I can finally get to a chapter title I've been wanting to use for a while now. This is most likely going to be rather short one, meant to fill in some gaps in Adam's resume. Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or Thief.
Chapter 13: A Night on the Town
"Things are getting more intense in the city," Adam noted as he entered Roman's safehouse, "The Graven are getting more bold in their actions." "And the Vale council is taking notice," Roman replied, "They've made an emergency decision to send Huntsmen into Mountain Glenn in an effort to quell the riots. After all, once the Gloom is cured or passes, what's all this negative energy going to do in regards to the Grimm? Neo's spotted them prowling the edges of the perimeter defenses."
Adam nodded. "We need to end this somehow, before all of Mountain Glenn gets destroyed. In the meantime, I need to get some practice in before hitting the Baron's mansion again. Got anything for me?" "I have a few," Roman said, "First off, old Littler Davvy's been given the long drop recently, and he had my favorite gold pen on him. I have word that the executioner's a raker, so he likely took the pen. It's gold plated, you see. His house is somewhere in Blackfurrow, so try searching there."
He went through his documents. "Ah, and here's something very interesting. We have a high-born lady willing to pay us good lien for the ledger of the White Sail company, which holds the secrets to all their trade routes." Adam chuckled. "Good money for a simple snatch and grab? Sometimes this job gets too easy." Roman nodded with a chuckle of his own. "Oh, we have another interesting prospect. Vacuon Trader's has acquired a new telescope. Atlas-grade tech, using the same heads-up display they install in their Atlesian Knight-200 models. Tech like that could be useful for our own purposes."
"Nice," Adam said, "Anything else?" "Yeah, a more personal one," Roman admitted, "Archie Maxwell accused me of cheating during a chess match the other day and stole my knight piece. You know, from that gold set I bought?" "Archie's always been a sore loser," Adam noted, "And you've never been one to cheat. Well, not at chess anyway. I take you want the knight back." "And rob him blind while you're at it," Roman replied, "A little reminder of who he's dealing with."
He continued looking through his documents. "Ah, here's the last one I have so far. A young woman accidentally left her grandfather's ashes in her opium stash and got caught by the one uncorrupted captain left in the watch after curfew. They have a Storage Office over on Market Street, so you can go and pick up the old man there." "Got it," Adam said, "This night's going to be an interesting one. I'll pick up any other little trinkets I find along the way. And maybe update my gear while I'm at it."
Adam was able to buy even better modifications for Cogsworth and Wilt. With his various tools he began to open up the city, and soon made his way to the executioner's apartment. At first he couldn't find any sign of Roman's pen, but then he discovered a hidden switch among the books on one of the bookcases. It opened up a large chamber that made Adam gag. It turned out the hangman was using executed criminals for food, human and Faunus both. "I'd heard this man was reported to the White Fang," Adam said, "Now I can see why." He found Roman's pen near the hangman's journal.
In a small, out of the way corner, Adam found an obelisk with a City Heritage Plaque on it for Obediah Northcrest's Obelisk. Behind it, Adam saw a button. "There's several of these switches on certain obelisks," Adam noted, "I wonder if they pertain to anything important." Adam soon found the author's apartment, and overheard him talking about how he already sold the manuscript Roman wanted to the Clocktower Bookbinders. "Looks like I'll need to head there if I want to keep Roman's dirty laundry from being aired out."
A smaller apartment nearby had a hidden painting safe, inside of which was the Marsh Adder Bracelet. He was also able to get the plaque for the Stonemarket Clock Tower right off the side of his own hideout, as well as the plaque for The Crippled Burrick Tavern. Soon enough Adam reached the townhouse of Miss Scarlet. Her diary indicated that she had often spied on her father from inside a closet on the lower floor, allowing her to figure out the combination to his hidden safe.
Avoiding the girl's father was a bit tricky within the limited space, but Adam was able to find the Hydrangea Brooch inside a cabinet downstairs. Finding the hidden safe behind the painting was easy, and inside the closet the girl had scratched the code 8-2-4 on the interior wall, letting Adam get inside and grab the mirror Roman wanted. Just down below Adam was able to find a back entrance into Clocktower Bookbinders. He didn't find the manuscript anywhere in sight, but he did find a bookshelf switch that opened a trapdoor. The hidden room inside had the manuscript on a nearby desk.
"This is one story that won't see the light of day," Adam noted. Not far away, he managed to sneak past a guard and grab a plaque for the Stonemarket First Bank. "That reminds me... Me and Cinder were going to pull that job at the bank. Hopefully when I rescue her and find a way to pull the Primal out of her body, we can get back to it." Nearby, he found the lodgings of Lady Christina. Adam found the will behind some upturned bookshelves. While the lady didn't seem so much of sound mind, the will was legible enough that a court would agree to the terms of leaving her children the whole of the estate.
A nearby vent led to a small chamber, where Adam found a hidden switch attached to a barrel. The switch opened a wall where Adam found The Insatiable Appetite. "Another Montonessi original. They may be strange looking, but they are collector's items." An upper apartment was where Adam found the doctor working on his Gloom cure. "I wonder if he really is finding a true cure," Adam wondered to himself, "Either way, the formula could fetch good coin." He carefully swiped the bottle from the good doctor, then carefully vacated the offices.
Adam later made his way to Mourningside, where he found the apartment of Maxwell. His diary showed that Maxwell was involved with the Graven. The man himself was downstairs, but was so engrossed in his work that he didn't notice Adam as he picked the lock to a nearby door. This led to a cellar, where Adam was able to disengage the security in order to reach a combination lock on the nearby wall. Maxwell had been confused about the combination, citing two individual options. Adam tried 7-7-6, which turned out to be correct. A portion of the wall where the lock was attached slid away, revealing a hidden compartment where Adam found Roman's missing knight piece.
A nearby vent led to a cellar, where Adam found a set of switches that he could only reach using his blunt arrows. This opened a trapdoor down into a burial chamber, with the Harlequin Bracelet resting atop one of the sarcophagi. The nearby chapel had a plaque for Our Lady of the Iron Litany Chapel. "Maria shouldn't mind me taking this," Adam noted, "This old chapel has been run down for years. It's amazing she was able to make it livable. Then again, I shouldn't expect any less from the Grim Reaper herself."
Adam headed over to Baron's Way. Near one of the Watch towers, he found the Lilac Brooch just lying around on some crates. Up above, Adam found the apartment that had been booby-trapped. He found the security box soon enough and had it disabled. "Good thing I was here to shut this down. Someone might have gotten hurt." Across the street, Adam found the base of a broken down obelisk the surrounding house had been built over. The base still had the plaque for Barnabus Northcrest's Obelisk.
Nearby, he found the silver bust of that lord. "I heard he had a face for launching ships... Off," Adam joked, "But it certainly doesn't do his real countenance any justice. The real deal is much more disproportionate." Nearby was the house of the rival fence Roman wanted robbed. At first it seemed like slim pickings, until Adam noticed another book switch, revealing the fence's office. He smirked as he finished swiping everything of value. "That'll teach this guy not to mess with my best friend."
Not far away Adam was able to find a back route into the customs office, where he found the funeral urn inside a locked cabinet. "Hopefully the ashes are still inside, though I wouldn't bet on the Watch being so careful with the remains of the dead." A few blocks away, Adam found yet another obelisk, this one holding the plaque for Archibauld Northcrest's Obelisk. "I've seen these obelisks all over the city," Adam noted, "And various drawings regarding a certain order of them. I must admit, it's got me curious..."
On the opposite end of the city, Adam made his way to a small apartment via a window, where he found the Ghost-girl sitting on a drawer. "Guess that should be it for exploring," Adam decided, "Maybe next I'll check in with one of the regular contacts, see if they've made any progress. Now that I've flexed the smaller muscles, it's time to work on a bigger job." Deep down, he felt that he also needed to make sure he was mentally prepared, since the last time he tried to steal from Watts directly, it did not go so well. The events of that night a year ago still weighed heavily on his mind.
That takes care of a good chunk of the city exploration. Next time we finish up one of the side plots. Glad to be back working on this story, I need to clear up some space for an important deadline. Read and review.