Luke patted the hoodie and his sides with the intent of getting the dust off of him, but surprisingly, nothing came of that effort. He guessed this was a benefit of transference but didn’t have the time to dwell on it for long, seeing as he had to make his exit as fast as possible.

Outside of his escape and a little chaos to that end, there was a statement to be made before his departure, and although he knew vendettas could put his plans in jeopardy, which were already precarious as things stood; he couldn’t help the call of vengeance. Were it in response to a slight towards him, he could’ve reasoned his way out of the compulsion, but since he was reacting to someone else’s injustice, he would just have to be quick about it.

As he thought about the best way to make that statement, a figure appeared meters ahead of him. The figure gave him a humanoid feel from the way it stood on two legs, but that was where the normalcy ended. It had 8 arms instead of 2, and the red aura playing around its edges gave it a deathly look and feel that warned Luke away from it. Its aura flared up for a moment and this caused Luke to flinch, but it didn’t seem intent on attacking him, as it was content on standing and pointing. It was pointing at something behind him.

He turned to place his body at a right angle with the figure before looking for whatever it was the figure was pointing at, but as he was doing so, he noticed it winking out. He turned towards its former position in a panic, but he couldn’t spot an assailant in front, so he dropped his center of mass and made a quick, perusing turn before relaxing.

The red figure had actually disappeared, so Luke had less things to worry about. He turned back in the direction the figure had been pointing and spotted a familiar figure in the distance. Wanting a better view, he willed his appraisal on the figure.

Unable to appraise Unknown Mercenary?>. Network Arrows> recognized. Charting path…

Although he didn’t get anything in the way of information on her, the question mark on the mercenary’s placeholder told him she might not be any of the things she was purporting. Not even the mercenary part. Would this apply to her being an ally? Luke questioned, reevaluating his escape options.

The network arrows provided the answer to the dining hall riddle though, since they were on the floor, and the path they charted went west. His appraisal had picked up on the arrow closest to the mercenary’s figure, but that had only been the first. He noticed the rest of the arrows moments later, as well as the fact the path they charted started right below his feet.

He took 3 steps back and this resulted in 2 new arrows popping up from where he’d just been standing, showing the path was linked to him somehow. Since the effects that went into the magical path included tracking, he guessed they would be as informative to the mercenary of his position as they were to him of hers.

Then I can’t just walk away, he realized. Well, at least I won’t have to worry about finding my way back towards the inevitable, he consoled, the thought of being unable to decide his own fate grating on him.

◆◆◆

The run towards the Harrow’s had been frantic and jerky as he’d had to temper his haste with periods of sneaking. He could’ve taken out all the guards he’d encountered, but that would’ve only alerted the rest of his pursuers, giving them a trail of incapacitated bodies to follow to his current location, the Harrow barns. Specifically, barn number 3.

It was almost as ancient as the first and second in the sequence, but too plain and ill-maintained to garner attention from visitors. Luke only had a hunch that this would be the best place to strike, since it was presented in a way to discourage interest.

If you’re going to choose a tree in a forest as your squirrelling spot, then might as well make it the least interesting tree.

This is how Luke hoped the Harrow’s would think, since it would probably work to dissuade most people, and it would save him any extra effort today. What had drawn his attention to the barn was the fact that despite the first and second being quite the attractions as the oldest barns in the town, the third didn’t receive the same attention despite being just as old.

It wasn’t as well maintained as the rest despite the Harrow’s being able to afford the restoration, and they also hadn’t bothered taking it down and building something else in its stead. This meant it did have a value to them, and Luke couldn’t picture someone who’d make a deal with the local devil doing something like this for the sentiment.

He couldn’t know what to expect in there but whatever it was, it would probably be worth his trouble. Someone with dealings with the mayor had to have something like that in their stores, but what it was, he’d have to find out.

The guard presence confirmed his suspicions, since it wouldn’t make sense to have a number of guards around an inactive barn, especially if they outnumbered the ones around the active ones. He’d found four guards on the outside while scoping the area, and an appraisal had managed to reveal a fifth and a sixth inside. He couldn’t just take them out since this might trigger some form of relaying system, so his only option would be to sneak around them until he found whatever it is they were guarding.

The guards lugged around lanterns that could reveal his form at any moment so the tight shadows couldn’t provide much in the way of assistance with his stealth. Worse yet, his own shadow could give him up should he miscalculate the effects of the lighting.

With such strict parameters and a short window for execution, his best strategy would be to accept he couldn’t do it. He would then do his best to avoid being caught for as long as he could so as not to let the fear of being revealed bog his urgency.

He took a few minutes to learn the patrolling rhythm, and in that time, he’d also learnt that the interior guards remained stationary at their positions. This was quite the boon, and he immediately worked their positions into his strategy.

With as much information as he would get, he began his approach, trailing the last guard in the chain around the barn. Things went smoothly overall, but a minute in he’d had a series of scares. These were due to the actions of the guard he was trailing, who kept on stopping and pointing the lantern his way. The first two times were close calls, and Luke had even questioned the man’s instincts, but the third, fourth and fifth had revealed the man as just being jittery and paranoid.

He'd eventually arrived below the spot he wanted to breach, immediately scaling the wall to get to the window overhead. His sickle would’ve made a better tool for scaling the barn wall, but there was no guarantee he’d be able to do that without alerting the guards, so he used Gentle Breeze instead.

Sound Glutton> has been activated. All sound from your sword attacks will be absorbed and added as instances to your inventory. You have discovered the skill Quickdraw>.

+--------------+

|Personal Alert|

+-----------+--+

|“Quickdraw”|

+-----------+-------------+

|Class: Skill Notification|

+-----------+-------------+

|Limitations|

+-----------+---------------------+

|A combination of opposing will, -|

| and force can be used to block -|

|- - - - - - the skill. - - - - - |

+-----------+---------------------+

|Description|

+-----------+---------------------+

|“Utilize your will and inventory |

| - - to mimic a quickdraw.” - - -|

+---------+-----------------------+

|Breakdown|

+---------+-----------------------+

|Retrieve I – Retrieves an object |

|- from your inventory and places |

|- - - - it in your hands. - - - -|

+---------------------------------+

|Retrieve II – Retrieves an object|

|- from an external purchase and -|

|- places it in an inventory slot.|

+---------------------------------+

He’d settled on Gentle Breeze because of Sound Glutton’s ability to silence the attacks his sword made. His plan had initially been to pull the sword out with his right while holding onto a ledge with his left, but the Quickdraw skill had automatically activated then, giving him new ideas.

Retrieve II had allowed him to pull out the sword with minimal effort since the forces holding it in weren’t backed by a sentient will. Retrieve I had immediately followed up the first call, affording him a split second more to act, seeing as he wouldn’t have to mentally prompt the retrieval. He made good use of this time, immediately stabbing into the area above him before pulling himself up and tugging his knees in one motion. He relaxed his body into a swing whose arc extended with each turn, hitting 135° in either direction by the third.

Releasing his grip at top of the third swing resulted in his body being shot up a few meters by the momentum, and just as gravity was about to overcome the momentum, he recalled his blade to aid in making next purchase.

A second swing had him at a level with an open window and he entered through it without much trouble. To get to the ground without alerting anyone else would be a challenge, but luckily, he had the Phase Bomb and Sound Gluttony for that. He could channel the Phase Bomb into his sword instead, then silence the strike on impact, leaving one last concern for consideration.

He’d have to be careful about accidentally blinking through the floor, since he couldn’t be sure he’d be able to get out when he tried. He might phase into a locked storage room, and he couldn’t be sure of the strength of the lock securing it from the outside, and whether he could breach it in time and with little blowback on himself.

In order to ensure he wouldn’t overshoot, he removed the hoodie and lowered it to the level he was aiming for so that it could serve as a guiding post for his materialization. Once it was in place, he Phase-bombed to the area, retrieved his hoodie, and patted it down before wearing it again.

He then shimmied around the dusty timber stacks until he got to a place containing even dustier crates. The crates would’ve only been a little suspicious if it were only the unnatural amount of dust that was disproportionate to the rest of the barn, but the lack of smells in and around the crates made it very suspicious.

The inflammability inscriptions on the crates couldn’t account for the sudden disappearance of any and all smells to the point of the area becoming scentless, so something was definitely afoot. Either the containers contained vaporous poisons, or the smell would reveal something the Harrow’s wanted to keep hidden. Fearing the former, Luke left a small hole on one of the crates before taking a few steps back and triggering his appraisal.

[Advanced Appraisal] has been activated on the target, Analyzing … Hints of charred wood detected.

That eased his worries on the poison part while simultaneously raising his curiosity on the contents of the container. Charcoal wouldn’t warrant such secrecy, and neither would most of its products like stomach medicine and skincare products. The only thing Luke could think of was- He didn’t bother finishing that thought, instead, he pried a crate open and confirmed his suspicions.

detected.

That explained everything. Although its production wasn’t illegal, it came with strict taxes in certain parts of the world, and Bishop’s Court, the principality Ramztonn fell under wasn’t an exception.

This explained why there had to be so much secrecy with the stock held in this barn, and why the mayor had chosen to help Harrow the Heir oust his mother way before her time. They were partners in crime, benefiting from the trade without paying the requisite taxes. Who handled the alchemy side of the production, Luke didn’t know, but he could field a guess on how it was sold and distributed.

The Fyre Nation, and probably some sanctioned bandits.

◆◆◆

Now that he’d solved the riddle he’d come for, it was time for his pound of flesh. He’d set out with the intention of avoiding deaths and antagonizing the mayor and his cahoots as little as possible, and he still intended to honor the former, but the latter he would have to change. He couldn’t make a statement without ruffling feathers, but if he was going to ruffle them anyway, then he might as well make it count.

He worked that intention into his statement, starting with clearing out a quarter of the stores and placing them into his inventory. Next, he went about knocking out the two guards in the barn. Doing so had been easy, but just as he’d predicted, knocking them out had informed the rest of the guards, who’d stormed in expecting a thief. He was a thief, but that wasn’t all he was in this situation.

He’d made his exit via the same window he’d made his entrance, and while the guards busied themselves with checking on the stock and their fellow guards, he was busy putting cursive-word to his statement using a mixture black powder, some filings, and Red Phos-Ff.

He double-crossed the only tee, and red-dotted the eye for dramatic effect before igniting the statement, starting at the first letter. He needed an audience for this, so in order to draw their attention, he simultaneously released substantial instances of Burgeoning Twang, and these melded into an initial boom and prolonged scraping sound that could be heard far and wide.

The flames blazed a path from the first ‘g’ to the last ‘s’, all the while firing some of the filings into the air. These exploded further in the air, resulting in short-lived strokes that mirrored the message on the ground.

‘Gertie’s Regards’