Chapter 2: Masks

Aeric admires the moon while he mentally goes over the plan. He looks down at the empty street illuminated by lanterns. "I've had Geoffrey and Jackson watching the shop for two days. We know the patrols and the type of lock he uses. Nobody goes in after closing, and if we're quiet enough, we won't wake him as long as we don't go to the second floor."

In the shadows of an alleyway, he sees a young man in a cloak and hood give a thumbs up. "That's Geoffrey. We're good to go." Aeric steps away from the window, straps on his daggers, and grabs his hooded lantern, before leaving the room.

He walks downstairs and looks around the room. The room is dark, aside from moonlight streaming through cracks and holes in the building. Debris and trash covers the floor. Their hideout is falling apart. Aeric walks up to a young woman sleeping in a corner and taps her on the shoulder. "Lynnette, it's time. Wake up and grab your stuff." Her brown eyes are barely visible through her hair. She nods and quickly ties her hair up behind her head.

Aeric walks to the front door and peeks through a crack in it. "It looks clear. Let's join Jackson and Geoffrey at the meeting point." He looks back at Lynnette, who simply nods. They quickly don their cloaks, pull their hoods up, and leave their hideout.

They quietly leave the hideout and dash into the alleyway. The two of them bounce from shadow to shadow, constantly watching for guards. They both know the patrols by heart, but it's wise to not grow complacent.

Aeric looks back at his shadow. "Do you remember your role?"

"Yes." Lynnette responds, tersely.

Aeric nods and taps his daggers and checks his lantern, habitually. Before long, they arrive at a dark area behind abandoned buildings. They wait for a moment before two figures emerge from the shadows. "You guys ready?" One shadow asks.

Aeric nods and whispers, "We're ready. Get to your positions, and we'll start immediately."

Both of the shadows split off in different directions. Aeric looks to Lynnette and nods. They slip into an alleyway and head towards the target.

The two of them arrive in an alleyway with a view of the front door of the shop. They stop and wait long enough for Geoffrey and Jackson to get in place. Aeric takes one last look. "Let's go."

They both dash to the door. Lynnette pulls out her picking tools and Aeric stands watch. Due to Lynnette practicing on similar locks, it should only take her a few moments to get it open. For Aeric, time seemed to drag until he heard a faint click.

She slowly opened the door, and he took one last look around before they both slipped inside. Lynnette gently closes the door while Aeric looks around before letting some light out of his lantern.

"Looking at the shelves and cases, it's likely that he moved the expensive items to his room or to a locked storage upstairs when he closed up for the day. The coin is probably with him as well. No matter. We can make do with the cheaper items and food."

Aeric looks at Lynnette and whispers, "Grab the cheap stuff and food. Also, anything expensive you find." She nods before pulling a large bag out of her satchel beneath her cloak. Aeric does the same before placing his lamp in the center of the room.

The two of them split up and begin quickly stuffing what they can into their bags. They grab whatever they can find while being as quiet as they can. Not long after they started, Lynnette calls Aeric to the back of the room. He's surprised to see her holding a small chest.

Aeric joins her in the back of the room. She gives him the chest, and it feels rather heavy. Unfortunately, they can't check the contents as it's locked. He starts to ask Lynnette her opinion when they hear a noise near the front door.

"What do you think you're doing!?" An old man holding a lantern and an axe stands next to the stairs. He points to them with his axe. "Drop everything you have and lie down! I'm getting the guards."

Aeric hands the chest to Lynnette before standing. "Put the axe down and get out of the way, old man. We're taking what we have, and we're leaving. Don't do something you won't live to regret."

The old man moves in front of the door and stands tall. "You think you can intimidate me? I've lived long enough to know when somebody's lying to me. I can tell you don't have the guts to kill me."

Aeric slowly walks towards the man with his right hand on a sheathed dagger and his left hand holding the bagged stolen goods. "Don't do this, old man. We're not waiting for the guards. You're being unreasonable."

"I'm not just going to let you get away. If you want to get past me, you'll have to cut me down."

Aeric now hesitantly stands in front of the man. He knows if he takes one more step, it will be to end the man's life. "I can't afford to waste time here. If we take too long, we're caught. I have no choice! He won't listen. I have to do it!" Aeric unsheathes his dagger and steps forward.

The man reels his axe back and swings from the right. Aeric quickly interposes his bag between himself and the axe. They both watch as the axe tears into the bag and snags. Aeric quickly plants the blade of his dagger into the man's undefended throat. Warm blood coats Aeric's hand as the man drops his lantern, which shatters on the floor.

They meet each other's fearful gazes as Aeric pulls the blade out of the man's neck and watches him fall to the ground. The man holds his hands to his neck in a fruitless attempt to stop the bleeding. Aeric finds himself unable to look at the man any longer. "I'm sorry."

He looks at his torn bag as its contents spill to the ground. "Give me the chest, Lynnette." He sheaths his bloody dagger, tosses his bag to the floor, and attaches his lantern to his belt, before Lynnette hands him the chest. He puts it under his arm and checks for people outside. His attention turns towards Lynnette, who is watching the fire spread from the broken lantern. "Let's go."

The two of them leave the shop and flee into the darkness. They don't stop running until they see their hideout. After ensuring there's nobody around, they head inside. They close the door and Lynnette drops her bag.

She looks over at Aeric, who is standing in the center of the main room. She watches as he drops the chest with a thud and looks at his hand. He rushes to a small bucket of water and begins thoroughly scrubbing his hand. She watches as the water reddens. His body begins to shake as he sobs.

Lynnette walks to him and hugs his back. "It'll be okay, Aeric."

He screams into his hands.

"No! It won't be okay! I killed him! I killed him for whatever's in that damned chest! We could have left without it."

"That's not fair. We killed him, Aeric. Not you. Don't blame yourself."

"It was my plan. We could have stuck to pick pocketing. We should have. I- I'm sorry. It's my fault."

She hugs him tightly as she begins to cry. "I won't let you blame yourself! We all agreed to it. All of us decided it was what we needed to do. You-"

The front door opens as Geoffrey and Jackson walk in. They both see Aeric and Lynnette crying. Geoffrey steps forward as Jackson closes the door. "What happened? What's going on?" Lynnette turns to them to respond when they all hear the fire bells ringing. Aeric's eyes go wide. He desperately blocks his ears and begins to sob again.