Chương 60: Chapter 59 - Joint

Atzi eyed the house again. All the windows are street facing. Almost like they don't want anyone breaking in. Assholes. Still, she just had to wait a little longer until the parties got into the full swing of things. Then everyone would be too busy drinking and dancing to pay attention to her slipping in. She hid in the alley until night fell. The flaw in this plan immediately became apparent. The asshole inside was stomping around, awake! She grumbled to herself and waited until she heard stomping going upstairs.

Then she slipped out of the alley and to the door. With a few wiggles of her lockpicks, it opened. Atzi crept inside, closing the door behind her. The downstairs was pretty cramped. It had a kitchen and a living space, separated only by polished countertops. Besides that, a wide set of stairs leading upwards. All the furniture in the home was made of stone, darker and sturdier looking than the limestone the building - and most of Sostra - was made of. That's stupid. How is a stone chair gonna be comfy?

Are they idiots? Atzi started digging around, being careful as she could to not bang rocks together. She noticed the stone furniture radiated a low heat. Atzi felt a little more energetic. Wait, they made always-warm rocks to rest on. They're geniuses! She checked around the fireplace, the stone couch, the chairs and table, the stove, the kitchen cabinets, the- A stomping noise came from the upper floor. The thumps were heading directly for the staircase.

Atzi looked around frantically, desperate for a place to hide. Chimney? Awful. Inside the stove? I'm not getting cooked alive. Outside? No, no time… Finally, with no other choice, she dove behind the couch. It would be trivial for someone to see her if they came that way. She just had to hope they wouldn't. The stomping became louder as the occupant made their way down the steps. Finally, the bank guard revealed themselves. They were wearing the same full armor as they wore on duty, lava-cracked obsidian.

How paranoid are they? She wondered if they slept in their armor, too. If they turned towards Atzi, it would all be over. They turned towards the kitchen, instead. Atzi came out from behind the stone couch and quickly slinked upstairs. As she did, she could hear the sound of a fire being lit below. Yeah, it's a good thing I didn't get in that oven. The top of the stairs led into a bedroom. It had more stone furniture, even a stone bed. She carefully yet quickly checked the various drawers and under the bed.

Eventually, laying at the bottom of an armoire, she found words scratched in chalk.

'Malachite', and next to it 'all clear'. This must be it. Just then, she heard thumping coming upstairs. Atzi quickly put the tablet back and closed the armoire without banging the doors. She opened the window and climbed through, careful to keep her claws on the edge. She reached up and closed the window. Then it was as simple as climbing down. Nothing to it. Atzi flashed herself a toothy grin. She decided to celebrate by joining a nearby party, tossing back drinks and chatting up women until the sun came up.

Only then did she realize she probably shouldn't be wasting any more time. She decided to head off to the next place and get it done before going back to the inn to sleep. The next house was exactly like the first from the outside, and she guessed it'd be basically the same inside, too. She didn't hear any noise inside, so she figured the bank guard inside was asleep. She picked the lock to the front door again, but this time she made herself look like a drunk fumbling with her keys to anyone passing by.

Atzi got in easily. She dug around downstairs first, just in case they kept anything down there. The furniture was a little different - this guard set liked their stone furniture made out of a weird pink rock - but she didn't find anything. Upstairs it is, then. I just have to be careful not to wake them. Atzi crept up the steps. The stone door to the bedroom was closed, so she opened it carefully. Peeking her head inside, the bank guard was laying on their bed in their full armor. I knew it! She slinked in.

Once she was inside, she let go of the door. It slammed shut. The bank guard shot up from their bed, looking directly at Atzi. Atzi eeped. She reared back her head and spat. Her poison sprayed right onto the guard's helmet, coating it. They let out a bellowing cry of pain as some dripped through the helmet's slit into their eye. Atzi slammed the door back open and ran out as fast as she could. With the guard busy dealing with her poison, she easily made it outside. Damnit. I ruined the plan. That's really not good.

V is gonna kill me! I need to survive to the sixteenth! She ran all the way back to the inn. She planned to sleep and figure out what she was going to do next. === The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. When Atzi woke up in the evening, her first thought was to wonder, what the fuck am I supposed to do? Her second thought was, what's all that noise downstairs? Atzi pulled herself up, got dressed, and headed out.

She walked to the top of the staircase and looked down. The inn was packed with people. Tons of people, mostly guys, drinking large quantities of alcohol as a busy Hemm and Marco served them drinks. It was a rough crowd. The drinkers looked like construction workers, or perhaps off-duty soldiers. Most had heavy builds and wore loose, baggy clothes. That's... new. Wow. Atzi wandered downstairs, curious.

"More drinks here!"

"Bartender, refills!"

"Where's my food!" It was a madhouse. How did I cause this? What did I do this time? It was currently the thirteenth. She tried to recall something that could have caused this, but nothing came to mind. It definitely wasn't like this last loop. Atzi approached a random table. Three men were sat at it, all drinking.

"What's with all the people?" she asked them.

"We're drinking!" exclaimed a guy with a scar under his eye.

"We got told there's good drinks here!"

"They would be better if they were faster about it!" another one yelled towards the counter, chattering his big teeth after, and his buddies laughed. A third guy, missing a pinky, leaned over to the first.

"Hey, isn't she...?"

"... Yer right. But shut up."

"Eh?" Atzi asked.

"Huh?" The third guy intelligently replied. Atzi noticed the drunkards at the table eyeing her strangely. She took a step back, and turned around. Almost everyone in the room had their eyes on her. And they were bad at hiding it. Oh. This is not good. Atzi ran upstairs. She heard the shuffling of chairs behind her. She bolted down the hall into her room. Then she grabbed the sack with Terra's book she had hidden under her bed. There was shouting. She opened the window and slipped out.

Atzi ran a few blocks up the street. When she was confident she'd lost her pursuers, she took a breather to decide what to do next. Hiding in the university is a plan. Or, I could try a longshot. There's a second person I could bribe with this book. Except... I don't actually know where to find Cory. Then she realized that if anyone knew, it would be Fence. Atzi weighed the two options. The incredibly safe magical university, or Cory? If I give it to Cory, I can find out more about what's going on with her.

If I die, then I just go to the Serpent again, and I do it right the next time. Decided, Atzi headed off to Fence. It began to rain. - Atzi had tried hiding the bag under her, leaning forward as she went. It had still gotten wet, but not as bad as she had. She knocked on the wall of Fence's shack. Fence peeked their head out at Atzi. Then scowled.

"... Lotta nerve showing up here after you botched the job. Again."

"... You know already? Shit. So V knows..."

"Yeah." Atzi groaned.

"I got one of the codewords, alright? I got one. I just- the second had- forget it. How did it go with Cory and Paulina? That bit at least work out?"

"Yeah, 'course it did." Fence spat on the ground. It washed away in the rain.

"We're not incompetent." Atzi flinched.

"Do you know where Cory is?"

"No."

"You have no idea? At all?"

"Didn't ask, don't care, and even if I did I wouldn't tell you anyway." Atzi gripped the sack tight in her claws.

"You're gonna tell V I was here the moment I leave, right?"

"That depends." Fence craned their neck to look Atzi directly in the eyes. They had a serious expression.

"How much is it worth to you I don't do that?" Atzi thought for a moment. Then she had an epiphany.

"I can get you a hundred gold." She grinned. Fence waved their claw.

"Unless it's in that bag, I don't believe you." Atzi took the book out.

"You remember those posters for it? Check it out." Fence's eyes nearly popped out of their head.

"How did you… Atzi, my best friend! Come in from the rain!" They beckoned her inside. Atzi slipped in, then flicked the water off her tail.

"I was gonna bribe Cory with it but, well, you don't know where she is, so how about this. I just need to live for another few days. Until the godscouncil. One hundred gold for that? How's that sound?" Fence listened the whole time. When Atzi was done, they lifted a claw up and tried to grab the book.

"Just give it to me."

"Hey, hey hey!" Atzi lifted the book out of their reach.

"You wanna hand it over, you need to know how to do it. They're gonna ask how you found it. Not just Terra, that guy in charge of counterintelligence too."

"Counterintelligence? Freaking spies? Gods damn it." Fence stomped a clawed foot.

"Yeah." She leaned over conspiratorially.

"Hey, do you wanna know where I found it?"

"Yeah. Spill."

"Sewer under V's house. They hid it pretty good, but if you notice which brick isn't lined up with the others properly..." Atzi tapped the book with a claw.

"It was Cory's payment for the job. She didn't want money, she wanted this. I have no idea how the hells V got it."

"Is that why you botched the job?" Fence asked, staring at the gem-encrusted book.

"Make V think you're too incompetent to steal it?"

"Um... yes, definitely."

"Atzi, you brilliant girl." Fence grinned.

"Tell you what. I'll treat this like you're giving me an item to fence. So after I get the money, come back and I'll give you… five gold."

"Wow," Atzi said, genuinely surprised.

"That's generous for you."

"Hey, a good client is worth a lot more if you can pull stuff like this off. And the best part is, V won't even kill us! Probably."

"Probably will if you say you got it from V when counterintelligence comes asking."

"I have my ways." Fence reached for the book again.

"Now gimme."

"Alright, alright." Atzi handed it over.

"Don't forget the deal, though! Just keep me alive until the sixteenth so I can go to the godscouncil."

"Yeah, yeah." Fence stared at the book, forked tongue occasionally whipping out and catching the air. If Fence really manages to hand it over without the spies getting involved, I am gonna have to ask how. - As Atzi left the alley, she realized she could have just gone to the Serpent's temple. Then she noticed the street to the south seemed more crowded than usual, with lots of people beckoning each other to follow. There was smoke in the distance, rising even under the heavy rain. Curious, Atzi followed.

As she made her way down the street, she had a rotten feeling in her gut. The further she went, the worse the feeling got. When she saw the crowd forming at Hemm's inn, her stomach dropped. Atzi rushed forward, pushing through the crowd. The building was burnt and half-collapsed, with the roof caved in. Rain beat against it, soaking the charred wood. Atzi blinked in disbelief. Oh gods. Was this to catch me? She overheard some people talking.

"Heard it was an alcohol fire… tragic."

"Everyone got out but the bartenders..." Atzi eyes widened. Hemm. She looked around for any sign of the people from inside. She spotted a few them, chatting with a section of the crowd. A man with a scar under his eye pointed to his shoulder, showing a small burn mark.

"Barely made it out, I did. Lucky to be alive."

"Just horrible! Didn't know what was happening 'till it did." One chattered his big teeth.

"Second fire I'd been in, actually. Lost my pinky in the last one." Atzi curled her claws into a fist as she watched him wiggle his hand. They just... murdered her. For what? Being nearby? Atzi felt like she was seeing red. She unclenched a claw and rested it on her dagger. Barely aware of her own actions, she crept through the crowd, angling herself toward the back of the pinkyless thug. She unsheathed her weapon and drew close. Once she was just behind him, she struck.

Her blade flicked forward, angled towards his lower back.

"Why'd you do that to her?" she half-yelled, half-cried.

"P-piece of shit!" The man moved, the blow glancing off leather armor under his clothes. He spun around, catching Atzi in the jaw with his fist. She hit the ground. People screamed. She looked up to see three of the men standing over her.