Lowlife, Scoundrel, Bandit Queen

Wiktor upends the pouch, emptying it atop the bundle of cloth. He is careful about it though, as to not spill any of the coin onto the ground. And once the last coin is out he immediately starts to make neat little stacks of pennies, twelve high each, as that's how many pennies are in a shilling. There were some of the latter in the pouch too of course, but he sets these aside for now, probably waiting for more to accumulate as he deals with the other two bags.

The rest of us stands as silent witnesses, as he works. There is nothing much else we could do, but I guess paying close attention as he counts the coins, taking inventory of the small fortune laid out there in front of us is good enough. That too is a job that needs to be taken seriously after all. That way, as we give testament to the result, no one can easily dispute the final tally.

In fact I pay close enough attention to earn the final little bit of progress needed for one of my most advanced skills, as a quick notification whispered directly into my mind in Fox's voice reminds me.

[*Ding!* Your skill Perception has leveled up to level 10!]

This one counts towards the progress of my masked mediator class. And even better, my agility and thus my attack power improve indirectly as well. That's the only thing though. Unless Wiktor has a crazy good skill that lets him pocket some coins despite us keeping a close watch there is no foul play. And to be honest, why would he? He probably gets a share anyway.

I mean, sure, I can imagine a scenario or two where stealing your own coin could be part of the plan, but this is not one of them.

In short order he empties the other two bags too, counting their contents just like he did with the first. In the end the stacks of coins, both bronze and silver, are quite impressive. Sure this isn't the kind of fortune that might prompt thoughts along the line of never having to work a day in your life again, but it's still a serious treasure. A little over three hundred pennies and almost forty shillings in fact.

And we even left some more behind. It's enough to make me whistle in appreciation. I pat Matylda's back too.

"Nice haul."

She looks at the neatly stacked coins longingly and sighs.

"It's too bad that just about all of it will go straight to the guild, except for a little compensation for our efforts."

Wiktor doesn't say anything but smiles an understanding smile, while Sylwia now pats her friend's back.

"It was the guild's money that went into the bets to begin with, so it's only just. It was mostly the guild's risk, thus they earn most of the reward."

I decide to add my own take on the pile of coin.

"And besides, the guild will funnel it into other projects, or am I mistaken? Much less conspicuous like that. Just imagine the captain of the guard learning that a young dwarven woman starts spending piles of coin just after someone raided a scheme he was involved with."

Matylda grimaces.

"Ugh! Don't remind me. We probably should still lay low for a while anyway, just in case."

"Speaking of rewards."

Wiktor's words draw our attention to him instead. He grabs a few of the silver coins and hands each of us two shillings, before palming one himself. Afterwards he pushes the rest into a decent sized, iron reinforced chest just barely small enough for him to carry it alone once it's filled. Once he puts a lock on the chest he speaks up again.

"It's like Matylda said. Lay low for a while. Don't get involved in any big trouble. Especially not the kind that might draw the attention of the guard. Watch your backs too, just in case the raccoons came to all the wrong conclusions regarding the lessons they were supposed to learn."

Sylwia makes her two silver coins disappear into her purse and stretches thoroughly.

"Well, I'll be serving food at Michal's place for a while then. I sure can do with a few quiet days anyway."

Matylda puts away her compensation too.

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"I'll be out of town for a bit. Visiting my mother's family in Iron Hollow. One of my elder brothers is getting married."

I stretch too and put the coins away as well.

"Well I guess I can do a slightly more involved quest for the adventurers' guild then. Something that takes me out of town for a few days."

As I finish I can't help but yawn. Thanks to the second winds I caught I'm not hurting in any bad way, but I'm still pretty darn tired. This leaves me with a conundrum. Where am I going to sleep?

It's a little late to head to the adventurers' guild. Sure I could go over the wall, but the question would remain where I'm coming from this late at night, when I arrive at the guildhall. And to be perfectly honest, tonight of all nights I don't want to answer any questions in that regard, not even ones born simply out of curiosity.

Renting a room at the boardinghouse now, soon after the commotion at the fighting ring might rouse some suspicion too. I may not have a high opinion of the guard, but I can't exactly rule out the possibility that one or another might start snooping around in all the right or rather wrong places.

I yawn again.

"How late is it anyway? Still too early for breakfast I guess?"

Sylwia snorts in amusement.

"By a few hours at least."

I nod as Matylda leaves and let out a sad sigh at Sylwia's comment.

"Say, would you mind if come along to grab my stuff?"

She shrugs, while removing most of her disguise.

"Sure, come along. If they are looking for anyone already they are either looking for a trio or for suspicious individuals. Going together might just be best for us."

Together we slip back out the same way we entered, through the rooftop window, leaving Wiktor alone with the majority of our haul. Usually I'd be opposed to leaving a single man with all the coin, but I really doubt he'll do something stupid. Wiktor isn't the kind of man chasing short term profit if he can win a bigger pot in the long run.

We stay on the rooftops this time around, avoiding the streets and whoever might still be about down there completely. We don't even return to the ground when we reach Michal's eatery. Sylwia slips in through a dormer window there too and returns, completely back to her usual self, with my things a little later, handing them to me through the window.

As she closes the window to turn in for the night, I readjust my gear as I contemplate my further course of action. Damn it, this shouldn't be this hard! The adventurers' guild and the boarding houses are out. I don't feel like foregoing sleep completely for the night either.

Should I make a first exploratory trip to Hangman's Hill? I probably should get a look at it during the deep of night too. So far I only know how it is in the hour right before dawn after all. That's not quite the same. In the end I decide against it. It feels like I would be pushing my luck if I did. It is a little risky for sure. After all I have not yet tried to acquire a means to bless my sword and my [Light] spell is not yet powerful enough either. No, that will have to wait.

Sneaking out of town to nap in the moss or on a pile of leaves under a nice tree doesn't strike me as the best option right now either. After all I could easily come across some raccoons on the run and that is something I'd really rather avoid. Sure I have proven beyond a doubt, that I can handle their toughest fighter in a mostly fair fight. A fair fight is not what I can expect though should I run into the handful of them that might make a run from the city tonight.

Oh no, if they were to find me alone and possibly asleep, I shouldn't count on waking up again at all. They surely would be tempted to even that particular score, preferably without taking any unnecessary risk. Damn, this really is entirely too troublesome! Why does it have to be like this? I just want some peace and quiet to catch up on missed sleep! Is that too much to ask for?

Damn it all to hell and back! I need a hideout. Or a proper safe house. Possibly a well hidden safe house. My mind wanders to the hidden tower with my shrine for Fox out in the woods. I should visit it anyway, so I can look after it a little, but for tonight it's too far away. I might use it when I get around to pursuing the information from the hidden notes I filched from that book though.

In the end I make my way across the rooftops in the direction of the downstream waterfront. The place, with the guild's tavern nearby, is somewhat busy even at night. I doubt the remaining raccoons would be stupid enough to skulk about there if they don't have to. The guard mostly steers clear of the place too, except for the occasional patrol as a token effort to show some presence.

I never leave the rooftops, and I take great pains to move unnoticed, earning me a little more progress for my [Stealth] skill. Just a little more and that one will level up too. I have to admit, I'm getting a little excited at the prospect.

Once I reach the desired neighborhood, I pick one of the less steep roofs and there a spot behind a chimney that is in use. I make sure it's downwind of me too. I stretch out on the roof's shingles, hidden behind the massive, and somewhat warm chimney. It's not the most comfortable spot, but it's not too bad either and more importantly, is moderately well hidden.

There, wrapped in my cloak, I fall asleep at long last, even if it's not a deep and rather uneasy sleep. Morning comes much too soon for my taste for sure.

[*Ding!* You slept. Not bad, but not terribly well either! Health increased by 4! Mana increased by 5!]

I groan a little as I sit up and begin to stretch. Considering the location and the circumstances the regeneration achieved is actually rather phenomenal. But curse it anyway. It's not fair that now, with more coin in my purse than ever, I still have to sleep outdoors like this. I really need to change that. If not now, then at least in the long run.

After getting up I stretch some more and look around. The sun is just coming up, but the streets below are already busy, as usual. The city gate is probably still closed though. At least that is my best guess. I don't want to deal with any guards right now anyway, thus I decide to make another little rooftop run.

My mood brightens considerably not long after I take off in the direction of the inner city. It's because I can feel my [Balance], [Running] and [Jumping] skills improve little by little. Even better though is the notification I receive as I cross the city wall unseen.

[*Ding!* Your skill Stealth has leveled up to level 10!]

Oh yes, the day has just begun and it's already shaping up to be a grand day! Oh, if only there was an easy way to get [Danger Sense] to the same level. I have a feeling that it might just earn me a nice reward. Maybe an improvement of the quality of my scoundrel class? That would be nice! But, of course there is no such thing as an easy and perfectly safe way to train the skill. I'll have to face actual danger. No way around it. It's a good thing then, that I'm heading to exactly the right place to find some exciting and potentially dangerous work, right?

With these thoughts and in a good mood in general I return to street level close to the guildhall and head inside.