Odesday, 22nd of Augustus, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

The night's darkness had covered the city of Chessey. The moon was hidden by darkened clouds, leaving only the small lamps and torches along the docks as sources of light. It was the best kind of weather Josias could ask for.

Josias and his companions were currently huddled within a small row boat. Under the cover of darkness, they had set out from Captain Farnaby's ship. All of them wore dark-coloured hooded cloaks over black clothes. Josias also made sure everyone was wearing some type of face covering. Their foreign features weren't exactly inconspicuous, thus they had to at least do that much.

Josias had chosen to wear a white fox mask given to him by Captain Farnaby. A neat little trinket the old merchant had picked up from some oriental trader. It was a useful thing. Should anything go wrong and his mask was taken, it'd throw off the guards from a proper search.

Everyone was quite skeptical of his plan. Not the least of whom was Serena. His wife had given him an earful on the potential problems that could arise if they were caught. She said things along the lines of diplomatic repercussions, honour, problems for her uncle et cetera. Josias only replied, 'If'.

Luckily for Josias, his wife didn't pursue the matter any further after he asked her to just trust him. It was a good feeling, having someone worrying over him like that. It gave him a proper reason to do his best and to return safely.

Reverend Nalom had used a substantial amount of his magic to spawn a thick foggy mist. It was to provide extra subterfuge from the few city guards making their nightly rounds. The dark, potentially rainy clouds and the already cold, humid air would hopefully cause the guards to look the other way.

They had no choice but to depend on the city's lax and corrupt sentry for the plan to work. With them on the boat was none other than the tavern owner Patar. He insisted that he had a score to settle with those thugs and volunteered to go along with them. It was a good thing to have a competent navigator who knew the layout of these docks.

Josias looked over to bang (Elder brother) Timo who was at the back of the boat. He had his hands dipped into the cold sea water. Doing that, he had summoned a ball of wind which acted as a propeller for the boat to move. It was much faster and far more quite than just rowing the boat regularly.

WIth Patar's directions, the group had closed in to the warehouse. There were a few lights still on outside of the warehouse premises, causing Josias to click his tongue. He had hoped to pull off a clean heist, but having guards or workers there complicated things.

It wasn't that Josias hadn't expected it, but he had hoped to minimize the cost in lives as much as possible. He had promised the reverends that they wouldn't murder anyone in the operation. Josias himself still wasn't too keen on violence, but depending on the circumstances, he had to do what he had to do.

As they reached the jetties next to the warehouse, Josias could hear the sounds of laughter and cheer coming from within. There was also music coming from inside. It looks like there was a celebration going on.

Josias and his companions quickly tied the boat to one of the jetty's supports. Reverend Nalom, Patar, and Timotheus were left on the boat to keep watch and prepare for a quick escape. With that, the Halak warriors quickly climbed up the dock supports onto the main wharf.

Standing flat against the walls of the warehouse, Josias saw a ledge below the window of the warehouse. Conserving his aura, Josias manually scaled the walls using his athleticism alone. His companions followed suit as they all quietly climbed after him. Compared to hunting on the jungle trees of the Halaklands, this much was nothing.

Passing through the window, Josias hung off its ledges before quietly landing himself on one of the platforms. Fortunately, the platform was only a few short feet below him, so the sound he made was minimal. Though, any sounds his movements made were surely drowned out by the loud music and merrymaking coming from below.

The warehouse itself was quite large, with a huge interior and relatively high walls. It was perhaps over a dozen meters in height. From the first floor up to the second, it was filled with various crates, chests, barrels, and boxes.

Josias slightly peeked over the railings to see what was going on below. He lightly clicked his tongue as he noticed the familiar faces of the thugs who had previously accosted Patar's tavern. They were currently engrossing themselves in the arms of half-undressed women. He also noticed a few of the musicians were also from the tavern.

On the bright side, they had looked to be quite inebriated. That was good. If all was well, they'd be fast asleep before they'd even think to notice anything strange.

Out of curiosity, Josias told his companions to sweep through the crates and barrels to see what was inside. There were a variety of commodities, ranging from spices to tools and even a few silks.

However, they weren't here for raw goods. Stealing raw resources and goods would only trouble Captain Farnaby in trying to find a buyer. He also wanted to minimize the chances of anything being traced back to them. Taking merchandise would leave a noticeable foottrail.

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Just as they were going through the crates, Josias heard some footsteps coming from the corner of the second floor platform. He quickly gave a signal to his companions to hide themselves.

Two men had arrived holding lanterns. They didn't look armed. Perhaps they were workers.

"Johnny, I'm telling you this is a bad idea." One of the men, the scrawnier one, said.

"Oh don't be so craven! I'm telling you I saw it in one of these crates when I was porting them. Bottles upon bottles of the best Altergenian wine!" The fatter man said.

"But what if we get caught?"

"Oh quit bellyaching. Half those bastards are already pissed-drunk and the other half are busy fucking the whores. Besides, no one's going to notice one or two bottles missin'. Now are you just gonna stand there gawking or are you gonna help me? The quicker we do this, the less likely we'll get caught."

"Ughh, why do I even get myself into these situations."

The two men quickly started going through the crates. Josias held his breath as he hid himself behind the crates. However, the two were getting dangerously close to him. Josias wanted to avoid unnecessary violence, but it would appear to be getting more and more necessary.

Josias took in a deep breath to try and knock the men out with a punch of his aura, but just as he was about to jump.

"Oy, what the hell are you two doing up here?!" A third voice had come in, seemingly irate.

"Ah, fuck." The larger man muttered.

"It was a good thing I was bored and decided to follow you louts."

"Master Brendan, we were just… uhh… doing some inventory, yes…"

Josias' ears perked up when he heard the name. He recognised the voice too. It was indeed the thug loanshark he had met at the tavern earlier. His voice sounded far harsher than it did at the tavern.

"Do you think I'm an idiot? You're both lucky, I was the one who caught you pilfering through these goods. If it were uncle Hank, he'd have you all tied and thrown to the sea. I'm going to pretend like I didn't just catch you two here, but you owe me. Now get back."

"Aye, sir, understood."

"You're damned lucky you're my cousin, Johnny. It took a lot of effort getting a useless half-wit like you a job here. Don't embarrass Uncle Hank with stupid stunts like this."

Josias could feel the footsteps of the people getting further away. Once he was sure they were gone, he finally let out a long breath. He gave two slight knocks on a crate to signal his other companions. They had found their target.

Quietly tailing them close behind, Josias saw that the two workers that were caught were headed back down stairs. Brendan didn't follow them, instead heading into a room. Josias positioned his companions at points to stand watch in case someone else would come.

After making sure it was secure, Josias crouched in front of the door. He put his ears right next to the keyhole to get a good listen.

"So what was all that about?" A distinct voice, not Brendan, could be heard. It sounded gruff, older.

"It was nothing, just a couple of rats. You can't be too careful these days." Brendan answered the man.

"Pfft, I'm impressed you could even catch all that with that blasted music and moaning coming from downstairs. You're too kind to the boys down there. I don't know what came over you to decide to hold this little party."

"It's good to raise spirits high. Besides, I managed to hike up a loan by two full crowns."

"Aye. I didn't ask before, but how did you manage to squeeze that out of the savage? I half expected you to just return here with one of his pretty daughters, hahaha! Lord knows Old Bertha could use some new girls at the brothel."

"Ah well, he got lucky. There was a travelling group of his kinsmen at the tavern. They paid out my asking price like it was nothing. From the looks of them, they seemed somewhat important. They were wearing the same patterns I've seen on these folk before, but two of them were dressed like priests. They were with Captain Farnaby."

"Oh truly? That old codger still hasn't kicked the bucket yet? He's as lively as Captain Devin."

"That's not all. They were powerful, too. Five of 'em were at least on the level of silver-ranked warriors."

This Brendan person was far more observant than Josias gave him credit for. Though, based on their comments about Patar and the Halak people, Josias felt even more justified to deal them a loss.

"Did they give you any trouble?"

"Luckily, it ended without much incident."

"Good then. As far as I see it you were really lucky, boy. You deserve to enjoy yourself now. Heard Madam Bertha brought over your favourite girl… Oh! But before you do, bring this down to the storeroom below."

Josias could hear what sounded like a pouch of jingling coins.

"There's enough money there to buy a house, so be careful. When the Captain sends over his boys from the capital here, they'd be expecting every last penny. Including the ones already stored."

"I still think the security here is too lax, uncle. Altogether, there's tens of thousands of lamellars worth of coin there. If a thief were to-..."

"Hush now, boy. We all know the risk, but only you and I have the keys. Besides, it's going to be out of our hands before noon. After that it isn't our problem anymore."

"If you say so, uncle."

Josias could hear the footsteps approaching the door. Immediately, he gave the signal to his companions to scatter. Their mission now was clear. It was a great stroke of luck. All they needed to do was to tail Brendan all the way to the so-called safe.

Josias could feel his heart start beating with excitement. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He couldn't let his nerves get the best of him. He was now determined to prove to the thugs that the only one going to profit in the end was him.

With that thought, Josias immediately hid himself once more in the darkness. He'll see to it that the safe will be secured far before noon, in his hands.

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