I tethered myself to the top of Bentham Keep’s outermost wall with ease, rope in hand as I went to tie it around one of the decorative gargoyles attached to the crenellations. 

“Can’t believe they were just gonna rush the front gate during shift change,” I muttered to myself, and with one final tug the rope was secure. We had to be quiet- there would be a not insignificant number of guards patrolling the grounds, but most would be near the ballroom itself- to keep the nobility safe should any ne’er-do-wells try to attack them.

Plucking a ball bearing from my pouch, I dropped it towards the ground, watching it disappear into the thick fog before I heard a soft tink. Then, there was a tug on the rope as, soon enough, Jase and Cyrus began to ascend.

Jase made it up easy enough- they’d definitely put points into the physical stats- while Cyrus took a little effort, but didn’t seem too winded. 

Probably a high stamina, low strength build? Maybe I’d ask later. He deposited the ball bearing into my outstretched palm, before the three of us crouched low and surveyed the keep.

“North end balcony is dark,” Jase muttered, “Probably our safest option.”

“Not exactly a lot of wall to rappel against,” Cyrus pointed out- the balcony in question jutted out from the keep, overlooking a courtyard with a pond, a lot of stone pillars and decor, and a handful of sickly looking trees.

“Looks like their gardener’s having a rough time.”

“That’s just all plants out in Rashkel,” Jase said, “The ash is falling constantly here- haven’t you seen what the sky looks like? All that red, with the blotted out sun- no way any of the plants are getting the stuff they need.”

“Honestly, isn’t that different from the times right before the exodus,” Cyrus added. Well, that certainly was a grim image.

“I mean, it was sunset when I logged in, so no I haven’t seen what the sky is like,” I said, before turning back to look over the courtyard. There really wasn’t much- that balcony did seem to be the best bet, and while I could get up there easily, and Jase could probably make it…

“Jase, I think I ought to give that new skill a go.”

I looked over, and Jase seemed just as confused for only a moment- before blinking in recognition.

“Oh right- what’re you thinking, lookout?”

“Of a sort,” Cyrus craned his neck, looking over towards the front gates of the house, “Reckon I can talk my way into the party easily enough- if you can get me safely down from here into the garden. I’ll keep an eye on the guards inside, and you two fine scoundrels can relieve these folks of their valuables.”

That… that sounded insane. Everyone knew it was a shitty idea to split the party- no, don’t nod your head understandingly, Jase, that plan is terrible! This is an insane plan!

I immediately started to speak up, brows furrowed together as I looked disbelieving at the pair of them.

“I don’t think-”

“Trust, Ash,” Cyrus thumped a hand onto my shoulder, grinning as the glow from our Light glinted off his face, “I can be quite persuasive, don’t you know. And besides- I’ll be in contact the entire time.”

“And how exactly does that work?”

“Like this.”

He lifted his hands, placing them against my temples as he closed his eyes. I didn’t even have time to think about how weird the situation was, before I felt a wave of warmth pass through me- almost like how it felt when I burnt Light. In the back of my mind, it felt like… there was an echo. A distant echo of emotions that clearly weren’t mine- a self-assuredness that was wholly foreign to me.

Cyrus opened his eyes, grinning with a thumbs-up- a pulse that wasn’t exactly words, but came close enough to meaning ‘Everything good?’ emanated from that back of the brain space.

“And you have telepathy, because of course you do,” I said, groaning a little. God it was weird feeling someone else’s thoughts.

“Not exactly- I’m hoping enough Finesse can render actual words eventually, but it’s a good start!”

After that, he went through the same deal with Jase- I couldn’t feel anything coming from them after he finished, so it must be a sort of one-node type of deal. Well… okay, having some form of communication did make me feel better.

Man, I really needed to find Rae, I still didn't feel good about her being on her own out there.

 With that all settled, I grabbed the rope and secured it to the inner wall, letting Cyrus and Jase rappel down first. Then, I untied it and jumped- tethering to the stones below to soften my fall. With all of us gathered together, Cyrus gave a short salute before jogging off towards the front. Show time.

“Alright, let’s be quick.”

Jase and I booked it to the balcony, and I pushed with enough force to launch me up and over the railing, the rope whipping in the air behind me. My hands kept steady as I tied the rope again, leaning over to give Jase a signal to climb up. The fog was exponentially thinner in the courtyard- I wondered if that was how that worked? We didn’t exactly get fog in the dome, was a tall enough wall enough of a barrier to cut through the absolute soup outside? Or was this some sort of programmed thing- less places to hide among a noble estate and such?

Probably didn't matter- I needed to focus on the plan. Jase made it up the rope in record time, and I pulled it up after us- the less chances of our work getting spotted, the better, and who knows what nobles might decide to take a stroll outside? We made it to the doors, Jase pulling out one of their blades and wedging it in the space between them while wrapping the whole deal up with their cloak. In a single, swift motion, they cracked the fancy looking double-doors with a muffled pop-

And we were in.

Jase stepped through first, and as my foot crossed the threshold I felt a brief flash of nervousness- no, that wasn't me, that was Cyrus. Shit, had he been discovered already?! 

I stood, stock still for a few seconds- then the fear quickly melted into relief. Okay, good, not busted then, still golden baby. The room leading to the balcony looked like a study of some sort- rows of books lining the shelves, a desk close to the bay windows flanking the double doors, and a surprisingly plush looking round rug in the center, decorated in intricate geometric patterns. 

There was also a map, right above the desk and nailed to the wall. I stepped closer-

Journal Updated!

I managed to suppress the flinch this time- okay, next chance I got I was tweaking the UI settings, I needed to stop getting jump scared by notifications! Teeth clenched, I turned back to Jase, who seemed to be cataloging the books.

“Any interesting reads?”

They shrugged, “Probably- I'm trying to see if any of these are a switch for a secret door.”

I watched as they stood in front of the book cases, scanning over them slowly and deliberately- but they never actually tested any of them.

“And you can tell by looking?”

They turned to me, and in the dark of the room I could see their irises glowing just slightly.

“Pulling on their past- if any of them flipped open in the last week, I’ll see it. Though, so far it seems Lord Bentham mostly uses the room for ledger work. Pretty boring, really.”

“Right, well… lemme know if you discover anything interesting.”

Jase nodded, and I turned my attention inward- Cyrus’s link was still there, and nothing of note had passed through. I tried to focus on the general vibe of a question- like ‘Are you good? Just checking in.’

After a few moments of nothing, I got back a vague sense of positivity. That was reassuring, we’d be able to work this thing both ways. I went back to the map, tracing my finger along the coast of the Rashkel Empire, running from the northernmost edge of the map southward. If it weren't for the overactive volcano, we’d probably just be dealing with snow instead of ash.

Eastward, further inland, were the outer frontiers- just bordering the wastes. The inland seas were mapped to an extent, but this one was more focused on the empire. There was a bit of coast from the two tropical island continents and the smaller islands dispersed between them- labeled Velyr to the east and Zoxiang to the west- but aside from that…

“I guess Lord Bentham is more concerned with internal affairs,” I muttered, then turned back to Jase, “Anything?”

Jase pulled away from the bookshelves, shaking their head.

“Nada- alright, bedrooms next.”

“What are we even looking to steal?” I whispered, falling behind them as they went to the door and peeked down the halls- eyes glowing briefly.

“The usual- coinage, gems, precious metal objects- but more importantly, Light.”

“Really need to find a supplier of that stuff,” I said, before Jase ducked out into the hall in a low stance. I pulled out a ball bearing- just in case. The carpeted floors were quiet beneath our steps; I’d have thought the nobles would invest in hardwood hallway floors just to prevent this exact sort of sneaking around, but I guess not? Weird. 

“More than that, apparently the nobility have ways to attune Light to the specific power pairings,” They whispered, “If we can find some of that special Light-”

“-Then we get more abilities at our disposal, instead of relying on just what we chose at character creation.”

Jase nodded, smiling lightly, “Now you get it- can also sell it in a pinch, too- if you can find the right sort of fence for it. Bet the other crews operating in the city would pay well for it.”

Well, I hoped they were right about that. We continued down the darkened hallways- at one point, Jase casually popped into some sort of storage room, gesturing me inside. Less than a minute later, a faint light passed the door- they must have been keeping track of the guard’s patrol routes using their powers.

After popping open a vial of Light and downing it in quick succession, we continued on- I still felt pretty solid on my own stores, while this made like the second or third I’ve seen them drink since we met up.

“The time powers really do guzzle that shit down, huh?”

“You have no idea,” They rolled their eyes, “I ran out of vials my first day just trying to find Cyrus.”

“You two got split up on entry too, then?”

They nodded.

“Yeah- too?”

They stopped us again, glancing around before pulling me into an open drawing room, before cracking open some kind of large closet-looking thing. It was a cramped fit- I might be smaller now than IRL, but still this was… yeah. Not the most comfortable. Especially with the height difference, I could feel my face burning a little- just don’t think about it, keep talking, Ash.

“Yeah- my roommate wanted to see what the big deal with the Lockers was, I’m… kind of a regular, but she usually has more important things going on.”

Jase nodded with a hum, “Well, let’s hope she’s as lucky as Cyrus got- still don’t know how that bastard got fancy clothes so quickly here.”

“Oh my god I’ve been wondering about that this whole time!”

“Right?! Like, dude- just because I also like optimization doesn’t mean I don’t play for the fashion part of these types of games, too y’know. Not very cash money of you not to share your fashion secrets.”

I couldn’t help it- even with a hand held up to my face, my whole body shook with giggles. Shit, no, c’mon- pull yourself together! You’re breaking and entering right now, even if this is just a game! Thankfully, our little whispered conversation didn’t seem to attract the attention of any house guards, and soon enough we found the bedroom of Lord and Lady Bentham themselves.

Unsurprisingly, it was big- a full on four-poster bed with drapes, painting of the family hanging over a personal fireplace, lounge seating- the whole nine yards. Just the epitome of “rich asshole” decor- even Lord Bentham’s face in the painting was so annoying, like the devs designed this man for maximum punchability, with that stupid little curly-cue hanging over his face and the smug grin. Wife and daughter seemed about equally as stern- a little paler in both skin and hair than dear old dad there, and definitely not the type of folks I’d want to cross if I were in that particular social circle. I could just imagine the weaponized noble gossip they were capable of.

I had to tear my eyes away from glaring at the painting too long- focus. Hit him where it hurts, Ash- right in his pocketbook. Jase went for the personal bookshelves (again), while I decided to check under the bed. I was small enough to duck under the bedskirt- and lucky for me, I found something immediately.

It was a lockbox- not too big, but bulky enough to be hard to pull out from this angle. Rolling out from under the bed, I burned some light and saw the glowing line leading from my chest to the box under the bed. With a quick tether, I yoinked it out, sliding it across the floor directly in front of me.

I clicked my tongue once, getting Jase’s attention as I looked over the lock, “You know how to actually pick one of these?”

They frowned, shaking their head, “Maybe there’s a key nearby?”

“Aight.”

We checked the room- Jase taking the half they were already looking through, and myself on the bed’s side. Nothing under the pillows, nothing in the bedside table, pulling on one of the candle sconces didn’t do shit-

…Hm. I touched on my Light- with the lightest burn I could manage- seeing the blue lines of objects I could tether to light up. If Jase could use the past to try and figure out hidden compartments, what if I just…

There was a line leading to the bedside table- a second one, on the side panel closest to the bed itself, anchored onto a knot of wood. I traced my fingers over it, feeling it shift just a skosh.

Bingo.

I pressed the knot, and the panel popped open- a key on a loop of string, right there dangling and ready for me. Once they were visible, I could see lines leap out to them- so, I guess it worked on whatever I could see?

Wonder if I could bypass that restriction with enough Power…

I grabbed the key, sliding over to the lockbox and clicking it in. With a nice, mechanical ka-chunk, the lock opened. Jase quickly made their way over to me, hand on my shoulder as they leaned close to see what it was.

The inside glowed- there were definitely a few vials of Light there, alongside… armor? I think? I tossed Jase the vials- they definitely needed it more than I did- before pulling out the rest.

It was almost like a catsuit, with the same sort of feel as a ribbed tank top- it seemed sleeveless at first, but as I pulled out more, it seemed like there were a pair of arm coverings made of the same material that ended with a single loop to fit over one of the wearer’s fingers- both a dark, charcoal black. Alongside it were boots and a padded leather chest covering, both studded with rivets that implied plates on the inside for a little extra armoring.

I sent it to my inventory- the whole outfit popping up as a “Ashbound Light Armor” in the description. With a single click, I swapped over to it.

“God damn, I need to find some cool clothes.”

I glanced over at Jase, face flushing a little in shame- right, damn it we just talked about our mutual envy of Cyrus’s mystery outfit.

“S-sorry! I just- I wasn’t thinking-”

Jase waved a hand, “No, no- honestly, the look suits you! You look good, I don’t think I could pull off the cat burglar look anyhow, that scarf kind of completes the whole thing- I’m just prioritizing out loud, yeah?”

“Are you sure?”

“Ash,” They put a hand on my shoulder, bending down enough that it almost felt patronizing, “I’m positive. Besides, even if my gear is a little slapped together, with the Light we’ve just got? We’ll be rolling in coin- besides, you did all the hard work in finding all this, you’ve earned it.”

Well… I mean, I still felt like a selfish asshole taking it, but it was also hard to argue with them. 

“Euuuurgh, fine.”

“Good girl,” They grinned, and I straightened up immediately- OKAY, that was VERY MUCH NOT FAIR, what the fuck was that?! No- nu-uh, nope, I did NOT have time to unpack that, that is going DIRECTLY into the repression box too. If Rae found out that all it took was that just to- no! No!!! Not thinking about it!

I must have been frozen there for a good second or two, because Jase was snapping their fingers in front of my face, and I flinched backwards.

“Well, filing away that reaction for later,” They said, and I could feel my face burning even hotter as I tried to glare at them with as much force as I could manage- fuck you, Jase, don’t snicker at my glaring!- before they continued, “Anyways, was that set called?”

I huffed once, folding my arms and looking away from them, “It’s “Ashbound Light Armor”, apparently.”

Honestly, even if this implied there were other weights of armor designed for the different magic classes, the fact that there was one set specifically designed for each felt… a little aesthetically limiting? I wonder if this game had some sort of glamor system-

Wait.

I blinked once, and looked over at Jase- and they looked over at me, eyes a little wide in understanding. 

We just found a suit of armor. Under a noble’s bed. With a secret key in reach of it. Did that mean Lord Bentham-

“Well, aren’t you little thieves just a hair too clever?”

A slow clap echoed from the door, and we both looked over- shortswords flashing into Jase’s hands and my own Light flickering on as I hopped back.

Standing in the doorway was not, in fact, Lord Bentham- but the sneering, imperious figure of his wife. We were caught- I reached out with my mind to the connection Cyrus forged with me, but there was nothing there- what the hell!?

“I wouldn’t bother with that,” Lady Bentham said, not moving from the doorway, “You see, it’s the darndest thing how one’s Light can interfere with reception here. It wouldn’t do to have a spy relaying secrets outside the keep, yes? At least,” she tapped the side of her temple, eyes flashing with the now familiar glow of burning Light, “Not without me knowing, that is.”

Well, fuck me.

artiestroke

Meant to put this in last week, but I was simply so excited by the prospect of "post new chapter!" that I jumped the gun. As it stands, thank you all SO MUCH so far for all the nice comments and for reading! I never would have expected this to take off that quickly so fast, and I'm so glad you're liking this so far! I have a good amount of buffer in the tank, and hopefully I can keep a fairly decent writing rate so I can keep up the weekly posts. Please look forward to it!