Chapter 27: Moonlight Plotting II

Leo pressed his back against the hard wooden walls of the neighboring building, making himself as small as possible.

The night air was crisp against his skin, and he kept his breaths slow and steady. With the wall of light glowing above, there were less shadows to hide in, more places to be accidentally seen.

Hazel eyes narrowed as he peered out onto the street, where another Hound stood directly in front of Irving’s home. Her gaze swept the road in front of her continuously, clearly alert.

The dirt road was illuminated and too wide to cross in one leap; he wouldn’t be able to step out the alleyway without risking [Fade into Background] deactivating. The moment the light hit him, it would be over.

Leo cursed internally and scanned the surroundings for another way. Could he go on the roofs? They were close together enough to jump between, but the guards further away by the lake would definitely notice him.

Around it was, then. Ducking low, Leo circled back around to the backs of the buildings, using the swaying grasses to partially conceal his movements and the shadows of the buildings and the items left in backyards to duck out of sight.

It was slow progress. He kept stopping to check that the guards by the lake hadn’t noticed him, and he ended up needing to activate [Fade into Background] a second time when the skill’s duration was up.

Still, slowly but surely, he made his way around the village’s perimeter.

Leo counted every alley he passed, mentally gauging how far he was from the village square.

Finally, when he estimated he was close enough, he slipped into the next alleyway and gave himself a second to rest, exhaling in the shadows of the adjacent buildings.

A persistent line of tension ran through his limbs, and he could hear his own heartbeat ringing loudly in his ears. He swallowed, forcing down his nerves, and carefully peered out.

Scattered all around the square, sleeping Hounds occupied the space. Some had bedrolls while others simply slept on the ground. Leo even spotted a few tents put up. None, however, were noticeably larger or fancier than the others.

The [Fragmentholder] frowned, scanning the figures. He noted Dalton across the square, the man’s spear resting beside him as he slept, but he couldn’t see any sign of the Hounds leader.

As Leo turned his head, a faint flicker caught his attention.

There, two buildings away from his current location, a candle glowed in the window of a shop.

Leo narrowed his eyes. All the other shops bordering the square were dark. Pressing close to the alley, he carefully peered through the window of the building he stood beside.

The interior was cloaked in shadows, and it appeared abandoned. Leo studied the square again and made a decision.

He didn’t have his old lockpick after the prison break, but he did have a hairpin he’d picked up when buying supplies. The size and shape would make it a good temporary replacement, he’d thought, and as he pulled it out now he was glad he’d made the purchase.

Getting the window unlocked didn’t take too long, and he held his breath as he carefully pushed it up. It squeaked slightly, but there were no signs of movement from the square or from the guards by the lake. Exhaling, Leo grabbed onto the edge and heaved himself through.

The [Fragmentholder] landed lightly inside. It was dark, a few tables with wares rendered into shadowy silhouettes. Leo didn’t hear anyone inside, but he wasn’t planning on staying long.

Hurrying across, he opened the next window and dove through into the next alleyway. The window of the next building was lower, making it easier to repeat the process. Leo slipped inside. The store with the flickering candle was right next to this one.

Straightening, the [Fragmentholder] looked around. Tall shelves of books lined the walls, but like the other building, it seemed abandoned. Maybe it was just for the night, but he also wouldn’t be surprised if the store owner had decided to temporarily move somewhere else while the Hounds were there taking up the square.

Leo pressed himself against the opposite wall and peered out the window. From there, he could see warm lights emanating from the adjacent building and a few blurry shadows moving behind the glass. He’d have to get closer to see more clearly.

Slowly, he opened the window a centimeter at a time, careful to keep out of sight of the figures and waiting after each movement for a shift in pattern. Muffled voices filtered into his ears, but he couldn’t make them out from here.

When there was a wide enough gap for him to squeeze through, Leo slipped into the alleyway between the two buildings, where several wooden crates had been stacked up.

If he angled his body and stayed close to the walls, the crates allowed him to remain hidden from the guards along the shore.

Leo tested the weight of one of them and stepped onto it. Like this, he could peer into the window from the corner of his eye while he kept his back pressed against the wall. He held his breath.

Inside, he could just barely make out a few familiar figures gathered around a wooden table covered with a large piece of paper.

Closest to the window was Ivan, his back to Leo. At his left was a tall middle-aged man with a stern expression and strong build that Leo didn’t recognize.

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

Name: Douglas

Age: 44

Level: 28

Class: [Mercenary, Tier 1]

Personal Skill: [Salvage Lvl 3]

Douglas. Leo recognized the name from when Flora had mentioned him alongside Sonia. He must be fairly high up in the Hounds—perhaps the second in command?

There was some movement, and Flora stepped into view on Ivan’s right.

Leo froze. He distinctly remembered her [Watcher] skill from their encounter at the lake. Would she notice him? How did it work?

Seconds passed, but the woman didn’t turn in his direction. That suggested that the effect he’d seen earlier was an active one. If he was careful and didn’t give her a reason to turn the skill on, he might be able to escape notice.

Still, it was risky, and Leo’s muscles remained tense and ready to bolt. He vaguely considered that if Allan were here, he would definitely tell him to return, but he hadn’t come all this way for nothing.

He needed more information, and it looked like he’d lucked out and stumbled on some sort of meeting between the Hounds. He couldn’t just leave and let the opportunity slip past.

Leo pressed his ear against the wall and strained to hear. It was faint and a little muffled, but if he focused, he could just barely make out the voices of the Hounds inside.

“—brought them to Irving’s place,” Ivan was saying. Leo couldn’t see who was seated at the other end of the table from his current angle, but he guessed it was Sonia. The responding voice soon confirmed his suspicions.

“Have they posed a problem?”

The woman’s voice, calm and yet with a subtle air of authority, was distinct. Ivan paused a little before shaking his head.

“No. I…I didn’t foresee them, so I don’t think they’ll be much of an issue.” His words were slow, a bit hesitant. “But my visions aren’t complete, so I think we should still be careful.”

“And what of Irving?”

“He seemed upset when we brought the travelers to him, but he hasn’t given us any more information.”

Sonia hummed. “I see. It seems he’ll require more convincing.”

“If I may,” Flora said. She shifted her position, stepping forward. Leo held extra still, holding his breath until the Hound spoke again.

“I worry the time limit we gave was too long,” Flora said calmly. She still hadn’t used [Watcher] yet. “I’ve noticed several Hounds are becoming impatient. I fear some of them may resort to violence soon. It may be better to reduce the number of days.”

Douglas shook his head. His voice was low and difficult to make out through the walls; Leo had to press even closer to hear him.

“We must avoid angering the lake fae guardians. Harming Clearside will only lead to more trouble for us.”

Leo raised his eyebrows slightly at that. He hadn’t expected a Hound to also worship the Glass Lake’s supposedly living fae. Perhaps the man had grown up around the area? Otherwise it was unusual for him to fear the fae so much, especially when it wasn’t certain if any even survived in the lake’s waters.

“I hear your concerns,” Sonia said, “But I would not have the Hounds known for betraying their word.”

There was a brief pause, and Leo wished he could see the Hounds leader’s expression. When she spoke again, her voice was perfectly even and calm.

“If any Hounds cause issues, I will deal with them myself.”

A brief silence settled over the building, the weight of the woman’s words and their implication hanging heavy in the air.

Leo resisted an instinctive shudder and kept listening. Something about the steady ease of Sonia’s voice was far more unsettling than if she had been cold or harsher.

The [Fragmentholder] heard some more movement, and he stilled as Sonia stepped into view, tapping at the paper laid out across the table.

“For now, let us resume our discussion.” She nodded at Douglas. “How many boats have we managed to procure?”

“As of now, there’s enough for all the Hounds if we travel in groups,” the man reported. His own eyes shifted down to the paper. Leo strained to see. A map?

“Tomorrow, we’ll begin moving the boats to the shore. That way we’ll be able to set out as soon as we have the routes.”

“Excellent.” Sonia picked up an ink pen lying on the table, drawing a line that Leo could only faintly make out through the foggy window.

“We’ll need the boats in these areas to maximize the distance we cover.” She turned to Ivan, who straightened as her eyes landed on him. “Have you had any more visions?”

He shook his head. “It’s the same one,” he reported, “but I can say for certain now that the island is surrounded by fog.”

“That does narrow things down.” Sonia cocked her head, tracing the pen along the map and making a few more marks. “Considering the sizes of the islands and their relative positions, we can rule these out. We’ll need at least three groups to search this area—” she tapped a section on the left, “—and another two here.” Her arm moved up.

Leo’s heart raced. If he could get a closer look at the map, that would give them a much better idea of which islands they needed to search, allowing them to remain in step with the Hounds.

Inhaling, Leo slowly shifted closer. He just needed one clear look, and then he would leave before he was discovered. This was his chance; he couldn’t let it go to waste.

Fingers tightening around the windowsill, Leo bent his legs in preparation and carefully leaned closer to the glass.

The map was fairly large, covering the entire lake, and there were even a few arrows by the shore indicating the movement of the magic there that must be from local fishermen. The more central parts of the lake, however, remained free of arrows, various scattered islands dotting its surface.

The former [Thief]’s eyes flitted by, rapidly taking in the shapes. Sonia had circled some and crossed out others; it appeared there was even a numbering system grouping islands together based on their search priority.

Leo committed those lines to memory, heart pounding and limbs still tense.

He leaned forward just a hair more to get a closer look. As he did so, the crate he was standing on wobbled and made a faint clatter.

Leo didn’t think. He ducked down and jumped back, activating [Sprint] and vaulting back into the adjacent building.

His feet skidded slightly against the wood, but he didn’t stop until he’d reached the opposite wall and pressed himself against it, heart pounding in his chest.

He waited for a notification from [Judgement] to appear, for Flora to activate [Watcher]. Seconds ticked by.

Nothing.

He remained still a while longer, but he heard no sounds, saw no movements.

Slowly, Leo released a long breath, but he couldn’t relax yet. Still running through the map in his head, he turned and checked that the other alleyway was empty and that no one in the square had overheard.

Once he’d confirmed the positions of the guards, he shut the first window, jumped out the second one and closed it too, then slipped back into the shadows.

He needed to hurry and return before he was found. He couldn’t let this information go to waste.

With that in mind, the [Fragmentholder] ran as fast as he dared back to Irving’s home, retracing the path he’d taken there by inching around the perimeter of the village.

Up above, the wall of light and the silver moon continued to shine like a beacon.