My preparations were complete. I wore thick wool clothing, heavy leather gloves, knee guards, and boots with a steel plate in each sole. Standing on the north side of the river, staring at the wall in the distance, I tied Cole off to a heavy boulder. His black mane and grey saddle were practically invisible in the dead of night.
Carrying the six iron rings and the weights was difficult, but after nearly an hour of walking, I crossed the distance. Every twenty paces or so, I tossed a ring in the river. My eyes were fixed to the crenelations, paranoid that a random guard would look down and see me. I had a hood and a face covering, both made of the same dark grey cloth as the rest of my clothes.
Fortune seemed to smile upon me as not a single helmeted head peered down from the crenellations at my approach.
I sighed in relief as I tossed the last ring into the river and completed the binding. Maintaining six bindings simultaneously was difficult, but well within my abilities. As I cautiously approached the 150-foot wall, I took a deep breath and prepared myself.
‘First step, get over the wall and down to the main street.’
I carried a much smaller pack; all my possessions were currently with Cole, sitting out in a random field. On my person were the two medallions, both gold and silver energy circles, a ring of wood I would use to find the orichalcum, and my dagger.
I placed my hand against the smooth stone and strengthened the binding. After all six points were attached, I weakened the binding on my right hand, left knee, and boot. Then I moved them upward, strengthened the bindings, and repeated the process with my right.
Slowly, I crawled up the vertical wall like a spider. I had to regulate the bindings to allow me to slide certain limbs upward while also keeping constant contact with the rest.
‘Five feet, ten feet, fifteen feet.’
Hopefully, the peasants in the houses across the river weren't out and about, and if they were, my dark grey clothing should cloak me against the wall.
‘Fifty feet,’
I made the mistake of looking down, and fear gripped me for a moment. I burned it out of my mind, letting my inner fire reduce the fear to cinders. Slowly, my heart calmed, and I could look into the distance behind me without fear.
Lowtown at night was rather ominous, at least, in comparison to the brightly lit Hightown. Ignoring the thought, I continued upward. At roughly 100 feet up, I could hear people walking.
‘Patrols.’
Immediately, I began counting. Eventually, the men wandered off, and I continued my ascent.
‘312.’
Another patrol passed by; a group of men in conversation. I couldn't really make out what they were saying, but I was fairly certain it was casual and friendly.
Though my arms, stomach, and thighs burned, I kept moving upward. I grinned as I was only 20 feet away from the crenellation.
‘294.’
Another patrol came; no conversation, their steps were measured and precise, passing quickly.
‘The patrols were every five minutes or so.’
As I reached the lip of the crenellations, I didn't immediately pull myself over. I waited until another patrol passed. Then I gave it another thirty seconds.
Pulling myself over the crenellation, I breathed a sigh of relief since it felt like my muscles were on fire.
Looking to the right and left, I found no guards approaching. Crossing the wide stone walkway, I looked out into the city.
It was even more stunning from up close. I shook my head and put the thought aside for now. I examined what was on the other side.
There was nothing much but a grass field; further in the distance were buildings. It looked like a marketplace, though barren of people due to the night.
I caught my breath and prepared for the journey down. Somehow, it was more terrifying, but I was committed.
Slowly, I made my way down, careful to stop and wait for the guards to continue. Finally, after looking down and noting that only ten feet remained, I reduced all six bindings until I slid down to the ground.
The entire time, I kept the count in my mind, so I could choose the perfect moment to run. I let my heart rate settle, and after reaching 150 in my mind, I sprinted across the grassy field, reasonably confident that the gap in the patrols would allow me to reach the buildings undiscovered, I crossed the few hundred feet of grass, ran across the beautifully cobbled streets, and ducked into an alley between what I assumed to be a dressmaker and an eatery.
Glancing in appreciation at the white stone buildings, I caught my breath, closed my eyes, and brought up a mental map of Hightown.
I was about as far away from Enoras’s home as possible. At a carriage's approach, I lowered myself against the building and pulled my hood low.
My eyes nearly fell out of my head as I watched an almost entirely metal carriage pass.
‘By Anier! that carriage had no horse.’
Ignoring that bit of insanity, I noted the armed and armored driver, clearly guards who were on patrol through the city.
Fortunately, those horseless carriages made a large amount of noise, so I would always hear them coming.
I took to the streets again, heading north.
~
With empty streets in the dead of night, I made fast progress. The city was laid out in a grid pattern, and wide main roads broke it into districts. Residential, financial, leisure, and industrial; it was all efficient and well-ordered.
Even Lakeshore, which was quite a well-structured city, was a hovel compared to Hightown.
Eventually, I went far enough from my energy rings that the bindings broke. Now, I had no form of protection other than my dagger.
I ran through alleyways, hid in bushes, and ducked behind buildings for over an hour and a half before finally reaching where the wealthy and nobility lived. There was no cover, and the streets were well-lit.
Even in the dead of night, I could spot Enoras’s mansion easily. The white stone of the multi-story miniature castle was the largest amongst the residential homes. Each home had a tall stone wall, approximately 15 feet high.
I sat there in the cover of two buildings as I contemplated how to approach the problem. Patrols were a combination of those horseless carriages and men on horseback.
‘I’ll have to risk it.’
The patrols, while frequent, did not seem attentive. Heads weren't on a constant swivel. The men riding in the carriage or on horseback were usually in the middle of a conversation. The tall magical lights, while bright, did not offer perfect coverage. They were spaced a few hundred feet apart. In the center of the gap between the lanterns, if I crouch down and remain still, my grey cloak and clothes could blend in well with the cobbles and high walls.
I glanced across the street to the wall of a large home painted an ugly green.
‘Right about there.’
I sprinted across the street, crouched down in the shadow of the two lanterns, and waited. Eventually, a patrol came rolling down the street several minutes later. I pulled my cloak down low and used my ears to track them.
They rolled by without stopping. Even I was mildly surprised, but in retrospect I shouldn't have been.
The city was safe; not a single homeless person walked the streets, so why would they be attentive?
‘Let's go, Myr, we're burning too much time.’
Progress was slow; I constantly ducked behind hedges, decorative trees, and the shadow of lights until I finally reached Enora’s home. I bypassed the massive gilded front gate guarded by four men in armor and made my way to the rear. To my left were the walls of Greystone Keep, as tall as the outer wall and rather imposing. To my right was the much smaller wall of Enoras’s home.
Now I had a different problem: how do I get over the wall?
There were no sources of fuel in this barren section of the street. However, everyone had decorative trees in the rear of their home. I walked until I found one relatively close and taller than the wall itself.
I took out a piece of chalk and quickly drew a parallel energy source circuit, like the Baroness's energy furnace with six source runes, and connected it to my potential energy ring with a bridge rune. Then I bound all six runes to the plates in my clothing.
I reached into the pack and pulled out my potential energy ring.
‘Only one shot, Myr.’
Looking at the massive evergreen, I guessed how far it was from the wall. I expanded the sphere of influence on the ring to my maximum, which was around ten, no, fifteen paces apparently.
‘My animus is getting stronger. I wonder if nine is still my maximum.’
I took a deep breath, and after waiting for another patrol to pass, I went into the street, cocked my arm back, and with a running start, threw my potential energy ring over the wall at the tree. I quickly ran over to the wall and strengthened the bindings. Maintaining all seven bindings and a massively expanded sphere of influence was taxing on the mind, but I pushed through it.
I grinned as my arms stuck to the outer wall. With greater ease than before, I scrambled up and over the fifteen-foot wall.
I was transported from a city street to an idyllic garden. Beautiful sculptures, thick, well-manicured grass, and beautiful, exotic trees dotted the massive rear garden. Dispersed around the garden were silver poles at waist height with softly glowing lights illuminating the grounds. It was stunning work and no doubt expensive.
‘There has to be something powering all this,’
I grabbed my potential energy circle, searched the gardens for some time, pleased that there weren't any guards around. Finally, after navigating the massive garden, I found what I was looking for. A stone building with a metal tube sticking out of the rear sat to the extreme north east section of the home, away from the garden.
Running up to the door of the stone building, I immediately checked for locks, only to find it open. I shrugged, more than happy to take the convenience at face value.
I entered to find a familiar room with a large amount of coal lying around and an energy furnace near the rear. The room was rather dark, save for the glow of the energy furnace’s intake tubes.
After running over, I examined the furnace.
‘If this were standard, imperial design, then the source runes should be right about here.’
Looking at the exit of the burner to the flue, I tried to create a binding and failed.
‘Damn, I'll have to check inside.’
I opened the door of the energy furnace, and the room was lit up by the flames inside. Taking out my silver and gold heat absorption ring, I bound it to my protection medallion.
All it did was push and pull metal. If I expanded the sphere of influence, the large energy furnace would be affected, which meant it would drain a massive amount of energy to fuel the circuit. With my ring consuming heat as soon as I tossed the ring inside and expanded that sphere of influence, the flames were instantly snuffed out.
‘Better be quick, I don’t know what else this thing is powering.’
Though the air inside was cold, the walls were still hot from the flames. Careful not to burn myself, I stuck my torso in and reached a gloved hand up into the flue.
‘Celor, Aidn, Selis, come on, where are you?’
After several minutes of searching, I found a source rune, then another in a spiralling pattern. It was the standard imperial design for heat absorption; however, the shape was wrong.
Instead of a circle, the ring that formed the sphere of influence spiraled upward to the top, following the runes.
If I guessed correctly, the shape would form some kind of helix with the tips connecting. The runes for the circuit followed the helix as if it were a normal circle.
‘Why make an arcane source like this?’
I shook my head, deciding to test it later. Exiting the flue, I deactivated the heat absorption circle.
‘Better relight this thing before…’
The door for the building started to open, and immediately, I rushed over to a large wooden crate heavy with coal as someone entered. By the way the room was lit up, they were carrying a lantern.
“Why is it open?” A female voice mumbled to herself.
I couldn't see what she was doing, but I could hear her as she walked over to the energy furnace. After a minute, she somehow got it lit.
I peered around to see a young woman, perhaps a few years older than me, closing the energy furnace. She was dressed in a red and gold maid uniform.
‘She might have useful information. Don’t let her leave.’
She turned to leave. I rushed out of my hiding place; she didn't have time to react before I crossed the distance and held my dagger at her throat.
“Scream and you die,” I whispered in her ear.
Her breathing quickened, and her body shook as I held her close.
“First, let me introduce myself. My name is Myr.”
She stiffened and said in a low breath, “The, the Maiden?”
“Yes,” I said in a calm voice. “Now, I’m here on business. I’m going to ask you a few questions. I’m a reasonable woman. Answer them truthfully, and you will not come to harm.”
She nodded slowly, careful not to rub against the blade at her throat.
“Is there anyone expecting you back quickly?” I asked.
“No, I was just checking on the furnace, then I was gonna go back to bed.”
“Good girl,” I eased my grip on her, though I kept the dagger close to her neck.
“Do you know where Enoras keeps his most valuable possessions?” I asked.
“Most nobles keep their gold at the imperial bank. Lord Enoras, too,” She answered.
'They call him Lord?'
“What about jewelry and such? I’m sure you’ve seen them?”
“Aye, but they are under lock and key in his rooms.”
“Have you ever cleaned them?” I asked.
She shook her head, “No, but his personal maid does, she cleans his rooms.”
“Is there any place where even the personal maid is not allowed to go?”
The girl paused and contemplated. “His office, nothin’s in there, but we can’t enter. Well, not most of the time.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sometimes he has guests over, they stay in there for a while, then leave, no one ever sees what’s inside ‘cept him and whoever he brings.”
I was silent for a few moments and then asked, “Who usually attends these meetings?”
“Nobles and such. I thought it was for sex or somthin’ but the few times we cleaned under guard, well, you can tell when people have been bedding each other.” Every time she answered, I loosened my grip on her and moved the knife farther and farther away.
'Of course, a man must show off his ill-gotten goods, does he not. He can't store them in a bank, nor anywhere a random passerby would see them. Not even a trusted maid can clean them. I bet you do it personally.'
“Thank you for the information. I know this is rather stressful for you, but I’m not a murderer. You’ll go home and have a story to tell. Years from now, you'll look back at this with amusement. Just one last question, alright?” My voice was filled with warmth and calm.
She breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.
“I want you to make a path for me. I’m going to go to the house. How do I get to that office?”
“There’s a set of doors leading into the kitchens, from there, follow the hall, two rights and a left. And you'll be in the main hall.”
“Any guards?” I asked.
“There are guards in the main hall, and two are always stationed outside the office.”
“Alright, continue.” I eased my grip on her even more.
“Head up the main staircase, head right, then left, follow the hall all the way to the back. Make another left, and it's through those doors, can't miss it.”
I committed her instructions to memory.“Alright, repeat that for me again.”
She did so without any deviation or mistake, making me reasonably certain that she wasn't lying.
“I-It's the furnace. Felis got it burning, but nothing is working. We got to put up lanterns.” I said as I hung my last one. “Someone’s gotta tell Lord Enoras, Cap figured that since you two are more trusted…”
A man on the left kissed his teeth, “Damn it all.” Then, he looked to the man on his left.
“Stay here, I'll take care of it.”He ordered the other man. I bowed and turned to leave. The guard went the opposite direction. I kept walking away from the guards, took a lantern from the hall, and returned.
“Would you like a lantern, guardsman?” I said, holding out my last lantern.
“Aye, rather not stand here in the dark.” I walked over, holding the lantern out to him. Just as he took a step forward, I activated my medallion, generating a massive pulling field. He tripped as he was suddenly dragged towards me.
“The hells?” He said as he faceplanted. I pounced on him, dagger first. With all my strength, I rammed the dagger into the back of his skull, killing him instantly.
‘That's why you should keep your helmet on.’
Taking out my potential energy ring. I degraded the wood around the lock and easily opened the door. I dragged the armored man inside and snuffed out every lantern in the hall.
Reaching into my pack, I pulled out a small disc of wood around three inches across. Carved into the surface were circuits to pull orichalcum, gold, silver, and platinum. Binding it to the energy furnace, I pushed the spheres of influence to my maximum and walked around the opulent office.
It was as large as a home, with a bar, a sitting area, and a massive desk in front of a window overlooking the garden. The window was barred, so there was no means of escape through it.
After a minute of walking around, I finally felt a slight tug on the wood. I was near the right corner of the office, facing a bookshelf.
‘No, it couldn't be.’
I've read stories about secret rooms, but never really believed such a thing was true.
Slowly, I decomposed the wood around the bookshelf to reveal a staircase. I laughed under my breath and followed it to a heavy iron door.
It would have been a problem for a normal person, but not me. Taking out some chalk, I drew a heat-iron circle around the lock.
After binding them to the energy furnace. I increased the power to its maximum, and slowly it became white hot. Once the iron started melting, I pushed the door open and cut off the binding.
Then I stepped into a dark room.
I summoned a flame into my right hand, illuminating everything.
“By, Anier,” I said, my mouth agape.
There were shelves lining the walls that held jewelry of every style and fashion. Silver, gold, even platinum. Swords with diamond-studded hilts, suits of stunning gilded armor, there was wealth, and there was this. No words could describe what I was seeing.
In the center of the room was a golden statue of Anier with wings and a shield, as tall as I was, sitting on a marble pedestal. The amount of wealth in this room alone was beyond comprehension.
I shook my head and remembered my task. I deactivated every binding but the orichalcum. Following the pull from the circle of wood it eventually led me to the rear of the room. On a stone pedestal with a glass cover, sitting on a rich velvet pillow, was a five-pointed star with a diamond in the center. However, the metal was made of orichalcum.
'I suppose he melted it down and had it remade.'
It was beautiful; orichalcum had a deep golden color. But reflected light, strangely. The surface sparkled as if millions of small diamond particles were mixed into the metal. And it was slightly translucent, almost like extremely opaque glass. It was otherworldly.
I sighed and reached for my potential energy ring to shatter the glass, and nothing happened.
I slammed it against the glass again; the ring didn't even bounce back from recoil, it just stopped.
“Enchanted glass?” I took out my dagger, trying to scratch the surface, but failed.
“I can't believe it, enchanted glass.”
The glass box was embedded in the marble pedestal, so it couldn't be lifted off. Taking my dagger, I slammed it, tip-first, into the marble. It left a small chip.
‘So the marble isn't enchanted.’
I shrugged, “Well, if I can't go through the glass, I’ll go through the stone.” I drew a heating circle around the lip of the marble pedestal. Bound it to the energy furnace and pushed the binding to my maximum power.
It took some time, but eventually the marble began to glow red, then yellow, emitting a large amount of heat and burning the velvet pillow to cinders. I grabbed the glass and ignored the massive amount of heat radiating away from the marble. Soon, the marble started to warp, and the glass slid out from the melting stone. Revealing four hooks in the base of the glass cube meant to keep it in the stone. I cut off the binding, tossed the enchanted glass to the side, and grabbed the orichalcum from the smoking ruins of the pillow.
It was light, lighter than wood even, yet felt as dense as diamond. I savoured the moment and brought out my second medallion. It wouldn't fit in the center anymore, so I just wrapped it in a bit of cloth.
Then, for the first time, I activated the circuit. I bound the input rune to the energy furnace and the output to my dragon's breath.
I laughed, as I felt energy flowing through the input even though Dragon's Breath wasn't at a high enough power to produce any flame. I expanded the input binding to its maximum strength; it kept pulling in energy, and after a few minutes, it stopped. I strengthened Dragon's Breath's binding, creating a foot-tall flame, and felt energy rushing into to fill what I was calling an arcane reservoir. Then I cut off the binding to the input rune.
I started laughing as the flames didn't end. It was being fueled by the primal energy stored in the reservoir.
‘I’ll have to test it a bit later.’
I looked around the room; only a few other things were in those strange glass pedestals, while everything else sat on shelves. In the right corner of the room were books. None were magical in nature. Though they could be quite valuable, depending on the buyer.
The only item of interest was a gilded scroll. My heart leaped as I looked at the text.
“Runes; the entire thing is written in runes,” I muttered.
It made no sense at first glance; runes relied on interpretation, not direct translation. It was foot-long and quite thick. I pulled out a rolled-up canvas sack and dropped it inside.
To the left were weapons. Greatswords, halberds, and other weapons on the shelves; all were enchanted to some degree. I didn't want to weigh myself down, so I ignored them; there weren't even any runes on them to study.
“Wait, no, it can't be. Baroness, you're quite naughty.” Sitting on a shelf was one of those enchanted longswords I fixed for the baroness. Unsheathing the blade, I found the same runes. It even had a belt attached to the hilt.
“Well, you do owe me for all that work. Let’s call us even.” I belted it to my waist.
I examined the shelf containing the jewelry, though I did pocket the platinum earrings studded with rubies.
The rest were not of note. Expensive and garish certainly, but not worth my time. Then an insidious idea entered my mind. I opened my sack and started tossing only the most expensive and garish-looking jewelry that I could fit inside.
'Platinum rings, diamond necklaces...How did he get his hands on a crown like this? It looks fit for an emperor.'
The crown was made of pure platinum studded with diamonds and gems of every flavour, including rubies, emeralds, and sapphires.
It was getting rather heavy, so I stopped, not even fitting a tenth of the collection in the sack.
I glanced around the room once more, taking stock of everything on the marble pedestals. A collection of teeth, an ancient-looking helmet, and a completely golden gauntlet.
I gazed down upon a platinum ring with a large azurite gem. The clear crystal refracted the light in dazzling ways, creating every color of the rainbow.
Taking out my chalk, I smiled viciously.
~
“Denny Denny, my boy, no," A man screamed in despair." Sound the alarm, Intruder.” He shouted as I admired the ring on my finger.
‘Damn, I ran out of time.’
I touched the Arcane reservoir hanging from my chest and smiled menacingly. “Let's see how effective you are.”
Sliding the sack of jewelry over my shoulder, I walked up the stairs.