Just after sunset, Kaelum prepared to leave. As he was leaving his very humble abode, he walked to one of the windows on the outside and moved the rotted window shutter. He grabbed a large, dirty brown sheet of some type of cloth.
‘What is that? It's disgusting!’
It’s part of the plan, you’ll see what it's for later. Thought Kaelum smugly, feeling vindicated now that he had information he could withhold from Tiela.
Kaelum moved under the waning light of the setting sun while ignoring Tiela’s annoyance through their bond. It was a route he’d taken many times in the past. The city lord, Marcus had feasts with tasty food on an almost regular basis and the best place to get said food was from the servant’s kitchen. No guards would find him, he could take food fresh from the oven, and most importantly, he’d be able to evade Lord Marcus’s notice.
The only times he had been caught were when he had overeaten and gotten sloppy while making his way out of the main gate. Though he had been caught a handful of times, the city guards always thought he was trying to get in, not out. So his secret way in was never found.
As he made his way up the steep incline of the western residential quarter, he was making fairly good time. He had already gotten far from the slums and cut across the small portion of the central market square that jutted west, to the residential quarter. About halfway through the residential quarter now, he decided to start playing it safe. Moving more stealthily, but still a good pace.
His thoughts once again roamed to the city lord’s kitchen. He was almost certain he’d be able to stop by the servants' kitchen before meeting the princess and getting rid of Tiela.
Tiela, sensing his thoughts had a few choice words for him.
‘Don’t you dare! We can’t mess up the mission just because you want some pastries.’ Said Tiela in a reprimanding tone.
Kaelum thought to himself that he’d take a small visit to the kitchen after he got rid of the nagging know-it-all. Kaelum had learned over the last day of interacting with Tiela that he could keep his thoughts relatively private if he really tried.
Coming to the last line of houses in the residential quarter, Kaelum turned left toward the western wall, rather than going up to the gate that led north into the ‘administrative/noble quarter’.
The city lord’s manor was located in the northmost part of the city so Tiela was puzzled as to why he went to the west wall, where even more guards were rather than sneaking past the gate. As she was curious, Tiela asked him.
I can’t get through that gate, there’s some kind of magic that stops you from sneaking past it. Thought Kaelum to Tiela Just watch.
She wasn’t exactly satisfied with that response but decided to just watch. Not because he told her to, of course.
He went to the side of the gate, sneaking around the city guards who were dozing off, he climbed up the stone walls. Somehow he was able to scamper up the wall without making any noise.
Tiela had to admit that he’d make a good assassin. Kaelum then grabbed hold of the stone ledge of the wall and climbed his way horizontally towards the noble quarter, rather than climbing up onto the parapet.
After climbing for around ten meters, he came to a guardhouse built into the wall. Once there he climbed up onto the parapet next to the guardhouse. After shaking his wrists from climbing for so long, he took the large brown cloth that was tied to his back and wrapped it around his chest and waist.
Tiela noticed that with his dirty brown pants, it did look like a guard’s uniform from afar. Especially seeing as the guards went sleeveless during the hot months. The only thing that looked odd about him, was his fourteen-year-old height. Though he was tall for his age and he was only slightly shorter than the average guardsman.
Crouching next to the wall of the guardhouse, he dug out an ill-fitting piece of stone. Taking a conveniently placed stick and a dirty oil lantern from the crevice. Completing the ‘almost guard’ looking outfit with a fake spear stick and lantern. He put the stone back in place and stood up.
Taking the lantern into his hands, it was revealed to be extremely dirty. Nearly all of its glass surface was covered in a thick layer of soot. Kaelum lit the lantern, which gave off an extremely dim light because it was so dirty.
He confidently walked on the parapet on his way to the lord’s manor. Most of the guards stayed inside of the guardhouses that were built every so often on the wall and he was able to pass by with his confident gait. But if any were out on the walls patrolling, he’d see them far in advance, especially since they were carrying lanterns far brighter than his own.
If he was in their sight, he’d pretend to stand guard and look out over the wall until they left. Only continuing when they had gone out of sight. He kept up this ‘guardsman’ farce all the way to where the city wall dipped down and met the sturdy stone walls of the city lord’s manor.
There, he tied his brown cloth to his back again before crouching down where the wall ended. He then dug out another stone to stow his stick and lantern away, all with practiced ease. Good Gods, you’d assume this was a regular occurrence. Thought Tiela. That’s crazy though
The main road that the princess’s parade took place on goes from east to west. The ‘lord’s road’ as it’s called, intersects the main road in the center of the city and leads from the market area in the center, north through the noble and administrative quarter. All the way up to the lord’s manor.
The lord’s manor was a massive property that took up a good portion of the city. It was the north-most area and was shaped like a half-circle, with the curved portion being the north walls, and the south portion being a straight stone wall, going east to west.
Because Kaelum had followed the western wall north, he was now at the southwest corner of the city lord’s manor.
The roads in the area were winding and narrow, so it was difficult to see more than a dozen paces in front of oneself. This made it easy for Kaelum to see if someone was coming with a lantern because the light would come around a bend before they would. But it would be hard for them to see him.
Kaelum walked about a dozen paces from the wall to the wide road that circumnavigates the lord’s manor, uncreatively named Manor Street. The street followed the entire length of the manor’s walls, all the way to the eastern city walls. It ended here at the western city wall that Kaelum had just come from.
On one side of the road was a two-meter tall stone wall, the manor’s wall and on the other side was a cluster of tightly packed buildings. Most likely offices or apartments for the administrative class. There were a few footpaths between each cluster, leading in unknown directions. It made the area look like a honeycomb.
Splitting manor street was a thin strip of earth that followed the entire length of the road, dotted along the strip were tall oak trees with immaculately trimmed crowns in the shape of fierce beasts.
After making sure nobody was in the area, Kaelum scaled one of these oak trees, the one closest to the western city wall he was just on. The crown of the tree he climbed was shaped like a dragon, with a particularly thick tail heading in the direction of the manor’s wall. Kaelum untied his cloth from his back, grabbing the corners into two bunches, then proceeding over to the ‘tail’ area. He then took a running leap towards the manor, holding his large cloth up above his head like a shitty parachute.
As he passed over the wall, Tiela noticed a glyph light up in the air above the wall, before dimming. It looked to be some sort of detection rune. She was about to warn him, but it didn’t activate fully.
‘Why didn’t the rune activate?’ Thought Tiela aloud.
That symbol? Said Kaelum in his mind It always goes dim a second after I pass it.
Kaelum’s words seemed to reveal the answer for her. She realized it had detected motion, but because Kaelum didn’t possess any mana, it didn’t actually activate fully.
Hmmm Thought Tiela to herself This flaw is likely to be present in a lot of powerful mage’s homes. A flaw she could easily exploit after some thought. Most likely, nobody had discovered this flaw because nobody expected to have to guard against a mortal with no mana.
Kaelum, after leaping from the tree, fell like a rock. The makeshift parachute barely worked to slow his fall in the slightest. Though perhaps it was just enough to prevent him from breaking a bone, or maybe it was just placebo; Tiela didn’t know which. Especially since Kaelum was now rubbing his ankles, and Tiela could feel a dull ache through their shared sense of touch.
It was a weird thing, she couldn't exactly feel the same things as him, but she could get a sense of it. Almost like she got a muted version of the original sensation.
Kaelum got up to his feet and leaned against the wall before draping his brown cloth over himself. It worked really well to blend himself in with the dark colour of the stone wall. This cloth was proving to be a versatile item, and she had called it disgusting!
Kaelum then started off towards the east while hugging the wall.
After seeing what Kaelum had done thus far, Tiela was now certain. Although she didn’t believe what he had said when he was bragging, this definitely wasn't the first time he had done this, all of his actions reeked of practice. Though he had probably done it several times before, surely this wasn't a common occurrence. This is the manor of a powerful knight, it's heavily guarded and warded for Gods' sake!
The inside of the manor was covered in manicured bushes and shrubbery, which helped to conceal Kaelum’s presence even further. Deeper in the compound, the main mansion is visible. It’s a large white wood and brick building with dark trim, with several large towers jutting out at each of the corners. Also visible were smaller buildings scattered around the manor, the nicer ones were likely guest houses. While the more run-down buildings were likely servants quarters, workshops, and offices. Beyond those were a few watchtowers on the northmost wall of the manor, that wall was much taller and also served as the city’s northern wall.
Kaelum had left just after sunset and had been walking along the manor wall for about half an hour now. Along with the two-hour walk from the slums, the time had to be around midnight now. Definitely not an appropriate time to be caught by guards while wandering around inside the city lord's manor.
Kaelum came upon the main gate that connects the manor to the city proper. After a bit of hiding in the bushes, a bit of hopping around, and waiting for the guards to move, he was finally able to slip around the gate. Thankfully, he was already inside the compound because he wouldn't have been able to get through the heavily warded and guarded gate. Tiela was sure some of the wards even detected mortals as well, apparently only the ones on the wall were laxer.
After slipping past the gate it was smooth sailing until he came upon a group of patrolling black armoured knights seemingly out of nowhere.
Fortunately for Kaelum, his reflexes acted before the knights were able to see him and he dropped to the ground against the wall, fully covered by his dirty brown cloth.
The knights walked closer and he could feel the footsteps next to him. It was then that he heard a voice in his ear. ‘Don’t make a sound, and try not to react to what I am about to do’ Whispered Tiela. The knights couldn’t hear her voice, even if she were to yell. But it seemed she appreciated the need for stealth nonetheless.
Before he could ask her what she was going to do, he felt a chill creep up his spine just before one of the knights got particularly close. The chill then spread across the surface of his skin. He felt like he was standing naked in a snowstorm, something he’d actually experienced before a particularly bad winter in the slums.
Kaelum succeeded in not yelping in surprise to the chilling sensation thanks to Tiela’s forewarning, though he had no idea what she was doing to him.
A weird sensation rippled across his body while the knight close to him looked in his direction. It was a weird feeling. Like someone was watching him intensely. The feeling moved from his head, the part of his body that was nearest the knight, down to his feet and then it left him and traveled further beyond.
‘They’re no longer paying attention to this area, move swiftly!’ He heard Tiela whisper again.
Not needing another word, he moved as quickly as he could while still remaining quiet. Once he got past the outer perimeter of knights, he was relatively safe from their attention. The change from the ‘outer perimeter’ to the inner was relatively obvious. The grass abruptly changed from dark green to a more pale green, and there was a line of shrubbery surrounding the perimeter with the guest house in the center.
What was that weird chilling thing you did? Thought Kaelum to Tiela.
‘It is a masking spell, it draws the observer's attention away from the person it was cast on.’ Answered Tiela.
‘You felt like someone’s eyes were on you when the knight looked in your direction, right?’ She asked.
After feeling Kaelum’s mental nod, she continued ‘That was one of the knights casting his mana sight, it lets a mage detect things, even if they’re hidden.’
Wait, you can cast spells? Thought Kaelum in surprise so you’re a knight?!
Feeling slightly offended by the amount of surprise in his tone, Tiela responded sharply ‘I’m not a knight, I’m a mage, and of course I can cast spells. I’m one of the strongest mages in the continent.’ Said Tiela ‘Though I can’t cast anything beyond basic spells while I’m not in my own body’
I thought mages and knights were the same things? Pondered Kaelum, completely ignoring the latter sentence.
‘In most contexts, they are’ Answered Tiela in a teaching tone that irritated Kaelum. ‘But a knight is a mage who has sworn service to the king of Kassivir, other kingdoms don’t use that terminology.’
Oh, that’s interesting thought Kaelum. He was always wanting to learn more about Kassivir and the countries outside.
Kaelum focused back on the task at hand. Looking at the guesthouse, it was a building almost as fine as the lord’s mansion. It was a castle esque three-story brick building, with a four-story tower on each of its four corners. It employed many expensive real glass windows and looked to be well cared for.
That’s weird, thought Kaelum, those knights aren’t paying any attention to the area near the guest house, only the areas further away.
‘That's because any threat would have to get through them to even get near the guesthouse.’ Answered Tiela. ‘Besides, the guesthouse itself is in the hands of the White Order, not them.’
Being reminded of the second group of knights keeping watch, Kaelum raises his guard again as he sneaks closer to the building. It would seem that all the knights are inside, which makes it easier for Kaelum.
Now close to the guest house, Kaelum scratched his head before thinking to Tiela, I have no idea how to get in without alerting the knights. Any suggestions?
After thinking for a moment, Tiela responded ‘Try climbing the tower there, the stones look fairly traversable.’
Without hesitation, Kaelum started scaling the twenty-meter tall tower. Near the ground, there were plenty of footholds for him to use, but as he got closer to the top they thinned out. Tiela was on the edge of her (metaphorical) seat. Especially as Kaelum had to make a small sideways jump and missed the stone he was trying to grip..
Having already fallen a few feet in just a fraction of a second, Kaelum keeps grabbing at the wall, hoping to find something to grasp.
After a heart-stopping moment, he finds purchase in the side of the tower, all while hearing Tiela’s frightened shout in his ear. He couldn’t tell who was more frightened. With every change of footholds, he could feel Tiela holding her (metaphorical) breath.
Finally reaching the top, Kaelum hoisted himself onto the top of the main building from the tower, nearly ten meters up. With his knees weak and his palms sweaty, Kaelum didn’t want to be climbing again any time soon. Now to find the princess. He thought.
After searching the roof for a bit, Kaelum came across a skylight fitted into the roof, which he was able to pry open after just a bit of effort. He drops in through the skylight to the third floor. According to what he’d heard, the princess should be on the second floor and the knights on the first. So he should be able to meet the princess without running into anybody on the way.
Kaelum found himself in a large hallway with tons of doors on each side of him, the walls were covered in expensive-looking paintings that he’d have to come back for if he ever found himself wanting to become a thief.
Down at the end of the hallway, he could vaguely see the stairs that led down to the lower floors. Pointedly ignoring all the rooms on the third floor and their purposes, Kaelum snuck as fast as he could while remaining quiet. This turned out to be quite fast, as he was used to sneaking about.
Walking down the stairs, he tried to hold on to the bannister and keep the steps from squeaking as much as possible. Every time the steps squeaked, he’d pause for a moment to make sure no one was coming before continuing. He soon reached the second floor and paused for a moment, thinking to Tiela Does any of this ring a bell? Any idea which room the princess is in?
‘No, I don’t remember this building, it was more than a decade ago for me.’ answered Tiela ‘But I would wager it's the room with the light on.’ She said smugly.
Realizing he had overlooked that fact, and not being able to think of a witty response, Kaelum just continued sneaking quietly toward the room with its light on. After reaching the closed door, he reached for the handle before stopping and pulling his hand back.
How do I talk to the princess? I can’t just walk into her room and tell her I know the future, she’ll think I’m crazy! He thought to Tiela.
After thinking for a moment, Tiela wondered how she would react if a random person walked into her room and started talking about knowing the future. I would probably reach for my long knife. She thought.
Kaelum was currently psyching himself up to meet with an actual princess for the first time while Tiela was baffled that he apparently didn’t count her as a princess.
Tiela ignores his thoughts and says ‘We’ll have to start with introductions and then reveal something only she would know before talking about the future…’
Got it thought Kaelum in a daze, What’s something only the princess of the past would know? He asked absentmindedly with a slight nervousness in his voice.
‘Hold on, let me think…’ Replied Tiela, seemingly thinking of something but she hesitated. Finally, she gritted her teeth and said ‘Remind her that she secretly wanted to marry the knight from -The Dragon Slayer- stories when she was younger’ It was embarrassing to tell him, but they had no choice.
Right, introduce myself, then say she wanted to marry the dragon knight. Thought Kaelum to himself before roughly pushing the door open to Tiela’s surprise.
‘Don’t just barge in! Knock first!’ Tiela’s reprimand went unnoticed.
“Princess Tiela! My name is Kaelum and I know you secretly love the dragon knight!” Shouted Kaelum.
‘WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?!’ Tiela roared in his mind.
Two shocked faces greeted him, he hadn’t expected to find two beautiful women in the bedroom and they certainly hadn’t expected to see him there. One of them was the younger version of Tiela, a real-life princess and more breathtaking than the paintings he had seen.
The other woman he didn’t know. She was just as breathtaking and had long white hair that reached her waist and ruby red eyes. If it weren’t for the faint blush slowly rising on her cheeks, her skin would have been as pale as a doll’s. Both women were in thin nightgowns since it was close to one in the morning. They looked like they had been having a conversation before he barged in.
He didn’t know what he had expected, but he certainly didn’t expect the surprised screams and the fist flying toward his face.
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