60 – Infiltrating The Estate

Early morning. Sera was standing beside Alexandra, watching the Merinus estate from their vantage position.

“I don’t know what that potion is,” the Keeper said, handing the vial back to her. “I wouldn’t drink it. Obviously.”

Alexandra nodded. “I agree. Not putting strange things in my mouth unless my daily quest asks me to.”

“Toothpaste isn’t a strange thing.”

“It’s not supposed to be chewy and taste like ash.”

Sera raised an eyebrow. “Maybe where you come from, but you better get used to it. Your breath was foul.”

Alexandra pursed her lips and didn’t answer. Three weeks without brushing her teeth was a little bit too much, even for her. But she did brush them the day she was summoned. Wait, did I? I don’t remember.

Chew on toothpaste (1/1) -> Quest Completed: +10 exp, +1 CON

Daily Quest Streak: 19 -> 20

Maybe she should check out that Basic Hygiene skill. She had yet to read the description.

“Focus,” Sera said. “You’re going inside the estate today.”

“Are… we sure that’s a good idea?”

“No. That’s a pretty terrible idea. You’d be better off coming with me to Kator directly.”

Alexandra looked at her.

“But, you want to save your friend,” Sera continued. “I’m not going to do it for you. So that’s your only option.”

“I get it. It’s just a bit intimidating.”

“No shit.” Sera’s gaze was fixated on the servants’ entrance. “There. A group is coming out. Let’s go.”

They came down from their vantage point on the edge of the harbor and walked toward the entrance. They stopped a few streets away, in an empty narrow alley.

“Now we wait for them to come back,” Sera said.

Alexandra took a deep breath, and pulled a mana thread from her core to get her glamour up. A few seconds later, her face was covered in wrinkles. Clothes with patched holes, gloves to hide her missing finger. She’d hidden her sickle inside her shirt. Just in case.

“How do I look?”

“Make sure nobody looks at you too closely. Your glamour is acceptable, but that’s only considering how little training you had.”

“Great. That’s reassuring.”

Sera shrugged. “Wasn’t trying to be. Also you should avoid talking. The wrinkles look off when your mouth is moving.”

Alexandra would be lying if she claimed the thought of giving up hadn’t crossed her mind. Finding excuses was easy. She didn’t know Louis that well. She was way out of her depth.

But she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

I’m not letting another one go. Not like that.

“They’re coming back.” Sera interrupted. “Get ready to follow.”

Attached to the alley was a larger street, and in this street a dozen servants were walking back to the estate. They were coming back loaded. Baskets of fish, still wet, stacked in pairs and slung over shoulders. Sacks of grain dragged by the younger ones. An old woman near the back carried a crate of cabbage against her chest.

Sera popped a crate filled with onions from her spatial storage.

Alexandra picked it up. “I’m going,” she whispered. “Wish me luck.”

“Just stick to the plan.”

She stepped inside the group, matching their pace. One Face Among Many was already working, making her appear inconspicuous.

“Why is the boss asking for so much grain today?” A boy pulling two sacks behind him groaned. “We’ll need at least two more trips to bring it all back.”

“Nothing good comes from questioning the boss,” an older man who was carrying fish baskets answered. “Having more food stockpiled is never a bad thing. It doesn’t matter if you carry those sacks today or tomorrow.”

It didn’t take long for them to reach the gate. A thick metallic door, and the only gap in the wall surrounding the estate apart from the main entrance. The Wardens’ eye was engraved on it. The man in the lead knocked. Seconds later the door swung open, revealing the guard.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He was tall. That was the first thing Alexandra noticed. The second was the sword buckled at his belt. She looked away.

The servants entered the estate one by one. She joined the queue, her head down and eyes never straying from the back of the man before her. The smell of brine coming from his fish baskets was strong. She didn’t flinch.

Most of her attention was focused on her glamour. On that one mana thread. She couldn’t let go of it. She schooled her facial expression, trying to reduce the strain on her mind.

She passed by the guard. Her steps were slow. She didn’t know if he was looking.

Then the man in front of her turned right, through the courtyard. She followed.

The courtyard was wide and paved, the stones worn smooth. Ahead of her, the main building rose three floors. Pale stone, dark wood trim, a covered entrance with columns. Two smaller annexes flanked it on either side, connected by low archways.

The servant quarters ran the length of the far wall. One floor, long, with a door at each end and small square windows spaced evenly between them.

They were heading there.

She kept her eyes on the crate, on the onions shifting against each other with each step. Around her, the group had spread out, gaps opening between them. She was near the back.

A pair of guards stood in the middle of the courtyard, not sparing them a glance. She adjusted her grip on the crate.

They stopped in front of the servant quarters. The old woman with the cabbages cut in front of her and rapped on the door with her foot. “Open it,” she said. “My back is killing me.”

The boy who spoke earlier pushed the door open.