Early morning in Stonefalls that same day, two dwarves woke up and had a late breakfast while Bones was making final touches polishing the engravings done on his other arm. There was a knock on the door and without waiting for a reply, five dwarves entered the smithy and joined them in the kitchen, grabbing whatever food and ale they could get their hands on.

Around noon, every dwarf was accounted for and ready to travel to the capital by carriage. The dwarf Thaddeus was used to going in and from the capital so he already knew the guards at the gates but more importantly, they knew him! Once they got there, Thaddeus worked his silver tongue and had the carriage easily pass through the inspection and headed toward the eastern part of the city.

There was a nice looking tavern situated at the edge of the central area where Thaddeus the coachman pulled over and opened the door. Six dwarves and Bones exited the vehicle and stretched before heading toward the entrance to the tavern.

Bones followed the rowdy group from behind and looked up, reading the sign "Uppity Gent" atop the entrance to the tavern before going inside. Thaddeus led the group on a tour of the tavern and into the private and spacious hall used for events in the back. A stout and short woman followed and entered behind them. The unfamiliar face was Thaddeus's wife and she was the owner of this fine establishment. She assured everyone that they would have their privacy in the hall and so the tavern became their base of operation while they prepared for an upcoming heist.

After exchanging greetings, Bones watched every dwarf pick a spot in the hall and put down their backpacks. Bones didn't have any baggage with him. His only purpose seemed to be to tag along and use the Skeleton Key to open a vault or any doors that needed unlocking.

The dwarves easily made themselves comfortable and made necessary adjustments. All the tables in the hall were put together in one giant table with eight chairs around it. Seven chairs for dwarves and one for Bones. A large map of the city was laid down on the surface of the giant table and the dwarves slowly started taking place at the table. Once everyone was seated, Bones looked around.

Mirami is their master burglar and dealt with all the details of their operation. Darsumi was the highest level among everyone and will deal with any problems that might arise. Thaddeus and the other three dwarves were infiltration specialists, sort of, and Hemdus had even less expertise in heists than Bones and just wanted to tag along.

The heist wouldn't be their first one. They already did one a few years back but not at this scale. First three houses should be easy to break into as their security detail entailed a few bronze rank guards and a single silver ranker as head of security. The last two houses presented a problem.

The House of Hartmore and Covingster are of higher standing than previous houses and have higher security. Hartmore employed the services of silver ranker adventurers and the new info received, suggested that the House of Covingster had upgraded their security in the last two months and a new head of security was a gold ranker from one of the major guilds, Forsaken Garde.

It wasn't often gold rank adventurers took on a security job in the city. The most common occurrence of it happening is an injury between dungeon runs and during special events. Just being a gold rank was enough of a deterrent to keep most away. Dwarves weren't like most. They liked the challenge!

They waited for the opening ceremony to start and when they heard the ceremony was delayed, they packed what they needed and headed out. Time was of the essence and delaying the ceremony did get to everyone's nerves. In order to not draw any attention, Mirami split the group into pairs. Each pair was assigned a house to rob and they agreed to meet in front of the Hartmore Estate after they finished with their designated houses.

The streets were crowded and filled with food and drink stalls even outside the central area. The festival was an event no merchant would miss an opportunity to profit from.

"Do we really need a disguise?" Bones asked.

"Perhaps not. The disguise is optional but it's easier to move around the others and pass unnoticed. The ceremony is, afterall, a costumed event - why are you looking at me like that? What? What?" Darsumi questioned, seeing Bones looking at him strangely.

"I understand. I really do! But why are we dressed like clowns?"

Baggy clothes in miss-matching colors, mask with a painted face and dark circles around the eyes, big red nose and red lips with lines of red continuing into a grotesque smile. What's not to like?

"C'mon Bones. Don't be like that! It looks…*snorts* good on you! At least you have a mask and no make up!" Darsumi reasoned, smiling ear to ear.

"You don't sound very convincing. Whatever, let's go." Bones commented and ended up dropping the topic.

Bones and Darsumi were one of the pairs and headed toward the third house on the list. The house wasn't far but the crowd made it difficult to pass through and reach their location. Luckily, the eastern district was enclosed from the other districts and had soldiers standing guard at each entrance.

The guards didn't stop people from entering but they did manage crowd control. Once the duo entered the district, Darsumi breathed an air of relief.

"Finally!! If I'd known there was going to be this much of a crowd, I'd suggest we go in the morning and just wait hidden in the bushes somewhere till evening." Darsumi grumbled, huffin and puffin.

"Didn't expect a crowd? Isn't there a festival every year?"

"It is, Bones! And the crowd was expected! Just not in the area we're in! No matter- We got through now! Our destination is two hundred meters ahead and a turn right into a small alley. We should see the house from there! C'mon…" Darsumi said and took out three small balls, joyfully skipped a step and motioned for Bones to follow. Bones could tell Dar was stressed but also enjoying himself. Especially playing the role of a clown. He can actually juggle…

Three minutes later, they turned a corner and saw a narrow alley leading to large iron gates with guards posted in front of it. The guards looked at ease, bored even. The distant sound of trumpets drew their attention and they started chit-chatting, laughing. Most likely reminiscing of a time of previous festivals and the good time they had. The delayed ceremony has started but they won't be having a good time this year.

Darsumi started walking toward them leisurely, then picked up the pace. Before guards noticed and turned their attention to him, he flung the juggling balls at them. Bones noted the power behind the swing and speed at which the balls flew and hit their targets in the head. The balls burst into splinters on impact and the guards went down like ragdolls. "Wooden balls? Are they alive?" Bones asked in surprise.

"Ye, wooden! Thought metal ones would be a bit too much! I uh…I think they're fine!" They both walked over to the lying guards and saw a pool of blood beneath their heads.

"The wooden ones might be overdoing it too." Bones said, turning to Dar. Dar nodded and opened the gates. He grabbed one of the guards by the hands and started dragging him through the gates. "Bones, the other one!"

Bones quickly grabbed the other guard and dragged him inside, following Darsumi. The only reason Dar took the chance to take out the guards at the gates was because they already had the information on the number of guards and their patrolling routes. There wasn't any other way into the estate without jumping the fence wall and Dar decided on a more straight-forward route.

A garden full of colorful flowers welcomed them after the gates and a high hedge going around the estate along the fence wall. The two ditched the unconscious, but still breathing, guards in the flower bushes and sneaked around the mansion. While they were sneaking and keeping low, Bones asked in a hushed voice why they didn't clean the blood at the gates.

Darsumi stopped and turned. "No time and I doubt anyone will visit at this time. Besides…didn't you hear the trumpets?" Bones nodded and Dar continued. "They signaled the start of the opening ceremony. If your friends from the capital really planned an attack, it will be during or after the ceremony. Which means, we have a few hours at best until it happens." Dar finished and turned to continue sneaking but paused and added. "Honestly, I don't know what will happen when the attack starts…"

"Alright, so I guess we won't stick to the original plan and wait until nightfall?" Bones asked and Darsumi confirmed they will slightly alter the plan and rush the easy jobs while they'll see what they're going to do about the Hartmore's and Covingster's.

Bones asked what their approach was then. "Do we kill the guards and enter forcefully or…"

Unless they absolutely had to, Darsumi strongly opposed the killings. He briefly explained that the killings would only complicate things after the heist. "They will come after us, Bones. And whether we kill the guards or just rob the houses makes a difference in how hard they will try and find us!"

Bones nodded in understanding but mulled over his choices. His skills were suited to maim, incapacitate and kill, not render unconscious! Then it hit him! He had a perfect skill at his disposal if all they needed was to incapacitate the guards.

"I think I have just the thing!" Bones said and took the lead. Darsumi wondered what Bones had in mind and silently followed from behind. A guard that was making rounds around the mansion was closing in on their location but wasn't paying attention to the garden the two were hiding in.

Bones focused on the man from a distance and established Soul Link with the target. He made the guard stop as if paralyzed. Darsumi watched from the side and saw a guard quiver, trying to move and say something. Probably shout but no words came out. A few seconds later, the guard fell face first to the ground. Dar turned to Bones who looked at him, smirked and said, "Soul magic!"

Darsumi looked like he wanted to say something - to complain, but just grunted and said to be careful not to kill anyone. There were two more guards stationed at the entrance to the mansion that will be on alert if the now downed guard doesn't show up. Bones said to let him take care of the rest of them and circled back to the entrance.

His Soul Link worked on one target at the time so Bones worked quickly. He focused on the first guard and applied pressure in a quick burst. The man collapsed before he could react to the established link. The other guard reacted and took a step toward the first one but stopped and collapsed a second later as well.

Bones didn't move ahead but stayed low and at a distance from the mansion. He waited until Darsumi caught up to him and asked him what now.

"First, does your skill work on any target?"

"Yes, but it depends on multiple factors how well it is going to work and IF it is going to work at all."

Dar pointed toward the guards and Bones explained it worked well because they were lower level then him. Dar asked him if it could affect a silver ranker and Bones said to a certain extent yes, but second tier no chance. The two went back around the mansion and through the backdoor of the kitchen Dar lockpicked.

Now that they were inside, they needed to act quickly. If a silver rank was alerted, he would stall them so Darsumi took over the lead and swiftly took care of any guard they encountered inside the mansion. Dealing with the guards wasn't without a ruckus and silver ranker senses weren't as dull as not to notice the commotion.

"GUARDS!"

A voice was heard coming from the main hall of the mansion. A man looked around the main hall over the rails of the upper floor and waited. A single guard rushed through the doors on his right.

"Sir? What's wrong?" The guard stopped and asked, seeing the head of security flustered.

"You didn't hear the commotion? Where are the others?"

"No sir, I haven't…" The guard replied and looked around before answering that he would go right away and find the others.

"Go and tell them to assemble here in the main hall!" The silver ranker ordered and the guard turned to leave, but abruptly turned hearing the *clank* sound of weapons clashing. Darsumi rushed the silver ranker from the left side and engaged him in a fight while Bones leisurely walked into the main hall and, before the guard made a step, casted Bone Spikes beneath his feet. The guard cried out in pain and then was promptly knocked unconscious by a sudden pressure applied to his soul. Bones turned and watched the fight between the two silver rankers.