Novel Full Chapter 704 704 Illusions and Pickpockets
Chapter 704 704 Illusions and Pickpockets
?Every tree branch was already packed, as well as the ropes that ran under the walkways. But Wolfe’s seat gave them ideas, and more seats were quickly fashioned with nature magic to hang under the bridges, giving hundreds more small creatures the perfect view.
The show began suddenly, with flashes of Fae Magic lighting up the afternoon sky, and dancers flying like trapeze artists, spinning and twirling down long lengths of cloth that had just dropped from the upper framework of the stage.
The music started as the magic began, and the crowd roared in appreciation of the show.
Then the dancers on the ground took to the stage, and Wolfe realized that the classic Bunny Kin mating dance had changed from what he knew, and not just in the special effects.
They were more trained and organized than ever, but it was also not just the beastkin that were dancing. There were dozens of Fae mingled in with them, adding variety and colour to the plain whites and browns of the rabbit fur. The effect was spectacular, and Wolfe understood immediately why this was touted as the one show that you simply must not miss.
The level of the illusion magic that spread over the stage increased gradually as the dance continued, pulling the viewers into the show naturally, and immersing them in the imagery that the Fae wanted them to see.
There was no doubt that it was the greatest show that Wolfe had ever seen, almost more real than reality with the Fae Magic helping guide everyone’s thoughts, but after a moment Wolfe noticed that not everyone was watching the show.
There was a small group of Dark Fae sliding gracefully through the crowd, relieving the viewers of their valuables while they were entranced by the show, and headed for the back of the group, where a large group of residential tents was set up for the guests who couldn’t get a room in any of the buildings.
Wolfe noted as many of the pickpockets as he could, fifteen in total, and waited before taking any sort of action. The guards were unlikely to notice anything in that dense of a crowd, and the team was full of professionals, to the point that very few of the guests even noticed that they had been jostled, much less robbed.
While keeping a careful eye on them, Wolfe snuck a glance up above at the walkways, but didn’t find any more of the pickpockets working up there, only the ones at ground level, who were now exiting the crowd and gathering near one of the tents.
There was nobody inside it, but the tent was full of chests, each with a bedroll on top of it to look like a sleeping pallet. Once they went inside, Wolfe would have all the evidence that he needed to link them and whatever goods were in the tent, but so far, they were just waiting.
Then, a spindly Demon made his way out of the crowd and into the tent, while the others followed him. That was good enough for Wolfe, and he immediately dropped a Rank Six barrier over the canvas building and flew over to have a word with them.
The spell caught the attention of the Saint level Demons and Fae in the crowd, all four of whom decided to come see what Wolfe was up to in the middle of a show.
While the group inside the tent panicked at being locked in, the five powerful beings met outside.
“So, what’s this all about?” An aging elf at the peak of the Seventh Rank asked as he landed at the side of the group.
“I just watched fifteen Dark Fae pickpockets load up and join a Demon inside that tent. If my [Detect Hidden] skill is right, then under every bed in the tent, there should be a chest full of loot, pretending to be a bed pallet. If there have been reports of missing goods lately, there is a good chance that they’re still right here, waiting to be removed from the city.” Wolfe explained.
The four others all turned to the tent and activated their sensory magic at the same time, then a Wrathbringer nodded to Wolfe.
“Make an opening in the barrier, we are going to enter.”
Instead of that, Wolfe just marked them as friendly, and allowed the barrier to let them pass freely in either direction, while blocking all other attempts to get in or out. They didn’t waste any time in entering, or in using their magic to detain the group and open the hidden chests.
They had Fae magic on them to transform their outer appearance, but it was cast by a Rank Three Fae, and the Elf had seen through it effortlessly. There was no hiding anything from him with magic, at least not magic at that level.
“Fifteen Fae and a Demon, working together in a pickpocketing ring. Now, it looks like you’ve made a pretty decent profit so far this trip. The items that you have in your pockets from this show alone are quite impressive. But you went too far, and you were caught in the act.” The Elf greeted them.
Then he used his magic to tear their clothing away and empty their bags, which spread all the ill-gotten loot out on the ground.
“Mostly mana crystals, some coins from various nations, and an awful lot of low level magical items. I see what you were going for now. The only question I have is if you chose a Demon for a fence to sell the items, or if he’s the guardian of the tent, since you couldn’t risk tying the magic to one of your own.” He added.
One of the Demon Overlords was from the Magic Kingdom, or so Wolfe assumed by the feathered wings that he had only seen there. With a flip of his wrist, all the magical inscriptions and threads were revealed, tying the tent and its contents to the Demon, but also linking some of the magical items to people outside, more damning evidence that the items didn’t belong to the people here.
“I hope you have a superb defence prepared because this trial is not looking good for any of you.”