Chapter 69

My footfalls were silent as I stalked the two miners among the Horndale pines. Muffled Steps remained active as aether flowed through my channels and into my feet. Between the Skill, my small size, and the night vision potion that let me avoid the loose scree along the trail, I might as well have been a ghost.

About fifteen metres in front of me, the two miners were whispering softly. Not so quiet that I couldn’t hear them though.

“This is a bad fucking idea, Kole. What if we get caught?” muttered the taller of the two men.

Even with my night vision, I couldn’t tell who he was or the colour of his hair in the dark. All I could say was that his hair was short and he definitely was not one of the original four miners.

“We won’t,” whispered the other miner as he stumbled slightly in the dark.

I was happy to see it, since I had been a little worried that the miners might actually have an Advanced Attribute or Skill that let them see in the dark. Based on the way these two bulldozed down the path, they knew where they were going but couldn’t see much of their surroundings.

As for ‘Kole.’ him I recognised. He was the bald bastard that had made a pass at Mum before Gramps put him in his place. In the dark of the night, with the moonlight faint beneath the canopy of pines, I could see his shiny dome like it was a burning torch.

I smiled. Night vision potions are no joke.

Then, the pair of miners-turned-miscreants stopped. They glanced around as if they could see more than a few metres in front of their face, before turning towards a stone bigger than I was that sat nestled against a small slope on the side of the path.

Very carefully, I circled around, double-checking my surroundings like the paranoid kid I was. My footfalls remained silent, the aether continuing to flow into my Skill as my eyes scanned the sky and brush. With no sign of imminent danger, I continued to circle around to where I could get a better view of what they were doing.

The stone looked like it weighed a lot, but the two men moved it together with only a slight grunt. As the moonlight cut through a few gaps in the canopy above, I got to see a small stack of silver bars — each no longer than my hand and barely two fingers wide — tucked into a hole dug out behind the rock. I did a quick count. There were eight bars already in there, with Kole and his friend adding another two each. Twelve in total, so far.

I decided that I had seen enough. More importantly, I had been away longer than I should have. While the two miners got ready to roll the stone back into place to hide their stash, I quickly scampered back up the trail.

Once I was back at the Horndale Mining Co. houses, I skirted around them and returned to the shadow of the Kellins’ trading post. I had waved to Gramps as I passed, but I wasn’t ready to try and dash across the road. Patience was key for stealth, and I could be very patient when I wanted to — even more so when I needed to.

It took a few minutes for Kole and his partner in crime to return. The two of them stumbled back into their homes with what I figured they presumed was stealth. To me, it looked more like a lumbering bull and its lanky gorilla friend trying to be sneaky. They were very much not.

Once they were inside, I did one more scan of the sky. Still no sign of any owls. Then, with a mad dash and what little remained of my aether flowing into Muffled Steps, I sprinted across the road and back into the outpost.

The door was shut resolutely behind me, the bolt dropping across the entry to bar anyone else from following me. Not that there was anyone, but Gramps locked the place up every night. If someone was to break in, they would need to go through one of the glass windows.

“That last one took you a while,” Mum commented. “Did something go wrong?”

Gramps looked equally curious.

I debated lying to them. Not because I was worried that Mum would be mad at me for sneaking off into the forest. Well, not just because of that. No, I was worried that if I told them, they might have to do something about what I had seen. I really didn’t know the requirements of being a Factor of an outpost for the Adventurer’s Society. Was Gramps required to report them? If so, what was the punishment?

It had also crossed my mind that knowing where their stash was, it wouldn’t take much effort for me to go help myself. Obviously, there was absolutely no hope of me moving that stone myself. But I was friends with a certain half-orc who had muscles on her muscles. Would stealing from thieves unlock the Path of Thievery? I certainly wouldn’t feel bad about it.

In the end though, the deciding factor was simply keeping my promise to them. I had said no more secrets, and for now at least, I would try to keep my word.

“Umm, no. The houses were fine, and I didn’t wake anyone. I got my Path of Infiltration to the second tier. But then, just when I was finishing, I heard voices in the forest. It was two of the miners. The bald one that was rude to Mum and one of the new ones. Anyway…”

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I paused for a second, seeing the frown slowly appearing on Mum’s face while Gramps diplomatically looked away and tried to hide his burgeoning smile.

“And what did you do?” Mum asked. The words themselves sounded oh so calm, but the look in her eyes said I was in trouble.

“I followed them into the forest to see what they were doing,” I admitted as I looked down, my chin coming to rest on my chest.

Mum sighed, kneeling down to check me over while Gramps started chuckling.

“What’s so funny?” she asked glaring at Gramps as she patted me down checking for rips or tears in my clothing.

“Curiosity should be rewarded,” Gramps muttered. He was throwing her own words back at her.

His words initially made Mum’s frown worse, her bright blue eyes hidden behind the storm clouds that were her eyebrows. But then, bit by bit, her expression softened.

She turned towards me and kissed me on my brow. “You need to be more careful. There is a time and place for curiosity. Out in the dark on your own is not it.”

I nodded.

“So, what were they doing?” Gramps asked.

“Stealing silver,” I answered.

“Oh.”

The word came out of two mouths at the same time, both Mum and Gramps looking surprised.

Gramps was the first to return to normal. “I guess they’re not particularly happy with House Firthholm’s new taxes. Still, surprised they’re willing to risk losing a hand for theft.”

I blanched. In all my time, I had not really considered what the cost of getting caught might be. The idea of it had never crossed my mind. Perhaps because I was still being childish, or perhaps because we were so disconnected from the societies that surrounded us up here in the mountains. But all of that was changing. Society had found something here they wanted, and they were moving in, bringing their laws and demands with them. All the more reason for me to keep my nose out of it. Maybe Mum had more concrete reasons for me to avoid the Path of Thievery than “it’s wrong.”

Curiosity killed the cat, I reminded myself. And I do not have nine lives.

“People have done worse things for sillier reasons,” Mum said before turning to me. “What about your Path, Sweetheart? You said you finished it?”

I grinned at them both. “I got four Unallocated Stats, two Skill Slots and a Greater Infiltration Skill Seed! But the Myriad Paths said I didn’t have enough slots for the Skill.”

I pulled the shiny, black Skill Seed out of my pocket. It was a perfect sphere that drank in the light and felt like I was holding air that was slipping through my fingers.

“Not surprised,” Gramps answered, pausing before taking it from me as if asking for permission. I proffered the orb, giving my approval.

He held the Skill Seed in the palm of his hand as he looked it over before returning his gaze to me. “Greater Skills take up four slots. You’ve got, what? Three?”

I nodded before a question occurred to me. “Can you remove Skills?”

“You can. It’s a little painful and requires a Skill Removal Seed which you can only get from Dungeons or Rifts, but it’s possible. They’re not too hard to come by. I think all Dungeons give them as rewards on the top two layers which is where you’ll find the majority of Adventurers. They look just like this one, but they’re a milky white instead of black.”

“How much would they cost in aether coins?” I asked.

“Depends… probably somewhere between five and ten. Why?”

Mum answered for me. “He’s thinking about whether or not he wants to use his other Skill Seed. The Lesser Stealth one. Right, Sweetheart?”

“Right, Mum!” I replied happily.

I wanted to make sure I had options in the future if the Skills I took now didn’t suit me. With the ability to remove them, I could take some risks. It might feel like flushing money down the drain, but my progress was more important than potential wealth. Besides, if the Skills helped me for even a year then the temporary investment would be worth it. Though, I did wonder if I was assuming too much by thinking Gramps would buy me some if I needed them.

Then again, I could always go take some stolen silver and pay my own way, I thought.

“Okay. Enough excitement for one night. Bed time,” Mum stated.

Gramps yawned agreeably and headed for the stairs. Ten minutes later, snug in my own bed, I went to sleep with a cheshire grin on my face.

Morning came too quickly — which it always does when you stay up too late — but I forcibly dragged myself out of bed and got to work doing my bodyweight routine.

I was halfway through my second last set of decline push ups, feet propped up on the wooden chest filled with my clothes, when the notification appeared.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Body Strengthening IX (5000/5000)

Reward: 1 Unallocated

One day, I would need to consider whether putting every Unallocated point in Gifted was the best use of my free Stats. Today was not that day. Despite my satisfaction at seeing Gifted go up, that didn’t distract me from finishing my workout.

Breakfast was filled with spices from Kaylee’s cooking, so I opted for something plainer. I did like her cooking, but not when I had to drink my Scar Rejuvenation potion. The sweet berry flavour did not mix well with the spices. There had been an ‘accident’ the first time. I would not be repeating my mistake.

My scars were mostly gone thanks to the potions with only thin silver lines remaining. Still, it would be another few months before they were gone entirely. A purely cosmetic improvement, but I was willing to admit I was a little vain and didn’t want to look like a cat’s scratching post.

Etta and I left the kitchen table, following Gramps into his office for our morning aethersensing lesson. Etta had her brown hair up in pigtails today and gave me a big smile which transformed into one of confusion as the old codger slapped down two stacks of pale brown paper in front of us.

“Alright, kids, it’s time we make these lessons a little more challenging.”