Garrant silently dropped down from his perch above the now open hatch, through it and into the basement, rolling deftly just as he hit the ground and coming to his feet a couple of meters from Kinglet, who in response lifted her gloved-hands up and clapped silently, a broad smile on her face. He closed the hatch, leaving a small block of wood in place to keep it open a crack, if they needed to bail this was a potential exit but if a passing guard spotted the discrepancy, then an alarm might be raised.
They made their way silently up the stairs, following the aroma into the kitchen, it was dimply lit, with the only light coming from the slowly dying embers of the main fire, a large pot hanging over it, most likely used for the nights supper...
Or to punish intruders and unfortunate slaves, this was the Dutchy after all.
Quickly proceeding through the kitchen they arrived back in a large corridor, lit only by the eerie moonlight, the spindly shadows of trees dancing on the lavish paintings that adorned the walls and on the floor, covered in a royal purple and gold carpet.
'Swanky'
It almost felt like a sin to place a boot on the carpet... Almost. They proceeded through the shadowy halls, hugging closely to the walls, Garrant using his palm mirror to check the corners for guards.
All clear so far.
After minutes of nigh silent sneaking, they reached their destination, the north-eastern spiralling staircase that led to the nobles living quarters above. They ascended, being careful to check the corners for guards, knowing full-well that if one were to descent upon them he would have to be dealt with quickly and ruthlessly, lest he raze the alarm and so Garrant held his right arm infront of him, his finger resting on the trigger of his arm-mounted crossbow.
No-one came and for that Garrant was grateful
Upon reaching the landing they were confronted with the first real challenge of the evening, a large locked door, inlaid with the sigil of the nobles line emblazoned on the door.
He leant down next to the keyhole, conjuring a pair of lockpicks as if from no-where as he did so and set to work, only to stand up again not seven seconds later, the door unlocked. It opened with a low creak into a corridor not particularly dissimilar from the one downstairs and through which the thieves scurried like rats, silently padding along, knowing exactly which turn to take and where the check the corners.
Garrant and Kinglet knew exactly where they were going, those idiot nobles all liked their mansions to be built to a certain style and so one mansion was almost exactly like another, the details going down to the large guard postings outside and their scarce presence inside, so as not to interfere with the shady goings-on that often occurred in the halls, or so Garrant had summarised.
Finally they arrived at the large double doors of the master bedroom, here (if tradition were any indicator) would be kept all the masters worldly possessions, necklaces, rings, jewels and anything else an enterprising thief would love to get their hands on, all behind what was commonly the most heavily secured door in the entire manse, their locks so complex that when Garrant had first tackled one, it had taken him a good fifteen minutes to open.
He cracked his neck and knelled down next to the lock, drawing his picks as he did so but then he stopped and stood, a devious smile playing on his face all the while, he turned to his confused apprentice and extended his picks to her, nodding slowly as he did so, this would certainly be an interesting exercise.
