The Pet Rat II

I need as much information I can gather with my new found freedom. I imagine Aroura has documents regarding military movements or at least dossiers on some prominent figures in the city. Problem is, I can't go sneaking around her room while she's barely asleep and her maids still in the room. So for now I'll explore the castle, mapping out what I can.
If I can, I should stop by the library the royal family most likely has. I'm curious to see what books a family of supposed mages keeps. If I can learn anything about magic, I can steer my conversations with the princess easier and impress her with my intellect. Not to mention, any records of espionage they might keep, but I won't hold my breath for those.

Based on the number of doors similar to Aroura's, I assume this side of the building is mostly the bedrooms and other living areas. It wouldn't be ridiculous to think the servant's quarters and the kitchen are just below.
On the opposite side of the castle if I remember correctly, sits the dungeon, the barracks, the stables, and easy access to the battlements.
So that leaves the centre of the castle with the throne room and any auxiliary rooms like a library. So that's where I'm headed, after I complete my business with the princes.

Waiting behind corners for the nightwatch patrols to pass, I slink through halls careful not to bump into anything in the darkness. I don't want to run into any guards just yet. The princess may be awake in the night, but the other royalty won't be.

I sneak through the hall towards a bedroom door and lay my hand on the handle. It's unlocked. Opening the door slowly, I realize my mistake. The prince is most definitely awake.
I peer in through the small crack I left in the door to see ugly man-ass staring back at me. The prince is getting a dirty kind of service with his servant. Oh, I mean servants. Lucky bastard. Freala always wanted to be tied up like that, but we couldn't find a good spot. Oh, how I miss my freedom.

I shut the door as silently as I opened it, and slink back through the halls to the next room. This time I put my ear to the door before opening, just in case the brothers had the same idea.
...
Silence. I open the door to a dark room and slight snoring and slip in through the crack. I creep low and quiet with my hands out, searching for a desk of some sort. I feel my way around what feels like a chair, stray ashes from a fireplace, and a metal post? Is this a bearskin rug? How tacky. After a few more failed attempts, I run into the desk and pat it down looking for a light source. Beside the desk, my hand finds a vase containing dazkrid stalks. Knew this would be here. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that these are parts of giant bugs the dwarves farm and sell off for cheap.
I break off a tiny piece of the stalk and crack open the carapace. A faint white light buzzes to life and gently reveals papers and books stacked neatly on the desk. Perfect.

I glance through the papers and thankfully they're in a language I can read. At least most of them are. Let's see here... Trade invoices, combat manuals, notes on history and statecraft, Swaylish documents... Interesting, but ultimately useless.
I open the drawers, and continue to dig through papers until, aha! Dossiers. He has five large journals for each of the noble families and one for the temple.

Let's see what he has on the Épicier family first. Skimming through the most recent entries, it looks like he's come to the same conclusion Joan has.
"...Nickolas Épicier continues to agitate the other noble families, yet retains his good graces with archpriest Sevrosul through large tithes and favourable trades. My recommendations to expand our farmland have been largely ignored by father..."

He then details his plan to expand his food production anyway and recommends to himself a closer eye on Nick's movements. He doesn't mention Nick employing eleven thugs or thieves at any point so perhaps he's only watching those wearing the Épicier blue. 

I spend almost too much time reading through prince Killian's thoughts and notes on the other families. It seems, in retaliation for his absurd prices, the Hozfur and Vulpe families have raised prices for lumber and medicine respectively. The Vulpe family needs lumber for their current construction projects and the Hozfur family needs medicine for their sick children, but refuse to sell to each other due to border friction and grudges. There have been slight skirmishes between the two families, but according to prince Killian, nothing that can't be solved with diplomacy and a social gathering hosted by him.
Apparently this is all to the detriment and benefit to the Artisan's Guild who have remained neutral. The blacksmiths and fletchers have prospered thanks to the increased demand for weapons and armour, but the actual artists can't get any business so they're starving. To top it off apparently the prospering artisans refuse to help the struggling, causing conflict between the guild's leaders. Nothing violent yet, but Killian thinks that could change soon.

I had a feeling the city was going to shit, but I didn't realize it was this bad. As much as I hate the noble families, I know they're what keep most of the trade coming into Solaris. Speaking of, if they can't buy from each other why don't they buy from other cities? I can find out later. For now I need to find any military documents and get out of here. 

I rummage through the desk's other drawers under the pale light of a dazkrid stalk when I hear a rustling. Shit! I toss the stalk in my mouth just before the prince asks, "Is someone there?"

Of course, I remain silent. He decides to get out of bed anyway and I hear the distinct sound of someone pulling a sword off the wall. Fuck, where can I hide?
I don't think he has a second floor like Aroura and I doubt I can make it under his bed before he notices me. Maybe I can make it to the door. I creep across the floor carefully tracing the path I came from. His steps are slow and cautious as they shuffle towards the desk.

Halfway to the door, the manacle around my ankle barely taps the head of the tacky rug, creating the tinyest sound. This dumbass just had to have a bear in his damn room.
The slight sound caused him to stop for a moment and point his sword at the darkness before rushing for his desk. He swipes a bundle of stalks and cracks them, illuminating the room in pale white light. 

I watch from the chimney of his fireplace as he swipes the dazkrid torch over the room looking for me. I hear him meander around the room, turning over furniture expecting me to be around any corner. He hasn't called for the nightwatch so either he's overconfident in his abilities or he's not sure if I'm real.
I hear him inspect various parts of the room and rummage through drawers, finding everything exactly where he left it. 

I watch the light dance around the room over and over so many times that my arms start to ache from holding myself up. I readjust to put more work on my legs instead, but that means I'm getting covered in soot.

Once he's finally satisfied, he groans. "How did we get rats again?"
He rings a bell and shortly after someone else enters the room. He scolds the poor girl for allowing rats to enter his father's castle to which she profusely apologizes and assures him she'll take care of it as soon as possible.
He then apologizes for being so rude and blah blah blah, I don't care! Hurry up and go back to sleep so I can get out of here!

He finally thanks the girl for her service and releases her. I continue to hang in the chimney while he settles back into his bed and gets nice and cozy, taking his sweet fucking time! Even after the rustling stops, I wait and wait until I hear the slight snoring. Finally.

After dropping down, I escape the room, not willing to waste any more time. He'll be on high alert and with the dazkrid torch he created still lighting the room, if he wakes up, I'll have no where to hide. Nick will be happy knowing the royal family doesn't seem to know about his usage of elven thugs. It won't be enough to satisfy him however. Aroura better have military documents, because I'm not going back into Killian's room.

Before I go back to Aroura, I should head to the library. I backtrack to Aroura's room and head down the nearest stair case where a nightwatch man was stationed. "Excuse me, can you direct me to the library?"

He turns around and looks me up and down. "Oh, you're her majesty's pet. Why are you out of your cage?"

"Her highness wanted to conduct late night experiments and has asked me to gather some books."

He looks confused. "Why send you and not one of the servants? And why are you covered in soot?"

I take a deep exasperated breath like I'm tired of explaining something. "I have learned it's best not to question her highness. She is aware I can't read but sent me anyway."

He sighs like he understands. "Right, but. Why are you covered in soot?"

I gesture my hand towards the dark halls. "I can tell you on the way if you wish."

He accepts and leads the way while I make up some story about Aroura's experiments with fire. He laughs and questions her sanity so I defend Aroura to build a reputation as her loyal pet.
The rest of the walk is mostly silent until we reach the actual library. He asks, "So how do you plan to find the books?"

I pat the rim of my pants on the side he can't see and say, "I have a list. If I can just match the shapes I should be fine."

He shrugs. "If you say so. Good luck."
He walks off back towards his post, leaving me with part of his dazkrid torch for light. He must not be able to read, otherwise he would know how impossible that would be. That or he just doesn't care.

Passing through the heavy wooden doors, I can't help but marvel at the sheer size of this library. Books line the walls at least as high as three of me with rows of shelves between either wall doing the same. The royal family is truly lucky to have a collection this massive.
Enough oogling. I have work to do. I scan the shelves, overlooking hundreds of books on all subjects from world history to encyclopedias on creatures from all over the world. From manuscripts on different fighting styles to manuals on any skill I can think of. It feels like such a waste, not reading any of these! 

Finally, I find the shelf containing information on magic. Trying to remember all the names Aroura threw at me, I skim over the covers, unable to recognize almost anything. After a thorough search, the books finally reveal themselves. To protect the books from soot, I swipe a few stray pieces of paper and take the books for myself.
Based on the titles, it seems like these will contain more than just the theories Aroura mentioned. I'm actually excited to read these, but first I have to 'give' them to Aroura.

After making my way back through the castle, past the nightwatch and up the stairs to Aroura's room, I sift through her desk for any military documents. Unfortunately, she doesn't keep journals and documents like Killian does. Son of a bitch. I'm going to have to find a way to buy some time so I can return to Nick with useful information. For now though, I'll just return to my cell, slipping past the nightwatch one last time.

As I walk back down the stairs into the dungeon, I hear Naz and Maheed stumble awake. Naz yawns, "You're back? Where's Aroura?"

I shrug. "Sleeping. I made my way back on my own."

Maheed tilted his head. "She trusted you with the key?"

"The... key?"
I stare at the tiny keyhole on my cell door preventing my entry.

...

Well... Fuck.