Hello again! Restless Collector here to bring you the chapter of Thieves Folly it was a pain in the ass but if finally got it done! So I hope you enjoy!
"Lox! wake up!"
Roland's eyes shot open, meeting those of a worried Finny.
"You were talking in your sleep again..." -she placed a hand over his- "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything's fine. Just a nightmare."
She slightly squeezed his hand. "That's my line."
He chuckled, "Yeah, well I get to use it every now and then."
A hand went to caress his cheek and went down to his neck.
"It's your fault you know," she said, smiling.
"What?"
Another hand went towards his neck, "You trusted him."
"What are you-"the words caught in his throat as she gave a tight squeeze, closing his windpipe.
"Shhh," she cooed. A cruel smile morphing her features.
Her grip was tight, but something kept him from moving, paralyzed to the bed.
It was her smile.
Her facial muscles have stretched a tad too wide, revealing all her teeth. And her eyes were beady and yellow as the sun. like him, like Arwain.
"Night Lox," she says sweetly….
He opened his eyes, breaking free from Finny's grasp. He gasped for air. Coughing as tears ran down his face.
"Lox?" A small hand rested itself on his shoulder.
He stiffened.
"What?" It came out rather forceful. Not his intention, but he was too busy trying to breathe at the moment.
The hand jerked away, then slowly returned. "You were talking in your sleep again...and your hand."
My hand? He looked down and at his mark, and watched as it pulsed and glowed. He hastily wrapped it in the cloth that Jacob gave him, then turned to Finny.
"It's glowing," She stammered. "W-Why is it glowing?"
"It's...not something I can talk to you about right now, but later. I promise."
She slightly frowned and removed her hand from his shoulder.
"But-" she started
"I don't want to hear it Fin, not today," he said.
Roland got up and stretched his legs, then begin to put on his gear. With the last of it on, he headed downstairs to see that Corvo, along with the rest of the other loyalist, who were conversing about the Lord Regent.
Havelock was the first to see him.
"Ah Roland, good to see you finally with us," he ushered him to take a seat, then turned his attention to the others. "As I was saying, since her passing, the details surrounding Empress Jessamine have been scarce, and the Lord Regent has kept the public in the dark on the details.-He lights himself a Cigar.- So you have to understand why we are all here like this."
Roland simply nodded. Looking at the men at the table, his eyes resting on Corvo.
Roland sat in the chair, hands clasped together in a firm grip.
"It all started with completing Arwain's blade tips."
17th Day, Month of Earth: Nightfall
"It's done!"
The fireball beamed brightly as she held up her handiwork, slick daggers ending in serrated tips. She set the daggers in the water to cool for the night and wiped the soot and sweat from her thick brow.
An arm wrapped around her, "Gotta say Finny, you did a fine job."
She flushed," W-Well of course I did! I've learned a few things since I been here!"
He chuckled. And patted her head. Earning a soft grumble from the boyish girl.
She softly swatted the hand away and proceeded toward the window. "So, your big score is tomorrow.- she smiled soberly-"Must be pretty dangerous if you keeping the details to yourself."
He walked up to her, "Yeah. Don't worry, I'll be sure to share my earnings," he said grinning.
"Well I knew that…" she said, trailing off. "What's it like in Karnaca?"
"Mostly hot all year long, but far safer there than here."
"Does that mean I have to get rid of my overcoat?"
Roland nodded, "If you don't want to pass out then I highly recommend it."
She placed a hand on the window pane then closes it, clamping her eyes shut. Opening them she looked up at Roland.
"Promise me."
Roland looked down at her, eyebrows raised, "Promise You?"
She slightly fidgeted,"P-Promise me that you'll come back in one piece, that everything's going to be okay…"
Her voice was fiery, filled with purpose and hope, and he couldn't deny her council.
"That's a lot of promises…" he quipped
She frowned."Can't you just be serious for once!? You're about to go who knows where and you can't simply give me the piece of mind that you'll be safe!"
"I'll be fine Fin, Arwain will-"
She whirled her head, "Arwain will what? Snap your neck after the job's done!?"
"Whoa, Whoa, easy, easy. Arwain's greedy but he's not that greedy-" he places a hand on her cheek and grins-"Just for you, I'll be on the lookout if he tries anything.
"...You promise?" she said misty eyed.
"I promise…" he assured.
"*Sniffle* Okay, I'll be waiting here at the shop. Be sure to come back to me-"
"Come back to you?" He grinned, opening the door for himself.
She turned a deeper shade of red, A-And Jacob. You didn't let me finish, d-dumbarse."
He chuckled, and took off towards the Silverpop, dashing through the rain puddles and half eaten beggars. Finally spotting the bar doors
"I simply thought she was being paranoid, so I simply told anything to ease her nerves...If only had I listened to her."
Roland walked into the bar, insignia ring jingling in his pocket. Arwain was talking to Jacob about the old crew and the rat plague a touchy subject for all of them.
Arwain tapped the desk "It's a shame what happened to the the rest of the crew, it is, but what have to focus on the now."
"I suppose…" sighed the bartender cleaning the glass.
Roland coughed slightly, not wanting to hear another word on the matter.
The two turned, meeting Roland's gaze. "Now that I have your attention." he threw the ring towards Jacob. Who caught it in reflex. Looking down at it, his eyes widened and a slight frown lined his lips.
"Where did you get this?"
Roland stifled a gulp. It's a rarity for Jacob to take this tone with him, like his form of ethics has just been assaulted.
"I, uh, made it with the the schematics that snatched from Sokolov's old office, pretty easy actually." he replied walking up to the counter.
Jacob remained quiet, the metaphorical gears running in his head, his frown ingrained on his face.
"You do realize if you fail, that you put the rest of us in danger." he said.
"It's been in the workings for months Jacobs, we even have the whole layout memorized." Roland raised an eyebrow, "Arwain didn't tell you about this?"
Jacob set his eyes on the fox. Glaring daggers at the thief.
Of course not.
"It was meant to be a surprise," he stated coolly taking a sip from his mug.
"...Surprise."
Jacob said nothing and handed the ring back to Roland, who in turn put it on.
"I'll get Finny to come over her and help me with the shelves." No point in her waiting by herself.
He sighed and put on his coat. "Close the shop when you are done with it," Jacob walked out the door leaving the two thieves alone.
Arwain spun around to face Roland, a sly smile lining his face.
"Now let's get to work, shall we?"
"The plan was simple: Infiltrate the lower courtyards and proceed into the building via the back door. From there enter the safe room via insignia ring. Then we take as much as we can carry and get out of turns out however that the Lord Regent had something planned that night..."
"Are you sure this is the right gate key?" he said as he tried inserting the key with slight shaking hands.
Roland looked up at Arwain, and raised an eyebrow, "Have my Wax Keys ever failed you?" he looked down, noticing his jittery posture.
"Let me try," he inserted the key and gave it a twist. Causing the gates to creak open.
"Now come on, let's get to the safe room."
The duo walked across the courtyard, only for Roland to stop and look around the premise
Arwain grinned, the slight twitch he'd held since they left the pub dimming ever so slightly. "That'll be the booze, I figure. Shipped it here myself." He rubbed his hands together, voice rising in pitch. "Spiked the lot with enough opiate to stun an ox, and then some," he allowed himself a muted laugh. "Don't think we'll be seeing any of 'em this night."
"We had enough to knock out the entire workforce?"
Arwain's smile faded, taking on a more grim posture.
"Let's just focus on the Vault."
Arwain walked over to the back door and jammed the key inside, and opened the door.
He looked back at Roland, faux smile widening, "Let's go, shall we."
...How could I have been so blind, the signs were right there, but I chose to ignore them. It's all my fault.
The Palace Floor was perhaps the most amazing thing that Roland had come across in his entire life. It was lavish in detail and design. And the floors shined like the moon itself. Yet still eerily empty.
"Stop admiring the view, Lox. Before someone decides to wake up from their stupor."
Their soft footsteps echoed across the halls and proceeded up the main stairwell. From there, they made it to a door a bookcase a small key ring- like hole in the shape of a triangle.
"This must be it," Rond said smiling.
Arwain's rested his hand on the dresser. "Hurry it up we don't have time to waste!" he hissed
Roland inserted the ring into the hole and twisted. And the wall opened revealing its contents…
Furnishings decorated the room. Walls that lined with Dropboxes a safe room lined with bags of gold. It would have been the most beautiful thing he ever saw.
If it wasn't for the dead body on the edge of the sofa.
"The fuck?! Arwain! What is this!?-" A sharp pain entered his shoulder, and he jerked away further into the room.
"What… did you...do?" He felt his body going limp. But fighting it with all his might.
The faux smile never waned, "Just gave you a little something for you to take a bit of a blood nap."
He stumbled towards the floor, landing with a *thump*. "Arwain… Who..what…"
He turned to him, smile slightly faded, "What this was is a robbery gone wrong. As for the "who" that would be the late great lady Jessamine."
Roland paled, as his eyes rested on the body of the dead queen, his whole body shook in silent fear and fury.
As Roland was about to attempt to stand, a shadowy figure appears in front of Arwain, his fox-like smile grew wider. "Good you're here," he motions towards the bars of gold lining the shelves, "Be sure to take as much as you can back to the dropzone. Let Daud know that I fulfilled my end, and that he has nothing to worry about."
"Daud?" Roland's eyes widen at the master assassin's name. By the void, what have you done Arwain?
Arwain's assailant looked towards Roland and pulled out a dagger.
"No, he placed a hand on the knife, smile gone. "He must live to take the fall. Regents orders"
The assassin stopped, then proceeded back into the safe room, picking up gold and gems before disappearing into thin air. Arwain walked up to Roland and kneeled down beside him.
"Now I know this is a lot to take in. Too much is going to happen real soon, real fast. But it won't matter in the long run…" he said. He paused for a moment and a look crossed his face. Was it hate? Uncertainty? Roland wasn't sure, but he didn't like it.
"But….why?" he murmured
"The "why" of all of this?" said Arwain as he motioned at the scene before him,"you could ask your Uncle, but he's six feet under at the moment."
Roland's hand twitched at those words.
"But if I had to make a long story short," Arwain continued, "you were a loose end in need of fixing, along with the rest of the crew. Luckily that will soon to be dealt with ."
"Fixed?...you're... not making it out of...here," Roland said, attempting to stand only to fall to his side.
Arwain smiled "I find that hard to believe, seeing that you can barely keep yourself upright-" A chilling scream rang through the halls of the palace, Causing Arwain to chuckle.
"Heh, it seems one of the help found the bodies. My cue to leave."
He sat back up, dusting his pants off. "Goodbye Lox, don't worry about the others…. He said. Smile dropping, an unnatural look crossed his face, a look of steel. "They'll be joining you soon."
"I'll-" He didn't get to finish as Arwain's boot met his face
Arwain proceeded to the exit. Finally, it was over, it took years of infiltration, but now he was in the home stretch. He just needs to rid of the street rat and the bartender, he stopped thinking about Jacob.
He's too useful. Daud has need for another contact anyhow if he's willing to cooperate… As for the Street Rat, I'm sure that the Madame is buying working girls this time of year. Either way, the Lord Regent's men should be taking care of them….
He walked down the alley, Hands clasped in his pockets, whistling all the way down Clavering Blvd.
Roland woke up to a blow to the chest.
"Stand him up! I want to get a good look at him!" said a nasal voice.
Roland was brought to his feet, meeting face to face with a man, he wore a tailored suit from the finest silk, self-made perhaps. He had bird-like features and seemed to be in his fifties.
"Where have you taken Lady Emily?! You Street Rat!" he said, seething eyes darting back and forth.
Roland refused to look at him, it didn't take a genius to know that this was a part of the setup.
One of the guards didn't like that response, however, and he received a blow to the head,
The Lord Regent let off a cruel smile."We have ways of making you talk, he turned to the guards behind him. "Take him to Coldridge, A few days with Sullivan will soften him up..."
Beaten, drugged, and broken, Roland was carried off to Coldridge. Where he spent the next Eight months in the torture chamber. Under the Lord Regent's and Campbell's supervision.
Roland finished his eighth cup of cider. His gulps filling the silent room, "And that's it. Not much else to say really except that I was a complete dumbarse for trusting that bastard." I...guess I wanted an out so badly, that I was blind to those around me…."
Jacob sighed, "You're aware this is mostly your fault, right?"
Roland bowed his head,"Yes."
He grunted, and threw the towel over his shoulder, "Gallen always said to watch out for you, didn't know what he meant really until you didn't come back that night. The Watch swarmed the place, and nearly threw us in the quarantine zone, but through a bit of talking I ended up giving the shop to Curnow-"
"You gave the SilverPop to Curnow?! Why?!"
"You had your turn to talk, now let me finish." said the bartender, frowning at the locksmith. " Selling the shop kept us from Coldridge Prison, Curnow is a good man, he kept it out of the Lord Regents and Campbell's hands. So that's enough for me."
Roland said nothing, instead choosing to attend to his cider.
"I know you're upset, I get that, but you have to realize that actions have consequences, whether you succeed or fail.
"...Got it," Roland said through gritted teeth.
He looked towards the window, the sun setting on the horizon, giving the moon its space, "I'm going back to bed, I'll be ready for another run in the morning." He stumbled out of his seat and staggered up the stairs.
"Wait, Roland."
He stopped and turned to Corvo, grim face unmoving. "Hm?"
"Do you know?" The bartender asked, eyes suddenly on the table. "Back there, I mean. You who killed her?"
Roland paled slightly.
"Daud," he said, proceeding up the the stairs, "an assassin named Daud,"
A knock came to the door. Causing Roland to look up from his half-lidded slumber.
"Come in."
Finny walked into the room, tapping her fingers together, her steps small.
Roland raised an eyebrow, "I don't have any money to give you Fin. I spent most of it on supplies and equipment."
She stopped and frowned, "By the void Lox, I'm not here for that!" She growled, then her expression softened, "I came to check on you."
Roland stood upright on the bed, and sighed, "I'm fine Fin, just needed some time alone."
Finny sat down beside him, "No you don't, you had enough of that in Coldridge."
He stiffened at those words, just as he about to have a witty retort, he felt a hand on top of his. "Did they torture you?"
He looked away as painful memories resurfaced from his days with Sullivan, "I don't see how that's relevant right now"
Finny grimaced, Of course they tortured him. You idiot, be mindful of your words!
"Oh that's okay, you don't have to tell me." She sheepishly replied. "But, uh." she scooted closer to him. You do know that I'd never betray you….right?
He laughed ruefully, "Even after I broke that promise?"
She stopped and looked up at him, eyes ablaze, "What are you, five?! Of course dumbarse! her eyes softened and she rested her head on his shoulder, "You took me in when no one else would, gave me a home, a job, and most of all, a family. I'll go to the void and back for you if need be." The fire had returned in her eyes, not of anger, but something else that Roland couldn't quite put his finger on.
Roland wrapped an arm around the fireball, her body heat rising at his touch. "Thanks, Fin, really."
"Y-Your welcome." she squeaked, and nuzzled deeper into his form...
*Growl!*
Roland grinned down at the furball, and patted her stomach, "Looks like someone's hungry."
She gushed even harder, "Y-Yeah, she chuckled weakly, then she looked up at Roland, fire in her eyes, "Let's get some drinks, my treat!"
Roland raised an eyebrow, "Your treat? As in you're buying?"
She beamed as she pulled out a pouch, "Piero has been paying me, figured it would be best to spend some of it with you." she pushed the bag into her coat pocket. "Now come on! I'm not taking no for an answer."
She ran out the room leaving Roland alone."Last one there is a rotting whale!"
Roland smiled, then proceeded down the stairs, to find the furball, chugging down hard Rum.
I'm going to have to carry her back upstairs am I?
"*Urrrp* Come on Lox," -her grin was lazy as her eyes became unfocused- "I promise to *Hic*... give you the night of your life!"
And that's it for the chapter folks! Sorry, it took so long I was working on the Prime Incentive chapter alongside this, Might have to rethink my game plan on this. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and until then.