Singer Sailor Merchant Mage

Chapter 242: A cautionary tale

“I tell you this as a cautionary tale: beware of getting what you want. It’s bound to disappoint you.”

Jodi Picoult

Unknown’s POV

He watched as the foolish pilgrims parked themselves alongside one of the giant guards. This town was a dump, with no work that did not involve, actually working. After running from some heat a few towns south, he had ended up here, catching a convoy of merchants out of town. He had kept hoping it would get better and that there would be more opportunities in the next town north. But they just kept getting worse. There was nothing worth stealing that wouldn’t weigh him down when he fled. He needed something small and portable to turn his fortunes around. Something worth the risk and effort. Something that could pay off the heat if it was still running hot when he got back to his old stomping grounds.

He had first noticed the pilgrims when his highly levelled skill Seeker pinged as they entered the tavern Ice’s End. He was not sure exactly what was worth stealing but the strong sense he was feeling when they entered proved that they were carrying something of worth. That was until he saw the dragonling accompanying the young man. Now, that was something of worth. He had never seen one this far north. They did not like the cold, so to see one north of the mountains that cut the compass kingdoms apart from east to west in the Kingdom of Tramontana was a shock and finally something worth stealing.

The question was how. Animals were not his forte but he had a couple of skills that might help out.

It was not difficult to listen to their conversation with Eavesdrop. Just two pilgrims on their way south, probably along the river out of town, then down along the coast. He did not do anything as obvious as turning to look at them simply continued to drink quietly in his corner and order another drink or two as they talked of Ice Giants and some small village called Thorpe. The only problem was the beastkin warrior accompanying the young man and the short time they were planning on spending in the Drangavik. It looked like they might even try to leave tomorrow afternoon if they were able to sell their sledges and possibly buy a boat. Although it sounded like the beastkin would be happy to run alongside the river without one, the human beast was too short-sighted to see the benefits of travelling by boat and afraid of a bit of water.

If he were going to hit them, it would have to be tonight. And luckily, they were staying in the Ice’s End. He had already scoped out each and every room of the inn. Lockpicking left every door in this tiny town and open doorway to him; there were no magical locks to keep him out. He had only ever taken a tenth of any guest's purse. No need to be greedy and cause a chase when he had nowhere left to run. The number of new faces in Drangavik was few, and unless he could escape with something worthwhile, it was simply not worth the risk.

He watched as they headed upstairs, following in Ulf’s wake as he happily carried their sledges for them. The only benefit to a giant innkeeper’s tavern was that each room was palatial in comparison to most human inns. There would be plenty of room for their sledges within and time during the night for him to pick his way through them.

He stayed still as they went and waited, watching for the tavern to wind down for the evening. Paying up for the evening, he made a point of leaving, but activating his skills Stealth, Silence, Scentless, he returned to his seat to wait for everybody to leave and for the guests to leave. It was not precisely invisibility, but the combination worked well enough in the crowded tavern. People simply forgot about him and ignored his presence. The skills slowly drew from his stamina and mana. He had never had enough to be a mage, but he had invested enough to power the skills, and sitting still, they drew so little he could keep them active for ages.

Eventually, his patience was rewarded as the Beastkin strode down the steps and told Ulf he was going to walk the town but to keep an eye out for his companion, not that he should need it as he should be sleeping upstairs and would not need anything till breakfast. Just like a cat marking his territory, he thought silently to himself. Still, this was perfect; the beastkin was the only complication to this theft. His Danger Sense told him he was not worth risking engaging directly with him. Not that he ever faced up to a fight. It was always better to stab someone in the back; safer, too. Worryingly, the beastkin paused in the doorway, but he left after a second glance across the room.

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It was time to move.

It was time to wait.

He waited.

He gave the beastkin a minute or two to leave, ensuring he had not forgotten something and would not return immediately. Then it was time to move. Slowly and carefully, he drifted through the nearly empty bar. No one in this town knew or had seen him employ his skills. They suspected nothing. He was just another convoy guard waiting for a convoy to head back south.

Reaching the steps, Silence helped to mute the creaks the steps would have made as he ascended them. Creeping along the corridor, it took him only moments to find the new arrivals room, Seeker triggering as he reached the room at the end. He paused momentarily before the door but listening, and eavesdropping gave him nothing. The boy and dragonling must be asleep after their long march south. He would be taking a boat when he left tonight if he could repurpose one from the docks along the bank without too much difficulty. If not, it would be a bit of a walk, but he always had his bag prepped and ready to go.

Secure in the silence and darkness under the door, he started on the lock. Lockpicking made it take only a moment before he was carefully easing open the door. The Silence kept the hinges from protesting at the incredibly slow and microscopic movement as he inched the door open and slipped in through the gap.

Darksight revealed the empty room in front of him.

Empty?

The dragonling was nowhere to be seen, and where had the other pilgrim disappeared to? Their bags were gone. Had he somehow got the wrong room? But his Seeker skill still insisted the items actually worth something in this tiny, terrible town were hidden somewhere in this room and that they had not been there before the arrival of the two pilgrims.

Where were the treasures hidden?

Nervously, he inched his way around the pitch-black room. He could see perfectly well but solely in shades of grey. The empty sack that he had pulled from beneath his cloak hung hollow in his hand as he padded around the room, using Seekerrather than Darksight to try to pinpoint the treasures that he knew were somehow hiding in this empty room. It was a matter of professional pride now. He knew they were hidden here somewhere. He couldn’t leave with nothing and he had already taken the risk.

Then he noticed it. The doorway to the privy was black. Even with the shades of grey highlighting everything he had somehow failed to notice that the doorway to the room’s privy was pitch black just like the room had been before he had activated Darksight.

Did the boy have magic? Were they hidden out of sight in the privy? Perhaps the boy was as dangerous as his warrior companion. But that was unlikely. If he were . . . well, he would have more than one companion. He had not even bothered to test his Danger Sense on the boy barely older than a child. He was too close now he just needed to go a little further to reach the rewards he deserved and the solution to his exile from civilisation.

Cautiously, he reached out a hand to test the black doorway before him. Danger Sense did not trigger, and he gently touched a finger against the darkness, risking only a single digit on a single finger. He quickly pulled it back, relieved to see and feel it unharmed. This was clearly some sort of veil spell meant to hide travellers, and it helped to make sense of how the two pilgrims had survived their travels if they had access to intermediate spells such as this one.

It also meant that the treasures he could sense through the veil might be worth as much as the dragonling. Grinning, he put his best foot forward and stepped into the veil. Only to jerk back as his Danger Sense flared when the veil disappeared to reveal an empty privy. He turned to sprint out of the room, sensing he had been discovered, and stumbled over his body, only just realising it was missing something.

He looked down and gave a muffled scream as the pain hit him.

He had lost his leg below the knee.

His lifeblood rushed out through the sudden amputation. Leaving a trail across the room, he hopped to a chair; sitting, he ripped off his belt and cinched it around his thigh. How could it all have gone wrong so quickly? He cursed. Rapidly realising that no pilgrim’s treasure was worth his life. Moreover, beyond the pain and shock, he realised that with the disappearance of the veil, his Seeker skill showed nothing of worth hidden within the room.

His only chance was to make it to the Church of the Lodestar before he was discovered and hopefully have his leg healed. Wincing and flaring his skills, he hopped to the door and hoped he would make it there without passing out. He could not be found if he hoped to avoid being imprisoned, and even then, there would be some awkward questions to be answered.

Closing the door on that death trap, he made his way down the stairs as quickly as his single leg would allow him, teeth clenched in pain, his skin cold and clammy. Stealth, Silence, Scentless worked as hard as he could push them, but they could do nothing for the drips of blood he was leaving in his wake. As he left the tavern unnoticed, he wrapped his scarf around his stump to stop leaving a trail behind him as he clawed along the side of the street to the church on the corner.

. . .

Kai’s POV

“Well, that just happened,” I said as I emerged from my spatial vault, leg in hand and Nyx in tow. We watched from the window as the thief hobbled down the street to the Lodestar Church on the corner. It looked like he might survive, albeit missing a leg.

“Namir is never going to believe that wasn’t my fault. I might as well put it on ice and wait for him to return,” I muttered, returning to my spatial vault, where I disassembled and repurposed our sledges. After all, I had promised not to leave the room while he scouted the town.

“Nyx, stop that!” I ordered, halting her licking up the blood the thief had left behind. Her bloody footprints followed me into the privy where I had placed my portal once more, but this time, I made sure to shut the door behind us.

I wondered what Namir would think when he returned. Probably nothing good, but there wasn’t anything I could do about that other than wait.

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