Ril turned down the street in the inner city and kept walking. Around the bend, he surreptitiously looked around and ducked into an alleyway. The alley was wide and would have been brightly lit during the day. However it wasn’t daytime. The shadows of dusk coalesced around Ril’s form as he Vanished. His already dim form completely disappearing from sight as his ability took over.

He immediately turned back to the Glotsk estate, and easily scaled the ornamental wall that surrounded the grounds. Like Eren’s family home, the Glotsk estate had large, well cared for gardens around the house. Unlike Eren’s home however the house was more traditional. Made of wood beams, and stucco. The multi-storied house was protected from the rain with ceramic tiles. An unfortunate fact for Ril, as it would make navigating the roof problematic should the situation arise.

Ril snuck through the grounds. Instinct and long habit made him crouch low to the ground, even though it was not necessary due to his ability.

Or perhaps not. Eren did say that there are abilities that allow detection of invisible enemies.

A bored looking guard manned the front gate. He sat forlornly in a tiny wooden gate house. His eyes focused on the street instead of scanning the grounds. Ril stalked carefully towards the house. Periodically looking back to make sure that the guard did not notice him. He did not.

Right before he arrived at the mansion, a pair of guards ambled around the corner. Ril froze, trusting in Vanish to conceal him from these errant guards. Luckily, the guards did not have an ability that could spot him, and continued slowly around the house. When they were out of sight, Ril let out the breath that he had been holding. Sound was still something that he had to be careful of, since Vanish only made him invisible, not unnoticeable.

Continuing on, Ril put his hand on a large supporting beam at the corner of the mansion. Strong, smooth wood. That would be a problem. Climbing something like that is impossible without damaging the surface. At least for Ril.

He continued around the house, passing several glass windows. After cursory examination of the internals, Ril moved on. Each window looked into a large room that seemed to take up the entire side of the house. Inside a group of richly dressed young men were dining around an absolutely massive table. The people would make entry complicated. Besides the latches on the windows were clearly locked.

He continued, until he came upon a window whose shutters were closed. A faint smell of cleaning supplies wafted from the partially opened window. He snuck up to it, and carefully peaked over the windowsill and through the slats. The gap between the slats revealed a small room. Various cleaning supplies, buckets, mops, and brooms were stacked around the edges of the room.

Perfect.

Ril looked around. No guards. Then he looked up. No heads peeking out of windows.

Wonderful. Let’s go in.

He placed his hand carefully onto the shutter, and carefully pulled it open. When he could access the window, he carefully opened the window. It slid soundlessly open.

Grinning, Ril slid the window all the way open, and with a little hop, vaulted all the way through the opening. Fast as thought, he returned the shutter and the window to the positions that they had prior to his entrance.

He shuffled to the corner of the room, and paused. Waiting patiently to hear signs of alarm. A minute passed, then two. Still no shouts or the sounds of guards running. Ril nodded to himself, and moved over to the door. Standing slightly off to the side to prevent an unfortunate event should someone decide to open the door right as he was listening at it.

Only the distant sound of merriment could be heard. Peaking through the tiny gap between the door and the wall Ril only saw what looked like the edge of a painting, and a wall painted a pale beige color. No movement.

Here goes nothing. Ril thought. This was one of the more dangerous parts of the operation.

He turned the knob and carefully opened the door. Trying to make it look like the latch failed and the door swung open on its own. It turned out not to be necessary as the hallway was deserted. Ril stepped out of the storage room and closed the door behind himself, with a soft click.

Good thing they oil all the hinges here. Ril thought with a grin.

Ril walked deeper into the house, away from the sounds of merriment. He walked by various doors. All closed. Eventually he arrived at what looked like the foyar to the house. A large double door flanked on either side by frosted glass. In front of the entranceway, two large spiral staircases led up to the second floor.

An office should be on the second floor, Nodding to himself, Ril carefully approached the stairs. He hugged the banister, making sure to place his feet carefully, to prevent any unwanted creaks.

A butler walked down the hallway. He was carrying a silver tray with various pastries, some nibbled on. Ril froze, holding his breath as the butler descended to the first floor, oblivious to Ril’s presence.

When the butler disappeared, Ril unfroze. He walked to the first door and carefully pulled it open. Inside was a bedroom. No desk or anything of the sort. Ril closed the door and moved down the hall, systematically checking each room.

Finally, he found a locked door. Peaking through the lock, Ril saw what looked like an office.

Jackpot!

Ril summoned his clone into the room. The clone ducked down, peering around. The room was empty and dark. Ril tried casting Vanish on the clone, and surprisingly it worked. The clone disappeared from sight.

The clone stood up, and walked towards the desk. Unable to touch anything, the clone only was able to read what was written on papers that were visible. Nothing interesting. Apparently the house was in a problematic financial situation, accepting loans from other noble houses in order to stay afloat. Ril noticed that some of those loans needed to be paid in full in the very near future.

Moving on, Ril’s clone stuck it’s incorporeal head through the keyhole of the first drawer. It was dark inside the drawer. Very carefully, Ril cast a tiny Flame inside the drawer. Illuminating the top page. It was a manilla folder.

Useless. I need to get in there. Too bad I never learned how to pick locks.

Ril retracted his clone's head from the drawer, and extinguished the Flame. Moving on to the next drawer, and the next, Ril didn’t find anything utterly incriminating. All in all, what he found only further confirmed the house’s economic plight. Interesting, but not exactly what he was looking for.

Ril sighed, dismissing his clone as he leaned up against the wall on the outside of the office. He hadn’t found anything so far. The family was drowning, that was clear. But it was unlikely that they hired the assassins. Simply because they couldn’t afford it.

Haven’t been discovered yet. Maybe I should leave, try to find the Peregrine estate instead. See if they had anything to do with the assassins. Shaking his head, Ril retreated back the way he had come.

Ril descended the staircase. Freezing at the last step when the butler reappeared. This time the butler was not alone, leading a young noble. Presumably from the party in the other room. They walked in silence, and passed barely a meter in front of Ril. Ril was about to ignore them and return to the storage room he had used to enter, when the young noble surreptitiously looked behind him as if he was worried that one of the other young nobles were following him.

What the? Ril thought to himself. What is he hiding?

Curiosity peaked, Ril snuck after them. The butler paused in front of an unassuming white door. He brought out an old looking key, and unlocked it. The butler opened the door to reveal a set of stairs descending down. A basement of some sort. He beckoned towards the young noble and disappeared down the stairs. The young noble followed him, letting the door slowly close behind him.

Before the door could click shut, Ril raced forward and poked his boot into the gap between the door and the wall. His foot acted as a doorstop and prevented the door from closing. Ril winced as the heavy door squished his toes. Quickly, he nudged the door open, and snuck into the stairway. Once inside, he nudged a piece of the carpet up to prevent the door from closing all the way, and rested the door against it.

His escape route secured, Ril descended. The air grew cool enough to match the stones that the basement was constructed out of. He emerged stealthily into a large open room. Red velvet couches were scattered around the room, with carpets spread liberally over the stone floor to prevent a chill. The walls were likewise adorned with canvas and other ornaments. Other than a pair of wide narrow windows at ground level that allowed a small amount of light from the moon to trickle in, the place did not look like it was several meters underground.

“--to speak to me about?” said the butler, Ril catching the last bit as he entered the room in earnest.

“There was a problem with the initial location. Extra guards were stationed there. It would be a hassle to smuggle them in. The princess is wiley.” Replied the young noble.

“What do you propose?” asked the butler. He was standing calmly with both hands clasped behind his back.

“We smuggle them into the Academy tunnel. They may be discovered sooner, but it should still be effective.” replied the noble.

“Very well. I will pass the message on to the master. Will there be any other problems that I should inform the master about?”

“No, we should still be able to make it happen tomorrow night. Please tell the lord that it was a pleasure to do business with him.” the noble said.

The butler nodded, “Will that be all?”

The noble shook his head and spun around rushing for the stairs as if he wished to return as fast as possible. The butler followed close behind.

Ril blinked trying to parse what he had just heard, before putting it to the side for now, as he dodged the near sprinting noble.

Damn, hopefully I can still get out after them. He thought as he followed the two up the stairs.

The noble left, not waiting for the butler, as he returned to the party that had become more boisterous by this point. Unfortunately, the butler did not leave the door to close on its own as he left. Instead he turned and closed the door himself, not allowing Ril time to sneak past. A distinct sound of a key turning a lock could be heard a moment later.

Uh oh, Ril thought. This may be bad.

Ril put his ear to the door and waited in the darkness. After several minutes of silence, he took a deep breath. Then ever so carefully he tried the knob. Locked. Obviously.

This is really bad...

Summoning a small Flame, Ril peered into the lock. It was complex and not the kind of lock that you can look through and see the other side. Clearly the Glotsk family did not want people to be able to enter their basement without the key. Ril searched his pockets, looking for a wire, or something to try and jiggle the lock open.

He found nothing. He thought desperately for a solution.

Note to self: bring lock picks and learn how to pick locks next time.

He looked once again into the lock, and cast Telekinesis. The feeling of having another invisible hand manifested itself. Ril guided the feeling towards the lock and pushed it deep within the mechanism. The lock twisted a fraction of a degree, before getting stuck once more. Telekinesis did not allow him to feel anything which made it difficult.

Ril summoned his clone, and pushed its eye into the lock, then with Telekinesis he started jiggling around.

Ril hunched over the door for over an hour. An invisible hand twisting and turning while his clone peered into the lock and a tiny flame provided light. Even after all that, the lock stubbornly refused to open.

This is really, really bad... Ril thought to himself. His back popped as he stretched from the hunched pose he had held for the last hour. Maybe I can exit through those windows in the basement.

Ril descended back down the stairs, His tiny flame illuminating the room. Ril walked over to the windows and inspected them. A single piece of glass greeted him, with no hinge that would allow the glass to open.

What type of idiot builds a basement without windows that can open? Doesn’t it get moldy in here if there is no ventilation? Ril thought to himself, starting to panic.

Ril stopped, closed his eyes and clasped his hands together. Deep breaths. Not the time to panic. You can get out of this. A couple of breaths later, Ril calmed down, and rationally looked at the problem.

I can’t get out through the basement door, and these windows don’t allow egress either. There doesn’t appear to be any other methods I can use to get out. Looking around Ril spotted a ventilation hole that was about as big as his open palm. The ventilation tunnels are much too small for anything but a mouse to crawl through which leaves me only a few options.

Either I send my clone out and try to get some help somehow, or... I smash the window and run for it.

Ril looked distrustfully at the thick glass, then sighed. He summoned his clone through the window and made it Vanish. Then he walked it out over the grounds. Before he could get to the wall, the clone started to fuzz due to the distance.

The range has definitely increased since last time I’ve tested it.

Looking around, the grounds were deserted. Only the occasional guard walked by, looking bored out of their minds.

That’s probably not an option, Ril thought, considering the option of alerting the guards with his clone as a method to escape. Instead he sighed. Why can’t I switch places with the clone, I can already see, feel, and hear with it. Being able to swap places would be so convenient.

A strange feeling overcame Ril. His clone which had started to fuzz due to the distance, twisted on itself, and was torn apart as if a blade had cut into it. Black windows with silver text appeared in his vision as he stepped hastily away from the window.

Triggered Mirror Form’s Awakening.

Greater than fifty percent of requirements passed.

Awakening Mirror Form...

Warp increased: 5%

Congratulations! You have Awakened Mirror Form.

Summon an illusory clone of yourself that you can control.

Your mirrored form is you.

Mana cost is mirrored.

Congratulations! You have unlocked Darkvision.

You can see better in the dark.

Nausea coursed through Ril. He barely registered the words before he bent over and dry heaved. Clenching his jaw tight, he tried mightily to prevent any ‘evidence’ from appearing on the rich carpets. Twisting, Ril curled up on the floor, holding his head tight between his legs to try and mitigate the nausea.

Several minutes passed and the nausea faded. Ril glanced up, he felt good. Healthier. His body felt a little more nimble, and his mind just a little more keen. He focused on the notifications that were still hovering politely in his field of view. A growing look of horror appeared on his face.

No, no, no, no... Ril muttered, almost like a mantra. He swiped at the windows, trying to revert the change. The windows faded away, uncaring, leaving him with the awakened ability.

And the massive increase in warp.

Ril summoned his character sheet and stared, dejected, at the numbers.

Character name:

Ril Renar

Statistics:

Strength

8

Intelligence

17

Constitution

10

Wisdom

11

Dexterity

13

Charisma

10

Warp

11.88%

Abilities:

Blood of the Chromagnum

Awakened Mirror Form

Mana Manipulation (Basic) (Diffuse)

Remote Casting

Telekinesis

Flame

Vanish

Create Snowball

Backstab (Passive)

Darkvision

In the pitch darkness of the basement, the tiny Flame long since extinguished, two small sources of pale orange light could be seen, emanating softly from Ril’s now glowing eyes. He stood, his hands held in front of him, catching the two small beams of light before he looked back out the window. Then with a shake, and a sigh, Ril Vanished, and dismissed the clone, feeling the pull of his mana beginning to drain. Then he walked over the manicured lawn and carefully climbed over the wall.

Let’s go tell Evelyn about what these nobles are planning. I’m sure that she will be able to do something with this... I upgraded an ability. That’s a good thing. The warp increase doesn’t matter.

Ril walked through the streets of the inner city, still invisible. His eyes shining like spotlights in the gloom.

It doesn’t matter.