With a new target, Heath began stalking her. After about ten minutes, he was shocked by how efficient the young woman was at avoiding work. She carried around a basket with clean sheets, bypassing every room that might need them, it was like a camouflage that allowed her to hide in plain sight.
Then she entered Olaf’s room.
Heath followed quietly, watching her carefully.
When she set down the basket and opened the desk drawer, the young maid’s name tag suddenly changed from
Class Quest Alert: Infiltrator found? 1 (Recommended Level 6-8)
You have uncovered a maid snooping where she should not be. Get to the bottom of this mystery.
Reward: Experience
Do you accept this quest?
Yes
No
Heath mentally accepted the quest, also taking note that it was a class quest and one not issued by the thieves’ guild. Seeing her move on from the desk, he guessed she hadn’t found what she was looking for.
It didn’t seem to deter her though, as she started searching out any hiding spaces, finally crossing her arms in anger at finding nothing. She proceeded to pick up her basket and head for the next room, his. Thankfully, Heath knew enough to not leave anything in his room, especially not when everything about this current quest screamed there was more going on than could be seen on the surface.
He supposed he had watched her long enough, it was time to catch her in the act and see how she reacted.
“Find what you’re looking for there, love?” he asked, watching the girl jump back from the empty desk as if burned.
“Oh, Master Heath, you gave me such a fright. I was just tidying up a little before I changed your sheets,” she replied smoothly, not hesitating or flinching even a little. If Heath didn’t know she was lying through her teeth, he probably would have believed her.
“You’re good,” he replied. “Very good, but I’m better,” his hand drifted toward his dagger, ready to draw at a moment’s notice.
“I do not understand sir, what are you talking about?” she feigned ignorance, but her eyes were looking around the room for something, escape routes or maybe something to use as a weapon.
“Come now, don’t expect me to believe you went through Olaf’s desk and my desk without a reason,” said Heath, grinning a little at seeing the girl’s eyes widen, panic or surprise it didn’t matter, she was caught.
“We underestimated you, adventurers,” said the maid, stepping back and lowering herself a little, one hand slipping behind her back. “You are your friends will not stand in the way of love, we will ensure true love prevails,” she insisted, her nameplate changed again, this time to
Heath though was confused by her statement. “Um, what are you talking about?”
The woman just narrowed her eyes, glaring at him. Suddenly, she leaped backward, busting through the window and plummeting to the street just a story below.
Heath ran to the window to look for her and possibly give chase, but the girl was already gone, only shards of broken glass remained. “Bloody hell, just what was that about?” he grumbled to himself.
The crash was apparently heard by members of the staff as several maids and the butler all rushed into the room.
“What is the meaning of this?” the butler demanded.
“I caught one of the maids going through my room, looking for something. Probably a thief. Anyway, when I caught her, she jumped through the window and ran away,” explained Heath, hiding some information. There was no telling if one of the other maids wasn’t involved.
“A thief you say,” said the butler, looking around worriedly. “Where is Monica?” he finally asked.
“Real pretty?” Heath asked. “Probably too pretty to be a maid, pretty?”
“That would be her, sir,” said one of the other maids, this one looked rather mousy.
Heath answered by pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the broken window.
“I should have known she was too good to be true,” grumbled the butler, his hand subconsciously moving toward the pocket that held the book Heath had found on the man earlier.
Heath liked the old butler even more now, despite the fact he had essentially hired a spy. Or was she an assassin?
Class Quest Alert: Infiltrator found? 1 (Recommended Level 6-8) – Completed!
You have uncovered a maid snooping where she should not be. Get to the bottom of this mystery.
Reward: +1,500-Experience
Heath nodded, happy for the quest completion and more so when the next quest popped up.
Class Quest Alert: Infiltrator found? 2 (Recommended Level 6-8)
You forced the infiltrator to flee in a hurry, but she may have left clues behind. Infiltrate the infiltrator's room and investigate.
Reward: Experience
Do you accept this quest?
Yes
No
“Your love life aside,” started Heath, causing the butler to blush crimson and start sputtering in indignation. “I think I’m going to need a new room.”
The Butler snapped out of his discomfort quickly at that point. “Right you are, sir. We will move you across the hall if that is acceptable.”
“Any room is fine,” said Heath dismissively.
The butler finally realized all the staff was just lingering and snapped, “Back to work, all of you now.”
There was a flurry of activity as all of the staff fled the room to resume working.
“My deepest apologies, sir,” said the butler now that they were alone.
“It happens,” said Heath nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders. “Don’t suppose you could tell me more about her?”
“I am afraid I do not know much about her. She came with a letter of recommendation from the Lansettri family,” he answered.
“Who are the Lansettri?” Heath asked.
“A noble family a few districts from here, they are well respected in the community and savvy business people,” he explained further.
“If they are so respected, why would a maid ever leave?” he asked.
“I asked that myself, her answer was obscure but clear enough to read between the lines. Apparently, the Lady Lansettri did not care for the way Lord Lansettri was looking at the girl. Rather than risk a scandal, the Lady Lansettri asked her to depart their service, but as payment for keeping quiet, she was given the letter of recommendation. Sadly, it is not an uncommon story with house staff,” the butler explained.
“Sorry, I don’t think I got your name before,” said Heath, realizing he was thinking of this man by his nameplate, .
“Barkley, sir,” answered the butler.
“Right, thanks Barkley, don’t suppose you can show me to Monica’s room? seems to me she might have left something behind in her haste to escape,” Heath requested.
Barkley hesitated a moment before speaking. “Sir, it is generally considered . . . improper for a gentleman to see that area of the manor.”
“Good thing I’m not a gentleman then, isn’t it? I’m a thief, a rogue, a scoundrel or any other name you might come up with,” Heath said, grinning from ear to ear. “So, lead the way.”
Barkley looked like he wanted to protest further but seeing no valid argument he could make to the contrary, he relented.
Heath followed at a small distance from the butler, far enough that he couldn’t be attacked by a hidden dagger but close enough that he could close the distance to attack if he had to. Heath knew his character well enough at this point that he wouldn’t be caught off guard, not again, his fist clenched subconsciously.
Heath had a past just like anyone else. He grew up like most normal people did, divorced parents weren’t exactly uncommon. No brothers or sisters, just him and two parents who he spl
it time between. As a teen, Heath dreamed of being the next big thing in music. His father had gotten him into classic rock when he was younger, and he fell in love with the sound, the edge, and the beat. Nothing could beat the Rolling Stones.
As an adult, he made a go at starting a band, but he kept getting compared to those classic rock bands except not as good. The most common critique was that there was nothing new or original about him or his music. It still led him into a career in music, first as a manager and agent, then as a producer. He was actually very successful, and he was looking forward to his early retirement with his wife, they wanted to travel and see the world or a few worlds.
His wife . . . a woman he now hated with everything he was, suggested they try the World Tree. It was cheaper than travel visas and offered a lot more excitement and adventure. So, he bought two seedpods. The plan was to log in and meet up at the World Tree, he showed up, she didn’t. After three days of waiting for her, he logged out early to check on her, make sure she was okay.
Logging out, there was nothing he could have done to prepare himself for what awaited him. The house was completely emptied out, totally barren. All the artwork was gone, the furniture, the electronics, his collections of signed guitars and albums. His most prized, a guitar signed by Keith Richards, the man for whom he chose his name, gone. A call to the bank revealed he’d been completely wiped out. If not for an offshore account his wife didn’t know about, he would have been left completely destitute.
Of course, he hired investigators to find her and hopefully find out what happened to her. Apparently, she had already boarded a deep cryogenics transport to Platinum 4, an earthlike planet inhabited by the rich and famous almost 30 years away at current speeds. Needless to say, he wasn’t about to chase after her. A very good lawyer took care of things the legal way. A hacker he had worked with in the past (an agent had to protect his clients) took care of the rest. He couldn’t do anything about the lost possessions but at least he had recouped all liquid assets.
After that, he logged back in, the real world didn’t hold much value for him anymore. Heath was angry at the world and filled with rage back then. For the next two months, he was a very bad man. Death and destruction followed in his wake until one day he ran afoul of a young woman claiming to be the servant of Tyr, the Norse God of Justice. He didn’t take her seriously. Then he woke up in Hurlig Ridge, starting over again from level 1. When he wasn’t even upset at being reset, the previous rage and anger just kind of faded away. He had a chance to start over. So, that was exactly what he did.
Heath was a thief before, nothing could change that, but he had a chance to do something different. It was unfortunate that losing so many levels to his character didn’t also reset the levels of his skills and spells. What good was a ‘One-hand Sword VI’ or ‘Duel Wielding VI’ when every skill associated cost more stamina than he had available to him? What was the point of having the spell ‘Greater Terror’ if he did not have a large enough mana pool to cast it? Relegated to a single dagger, Heath muddled through, trying to embrace the actual thief skills he cast aside for the more powerful illusions. When he stumbled across a guitar in the general store, the rest was history.
He never planned to share any of his past with his new friends. Just thinking about his ex-wife still sparked such anger in him, he crushed the unbidden memories, refocusing on the task in front of him. He didn’t want to be that person or want them to know that person. It was why he was always hiding, if another player ever recognized him from his days as a killer, it could ruin his new friendships.
“Here we are, sir,” said Barkley, stopping in front of a door. The man fiddled with some keys, but Heath was quick to put a hand out to stop him. The glow emanating from the keyhole warned him quite clearly there was a booby trap.
“Might want to get far away from here, mate. Looks like Monica left behind a trap for anyone that decided to snoop about,” warned Heath, ignoring the paling butler as he took several staggered steps away from the door. “Thank you, Bye-bye for the book on traps,” Heath mumbled to himself. Last month while in Hurlig Ridge, Bye-bye had come across a book on traps that granted a couple of very useful skills.
Heath was thankfully able to learn the skill to spot traps, all thanks to that book.
Perception
Level: 68
Experience: 47.25%
Skill Range: 16.80 yards
Chance to See: 26.75%
Chance to Identify/Value: 43.50%
Subskill: Spot Trap
Skill Effect (Passive): Enables you to see hidden traps.
Subskill: Dark Sight
Skill Effect (Passive): Enables you to see better in darkness
Subskill: Appraisers Eye
Skill Effect (Passive): Enables you to look at an item and be able to approximate the value.
Subskill: See Intrigue
Skill Effect (Passive): Enables you to look at a person or item and see unusual behavior or out of place details.
And more importantly, right now, he had the skill ‘Trap’ which gave him the ability to disarm a trap.
Trap
Level: 6
Experience: 25.00%
Skill Effect (Passive): Knowledge and understanding of traps.
Subskill: Create Snare
Skill Effect (26 Stamina + Materials): Allows for the construction of a basic trap to catch small game. Chance to capture 25.60%
Subskill: Create Spike Trap
Skill Effect (26 Stamina + Materials): Allows for the creation of a basic trap to wound and slow. Damage 8-13 Chance to Slow 20%
Subskill: Disarm Trap
Skill Effect (26+ Stamina + Tools): Enables you to disarm a trap, more complex traps will require more Stamina.
Heath kneeled in front of the door with his lockpicks in hand as he studied the inside of the lock. Thankfully, as this was a fantasy game, the locks were very old fashioned and tended to use large keys which meant he could actually see inside of the lock and identify what would set the trap off.
Taking a deep breath before he began, Heath carefully inserted his tools. It appeared the trap was tumbler based, he had to unlock the tumblers in a specific order or the trap would go off. Heath carefully maneuvered the torsion wrench and half-diamond pick to the first glowing tumbler, a little twist and pull and the tumbler snapped into place causing the next tumbler to light up.
Ten tumblers later, the glow faded, and the door unlocked, allowing Heath to breathe a giant sigh of relief. Looking at the slightly ajar door, Heath was still cautious about going inside, he’d been decapitated once before stepping into a house filled with traps, he didn’t want a repeat performance.
Opening the door just a little further, there didn’t appear to be anything lit up inside the door frame indicating there was another trap. Heath opened the door just enough to poke his head in to have a good look around without actually stepping inside. Good thing too, it appeared the knob inside was trapped as well. There was a flashing red line leading from the lock to a square black panel on the back of the door that was still glowing. Heath cut the line, disarming the trap. Looking at the wall behind the door there was a metal plate on the wall where the doorknob would have stopped if the door opened all the way. He guessed it would have set off the trap if the doorknob met it.
“This lass was paranoid,” commented Heath, looking back toward the still shaken and shaking butler.
Experience told Heath not to let his guard down until the room had been completely cleared, lest he was sent to respawn at the graveyard. And Heath didn’t particularly like dying in this game, it hurt, not as much as the real thing but pain was still pain. If that weren’t enough, Heath had no idea how far away the closest graveyard was. It could take him hours to get back to the manor.
After meticulously searching the room for traps, Heath only found one more. It was attached to the only drawer on the tiny desk, it barely fit in the 6’x4’ room. Just a small cot, a dresser, and the desk, not even a chai
r for the desk. It was probably the most spartan room he’d seen in the game to date.
“All clear,” Heath called out to the hall for Barkley satisfied it was safe for the Butler to enter.
The butler nervously poked his head in the room. “Are you sure it is safe, sir?”
“Safe enough, you should probably hire someone professional to really go over it. Maybe talk to one of the royal guards when they drop off the Duchess this afternoon,” suggested Heath.
“I’ll see to it. Do you have any further need of me?” Barkley asked, looking very much like he wished to flee the area as soon as possible.
“You can go,” said Heath, not looking back at the man. His eyes were on the stack of papers in front of him. They appeared to be love letters between Monica and Lord Lansettri, except her name was Monique in the letters. They were also fake, or rather they weren’t genuine love letters. They were handwritten to be sure and to the untrained eye they would have passed as love letters, but Heath could see them for what they really were, coded messages.
Class Quest Alert: Infiltrator found? 2 (Recommended Level 6-8) – Completed!
You forced the infiltrator to flee in a hurry, but she may have left clues behind. Infiltrate the infiltrator's room and investigate.
Reward: +1,500-Experience
Another good sign as far as Heath was concerned.
Class Quest Alert: Infiltrator found? 3 (Recommended Level 6-8)
You have uncovered documents in the infiltrator’s room that appear to be coded messages. Break the code on the communication. Find out who she really was and why she was here.
Reward: Experience
Do you accept this quest?
Yes
No
World Tree Online: The Duchess of Hammers: 2nd Dive Begins Page 11
