Jace went south and found Wall Street. He also figured out why it was called Wall Street. It actually bordered the city wall itself. He looked up and could make out guards walking and standing on the wall. That complicated things. The last thing he wanted was a guard looking down at the wrong time and seeing him.
He walked by the row of homes until he passed the big green house with yellow trim. With the muted colors of the other houses, it really stood out. Jace continued past the house, turned the corner, and entered the alleyway.
Entering Stealth, Jace crept down the alley to the back of the green house. The alleyway was shielded from the eyes of the guards, but it paid to be cautious. When he reached the house, he stopped and turned to his familiar.
“Keep an eye out,” he told Luna. “Warn me of anyone coming to this door or any guards who turn down this alley.”
Luna looked bored. “Yes.”
“If I do this job,” he told her. “I will get enough money to buy you fish for breakfast.”
“Fish?!” she asked excitedly.
“But if we get caught, no fish,” he told her.
“Yes,” she said with more enthusiasm. Luna was highly food motivated it seemed.
Jace made another check of the alleyway and then bent down and brought out his picks. The lock was no more difficult than the padlock on the grate had been and soon it clicked open. Making a final check of the alley, he slid the door open and slipped inside.
With his Cat-Vision, he could see that he was in some sort of pantry. There were many boxes stacked around the room, some open and some closed but he didn’t have time to rifle through them all. He was on a timetable.
He moved out of the pantry, through a kitchen and into a dining room. Off the dining room was what he guessed passed as a living room or sitting room. From his vantage point, he could see a small alcove. In the alcove was a statue of a beautiful naked woman carved from ivory.
He’d seen statues of Chykela, the goddess of love and beauty, and seen her image in various establishments, so he recognized the statuette instantly. It was what he was here to steal.
Crossing the floor, he stopped in front of it and reached out to take it. As he did, he caught the glimmer of a glowing line which was connected to the back of the statuette.
Your Find Trap skill has increased by 1.
It was a thin wire and if he needed any hint at what it was for, his Find Traps rank up just told him. It was some sort of trap. Jace followed the wire to the wall, then up to the top of the alcove where it ended in a small bell. A simple alarm trap that would ring the bell if anyone moved the statue. He used a dagger to cut the thin wire, allowing him to retrieve the statuette and put it in his inventory.
He had what he had come for, but he wasn’t done. Creeping around the house, Jace found a locked strongbox in a closet on the first floor. Part of him felt guilty for stealing, but as he reminded himself, it’s just a game.
This lock was only slightly more difficult than the door lock and soon he had it opened. Jace double checked the strongbox for any traps and then opened it. Inside, he found a large pouch of coins, several pieces of jewelry and a carved ivory pipe. He took it all and stashed it in his inventory.
Then he closed the lid and relocked the strongbox. The owner would probably check everything when he noticed the statuette missing but there was no reason to be too obvious.
Next, he quietly sneaked up the stairs and checked the three upstairs rooms. One was a study with nothing of value he could readily steal except some expensive looking bottles of alcohol. On a whim, he grabbed them all and tossed them into his inventory.
The next room was a washroom where he liberated an ivory comb. The final room was a bedroom where two humans slept in the bed. As quiet as he could, Jace crept around the room. He’d “tossed” many houses as Mordred and had an idea of where to look. First, he moved to the taller dresser that had a small jewelry box on top.
The jewelry box was unlocked, and he pocketed several expensive looking pieces of jewelry. Next, he checked the other dresser. He found a silver chain and a silver ring inset with an onyx. He took both and then silently checked the closets. Finding nothing else of interest, he moved out of the room.
Jace went back downstairs and stopped at the door. “Any guards?”
“No,” came Luna’s reply and he slipped out of the house. He didn’t bother relocking the door. All of the quiet creeping around had eaten up the better part of an hour and he needed to get to his next job as quickly as possible, but he still needed to play it cool.
He walked as casually as he could, so as not to attract any undue attention from the guards. The West Market was his next destination and Jace already had a rough idea where it was located.
Half an hour later, he arrived at the West Market. It was a large open area that might once have been a park, but which was now filled with stalls, tents and tables. While normally bustling during the day, it was empty at this late hour.
Jace scanned the buildings that enclosed the market and spotted his target. One of the shops had a sign above the window with a raven wearing glasses and reading a book. The sign said Jolly Raven Book Shop.
Slipping into the alley behind the shop, he once again set Luna to guard while he picked the lock to the backdoor and slipped inside. The room he entered was obviously a storage room for the store as it contained crates of books, stacks of books and more books on shelves.
There was a door on the far end of the room which Jace assumed led to the store. On the right wall was a set of stairs that lead up what must be the living quarters over the store. Jace carefully navigated the mess and slowly, stealthily made his way up the steps.
At the top of the steps was a long hallway that ran the length of the hallway. The left side of the hallway had windows that let in the light of the double moons. The right wall held three doorways.
As quiet as a mouse, Jace crept to the first doorway and peered in. It was a bedroom. On a four post bed against the wall was a large, pudgy man. The man was snoring loudly and Jace let him be and moved to the next room.
This room appeared to be another storage room, as it was filled with crates which also contained more books. While knowledge might be power, Jace had no desire to sort through a few hundred books to find the pearls among swine.
Slipping to the next door, Jace found what he was looking for. It was the man’s study. The room had wall to wall bookshelves and a large wooden desk in the middle. The desk had two chairs on the far side of the desk for visitors and one larger, more comfortable leather-bound chair behind the desk.
Quietly making his way into the room, he went to the desk and pulled open the bottom drawer. It contained a stack of papers, a magnifying glass, and a few bottles of ink. He retrieved the vials of Deadnettle and placed them behind the ink bottles and gingerly closed the drawer again. Mission accomplished.
He almost turned to go but he couldn’t resist and riffled through the other drawers. He found a small bag of coins in one of the drawers and a small, locked box in another drawer. The box was wooden, and the top was carved to resemble a Plautia, the goddess of the moons.
Curious, Jace checked the box for traps and, finding none, picked the lock. Inside the box was a large silver moon pendant. He pocketed it and started to close the box but hesitated. He opened the drawer with the vials of Deadnettle, took them out and placed them in the box before relocking it. That seemed like a better hiding place for a guilty person.
He looked at the quest timer still counting down and decided to get back to the guild. He reset everything the way it had been and then, after checking with Luna, left the building and stepped out of the alley as if nothing was wrong. Just a man taking his cat for a walk.
Taking a slightly roundabout way, Jace returned to the Fainting Unicorn to turn in his quests. He’d made over 100 gold just from the two money pouches he’d swiped. Once he sold the jewelry and other items, he hoped he’d break 200. Not bad for a night’s work.
<
br /> Jace reached the Unicorn and ducked in the back door. He found the catch that opened the secret door and went down the steps. He waved to Thom and Gerry and then slipped into the Lucky Coin to find Webley.
Chapter 8
The common room was bustling, and it took him a minute to find the guildmaster. Webley was alone at a table, working on what appeared to be some sort of ledger. He and Luna walked over and waited for the guildmaster to acknowledge him.
“Word on the street is, tomorrow the guards will be summoned to a certain man’s house after someone reported seeing him buy vials of Deadnettle from a merchant ship,” Webley said without looking up. “Will they find incriminating evidence?”
“Yes,” Jace responded. “Even though the man cleverly hid the vials in a locked wooden box in his desk.”
The guildmaster nodded and scribbled something in his ledger. “I’m sure some helpful citizen may mention this to the guard.”
“Rumor also has it that the guards will be called to another man’s house tomorrow after he notices that one of his prized statues is missing,” said Webley. “Have you heard whether or not that rumor is true?”
“I have indeed heard that same rumor,” Jace responded in kind. “And I believe it to be true. Of course, he may be missing a few other things as well.”
The corners of the guildmaster curved upward but continued to write, still not looking up. “By the way, if you have any artistic pieces, like say, statuettes, that are weighing you down. Thom is a very strong half-orc and would be glad to hold it for you - for safe keeping. After that, you should get some rest. Tomorrow night will be here before you know it.”
Smirking at the double talk and charade, Jace walked back outside the Lucky Coin. As much as he didn’t like hardcore roleplaying, he did enjoy it from time to time.
Walking over to the two panda-kin, Jace retrieved the statue from his inventory and handed it to Thom. “The boss told me to give this to you, he said you’d like it.”
Thom grunted what could be some sort of reply and took the statute. He turned around and started fiddling with the locks on the metal door.
Gerry looked over and smiled. “Oh, that’s Thom, a great admirer of art.”
Thom pulled the door open a crack and slipped inside. He reappeared a moment later without the statuette. After shutting and relocked the door, he resumed his stoic posture until he noticed Luna nearby.
Grinning, he stepped forward, bent down and scratched Luna’s chin. “Nice kitty!”
Jace gawked down at the stoic panda-kin and Gerry rolled his eyes at the other panda’s uncharacteristic show of emotion. Luna just soaked up the affection for a few minutes until Thom stood up and resumed his post. Once again, his deadpan expression matched the other panda-kin.
Jace turned to leave and nearly ran into Webley, who had managed to sneak up on him. The guildmaster carried a small sack and handed it to Jace. “Well done tonight. Now, go pawn your items and then come back tomorrow night and we might have some more work for you.”
You have completed the quest, “Love’s Likeness”
You gain 250 experience. Experience to next level 220.
You gain +25 faction with Whitecliff Thieves Guild
You have completed the quest, “Silence the Squeaky Wheel”
You gain 250 experience. Experience to next level 1970.
You gain +25 faction with Whitecliff Thieves Guild
You have gained a level.
You are now level 6 in Rogue.
You gain 8 health.
You gain 4 mana.
You receive Thieves Guild Bracers.
You receive Thieves Guild Boots.
You receive 50 gold.
Jace smiled as he saw his level increase. Early levels were easy, but it still felt good to be increasing. He’d need the skills, health and mana if he wanted to get to the Help Desk. That plus the faction he was earning with the guild.
He thanked the guildmaster and took the bag from him. Jace stashed it in his inventory, nodded to Webley and went to the Black Market. He’d examine the armor later but if it was anything like the jerkin, it would be an improvement over what he currently wore…
In the Black Market, Jace went to the first stall and started bargaining with the man over the price for the items he’d stolen. He was pleasantly surprised to see that he gained the Haggle skill.
You have gained a new skill: Haggle
The Haggle skill was useful for getting the best price from NPCs on goods and other items. The higher your skill, generally the less you paid. He hadn’t had the opportunity to practice in Sinking Springs or Crossroads, but now it looked like he’d be using it often.
After a bit of haggling and several rank ups, he ended up getting another 100 gold for the items. Together with the money he’d got from the quest and the money he’d stolen, that was just over 250 gold in one day. Jace smiled. Who said crime didn’t pay?
“Fish?” Luna said as they were walking back into Lucky Coin.
Jace looked down at her. “You did do a good job tonight.”
“Yes,” she said expectantly.
“And I did promise you some fish,” he said, drawing it out.
“Yes,” Luna said more urgently.
Jace smiled at his little familiar. “Ok, we’ll order fish. But we have to go meet the girls. It’s Sunday, so maybe Charlena will be on shortly.”
With Luna happily trotting after him, Jace left the thieves guild through the Fainting Unicorn. He considered buying some breakfast there at the Unicorn, but dawn was breaking, and he’d promised the girls he’d meet them for breakfast back at the Dwarvish Fork.
The sun was halfway over the eastern horizon by the time Jace reached the inn. Going inside, the inn was just opening for breakfast but Jace saw the two girls already sitting at a table. They both looked a little worse for wear.
Walking up to the table, Jace slid into the chair opposite the girls. “Good morning ladies! How did the…”
Jace trailed off as he saw their expressions and general appearance. They both looked tired and disheveled. “What happened to you two?”
The two girls looked at each other and then back at Jace. Diana spoke up first. “Let me tell you. I tried using my feminine charms on the players here but not even in my wildest novel was I asked to do some of the things I was asked to do! You gamers are animals!”
Jace suppressed a smirk. In a fantasy world full of everything from vampyres to cat-kin, the sexual appetites of players had been, how could he put it, expanded. He wasn’t surprised at what she’d encountered. He did feel bad for the woman. She seemed to have lost much of her bravado and he could only guess what she had gone through.
He looked at Mika. “How about you?”
Mika raised her chin. “I have completed two quests for the priest guild and earned 50 gold.”
“Good job,” he told her and received a smile. He’d also done two quests and received 25 gold each. That must be the standard rate at their level. Luckily, Jace’s profession allowed him to earn a little extra.
Jace looked back at Diana. “Did you make any money?”
For the first time since he’d met her, Diana looked ashamed. “No.”
Jace smiled over at her, remembering inside that youthful, raven-haired body, was the mind of a 90-something-year-old woman. He put a hand over hers and smiled. “It’s okay. I made a little extra.”
Diana gave him a grateful smile. “You really are a dearie.”
“I don’t suppose either of you learned anything about the Noble District or the palace?” he asked them and they both shook their heads.
“I asked around where I could,” Diana offered. “But NPCs don’t seem to be affected by feminine wiles.”
“I was too busy trying to finish the quests,” Mika said, bowed head.
“Me either.” Jace leaned back in his chair. “Though I’m trying to build up my faction with the thieves guild to see if I can get them to help us get it. But I’m wonderi
ng if we’re going about this the wrong way.”
The two women looked over at him. Somehow, maybe because he’d helped them become human, he’d become the defacto leader. He’d been a group leader before, and the role was familiar to him. But now the stakes were higher. Much higher.
“Maybe we should be working together instead of breaking apart to work on our own personal quests,” he told them.
“Hey, you all,” Charlena said cheerfully as she bounded over to their table.
“Glad to see you feeling better.” Jace stood up and kissed her. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mika look away. He remembered what Diana had said about Mika liking him. But he couldn’t deal with that right now.
Charlena blushed. “Sorry about yesterday. I drank way too much Friday night. That’s the last time I’m going to do that though.”
Jace gestured for her to sit down but saw that Luna was in her seat. The cat just looked over to him, then looked back at the table. “Fish.”
Jace laughed and Mika giggled. He looked over to her. “You understood her?”
“Yes,” she tried to stifle a laugh. “Luna would like fish.”
Jace cocked an eyebrow and looked at Diana. “You too?”
“I heard her say fish if that’s what you mean,” she told him.
“Interesting,” he said and picked up Luna. Charlena sat in her chair and then Jace sat back down with Luna on his lap. “It looks like you can understand monsters too.”
“So, it’s just me who can’t understand,” Charlena pouted.
A dwarven barmaid came over and took their breakfast order. Jace ordered his own plus salmon and eggs for Luna.
“We were just discussing working together,” he told Charlena after the barmaid left.
“That sounds good,” Charlena said. “Doing what?”
“Doing some quests,” he told them. “If we join the adventurers guild, we can get some group quests that will give us more experience and more money, plus the chance for some real loot. Let’s face it, the higher level we are when we attempt this, the better. And no matter what way we do it, we’re going to need more money.”
Veil Online - Book 2: An Epic LitRPG Adventure Page 5