The estate itself put into our world’s context would be small. Nothing like the sprawl of green and brown further than the eye could see. Even so, it took up a major portion of the city, enough to make up perhaps a twentieth of the land. Studying it was a risk in and of itself, I couldn’t just pretend to be a gawker and wander into the grounds. The only way was to either case it by night, infiltrate their staff, or get someone else to provide details.

The latter two were an immediate bust, Oroen hadn’t managed to get a single one of them to turn ever, and they were close-knit enough that if I pretended to be one of them I would be noticed in short order. That left me with a night observation…

I hid in one of the trees, watching as the guards passed. I had to switch often between Delving and not, one let me see the guards, but not very well or very far, nor could I see the buildings and their structure. The other let me see further, but with what little moonlight was about it was difficult to discern much anyway. I slid down the tree after the last guard passed, doing my best to creep through the shadows of the grass and clouds.

It was a large building, and if I wanted to know all of it I would need to both go from different angles, and maybe even come closer to view the areas I couldn’t see from this distance. I sighed, darting forwards toward the building, climbing, making mental notes, adjusting the map. Page had made something of a mental structure of the building, and every night in my dreams I’d wander it, puzzling out different approaches, different tools.

I dared not wander too close, if it came down to it, I’d have to make it a quick smash, search and grab, and there was no point to risking the alarms, at the final stretch I would either make it or I wouldn’t. All this preparation was just meant to keep the initial penetration easier, leave less to chance.

A single tower rose into the air at the centre, and while I was loathe to admit it, it seemed the most likely option. It was by no means a lonely tower, with buildings on all sides, and perhaps only a single floor higher than the other buildings, even so, if I had that kind of money, and this kind of land… I would give myself that view…

I ducked, pressing myself under a windowsill as one of the guards made their rounds in the hallway. Snow crunched underfoot, muffling my steps on the roof tiles, there was no snow in the air, so I had to be careful about leaving tracks. I clambered onto the roof, capturing a mental image of the building arrangement within. Stables, what was probably a garden, barracks… I frowned, more mental notes passed on to Page.

[There seems to be no shortage of possible rooms.] Page noted. [Does the man have a large family?] It queried.

Unlikely, from what I could tell the man has two children, a brother and no one else. I looked over to one of the larger buildings with smoke from it, standing away from the others. Servant’s quarters most likely. I thought, crossing it off the list. The others are a toss up unless we go down to look through the windows. However that one… My eyes caught on a building with large windows overlooking the garden. That one is most likely the dining room, and hopefully they’re close to it…

I returned to the inn I had rented after I’d left. When all this is done Cale owes me a drink… I thought to myself, sighing. Actually no, he owes me some peace of mind. I didn’t like this Oroen fellow, perhaps I was just on edge, paranoid, he trusted the man after all, and he’d known him far longer than I… And yet sometimes it is the ones closest to us that we know the least of…

I grimaced at that whisper from the back of my mind. Practically speaking it was a lifetime ago, all I had left were vague recollections. Bullying, that was it, I would never have known that he’d been party to it had I not left some things of mine in school. It wasn’t a good memory, I bore none of the scars now either… I lost a lot in Greil’s world. I thought to myself. Not much of my body is really even from home anymore is it? Should’ve just been a cyborg… I chuckled darkly to myself.

Sitting against the wall I had Page apply an overlay to my vision, the mansion floating in the centre of the room as I paced around it. Useful feature… I thought to myself. I guess it was meant to be something like a HUD? I asked Page.

[Yes, but I can’t provide objective markers and the like as those features require some kind of orbital installation that provides both data of where you are and where your target is.] Page noted.

Still… I thought to myself, tracing a route into the building, moving time forward and backward to put the guard patrols into better perspective. Hmm, I think we might be able to extrapolate their patrol routes… I cupped my chin. Most of it seems to follow a particular pattern… I began tracing them out, Page highlighting them in red to contrast the routes we already knew in blue.

[It’s conceivable…] Page noted, the speed at which they travelled put them exactly where we’d expect them. [You may wish to spend another night to confirm the hypothesis.]

The second night it began to snow, a light fall of it gently coating the area. I had quickly confirmed the pattern, and now sat a bit away. This… might be the perfect weather… I thought to myself, the snow would help cover my tracks, and while it hampered both our visibilities… I would see the guards much faster than they would see me. All my tools are set too… I took a breath. Let’s go.

I scaled the walls with a quick hook I’d fashioned from my armour, dragging myself up by another length of it, then wrapping it around my arm and fusing it there. The first building I wanted to check was the tower, and I slunk across the rooftops, Delving and watching to make sure no one was around as I leapt across the gaps in between.

Scaling the tower itself was easy as well, though the smooth stone provided no purchase, there was no one within it, all I needed to do was throw the hook up. It bounced once against the window on the first two tries, a dull thud that failed to echo in the snowfall.

I slipped a knife in between the window boards, flicking at the latch with the blunt end of it while dangling from the edge. This is stupid. I thought to myself, holding onto the rope for dear life as I hung almost thirty-five feet above the ground. The latch clicked as it opened, and I quickly hauled myself in. I closed the window and latched it again. No cellophane tape… can’t close it without being inside… I guess I’ll just have to let myself through an open window… I think I saw one downstairs.

I found myself in what appeared to be a study. Not a bedroom, but this might be better. Two bookshelves leaned against the wall, not entirely full. Probably books the man has actually read instead of just for status. I think to myself, walking over to the desk that sat against another of the windows, this one made of glass instead with a wooden frame. Where the sun rises… I thought. Huh…

Searching the room, I found ledgers, journals, even several sentimental memoirs, but the notebook itself eluded me. I sighed. Only one other place… If I can find it… I thought to myself. I started to Delve, looking for sleeping forms within nearby rooms. I doubted anyone would place their bedrooms far from their own study.

I slipped into his room, the door opening without a sound save the whistling of wind that pushed against me. The windows was open, and I kept a firm hold on the door as I closed it, even as it threatened to wrench itself from my grasp. How the hell does he sleep in this cold? I wondered. I guess he really trusts his security… Now, if I were a book of secrets, where would I be…

The usual places were altogether empty, no false bottoms in the dresser, no safes behind the paintings, even the bed seemed completely devoid of compartments. I walked over to the window, staring out into the night sky, had he used magic in any form to trap it or even maybe hide it, I would easily have found the compartment. So far his soul had been relatively calm, at least he hadn’t woken. Where… I wondered, turning to fold my arms against my chest.

A cloud passed across the moon, and for a moment the room plunged into darkness. On a column in the centre of the room, an outline appeared, drawn from the contrast of the dim light. A false column… I thought in surprise. Had hardly considered that. I walked over to it, kneeling down and feeling on the edges of the outline. I took off my gloves, prying at the opening, which slid out with difficulty. A notebook lay there, and I grinned. Perfect. I brought it to the side, feeling at the bindings and the cover, it felt like what I was looking for, but I’d need some light from the hallway.

By torchlight I found it to be exactly what I sought, a black cover, gold embroidered words on it. Penitence… I read to myself. Odd name, but it was what they had asked of me. I opened it up. It wasn’t coded, easily detailing dealings performed since as far back as a decade ago.

[That’s exactly the information we’re looking for…] Page noted. [It’s short enough that we might not even need to bring back the book this time.]

True… I thought to myself, flipping through the pages as Page captured them into memory. Let’s go… I thought, entering the room once more and placing the notebook back into the recess. I slipped out through the open window, circling around the roof to head back where I entered. One of the souls within the room across stirred, and I stopped, crouching low and leaning back into the shadows. A wisp of a girl looked out the window, staring directly at me.

She rubbed at her eyes, squinting, before starting to tremble, a hand raised to her mouth, and I cursed. “Oh hell.” I murmured, darting across the roof, her eyes followed, and she let out a keening shriek. She must have eyes like a damn hawk. I thought to myself, unfurling the hook and rope from my arm as I slid down the roof, catching the hook on the roof’s edge. I slid down, stopping myself as quickly as I could as I reached closer to the bottom. The hook came free, willed by me to soften and release, and I whipped it forward, catching it as I dashed ahead and reshaping it.

I hooked it on the top of their gate, pulling myself up as an arrow stabbed at my back. My armour deflected it, but I was knocked ahead, and the spikes atop the gate tore at one of my sleeves. Wonder if they have tetanus… The thought sprung almost unbidden, I laughed, settling into a sprint into the open field that made up the estate.

Eventually I dragged myself back into my room, having eventually shaken pursuit within the estate itself. I snapped one of the arrows that had penetrated my arm, pushing the broadhead out with gritted teeth, before plucking a bodkin from my back. I… guess that could’ve gone worse?

[You say that every time.] Page notes wearily.