
“Ah yes, about that. We checked the guild’s forgeries, and only found a few mana stones left behind. What happened there?”
“The stones were insufficient and the fake would have been immediately discovered. So I replaced them with higher quality fakes.”
“How did you get into the compound? I won’t ask too specific, but you need to give us something here.” The Rogue said.
“I suppose I could tell you, it would certainly give you a card to use againt me. I had some, less than legal means-“ I started, only to be interrupted by a hiss from one of the lieutenants next to the Rogue.
“Blood magic! I knew I smelled something off!” he hissed.
“Explain.” The Rogue ordered, sitting forward.
“Right. I had a patsy get a group out in the desert to provide a distraction through a rather easily detected ritual. While they were doing that, I used a much smaller ritual to gain entrance to the mansion. The reason you are having some issues detecting it is because it isn’t a strong enough ritual to be fully taboo. The residue will be gone within a few hours.”
“E’koran?” The Rogue asked.
“He is likely right.” The one who hissed earlier spoke. “Tell me more of this ritual, so that I know how you got around the scriptures.”
“Sure.” I said with a shrug. This was probably the only way I was getting out alive. “There was no death involved, and I performed the ritual with my own blood. That’s enough to get around the scriptures, though the more of them I perform the longer the residue will last.”
“So it isn’t something to be done lightly. Very well.” The Rogue said, obviously content with my answer. “T’skaen, as soon as the client has the product then your banishment is ended. E’koran will keep you company in the audience chambers. You are not to leave until after the scent of blood magic is gone, understood?”
“Of course.” I said with a bow.
“Dervish, send someone to fetch the client. I’m sure they will be thrilled to finally lay hands on their prize. It may be a bit later than we had originally intended, but the fact that we came through should restore a lot.” As the Rogue finished talking, I cleared my throat. He raised an eyebrow, and gave a go on gesture with his hand.
“Perhaps we should offer a small discount to our client, as a gesture of goodwill?”
“And what were you thinking?” The Rogue asked.
“Well, my cut was to be ten percent. Take half of that and return it to the client. The client gets a deal for my incompetence, and still gets their product. The guild sees that though I managed to redeem myself, it wasn’t without consequence.”
“I like it. Dervish, inform the client we will be giving them a 7.5% discount as an apology for our tardiness and clumsy handling of the matter. Well done, T’skaen. Since you did manage to infiltrate something that should have been far above your skill level, I will consider you for some missions requiring access to the noble quarter. Dismissed.” With a wave of his hand, I bowed before turning and heading back to get my weapons before heading to the audience chamber. E’koran was my new bodyguard, but that was fine. I was closer to being able to access the parts of the city that would be hiding the machines that were draining my world of magic.