Rosario had never ridden on a ferry before, so this experience was rather novel to her.
She stood at the very front of the small ship, the prow? She wasn't sure about the terminology. In any case, she tried to remain straight-backed even as the waves made the ship heave and rise beneath her. It was a good way to practice her balance, and the view was quite nice.
Alpta, being built on the shores of Lake Alpta, was a coastal city. There were a half dozen small docks along the shore and the bottom of the cliffs where the city was built. Two large rivers fed into the lake, the Emerald Brook, which wasn't a brook at its widest point, and Smith's River, to the south. The brook was closer, and it split off a portion of the city away from the rest. Hence, the ferry.
That portion was the North City, which housed the nobility and the well-to-do of Alpta, as well as some merchant homes and estates.
It was, in her memory, a small additional part of the city where there were large glass-blowing foundries. It was a minor, less important skill, one that allowed players to make vials and glassware. Not really a skill she wanted to invest in.
Some of that remained. There were some studios that remained, and a quarry for sand along the shore. The docks there were still called the Glass Docks, as a holdover as well.
"Enjoying the view?"
Rosario didn't look back. She had known that Penny was making her way over for a while now. She wondered if that was her stats, or just the quality of her ears.
"It's a very pretty city," she said.
"Hm. Yeah," Penny said. "The folk here are good too. Most of 'em, at least. Could do with some of them getting a boot to the ass, but that's how it is, huh?"
"I suppose?"
Penny snorted, then she placed a booted foot on the railing next to Rosario. "Alright. We're here for work, so I can be professional. The old man chewed my ear off already."
She nodded. "I appreciate that."
"Yeah. Just be thankful you only stole a few silvers. I'll take it as the price for a lesson learned."
Rosario suspected that, given the opportunity, Penny would steal back a bit more than that, but she also had the gut feeling that the woman liked to play fair. Insofar as a known thief played fair at all.
"Your... Mister Numbra said that I would need your assistance?"
"Yeah. We're meeting with the hiring man for some housekeeping company. He'll talk you up to the mark. Lord Abernath. Right piece of shit, that one. Anyway, one look at your job and level and he'll boot you out of the place. [Scullery Maid], level two? You look the part for a proper lady's maid, if an old-fashioned one. I'll give you that. But the job level's no good. If you were nearing the level cap, maybe."
"And that's where you can assist me?" she asked.
"Yup. Gonna use a skill on you. It'll feel strange, but just live with it. I'm gonna make you look like... hmm."
"A [Maid], please."
Penny raised one eyebrow. "Just that?"
"It's inconspicuous."
"Alright. Level... call it an even twenty?" Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
"How many years of work does that imply?" she asked.
Penny hummed. "At least a couple of decades. Second tier, almost halfway. Maybe some lazy two decades. It'd explain why you're looking. I don't think it'll be suspicious. And anything too high would mean that you have more skills, which... you don't."
"Right, of course."
Penny reached a hand over, and after hesitating for just a moment, Rosario took it. There was an intense look of concentration on the woman's face, then she sighed.
At the same time, Rosario felt something push at her. It was metaphysical, and it utterly failed to reach her.
Penny blinked. "What the... how high is your Wisdom?"
"Relatively. Why?"
"It affects spell-resistance. It's just straight up not letting my skill stick. Are you wearing anything enchanted to stop... wait, yeah, you probably are."
"Ah... give me a moment, and try again."
The second time, it worked, only she had to very consciously focus on her... self. It was strange, but she did manage to lower her barriers a little until something clasped around her. It felt like Penny had just wrapped a choker around her neck. Tight. But Rosario suspected that she could snap it with ease.
Clearing her throat, she stood even straighter. "Did it work?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Cinderella Dumps. [Maid], level 20."
This duplicate was copied from the page the author uses for publication without permission, while the official chapter supports their work.
"Dumps?" Rosario asked.
Penny grinned right back. "It won't affect the mission."
Right, some petty revenge. It wasn't as bad as it could be, she supposed. "Fine. Speaking of the mission. Any more details to give? This is on behalf of the rebellion, yes?"
"Maybe," Penny replied.
"Maybe?"
"Yeah. Maybe. Look, I'm not giving you anything on the rebellion. I don't know you, I don't trust you, and you're an elf besides."
"What does my race have to do with the rebellion?" Rosario asked.
She earned a flat look in return, one that clearly masked something. She had no idea what. "Do you really have to ask?" The ratkin's tail flicked. "This was a nation of demons, but they're uncommon. So it was a nation of people of all sorts. Now it's ruled by nothing but people from the Aerie, and other sorts aren't nearly as welcome. Elves are mostly from the Aerie, aren't they?"
"Yes, I suppose," Rosario replied. "Forgive me for asking, I was merely curious."
"Hm. Well, whatever. What we're looking for information. Lord Abernath will be coming and going. When he's not around, check through his things. Papers, letters, look through his library. Get a feel for the man. And when he's not around, red cloth."
"Yeah, sure," Penny said with a dismissive shrug. "I'd want to be out of there sooner rather than later. That man's a creep."
"Noted."
If he tried anything, she'd simply [Disintegration Beam] him. Though she'd put a little less... oompf into it. Actually, she had other spells... she should probably find some time in the wilderness to test them all. It only made sense.
That, and there might be some value in studying some spell rotations. Just in case. And some physical combat as well. She felt fast, and had many skills that gave her interesting reflexes, but without practice she was worried that it wouldn't add up to much.
The ferry soon made it to the Glass Docks, and the workers there caught the rope tossed to them by the sailors and had everything tied up and ready in moments. They had probably done this a thousand times before.
They stepped off the ship, and Penny waved her over. "Come on."
Rosario followed her. The edge of the docks had shops and stores that weren't too different from any in Alpta, though perhaps they were a little cleaner. The prices seemed a little higher as well.
Penny led her into an alley, then knocked on a backdoor. An older [Cobler] opened it, then let them into the back of his shop. He muttered some things to Penny, then left to return to work.
"You have that disguise kit?" she asked.
"I do."
"Let me change your look a little. Do you usually wear your hair like that?" Penny asked as she brought Rosario up to a seat in the rear.
Rosario sat, a little tense, then she relaxed as Penny took her disguise kit and looked it over.
"Cheap," she said. "But it'll do."
It took her all of an hour, but in the end, when Rosario looked at herself in a mirror, a subtly different woman was looking back at her. Older, with some faint wrinkles and the sort of obvious makeup application that looked like it was trying not to be obvious. Her hair was done up in twisting braids, a style that she wasn't familiar with, but which was quite different from her usual.
"You have nice hair. It'd be a shame to dye it, but if we do another job, it might come to that," Penny said. "It's very white. It would take well to dye. Anyway, that ought to do it."
"I see... a moment," she said.
She did have a spell she wanted to test... "[Minor Illusion]," she said.
Her goal was to darken her hair, at least partially. She fed a tiny, tiny fraction of magic into the spell, then blinked as it coated her hair. The result was much darker hair, with a few whisps still in her normal white.
She stared at herself in the mirror, then cast the same spell again, this time over her eyes. They went from a deep red to a pale blue. "There, how does that look?" she asked.
Penny stared at her. "Why the fuck did I waste an hour on makeup when you can do magic? What Job do you even... no, nevermind. Urgh."
"The makeup will pass through more scrutiny than magic," Rosario said. "What if we pass a powerful [Mage]?"
"Yeah, whatever. Come on, let's get you to the man that's in charge of the housekeeping association. He'll take care of the intro to Lord Abernath."
"Lead the way."
***