Delivering A Message

by **Brandon Blackwing** on December 7th, 2014, 5:25 pm

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Day 44 of Winter 514AV

notePermission given by Mirage for this thread

It was a cold night, as to be expected from the season where Morwen reigned. Somehow the combination of wind, temperature and darkness fitted perfectly together, as if these three had always been meant to exist together. The cold stare of the pale Moon God's sole eye veiled the surface in a silvery glow, Zintila's jewelery box decorating the black vastness of the sky above. It was truly a beautiful winter night. However, there was nearly no-one outside to behold this silent spectacle, as it was a rest period in the crystal city, and nearly everyone had curled up under the sheets of their respective beds.

Only a few were out and about, most of them Leth's Shinya patrolling the city, protecting the city of skyglass and fighting the occasional crime that crossed their paths. Of course, there were not many criminals in Lhavit, the Shinya were efficient and feared, warrior monks of considerable skill in both combat and magic fields. Brandon had experienced just how powerful they had been a couple of times before, and both times he had been defeated. While the first had been something like a sneak attack, he had been unable to resist the weird magic they used, and the second time -which had been a genuine combat situation- Brandon's skill in unarmed combat had been rather useless. Bare hands were no match for an armored opponent after all, which was one of the greatest disadvantages of the skill. He'd been able to successfully defend himself though, which was great, but it had not prevented him biting the dust. If Yshul hadn't been supporting him he'd have been arrested, it was a good thing Lily had shown up.

Speaking of which, the bat still wasn't sure of the meaning of her words. Was it a trap, was it not? It was impossible to determine, not safely at least, but Bran guessed it could have been a different approach of the Shinya in trying to catch him. First, gain Incognito's trust, then seduce him and tell him to come to the Red Lantern in order to lure him into a trap. Perhaps, but who knew her words had been genuine and she really was a fellow-minded individual? What if she really was a fan of his? Would she be disappointed if he did not show up? Why did he care about that in the first place? The thief's thoughts were a mess right now, something he could not afford. This was hardly the time to drown in one's own thoughts, he had to stay focused, damn it!

There was a reason for the bat's reluctance to drift off into his own mind; he was working. Though people wouldn't really call it that, they'd refer to it as 'living of the society and giving noting in return'. They had a point though, Brandon did indeed not give anything in return, but it wasn't like he stole a lot either. He never took too much, a bit here and a bit from there, adding it up so he too could pay for food and clothes when he needed those. Not all thieves were merciless bastards who took just about everything their victims owned to make a living. On the contrary, there were a lot who did the same as Brandon did, with the fundamental difference that they did not necessarily enjoyed it. The bat on the other hand was not doing it because he had no other choice, but because he loved stealing. The thrills, the excitement... it was addictive.

However, nothing of that mattered right now, nothing but himself, his target and the obstacles in his way. The target today was Maeki Cho's Animation Studio, Lhavit's local cradle of magical filth, where both abominations were created and the most despicable sort of mages were born and bred. Since the authorities -nor the Night Lord and Day Lady, nor Councilor Radiant of Magic Alses- refused to do something about these megalomaniacs insulting Kihala and the Goddess's gift to all living creatures, Brandon had decided to be the judge and punish the guilty. This was not because he held a grudge against Maeki Cho whatsoever, but because of the seriousness of the crime, the insult to the Goddess of Life and thus by extension to the Goddess of Death also.

In any case, the bat had it all planned out; he'd first sneak into the Starry Chalice to get some flammable philters and then rush to the Animation studio, break in and make the place go boom. Simple and effective, though pretty flashy. That was why he'd opted for a fiery destruction. Trashing the place by himself would take a while; it would be louder and take a whole lot longer. Not to mention that the abominations could attack and hinder his work. In either case, it was risky, so he had to be quick or he'd be arrested. The risk factor however made things all the more attractive. That did mean though that he'd have to prepare his note beforehand, since there would be no time to do so once the Studio was lit aflame. Well, no matter, the Chalice was sure to have a piece of paper, a quill and some ink laying around. He could prepare himself fort the task there.

And that was why Brandon was sneaking through the streets, silently and swiftly switching one shadow for the next, hiding everywhere he could to stay out of sight of the two Shinya walking in front of him. The whole problem with this job was that the Chalice was located in the Azure, a place frequently visited by a patrol since there were a lot of shops there and one or other moron had trashed the place last summer. While the extra Shinya that had been on duty a couple of days after the incident were not stationed there anymore and the patrols had reverted to their normal numbers and routes, the Shinya still kept a wary eye open when in the Azure. Maeki's Animation studio was quite the opposite really. From what he had gathered when doing his reconnaissance, it was but an ordinary house with one room furnished as an animation laboratory of sorts. Not to mention that it was located in a normal street, not a main one, nor a small alley.

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credit goes to Euthisa

by **Brandon Blackwing** on December 9th, 2014, 9:08 pm

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As the bat stealthily followed in the Shinya guardsmen’s tracks, hiding in the shadows and entrances of alleys, he found the Shinya within hearing range, allowing him to eavesdrop and catch snippets of information and ordinary conversations. Since he did not concentrate on actually overhearing, most of the words and their meanings were lost, going in via one ear, out via the next. However, every now and then there was something that was interesting enough to force his attention to listen up and pay attention, obtaining new rumors and news on what was going on at in Lhavit, as well is in the corps of the peacekeepers.

“…Have I mentioned I hate Winter already?” queried one, the voice of a young male filled with annoyance. An equally annoyed –but for different reasons entirely- voice responded, this one belonging to an older male. “Yes, this would make the … tenth time this evening? Can’t you just stop whining about that already?”
“Well, no. I mean, it’s too cold! Not even the skyglass changes that!” It appeared he was blowing in his cupped hands, but Brandon couldn’t be sure. “And Winter hasn’t even started yet, not really.” A sigh. “I wonder… back when I was but a new Shinya I wouldn’t even dare to complain about the blisters on my feet, let alone a slightly cold breeze. Hm, how times have changed…” The man’s voice trailed off as if he was getting lost in fond memories of his youth.

Obviously, that conversation was not quite interesting enough for Bran to focus on, so he concentrated on his movements a bit more, slipping through the darkness like a shadow, sticking close to the walls –the facades of the houses- if there was little place to hide, or if there were close to no shadows to use. Automatically he matched his pace to that of one of the guards, so should they be able to hear his silent footsteps, they were concealed by those of their own. A clever but simple trick, however there were a few countermeasures one could apply to determine if one was being tailed or not. Suddenly changing the pace for example. However, that was if they could hear Brandon’s footsteps at all. The bat had always been quiet in his movements, his own ears too keen, perceiving them as loud, though now –since he had been training to overcome that loudness as it had annoyed him to no end, even when he had been way younger than he was now- his footsteps sounded like normal ones to him. However, everyone else’s were stomps and thunderous noises. Well, one could say that the bat’s steps did not sound like normal ones because of that, but whatever. It mattered not.

To a certain extend, Brandon managed to keep some distance between himself and the guards, but patience had never been something he was too good at. Once things began dragging on for a while, he would get slightly annoyed, wanting to proceed faster, if only slightly so. That translated itself into his actions, the subconscious feeling the unease and adding a bit extra swiftness to his step. It went unnoticed at first, but soon he could not fail to see the diminished distance even if he had wanted to. Immediately the bat stopped his forward movement, freezing mid-step and bringing his raised foot back down, carefully placing it on the stones. The two Shinya, or rather the oldest of the two seemed to feel something was amiss though, and halted too. Quickly, Brandon quickstepped into a nearby alley, just in time to evade the man’s gaze. At least for the most part, as to be expected from inertia, his cape betrayed him, allowing the Shinya a glimpse of the corner of a black cloak. Hard to spot, but still.

“What’s wrong?” Came the voice of the young Shinya, footsteps ceased too while others began again, closing in. “I thought I heard something.” While spoken quietly, it was still audible to the thieving bat. Said bat could feel his heart accelerate, pumping faster and louder as the adrenaline seeped into his blood and his body started trembling due to the pure thrill. What should he do? Hide obviously, he couldn’t afford to fail this job, this was important! Running was something he couldn’t do since the guards would give chase and fighting was not an option at all. Hide it was, but where? His head immediately tilted upwards. The roofs, indeed. People always forgot to look up, they somehow did not consider anything above their eyelevel as a place to hide.

As the footsteps closed in even more, slowly and steadily, sneakily even, Brandon jumped up the wall, prying his fingers into a crack, using the inconsistencies of the stones used to build the wall, as well as the wear and erosion due the wind as footholds. A steep rocky mountain slope was harder to climb than a house, and as such, Brandon hauled himself up the canopy swiftly. Trembling like a leaf, panting and trying to suppress it, he lied on the roof, staring at the sky and praying to Yshul he’d been fast enough. One pair of steps had stopped in place while another rushed towards the alley. Brandon did not dare to look, lying there in ignorance with his stomach a tiny knot was way better than confirming his fears. All he could do was pray, and try to be quiet.

“Hm, there’s no-one here… I must have imagined it…” the Shinyaman did not sound convinced. However. “I’m sure it was, come on let’s go. The faster we move, the warmer we’ll be.” the younger one urged, finding warmth more important than his companion’s concerns. “… yeah…”
“Finally! I might complain a lot, but you should work on your paranoia.”
“It’s my guard instinct, not paranoia!” The man sounded slightly amused, though wary. The other guard snorted. “How come there hasn’t been even the slightest hint of someone or something last seven alleys you checked?” The older guard had no retort to that comment and kept his mouth shut, leaving the alley and continuing his patrol with his younger companion, leaving Brandon alone on the roof. A deep breath slowly escaped his lungs, oozing relief.

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credit goes to Euthisa

by **Brandon Blackwing** on December 11th, 2014, 9:13 pm

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The heart of the bat did not stop its fast dance immediately, bouncing up and down and thumping loud and rapidly for a couple of chimes after the patrol had continued their path. On the rooftop he lied, staring at the vast sky overhead, thanking Yshul and breathing heavily. For a chime he’d thought he was done for, if that younger Shinya hadn’t been there the older one would have investigated more thoroughly, eventually ending up discovering the bat on his high hiding place. A gulp of saliva and mucus was swallowed and sweat was wiped from his face, the mask being lifted for an instant to allow it.

Once he had calmed down sufficiently, the thief proceeded with getting back on track, starting with climbing back down the roof, using almost the same route he had used to get on it. Climbing down was a lot harder than climbing up, since he had to lower himself instead of hoisting his body upwards. Somehow it evoked the fear of falling in his mind, something he did not really feel when clambering upwards. Perhaps it had something to do with the sensation of uncertainty at the position of the footholds and the task of having to lower himself slightly. He did not know, but he did not particularly care either, he could just grit his teeth and endure it, push the hint of fright into the dark corners of his mind.

Soon enough, the bat stood on solid ground again, having jumped down the last bit to speed up the process. A glance to the right, the left and the front were shot outside the alley, checking for any other Shinya patrols, but fortunately, it did not seem that there were any close by at the moment. Good, that way he had a little bit of freedom to go about his business. Briefly the thief checked his surroundings to orient himself and headed into the direction the Shinya patrol had disappeared to, the Azure market.

The blue hued buildings of the market were in the darkness of the night nothing more than another shade of gray, and the skyglass changed but very little of that, instead wrapping the city in a steady blue green light, which gave the place a surreal image. However, skyglass could only illuminate what was close by, its glow not strong enough to chase off the darkness, instead creating some sort of twilight. It was beautiful in its own way, but Brandon preferred Leth’s silver gleam, which was more than enough to provide him with the necessary light to see. Either way there were still lots of shadow to exploit to move about, which was a much needed cover for the bat, especially so since he had become rather infamous in the crystal city. Not that he was surprised about that, he had trespassed into the Councilor’s mansion, among other things and left notes to claim the crime, as if he was proud of it.

Well, he was, to a certain extend. He enjoyed the way rumors about Incognito spread like wildfires and grew in size each time they were told to someone else. It hadn’t been long before the rumors had told of a thief twice as tall as Brandon actually was, though fast as lightening and able to blend in with and vanish into the shadows. While Brandon was able to do that to a certain extent, he could not simply disappear and reappear wherever he wanted to be. It was the use of lighting and shadows to sneak through, clever tricks anyone could learn. Sceptic words like those were smothered by the influx of oversized rumors soon enough though, wasted effort. Too bad that Brandon never would be able to live up to such a reputation, though on the other hand he was rather glad he couldn’t. In a way, those rumors were misinformation that protected him, though there always was one thing consistent about those rumors; Incognito wore a white mask.

It was perhaps the attribute that made him easily recognizable, and it was the feature of him that had been remembered by his first victim, the only ones of his targets who’d seen him. Failure right off the bat. Though, it was better than them having seen his face, he guessed. It was something at least.

The chaos in his mind soon made room for focus, as he had reached his destination, the Starry Chalice, tucked in between two stalls of Azure vendors inconspicuously. If this hadn’t been a rest period, the Azure would have been crowded, and the stalls still standing there would have been filled to the nooks with all kinds of wares, both large and small. The window that had been smashed two seasons ago had been replaced of course, probably having been altered to provide extra security, through means magical maybe? It did not matter, just like the rumors announced, Incognito could enter any building, and locks were futile. Brandon grinned underneath his mask, secretly enjoying the tales spun by housewives, Shinya Acolytes and gossiping merchants.

After having ensured himself the coast was clear, using his sight, nose and ears to determine that, Brandon crouched in front of the door, grabbing hold of his tools, inserting them into the keyhole and started to work. It appeared the Chalice had had its locks changed too, for maximum security paying for the hardest locks to pick, no doubt to prevent an event like the one of last Summer from happening again. Again Brandon could not help but show a smile under his mask, the naivety of people, believing locks were actually the strong point of the door. Fools, they were the weakness. All it took Bran was a bit of prying and twisting his lock pick and tension wrench to get rid of half of the pins within a couple of chimes, the delicate work of a professional thief. However, as he started on the second half, pushing up a peg and slightly altering the torque so it wouldn’t fall back down, his sharp ears picked up a familiar sound.

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credit goes to Euthisa

by **Brandon Blackwing** on December 13th, 2014, 5:11 pm

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It were footsteps, two pair of them heading towards him, along with the sound of hushed voices whispering. The words were not quite understandable, but the clattering of armor made the bat alert immediately of the danger. Even just the footsteps would have been labeled as ‘danger approaching’ in his mind, but the added noise of the armor made it pretty obvious who was closing in on him; the Shinya. Though it did not seem as if they were aware he was around and were still a chime or so away in terms of distance, Brandon decided to retreat for now, find a hiding place and wait until they had passed. There was no need to hurry up with the lock, his own safety came first.

There was no need to search long though, two splendid hiding places stood right beside him, the empty stalls were perfect and close by. The choice was made without spending too much time thinking about it, slipping through the narrow gap between the stand and the wall, then crouching down and maneuvering into the space underneath the wooden table. Since the front and sides were covered with wooden boards, the bat could not be seen, and as long as he kept quiet and did not slam his body into the walls he’d go unnoticed. The perfect plan.

More than a chime it took for the two Shinya to reach the Starry Chalice, their boots pounding the streets in a relaxed manner, closing in slowly and without haste. They continued conversing, speaking in whispers the bat had heard before, those voices were quite familiar. “…Let me get this straight; you seriously believe there’s someone here?” a young male voice queried annoyed. “I do,” came the answer produced by an older male, “I keep getting the feeling that we have been followed.”
“And I keep telling you that you should stop being so paranoid! Why would anyone follow us?”
“I don’t know, but it might be some kind of criminal stalking us… ”he did not sound that certain though. The younger one retorted with his trademark annoyed attitude. “A criminal? What, like a thief? A pickpocket?” He snorted. “Like there’s anyone out there stupid enough to believe they could pickpocket Shinya guards on duty. Besides, why would we find them here? Shouldn’t we have caught a glimpse of the guy if your suspicions were correct?”
“Not per se. If he was great in hiding, able to use the shadows to his advantage and vanish in them like a ghost…” The young one interrupted immediately.
“Whoa, hold on! You are saying you believe Incognito is stalking us? Why in Leth’s name would he do that? I kind of got the impression he’d almost been caught back in Fall.”

A brief pause and then the oldest of the guards started talking again. “M’mm. That patrol did seem to have had a run in with Incognito, but I don’t know about almost having caught him. Jeremiah said he had him cornered, right? Then how did Incognito escape?”
“Didn’t he report that the thief had help from someone?”
“Do you honestly buy that story? The way I see it, Incognito used a poison dart to assault Jeremiah, since it was a strong paralyzing poison, he went down immediately. However, since his Acolyte charged in, Incognito had no choice to in close quarters.”
“But Jeremiah reported Incognito used daggers, not poison darts.”
A sigh could be heard. “You need to learn that not everyone speaks the truth. Some people will report false truths just to make themselves look better. You should be skeptical and look at the facts, determine the answer by using those.”
“I did. The Acolyte –Dorian I believe?- had not drawn his sword, and had collapsed on the floor. Jeremiah had a poison dart in his neck, he was found deeper in the alley and his sword was next to him. Not to mention that the blade was chipped, marks of combat.”
The older guard did not speak, guarding the silence that had fallen between the two Shinya.
“You dislike Jeremiah, don’t you? ”
“I do not, what makes you say that?”
“Heh, don’t try to fool me, you’re like an open book. Everyone knows you two are always quarreling and always have. You never got along well.”

Again, the silence between the two men was left unbroken for a while, until the older Shinya changed the topic. “Anyway, it is a good thing that there was another patrol nearby. That Acolyte would not have survived otherwise.”
“Yeah… Strange thing really, apart from a bruise on his head he did not have any wounds.”
“The medics said it was a heart attack. But I don’t know, at such a young age? Well, he might thank Zintila the others stumbled upon him and could use CPR. A chime or two later and he’d been taken away by Dira.”

In his hiding place, Brandon internally cursed. He remembered all too clearly what had happened that fateful day. It seemed as if this Jeremiah had reported the truth, but more importantly that his strike to the heart had almost been fatal. He cursed inside his mind again. Why hadn’t he checked the young man’s pulse? He’d completely forgotten, with Lily showing up and receiving a beating from the Shinya… He’d been in a state of panic really, getting away from the scene was all that had mattered at the time. Another string of silent curses. Meanwhile, the guards seemed to have decided that there wasn’t anyone there and returned their patrol, footsteps moving away slowly. Once more, the bat waited until he could no longer hear them before he emerged from his shelter, his lean body twisting out of the storage space of the stall and he returned his attention to the lock in front of him, grabbing his lock pick and tension wrench. This time it took not that much time for him either, working the pins away one by one. Every now and then he had to adjust and play with the torque a little, but he managed to get back to where he had left off fairly quick. The last four pins were no big deal, and were pushed into their casings with a couple of movements and ushering of the lock pick. As soon as the last one was out of the way, Brandon went ahead and turned the wrench like a key and with a click, the latch sprung back into the mechanism of the door, leaving it unlocked.

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credit goes to Euthisa

by **Brandon Blackwing** on December 14th, 2014, 9:24 pm

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Slowly pushing open the door of the Chalice with caution, the bat entered the philtering shop, closing the wooden entrance behind him. He had no use for prying eyes, and even though Leth’s light was a welcome form of illumination, the thief did have a substitute for it with him; a skyglass orb about the size of a small apple or a rather large egg. Since the moon god’s glow passed through the windows with ease, there was no need for the orb though, and Brandon kept it safely in his pouch, instead checking the twilight of the room for the products he had come for.

Of course, the shop was rid of any other presence than his own, mainly due to the fact that the rest periods were necessary for those that followed the Lhavitian time schedule. Most born and bred citizens, tourists and businesses stuck to the rest periods. Especially the last of the three did, since most clients came either day or night and as such there had to be someone attending the shop and serving the customers. As a result, the people owning businesses often were extremely tired after work, and went for a quick rest along with the rest of Lhavit, which made Brandon’s job a lot easier.

The vague smell of roses clung to the air, though there were nowhere any of the flowers around, no vases, only strange flasks and glasswork with weird shapes. Well, in any case, it did smell a lot better than the first time he’d set foot in the philter shop; at the time millions of shards of glass were littered over the floor, scattered by an angry criminal. The many scents of the broken philters had been combined and resulted in a strong smell that had almost forced the bat’s meals out of his stomach. To think he’d be the one to trespass into the shop this time, and not the one trying to catch the crook.

Either way, that particular incident had given him the knowledge to be able to pull this off, if he hadn’t been there at the time, Brandon would never have heard Alses mentioning the supply of flammables and airborne philters stored on the top shelves. The problem however was to figure which was which, a task that was close to impossible for the non-initiated. The assistants knew however, and the thief had gladly made use of their knowledge, having used a fellow to buy him one vial of flammable philters and then all he needed to do was comparing the vials to find out which section was occupied by the philters he had come for. It did not take long, there was not that much room on the top shelves, and some vials had the wrong shape altogether, so finding it was no trouble at all. What was troubling though, was that he could not take all of them with him, since he had but limited space in his belt pouch.

Brandon decided to take five with him, thus stuffing a total of six vials in his pouch, carefully wrapping each and every one of the glassworks in a piece of cloth. If he remembered correctly, these vials were the kind that would burst into flame upon shattering, when the philters were suddenly exposed to a large amount of air, oxygen to be exact. A small crack would not lead to flames erupting however, which was some sort of safety measure, though the whole vessel breaking at once would result in a tragedy. Which was why the cloth Bran had used was a high-absorbent rag. Any leaking fluids would be absorbed, and gasses had to pass through the fabric first, thus creating some sort of bottleneck effect. At least he hoped it did.

Having stored the five ten dose vials in his pouch, and having assured himself they couldn’t break or clutter, the Kelvic strode towards the desk where the products were paid for, though the reason Bran was headed for it was a different one. He hoped to find some paper and a quill with ink there, but much to his surprise, the desk was tidy and none of the objects he was searching for could be found there. Frowning underneath his mask, the bat placed one hand on the surface and vaulted over the obstacle with ease, checking for drawers of small closets which could contain those. He found both, and all but one were unlocked, though all the materials needed for the note were gathered. Yet, Brandon’s curiosity had been awoken, and it demanded to know what could be found inside that little door.

Said curiosity led to the use of lockpicks of course, and as soon as those had been produced from the belt-pouch he stored them in, the pick and wrench were inserted and put to work, one taking care of the torque and the other of the pins inside, pushing them up into the ceiling of the cylinder and out of the way. Within a chime or two, Brandon’s black orbs pried into the darkness of the closet as his gloved hands returned with a strongbox and a book of sorts.

The latter obviously was the ledger where any and all changes of finances and transactions done were noted down in. Not that interesting… Or was it? A sideways glance was shot towards the strongbox that beckoned him from its place on the desk, tempting the bat with the possible contents of its belly. The thief had an idea of what he would find inside, but that did not mute his excitement one bit. Like a child finding a new toy to play with, the Kelvic thief anxiously started working on the lock, prying and twisting and turning with hasty movements, fingers rotating the pick and wrench ever so slightly, the work being delicate and the changes in the positions of his hands and fingers minute. Even so, he did actually toil away, battling the tiny pins –which had been positioned at the bottom for a change- with his hooked pick and trusty wrench. One by one the pins were pressed into their casings, some struggled more than others, but in the end Brandon’s skill prevailed, rewarding him with the sight of the treasures within.

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credit goes to Euthisa

by **Brandon Blackwing** on December 15th, 2014, 9:47 pm

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And what a treasure it was! Small bags filled with Kina, all holding about twenty coins, and the strongbox was filled with at least ten of those bags. The daily cash this seemed to be, stored in the shop until the time had come to transport it to a safer place. That was probably the first thing that was done after dawn rest or so, but right now it was midnight rest and those shiny coins were left to Incognito's -Brandon's- mercy. Of course, that was way to much to take, and he'd never steal the whole of the hard-earned cash. No, he'd just claim one bag, or even less, just to make a point. To tell them he had been here, subtly. There was no need to be greedy, there were more businesses out there, more shops to raid and other things to snatch. Besides, Brandon had made quite a lot of money with his trade during the seasons he'd been in Lhavit. True, it was not as much as some people made, but it was something, and it could sustain him well enough.

With a swift motion of his hand, the thief opened the ledger, the thick leather cover felt strangely smooth. Had it just been replaced? Repaired? Or was this a new book? He did not really know, but the first page told him more than enough.

Starry Chalice business ledger

Winter 514AV

A new ledger it was then, apparently they had separate ones for each season. Well, being organized was mandatory for a business such as this one, especially if they wanted to spend little time looking things up. Without further ado, the bat flipped the pages until he had found the last date written.

Day 34

Flavoring Philter	2	Topaz kina
Custom Scented Soap – 5 bars	4	kina
Body lotion -large	4	Topaz kina
Rehydratation Cream (face) x5	1	kina
lip Balm x3	6	Topaz kina
Body lotion -small	2	Topaz kina
Sunblock -large	4	Topaz kina
Custom Hangover Cure -10 doses	6	kina
Sobering Philter -5 doses	9	kina
Anti-wrinkle cream	4	Topaz kina
Triple flavored sweets ¼ lbs	5	Topaz kina
Food Substitute -10 doses	40	kina
Lip Balm	2	Topaz kina
Face lotion -small	2	Topaz kina
Quad-flavored sweets 1/8 lbs	1	kina

Total

63,9

kina

Hm, the Chalice made quite a lot of money, it seemed, as to be expected from such a successful business. Brandon grinned under his mask as he uncorked the ink bottle and dipped his quill in the dark liquid. Even in Lhavit there were people who preferred to use a quill over a fine brush, and Brandon being thought how to write with a quill was one of those people. The proprietress of the Chalice -or whoever did the bookkeeping there- apparently did so too. Not that used to writing, the bat spilled some of the ink on the pages, dark stains on the not-so-pure white paper. His hand however, was steady and the lines were … well... readable. If one squinted hard and put a little effort in deciphering the message, that is. Brandon had never had a neat handwriting.

Day 34

Flavoring Philter	2	Topaz kina
Custom Scented Soap – 5 bars	4	kina
Body lotion -large	4	Topaz kina
Rehydratation Cream (face) x5	1	kina
lip Balm x3	6	Topaz kina
Body lotion -small	2	Topaz kina
Sunblock -large	4	Topaz kina
Custom Hangover Cure -10 doses	6	kina
Sobering Philter -5 doses	9	kina
Anti-wrinkle cream	4	Topaz kina
Triple flavored sweets ¼ lbs	5	Topaz kina
Food Substitute -10 doses	40	kina
Lip Balm	2	Topaz kina
Face lotion -small	2	Topaz kina
Quad-flavored sweets 1/8 lbs	1	kina

~~Total~~	~~63,9~~	~~kina~~
Flammables -10 dose vial x5	0	Kina
Total	63,9	Kina

Thank you for the business!

- Incognito

With a smile he finished, rereading it once, nodding and then the book was pushed aside and replaced with a piece of paper he'd plucked from one of the drawers. Again the quill's tip was dipped in the ink, the excessive ink was gotten rid of by tipping against the edge of the ink pot, and brushing against it, and then the point was placed on the paper, preparing to write. However, the quill was removed instantly, hovering just a centimeter or so above the paper's surface, and the bat stared at the dot he'd accidentally placed. What was he going to put in the note? It was supposed to be a message, something about Kihala and Dira, and of course animation, but what? He'd never thought about it. Maybe it was better to just write down what popped into his mind first? Letting his thoughts guide the quill as it were. A nod, that might be the best idea.

The magic of Animation is a grave insult to both Kihala and Dira. To pretend to be either is a mistake I pray you'll never make again. To breathe life into something that did not receive life from Kihala is as blasphemous as claiming Rhysol to be the one who founded Lhavit. The use of animation is not something I am willing to forgive, no matter your reasons.

You have been warned,

~ Incognito

Satisfied with the result, the Kelvic gave the sheet of paper and approving look. Yes, this certainly contained his thoughts on the matter and would be suitable to convey the message, even if the destruction alone was not enough to do so. For being an improvised note, Brandon believed this a masterpiece, he was certain there would be no second Animation Shop after he had burned this one down. A grin, no there certainly wouldn't. And if there would be one, despite his disbelieve and dismissal of the idea, he would just have to get rid of that one too.

Grabbing and holding the sheet by the upper corners, Brandon gently made it flutter so the ink would dry a little bit faster. After a short while, he folded the paper a couple of times, and slid it into his pocket. The ledger was placed back into the closet, and when he was about to do the same with the strongbox, one hand on the lid preparing to close it, he paused. Should he take one of those bags with him? Did he have any room for more? He hadn't... A 'tsk' sound was made under the mask as the lid was closed, and the chest shoved into the compartment where the ledger laid. The ink pot and quill were also put back where he had found them. It wasn't because he was a neat thief, but because the shock would be greater if nothing seemed wrong at first. Maybe he should lock the closet again too? That idea was shot down though, since the bat had but a limited amount of time to go about his business. He still had a couple of other things to do. A shrug, an other time maybe.

Then he jumped over the desk again, placing his hand for support while he flung his legs sideways past it, landing on the other side silently. A few long strides brought him to the door and after having listened carefully for footsteps or other suspicious noises, then peeking through a small gap between the door and the frame, as well as both the windows, Brandon left the Starry Chalice, headed for the second destination; the Animation Studio.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

by **Keene Ward** on February 1st, 2015, 3:21 am

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“It is the brain, the little gray cells on which one must rely. One must seek the truth within--not without."
- Poirot

Brandon :

Post Script :

Solo Delivering A Message