Breaking and Entering

Lucius followed the woman through a series of winding backstreets and alleys, making note of the route as best as he could in case he needed to retrace his steps. As they walked in silence, Lucius quietly noted that the city was slowly beginning to change. Spaces between buildings were getting wider as the structures got larger and more grandiose. Those that were walking about did so in fine clothes and often adorned in jewelry. A few caught sight of the pair, but scarcely seemed to notice their presence. Contrasting his drab appearance with the increasing opulence of their surroundings, Lucius figured that they had entered the wealthier section of the city. This was reinforced by their arrival at the inner wall, technically built as a defensive fallback point should the city ever be put to siege. However, as it had been nearly a century since the last great threat to the city, it served to separate the haves and the have-nots.

The woman put her finger to her lips to indicate that she should do the talking, as a pair of alert guards kept a careful eye on those walking in and out of the gate. After motioning for him to stop a few feet away, she casually approached one of the guards and engaged in a brief conversation. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at him only once, to which the guard shrugged and waved her through. Inclining her head as a show of thanks, she passed them by, motioning for Lucius to follow.

He jogged to catch up, muttering to her under his breath once they were clear of the gatehouse,

“What did you do? Did you know that guy?”

She offered him a knowing smile, “You don’t need to be personal with someone to be friendly. As far as they’re concerned, you’re a new hire at a nearby mansion. Or maybe you’re an apprentice off to training. What you really are doesn’t matter, so long as you can put up a front that’s easily believable. Besides, it’s almost time for shift change, so they’re tired and bored. Unless they had a suspicion to stop us, there was no way we’d face any trouble.”

The more Lucius learned about his mysterious helper, the more he was equally impressed and terrified of her. He was beginning to get the distinct impression that she wasn’t what she pretended to be, not that she had ever given any hint of what she was supposed to be.

“Probably should’ve asked that by earlier…oops.”

She suddenly halted underneath the shade of an awning that sat over a closed atelier, “This is as far as I go. Salerius’ mansion is another two streets over, it is the triple-story outlined with a stone wall and colored in a terrible shade of green. He is lacking in decorum as he is taste, so I doubt you’ll miss it. Around the rear you’ll find the servant’s entrance. It will be unlocked for the next hour or so, as someone ‘accidentally’ left it open when they went out on errands. Salerius should also not be present at the moment, but I can’t guarantee that he’ll stay that way. Move quickly and get out fast. If you’re caught, nobody will help you. Understand?”

He nodded, more determined that ever, “Yes, thank you. I’m not entirely sure why you’re helping me, but you’ve given me a chance. I won’t disappoint you.” The woman smiled a little more genuinely, “This is just business kid, but the sentiment is nice to hear. If you succeed, someone will contact you to collect the information you’ve gathered. And no, before you ask, it won’t be me. Good luck.”

With that final word, she left him alone and strolled off into the distance as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Lucius glanced around, seeing that there were very few people wandering in this area of the city. Night was close to falling, indicated by the lengthen shadows as the sun dipped down towards the ocean. Nervous knots began to twist in the pit of his stomach, but these were diluted by rising excitement. He took off in the direction indicated, trying his best to emulate the confident way that she walked.

Finding the mansion in question was as easy as he was led to believe. It was a large, sprawling complex enclosed by a moderately sized wall of stone. An iron gate guarded by two men wearing irregular uniforms, “Hm. Probably private mercenaries. Better avoid them if I can, now where is the entrance she mentioned?”

Lucius took the long way around, hopping between shadows and buildings to stay out of sight. He was lucky that nobody seemed particularly interested in wandering near the residence, likely due to its owner’s apparent reputation. It took nearly ten minutes just to partially circumnavigate the estate, which was more a testament to its sheer size than its construction. A half-dozen ancillary structures bloomed from the main residence, each of which seemed to prefer to cover up their blocky nature with gaudy paint and ornamentation. He spied an additional gate on the easterly approach, but this too had a man standing watch. It was on the northernmost side where he found his luck, another iron gate, but this one stood abandoned and faintly ajar.

He glanced left and right across the darkening street, and upon seeing nobody within eyeshot darted across the open ground. Arriving at the gate, he carefully tested it to see if it was truly open. With a gentle touch, it swung inward on well-oiled hinges, barely making a sound. A thrill coursed through his veins as he crossed the threshold, he was in.

Well, he was onto the grounds at least, which was a good start. But his real objective laid more than fifty yards away, the looming monster of the mansion itself. Luckily for him, Salerius didn’t seem to consider it possible that someone could’ve entered his property illegally and thus the grounds were completely unguarded. It was a simple matter to hop his way between the arranged statuary and floral arrangements, his eyes carefully peeled for movement in any of the nearby windows that faced the yard. Yet again, however, he found no issues in arriving at a small oaken door nestled into a recess in the rear of the main building. A quick test found that it too swung open without incident, inviting him deeper in to the unknown.

He paused at the entryway, his rational brain warning him that this was a terrible idea that went against everything he had been taught. Trespassing, breaking and entering, stealing, all fairly major crimes when stacked together. If he was caught, he could forget about any kind of serious future, and jailtime would be the least of his worries. Lucius clenched his jaw, “If it means getting her back, then it’ll be worth it.” Without another word from rational Lucius, he took a deep breath and plunged through the doorway.

A dimly lit hallway led him forward with only a single oil lamp to aid in his sight. He, of course, had absolutely no idea where to go nor did he know what to look for. Instead, he decided that the best course of action was to find evidence of where Hana was and hopefully stumble across something useful for that woman in the process. This was a great idea and all, but it hardly served to solve his current predicament.

“I’ll just start looking in doors, maybe that’ll bring me somewhere.”

Not exactly the greatest plan ever, but it at least kept him from thinking about how illegal and ridiculous the whole situation was. Out of the three that he carefully tried, only one allowed him entry. But it was hardly anything outlandish, merely a storage room for various foodstuffs. In short order, he found himself at the base of a staircase that led up from the basement area. He took the steps slowly, trying to carefully set his movements so that he made as little noise as possible. He didn’t know exactly how quiet he was, as every noise he made seemed deafening against the silent background.

Emerging into a slightly stronger light, he found himself in a larger atrium that sat towards the rear of the main structure. He recognized the basic layout; this area acted as a kind of intersection within the mansion, offering access to the various wings as well as the rear gardens. He expected that there would be a similar area towards the front, but found little need to check at the moment. Instead, he needed to comb through the place quickly, as his benefactor had warned him that an hour would likely be his limit. He guessed that maybe a quarter of that had gone by now, so time was of the essence.

It would be a poor decision to try to check every room in his limited time, so he needed to be strategic about this. Deciding the best thing would be to go up and work his way down, Lucius began hunting for stairs. His palm sweated against the cool handle of his dagger, which he held mostly for comfort. There was always the chance of running into somebody within, and the chance of them being servant or guard was relatively equal. He kept running through potential scenarios in his head, but he just couldn’t get them to turn out well without somebody getting hurt.

His feet carried him through halls that were adorned with high art and pottery, lavishly painted in bright colors that clashed horribly with each other. If Lucius wanted to picture the word ‘gaudy’ in his mind, this house would likely be the example he’d think of. He noted with chagrin that many portraits seemed to be of the houses’ owner, and they were perhaps the farthest thing from reality. Those rooms that were open to him garnered a fast scan, but he spared no more time than was necessary. A large room lavishly furnished to entertain guests, what appeared to be a reclining area with a large opening built into the ceiling, a small library that appeared to have never been touched. Lucius passed by them all with his mind racing along with the time, hoping to find what he needed before it ran out.

Half his time had run out by the time he found a large staircase that led up to the second floor, and even this simple construction was so thickly covered in ornaments that Lucius had a hard time picking out the railing. He had one foot on the steps when a sound caught his ears, which he immediately recognized as footsteps. A cold feeling rushed through his limbs, momentarily paralyzing him with fear,

“Someone’s here! Shit!”

Screaming at his body to move, he dove behind the nearest open door and crouched in the darkness beside the entryway. Finding himself in what appeared to be a dining room, he held his breath and tried to force down his hammering heartbeat, for it seemed as if the whole house shook from its reverberations. The gentle steps tapped softly down the stairs, which gave Lucius the impression that it was likely not a man in armor. Beyond that, there was no way of knowing who was coming. Their sound halted at the base of the stairs, mere feet from where Lucius crouched. He silently prayed for them to go away, to pick any other direction but this one. The steps then resumed, fading from his senses. Breathing a sigh of relief, Lucius waited an additional thirty seconds, using that time to regulate his frazzled heart.

Right as Lucius began to stand up, a head adorned with large, pointed ears poked around the corner,

“Lucius? Aha! It is you that I heard stomping around!”

“AH –” Lucius stifled his terrified shout with his free hand as he stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over a chair that rested nearby. The back of his head bounced painfully off the wall, coating his vision in swirling stars. For a few seconds, he groped about blindly for the wall to support himself. When he was able to finally uncross his eyes, he could not believe what he was seeing,

“H-Hana!? Is that you?!”