“We can’t waste any time,” you announce, sounding as grim as you look. “The best choice is to attack now, before Himitsu wises up or anything changes.”
“Tonight?”
“Tonight. If we can, we should try to find the Stone and steal it. If we can do that much, Himitsu’ll have a lot less teeth. Then we’ll hunt him and his ‘mistress.’”
“…I supposed I can’t argue with that. Let’s go.” Nuo’s tone is hard to read – a little bit resigned, a little bit drained, and not at all surprised. She looks ahead down the gloomy street and tilts her hat back, scattering raindrops from the brim. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re surprisingly eager to risk your life?”
“You’d be the first,” you answer with a sniff1.
“I don’t know anyone else who would throw themselves into a mission like this and be calm about it.” Nuo purses her lips. “I’m not sure if I admire that or not.”
“I fight because I have to, and I’m calm because I need to be.” Obviously.
“…You don’t say.”
“I said it.”
1
You lead the way back to the magus’ residence. The rain turns into a light misting, filling the town with fog. The path ahead is difficult to see, even for you. Still, you are determined not to spend too much energy focusing your senses when the worst is yet to come.
The people who were gathered in the streets are gone by the time you arrive – perhaps your runner reached them, or they just gave up. Whatever the reason, there are no obstacles on your way inside, except for Nuo.
“No,” she hisses at you in frustration. “We’re not doing that again.”
You both stand by the back wall of Himitsu’s mansion. You naturally assumed that you would enter the same way you had before – at the top level. Your companion had other ideas.
“It’s… too awkward. I can get in perfectly well on the first floor. That’s where they’ll probably be, anyway.”
Unwilling to argue it out this time, you both make the smaller jump from the back wall to the first floor. You move more quietly when you’re not overburdened, anyway. So does Nuo, for that matter.
Following a rough plan you hashed out before arriving, you and Nuo split up to creep around the roof, peeking in through the windows. As before, the first floor is completely dark. When you rejoin Nuo, she points out a window entrance that leads into an unfurnished chamber – maybe a guestroom, or some other thing that Himitsu and his servants have not yet taken the time to fill.
The inside of the room is nearly pitch-black. You climb in, and Nuo stays close behind you as you lightly step through to the opposite side. Your Blessing is enhancing your eyes now, freeing you from feeling your way along the wall until you find a door. Slowly, the proper entrance to the empty room slides open while you peer into the hallway outside. In better light, this scene would be more familiar to you…
Nuo cautiously slides the door shut behind her while you edge down the hall, counting doors. The third one on the left is the one where you heard light snoring, you think. Coincidentally, the windows into that room were also shuttered. You spend some time studying the door for signs of traps while Nuo catches up to you, but find nothing. You keep one hand on Righty while you slowly move the door aside.
The shuttered room has its own very soft light. A gentle white glow emanates from the Stone of Making, which rests on a low table near the center of the room. Just past the table, Himits is lying on his side on a bed, facing towards the stone… and you. He appears to be asleep, and is breathing gently. Joy rests close beside him, one arm around his neck. Her hair blankets them both, over their actual blanket.
Beside you, Nuo takes a deep breath and pulls out the iron dagger, unsheathed. She starts moving forward as if to push past you into the room, but you throw out an arm across her path. She stops abruptly, head darting in your direction. By way of explanation, you point up towards the upper frame of the door – a series of paper strips are hung from the other side. In the dim light of the Stone, you can make out enough characters to guess that these are magical wards of some kind2. Nuo’s eyes follow your finger, and then she inhales sharply. She looks back and forth between you and the talismans, questioningly.
Now what?
“Tonight?”
“Tonight. If we can, we should try to find the Stone and steal it. If we can do that much, Himitsu’ll have a lot less teeth. Then we’ll hunt him and his ‘mistress.’”
“…I supposed I can’t argue with that. Let’s go.” Nuo’s tone is hard to read – a little bit resigned, a little bit drained, and not at all surprised. She looks ahead down the gloomy street and tilts her hat back, scattering raindrops from the brim. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re surprisingly eager to risk your life?”
“You’d be the first,” you answer with a sniff1.
“I don’t know anyone else who would throw themselves into a mission like this and be calm about it.” Nuo purses her lips. “I’m not sure if I admire that or not.”
“I fight because I have to, and I’m calm because I need to be.” Obviously.
“…You don’t say.”
“I said it.”
1
You lead the way back to the magus’ residence. The rain turns into a light misting, filling the town with fog. The path ahead is difficult to see, even for you. Still, you are determined not to spend too much energy focusing your senses when the worst is yet to come.
The people who were gathered in the streets are gone by the time you arrive – perhaps your runner reached them, or they just gave up. Whatever the reason, there are no obstacles on your way inside, except for Nuo.
“No,” she hisses at you in frustration. “We’re not doing that again.”
You both stand by the back wall of Himitsu’s mansion. You naturally assumed that you would enter the same way you had before – at the top level. Your companion had other ideas.
“It’s… too awkward. I can get in perfectly well on the first floor. That’s where they’ll probably be, anyway.”
Unwilling to argue it out this time, you both make the smaller jump from the back wall to the first floor. You move more quietly when you’re not overburdened, anyway. So does Nuo, for that matter.
Following a rough plan you hashed out before arriving, you and Nuo split up to creep around the roof, peeking in through the windows. As before, the first floor is completely dark. When you rejoin Nuo, she points out a window entrance that leads into an unfurnished chamber – maybe a guestroom, or some other thing that Himitsu and his servants have not yet taken the time to fill.
The inside of the room is nearly pitch-black. You climb in, and Nuo stays close behind you as you lightly step through to the opposite side. Your Blessing is enhancing your eyes now, freeing you from feeling your way along the wall until you find a door. Slowly, the proper entrance to the empty room slides open while you peer into the hallway outside. In better light, this scene would be more familiar to you…
Nuo cautiously slides the door shut behind her while you edge down the hall, counting doors. The third one on the left is the one where you heard light snoring, you think. Coincidentally, the windows into that room were also shuttered. You spend some time studying the door for signs of traps while Nuo catches up to you, but find nothing. You keep one hand on Righty while you slowly move the door aside.
The shuttered room has its own very soft light. A gentle white glow emanates from the Stone of Making, which rests on a low table near the center of the room. Just past the table, Himits is lying on his side on a bed, facing towards the stone… and you. He appears to be asleep, and is breathing gently. Joy rests close beside him, one arm around his neck. Her hair blankets them both, over their actual blanket.
Beside you, Nuo takes a deep breath and pulls out the iron dagger, unsheathed. She starts moving forward as if to push past you into the room, but you throw out an arm across her path. She stops abruptly, head darting in your direction. By way of explanation, you point up towards the upper frame of the door – a series of paper strips are hung from the other side. In the dim light of the Stone, you can make out enough characters to guess that these are magical wards of some kind2. Nuo’s eyes follow your finger, and then she inhales sharply. She looks back and forth between you and the talismans, questioningly.
Now what?
- Shoot over the threshold. Archer’s Paradox is already strung. You can plug both people in the bed without passing the wards. Better use the iron arrows, just to be sure.
- Go around. You can break through the shutters on the outside easily, if not quietly, and that will remove any need to deal with the wards. Chopping through the wall might work too.
- Double-Team. Set off the wards, have Nuo hide and attack after they’ve focused on you.
- Storm in. Damn the wards, just run in there, grab the Stone, and kill whoever you can before anyone responds.
- Something else?
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