Isabelle watched the warforged raise its staff towards her, doubtlessly prepared to cast a paralyzation spell on her like it just had to the rest of her party. She wanted to run, but where could she run to? She was trapped by metal gates in the front room of Cloud Reach’s palace, and there were at least twenty warforged surrounding her with their sword-hands drawn and ready to kill.
“Mmm. Tricky, tricky. What to do, what to do, eh, player?” said the kobold Duke from up on his force-field protected blacony. He puffed a ring of smoke out from his cigarette holder. What a smug bastard.
Maybe Isabelle could get out of this situation with a little ingenuity. Hadn’t it been a day since she’d used her special ability? The ‘banquet’ she’d come here for had been at midnight, after all. Isabelle thought ‘Activate special ability.’
[Special Ability: Become Invisible activated]
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 5:00]
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
The group of warforged gasped in confusion as Isabelle blinked out of visibility. Now it was time to get to work. Isabelle had a feeling that her young red dragon armor might serve her better than her necromancer’s robes and staff of undead, so she opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 144.5/253
Item
Traits
Sleek Young Red Dragon Armor (human)
+3 fire resist, +7 hp, +12 str, +13 carry weight
Young Red Dragon Boots
+2 fire resist, +4 stm, +4 dx, +2 str, +7 carry weight
Young Red Dragon Gauntlets
+2 fire resist, +5 damage, +5 stm, +5 dx, +4 carry weight
Young Red Dragon Cloak
+5 fire resist, +3 char, +3 stm, +5 carry weight
Young Red Dragon Dagger x2
+2 fire damage, +5 damage, +3 stm, +1 dx, +2 carry weight
Young Red Dragon Rapier
+3 fire damage, +6 damage, +1 str, +5 carry weight
Young Red Dragon Glaive
+2 fire damage, +7 damage, +2 str, +6 carry weight
Young Red Dragon Bow
+3 fire damage, +2 damage, +3 dx, +3 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
[Sleek Young Red Dragon Armor (human) equipped]
[+3 fire resist]
[+7 hp]
[+12 str]
[Young Red Dragon Boots equipped]
[+2 fire resist]
[+4 stm]
[+4 dx]
[+2 str]
[Young Red Dragon Gauntlets equipped]
[+2 fire resist]
[+5 damage]
[+5 stm]
[+5 dx]
[Young Red Dragon Cloak equipped]
[+5 fire resist]
[+3 char]
[+3 stm]
[Dragon Slayer buff activated]
[Fireproof buff activated]
[Dragon’s Fury buff activated]
Now Isabelle needed to pick which weapon she ought to use. Since she was invisible, she figured that dual wielding those two young red dragon daggers might be the way to go if she wanted to try and stealth kill all these warforged.
Then again, was that the best option? Was there any way to get out? Isabelle figured she couldn’t just sneak around, with her party just laying there paralyzed and her horses standing nervously in the battleground that was the palace room. Isabelle didn’t feel comfortable abandoning all of them. Plus, she had all that extra loot in Stelas’ head! Yes, Isabelle would just have to try and kill all of the warforged.
[Young Red Dragon Dagger x2 equipped]
[+4 fire damage]
[+10 damage]
[+6 stm]
[+2 dx]
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 4:45]
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
Nice. And all that had only taken fifteen seconds. Isabelle had gotten pretty good at using her inventory at tense moments.
Isabelle thought the first and most important thing to do would be to try and get that paralyzation staff away from the warforged that held it. Isabelle figured she had a chance at pickpocketing it away, but she also wondered if she could improve her pickpocketing level with anything in her inventory. She checked it to see.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 144.5/253
Item
Traits
Shrouded Cowl
+1 sneak level, +1.5 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Hmm. So the shrouded cowl would up her sneak level. That probably would help Isabelle in a pickpocket attempt, even though she was already invisible.
[Shrouded Cowl equipped]
[+1 sneak level]
Isabelle crept up to the warforged holding the paralyzation staff. They seemed to have no idea where she was, and were grumbling about humans being slippery little weasels. She focused on the warforged.
[Pickpocket ‘Warforged’?]
Isabelle thought yes.
Inventory: Warforged
Item
Traits
Staff of Paralyzation
+5 mana, +4 carry weight
Steel Armor (warforged)
+5 damage, +10 str, +5 const, +10 carry weight
Gate Key
n/a
Gold (25)
n/a
Isabelle was thrilled to see a gate key in the inventory. She hoped that it might be her ticket out of this mess, looking at the gate locking her and her party away from the banquet hall. Maybe, if Isabelle played her cards right, she could even kill some of these abhorrent rich people that had planned to eat while watching her and her party get slaughtered.
Wait a second. Weren’t warforged made out of metal? So this thing was wearing armor over its already metal body? Also, wow, that was some powerful armor. Isabelle didn’t necessarily think it was the best idea to try and pickpocket the warforged’s armor, mainly because she didn’t really know what happened when a pickpocketing attempt failed. But still, it wasn’t like she’d suddenly become visible, and that warforged armor added a lot to str and to const. Maybe Isabelle could craft it to fit one of her party members if she stole it, and then maybe they’d be a little less chicken next time a fight rolled around. Sir Jingles could definitely use some armor, he’d been conducting all his fights in those ridiculous-looking fancy robes that Isabelle was sure only added to his char.
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 4:11]
Shit, Isabelle needed to stop thinking and start acting. She took everything from the warforged’s inventory.
Inventory: Warforged
Item
Traits
n/a
n/a
[Sleight of Hand increased to 4]
[Sleight of Hand increased to 5]
“What in the fuck?!” said the warforged. It quickly reached its hands down to cover its exposed gears. “Where did my clothes go? And what happened to my staff?!”
The other warforged laughed and cackled at their surprised companion’s expense.
“This is truly fascinating,” said the kobold Duke up on the balcony. “I don’t doubt the player has something up her sleeve. My guess is she’s shrunken to a miniscule size, like that of an ant, and is creeping around unbeknowst to us all. Everyone, quick, look for ants!”
The horde of warforged immediately turned their eyes to the floor, stomping at specks of lint and swinging their blades and maces at the marble. It was all Isabelle could do to keep from bursting into laughter.
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 3:49]
Isabelle looked to her party. The horses looked decidedly skittish. Tahsi and Sir Jingles were still laying on the floor, limp. Isabelle wondered if the paralyzation staff she’d just stolen from the warforged could un-paralyze people. She opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 158.5/203
Item
Traits
Staff of Paralyzation
+5 mana, +4 carry weight
Steel Armor (warforged)
+5 damage, +10 str, +5 const, +10 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Isabelle focused on the staff of paralyzation and thought ‘Learn More.’
Item: Staff of Paralyzation
Traits: +5 mana, +4 carry weight
Description: This is a standard paralyzation staff, which grants the wielder the ability to cast the ‘paralyze’ spell for a duration of 120 seconds.
Hmm. Nothing about un-paralyzing, so Isabelle figured that meant she was fairly out of luck. Then again, it apparently could only paralyze you for what, two minutes? Which meant her party members wouldn’t be paralyzed much longer, and now that she held the staff, maybe it wasn’t anything to be concerned about. Still, Isabelle really wanted to try and get the drop on these rich, fancy fucks that had so rudely tried to turn her over to the Overlord.
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 3:25]
Isabelle noticed that, as this system notification popped up, her party members started to move again.
“Hey, where’d Isabelle go?” asked Tahsi.
“She probably turned invisible,” said Sir Jingles.
“What? She’s not tiny, she’s invisible?” asked a warforged.
“Quick, everyone!” said another warforged. “Look for someone who’s invisible!”
Isabelle rolled her eyes. She felt like slapping her stupid party members, but she didn’t have much more invisibility time left, so instead she dashed over to the gate and focused on it.
[Palace Gate - Locked]
Isabelle thought ‘Open.’
[Palace Gate - Unlocked]
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 2:59]
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
“What was that noise?” asked a warforged. “It sounded like a gate opening!”
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
“You’re crazy,” said another warforged. “It was probably just somebody swinging their morning star through the air, trying to hit this invisible player!”
“Oh. That makes sense, my bad,” said the first warforged.
Isabelle chuckled as she slowly pushed the gate open but a crack, slipped through it, and pushed it shut again. The system was clearly working for her, not against her.
[Clarification: The system does not affiliate itself with anyone. You as a player, especially with your raised int and wis scores, hold intrinsic understanding of the system that allows you to exploit it in ways that NPCs are by definition unable to conceive.]
Duh.
[Error: There is no valid system command ‘Duh’]
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 2:41]
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
Isabelle had to stop letting the system distract her and get back to the task at hand. She looked at the room in front of her. The banquet hall was long and wide, and its marble floor was even more beautiful and intricate than that of the room she’d just escaped from. Ten or so paces away was the long, thronging table where all the well-dressed and well-groomed fancy folk sat. It kind of reminded Isabelle of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper painting, because they all sat on one side, facing the gate. Doubtlessly this was so that they could look and sneer at her and her party while they fought off countless enemies. What a bunch of bastards.
Isabelle crept forward, noting that nobody seemed to realize where she was. All of the warforged behind the gate hadn’t even noticed she’d slipped through it with the naked warforged’s gate key. Dumbasses. Isabelle noted that the rich onlookers at the table didn’t seem to have a clue, either. Three of them were arguing over something to do with napkin folding techniques. What a bunch of airheads.
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 2:13]
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
Not too much time left. Isabelle probably couldn’t slaughter all of the people feasting at the table, as much as she wanted to. Then again, maybe slaughtering them all wasn’t necessarily what she needed to do. Isabelle walked behind the table, so that all the rich folks’ backs were facing her. She saw a beautiful, winding staircase leading up to the second floor of the palace. Isabelle had a hunch that if she went up there she could find the balcony that the kobold Duke was standing over. Isabelle wanted to kill him most of all, and she had a feeling she could manage to find a way to do just that.
Still, it felt a bit of a waste of her invisibility to not at least mess with these awful rich folks a little bit. Isabelle walked up to the snobby character on the far right of the table, a kobold man with a deep yet pretentious voice. Isabelle focused on his back.
[Pickpocket ‘Baron of Cloud Reach’?]
Isabelle thought yes.
Inventory: Baron of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
Gekki Belt
n/a
Pure Diamond x4
n/a
Gold (4352)
n/a
Hmm. Isabelle had no idea what a gekki belt was, but, just like everything else in the Baron of Cloud Reach’s inventory, it didn’t add to her carry weight. So, she took it all.
Inventory: Baron of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
n/a
n/a
“I say, old chaps,” said the Baron of Cloud Reach. “I do believe I felt someone rifling through my pockets!”
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 2:02]
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
“Actually, I must say I believe I’ve been mistaken,” said the Baron of Cloud Reach. “It must’ve been the wind.”
“Really, dear, you can be quite daft,” said the kobold lady sitting beside him.
Isabelle walked behind her and focused on her back.
[Combat Mode Deactivated]
[Pickpocket ‘Baroness of Cloud Reach’?]
Isabelle thought yes.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Inventory: Baroness of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
Pearl Necklace
n/a
Pure Emerald
n/a
Platinum Ring
n/a
Gold (8744)
n/a
Isabelle knew what all this stuff was. She took it all.
Inventory: Baroness of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
n/a
n/a
Oh hey, look, another snobby douche was sitting next to her. Isabelle didn’t hesitate, she focused on his back.
[Pickpocket ‘Viscount of Cloud Reach’?]
Isabelle thought yes.
Inventory: Viscount of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
Jade Bracelet
n/a
Diamond Studded Tie Clip
n/a
Gold (5237)
n/a
She took it all.
Inventory: Viscount of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
n/a
n/a
On to the next one.
[Pickpocket ‘Viscountess of Cloud Reach’?]
Inventory: Viscount of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
Jade Necklace
n/a
Diamond Studded Scrunchie
n/a
Gold (6298)
n/a
Aw. These two kind of had matching items in their inventory. Well, Isabelle would make sure their inventories kept matching by taking everything from both of them.
Inventory: Viscount of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
n/a
n/a
Isabelle was really enjoying how much jewelry and how much gold she was getting from these snobby idiots. On to the next couple.
[Pickpocket ‘Earl of Cloud Reach’?]
Inventory: Earl of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
Poison Pills
+5 poison
Gold (10324)
n/a
Uh, the fuck? Poison pills?
Inventory: Earl of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
n/a
n/a
Well, maybe Isabelle could use them later or something. Still, that was weird to see. Isabelle went over to the lady next to him and focused on her back.
[Pickpocket ‘Countess of Cloud Reach’?]
Isabelle thought yes.
Inventory: Countess of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
Cubic Zirconia Ring
n/a
Cubic Zirconia Earring
n/a
Cubic Zirconia Bracelet
n/a
Gold (3245)
n/a
This lady was the only one who had less money than the man she was with. What was up with that? Also, all her jewelry was fucking cubic zirconia? Isabelle hadn’t even realized cubic zirconia existed in Beaubinte. This Countess’ husband must’ve been a misogynist or something. Still, Isabelle emptied the Countess’ inventory out in the name of equality.
Inventory: Countess of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
n/a
n/a
On to the next couple.
[Pickpocket ‘Marquess of Cloud Reach’?]
Isabelle thought yes.
Inventory: Marquess of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
Ruby Studded Pocket Knife
+1 stealth, +3 sneak, +0.5 carry weight
Gold (8756)
n/a
Nice, a weapon. A weapon with a good sneak bonus, no less.
Inventory: Marquess of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
n/a
n/a
Time to see what this guy’s wife had in her inventory.
Inventory: Marchioness of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
Platinum Ball Gag With Diamonds
n/a
Golden Rope
n/a
Ethereal Silk Lingerie
+10 char, +8 stm, +2 carry weight
Bobby Pin x10
n/a
Gold (10236)
n/a
Shit. A lot of money, and a whole lot of kinkiness. These two were, obviously, pretty intense. Isabelle took it all, not because she was necessarily interested in using any of it for its intended purpose as much as because she figured it would all be worth a lot when she next tried to sell some of her loot.
Inventory: Marchioness of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
n/a
n/a
There was only one person left at the table, a lady kobold. Isabelle walked up to her and focused on her scaly back, which was fully exposed from her elegant ball gown.
[Pickpocket ‘Duchess of Cloud Reach’?]
Huh. So there was a Duchess of Cloud Reach? Isabelle had somewhat assumed for some reason or another that the Duke of Cloud Reach wasn’t necessarily interested in women, so it was a bit of a surprise. Maybe they were only together to keep up appearances. Regardless, Isabelle thought yes.
Inventory: Duchess of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
Refined Sapphire Necklace
n/a
Spun Silk Gloves
+5 char, +0.5 carry weight
Platinum Bracelet
n/a
Platinum Choker Necklace
+8 char
Gold (12576)
n/a
Well holy shit. That was a lot of stuff. Isabelle was getting more gold from these fuckers than she had from that young red dragon. Clearly, that young red dragon wasn’t too experienced at building a horde.
Inventory: Duchess of Cloud Reach
Item
Traits
n/a
n/a
Nice. Now that Isabelle had cleaned all these suckers out, she was ready to go up the stairs and prepare to kill the shit out of the Duke.
[Sleight of Hand increased to level 6]
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 0:35]
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
Oh shit. That was not a lot of time. Isabelle needed to move quickly if she was going to get this done. She dashed to the staircase, making no effort to conceal any noise she was making.
[Stamina 98%]
“I say, did I hear footsteps?” asked a snob at the table.
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 0:22]
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
“Don’t be foolish,” said another table-sitting snob. “That was clearly just draftiness from a nearby window.”
Isabelle forced herself up the stairs as fast as possible, skipping every other step to cut her traveling time in half.
[Stamina 94%]
Isabelle saw a row of doors. One of them seemed to have some light behind it. She crept up to the door, crouched, and peeked through its crack. She could see the duke’s back. He was leaned over the balcony, watching the warforged search for her in the front room of the palance. What a smug little twerp. But Isabelle would show him.
[Balcony Door - Locked]
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 0:12]
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
Fuck! Seriously? The door was locked. What in the hell was she supposed to do? Isabelle focused on the door, thinking ‘Open.’
[Pick Balcony Door with Bobby Pin?]
Oh, shit. Isabelle had been wondering about lockpicking. She thought yes.
[Attempting lockpick…]
[…]
[Error: Lockpick failed]
[Achievement Unlocked: Fail a lockpicking attempt]
[Attempt again?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle grimaced. Then again, hadn’t she pickpocketed a good number of lockpicks? Isabelle thought yes.
[Attempting lockpick…]
[…]
[Error: Lockpick failed]
[Attempt again?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
[Attempting lockpick…]
[…]
[Lockpick succeeded]
[Achievement Unlocked: Succeed a lockpicking attempt]
[Lockpick increased to level 1]
[Notice: You’re ready to level up]
Isabelle was thrilled. She was excited to level up, but she also didn’t know whether she’d be able to stay hidden forever, and wanted to take her opportunity to kill this fucking duke. Isabelle focused on the door in front of her.
[Balcony Door - Unlocked]
Perfect. She pushed the door open and looked at the back of the kobold Duke. It was time. Isabelle crept closer and closer to him, her young red dragon daggers clasped tightly in her hands.
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
Great. Isabelle was doing great. She crept up closer and closer. She could smell the Duke’s stale cigarettes now. Isabelle raised her daggers, ready to stab him through like a pincushion.