Rays of sunlight shone down from high in the sky, warming his face while he snuck around in plain view of other people by the roadside.
Brennan was far from escaping the notice of the adults in the area, sometimes even being spotted by people who were minding their own business, but that wasn't the point.
The real reason he was stalking back and forth was a productive one. He needed a cover for waiting at the side of the road all day, as a child displaying the kind of dedicated focus to stand around and wait for hours would stand out. Hide-and-seek was an ideal cover.
Circling back from the other end of the village, Agnes was coming this way to “find” him while being ready to give him a covert signal if their target arrived. It hadn't even taken that long to explain the plan, once he had all the steps mapped out in his mind.
For someone barely old enough to attend elementary school in his old life, the girl was remarkably good at following instructions.
Sixteen rounds of their game had passed so far, and it was a little before noon now. It should be any minute…
There. Agnes stopped in his line of sight, forming an X with her arms and pointing to where the new arrival had halted his wagon.
Grinning, Brennan pivoted to run in that direction. He had enough experience handling his running skill not to hit other people while pushing for full speed, so he leaned into that and went where his helper had indicated the target was. She followed him all the way until they reached the granary at the end of a dirt path they’d followed. Far less prying eyes here, with nobody in particular paying attention to the cargo bed shadowed by an overhang.
They were in time to see the merchant, a different one from last time, saunter up to the rear of his wagon. He climbed in from the front, partially pulling back the tarp for easier access. Inside, he did something Brennan couldn’t see. By the sound, a sack was being lifted. They inched closer, as much as they dared without completely exposing themselves. Then they stopped abruptly when the man stepped back out.
Brennan looked back and forth across the dirt path and the field beyond. Save a couple of workers near the entrance who were now greeting the merchant as he brought them more grain, nobody was looking their way. He sprinted the final steps to the back of the wagon, Agnes keeping lookout.
But the back of the tarp was tied upon arrival. He grimaced. The rope was thick and sturdy, to the point he was still struggling when the merchant turned back. He barely got it open before he had to duck away and back off. He didn’t trust this man’s perception to be so low as to not sense him when he was within a ten foot radius.
Behind the wagon wasn’t the most concealed position, anyone passing by might be able to see them if they weren’t careful. The longer they stayed here, the higher the chances that would happen. Luckily, they were working with a short time window regardless.
As he backed off a few steps, one of the sizable brown horses in full riding harness snorted, causing him to flinch. Shooting them a glance, he started appreciating how massive these things were when you occupied the body of a four-year-old.
Though except the peripheral awareness that they could kill him with a stomp, they weren’t a factor in this task unless they alerted their driver to his presence. Which they would hopefully not be trained to do.
They waited with bated breath, listening to the sounds of grain being moved until they heard a clink. Brennan froze.
Sense Magic caught onto something. He knew it was the exact same energy he had sensed days before, the first time he’d come near one such four-wheeled cart. Discerning what his skill was telling him proved slightly easier this time around now that he wasn’t just catching the tail end of the suspected smuggler opening the… box? The exact shape wasn’t clear in his mind yet, but he felt the foreign magic keep itself in place. It was stationary, yes, but it was also made to contain.
So what’s inside?
He couldn’t tell from out here, and the strange object clicked shut once more when the merchant left. Disappointed, Brennan wasted no time climbing up the back, ducked under the tarp. Finally able to poke his head inside, he peered around the dim space, only seeing the expected linen-wrapped bundles of grain. One of them sat close to the opening, possibly close enough to fall out, but that wasn’t what he was looking for.
It had to be here. He wasn’t fooled, and quietly heaved himself over the ledge, lowering himself onto the wooden floor with a slight creak. After a pause to see if he’d been heard, he took slow steps to one side. Then he leveraged all his strength to lift one of the heavy sacks to the side. Nothing. Situational Awareness kicked in. On the other end of the load space, he saw one sack was oddly bent as if leaning against another surface, a minute, almost unnoticeable detail.
Creeping over the planks, his hands reached out to grab it. Voices outside caught his attention, but he pushed on. Grunting from the effort, he lifted the weighty bag a fraction. The action exposed a hidden metal chest with a lock on the front. Its hard surface was engraved with symbols he didn’t recognize, his senses not providing any feedback. As if it were just a mundane case for storing completely normal, inconspicuous goods. He knew better.
A series of quick taps against the wood from outside; Agnes warning him to get out. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
The author's publication is behind this chapter, but the copy here was made without approval; the posted version supports its creator.
Brennan exited from the back without making a lot of noise or going too slow. The tarp flapped a bit as he came out, sending a tingle of alarm up his spine. In a split second, his arm smoothed it out and they made their distance, hoping against hope they hadn’t been spotted.
The merchant gave no sign that he’d noticed, simply repeating the process of grabbing more bags, opening the chest and then closing it before leaving.
This is getting us nowhere.
Lacking the key to open the chest, he would be repeating the same process of staring at inaccessible maybe-magic treasure. Instead of immediately going back inside, he came up with a plan of sorts. It was a long shot, but better than nothing.
He handed Agnes a pebble once he’d explained what her role was. She nodded and headed for the front side of the wagon, near the horses in the shade.
The third time the merchant returned, Brennan half-expected the guy to just be done delivering whatever he was delivering and leave. But it was apparently a big enough order that it took a while, and since he was carrying something that obviously didn’t belong among his regular product, it made sense that he wouldn’t want any help carrying it.
As a result, he received a chance to put his haphazard plan into action. The same sequence played out at first, all the way until the chest opened.
Now.
Waving to Agnes, he approached the back of the vehicle one more time and waited. A dull thud sounded on the dirt, followed by a noise that resembled a small animal. The horses whinnied and pulled against their harnesses, rocking the wagon slightly.
The merchant grumbled something under his breath and stepped out, leaving the chest open.
Yes!
He entered again, smoother this time now that he knew the layout, and saw the soft blue interior of the chest. While it wasn’t glowing, it was clearly visible if you looked at it despite the low light conditions. What would be inside?
When he neared it, he discovered a collection of flasks filled with colorful liquid in the bottom, some red, some blue. They were each ordered into neat rows, groups of six by six, half of them missing. On the walls of the chest, knives of various sorts and other small weapons were lined up. All of them were engraved with more of those peculiar markings that he’d seen on the chest.
There was even an engraved sword in here, and Brennan used Lucent Comprehension to commit it to memory as best he could. Not delaying any further, he tried to take some of this stuff. Emphasis on tried, because he ran into a huge problem.
Everything was tied down.
Wait, no, not everything. There was a rectangular matte gray stone with markings on it in the corner that wasn’t attached to anything. No mana inside, only that mysterious alternative energy. He pocketed it, not even thinking of leaving it be.
Footsteps and muttered curses alerted him to the return of the smuggler. Not having the ability to take the really valuable contraband, there was no other option for him than to cut his losses. So he made his way to the back with a quiet sigh.
“You left this open,” their voice called out to the merchant, unaware they were cutting off his escape route. A worker from the granary?
“I didn’t,” came the gruff response, and then faster marching.
Where do I go?
If he used the opening the merchant had left from, he would be seen instantly. The back also wasn’t an option anymore. He was trapped. Desperately looking for a way out like a cornered rat.
Soon his eyes landed on the grain sack near the opening, and, activating his Sprinting for all it was worth, he ran up and kicked it onto the dirt outside. It didn’t get far, what with his weak body, but it still toppled, spilling grain everywhere.
Next to the carriage, the worker from earlier came around to face the mess. “That’s unfortunate,” he commented. “Need help cleanin’?”
The trader turned to him. “No, no,” the man dismissed, picking up the rest of the bag and rushing to his wares, no doubt to catch an intruder in the act.
Meanwhile, Brennan had slipped the white sheet back into place before running out the other way as if his life depended on it, adrenaline pumping through his system. Just to be safe, his chosen route this time was to run the opposite direction compared to where they’d come from.
Emerging from her hiding place, Agnes dashed in his direction, joining him in his escape into the fields.
Achievement unlocked!
Ludicrous Larceny: steal an enchanted item from someone more than 30 levels above you.
→ +5 free attribute points added.
Are you calling me crazy?
The thrill of doing something illegal began to settle a few minutes later, both of them breathing hard. It was unbelievable. They’d actually done it. For a time, that was all he could think about.
This was the first provable instance of him creating an opportunity for himself and capitalizing on it. If he wanted to get ahead, he was probably going to have to do this a lot more often. After all, the only thing he’d received from this ordeal was an inert stone. Not any of the magic swords or presumed potions he had seen back in the wagon.
“Did you get the achievement?” he asked his partner in crime. She nodded, a wide smile on her face.
“Great,” he said, still out of breath. “We should go bury this.” He pulled the stone out of his pocket, shaking it between his fingers.
The rationale behind his decision was simple. If there was a tracker of any kind embedded in the enchanted items, he didn’t want to lead it back to himself. Therefore his course of action would be to hide it somewhere and return tomorrow to check whether anybody had come to find it.
He wished there was another way, one that guaranteed his ownership of the prize, but he was too weak to defend himself from any able-bodied adult. That was why he would have to treat it with caution for the coming week at least. Nonetheless a satisfying outcome overall.
For the rest of the day, he had a spring in his step. It was only during the evening hours that he realized how badly he fucked up.
Too caught up in celebrating his victory, he had let the lead suspect in this conspiracy get away. They would be long gone by now.