Chapter 12 – The Heist

My Hoodlum takes point as he enters the house. My Cutpurse and I follow suit as we fan out, flanking the Hoodlum who stands prepared for combat. As expected, the house seems to be deserted.

We are currently located in what I assume to be the house’s living room. There are two chairs and a table taking up the prominent position at the center of the room, with a small fireplace placed neatly in a corner. A small staircase leads to the second floor, while a single open door at the back leads into what I can glimpse is a kitchen.

The room is quite dark, but there is enough ambient light coming from gods know where to make us able to not stumble around in complete darkness. You just gotta love game logic.

The house isn’t really that big, but it is bigger than what I can see. Houses like this usually have a larder and a basement, so I assume these must be accessible from the kitchen at the back. Since the Job description mentioned that the riches in this house are mainly Jewelry, then the most likely location for these are in the bedroom upstairs. It would be stupid to only check the bedroom though, so I order my Hoodlum to start checking around for any valuables downstairs, while the Cutpurse and I start clearing out the second floor. The most important part of stealing is to always secure the most valuable possessions first in case something goes wrong and we have to bail.

Making our way up the stairs, my heart skips a beat as the wood creaks with every step. I doubt anyone can hear it, but it could have been catastrophic if the wife was still at home, sleeping upstairs. Perhaps I should invest some skill points into a fleet-footed skill or something, or maybe I just shouldn’t personally participate in heists like this in the future... Ah, who am I kidding? Of course, I will participate. This is exhilarating!

Reaching the top, we find ourselves in a small hallway with three closed doors spaced evenly alongside it. There’s one large double door to the right of the hallway, which is most likely leading to the master bedroom overlooking the main street. To maximize our efficiency, I have my Cutpurse start looting the two rooms on the left side of the hallway while I open the door to the master bedroom and slip in.

My assumptions were correct as I find myself in a lavishly decorated bedroom with a fancy king-sized bed taking up the majority of the room. The sheets seem to be made of silk, which is ridiculously expensive in this time era. I wonder if it’s lootable?

Glancing over the rest of the room, I quickly locate what I’m looking for. There’s a small jewelry box resting on top of one of the nightstands, beckoning at my eyes to take a closer look. It’s a fancy looking box, hand-carved from polished oak, with a colored glass handle and several engraved wooden roses carved into the exterior of the box. Damn, I’m definitely taking the box as well. It must be worth ten gold at the very least. I inspect the box.

[Small Adorned Jewelry Box. Rare. Container. 10 Slots. Permanent Item.*Contraband*]

It’s a permanent item! And a rare one at that. Permanent Items will never disappear from the gameworld even if they are removed from your possession. Most items in the game that have been generated by the system for the players, like loot, will always disappear from the game if it’s left lying around the game world for a few hours. It’s a cleanup feature to remove unwanted items no one bothers to pick up to avoid cluttering areas and suck up an unnecessary amount of the game’s processing power. There are of course exceptions to this, like if you put them up for auction at an auction house, in a bank, or place them in permanent storage containers like this jewelry box.

These items are vital for Villainous players as we are unable to use banks to store our possessions. We need to store our items in a storage container and instead hide them away somewhere. These boxes can be looted by anyone, so it’s important to take precautions and spread your loot around so other players won’t stumble upon it too easily.

But anyway, why am I standing around here thinking about boxes when there are treasures inside? Grinning like a fat kid in a candy store, I open the box, gazing at the treasures inside. I am not disappointed.

[Engraved Silver Ring. Uncommon. +2 Charisma. Requires: Level 3. *Contraband*]

[Amber Necklace. Rare. +4 Charisma. Requires: Level 3. *Contraband*]

[Dealer’s Signet. Rare. +2 Luck, +1 Dexterity. Requires: Level 3. *Contraband*]

My eyes go wide with surprise. These items are all insane! What gives? It’s just from a medium, low ranked job. These rewards are way better than what I got from the Necromancer missions. Is it because the Thief Lord is more reliant on funding?

Perhaps… When I think about it, I may not have gotten too many personal items playing as a Necromancer, but I did get a lot of free weapons and crafting materials for my undead. Those things should actually have been worth a fortune to a normal player too. Is this the difference between a Thief Lord and a Necromancer? It sort of feels like a scam; like this could easily be exploited by someone. Who says someone isn’t already?

Since these jobs are class-specific, I will most likely almost only get items that are useable by my class. There aren’t too many classes out there that are reliant on Charisma and Luck, but there are some. It probably also doesn’t speak well for me that all of these items have been automatically marked as contraband, meaning if any regular player would use it and it was discovered, they would receive a hefty punishment to their Renown, and their items would automatically get dropped at death, regardless if you are a Villain or a regular player. You can’t even sell them or auction them off, as no auctioneer would accept stolen goods. The items are essentially almost worthless unless you actually use them and don’t die. Maybe this is why the items are more powerful than whatever I gained as a Necromancer? It certainly is riskier to operate within the bounds of a city. Could it be that the higher risk gives me better rewards? Hmm. I need to do some research on this.

Assuming my hypothesis is correct, then I guess it’s not really that exploitable after all. I sigh. And here I am, getting riled up over nothing. The items are still good though, and the ring and necklace alone should be enough for me to recruit another underling. I just need to reach level three first. For now, though, let’s see what else I can steal!

Immediately moving over to the bed, I try to see if I can swipe the bedsheets. Placing my hand upon it, I receive a prompt.

[This item cannot be looted.]

Damn…

Shaking my head in disappointment, I start going through their dressers. There are a lot of clothes here, and not all of them are lootable. I come across two different item sets that show great promise.

[Embroidered Formal Dress Set. Uncommon. Per level gain: +2 Charisma. Disguise: Hides class and reduces Infamy Level to 0. Requires: Female NPC. *Contraband*]

[Embroidered Formal Suit Set. Uncommon. Per level gain: +2 Charisma. Disguise: Hides class and reduces Infamy Level to 0. Requires: Male NPC. *Contraband*]

Woah, these are nice. I’ve heard of these types of items, and they are perfect for my underlings. They don’t offer much in a combat scenario, but the disguise function makes them perfect for moving my NPCs around. The disguises are far from foolproof, and they are quite susceptible to Perception checks, but they are making it easier for my underlings to move among other NPCs nonetheless. I still shouldn’t have my underlings follow me while wearing it since that will look ultra-suspicious, but it might make it easier for them to hide around town.

I spend a good ten minutes going over the room, and I find a small pouch of coins tucked away at the back of a sock drawer. Opening the bag, I count one gold coin, six silver, and eight copper. Not a bad haul at all, considering I already stashed the jewelry and the box in my inventory. I don’t think there’s anything left in the room, and I don’t have enough Perception points to look for any hidden compartments. I should probably have my Cutpurse go through the room more thoroughly afterwards.

I am just about to head back into the hallway when I notice something red at the corner of my eye. Turning around quickly, I realise it’s the red outlining of three humanoid shapes approaching the house from the outside. My stomach drops as I hurry over towards the window, glueing my eyes to the translucent glass. My gaze quickly moves over towards the three shapes, and I can just barely make out their features.

A stumbling woman is escorted by two armed and armored men. It looks like she is flat out drunk, and two guardsmen are escorting her home. Shit. Could that be the wife? My stomach twists itself as I hold my breath.

The three shapes are nearing our building. As they get closer, I can catch glimpses of their conversation.

“You just had to get us involved in another social quest, didn’t you Greg?” A man complains. “And it had to be the slowest moving escort quest in the entirety of the noob district. Really…”

The other, shorter man is supporting the unsteady woman. “What can I say, Kevin? I’m a sucker for easy experience. Sue me. It’s not like it’s that far. We probably make more exp in this short amount of time than we would be killing rabbits outside the city gates.”

“Easy experience? That tavern keeper was more stingy on the exp rewards than he was at tapping ale. I’d rather tell that old bastard to shove the quest up his-” Kevin starts before Greg cuts him off.

“Stop trying to piss off all the NPCs, Kevin. One of these days, your Renown points will end up in the negatives if this keeps up.” The shorter man snaps at him. Kevin clicks his tongue but says nothing.

The odd trio walks on in silence for a few more meters until they come to a stop. And, of course, it is right outside this place. “Madam… Mam’? Mrs. Davvins? Is this your home?” Greg asks the shambling NPC woman.

“Huh? Who’s there? Is that you, pumpkin? Are you back? How dare you… It’s not funny…” The woman says incomprehensibly. Losing her footing as she halfway falls over the shorter man.

Kevin snorts. “Of course… This is the house marked on the map. Let’s just ditch her here and go collect our reward already.”

“One second, I’m just gonna make sure she gets in all right.” Greg steps forward and grabs the door. “Oh hey, it’s open! That’s one hell of an easy quest. All right, Mrs. Davvins, are you sure you can get to bed on your own?”

I freeze as I realise what kind of shit I’m in. Those two are players! If they find out I’m in here, then I’m fucked! Ignoring the rest of the conversation, I hurry out into the hallway, quickly making my way downstairs to intercept the woman. By the time I reach the top of the stairs, a female shriek fills the evening air.

“Fuck!” I mutter as I leap halfway down the stairs. What greets me is Mrs. Davvins standing in the door, clutching the door frame as she screams her lungs out. The room has been thoroughly tossed, no doubt by my Hoodlum who just appeared in the kitchen door.

“What’s the matter!?” I hear Greg’s voice shout from the outside, all the while Mrs. Davvins is screaming as if her life depended on it.

“Crap!” I hastily cast ‘Calm’ upon her, just to try and shut her up before she attracts any more players or guards.

“What’s going… Oh shit!” Greg exclaims as a thin gray mist surrounds Mrs. Davvins’ head. “A Mage!” He yells as he grabs Mrs. Davvins, pulling her out the door.

“Fuck!” I hiss as I equip my crossbow and rush down the last steps of the staircase. I can hear my Cutpurse following behind me, and my Hoodlum is already charging headfirst at the door. “Crap, shit, fuck!”

This situation just spectacularly went to shit. The Hoodlum breaks through the door, eliciting yelps of surprise from the two players outside.

“Mobs!” one of them yells before I hear the sound of metal striking metal. “Don’t let them get through the door! Aegis!” He yells, stopping my Hoodlum dead in his tracks.

“Power str- Ouch, fuck! Someone threw a knife at me!” The other voice yells in a panicked voice.

I finally reach the door, clutching the door frame as I look outside. I feel a brush as the Cutpurse pushes past me, joining the fray.

“There’s more of them! We need to find cover!” Greg yells as he blocks an overhand strike from my Hoodlum. “Why the fuck are there so many mobs here in the noob district!?”

“I don’t fucking know! Help me with this bastard!” Kevin shrieks as he struggles to avoid my lunging Cutpurse. “There’s too many of them!”

Greg stands his ground as the Hoodlum tries to find an opening in the dwarven paladin’s guard. “Calm down, Kev! They’re only level two. We can wear them down. Just keep an eye out for the mage!” He shouts as he takes a step back, expertly dodging a flying knife coming from behind.

“Oh fuck!” Kevin yells. His wide eyes locking onto me. “That’s a Thief Lord! Run, fucking run damnit!” The human paladin screams as he turns around and starts bolting down the street.

“What? Where the fuck are you… Come back here!” Greg shouts at Kevin who is already long gone. He blocks another strike from the hoodlum and takes a step back to avoid my Cutpurse from flanking him. “You fucking asshole!” He yells as he too turns around and starts running.

No fucking way you are. I raise my crossbow and take a shot at the departing Dwarf’s back. It’s a clumsy shot, but with the short distance and the wide shoulders of the dwarf, it doesn’t take much for the shot to connect. Greg stumbles forwards, momentarily dazed by the sudden impact from the bolt slamming into his back. Capitalizing on the situation, my Hoodlum tackles the dwarf. The two crash into the ground as my Cutpurse joins the fray. With Greg pinned to the ground, it doesn’t take long until his long string of curses is cut short by the combined efforts of my underlings.

[You have slain Dwarven Paladin - Gregorious Ironguard(3).]

“Crap!” I shout as I look around. Between the scream and the ensuing combat, several of the nearby houses are starting to come to life. I can hear several surprised shouts coming from somewhere down the street, and I can see candlelight appearing in nearby windows.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here!” I shout as I start running back towards the sewers entrance, my underlings following suit. My heart is racing as the surge of adrenaline is moving me forward.

An alarm bell is chiming in the distance as more and more of the residential area is starting to stir. Players should be starting to flock around en masse soon, and I need to reach the sewers before that happens. Luckily, since the noob district is so ridiculously small, we reach the sewers in only a little over a minute. Diving headfirst down the hatch, I soon find myself gasping for air as the remainder of my underlings climb down after me.

“Fuck!” I wheeze as I’m trying to regain my breath. “What the fuck do I do now!?”