113. Nightlife: Tabitha

The next two weeks till the Gala were going to be very busy. Sione is convinced there will be retaliatory action from the Imperials, up to the possibility of assassination. He is calling in all the reinforcements he can. Unfortunately, most will not get here in time.

We divided the loot in the cave. I am having our share moved to the quarry. There was a lot of explosive material in that cave. If they were part of their plans, we would have put another crimp in them. The Canine Queens are all basing themselves at the Quarry to enhance the security there. Eluf looking after the Comedic Rhythm has enabled us to be more flexible with our Security. Ruku, with his healing leg, will be based at the warehouse and is taking over the job of hiring more guards. He is specifically looking for ex-military.

Rotte is keen to use the cave for her operations, but only if the smugglers are dealt with. Wiremu is going back to set some traps as we expect the Swift Wave to at least visit the place. I think the traps from the Spider have inspired him, and he is keen to try some new trap creations.

Gwydr delivered the knives he was contracted for and received payment. He has no interest in becoming a Merchant and leading a local company. He is happy to be blowing glass. Also, all his family are in Kirghiz, so when he completes his time here, he will be heading back.

The last set of public performances for the Comedic Rhythm are coming up, and there is a celebratory party afterwards put on by our new sponsor. Then there are two performances during the Duke's gala, one in the open air for the public and one private for the Duke and honoured guests. The private performance is fine and we will just be using our more risque version of the normal show. The public performance will mean changing various aspects of the show as it is more difficult to control the lighting and other environmental factors in the open air.

Eluf also wants another date. He will organise it this time. I don’t think it is because he didn’t like my date… although, to be fair, one of those is enough. He also invited me to the gala banquet as his date. That is a very public statement. He knows we are leaving, and this relationship has an expiry date. I haven’t told him I, or Wiremu, will be spying on his siblings. If we haven’t resolved this before the gala, I will have the opportunity to interact with his siblings at the banquet. That could be fun.

Eluf also said that the Watch now has a new Watch Captain and is being cleansed. This will mean they are short-staffed but better short-staffed than corrupt.

Everything is happening a once, and I think this is how Wiremu feels when he says he needs to go fishing. Tonight I am going fishing. I am a Shadow Predator, and I am going hunting in my natural environment, the urban landscape. Specifically, I will break into Linne and Rainer's town mansion and poke around. Some light burglary for relaxation. Maybe a bit of pilfering, but maybe not. We will see what Nyx and I find. Two girls and a night out on the town.

Literally, a night on the town as I am currently on a second-story roof looking at our target and getting an idea of guard routes and stations. There is a guard on the roof of their three-story mansion. That is three stories above ground. I don’t know how many are below ground. I have seen the guard to a circuit roughly every hour, looking over the edge for climbers and loiterers. A pair of guards circuit the grounds and streets about every two hours. I have also seen movement inside the mansion, so at least a pair of guards are patrolling inside. From where I am, I can sense the windows are trapped, and I want to check on what type of traps they are, as that could be a link. If this is the house of the Trap Master, which I am assuming is also the Spider, then it will probably be harder than the enchanter's place. If that turns out to be the case, I will back off and check out the other brother.

I am thinking of a roof entry at this point. There is obviously a non-trapped route up there for the guard and an internal ladder or stairwell. I pulled my lightweight climber's rope from my backpack and attached a small grapple hook on one end. Nyx grabbed the hook in her Binding Shadows and flew across to the other roof. She released in on a structural been and triggered the grapple. I pulled the rope tight and secured it to a chimney with an easy-release knot. I tested it with my weight and bounced on it a few times.

I engaged by Shadows Embrace and started making my way along the rope. I was climbing uphill as I was going from my two-story building to the three-story mansion. The sky was overcast and the rope thin, so it was doubtful I would be seen from below. I had timed it so the roof guard and the street patrol would not be there. The internal patrol not looking out a window was a calculated risk. I have never understood that saying. This was a random risk with what I judged to be a small chance of happening. No calculations are involved, and it turns out my judgement is sound.

When I got to the other roof, I disengaged the grapple, Nyx tugged the quick-release knot at the chimney, and I wound the rope in. After checking, the street was clear, of course. My Hearing Aid was starting to level, so I listened for the guard. He normally came from the left, so I headed right, looking for the stairs or hatch. The guard had a hut next to the stairwell, and he was inside having a cuppa. I waited till he started the next circuit and then examined the stairwell for traps. It was just a standard alarm trap, no toxic spider webs. I disarmed it, which was child's play with my Shadow Manipulation, but it would have been very tricky otherwise. I entered the Stairwell, and they almost got me with a tripwire on the top step. Sneaky bastards. Fortunately, my Physical agility let me hop over it when I saw it in my Spatial Awareness, and I did a quick dance down a few stairs before I caught my balance again. If they had a second tripwire two steps down, they would have got me.

The door at the bottom of the stairs had a similar alarm trap, which I disarmed as easily. This time I checked the other side of the door carefully with my Spatial Awareness before opening it. I can learn. The hallway was wide with plush carpet. The carpet would muffle the sound, both mine and the roving patrol. This floor had bedrooms. Large fancy bedrooms, and at the end was the Master bedroom, with Linne and Reiner both asleep. There was a cot in the corner with a toddler asleep in it. The six-year-old had a room next door. There were no offices or hidden spaces that I could sense, although the Master bedroom was so large my Spatial Awareness didn’t cover the whole room.

There were two stairs down, the back one was obviously for servants or other workers, and the main wide one was for important people. I took the wide stairs. This one had some guest bedrooms and family spaces. There were guests in residence, I assume some had come in for the birthday celebrations, and more would be arriving.

The ground floor had reception areas and office spaces; out the back were the kitchens and the outdoor entertainment areas. The offices seemed more for show than for actual work, but I checked them out anyway. It also got me out of the way of the roving patrol. The ground floor was obviously the most vulnerable, so it was where they patrolled the most.

One of the offices had a semi-hidden stairwell, so I took it and found the main working office on the first basement level. The level had other guest bedrooms, probably for those like the Dwarves and Gnomes that preferred to be underground. Below this was mostly storage and service areas. Yes, they had a big safe in a wall. Actually, it was more like a vault made out of Spiritually enhanced metal. Several layers of it. My Spatial Awareness got through all four layers, just. I had about a half-meter area of visibility beyond the walls, and it was an effort to keep it up. It was a very well-built vault, almost Treasury quality. I couldn’t figure out the door lock as a rune keypad and runes operated the lock. I couldn’t sense through all the Spiritual material around the rune lock. It was a denser material than the other material. Why the hell didn’t they have a key? Keys were easy.

I couldn’t get into the vault with my shadows as it was airtight. I gave up on it for now. I would need some different tools. The first office was Reiners, with information on his family estates and business dealings. Nothing exciting. The adjoining office was Linne’s. She had a number of responsibilities for the Duke and governance roles, some of which had been handed to Eluf. Her main business at the moment was organising the Gala. I guess it was her daughter's birthday party. I found a full schedule of events for the two-day gala. Comedic Rhythm’s public performance was on the first evening, and the Performance for the Nobles followed the official banquet. I already knew that. I didn’t know all the other acts and street performers engaged, along with the food and drink. It was a big undertaking. I wonder if it was her idea instead of the Dukes? She could just be attaching the Duke's name to it if he is ill. At the end of the day, that didn’t really matter. What did matter was where the most vulnerable areas were, and I wouldn’t know that until I had some understanding of what the Sider and, or the Imperials were after. If it is revenge from the Imperials, then the Nobles will be the target. The Spider is still unknown, although if Eluf and we have upset their operation, then we were the prime targets. There was nothing in these offices to give any indication.

Time to make an exit. I don’t have anything to show for the night. That vault is bugging me. I will work out a way to beat it. I went out the back door to the outdoor entertainment area and over the wall. I should have just come in that way. Next time.