Post by Lady Hammer on Apr 6, 2007 18:08:00 GMT -5
III. The Olraedir Contract
Her passenger ship had arrived on the Duunethra Ocean shore early that morning, and now, just having arrived in Vaskio a little before noon to her inn room, she already had work. Just the type of work she was looking for. From Azukas, land of the Royal Wood Elves, Maravandril came, ready to prove herself worthy of the title as Princess Maiden. This was just the trial she was hoping for. Maravandril eyed the coded note carefully.
“Alhmshire Street…” she mumbled, her emerald eyes fixing intently on the jumbled symbols that were a secret alphabet. “Crime job, adventurous, good pay… this’ll be wonderful. A shower of justice will rain harder than the rainstorm falling right now…”
She eyed the unceremonious storm outside of her inn window before glancing back down at her note to notice a detail she had missed.
“A visit to S. Vaskio Asylum. Retrieve F. Bootmann.” She then looked at her note signed by the ARC men. “Be sure to bring Frederich Bootmann for the operation.”
ARC had requested Maravandril to come down weeks ago when suspicious activity on Alhmshire Street started showing up. She found it a bit flattering that they wanted her to surreptitiously move in and infiltrate before their designated group of watchmen was sent to investigate. Supposedly, the current Princess Maiden of the Wood had put in a good word for her.
The large, crudely carved words in the sign before the asylum loomed over Maravandril. “South Vaskio Asylum.” She had serious doubts about this man she was retrieving. With dread, the elf opened the heavy, thick wooden door, and proceeded. The asylum had an interior that was nauseating, and could’ve very well been the cause of the patients’ lasting insanity. Covering the ground were large black and white tiles that strained the elf’s superior sight, and the walls were painted a vivid crimson. Golden, wrought-iron gates then served as walls. Maravandril didn’t doubt that insane people had actually designed the building.
The asylum faculty was comprised of church-going Sisters in white gowns and headdresses from the House of the White Sovereign. Because it was a widely-known and attended church, most of the Sisters from the House were thought to be qualified for such work. Maravandril had never trusted the Lady White Sovereign’s word, nor did she suspect the snowy hare was a trusty symbol. Suddenly, one of the Sisters approached her.
“Ma’am, elven ma’am, may I help you? My name is Sister Geraldine of the Sovereign. Are you looking to sign someone out?” she asked, a quaint smile showing on her aged face.
“Of the Sovereign, huh?” Maravandril replied, trying to hide a raised eyebrow. “I suppose your teachings are saving hundreds of these souls left and right.” Thankfully, Geraldine didn’t suspect a bit of her sarcasm.
“We certainly do our best.”
“You don’t say. How’s that going?”
“Oh, marvelous, madam!” Geraldine exclaimed, a satisfied sparkle in her sapphire eyes. “The Lady’s teachings that the mind is used to invoke compassion in those around you by giving, and showing one’s capability to put others before oneself really appeals to most of them!”
‘That’s because they’re crazy,’ Maravandril thought.
“Interesting. I’m astonished.”
“Certainly? I wonder how the Faith of your kin would par… that would be interesting to find out.”
“Excuse me?” the elf suddenly replied, double taking on Geraldine’s comment. “What are you trying to say? Don’t be so quick to put up the stuffy, superior veneer, Sister.”
“Oh, but madam, I’m only trying to say that the elven teachings… oh, what are they… something about the Life and Spirit of Rhianna that resides in nature? It’s difficult for those with jumbled minds to comprehend. Especially when you try to explain that the Spirit Rhianna is every person and every kin. I hardly understand it myself!” The elf put her hands on her hips.
“Let me ask you this, Sister Geraldine. Since when did this become a battle of the Faiths? Who do you think you are?” Maravandril asked. From behind the main counter, another sister in white suddenly approached the scene, waving a slender finger.
“Excuse me! Excuse me! Sister Geraldine, please return to your post! I will take care of visitors! Now shoo! Miss Petals needs supervision at all times,” she said scornfully. Blushing heavily, Sister Geraldine rushed away. Then, sighing, the other sister turned to the elf. “Please forgive us, madam. Sister Geraldine has just begun her teachings, and is very enthusiastic. My name is Sister Katherine. ARC came by the other day and notified us that we were to expect a cedar-haired elf like yourself to retrieve one of our patients.”
“That’s what I’m here for. Frederich Bootmann,” Maravandril replied. She folded her arms and followed Sister Katherine, trying to hide her distaste. Of all the deities to choose, she was unsure why the Sisters of the White Sovereign were to watch the insane. Maybe it was fitting. The white-clad woman handed the elf some yellowed, official papers to sign, stamped approval, and went to bring the selected patient down.
Dastardly wind threw sharp, cold daggers of water into the alleys, down the streets, and over the rooftops. Panging grew loud against windows, and the dirt roads grew into thick, soppy, pebbly mud. Berated, Phio stormed out of the ARC building, catching a glimpse of Centa turning away through the rain soaked windows. He was tired of being the victim of the other man’s temper. At least he could take it out recreationally, he thought. In any case, he figured, punching a hole in the wall was better than running your mouth to someone who didn’t particularly care to listen at the time. It was getting hard to hold his equally temperamental tongue when Centa was yelling at him. It was hard to learn how to hold it in the first place.
On Phio’s cool-down walk, which he thought Centa needed more than him, he passed a number of dingy alleys with stray cats taking cover from the rain in old crates. Hidden in one of those alleys was a woman who had built her shelter from scavenged crates and stolen items. A woman named Anna watched as the ARC man passed by, and then gave her attention once more to the scrap of paper in her hands. She despised the adamant law-goers, and scoffed at them.
“Always making a thief’s life harder… hmph!”
Anna Schuster wasn’t your average street thief. Rather, she preferred to go by the term “embezzler”. There was usually a bounty out for her, but she had a habit of going by a malady of different names, her current cover being “Raleigh Scheilman”. Once hired at a simple shop, she’d stay late and take money out of the till, until the other employees started coming on to what was happening. Then, she’d disappear. This cycle was her life, more often than not.
“So… this guy wants us to work for him, does he…?” she muttered to herself. “Better be a good paying job like he says…”
She scanned over the note once more, wondering just how much pay she could milk out of the job.
To Misses Schuster and Everstrom,
We’ll meet at 5 sharp in my manor, 781 Alhmshire Street. Two others will be there as well. I’ll go into more detail of the job I ask, but I will say that the pay will be very good.
Do not fail to show. Do not disappoint.
. Albetar Olraedir
This made a great opportunity for Anna and her partner. Neither of them had been on an adventurous mission in a long time, and this one sounded quite promising.
“Where is Malynn, anyway?”
Scouring the empty streets from the alley view, the thief figured she’d have to go out and look. Anna’s partner, Malynn, had a problem staying focused. Dreadfully, Anna fastened her old, ratty tarp coat, and put the hood over her head of blonde locks. The thief was always convinced that she was much better with money than Malynn, but half the time, she always spent her “earnings” on hair enrichments. Some would say she had an unnatural obsession for caring for her hair. She warned never to ask.
The rain came harder over the streets, drops sliding off Anna’s tarp coat. It would never keep her warm, but it at least kept her moderately dry. Malynn was a bawd, and her job was to show people, for a small price, the hotspots of the city, and where they could perhaps get their desired contraband. However, on this particular day, there were very few people out, and certainly none who were newcomers to the city. So, naturally, Malynn would be nowhere near her usual post.
“Malynn! Malynn!” Her futile calls were drenched by rain. Swearing loudly, the thief continued down the streets, copper-colored eyes still searching. Unfortunately, Malynn had an ability for attracting danger and trouble. Her face was heavily adorned with deep scars from alley fights, and on her left pinky was a scar where it had to be reattached after one encounter with a group of rival thugs years ago.
“Malynn!”
At last. The bawd with her fiery orange hair was spotted. She was lying on a bench, peeking over the edge, pulling her tarp coat as close to her as she could. Gritting her teeth, Anna marched over to her.
“Hey! Get your ass over here! What do you think you’re doing?”
“Shh!” Malynn whispered, not even turning to greet her partner. Instead, her attention was given to a man in the distance on a bench in Town Square. Phio was staring at the mud beneath his boots with a solemn face, and his hands tucked into his pockets. Anna rolled her eyes.
“Oh hell, Malynn…”
“What? Look at him! Just look at him!”
“Malynn! Are you crazy?” Anna snapped, folding her arms. “It’s always the same thing! You always gotta be crushin’ on the law! Well, you can just forget about it, Malynn, ‘cause it ain’t gonna happen!” Malynn turned up her nose and frowned.
“But why not?” she whined. “It could happen, couldn’t it? Someday?”
“No! Now come on!”
The thief yanked her partner off the bench and into their alley, where they ducked under the crate-made shelter. Then, Anna unraveled her crumpled note. Gazing at it peculiarly, Malynn huddled closer.
“Get off me. You can’t even read, so why are you tryin’ to get so close?”
“You’re so warm…”
Anna sighed at her pouting partner, shrugging off her tarp coat, and cleared her throat. “It says that some fruit wants to give us a job, and it sounds like a good one. We meet ‘im at five, and we pull this off at nine, betcha. It’s always the standard operation time.”
“I’m sorry, Anna,” Malynn said, beginning to pout more, her big, scarred lip sticking out. “I have other plans tonight. I’ve already been hired.”
“Oh! You brat! Get away! If you aren’t in someway thieving right now, then you should be standing on the streets, making yourself look tastefully suspicious!”
“But--”
“No! I don’t want to see you until I get back from the operation!”
Aeslyn’s words played over and over in Kedo’s head as she wandered the streets in search of an idea. Her thick ponytail of dark hair threw water all down her cloaked back, and the tiny bit of cheek pigment she put on that morning was running down her chin, now. Pouring rain kept falling, and was beginning to get relentless. She had to do something, however. Aeslyn was counting on her for information. And, for all she knew, it could be crucial to her sister’s survival.
Suddenly, the idea the watchwoman was looking for came. Tired and solemn, Phio left the bench in the Square, and finally returned to the ARC building. If it was sneaky Aeslyn wanted, Kedo was going to give her sneaky. She watched the ARC man enter his home, and then, she scurried to the front of the building. Thankfully, the windows were thin, but they were so caked in scum and mold, there was no way you could see inside. All she could do was listen and hope.
“So. You finally came back. I’m surprised.”
It was Centa. His voice was so heavy with sarcasm, she was afraid of Phio’s reaction.
“It’s my home,” he said.
“So it is. We have a lot to talk about.”
“I don’t think we have anything to say at all, Centa! I don’t know anything, and you don’t know anything. I’m sick of you being so damn stubborn!”
“… I’m not stubborn!”
“The hell you’re not! Here, look, we’re going to do it again, aren’t we? Centa, the survival of Vaskio does not depend on the invasions, or on keeping Chaos at bay. The inner workings are most important. If we keep putting the daemons, the vampires, the beasts first, we’re going to lose sight of what’s really happening in our city!”
Kedo gasped. Centa and Phio were letting on to something much bigger than anything that had happened in Vaskio before. What could be bigger than the daemon invasion two years ago? Her thoughts went back to the horrid memory.
“Okay. Then how do you suggest we do this?” Centa asked darkly. Apparently, relenting wasn’t a favorable option.
“We’ll wait until we get some sort of clue. Some more evidence. Right now, we have nothing. We have no idea what’s going to happen. So, until we do, we’ll just focus on the city. We have a possible crime lord to deal with on Alhmshire Street. Let’s put our attention to that.”
“Fine.”
“Listen, Centa… we don’t know how to plan for anything else. All we can do is wait.”
And then, there were footsteps, a slammed door, and silence. Kedo had to consider their words for a moment. While the ARC men didn’t know what they were trying to lead into, Kedo realized it was something to prepare for. A hunch told her the crime lord suspect on Alhmshire Street was more than it seemed. Leaving the perimeter of ARC, the watchwoman continued Aeslyn’s request, and headed for Alhmshire Street.
The rain was falling just as hard as it had fallen before, but Kedo could barely notice anymore. Vaskio wasn’t the sort of city you just let things happen to. It had been her home since she was a young girl, and she’d been in the Watchmen’s Academy for six years. She’d be lost without her home, and tens of thousands of people would be just as homeless. ARC was their symbol of protection, and without them, the city would’ve never been what it was. Chaos was constantly attempting to take over the city, but Centa and Phio, and their greatly established Association, had always been successful in defending it. Unfortunately, Kedo had never been well noticed by anyone in ARC, and if it weren’t for Aeslyn, she wouldn’t have been noticed at all. The sister was only renting a room from ARC because her attitude had proved handy for a secretary.
Then, Alhmshire Street came into sight. On the very end of the slummy lane was a large mansion, two stories with what looked like a quite roomy attic.
“… Is this it? Of course there’s a crime lord here! This mansion is huge…”
Wiping rain from her eyelashes, Kedo scouted the lawn and backyard for any means to get in quietly. Then, from the corner of her eye, someone tall approached in the distance. Panicked, the watchwoman darted into the backyard behind a large trash bin and peeked out ever so slightly. She cursed herself for choosing the trash bin. The stench of damp, rotten food had reached her nose. Suddenly, the figure in the distance came to the front of the house, followed by another.
“Well… it looks like this is the place, Bootmann. Let’s see just what this man wants…”
The first figure was a female, very slender, tan, and tall. She was definitely an elf. Maravandril took a deep sigh and looked upon the mansion with disinterest. Next to her was the short and plump Frederich Bootmann, sporting a thick beard and an ape-like covering of hair on his equally as ape-like arms. Kedo could judge by the man’s lazy eye that he wasn’t “fully functioning”.
“Just go into the house, just go into the house…” the watchwoman whispered. Licking her lips and leaning over, she watched Maravandril knock on the door. Anticipating the crime lord himself, Kedo heard a stuffy voice announce himself as the butler, and ushered the two inside once they gave their names. Then, the back door opened. Kedo darted back behind the trash bin, and held her breath. It was only the maid, who had come to put some dirty rugs on a clothesline in the corner of the yard.
Then, Kedo realized this was her chance. As stealthily as she could, she dashed into the building from the open back door, and ran down the hallway.
“Hey! Hey, you!”
Terrified, Kedo ran to hide herself. She’d be caught and possibly killed for spying, surely before she could get any in formation that was useful. But that didn’t stop her. Saving her city was worth it. Running down the wide hallway, Kedo looked desperately for a room to hide herself in. Fortunately, the maid wasn’t running after her yet. At last, the end of the hallway opened up into a large foyer, and several other halls. Then, she found her solution.
“A personal transport!”
With a quick look behind her, she saw the maid hadn’t found her, so she rushed to the end of the room and tucked herself in the tiny pulley elevator. Luckily, she was just small enough to fit inside. She slid the open wall panel shut, and kept quiet for a moment. The elevator cage was dark and musty, and the rope around the pulley that was dangling down was hard and bristly.
“Please work, please work…!” She grasped onto the rope, when suddenly, another voice began speaking.
“Madalie, what is the matter?”
It was the stuffy voice of the butler. The maid, Madalie, came stomping down the hall.
“Someone snuck inside!”
“Did you see who it was?”
“No! Should I tell Olraedir?”
“… No. Just look out for them. Tell me if you see them. I’ll deal with Olraedir.”
Kedo swallowed hard. When the two left the room, she slowly pulled on the rope, hoping the chamber wouldn’t screech as it climbed up the floors. She was lucky once more; it had been oiled recently.
“Where is Olraedir now? What if that’s where this person is headed?” Madalie asked from down the hall.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Brai, what if--”
“He’s in the High Anteroom in his study. Just do your job Madalie.”
The watchwoman waited until the voices were completely gone before she went any further, wondering where the High Anteroom was.
“Well, wherever it is… it must be high…”
As she continued in the tiny carriage, other voices came into her earshot from rooms above her. It seemed to be a woman and another man. Kedo drew herself past the second floor, and as she came closer to what she thought was the attic, the voices were crystal clear.
“Nice… anteroom…” Anna mumbled, huffing out a sigh.
“Ah, Miss Schuster, I see you have learned what is and is not a storage place. Many people presume this is an attic. I suppose your trade has taught you the difference,” said the man’s voice.
“Well, a room is a room, Sir. It’s what’s in it that counts.”
The watchwoman pulled the cage into place. It was brought up the highest that the shaft was built for, and a tiny crack in the wall panel showed her the blonde thief sitting on a table, and an old, suited man leaning on his cane.
“This room you will be infiltrating, Miss Schuster, is far from just a room…”
Anna didn’t respond. Rather, she just sat on the table, dangling her legs, and inspected her dagger. Kedo guessed that the old man was the crime lord in question. But now, the crime lord had mentioned a key the little sister was looking for.
“Then why don’t you tell me about this room?” Anna inquired, proceeding to dig the dirt from her nails with her dagger. “You seem awful beguiled.”
“Oh, Miss Schuster, unfortunately I must be polite and wait for the elf and her guest. But, you must understand just how magnificent this will be…!”
Swallowing hard, Kedo let a bead of sweat run down her temple. Noises in the rooms below her grew loud, all of a sudden. Brai and Madalie’s voices were conversing quite gruffly. It almost sounded like they were arguing. The butler said firmly,
“I’ll tell him!”
A loud knock sounded at the anteroom’s door just then. Kedo’s breath grew short.
“I wonder who that must be,” the old man then said, a strange smile appearing. Kedo cringed. Who would work for him? The butler came in the room with Maravandril, biting his lip. The watchwoman grew so dizzy with fright she could barely make out their words. She was going to be found. But, even knowing that, she couldn’t move.
“Ah, welcome Miss Maravandril!”
“Hello, Olraedir.”
“M-Master Olraedir, Sir--”
“You may leave now, Brai.”
“But, Master--”
“Please leave.”
Brai stifled a huff and a scowl, turned on his heel, and left the anteroom. Kedo sighed with relief.
“What was that?” the elf suddenly asked, her head snapping in the direction of the carriage.
‘Shit!’ Kedo thought. Maravandril’s emerald eyes looked hardly to the small crack between the wall panels. She swore she saw something.
“I don’t hear anything,” Olraedir mumbled, his head also snapping in Kedo’s direction. She gulped.
“I think you’re all crazy,” Anna replied. “Let’s all just hurry up and get this briefing over with. I have places to be.”
“Very well, Miss Schuster.”
‘Thank you Miss Schuster!’
“For your sake, I hope their isn’t anything here,” he added, giving the thief a stern look. She refused to acknowledge him.
“So who am I working with?” Maravandril asked, approaching Anna. She put her hand out. Anna gladly shook it.
“Anna Schuster.”
“Nice of you to get acquainted,” Olraedir said, gathering papers from his desk. “Where is Frederich?”
“In your living room. He was distracted. I doubt his mind would put anything here together, anyway.”
“Wait… what was that?”
Anna had raised her brow. “Who is this? Are there three of us?”
“More like two and a half,” Maravandril answered.
“I am not working with such a risk to the operation!” Anna shouted, getting to her feet. “I can’t believe I’m expected to work with a retard!”
“Now, now, Miss Schuster, there’s no need to be so harsh. I assure you, Sir Bootmann’s talents will prove to be very useful.”
Attention peaked, Kedo found herself leaning slightly closer to the wall. The situation was getting foggier and foggier.
“Alright, fair enough. What are they ‘to be very useful’ for?”
“You three will infiltrate ARC.”
Kedo jumped at Olraedir’s words, only to dangerously rattle the cage, and just as the watchwoman heard angered shouts, the transport cage went plummeting down. Screeching, Kedo grasped the rope, and when the carriage failed to stop, she leapt through one of the walls shooting past her. The cage fell into her thigh and cut deeply. Screaming in pain, the watchwoman crawled into the second floor through the splintered wall, and jumped from the window.
Her passenger ship had arrived on the Duunethra Ocean shore early that morning, and now, just having arrived in Vaskio a little before noon to her inn room, she already had work. Just the type of work she was looking for. From Azukas, land of the Royal Wood Elves, Maravandril came, ready to prove herself worthy of the title as Princess Maiden. This was just the trial she was hoping for. Maravandril eyed the coded note carefully.
“Alhmshire Street…” she mumbled, her emerald eyes fixing intently on the jumbled symbols that were a secret alphabet. “Crime job, adventurous, good pay… this’ll be wonderful. A shower of justice will rain harder than the rainstorm falling right now…”
She eyed the unceremonious storm outside of her inn window before glancing back down at her note to notice a detail she had missed.
“A visit to S. Vaskio Asylum. Retrieve F. Bootmann.” She then looked at her note signed by the ARC men. “Be sure to bring Frederich Bootmann for the operation.”
ARC had requested Maravandril to come down weeks ago when suspicious activity on Alhmshire Street started showing up. She found it a bit flattering that they wanted her to surreptitiously move in and infiltrate before their designated group of watchmen was sent to investigate. Supposedly, the current Princess Maiden of the Wood had put in a good word for her.
The large, crudely carved words in the sign before the asylum loomed over Maravandril. “South Vaskio Asylum.” She had serious doubts about this man she was retrieving. With dread, the elf opened the heavy, thick wooden door, and proceeded. The asylum had an interior that was nauseating, and could’ve very well been the cause of the patients’ lasting insanity. Covering the ground were large black and white tiles that strained the elf’s superior sight, and the walls were painted a vivid crimson. Golden, wrought-iron gates then served as walls. Maravandril didn’t doubt that insane people had actually designed the building.
The asylum faculty was comprised of church-going Sisters in white gowns and headdresses from the House of the White Sovereign. Because it was a widely-known and attended church, most of the Sisters from the House were thought to be qualified for such work. Maravandril had never trusted the Lady White Sovereign’s word, nor did she suspect the snowy hare was a trusty symbol. Suddenly, one of the Sisters approached her.
“Ma’am, elven ma’am, may I help you? My name is Sister Geraldine of the Sovereign. Are you looking to sign someone out?” she asked, a quaint smile showing on her aged face.
“Of the Sovereign, huh?” Maravandril replied, trying to hide a raised eyebrow. “I suppose your teachings are saving hundreds of these souls left and right.” Thankfully, Geraldine didn’t suspect a bit of her sarcasm.
“We certainly do our best.”
“You don’t say. How’s that going?”
“Oh, marvelous, madam!” Geraldine exclaimed, a satisfied sparkle in her sapphire eyes. “The Lady’s teachings that the mind is used to invoke compassion in those around you by giving, and showing one’s capability to put others before oneself really appeals to most of them!”
‘That’s because they’re crazy,’ Maravandril thought.
“Interesting. I’m astonished.”
“Certainly? I wonder how the Faith of your kin would par… that would be interesting to find out.”
“Excuse me?” the elf suddenly replied, double taking on Geraldine’s comment. “What are you trying to say? Don’t be so quick to put up the stuffy, superior veneer, Sister.”
“Oh, but madam, I’m only trying to say that the elven teachings… oh, what are they… something about the Life and Spirit of Rhianna that resides in nature? It’s difficult for those with jumbled minds to comprehend. Especially when you try to explain that the Spirit Rhianna is every person and every kin. I hardly understand it myself!” The elf put her hands on her hips.
“Let me ask you this, Sister Geraldine. Since when did this become a battle of the Faiths? Who do you think you are?” Maravandril asked. From behind the main counter, another sister in white suddenly approached the scene, waving a slender finger.
“Excuse me! Excuse me! Sister Geraldine, please return to your post! I will take care of visitors! Now shoo! Miss Petals needs supervision at all times,” she said scornfully. Blushing heavily, Sister Geraldine rushed away. Then, sighing, the other sister turned to the elf. “Please forgive us, madam. Sister Geraldine has just begun her teachings, and is very enthusiastic. My name is Sister Katherine. ARC came by the other day and notified us that we were to expect a cedar-haired elf like yourself to retrieve one of our patients.”
“That’s what I’m here for. Frederich Bootmann,” Maravandril replied. She folded her arms and followed Sister Katherine, trying to hide her distaste. Of all the deities to choose, she was unsure why the Sisters of the White Sovereign were to watch the insane. Maybe it was fitting. The white-clad woman handed the elf some yellowed, official papers to sign, stamped approval, and went to bring the selected patient down.
Dastardly wind threw sharp, cold daggers of water into the alleys, down the streets, and over the rooftops. Panging grew loud against windows, and the dirt roads grew into thick, soppy, pebbly mud. Berated, Phio stormed out of the ARC building, catching a glimpse of Centa turning away through the rain soaked windows. He was tired of being the victim of the other man’s temper. At least he could take it out recreationally, he thought. In any case, he figured, punching a hole in the wall was better than running your mouth to someone who didn’t particularly care to listen at the time. It was getting hard to hold his equally temperamental tongue when Centa was yelling at him. It was hard to learn how to hold it in the first place.
On Phio’s cool-down walk, which he thought Centa needed more than him, he passed a number of dingy alleys with stray cats taking cover from the rain in old crates. Hidden in one of those alleys was a woman who had built her shelter from scavenged crates and stolen items. A woman named Anna watched as the ARC man passed by, and then gave her attention once more to the scrap of paper in her hands. She despised the adamant law-goers, and scoffed at them.
“Always making a thief’s life harder… hmph!”
Anna Schuster wasn’t your average street thief. Rather, she preferred to go by the term “embezzler”. There was usually a bounty out for her, but she had a habit of going by a malady of different names, her current cover being “Raleigh Scheilman”. Once hired at a simple shop, she’d stay late and take money out of the till, until the other employees started coming on to what was happening. Then, she’d disappear. This cycle was her life, more often than not.
“So… this guy wants us to work for him, does he…?” she muttered to herself. “Better be a good paying job like he says…”
She scanned over the note once more, wondering just how much pay she could milk out of the job.
To Misses Schuster and Everstrom,
We’ll meet at 5 sharp in my manor, 781 Alhmshire Street. Two others will be there as well. I’ll go into more detail of the job I ask, but I will say that the pay will be very good.
Do not fail to show. Do not disappoint.
. Albetar Olraedir
This made a great opportunity for Anna and her partner. Neither of them had been on an adventurous mission in a long time, and this one sounded quite promising.
“Where is Malynn, anyway?”
Scouring the empty streets from the alley view, the thief figured she’d have to go out and look. Anna’s partner, Malynn, had a problem staying focused. Dreadfully, Anna fastened her old, ratty tarp coat, and put the hood over her head of blonde locks. The thief was always convinced that she was much better with money than Malynn, but half the time, she always spent her “earnings” on hair enrichments. Some would say she had an unnatural obsession for caring for her hair. She warned never to ask.
The rain came harder over the streets, drops sliding off Anna’s tarp coat. It would never keep her warm, but it at least kept her moderately dry. Malynn was a bawd, and her job was to show people, for a small price, the hotspots of the city, and where they could perhaps get their desired contraband. However, on this particular day, there were very few people out, and certainly none who were newcomers to the city. So, naturally, Malynn would be nowhere near her usual post.
“Malynn! Malynn!” Her futile calls were drenched by rain. Swearing loudly, the thief continued down the streets, copper-colored eyes still searching. Unfortunately, Malynn had an ability for attracting danger and trouble. Her face was heavily adorned with deep scars from alley fights, and on her left pinky was a scar where it had to be reattached after one encounter with a group of rival thugs years ago.
“Malynn!”
At last. The bawd with her fiery orange hair was spotted. She was lying on a bench, peeking over the edge, pulling her tarp coat as close to her as she could. Gritting her teeth, Anna marched over to her.
“Hey! Get your ass over here! What do you think you’re doing?”
“Shh!” Malynn whispered, not even turning to greet her partner. Instead, her attention was given to a man in the distance on a bench in Town Square. Phio was staring at the mud beneath his boots with a solemn face, and his hands tucked into his pockets. Anna rolled her eyes.
“Oh hell, Malynn…”
“What? Look at him! Just look at him!”
“Malynn! Are you crazy?” Anna snapped, folding her arms. “It’s always the same thing! You always gotta be crushin’ on the law! Well, you can just forget about it, Malynn, ‘cause it ain’t gonna happen!” Malynn turned up her nose and frowned.
“But why not?” she whined. “It could happen, couldn’t it? Someday?”
“No! Now come on!”
The thief yanked her partner off the bench and into their alley, where they ducked under the crate-made shelter. Then, Anna unraveled her crumpled note. Gazing at it peculiarly, Malynn huddled closer.
“Get off me. You can’t even read, so why are you tryin’ to get so close?”
“You’re so warm…”
Anna sighed at her pouting partner, shrugging off her tarp coat, and cleared her throat. “It says that some fruit wants to give us a job, and it sounds like a good one. We meet ‘im at five, and we pull this off at nine, betcha. It’s always the standard operation time.”
“I’m sorry, Anna,” Malynn said, beginning to pout more, her big, scarred lip sticking out. “I have other plans tonight. I’ve already been hired.”
“Oh! You brat! Get away! If you aren’t in someway thieving right now, then you should be standing on the streets, making yourself look tastefully suspicious!”
“But--”
“No! I don’t want to see you until I get back from the operation!”
Aeslyn’s words played over and over in Kedo’s head as she wandered the streets in search of an idea. Her thick ponytail of dark hair threw water all down her cloaked back, and the tiny bit of cheek pigment she put on that morning was running down her chin, now. Pouring rain kept falling, and was beginning to get relentless. She had to do something, however. Aeslyn was counting on her for information. And, for all she knew, it could be crucial to her sister’s survival.
Suddenly, the idea the watchwoman was looking for came. Tired and solemn, Phio left the bench in the Square, and finally returned to the ARC building. If it was sneaky Aeslyn wanted, Kedo was going to give her sneaky. She watched the ARC man enter his home, and then, she scurried to the front of the building. Thankfully, the windows were thin, but they were so caked in scum and mold, there was no way you could see inside. All she could do was listen and hope.
“So. You finally came back. I’m surprised.”
It was Centa. His voice was so heavy with sarcasm, she was afraid of Phio’s reaction.
“It’s my home,” he said.
“So it is. We have a lot to talk about.”
“I don’t think we have anything to say at all, Centa! I don’t know anything, and you don’t know anything. I’m sick of you being so damn stubborn!”
“… I’m not stubborn!”
“The hell you’re not! Here, look, we’re going to do it again, aren’t we? Centa, the survival of Vaskio does not depend on the invasions, or on keeping Chaos at bay. The inner workings are most important. If we keep putting the daemons, the vampires, the beasts first, we’re going to lose sight of what’s really happening in our city!”
Kedo gasped. Centa and Phio were letting on to something much bigger than anything that had happened in Vaskio before. What could be bigger than the daemon invasion two years ago? Her thoughts went back to the horrid memory.
“Okay. Then how do you suggest we do this?” Centa asked darkly. Apparently, relenting wasn’t a favorable option.
“We’ll wait until we get some sort of clue. Some more evidence. Right now, we have nothing. We have no idea what’s going to happen. So, until we do, we’ll just focus on the city. We have a possible crime lord to deal with on Alhmshire Street. Let’s put our attention to that.”
“Fine.”
“Listen, Centa… we don’t know how to plan for anything else. All we can do is wait.”
And then, there were footsteps, a slammed door, and silence. Kedo had to consider their words for a moment. While the ARC men didn’t know what they were trying to lead into, Kedo realized it was something to prepare for. A hunch told her the crime lord suspect on Alhmshire Street was more than it seemed. Leaving the perimeter of ARC, the watchwoman continued Aeslyn’s request, and headed for Alhmshire Street.
The rain was falling just as hard as it had fallen before, but Kedo could barely notice anymore. Vaskio wasn’t the sort of city you just let things happen to. It had been her home since she was a young girl, and she’d been in the Watchmen’s Academy for six years. She’d be lost without her home, and tens of thousands of people would be just as homeless. ARC was their symbol of protection, and without them, the city would’ve never been what it was. Chaos was constantly attempting to take over the city, but Centa and Phio, and their greatly established Association, had always been successful in defending it. Unfortunately, Kedo had never been well noticed by anyone in ARC, and if it weren’t for Aeslyn, she wouldn’t have been noticed at all. The sister was only renting a room from ARC because her attitude had proved handy for a secretary.
Then, Alhmshire Street came into sight. On the very end of the slummy lane was a large mansion, two stories with what looked like a quite roomy attic.
“… Is this it? Of course there’s a crime lord here! This mansion is huge…”
Wiping rain from her eyelashes, Kedo scouted the lawn and backyard for any means to get in quietly. Then, from the corner of her eye, someone tall approached in the distance. Panicked, the watchwoman darted into the backyard behind a large trash bin and peeked out ever so slightly. She cursed herself for choosing the trash bin. The stench of damp, rotten food had reached her nose. Suddenly, the figure in the distance came to the front of the house, followed by another.
“Well… it looks like this is the place, Bootmann. Let’s see just what this man wants…”
The first figure was a female, very slender, tan, and tall. She was definitely an elf. Maravandril took a deep sigh and looked upon the mansion with disinterest. Next to her was the short and plump Frederich Bootmann, sporting a thick beard and an ape-like covering of hair on his equally as ape-like arms. Kedo could judge by the man’s lazy eye that he wasn’t “fully functioning”.
“Just go into the house, just go into the house…” the watchwoman whispered. Licking her lips and leaning over, she watched Maravandril knock on the door. Anticipating the crime lord himself, Kedo heard a stuffy voice announce himself as the butler, and ushered the two inside once they gave their names. Then, the back door opened. Kedo darted back behind the trash bin, and held her breath. It was only the maid, who had come to put some dirty rugs on a clothesline in the corner of the yard.
Then, Kedo realized this was her chance. As stealthily as she could, she dashed into the building from the open back door, and ran down the hallway.
“Hey! Hey, you!”
Terrified, Kedo ran to hide herself. She’d be caught and possibly killed for spying, surely before she could get any in formation that was useful. But that didn’t stop her. Saving her city was worth it. Running down the wide hallway, Kedo looked desperately for a room to hide herself in. Fortunately, the maid wasn’t running after her yet. At last, the end of the hallway opened up into a large foyer, and several other halls. Then, she found her solution.
“A personal transport!”
With a quick look behind her, she saw the maid hadn’t found her, so she rushed to the end of the room and tucked herself in the tiny pulley elevator. Luckily, she was just small enough to fit inside. She slid the open wall panel shut, and kept quiet for a moment. The elevator cage was dark and musty, and the rope around the pulley that was dangling down was hard and bristly.
“Please work, please work…!” She grasped onto the rope, when suddenly, another voice began speaking.
“Madalie, what is the matter?”
It was the stuffy voice of the butler. The maid, Madalie, came stomping down the hall.
“Someone snuck inside!”
“Did you see who it was?”
“No! Should I tell Olraedir?”
“… No. Just look out for them. Tell me if you see them. I’ll deal with Olraedir.”
Kedo swallowed hard. When the two left the room, she slowly pulled on the rope, hoping the chamber wouldn’t screech as it climbed up the floors. She was lucky once more; it had been oiled recently.
“Where is Olraedir now? What if that’s where this person is headed?” Madalie asked from down the hall.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Brai, what if--”
“He’s in the High Anteroom in his study. Just do your job Madalie.”
The watchwoman waited until the voices were completely gone before she went any further, wondering where the High Anteroom was.
“Well, wherever it is… it must be high…”
As she continued in the tiny carriage, other voices came into her earshot from rooms above her. It seemed to be a woman and another man. Kedo drew herself past the second floor, and as she came closer to what she thought was the attic, the voices were crystal clear.
“Nice… anteroom…” Anna mumbled, huffing out a sigh.
“Ah, Miss Schuster, I see you have learned what is and is not a storage place. Many people presume this is an attic. I suppose your trade has taught you the difference,” said the man’s voice.
“Well, a room is a room, Sir. It’s what’s in it that counts.”
The watchwoman pulled the cage into place. It was brought up the highest that the shaft was built for, and a tiny crack in the wall panel showed her the blonde thief sitting on a table, and an old, suited man leaning on his cane.
“This room you will be infiltrating, Miss Schuster, is far from just a room…”
Anna didn’t respond. Rather, she just sat on the table, dangling her legs, and inspected her dagger. Kedo guessed that the old man was the crime lord in question. But now, the crime lord had mentioned a key the little sister was looking for.
“Then why don’t you tell me about this room?” Anna inquired, proceeding to dig the dirt from her nails with her dagger. “You seem awful beguiled.”
“Oh, Miss Schuster, unfortunately I must be polite and wait for the elf and her guest. But, you must understand just how magnificent this will be…!”
Swallowing hard, Kedo let a bead of sweat run down her temple. Noises in the rooms below her grew loud, all of a sudden. Brai and Madalie’s voices were conversing quite gruffly. It almost sounded like they were arguing. The butler said firmly,
“I’ll tell him!”
A loud knock sounded at the anteroom’s door just then. Kedo’s breath grew short.
“I wonder who that must be,” the old man then said, a strange smile appearing. Kedo cringed. Who would work for him? The butler came in the room with Maravandril, biting his lip. The watchwoman grew so dizzy with fright she could barely make out their words. She was going to be found. But, even knowing that, she couldn’t move.
“Ah, welcome Miss Maravandril!”
“Hello, Olraedir.”
“M-Master Olraedir, Sir--”
“You may leave now, Brai.”
“But, Master--”
“Please leave.”
Brai stifled a huff and a scowl, turned on his heel, and left the anteroom. Kedo sighed with relief.
“What was that?” the elf suddenly asked, her head snapping in the direction of the carriage.
‘Shit!’ Kedo thought. Maravandril’s emerald eyes looked hardly to the small crack between the wall panels. She swore she saw something.
“I don’t hear anything,” Olraedir mumbled, his head also snapping in Kedo’s direction. She gulped.
“I think you’re all crazy,” Anna replied. “Let’s all just hurry up and get this briefing over with. I have places to be.”
“Very well, Miss Schuster.”
‘Thank you Miss Schuster!’
“For your sake, I hope their isn’t anything here,” he added, giving the thief a stern look. She refused to acknowledge him.
“So who am I working with?” Maravandril asked, approaching Anna. She put her hand out. Anna gladly shook it.
“Anna Schuster.”
“Nice of you to get acquainted,” Olraedir said, gathering papers from his desk. “Where is Frederich?”
“In your living room. He was distracted. I doubt his mind would put anything here together, anyway.”
“Wait… what was that?”
Anna had raised her brow. “Who is this? Are there three of us?”
“More like two and a half,” Maravandril answered.
“I am not working with such a risk to the operation!” Anna shouted, getting to her feet. “I can’t believe I’m expected to work with a retard!”
“Now, now, Miss Schuster, there’s no need to be so harsh. I assure you, Sir Bootmann’s talents will prove to be very useful.”
Attention peaked, Kedo found herself leaning slightly closer to the wall. The situation was getting foggier and foggier.
“Alright, fair enough. What are they ‘to be very useful’ for?”
“You three will infiltrate ARC.”
Kedo jumped at Olraedir’s words, only to dangerously rattle the cage, and just as the watchwoman heard angered shouts, the transport cage went plummeting down. Screeching, Kedo grasped the rope, and when the carriage failed to stop, she leapt through one of the walls shooting past her. The cage fell into her thigh and cut deeply. Screaming in pain, the watchwoman crawled into the second floor through the splintered wall, and jumped from the window.
OMG THANKYOU! *hugs*