Chapter 26

She realized the mistake just as it happened. If only she had been quicker then Jayce wouldn't have stepped on the pressure plate. PoH clearly had the same skills as she did. One in particular provided a faint outline of the plate on the ground. A skill that she had, but Jayce didn't. Searching.

Without that skill he could not have seen what exactly they had stepped around to avoid. She should have turned around and let him know of the danger, but by the time realized everything it was too late. The human sized battering ram swung down making a sickening thud as it impacted into his chest. The table and railing of the bannister behind him splintered apart sending his body toppling over the edge. She screamed in desperation as if her voice would stop his fall, but he disappeared from view.

PoH spun on his heel following Jemza as she ran to the broken section of railing terrified to look down. She waited to hear the pinging sound that meant a player died followed by the sound of his avatar shattering. She dropped to her knees on the edge of the walkway and looked down at the floor below. Jayce's body was sprawled on the floor twisted awkwardly from how he landed. His health bar was flashing red, but was stable. A few icons next to his name told her just how serious his condition was.

Aside from taking damage, a player could incur various status effects that would impact their senses. The most dangerous being Stunned. A Stunned character could do nothing except minor movements. They were essentially defenseless while the status lasted. Usually it was a short duration, but long enough that an enemy could finish the player off with ease. With this in mind Jemza began to panic recognizing that status blinking next to his health bar.

Her head snapped to the side hearing the sound of armored footsteps approaching quickly. The rest of the guards inside the estate would have heard the trap and the wood shattering. From what she could hear it sounded like two sets of feet running towards Jayce's location from below. He wasn't moving and although pain did not exist, physical trauma like a fall from a decent height could still knock someone out. Without wasting another moment, she leaned forward only to feel a strong hand wrap around her arm.

"Don't be foolish." PoH's voice was still calm and measured despite what had happened. She tore her arm free glaring back at the man.

"Don't stop me. Do whatever you want, but I won't leave him."

"There's no telling how many will arrive. Your actions could mean the death of you both." Jemza continued to stare into PoH's eyes a slight smile appearing under her mask.

"Then at least we'll die together." She leapt backwards off the ledge and rotated so she could land while taking as little damage as possible. As her feet hit the wooden floor below she through her body forward into a roll to absorb more of the impact. With her agility the health gauge barely moved as she stood to her full height and turned sprinting towards Jayce's body.

"Over there!" Two mercenaries in chain armor carrying large two handed swords appeared from an open doorway pointing at Jemza as she knelt down shaking Jayce's body.

"Come on Jayce wake up!" The Stunned status near his name blinked rapidly meaning it was wearing off, but he still hadn't regained consciousness. The two guards charged forward across the floor raising their swords high above their heads.

Jemza dove forward closing the distance between herself and the guards to keep them away from Jayce. She tucked low rolling along the floor as their swords cleaved the air above her body. Her feet hit the ground and she slid along the wooden floor using her offhand to help right her orientation. The Moonlit Silver Dirk in her mainhand stayed true to its name as it glinted in the light of the moon shining through the windows of this floor.

"Thieves! Stop them!" The two men attacked in unison with their greatswords forcing Jemza back. The size of the weapons meant parrying was too dangerous so she had to rely on her own dexterity to avoid the blows altogether. Her body twisted and turned, rolling through the air to avoid another horizontal chop aimed at her waist. The moment her feet hit the ground she had to bend backwards watching as the second sword passed by her eyes only a few inches away.

Like a shadow detaching from above PoH dropped behind one of the guards from above thrusting his dagger into his back. Jemza couldn't help but stop for a fraction of a second to admire the man's skill. It was performed so quickly and fluidly that she couldn't help but feel vastly inferior to him. Even the way he retracted the blade was a smooth transition into his preparations to activate a sword skill. Lights erupted around the hilt of the dagger as the system took over guiding his dagger into a series of rapid biting jabs piercing the man repeatedly. There was a cold, calculated method in the way PoH fought. He wasted no energy or effort unless absolutely necessary and he attacked with a surgeon's precision.

Jemza sidestepped another strike from the mercenary still attacking her while the second turned to engage PoH. The greatsword raced forward in a thrust allowing Jemza to drive her dagger into the man's wrist for a quick bit of damage. The long blade pulled back and she stepped forward ducking low and driving the dagger up under the man's arm. Her arm reversed making the man stumble back from the attack. Blue graphical sparks erupted from the dagger as she spun in a complete circle, the dagger slashing across the man's throat.

Both men toppled over, shattering into fragments at the same time. She replaced the dagger into the sheath and quickly moved back to where Jayce was beginning to stir. She pulled a healing potion free and held it to his mouth. After downing the red liquid inside he nodded and his health bar began to fill slowly. She looked back at PoH holding her thumb up.

"He doesn't have Searching does he?" The man in the poncho approached and knelt down beside them.

"No, and I knew that. I should have remembered." Jemza said guiltily. Jayce put his hand on her shoulder shaking his head.

"It's alright. I noticed that you both moved strange and didn't say anything."

"You're lucky then. If she hadn't jumped down here the guards would have finished you off." PoH said looking around to make sure no one else was approaching.

"Thank you, if you hadn't jumped in..." Jemza said motioning towards the man in the poncho.

"If you are going to continue this quest line, take Searching soon. It's one of the most helpful skills you can take. Not just for traps, but also finding the quest items." PoH ignored her compliment directing the conversation elsewhere.

"Right, about that. You mean this?" Jayce held up a folder in his hand, numerous pieces of paper inside. A brief glance at the contents and PoH stared at Jayce incredulously.

"How?" Jayce held back his laughter rubbing the back of his head before answering the man.

"The table that trap knocked me into up there. It must have had a drawer and it was inside. We almost walked right past it." Even Jemza stared at him in disbelief as he explained it. Under the mask he wore, PoH chuckled quietly shaking his head.

"You both are very interesting. Come on there's a way out this way. We can hop the wall from inside without having to climb back around." He led them down to the first floor to a room full of various artwork. Sculptures, paintings, and glass cases filled the room. Jayce noticed that he no longer seemed concerned with guards and he knew the location of this room. It only added to his suspicion that PoH had to be a former beta tester.

On one side of the room was three windows, one of which PoH unlatched and lifted. It allowed them access to the courtyard between the front gate and the estate. The two guards continued to stand watching the perimeter as they snuck out the window. A large stack of boxes nearby provided a way for them to reach the top of the fence and jump over safely avoiding the spikes on top. Within ten minutes all three were a decent distance away from the estate.

"There's just the one folder, how does this work?" Jayce asked holding the documents in his hand.

"The quest will have already updated now that we are clear. Turning it in is just a formality at this point." PoH glanced back at the estate while explaining.

"Thank you for everything." Jemza bowed.

"Just watch yourselves from here on out. These quests get a lot more dangerous so make sure you are prepared. If one of you is lacking a skill the other has then you need to compensate for each other." Both Jayce and Jemza nodded in response.

"Right, we will." Jayce held his hand out and shook PoH's. Jemza did the same and the man raised a hand giving a quick wave.

"Then good luck. If you keep it up and survive I believe we'll meet again. We can make it more interesting next time." They both watched as he walked away until he disappeared around the corner of the street.

"I don't know how high, but he's much higher level than us." Jemza looked over at Jayce raising her eyebrows.

"How do you know?" She wasn't sure how he had deduced that, but he had to have noticed something.

"He can use Daggers, Hiding, Searching, and Mixing. He has at least four skills which makes him at the very least, level 12." Jayce explained and his partner nodded. He was right, with four active skills PoH was higher level than either of them.

"I'm glad he was with us. I don't know if we could have pulled that off alone." Jayce turned towards her as she spoke so he could face her.

"Jemza…" He reached down and took one of her hands in his. Instantly her heart began to beat faster. His other hand reached up towards her face and pulled the mask down. After letting the cloth go he pulled his own mask down and leaned closer towards her. Her mind began to go fuzzy and blank. Why was he being so bold right now? It was all happening so fast and yet she couldn't stop her own eyes from closing nor her head from tilting towards his.

"It was another close call, but seriously, that was fun. I know it might be dangerous, but I want to do these quests. Please do them with me. Hey, why are your eyes closed?" She opened her eyes realizing that she had bent her body towards him and tilted her head to the side slightly.

"Wha…what was that?! Why are you holding my hand?! You pulled my mask off and everything!" Jemza yanked her hand back and stood straight staring at him with eyes wide. Jayce looked equally surprised taking a step back.

"You said from now on to make sure I discuss things with you. This whole Thieves Guild thing is really exciting and fun. Even after that trap I didn't regret it or get too scared. I knew you'd have my back. I know that we can do this together. I was just trying to be sincere and these masks make it hard to see facial expressions." He was trying to explain and logically it all made senses. Logic was not something Jemza was in the mood for right now.

"You tricked me! Idiot!" She stormed away leaving him staring in utter confusion.

"Hey! Jemza wait!" He called out to her, but she kept walking angrily.

"Dinner! Now!" She answered from ahead and he knew that whatever he had done wrong now would cost him a lot more col than he wanted to spend.