NOVEL NEXT 57. Treasure Hunt: Tabitha
57. Treasure Hunt: Tabitha
I needed to consult. Initially I would consult with Nijel, Modrica and probably Axill as he has been here in the mansion the longest. Wiremu wasn’t due back for another week. I probably needed to consult with my security boss at Sølv Emporium. I didn’t think I would need Nyx in the short term so I told her she could start having a leisurely meal on Llawr. I turned to Nijel.
“Setup a meeting with Modrica, Axill, you and myself in a half hour up stairs.” He nodded and left with Axill who had been giving me the tour. They went to find Modrica who had not come with us. I picked a bedroom and shut the door. I needed to sort out Classes and Skills.
My new specialisation was a top tier one with five Attribute points per level. It was called Racketeer which seemed to be a specialist Class for those in organised crime.Three of the attribute points were assigned, one to each of the Mental Attributes. There were two free attributes. I had never heard of it before, nor the Skill it came with.
Adjuster 1. It gave me the ability to adjust small things. At Novice level it was just verbal and a subtle adjustment to attitudes. Apprentice level I could make small adjustments to written agreements as well. At Journeyman Level I could make small adjustments to the physical world around me. I am not sure what that actually meant right now. I could see the potential, particularly to agreements, but I would have to think this through. It was not an easy skill to use like Skavt’s mapping. Using this would depend on my wits.
I had a lot of Skill level ups. Particularly, Spatial Awareness, Mimic, Elemental Bond, Coax, Distract and Shadow Manipulation. I had levelled Thief and Shadow Predator. I had a lot of free attribute points from all this. From my assassination of Fett, I knew I had to spend some on Physical Strength. I brought it up to 20 even though I knew no new Skills would become available. I still had 10 points available. Identify was telling me that wasn’t enough to get me a new skill. I am not sure I need another skill right now. I could bolster some of my existing skills with better attributes though. Shadows was strongly focussed on Spiritual and then Mental so I brought Spiritual Strength and Agility both up to 30.
Tabitha Carter
Class
Thief
Merch
SPred
Rider
Rack
Total
Type
Attribute
Level
12
7
8
2
1
Constitution
Physical
Strength (PS)
9
2
3
4
2
20
93.0
Agility (PA)
12
3
12
8
2
37
Perception (PP)
11
4
12
7 2
36
Mental
Strength (MS)
8
3
4
4
1
1
21
78.0
Agility (MA)
12
2
1
7
2
1
1
26
Pain R +1
Perception (MP)
10
1
12
7
1
31
Spiritual
Strength (SS)
9
1
6
3
11
30
85.0
Agility (SA)
10
1
5
3
11 30
Perception (SP)
10
4
5
2
4 25
Totals
91
21
60
33
40
8
3
172
Free Points
0
2
0
0
2
Resistances: Cold +15, Poison +1
Skills
Novice:
Rampage 4, Sewing 4, Spiritual Traps 1,
Parry 4, Knockout Strike 4, Trapping 1,
Sentient Lore 4, Adjuster 1
Apprentice:
Appraise 9, Lock Pick 7, Detect Traps 7,
Detect Spiritual 6, Unarmed Combat 7,
Disarm Traps 8, Swords 5, Cooking 7,
Animal Care 6, Blunt Weapon 5, Confuse Status 7,
Detect Spiritual Traps 6, Disarm Spiritual Traps 5,
Coax 7, Sleight of Hand 6, Elemental Bond 6,
Mimic 7, Pickpocket 5
Journeyman:
Dark Sight 14, Riding 11, Identify 10,
Distract 11, Dwarvish 11, Bargain 10,
Engulfing Shadows 10, Shadows Embrace 11,
Intimidating Aura 10, Shadow Manipulation 11,
Small Blades 10, Spatial Awareness 10
Master:
Stealth 15
Affinity: Shadow
Bond: Nyx: Shadow Elemental
Skills: Syphon Energy, Binding Shadows, Shadow Manipulation, Mimicry.
Time to go to the meeting and look for opportunities to adjust things.
It was now about 3:30am and I had Merchant work at 7:30. I would need a couple of hours of sleep. Let's do this. Axill, Modrica and Nijel were waiting when I entered. “Ok first question. Where are the money chests?”
Nijel, being a burglar, had a sensing Skill for hidden places and he mentioned two he had noticed on the tour. He thought both were too small for the main coin chest. In addition to those I had sensed two others and one was a well shielded one in Fett’s bedroom. With time I am sure my Spatial Awareness could sense through it, but we didn’t have time.
I emptied Llawr’s coin purse on the table and he had several items that would help, including the key for his rooms. He had a Treasure ID for the Kirghiz Treasure House which was probably the largest of the Kingdom’s Treasuries. I assumed it was personal and we would see how we could get access to it, Eyslk might be the key to that. It might also be a reason to keep him alive for a few days.
We went on a treasure hunt. We checked the two Nijel found on this level first. I knew what was in there before Nijel opened them, but it was good to see him in action. One had a coin stash of several Platinum in small coins. Obviously for small transactions etc. The other was harder to open and contained ID’s for four accounts at different Treasuries. We would need to get them amended. I am thinking my forger friend could make a last will and testament for Fett, and probably Llawr. Nijel would put an order in with Vesle after we finished here.
We went to the lowest level next to the other one I sensed and I opened that. The trap was easy and the shadow key made it simple. I could sense Nijel’s puzzlement at how quickly I opened it. I ignored him. There were a number of gold and Platinum coins and two different ID papers. This was Fett's escape stash. His escape tunnel would be nearby. I found the entrance off in one corner of the bath areas. We went for a quick look and it came out in the loading bay area on the first underground area.
Fett’s storage was locked up tight. There were multiple traps, fortunately Nijel had seen this setup before and we negotiated through it. I got a level in the Skill. The lock itself was the most complicated I had ever seen. Nijel said he could do it, but it could take an hour or more. I had to oil the inside of the lock, but on the fifth attempt my Shadow Manipulation got it. Half the chest was filled with coins, mostly gold and platinum and a couple of Cargonite. The other half had Spiritually enhanced and, in some cases, enchanted weapons and armour. There was a very thin Blacksteel stiletto that I appropriated. Most of the rest wasn’t suitable for me or Wiremu so I let Nijel and Modrica choose something each as a signing bonus. Modrica chose some gloves with knuckle studs. Her punch was a one hit kill now and she is enhancing it? I guess there are a lot tougher people out there than me. Nijel chose a pair of enchanted throwing knives. They were just good a steel alloy but were enchanted to return to the scabbard which made them almost invaluable. Axill only got a few platinum, as he was not as important as the other two and needed to be shown as less.
We took enough to cover us for the week, although coin should flow in not out. They also had access to the small coin stash. I locked it again, although we didn’t set the traps again. Time to find out what was happening upstairs.
Llawr’s floor was divided into three main areas. One was a very luxurious apartment and very tastefully done. The second part was a storage area and it had mostly alchemical ingredients. The third was a very complicated alchemy lab. Neither Llawr nor Eyslk were alchemists so it was a puzzle. There did not seem to be evidence of anyone else being here. Was he preparing to enter the drug trade? Some of the ingredients looked very rare. Eyslk might be able to tell us, although it is likely she would have been banned from doing so.
When we were back in the meeting room, I asked a key question I had. “What do we do about Eyslk?”
“Kill her,” from Modrica.
“She has information we need.” argued Axill
“Does anyone here have experience with having a slave?” Nijel asked. “Without some experience as a slave master, or being able to bond, nobody here could pick her slave bond up so we can get the information she has.”
With that knowledge I knew I could pick up her slave bond. Identify was telling me I could. Did I want to? I would need to consult with Wiremu first.
“Bad experiences. Fuck with brain. Mercy to kill” Modrica was very strong on this and probably quite right.
“We have a few days to decide. Keep them separate and both locked up. Treat Eyslk well. From tomorrow Llawr will feel very lethargic and get worse as the week progresses. We will have a decision by then.” I concluded. I set up a message drop system to pass important messages to Nijel and organised a full leadership meeting for two nights away.
I slunk into bed at 5am to get a couple of hours of sleep before work.