If his contact wasn’t up there, Jace would need to get out of here very quickly. He was ready for that contingency. He’d already planned an escape route and he’d dug out his Infiltrator’s Hat he’d gotten from the forest ogre.
The magical hat allowed him to alter his appearance to that of nearly any generic humanoid. He wore it now instead of his leather hood. If he was forced to flee, the ability to change his appearance would come in a lot handier than a few extra points of armor.
He glanced down at Luna, who was back in her sling so he could carry her up. “You ready?”
Luna gave him an annoyed look. He knew she wasn’t overly fond of the sling but Jace had no other way to take her with him.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he told her.
Reviewing his escape plan one more time, he slung the rope around several times before releasing it and sending it sailing over the top of the wall. The padded grappling hook made no sound as Jace pulled it until it caught on something.
After testing it several times to make sure it would hold, Jace began climbing up the knotted rope. He’d purposefully brought the knotted rope to make it easier on himself as he climbed. His virtual body could climb a regular rope, but the more the difficult climb, the more Stamina it would use. And he would need his Stamina if he got up top and their inside man wasn’t there.
It took him several minutes to shinny up the rope. He was only a few feet from the top when a burly man’s head in a chainmail coif peaked over. Jace froze and looked at the man and the man just stared back at him. “You coming up or what?”
Jace hoped that meant it was the guild’s man and scrambled the rest of the way to the top. He started to get to his feet, but the man gestured for him to stay down. “Keep low and go down the side as quick as you can.”
Nodding, Jace took the grapple where it was lodged and found a spot on to wedge it on the other side of the four-foot-thick wall. Once it was secure, he flung himself over the edge. Just before he started descending, the man grabbed his forearm. “You got a little over an hour to get back here. If my shift ends, you’re out of luck and it ain’t my fault. Got it!”
Nodding, Jace started to climb down the rope but stopped and called up to the man in a low voice. “Where’s the Crown Inn?”
The man looked around to make sure no one else was around before leaning down. “Head north to King Street, then west to Lion Street. It’s up there a ways.”
Jace waited a second longer to see if the man would add anything else but the guard had already turned away. Descending to the found, he jiggled the rope until the grapple disengaged. As he did that, Luna wiggled out of the sling and hopped to the ground. She immediately began sniffing the area, which even his human nose could tell smelled much better than the rest of the city.
The pair made their way north and then west until they found the Crown Inn. The houses they had been passing weren’t houses at all but more like small manor homes on pristinely manicured lawns. It was a stark difference from the cramped housing in the rest of the city. Just like in the real world, it was good to be rich in-game.
From the inn, he stalked through the well-manicured yards, moving as stealthily as possible to avoid the few roaming patrols he’d spotted. He went up one home, then another and finally stopped when he reached the third house. Third house from the Crown Inn. This was his target.
It was a small stone manor on a two-acre plot of land, similar to the other two he’d past. It was a smaller home than he’d been seeing but still sported three stories and was easily as large as most of the inns in the city proper. There were no lights so Jace moved to the house and the around to the backdoor.
It took him several minutes to pick the lock and he broke several picks doing it. This was obviously a higher level lock and his lower skill gave him a severe disadvantage. After a few minutes, his persistence and real world skill paid off and the lock clicked open.
He looked at Luna, sitting quietly near the door. “You know the routine. Let me know if anyone comes.”
“Yes,” she replied in a bored tone and Jace scratched her behind the ears. Then, quiet as a ghost, Jace slipped into the house and closed the door behind him.
He’d entered into a small foyer that immaculately organized. There was a doorway in front of him that opened into a dining room and an open door to his right. He went to the door and peeked in to see it led down to the basement. He heard snoring from below. Since he doubted whoever the lord of the manor was would be sleeping in the basement, Jace guessed there was at least one servant down there.
Jace crept through the open doorway into the dining room. It was well furnished, and the walls were adorned with paintings. To his left was an open door that led into a kitchen. To his right was a drawing or sitting room. Ahead of him the room opened into a large living or entertaining room with a large staircase. Off to either side of the living room were two other open rooms that looked like smaller living rooms. That was a lot of living rooms.
Jace didn’t see where the noble might put any important information down on the second floor, so he carefully took the staircase to the second-floor landing. The landing was U-shaped, allowing for those upstairs to view the action going on downstairs. It also had numerous doors along the walls.
He started with the closest. The first door opened into a small bedroom. It was unoccupied and the bed was made so Jace closed the door and moved to the next door, the door in the middle of the hallway. This was actually a double door and Jace guessed it opened into the master bedroom. He was right and wrong.
The double door opened into a smaller room that appeared to be a dressing room, with dressers and walk-in closets that were open. There were clothes strewn on the floor, as if someone had undressed quickly or while drunk.
On the far side of the room, were two other double doors which had been left open, revealing a richly furnished bedroom, completely with a four post canopy bed. Jace couldn’t see the figure, on the bed but he heard the snoring. He peaked in and saw a jewelry box on a dresser near the bed. Remembering the guildmaster’s instruction to get something small and valuable, he crept over to the jewelry box.
The man continued storing loudly and Jace saw empty bottles on the floor. It appeared the man had drunk himself to sleep. Turning back to the jewelry box, Jace opened the top to reveal some gaudy rings. They looked valuable but he checked out the sides and bottom drawer. The sides contained some similarly gaudy necklaces, but he hit paydirt in the drawer.
There, thrown haphazardly in the drawer were two gnomish timepieces. They were special clockwork devices made by the gnomes to keep time in the game. They were very expensive and considered a status symbol among rich merchants, nobility and players alike. Basically, it was this world’s equivalent of a Rolex wristwatch, just a bit more clunky. It was exactly the sort of thing that would send a message.
He slipped one of the timepieces into his inventory and then, unable to resist, slipped the other one in too. Best to send a VERY strong message he told himself, all the while grinning like a madman.
Jace moved to the other side of the room to see if there were any notes. The dresser on the other side held only empty bottles and overturned wine glasses. Jace turned to go but stopped dead in his tracks as he caught sight of the sleeping man’s face. He recognized that face. It was the man from the sewers. It was Lord Tiebaut!
Things began to click into place for Jace. Lord Tiebaut was the one who had hired the thieves guild to steal the tiara. Jace remembered the other man in the sewer. The one Tiebaut had called Captain. Was that the person who had the tiara now? Was he the one who was trying to cut the guild out of their cut and sell the tiara to the noble directly?
Jace needed more information for Webley. He needed to know who this captain was. He was sure that was what the guildmaster wanted. But the information didn’t appear to be in the bedroom.
Slipping out of the room, Jace went to the next room, which was also another smaller bedroom. He moved t
o the next door and was happy to find that it was a study. The walls were lined with expensive looking shelves, filled with books and tomes of all shapes and sizes. In the middle of the room was a large mahogany desk that had several large, comfortable looking leather chairs around it.
Moving to the desk, Jace looked only briefly before finding what appeared to be a date book. Paging through the book, Jace saw an entry for early that day.
Meet Captain D. in sewers.
Frowning, Jace picked up the book and thumbed through the last week or two of entries but found no other references to the captain. He went to put the book back on his desk, but a folded piece of paper slipped out and fell to the floor. Jace bent down and picked up the note, opening it up so he could read it.
Dear Lord Tiabaut,
I have relieved Captain Shardin of command and I now have the package you ordered. I wish to deal with you directly rather than dealing with the third party you originally dealt with. Meet me on Sunsday in the sewer at the place I’ve drawn on the map. If you don’t show, I will find another buyer.
Sincerely,
Captain DD
That wasn’t much, but he hoped it would be enough for Webley. He had no idea who Captain DD was, but the person was in for a world of hurt once the guildmaster found them.
Replacing the date book, Jace went downstairs and out the backdoor. He looked up at the sky to try and gauge the time and realized, he no longer had to guess. He produced one of the timepieces and checked. It was 4:33. He had 27 minutes to make it back to the wall.
Not taking the time to re-lock the door, he hurried back across the manors to the wall. This time, it took him less time because he knew where he was going. He made it back with 8 minutes to spare. He retrieved his grapple, tossed it up and quickly climbed to the top.
The inside man was there but looked nervous. He pulled Jace up and not waiting for him to get the grapple, pulled up the rope himself. “Cutting it a bit close, aren’t you? My replacement will be here any minute! Go!”
The man handed Jace the grapple and motioned him to the other side of the wall. Obediently, Jace wedged the grapple on the outside of the wall and then went over. He climbed down as quickly as possible and jumped the last 10 feet. No sooner had he done that, the grapple was tossed down after him and the guard disappeared over the ledge.
Checking the street around him, Jace gathered up his rope and then disappeared back into the shadows. It was time to turn in his quest.
Chapter 17
The sun was peeking above the ocean to the east as Jace reached the Fainting Unicorn and slipped down into the thieves guild. Webley was waiting for him at the same table and gestured for Jace to join him as soon as he walked into the Lucky Coin.
“Did you find anything?” the guildmaster asked the moment he sat down.
Jace pulled the folded note out of his inventory and passed it over to Webley. As he did, the quest completion message appeared in his HUD.
You have completed the quest, “A Noble Job”
You gain 800 experience. Experience to next level 1120.
+50 faction with Whitecliff Thieves Guild
The guildmaster took it and read through it several times before looking up. He reached down into the seat next to him, pulled out a bundle and passed it over to Jace. “Nicely done. Was there anything else?”
You receive Thieves Guild Cloak.
You receive 50 gold.
This was the moment he’d been dreading. Jace felt like he needed to tell Webley about the meeting in the sewers he’d witnessed but wasn’t sure how the guildmaster would take it. It seemed far too coincidental that he’d blundered into their meeting. Add that to the fact that Jace was new to the guild, and he was afraid the guildmaster would think he was in league with this captain fellow.
Jace’s main concern was that he would lose faction with the guild. It was rare that players were expelled from a guild, since that interfered with gameplay, but it still happened if the offense was grave enough. After all, the AI might be tweaked in the players favor but it still tried to run the NPCs realistically.
Taking a deep breath, Jace decided to just tell him and let the cards fall where they may. “I need to tell you something.”
The guildmaster raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
“Earlier yesterday,” Jace began. “I was with my group down in the sewers hunting alligators for the adventurers guild. When we were looking for the bos… the big alligator, I happened across a strange meeting that I didn’t understand at the time. But given what I just discovered, it makes much more sense now.”
Webley was listening intently and motioned for Jace to continue.
“I overheard a conversation between two men. One was referred to by name, Lord Tiebaut,” Jace said.
Webley’s brow furrowed as he leaned closer. When he spoke, his voice had an edge to it. “Go on.”
Jace swallowed and continued. He really hoped he didn’t lose faction. He’d need the guild’s inside man if he wanted to get into the Noble District. “I saw his face clearly and recognized him tonight. The other man had his back turned but Tiebaut referred to him as Captain.”
Webley nodded. “And you think it’s the same Captain?”
“It has to be,” Jace said. “The note says Sunsday and there was an entry in his date book for today that mentioned meeting Captain D in the sewers. It can't be a coincidence.”
The guildmaster sat back and stared hard at Jace. He could almost see the gears turning in the guildmaster’s head. He was probably deciding whether he believed Jace was part of it. Finally, the man leaned forward.
“I’m glad you told me about that,” the guildmaster said. Even as he spoke, Jace felt like the man was still deciding. Watching for him for some reaction. “Either it’s the biggest coincidence I’ve seen, or you’ve got Dolorea’s own luck. I just can’t decide which.”
Dolorea was the patron goddess of thieves, since she was associated with shadows, secrets, cats, and luck. It wasn’t uncommon for thieves to wear her symbol, which was a cat’s head, half white and half black. Some thieves guilds even had a shrine dedicated to her but Jace had seen no such shrine here.
Luna chose that exact moment to hop into the chair next to him. She looked between the two men and settled on Jace. “Fish?”
The guildmaster looked over to the cat, then to Jace and then back to the cat. The guildmaster snickered. “Goddess of cats, indeed. Maybe you do have Dolorea’s own luck. I’ll see what I can dig up on our mysterious Captain DD.”
“I think he’s a pirate,” Jace blurted out, remembering the man’s clothes. “At least, he looks like a pirate. Or at least a ship’s captain.”
Webley nodded. “That helps to narrow it down. There can’t be that many ship’s captains with the initials DD - assuming that is the name he’s going under. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Jace stood up and left the guildmaster. It was time to meet his friends back at the Dwarvish Fork and see what they had done that night. But first, he needed to go to the Black Market and sell one of the gnomish clockwork watches. He considered selling both, but there was something to be said for being able to tell what time it was. Especially considering the that many quests were time sensitive. He could always sell it later.
The Black Market never slept so Jace knew it would be open. When he entered, Jace didn’t see any other players in the room. It was all NPCs. Jace went to one of the vendors and set the gnomish timepiece on the counter. “How much can I get for this?”
The vendor’s eyes opened wide. “Oh, such a treasure. I am afraid that I cannot buy something of this value. Not from someone with such a low reputation. Perhaps one of the other vendors.”
His low reputation? Did that mean he didn’t have the faction to sell it? That was a first. But then again, he had never stolen something this valuable at such a low level before.
Jace picked up the timepiece and moved to the next vendor. And then the next. And the next. None of them
would buy it from him. Several said almost the same thing as the first vendor while others told him to come back when he’d earned more of a reputation.
Disappointed, he left the Black Market. Jace didn’t know exactly how much they were worth, but it had to be at least ten thousand gold, maybe even more. And he couldn’t sell it. Not yet.
When he arrived at the inn, Mika and Diana were already waiting for him. The first thing he noticed was that Mika now sported much newer looking armor. He guessed she’d completed some of the fighters guild quests and received the class armor.
That was a nice perk of doing the class quests. Unfortunately, you couldn’t sell or trade the armor to other players, you could only sell it to NPC vendors and they never gave you much for the armor you earned from those quests. Still, it was decent armor that you could earn at low level.
“There’s our lovely,” cooed Diana when she saw him.
Jace grinned despite himself. He knew she was an unabashed flirt and that she didn’t mean anything by it. He also knew she had been in her 90s when she died. But in her hourglass, raven-haired, 20-something body, it was easy to forget sometimes.
“Good morning,” said a smiling Mika. “I have completed four quests for the fighter’s guild and now have new armor!”
Jace returned her smile. “Good job!”
“And you are level 8,” she said enthusiastically and Jace couldn’t help but notice the difference between when he’d first met the girl to now. At first, she’d seemed shy and soft spoken - almost demure. Now, she seemed much more vibrant.
“Yes,” he returned her smile. Like Charlena, she had a brilliant smile. But then again, they were all in their genetically perfect bodies, so it was no wonder that the girls all had amazing smiles. He took a moment to scan the two girls.
Raajoget
Race: Human
Class: Fighter
Level: 5
Veil Online - Book 2: An Epic LitRPG Adventure Page 11
