Solo Philters For The Taking!

[Brandon Blackwing]

Day 50 of Winter 515AV
Dawnrest

oocPermission for this one was granted by Elysium

With one of his daggers, Brandon tore a brown robe in pieces of fabric, strips of the same size. He’d need them later, when he’d wrap them around the phials he planned to steal, to prevent the small glass bottles from cluttering in his pouch. Quickly, he relocated the skyglass orb to the pouch that held the glass cutter, needing the space for the soon-to-be-acquired philters. The Kelvic stuffed the fabric into the pouch, checking the others one last time. House key? Check. Lockpicking gear? Check. Glass cutter? Check. Alright, he had what he needed for the break-in.

Preparations were complete, and the time was right; Dawnrest had set in about a quarter bell ago, and Morwen’s grip made the outside as dark as it could get with the soft glow of Skyglass illuminating the major streets. He put on his half-gauntlets, the cold iron plating hidden underneath another set of leather gloves, the fingers cut off as to not diminishing his fingers’ nimbleness. He wriggled the appendages for good measure, then wrapping his scarf around his neck, pulling it up so it covered his face. As a finishing touch, he tied his cloak over his leather attire, the hood helping to conceal his face even further.

He took off then, closing the door behind him, glad he lived in an alleyway, and not along one of the larger streets of Zintia Peak. True, the houses around the outskirts weren’t nearly as fancy as the others one could find in Lhavit, but Brandon didn’t really need a fancy home. What he deemed necessary was a place to hide his loot, to shelter him from the elements, to provide him with a bed to sleep in. That was all he needed, that was all he cared about. More might be welcome, but certainly wasn’t something Brandon had set his sights on.

Quickly and quietly, the bat moved through the dark alleys, always checking whether the coast was clear before he rounded corners, or crossed the main streets. Whether Alses considered them useless or not, Brandon found that underestimating the Shinya would not give him pleasant results. It was always best to be cautious, always. Most unpleasant surprises could be avoided that way, which was –obviously- the most favorable outcome. Caution was the reason he hadn’t been caught by the guards yet, that and Yshul’s blessing. Or at least she didn’t disfavor him all that much, not titling his luck to the bad side.

Brandon moved between the tiers on memory alone, his senses focused on locating the Shinya that might be passing by on patrols. He pressed his back against the wall as he reached a crossroad, first listening for footsteps, then sneaking a peek around the corner, looking for a patrol or just ordinary passersby. There was not a very large likelihood of the latter, since the Dawnrest was in effect, and most people were asleep. Some would say those people were decent Lhavitians, though Brandon believed they were just used to it. Other people simply weren’t, but still adhered to the rest bells, only not spending the time asleep. It mattered little though, the people were off the streets, clearing Lhavit of its crowd.

There was no-one around, and the bat quickly dashed to the other side, continuing his way along the same street he’d been walking in for a while. He was almost there, just a couple more twists and bends would bring him into the Azure market, and then to the Starry Chalice. After a moment of consideration, he started to jog, wanting to waste as less time as possible; Dawnrest didn’t last forever, after all. Despite the faster pace, the bat remained cautious, especially straining his ears to detect the Shinya’s footsteps, and the characteristic sound of skyglass plating clattering as they walked or moved.

Perhaps it was because he had –only for a tick- thought it might be easier than he had thought, that he might get lucky and not run into the guards for once, that he actually heard that which he’d been on the lookout for; a Shinya patrol closing in. They weren’t exactly close, but if the Kelvic wanted to get to the Azure, he’d have to cross the path of these fellows –if he had guessed their position correctly. To be honest, Brandon wasn’t really willing to get too close to the monks, so he decided to take a shortcut.

So he kneeled in a doorframe, quite sure that it had a backdoor leading to a very, very small alleyway, which would eventually –after a whole lot of corners and bends- debouch into one of the alleys the Azure consisted off. His hands found the lockpick and tension wrench effortlessly, inserting them into the lock. Tension wrench at the base, the pick itself hoovering in the available space. Making another guess to the relative distance of the patrol, Brandon nodded contently; he had more than enough time to pick the lock and get inside. The pick found six pins, six guardians he had to outwit before he could open the latch. No problem at all. A little bit of torque was placed on the revolving part of the lock, and the thief moved his lockpick all the way to the back of the cylinder. Then, with one quick motion, he brought it all the way back to the front, raking past all the pins in the process.

Most of them had been pushed into their holes, the torque not letting them come back out, however, there was one that resolutely stood its ground, not allowing the bat passage. A swift bit of prodding and lifting with the pick, and even that guardian was defeated, driven back into the small cylinder it had come from, and then the tension wrench rotated the whole lock just like a key would have, and the latch slowly withdrew. Brandon did not allow the lock to click, instead withdrawing his tools right before the deadbolt fully retracted into the door. The portal could still be opened as per usual, but with less noise. The bat turned the knob cautiously, not wanting to mess up by making a racket now, and stepped inside.

Credit goes to Nyxie Nadira Draer

[Brandon Blackwing]

The inside of the house was dark, or at least, the hall was. The doors leading out of the small space were closed, but a small strip of light could be seen shining from under one of the wooden structures. Well petch, he’d chosen the wrong building. What were the odds. Brandon sighed, deciding to soldier on, instead of going back outside and try another residence; it’d take too much time, and the Shinya would be within the range of sight. It’d be too close for comfort, even if the Kelvic could pick an ordinary lock within half a chime. Petch. Petch!

Brandon snuck to the door, concentrating on the noise coming from the other side. He heard voices, two of them, one distinctively male, the other female. They sounded young too. A couple perhaps, a young couple. Fire crackled softly in the background, not nearly as loud as the voices –which were rather quiet. Strangely enough, the people speaking did not seem to have another accent than that of the ordinary Lhavitian, born and bred within the city. Brandon frowned, then why were they awake? If they were ordinary Lhavitians, shouldn’t they be asleep? Well, it mattered little; he’d have to get past them either way, and he’d have to be cautious. This really defeated the purpose of him taking a shortcut; he only wasted the time he had. On the other hand, he was out of the Shinya’s field of vision, they wouldn’t detect him. Sure, he could wait until they’d passed by, and then go back into the alley, but that defeated the purpose of taking the shortcut too.

Alright then, sneaking through it was, but he couldn’t just magically cloak himself to evade the sight of people. And certainly not in a brightly lit room. So he needed a distraction… or he could just take the stairs, go to the first floor and leave through the window. That was exactly what he did, stepping up the stone steps as quietly as he could, holding his Skyglass orb in his fist –the light seeping out from between his fingers- to help him find the way. The flight of stairs, so he noted, was a simple stone construction of steps, solid, and with no way of seeing below it. However, so Brandon had noticed when he’d been standing in the hallway, there was some space underneath it, where the couple had placed a low closet.

Upon reaching the first floor, Brandon put his orb away, the couple ticks of light enough to have gotten a feel of the layout. There were two rooms to the left, and two to the right. Seeing as the alley he wanted to reach was to the right, Brandon decided to enter that one. It was a baby room, though the bat could only tell from the crib standing in the center of the chamber. That, and the scent of diapers and small children. There was a window there, but unfortunately, it wasn’t one that could be opened. Bah, then he’d have to try the other room. However, that one was a dead end too, and Brandon snuck back to the top of the stairs, a little disappointed. For a tick he’d thought he could just use his Glass Cutter to solve that problem, however, if there was no lock to open, there was no use for the tool.

“… Yeah, I’ll just check on her. I’ll be right back.” The door opened, and light flooded the small hallway. Brandon cursed internally, and he quietly sneaked back into the first room he came across. A little too late did he notice it was the baby’s room –with sleeping baby included- but he couldn’t change course anymore; from the sound of it, the guy was on the stairs, probably somewhere in the middle. The thief needed a place to hide, and fast. He glanced around for a tick, then it hit him, and his gaze darted to the ceiling. Bingo! Even though it was a little high up, there were supporting beams for the roof there that should be accessible to the bat. There was not much time to think about it though; the man was almost in the first floor hallway, if the Kelvic’s ears were to be believed.

He paced to the beam as far away from the crib as possible, and then jumped, stretching himself as far as he could. His hands clamped around the wooden beam, then his arms joined in, hauling him up. In the meantime, the footsteps stopped in front of the door, and Brandon hurried, dragging his body on top of the beam fully, one hand reaching for his cloak, pulling it behind him, making sure it wasn’t dangling about, betraying his position and presence. I really need to do something about the cape… As useful as it may be to hide weapons and my leathers, and for obscuring my silhouette, it does get in the way of stealth all the time… Though a cowl would still help with hiding my face –just as well as any hood- it just doesn’t have the flair of a hooded cloak. ... I can't believe I'm having a fashion dilemma. In the meantime, the door opened, and a young man carrying a burning candle stump walked in, suspecting nothing at all. Brandon started quietly using a breathing technique to forcibly slow and steady his breathing, reducing the risk of detection further. Not that he believed he’d be discovered; people rarely looked up when searching for intruders, and even less so when not suspecting anything at all.

Credit goes to Nyxie Nadira Draer

[Brandon Blackwing]

The man didn't really spend much time inside the room; he just walked towards the crib, stared at the infant sleeping for a couple ticks, and walked back out. Brandon waited until he was going down the stairs to move from his hiding place, clambering off the beam, and lightly landing on his feet, only making a soft noise on impact. He sighed, pondering the problem he'd been presented with. The layout of the first floor was something of a mystery, but it was obvious that if he wanted to get to the back door, he needed to traverse the illuminated room. And in that room were at least two people -likely just two of them.

Thus, in order for him to manage, he needed a distraction. Fortunately, there was one right in front of him; the baby. If he woke her up, and made her cry -which didn't seem like a difficult task- surely one of the parents would come to her room. That meant there was just one other left. How was he going to get past them though? Brandon didn't want to be seen, but he wasn't willing to knock them out just for that. Hm. So he needed a distraction to get one parent to the first floor...preferably the mother. Which shouldn't be a problem actually. If babies cried at night, it usually meant they were hungry, right? So they'd probably assume that was the case, and go to feed her.

So then he'd have removed one out of the living room, but how could he get the father to go upstairs too? By getting the mother to scream, but how? How? Quietly he paced towards the door, his eyes falling on the lock underneath the knob. There was no key there, and when he inspected the other side, there was no key there either. Hm... yes, yes he could use that. A simple but effective plan; he'd lure the mother into the room with the baby's cries, then he'd shut the door behind her, and lock it with his lockpicking. When the woman then noticed the door was locked -whether she'd notice when Bran closed it, or after wards when she was heading back out of the room- she'd probably start knocking on the wood loudly, maybe even calling for her husband. That should do it.

Brandon went back into the baby's room, looking over the crib, then turning to the door, deciding he'd hide on the support beam above the portal; that way he was close to the door, and still out of sight. He closed the door then, fishing out the skyglass orb, holding it in his opened palm. Turning back to the baby; he wondered what the most efficient way to wake her was, deciding on sound. He bent over, bringing his lips near the girl's ear, then made a roar-like sound, though he didn't yell. It wasn't necessary with the source of noise so close to an infant's ear. It did the trick indeed, she burst into tears, a wail tearing through the silence. The Kelvic quickly walked to the support beam, placing the orb back in his pouch, sealing the soft light inside.

The baby's calls were extremely loud and annoying, and almost immediately a door opened downstairs. Once more, Brandon jumped for the beam, grabbing hold of it and hauling his body up, making sure his cloak wasn't dangling off it. Quickly, footsteps hurried to the fist floor, the door opening to reveal a young woman holding a candlestick. She approached the crib while making soothing sounds, and speaking softly in a baby-voice. “Shhhh. Shhhh. Don't cry. Mommy's here. Yes, mommy's here. Shhh.” She placed the candlestick on the floor, picking up her child and rocking it in her arms carefully. “Shhh. It's okay, mommy's here. Mommy will feed you, it's okay.” With one hand she undid her blouse, bringing the baby's face closer to the bared breast.

While she was busy with that, Brandon dropped down silently from his spot above the door, out of the reach of the candle's ring of light. The baby stopped crying, instead replacing wails with the sound of being suckled. All the while the woman kept soothing the child with her voice, unknowingly masking the little sound Brandon made while pulling the door to a close as he exited the chamber. He inserted his lockpicking gear into the door's lock then, manipulating the pins inside the same way as he would have when actually picking the lock. The torque however, was applied to the opposite direction. It didn't take long, as the doors inside an ordinary residence usually had even worse security than those leading in and out. Before long the woman was locked up, and Brandon got up, and started descending the stairs, heading for his next hiding place.

Credit goes to Nyxie Nadira Draer

[Brandon Blackwing]

Once at the bottom of the stairs, Brandon went straight for the space underneath the staircase, having determined that the darkness of that place would hide him better than a spot behind the door. However, as he stood before his would-be hiding place, he noticed the low closet which stood in the way. He frowned, trying to decide whether he’d move it, or just find another spot he could hide in. Either way, he probably didn’t have much time, and in an effort to help make his decision, he opened one of the closet’s doors. He was greeted by a plethora of shoes.

No, with all those shoes he wouldn’t fit inside. The bat cursed, mind reasoning that the fit did not have to be comfortable, but it didn’t matter either way; there were just too many shoes. How much shoes did people need anyway? Just as he was about to close the door again, Brandon noticed a series of shelves lined up vertically at the side of the closet’s belly. A hat or two were stacked there, and each one had a small cube of space… enough for a flexible thief maybe?

Brandon threw the hat on the lowest shelf –a tophat- onto the shoes, then closed the door of the half of the closet he didn’t need anymore, and started to try and fit his body into the small cubic space. He started with his feet, sliding them in there along with his legs, knees bent and touching the ceiling even when they weren’t pointing directly upwards. It was going to be a tight fit, if he could even fit in there at all. One leg was placed with its side on the floor, an awkward and uncomfortable position, and the bat’s joints cried out in protest. Flexible or not, they didn’t like contortionist tricks.

His other leg was placed in another strange position, the sole of his foot against the wall, then the knee resting against the opposite one. His hips were right above his feet, resting on top of them, and he curled his upper body, head almost diving underneath the space between his knee and the floor. He heard a door being shaken in its frame, almost silently at first, but then louder and more violently, and Brandon knew he had to hurry up. Quickly he positioned one arm in a little bit more comfortable position, shifting his body a little so there was room for his other limb. The woman started yelling for her husband then, her child chiming in with wails, creating a cacophony of screams. The bat’s hand grabbed the underside of the door, then pulled it to a close, leaving it slightly ajar as his arm folded itself into the available space.

Just in time! The door to the living door was opened, and the husband stepped out, calling his wife, his voice showing signs of being alarmed by what had happened. “I’ve been locked in! I can’t get the door open!” she screamed at him from upstairs, and the man cursed, running up the stairs. Brandon took advantage of this moment to open the door to his closet and fall out in a tangle of limbs, quickly all reverting back to their normal positions, and then he snuck into the living room. “The key!” He heard the man yell, “where’s the key?!” Along with, “What the petch is going on?! We never lock this door!” The woman outed her confusion as well, explaining what had happened in a few lines.

The man sped down the stairs then, coming back to the illuminated area, probably to retrieve his key ring. Brandon dove under the large table, hoping that the man wouldn’t spot him because of the chair legs, and his own distraught state. The husband rushed past, heading towards what Brandon suspected was the kitchen, and opened multiple drawers, then walking back out, dashing to the cupboard behind the table where the bat was hiding, grabbing something that unmistakably sounded like a key ring from its surface. And then he was off again, running up the stairs. The thief crawled from underneath the table, and swiftly made his way through the rest of the house, finding the back door without further problems. It was locked, but his larceny made quick work of it, and before long he was back on the streets again, back in a dark alley.

Credit goes to Nyxie Nadira Draer

[Brandon Blackwing]

With a little bit of a delay, Brandon found himself back on the street again, somewhat deeming it a shame he hadn’t brought a scrap of paper with “Incognito” written on it, his calling card, so to speak. But on the other hand, he had decided upon return not to leave them behind until Winter was over. Along with the cards, so too he had left his mask at home, safely stored in his chest. A shame, but oh well, he’d get enough chances in Spring. As long as Alses did not throw a spanner in the works, but he doubted she could.

The alley was not very wide, truly being a back alley, but Brandon liked these more than actual streets. Traffic was limited, people not using these all that much if they didn’t live there. Brandon doubted most people even knew about them, the city streets had very little secrets for him, but for the non-criminal citizens? They didn’t need those alleys and shortcuts, all they needed were the main streets and they could get wherever they wanted to be. Well, all the better for him, the less people had knowledge of these routes, the less likely they would run into him when he was on the prowl.

He quickly made his way through the alley, entering another and another, despite the speed with which he moved, he remained careful, checking his surroundings with something akin to paranoia. Brandon called it “cautiousness”, choosing not to underestimate the Shinya. If he was to find them on his path, he’d rather stay as far away as possible, opting to take a detour, like he had before. The series of alleys lead him to the Azure market, which was due to the time of day, all but deserted… no wait, hold on. He heard something, clattering of plating. Skyglass plating no doubt, the Shinya more prepared at night.

Shifts were doubled too, resulting in Brandon having less time to pick locks and get to the residence he wanted to breach unseen. Or rather, there was less time he had to get from hiding place to hiding place, but that mattered little. The Azure boosted plenty of spots to conceal oneself, even if its trademark crowds were absent now. To be safe, the thief listened for a couple ticks to determine which direction they patrol was coming from, and then hid himself in the shadows of a vaulted doorway in an alley perpendicular to the one he believed the Shinya were following. After a chime or so, the bat could hear their boots being placed on the streets, as well as their voices –the latter earlier than the former- talking about Okomo, meditation, Leth’s beauty, and the drag of rest shifts, all caught by Bran’s keen ears in the span of their stroll past the alley he was concealing himself in.

Once they had moved on for about another chime, Brandon quickly ran light-footed through the last couple alleys separating him from the Starry Chalice, though as per usual, his caution was not gotten rid of. The stands where the philter shop was squashed between stood empty; no wares, no vendors –which was great, naturally. Reaching the door, the thief fished out his lockpicking tools, inserting them into the shop’s first barrier. With his pick, he felt the inside of the lock, gauging the space he had, the amount of pins there were, and the size of said pins. Apparently, they’d replaced the lock since last time he was at the Chalice, probably feeling a whole lot more secure now. A futile attempt.

Brandon started to work, applying torque, then fiddling with the pins, his lockpick manipulating them into letting him open the door. The pins were not very cooperative, he noticed, having to agree that the lock they’d installed was a whole lot better than the previous one. However, Brandon better still. It was only a matter of following a certain pattern, searching for a pin that did not resist too much, then pushing it into its shaft, blocked from coming back down by the torque applied by the tension wrench. Then the next one was looked for, and found, rinse and repeat. It may have cost the thief some more work than usual, but he still didn’t spend that much time fiddling with the lock. No-one would be keeping him out easily anymore, he’d long since ascended his past skill with larceny.

Credit goes to Nyxie Nadira Draer

[Brandon Blackwing]

The bat slipped his tools back into his pouch, taking another moment to glance around, on the lookout for onlookers. While his ears had not picked up any sounds indicating there might be anyone nearby –at least no people that could sneak well enough to avoid being detected by Brandon’s hearing- there could always be someone watching from behind a window. The thief had turned his head abruptly however, hoping to catch those people off guard, resulting in a telltale sign such as the moving of curtains. He didn’t see anything or anyone though, and carefully he twisted the knob and let himself in.

He didn’t open the door all the way, first reaching up to grab the small bell, preventing it from chiming as he entered. Only then did he open the portal enough so he could enter, closing it behind him. The Chalice was steeped in darkness, much like the rest of the shops during rest bells. There were no curtains keeping out the light though, which made the bat reluctant to use his Skyglass orb to illuminate the area. He’d be giving himself away. Leth’s light falling through the gaps of the philters stacked in front of the windows would have to do then.

On memory more than on sight, the thief navigated through the racks and paths within the shop, recalling where he’d gotten the flammable philters last time, heading towards those. If he remembered correctly, the more dangerous of products were all grouped together on a couple racks, a small minority in the packed philter emporium. Apparently, the lock was not the only new feature –there was another security system in place now, a glass plane covering the racks where the dangerous philters were kept. Brandon frowned; surely they didn’t think a simple bit of ordinary glass could keep anyone at bay? The could just break the glass, and they could just take whatever they wanted.

It was obvious though that there was a catch, and the bat was intent on finding out what exactly was amiss here. No doubt this was a trap, but what did it do? He needed to study it carefully before making a move, but that meant lighting up the room. The orb may not produce much more of a light source than a strong candle, but that did not mean someone on the outside of the shop couldn’t see it. I’ll wait for the Shinya too pass by again, then I’ll go for it, the bat decided after a brief moment of hesitation and thought, for now I’ll just grab the adhesive I need. And that was problematic as well, since he had no idea where those were kept. Somewhere on the shelves, yes, but checking all available philters would take too long. If only he could use the system the shop’s owner and employees used to label them… Hm… Perhaps he could.

Brandon started heading straight for the desk, guessing there was a list of the labels and the system in there somewhere for the new workers to use before they had the ability to recall all of them. Here too, some things had changed, not that they mattered very much to the bat; the ledger and coin pouch of earnings were removed –probably brought to a safer location, such as a vault. There were a whole lot of papers still there though, all clean and without any traces of ink. Along with the papers were various sets of writing brushes and of course some ampules of ink. Brandon had to go through many drawers, which seemed to hold spare ink and writing utensils, along with rags for cleaning up spilled philters –if they weren’t dangerous, that is- and a broom and dustpan. Eventually though, he found exactly what he was looking for; a list of the labels and their meaning, along with their location throughout the shop.

For future reference and use, the thief decided to make a quick copy of it, gratefully putting a quill he’d found between the brushes to good use. Ink too, of course. He did his best not to spill on the desk, rather having splashes of ink on the paper instead; he didn’t want the Starry Chalice to notice this. It was also the reason for him not just taking the list, the possibility existed they’d change the system, and his list would be worthless. Once he had finished, and he'd returned all used items to their original spot, the bat walked to the window, sneaking glances through the rows of philters, letting the ink dry while keeping an eye out for the next Shinya patrol.

Credit goes to Nyxie Nadira Draer

[Brandon Blackwing]

As was to be expected, they took a while to pass, and several chimes went by, time menacingly ticking away. However, Brandon had still more than time enough, he reckoned, to find what he was looking for, and get back to his house within the leftover time. Truly, he didn’t have to spend much time inside, if only those damned Shinya would hurry up! Ah, there they were, it was about time. Slouching like that, protectors or not, if their superiors saw that, they’d be reprimanded, whether they were sick of rest bell patrols or not. Or so Brandon liked to imagine.

At last they had passed the shop, and allowed the somewhat disgruntled bat to do what he could have done chimes ago; search for the adhesive. He fetched his sheet, fishing the orb out of his pouch, holding it in his closed fist, trying to control the amount of light that spilled out by regulating the amount of space between his fingers. It didn’t really work out all that well, as light escaped from many other spaces too, but it didn’t matter all that much. Adhesives were stored in a rack named G4, on the third shelf from the bottom, according to the copy of the list he’d made. With the list, he found the right rack easily, then he checked the sheet for the right label, and grabbed a vial from the shelf. He wrapped the glass in a strip of fabric, then stuffed it in the pouch where he also kept his skyglass orb and glass cutter.

Then, he returned to the racks where the dangerous philters were kept. Now that he had some light to work in, he could see far more details he’d previously missed. For one, the glass plates were actually two glass doors mounted on some sort of metal rails; one on the floor, and one on the ceiling. Both glass panels had metal handles attached to them, with which they could be rolled open, one sliding under the other. That seemed to be how they worked, but Brandon didn’t touch them yet, instead searching for any signs of string or other material that might be used to turn it into a trap. He didn’t find any rope or other connections to traps. As far as he could determine, these were ordinary glass doors.

However, the thief had spotted something else; some sort of hatch in the ceiling, just about above his head. Actually, there was a series of them, all stretching along the length of the covered racks. There was also some strange round, reflective object imbedded in the ceiling too, the shine of the Skyglass orb mirrored due to this property. The bat frowned. Yes, that certainly couldn’t mean much good, that had to be a trap of some sort, but how did it work? The unease he’d felt at seeing the dangerous philters covered up now increased, as he knew there was a trap, but he was not sure what would trigger it. And what the heck was that round thing? That round plate of metal, what was it, what did it do, why was it there?

Well, no pain no gain, this was a risk he should take. Warily, he tried to roll the glass doors aside. They didn’t budge, not one inch. The bat frowned, trying again to no avail. Okay then, the glass cutter would be seeing some action then. Brandon grabbed the tool with one hand, the other reaching for the adhesive, screwing the stopple off the vial of adhesive with one hand. There was a small brush attached to it, and the thief painted a thin layer of adhesive on the edge of the glass cutter’s cone. Then he put the adhesive back away in his pouch. Next, he placed the cutter against the glass plate, close to the location where –according to both memory and the labels- the flammable philters were kept.

His arm turned the handle on top of the wooden cone, feeling the diamond knife cut through the thick glass of the door. It made no sound, but just the vibrations caused by the cutter attacking the glass were enough to tell Brandon it was working. He didn’t know how much progress he made with each rotation of the knife, but he would notice when it was done. For the moment though, he could just enjoy making a hole in a window. Brandon smiled as the glass cutter lived up to its name, completing its task. There was no more resistance coming from the object he’d cut through, the knife smoothly traced a circle. It took a bit of wriggling to get the glass out of the hole, but once again the glass cutter fulfilled its job with gusto, making the cut-out piece of window stick to it. Just when he placed the combination of tool and glass on the ground though, something above him made a sound as if a latch was being pulled away.

Credit goes to Nyxie Nadira Draer

[Brandon Blackwing]

He glanced up immediately, still in a crouched position, though in such a way that he could initiate evasive movements when necessary. And they were, for there were phials falling from the latch, about four of them, large and big-bellied, with long necks and a warning label attached to their glass bodies. The trap had been sprung, and while the bat had no idea what had triggered the release of glass vials, he did know he couldn't let them break. His mind was alert, and thoughts were racing through his head even as his body shot into motion, both arms whipping through the air with an accuracy resulting from combat training.

It was like a series of constructive punches, with the only difference being that he didn't hit the targets, but grabbed them. Brandon snatched them out of the air, his crouched position allowing for him to place the vials on the floor almost immediately after catching them. It took not very long, but the bat's heart was pounding fast and loud, his breathing deep and heavy. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins, he could feel its effects on his body. The thief took a moment to study one of the vials, however the label was only marked with a symbol. Inside the flask, he could hear and feel a liquid sloshing about.

Reason told him the philter -which he assumed the flask was- wasn't something which would cause damage to the shop, nor something that would kill the poor sod who happened to fall victim to them. Lhavit wasn't too keen on murder after all, so that ruled out deadly poisons and flammable substances. What did seem likely was that it would form some sort of gas that made the target lose consciousness; that way the Chalice would be able to both protect their wares, and apprehend the felon who fell for their trap. Brandon wasn't going to be taken down by such schemes though; it would be rather pathetic if he was.

Slowly he removed the glass circle from his glass cutter, placing the latter back into his pouch, and got up, taking a moment of hesitation before he stuffed one of the philters' neck under his belt, deciding that free gifts were better taken along as well. Then, he reached through the hole he'd just cut from the glass door, and grabbed as many flammable philters as he could with one hand, multiple of the small vials fitting in his grasp. He wrapped them in strips of fabric, and organized them inside the pouch he'd reserved for them. He repeated the process another time, ending up with eight phials, all swathed to avoid clattering. Lastly, the bat placed the glass circle back into the hole he'd cut it from, adding a little bit of adhesive to its edges to help it stick. It wasn't a glue though, so it would only really hold it in place, but it wouldn't be durable.

Brandon readied himself to head back outside, stepping to the side, and once more the noise of a latch being pulled away resounded, and the bat's gaze swept upwards once more, noticing he stood right underneath another one of the hatches. He cursed internally, and took a deep breath in, the phials shattering on the floor this time. A misty vapor escaped, quickly filling the room with its substance, while the thief made a break for the exit. Throwing open the door, he was met by a pair of Shinya guards who just happened to patrol by, right in front of the shop. Quickly, he grabbed the robes of the one closest to him before they had time to react, turned towards the open door, and threw the man inside with a shoulder throw. He reached in swiftly after that, closing the portal behind him.

In the meantime though, the other guard had grabbed the thief with an arm that wasn't there, his air supply cut off by pinching his throat shut. Brandon cursed his luck, but he refused to panic, instead grabbing the trap-vial, throwing it at the Shinyawoman. The throw was too weak, his aim off, and the glass shattered next to the woman's feet, as she had stepped aside in case it would have been necessary. A white smoke immediately wafted up, and Brandon reached for a dagger to divert the Shinya's attention. It worked; before the woman had realized it, she'd been caught in the vapor, having breathed in some of it before the mist had spread out in a thick cloud. The bat felt the grip lessen, and then the guard fell to the floor. He didn't wait around to check out what exactly had happened, instead darting off towards the darker alleys, quickly making his way back to his house, despite the swiftness of his movement maybe even more cautiously than on the way to the Chalice. He had been close to his arrest, almost too close; he'd rather not get a repeat of that on the same night.

Credit goes to Nyxie Nadira Draer

[Izuyanai]

Grades Name: Brandon Blackwing XP: Stealth +2 Larceny +4 Strategy +1 Acrobatics +1 Copying +1 Unarmed Combat +1 Detection +1 Lores: Shinya: Noise of Their Skyglass Armor A Bat's Fashion Dilemma Human Nature: Family How to Make a Baby Cry Starry Chalice: Layout of Wares Starry Chalice: Knockout Philters Rewards: 8 flammable phials 1 copy of the Starry Chalice labels Notes: That poor family, though! They were having a nice evening and Brandon ruined it for them. Next time make sure he knows what house he's breaking into. Otherwise, good job! It was exciting and cleverly thought out.