Fantasy Danger and deceit (Completed)

[Cartoonicat]

As Louisa passed her payment to Seoc, leaving her coin pouches uncomfortably light, she couldn't help but apologize. "Seoc," she said, "I want you to know that I am very ashamed of what I did. Not because I got caught, but because I was wrong." Taking a quick breath, Louisa added before he could respond: "I am not telling you this because I want you to continue helping me after tonight - I don't expect such a thing - but I do want you to know I've learned my lesson. I am... sorry, Seoc."

 

[ArcticFox]

Seoc pocketed the money and then closed the doors of his home. He did not lock it. The lock must have been busted still. "It doesn't matter now." He said, though his tone was not as cold as one might have expected. He changed the subject immediately though. "We are going up tonight." He gestured at the rooftops. And they were off.

They did not have any trouble climbing up and were very careful on the shingles of the roof. Seoc led her to the south and west, to the residential district closer to the docks. He stopped suddenly, hiding behind a chimney and raising his hand to stop Louisa. "Look there." He gestured to the house on the corner right opposite of them. "That's where you want to go. The merchant should not be in there, but in case he is, he is really just a blob of fat. You should be competent enough to handle him." He gave her a sideways glance. "Even better, use your charm, push him to sing you a song." Then he turned around and leaned on the chimney. "You know the drill. I'm waiting here, you go alone."

Before she could go however, the doors of the merchant's house slammed open and out walked a dark haired man with a cape. It was obvious by the fierceness of his strides that he was angry. He seemed to be grumbling something for himself as he turned a corner to a street that led toward the docks. There was no mistaking the young mage.

Well, it looked like she was about to break into the house of that particular spice merchant. If both ends of her lead had led her to him, it could not have been a coincidence.

- Break into merchant's house through main doors.
- Break into through a window on the upper floor.
- Ask more about the merchant.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"Right," Louisa drawled. As charming - rather, sultry - as she used to be, Louisa wasn't sure she could employ those tactics after three years of staleness. She didn't want to have to try, either. Hopefully things would go her way tonight, easy and quick.

When she spotted Logan storm out of the building she nearly choked on her own spit. Clearing her throat and her composure, Louisa watched him disappear into the night. He'd looked mad, as usual, which probably meant his attempt at extorting information was unsuccessful. Hopefully he hadn't botched her chances by turning the merchant into some sort of animal. She'd strangle him otherwise.

Then she grinned. What began as investigating a lead had turned into a sort of competition. What would Logan do, she wondered, if she showed up at the warehouse with a way into Upper Myrr and from the same lead he'd refused to let her in on? She was a little excited to begin, now.

"Understood," Louisa said. Carefully, quietly, Louisa made her way towards one of the upper floor windows.

 

[ArcticFox]

There was no one in sight except Seoc when Louisa approached the target house from the above and decided to go inside through a window. There was one in the attic, just on the roof that seemed a perfect spot for that. She picked at the frame with her knife, easily dislocating it and removing it aside, without making any noise. She slipped into the darkness below.

She was in a small room that was lit from below. No one occupied the attic as it was primarily used for storage, judging by the crates and baskets that laid around. There was a trapdoor on the floor which she could use to get down. The floor underneath though was lit with candlelight which meant that someone was there, a servant or the target. There was no sound coming from directly below though.

- Use the doors.
- Go back and try the main doors.

 

[Cartoonicat]

With Logan having recently stormed out, she wondered if taking the main doors would have been a better idea instead; if anyone were to hear them open and close, perhaps they'd assume he'd return. That and entering from the front was a less hostile approach if she were to get caught. She chewed her lip. No, no. There were likely more servants on the bottom floor. Always were, weren't there, in big houses like this? At least, that's how it'd been when she was a child.

Louisa crouched and pressed an ear to the frame of the trapdoor. She listened for five seconds. Hearing nothing directly below her, she went ahead and opened the trap door to drop down from the attic.

 

[ArcticFox]

It turned out that she picked the shortest path to the merchant's bedroom. There were double doors just opposite from the place she dropped that must have led to the master bedroom. No servants or guards noticed her and no one came to stop her. Peaking through the slightly creased doors she saw a king size bed and on it a fat whale of a man, reading a book.

Louisa needed to decide - what to do now? Should she go right inside the bedroom? Or should she snoop around first? From the hallway she landed at, she could go left and right. The right way led downstairs into the living room, kitchen and possibly the servant quarters. To the left she saw that the hallway turned a corner and from where she was standing she could see another regular doors there. Perhaps more bedrooms.

If she went directly at the merchant, she would need to think of a plausible reason for being there. This would give her a chance to knock him out or restrain him if he believed in her story. If he saw through her, though, she would raise alarm bells. There was a small possibility of the merchant actually remembering her from the first day in the docks.

- Go inside and directly attack him.
- Go inside and improvise.
- Explore left.
- Go downstairs.

 

[Cartoonicat]

She had only a few moments to decide, for Louisa did not want to get caught loitering outside the merchant's bedroom by a guard. If she went left and explored, there was a chance she'd run into a servant or, worse, a guard. She doubted they'd take kindly to her snooping, but she wanted to find out as much as she could about the target. Had she not been so excited to get started she may have thought to ask Seoc for some insight before heading in. Typically, she would have, but she'd been distracted.

Going downstairs might bring her to where Logan had met with the merchant - if they'd met at all. She could try and succeed where he had failed. Maybe there was something of interest downstairs he hadn't noticed.

Talking with the merchant was her strong suit, though Louisa could only think of one thing that might distract him well enough to slip her some information and that was a tactic she was rusty in. Nor willing to do, given who he was. Plus, there was a chance he'd recognize her. Would he remember she'd inquired about the snake and who'd killed it? That might out her as being connected to Logan.

She wanted the information and she wanted it badly, but she'd rather exhaust her options before relying on her charm. Louisa was a stealthy girl. She just had to pretend she was in the forest and imagine that each guard, servant, or resident was a wild animal she had to evade. Stepping into that mindset, Louisa turned left and went to explore.

 

[ArcticFox]

To the left the hallway led up to three sets of doors, each looking the same. Since this was the upper floor, and the way the houses seemed to have been built here, these must have been either bedrooms or storage rooms. There were no guards nor servants in sight. It was pretty late in the night, so it was quite possible that the guards where in the main hall only and that the servants had retired for the night.

The first doors were locked as Louisa discovered. She could try to pick the lock or force it open, or she could check the other doors in the vicinity. If she wanted to she could also go back to the master bedroom or downstairs.

- Go through the first door.
- Check the other two doors.
- Go back.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Interest piqued, Louisa pressed her ear to the bottom of the locked first door. Typically people locked important things away. Holding her breath to intensify the quiet of the hallway, Louisa strained an ear to listen. To pick up on any sound at all. The last thing she wanted to do was break into an occupied room and wake the resident.

If she heard no noise from under the door, Louisa would attempt to pick the lock and enter.

 

[ArcticFox]

Nothing could be heard from inside the first locked doors. Louisa had managed to unlock it with her knife, however the point of the knife had chipped during this process, thus damaging the weapon.

Once inside she saw something that served as a storage room of sorts. There was a wide variety of clothes in here, along with small chests of jewelry and other valuable or not as valuable trinkets. If she wanted to, Louisa could stuff her pockets with the jewelry, though taking too much would lead to impairing her stealth.

- Take some jewellery.
- Take a lot of jewellery.
- Don't take anything.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa frowned at the tip of her knife. Aside from take care of herself, she'd have to take better care of her equipment, too. She looked around the storage room, eyes skimming over the abundance of clothing and the small jewelry chests. She rarely stole - wasn't a fan of it, really - but Louisa was getting dangerously low on coins and held no sympathy for the spice merchant whatsoever. Taking only some of the jewelry, Louisa hoped she'd be able to pawn them off for some decent prices. She tucked the pieces away carefully, quietly, before making to exit the room.

Besides, with as much wealth as he had, it wasn't like he'd miss a necklace or two.

 

[ArcticFox]

Louisa had managed to pocket two silver necklaces and a ring when she heard a sound of footsteps. It seemed like someone was slowly climbing up the stairs.

The best thing for her would be to hide at this point. A guard would probably attack her right away and a servant would give her away. She could stay in the first room or slip into the second one to check it out while the threat passes.

- Stay there.
- Go to the second room.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa paused, hearing footsteps approaching from downstairs. Quietly, she positioned herself in the corner behind the door; if someone were to open it, the door might help some to conceal her. She didn't know what was in the other rooms, so seeking a hiding place there was pretty risky. She steadied her heartbeat best she could as she waited for the footsteps to grow louder and eventually fade away. Hopefully, the threat would pass with her presence unnoticed.

 

[ArcticFox]

No one passed by the room that Louisa was in, but she heard a faint sound of voices coming from the master bedroom. Someone had entered the master bedroom and was talking to the spice merchant.

She was free to go out of the room and explore the other two doors if she wanted to.

- Go to the second doors.
- Wait for a little longer.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Hearing the voices from the master bedroom, Louisa was glad she hadn't rushed to go inside. Quietly, she slipped out of the room and pressed her ear to the second door. Again, if she heard nothing she would attempt to open the door.

 

[ArcticFox]

When she listened in through the second doors she did not hear any sound from the other side. She opened the doors of the room, checking inside. It was dark, but with the help of the light coming from the candles in the hallway she could see a small bed inside the room, along with a chest with a lock at the bottom of the bed.

She could try to pick the lock or force it open. Either options would cause further damage to her knife.


- Pick the lock.
- Break the lock.
- Leave it and go to the third room.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Unless something was particularly eye catching, which the chest in the room was not, Louisa had decided not to risk damaging her weapon further.

Once again, Louisa crept to the third room and pressed her ear to the door. If she heard nothing, she would try to enter.

 

[ArcticFox]

The third doors were also unlocked. She slipped inside easily, but found that the room was completely empty besides a desk under a window that had no drawers.

There was now another sound from the hallway - of someone closing the doors and of footsteps down the stairs. Whoever was in the master bedroom with the merchant, was now gone.

There was nothing of interest for Louisa here. She should either try the downstairs rooms or the master bedroom now.

- Choose.

 

[Cartoonicat]

As Louisa waited for the footsteps to recede to a safer distance, she thought of what she could do next. There was the option of going downstairs but she didn't want to risk running into anyone and getting caught. In contrast, she could go straight to the merchant, but under what pretenses? ("Hello, good sir. I don't suppose you happen to have my Order's Holy Book or know where it is?")

No, she couldn't do that. At least, not unless he was subdued and the threat of him calling for guards was gone.

She could work some charm, too, but the idea made her stomach churn. Nevermind the fact that she'd done so with much worse men and women, she didn't really want to now. Plus, the lady at the docks had called him paranoid.

But she didn't wish to resort to violence right off the bat, either. She was never much good at playing the "bad guard."

Eventually Louisa decided on charm, or at least some semblance of it. Trickery, rather. She took the ritual dagger and wrapped it in the torn cloak, leaving the book exposed. Then she proceeded towards the master bedroom, head held high as though she was supposed to be there.

Knock, knock, knock.

 

[ArcticFox]

"You are too late, Agent." A voice sounded out of the shadows as soon she found herself in front of the bedroom doors, startling her. It looked like its source might be hiding on the lowers floors, which were now completely dark. She looked around trying to locate the source of the voice, but no one was there in plain sight. It could not have belonged to a servant or a guard, neither of them would call out in this manner.

The doors to the master bedroom were half opened and there was no light inside the room.

- Go inside.
- Follow the voice.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa froze. She'd been spotted- no, whoever had called out to her had addressed her as Agent. She narrowed her eyebrows. "Who are you?" she whispered, hopefully loud enough for them to hear. Acknowledging the door and what was most likely a corpse inside, she scowled. "What do you want?" What a waste of Seoc's final lead; had she not been so cautious, she might have gotten a chance to speak with the spice merchant. Slow and steady didn't always win the race, it seemed.

Instead of go inside the master bedroom, Louisa decided to follow the voice. She wanted to know who had botched her night and why.

 

[ArcticFox]

"You shouldn't be here, Agent." The voice said once she descended the steps. He provided no answers to her questions.

The room she walked into was large and could have been a grand hall at one point or a salon, used to accommodate guests. There were two doors on each side of the room, presumably leading into a kitchen and separate living room. The doors on the far north led outside, it was obvious by their grand design. The room was lit only by the faint moonlight coming in from the windows.

There were no visible hiding placed in the room, the furniture was big, but created no cover that Louisa would not be able to see from the stairs.There was a cupboard on one wall, but it was too small for anyone to fit in. The source of the voice must have hid in the kitchen or the living room.

- Investigate the kitchen.
- Investigate the living room.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"Neither should you," she murmured, though it came out more of a hiss. Louisa looked at each door as she stepped down the stairs. Where would she hide, if she were in their shoes? The kitchen, probably; there were bounds to be an assortment of knives to use as a weapon in case of being discovered. The living room, though, might offer more places of concealment. If the voice had really killed her target, she doubted they were worried about kitchen knives. Stealth was most likely their priority, now.

With that thought, Louisa went towards the living room. It was hard to see in the dark, so instead of reach for her bow she replaced the ritual knife with her chipped dagger.

 

[ArcticFox]

There was no one in the living room. Louisa was sure to check every nook and cranny and she was not able to find any servant, child or prankster that could have been trying to follow her. The furniture was not moved and there were no traces of footsteps on the floorboards. Subsequently, there was nothing of value to be found in the living room except a fairly lavish sofa and a huge bookcase filled with leather bound books that no one had opened in centuries.

Just then the footsteps that seemed to be pronounced on purpose climbed up to the second floor. "Go away, Agent." The voice echoed again from the great hall, taunting her.

- Follow the footsteps.
- Leave the house.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Growing increasingly irritated, Louisa forced herself to take a breath. She needed to calm down, lest she do something stupid in her anger. Whoever had attacked the merchant had yet to do so with Louisa, but that did not mean they weren't dangerous or lacked the intent. Still, it seemed like the voice was toying with her. "Is this a game to you?" She followed the footsteps quickly but carefully, "Interfering with my mission? Who are you?"

Regardless of whether or not her questions were answered, Louisa wanted to keep them talking.