Her voice had dropped considerably and definitely sounded more masculine. At least for an Elf.
Taking firm and quick steps, the noble lady of House Delacroix crossed the courtyard in a straight line to him.
Odelia stopped directly in front of Rene and stared at him. Unblinkingly, her smile blazing like it would melt the paint off houses.
“You’re like a gift from fate. Do you plan on any other surprises that will change my entire world? In the span of three days, you’ve fixed… everything. Everything,” Odelia took another step forward, her hands reaching out for him.
Alana intercepted one of Odelia’s hands with her own, giving it a firm shake.
“I’m Alan,” Alana said, as if misunderstanding Odelia’s gesture.
Odelia broke her intense eye contact with Rene and looked at Alan.
“Odelia, Odelia Delacroix. You’re… you’re the librarian’s assistant. I’ve heard of you. It makes sense that you would know Rene, considering he’s been haunting the place like a wraith.”
Odelia retrieved her hand from Alana’s and as quickly dismissed her. Her jade green eyes immediately returned to Rene, and she bore down on him.
“You should stay with my father and I. He would be delighted to have you as a guest. The first thing he said after you left was that you were sent on a prayer,” Odelia said, not caring that Alana was there in the least. “The amount we owed Junk would have taken more than simply our home and assets. Father wouldn’t turn you away from a request. Any request. Anything.”
Odelia’s hands looked as if they were planning on moving towards Rene again.
“He’s currently assisting me with my studies for university and maintaining the library,” Alana interjected.
The two women’s eyes met and they watched each other. Odelia’s brows began to furrow as her mind seemed to spin up.
“I appreciate the thought, Odelia,” Rene said, hoping to distract her. When she put her mind to something, he imagined little would be left secret.
Including Alana’s gender.
“For the moment, it’s safer for everyone for me to remain as I am. Though I’m glad to hear your father is happy,” Rene said, feeling a genuine warmth. “I would suggest he have his lawyer read over documents before he signs them in the future.”
Odelia’s head swung back to him and she nodded a bit, her smile returning slowly.
“The original contract was a spur of the moment thing to cover the purchase of a horse when father’s collapsed out from under him,” Odelia said. “In retrospect, I suspect maybe Junk had a hand in that horse’s death, too. A little too convenient.”
Rene only nodded at that, wondering where this was all going.
“Ah, have you already met with the others?” Odelia asked.
“No, going to meet them tomorrow morning. Give them their pay and get the next job moving,” Rene said.
Before an awkward silence could develop, Odelia started again.
“Then maybe we could have di—”
“That reminds me. Rene, you promised me time to explore some intricacies about finance. Let’s do that tonight, before we get to work,” Alana said over Odelia.
Standing up Alana wrapped a hand around Rene’s bicep and dragged him along behind her.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Rene,” Odelia promised.
Glancing over his shoulder, he caught Odelia’s eyes watching him as a playful smile crawled over her lips.
Alana’s insistent pulling didn’t stop until they were safely in the library.
The work that evening was swift and nearly silent. Alana said little, other than simple directions on where to push the cart.
***
Rene stepped out from the side entrance to find Odelia, Caleb, Bill and Lori waiting in the area behind the workshop.
“Rene!” Lori happily exclaimed and skipped over to him. She grinned at him and bowed formally at the waist.
“Ah, ladies curtsy, Lori. Like so,” Odelia corrected her with a warm smile. Stepping up next to Lori, she demonstrated a beautiful and flowing curtsy.
Lori watched, then tried to imitate it as closely as possible.
“That’s a very good first try,” Odelia said, nodding her head at Lori.
Rene turned to Bill and Caleb and held up a hand.
Then Alana walked past him into the area and stepped up to Odelia.
“Morning,” Alana said, nodding at Odelia.
“Good morning, Alan. I didn’t expect to see you here.” Odelia’s eyes trailed back to Rene, who shrugged his shoulders.
We’re slipping. That’s twice we’ve been followed.
“Here to join. I can offer academic opinions and research on any subject.” Alana’s head swiveled to Bill and then Caleb, challenging them to say anything.
Rene closed his eyes and held up his hands.
“Fine. You can have part of my share. Twenty percent, same that Bill and Caleb are getting. You’ll work with Caleb on target designation and information,” he said, giving up.
Opening his eyes with a shake of his head, Rene went over to Lori’s small table and sat down. Lori trailed along behind and took her own seat across from him, then lifted her wooden teapot.
“Tea, Mr. Rene?” she asked.
“Yes, please, Miss Moon,” Rene confirmed, easing the wooden teacup forward. He still needed to figure out what kind of tea Geoffrey had served him.
Lori mimed pouring him tea and then poured her own cup. He pulled out the silvers from a pouch that he’d filled this morning and set them down on the table.
“Here’s your pay for the last one, eight silvers each. I believe we had one other target available?” Rene mimed taking a sip from his cup and nodded to Lori.
Odelia sat down between him and Lori and took a wooden cup from Lori’s playset.
“Oh, yeah. The guilder. Paul Vick. You sure about that one? He’s actually hiding in the guild’s main hidey hole. Worth twenty gold, though,” Caleb affirmed.
“Which guild is it?” Alana asked, her eyes fastened on the little table and its three occupants. Each acted as if Lori were hosting a tea party.
“Wolves,” Bill grunted, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Inn in the warehouse district. Floor plan has a basement that looks like it could probably link to the warehouse next to it. There’s also the strong possibility of an unlisted entry point to a storm drain. They operate during the day mostly,” Alana said, then coughed as she finished speaking.
“No noble backers,” Odelia added, lowering her teacup. “Their primary activities are offering ‘protection’ to the warehouses nearby and petty theft. The only reason they’re doing so well is because of a moonshine business they run out of the inn and warehouse. They tried their little pitch on some of the noble warehouses and ended up with a bloody nose.”
Huh.
They’re all incredibly helpful in their own way; if this is the norm I’ll not slight them said pay.
Rene could only agree with that. Looking to Bill, he started to form his question.
“Crossbow’s done.” Bill turned to a side table that ran along the workshop and lifted a leather covering. “I also picked up some two hundred bolts in advance. I did some slight fine-tuning to make sure they’d fly straight. Apparently, I have a hand for fletching I didn’t know I had.”
Our dear beloved armorer.
“Good work. Pardon, Miss Lori,” Rene excused himself. Standing up, he went over to the table and picked up the crossbow.
Then he Analyzed it.
Item Name: Modified Reinforced Hand Crossbow
Description: Modified by William Moon. Small, handheld, and perfect for a quick job. Can fire once on a light trigger and then needs a reload. Similar to how the ladies should describe you and your “equipment”.
Damage: 4-12
Effective Range: 50 yards
Functions-
None.
Attributes-
None.
&n
bsp; Our lying divine benefactor needs a punch in the dick; the one detractor I’d love to kick. The prick.
Taking the looped iron ring, Rene slid it onto his belt and watched the quick-slot light up with the new weapon.
On the table was a large pack full of bolts. He picked it up, slung it over his shoulder, and turned to Bill.
“Good work. I’ll take the bolts with me and store them near the target.” Rene turned his head to the rest of his little team.
“I plan on infiltrating tonight and taking our target then. Anything else I need to know?” Rene asked.
Most shook their heads, but Alana looked thoughtful for a moment.
“I’m unsure if it’s worth anything, but there’s a standing bounty for all Wolves. Two gold each for anyone marked on the chest with the guild tattoo,” the Elf finally said.
Rene wasn’t going to be able to do much with that, but it was worth noting.
“I’m off to prepare then. See you in the morning,” he said turning to leave.
Lori waved her hand at him with a big smile. “Have fun being my hero. Be safe, Mr. Rene. Don’t forget your hood.”
Her hero!
“Of course, Miss Lori,” Rene replied.
***
Rene watched the inn from his perch atop a nearby warehouse. They were starting to close up for the night, which meant this would probably be close to the time for him to start.
He’d already put on the gear he’d selected for the job. All that remained was getting inside and finding Paul, the target.
Dropping from the top of the warehouse, Rene let his knees bend with the impact.
Your skill in Safe Fall has increased (1)
We should spend some of our money and see if sexual prowess can be increased.
Too many bloody fights; not enough sensual nights.
Rene ignored the Monster and skulked towards the rear of the building. No one was there, except for a four-wheeled wagon with a horse team.
If he had to guess, they had probably unloaded the contents into the inn and were restocking.
Fetching up next to a window, he quickly disengaged the locking mechanism with a dagger and then slithered inside.
Keeping himself low to the ground, Rene inspected the room he was in. He’d expected it to be a storeroom and wasn’t disappointed.
Ignoring everything, Rene started to leave the room. Then he noticed a small box tucked into the corner. It was wedged between a ceiling beam and the wall.
It wasn’t hidden, just out of obvious sight.
Curious, Rene went over and retrieved the item. When he opened it, he frowned at the contents. Eight vials lay from left to right in a padded interior.
Tapping one, he saw the clear liquid shift. The viscosity was similar to water. He held one up and Analyzed it.
Your skill in Analyze has increased (14)
Strong Sedative: Causes nearly instant unconsciousness in target, lasting for several hours.
He could guess the use for this immediately. If a fool wandered into the inn they wanted to rob or simply murder, the easiest way would be to spike their drink or food.
An evil grin spread over Rene’s face.
In his youth, he could remember playing a few video games where the goal had been to slip through security and take out a target.
At the time, Rene had despised leaving anything on the map that could make his life more difficult later. So he’d systematically killed or taken out every enemy on the map, and then piled the bodies up somewhere.
Effectively cleansing an entire area.
A simple coat, applied to the bolt. They’ll be out cold, and we’ll earn all that gold.
Coin on coin on coin.
Opening his inventory, Rene pushed the case in. Then he began moving large batches of bolts onto the poison case.
A heartbeat later, all one hundred bolts were coated in the poison, and he had only lost two vials.
Changing his plan on the fly, Rene pulled out his crossbow and loaded a bolt. They didn’t look very lethal to Rene.
Which was a positive thing right now.
Shoulders, outer thighs, or hips.
Opening the door to the main room, he extended his senses out into it. He felt the man cleaning the counter top behind the bar, more than saw him.
Leveling his crossbow, Rene slunk around the corner. He pulled the trigger once he’d sighted the man.
The bolt sprang across the distance and buried itself in the man’s shoulder.
The bartender groaned and reached up for the bolt, then he stumbled and fell flat on his face.
“Effective,” Rene murmured. Moving over to the unconscious man, Rene felt and saw no one else in the room.
He grabbed the man by his clothes and dragged him into the storeroom. Once there, Rene lifted up the man’s shirt and spied the Wolf tattoo on his chest.
Fools. They’ll mark themselves for our purse.
He took the man’s belongings and was ready to go.
Creeping back out into the bar, Rene found it as he had left it. He checked the back rooms one by one and found no one else.
There was no second floor, and only one way down. As he’d cleared the floor, there was little to do but continue.
Your skill in Sneaking has increased (11)
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Rene felt more than saw two men up ahead of him around the corner.
Tapping open his inventory screen, he dragged his daggers over to the vials of poison and tried to activate them in the same way. The system recognized the command and now both daggers had a coating of the poison.
Hooking the crossbow back to his belt, he unsheathed both daggers and crept forward. Around the corner were two men, moving barrels and sacks onto shelves and into corners.
Not wasting time, Rene darted forward and slashed a blade along one man’s shoulder. Spinning to the side, he drove the second across the other man’s hip.
Stepping backwards, he watched as both men tottered and then fell.
I hate and love our benefactor. This is almost too easy.
Moving over, he lifted the collar of each man’s tunic to find the Wolf tattoo.
Three.
When he checked one of his daggers, he found it had four more charges before he’d have to reapply the poison.
He sheathed both, then searched the men for anything of value before continuing down the short hallway.
Each of the other attached rooms were full of stored goods and little else.
At the end of the hallway was a ladder leading into the storm drain. That or somewhere else entirely. Perhaps a tunnel to the warehouse.
He tried to extend his senses down the ladder, but didn’t get a proper response. For whatever reason, it didn’t work.
Moving carefully, Rene made his way down the ladder without a sound.
As he went down, his Sneaking skill increased all the way up to nineteen. It was a serious up-tick from a paltry eleven.
All around him were low wooden walls, and there were men and women in those small cubicles. They were asleep, one and all.
No wonder he’d suddenly had a massive increase in Sneaking. It probably took into account how many people it was affecting and whether it was a success.
Taking a quick count from what he could actually see, Rene felt like there were maybe thirty people in here. Possibly more, if people were sharing.
Do we dare? Do we test ourselves? I think we should. If they wake up, we kill them.
Pressing his lips together, Rene thought it out. The Monster wasn’t wrong.
Their individual skill levels were probably much less than his own. Trying to fight one person dressed in bed-clothes, in the dark, after waking from sleep?
They’d be meat within minutes.
Stepping forward silently, Rene made his way to a wall and then proceeded to the corner.
One at a time was the plan. Left to right, top to bottom.
Like bubble wrap.
Pop, po
p, splat, slop.
The Monster giggled.
With his left hand, Rene slit his knife along the exposed cheek of the sleeping man below him as his right hand pressed over the man’s mouth.
A second later and the startled man was sleeping again. Moving to the next sleeper, he found a young woman.
He repeated the process and found it as simple as the first time.
Working methodically, Rene cleared the entire sleeping room in less than five minutes. There wasn’t a single noise other than the occasional scrape of his dagger gliding over a bone.
Paul hadn’t been among the collected.
Done with the chore, and having simultaneously robbed them blind of anything of value on their persons, Rene left the sleeping room.
When he moved into the next hall, he found the rooms that led off from it were filled with equipment in various states of repair. Some whole, some shattered.
Flipping through some of it, he pilfered what looked serviceable or like something Bill could sell in his shop.
At the end of the hall was a door to another room and a ladder going upwards.
Moving to the door, Rene pushed his senses inwards and felt two individuals.
Unsure of the layout, he took up his crossbow in his right hand. In his left, he flipped one of his daggers into an underhanded throwing position.
He managed to wrangle the door open without dropping either weapon and followed the wood as it turned inwards.
Sitting at a table were two men. One had the name “Paul Vick” floating over his head and the other Rene didn’t remember after reading it.
He raised the crossbow to put Paul in the sight before pulling the trigger, then turned slightly and threw the dagger at the second man.
Both bolt and blade flew true and buried themselves in their respective targets.
Paul slumped forward, his head cracking against the table. The other man did the same, his forehead bouncing off the back of Paul’s head.
Slinking over, Rene gave each a quick glance and emptied their pockets. After extricating the blade from the second man, he checked his chest for a tattoo.
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