1

10 years ago

Hanging by his left hand from the windowsill, Drake slipped his belt knife between the shutters above him and lightly pushed up until the latch gave. He smiled to himself and returned the knife to its sheath. Drake pulled the shutters open and looked into the dark room.

Softly snoring on the bed against the left wall slept a fat middle-aged dwarf. Drake used Inspect on and then dismissed the man, a level 5 merchant, as a nonthreat and quietly climbed into the room. Drake was only a level 1 thief, and while neither class were combat oriented, the merchant’s higher level meant nothing since merchants had zero combat skills.

“At least I can fight with a knife thanks to my Small Blades skill,” Drake whispered to himself while fingering the knife in the sheath attached to his belt. He crept past the merchant in his bed and started to open the bedroom door. The hinges creaked and Drake froze.

Jermaine Jennings, the merchant, snorted and lifted his head. Drake dropped to the floor as quietly as he could. A few seconds later and Jennings’ head hit his pillow again. Drake stayed on the floor until the merchant’s breathing evened out and he started snoring once more.

{Congratulations! Sneak has increased to level 2! You are slightly harder to detect}

Drake snorted at the notification and quietly rose to his feet. Just a couple more skill upgrades and he would reach level 2 himself. He slipped through the partially opened door and made his way down to the merchant’s shop as quietly as he could. Drake crouched and moved past the curtain separating the shop from the merchant’s living quarters and storage. He quickly searched the shop’s counter displays only to be disappointed.

{Counterfeit Silver Jeweled Ring Value 5 Coppers}

{Counterfeit Gold Broach Value 5 Coppers}

{Fool’s Gold Ingot Value 2 Coppers}

{Bronze Wedding Ring Value 5 Silvers}

Drake sighed and dismissed the other Inspect notices for the rest of the “merchandise” on display.

“It’s all junk,” Drake hissed to himself. That was true except for the wedding ring being the most valuable item. The ring went into his satchel even though it wouldn’t get him much. “I’ll be lucky to get enough for this ring for a meal or two from Old Henry or Frankie the Fish.”

Drake checked the other shelves, counters, and displays. Mostly the merchant had cheap general goods, which he didn’t want since they wouldn’t fetch a decent price. That said, Drake did add a coil of rope to his satchel as well as a package of trail rations. His stomach grumbled and Drake decided to try the jerky.

“Ugh. This venison jerky is the toughest thing I’ve ever eaten and tastes like shoe leather. No wonder it’s only worth a few coppers,” Drake complained. But it would fill his belly and keep him from starving, so it joined the ring and rope in his satchel. He didn’t see anything else of value or that he wanted. “I’ll try the storage room.”

*

Drake found two storage rooms. The first held food items and wasn’t locked. A few ripe apples and pack of biscuits found their way into his satchel. The jerky found its way into the place the pack of biscuits had been.

“Locked,” Drake whispered after trying the second storage room door. He pulled his lockpicks out from the small bag he kept them in attached to his belt. Drake used Inspect on them and felt a shiver of excitement flow through him.

{Basic Matched Steel Lockpicks Value 50 Silvers}

The lockpicks were expensive and had taken Drake months to save up for after his mother, a courtesan, left him to go north and rejoin her people. She hadn’t abandoned him per say since she had given him a choice of going with her or staying in Old Town. He had been foolish and elected to stay. Mother gave him a few silvers, said she loved him, and left without a backwards glance. Drake had always assumed that the coldness she displayed by not looking back was an elven thing. He shook his head to clear those thoughts and turned his attention to the door.

“I’m glad I did too,” Drake muttered to himself as he spotted a clear wire or string at the top of the door. He used Inspect on it.

{Congratulations! You have learned the skill Detect!}

{Clear nylon string Value 10 coppers}

Drake dismissed the notices. He would celebrate the new skill later. He followed the wire or string until he found that it ran into a tiny hole beside the door. Feeling around the hole, Drake discovered a hidden compartment. He removed the cover and disconnected the string from the bell it was connected to.

{Congratulations! You have advanced a level and are now a level 2 Thief!}

“Huh. Learning the skill must have given me enough experience to gain the level,” Drake mused as he closed the compartment. He took up his lockpicks and looked down the hall before starting to work on the lock. Two minutes later and he still hadn’t tripped the lock. “Come on, come on.”

Drake froze as he heard a creak above him. Dust fell onto him. He hadn’t realized he was under the merchant’s bedroom, though it made sense. Drake waited two minutes before resuming trying to pick the lock. The young thief smiled a few seconds later as he heard a click.

{Congratulations! Lockpicking has increased to level 2!}

“Practice makes perfect, and I love skill increases,” a smiling Drake whispered as he opened the door. He scanned the room and saw armor and weapons scattered about. “Some of this stuff has to be worth at least some silver.”

{Rusted Iron Battle Axe Value 1 Silver}

{Rusted Iron Long Sword Value 1 Silver}

{Pitted Iron Dagger Value 50 Coppers}

{Copper Throwing Knife X5 Value 25 Coppers}

{Copper Short Sword Value 75 Coppers}

{Basic Iron Headed Spear X10 Value 5 Silvers}

“These dull throwing knives must be worth that much because of the labor used to make them,” Drake told himself. Still, they were something he could practice with if nothing else. The set disappeared into his satchel. The other weapons just weren’t worth the hassle of trying to haul out of the shop. He Inspected the armor along the back wall. “Aha.”

{White Padded Jacket Value 10 Silvers}

{Gray Padded Jacket Value 10 Silvers}

{Black Padded Jacket Value 10 Silvers}

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Drake whispered. He stopped and examined the counter below the hanging jackets and his eyes widened in happy shock and he rubbed his hands together.

{White Arming Belt Value 2 Silvers}

{Gray Arming Belt Value 2 Silvers}

{Black Arming Belt Value 2 Silvers}

{White Chausses Value 5 Silvers}

{Gray Chausses Value 5 Silvers}

{Black Chausses Value 5 Silvers}

{White Padded Gloves Value 2 Silvers}

{Gray Padded Gloves Value 2 Silvers}

{Black Padded Gloves Value 2 Silvers}

The young thief quickly put on the black armor and went back to the shop front to grab a backpack. Once he returned to the storage room, he stuffed the other two armor sets into it.

“Boots, boots, boots,” Drake muttered looking around. He found them in the under the counter on the left wall.

{White Leather Boots Value 10 Silvers}

{Gray Leather Boots Value 10 Silvers}

{Black Leather Boots Value 10 Silvers}

“They fit!” Drake quietly exclaimed after trying on the black boots. He checked the others too, but the white pair were too large and the gray too small. The other two pairs of boots went into the backpack too. Drake hoisted the pack and grunted while putting it on. It wasn’t too heavy, but he didn’t have the strength of most men. He shut the storage room’s door and reset the alarm. He didn’t feel like trying to relock the door with his lockpicks and it didn’t have a way to lock it from the other side. Shrugging, Drake searched for a safe. Not finding one, he made his way back up the stairs and searched the rooms there.

“Of course, the safe is under the fatass’ bed,” Drake muttered when he found it.

{Congratulations! Detect has increased to level 2!}

Drake shook his head and gave up hope of getting to the safe. Perhaps he could return one night. He dropped the backpack out the window and climbed out. Hearing footsteps approaching the alley, Drake decided not to close the shutters and quickly climbed down. Just as soon as his feet hit the ground, Drake snatched up the pack and made his way down the alley as quietly as possible.

{Congratulations! You have successfully robbed a business! Either successfully rob another shop pickpocket 10 people, or raise your skills to advance a level}