Pochard turned back to his work.
“Learn to take yes for an answer, Standish.”
Clive called on Jason in his lodgings. Jason had papers scattered over the refreshment table, picking some up to read from the comfort of a lounge chair.
“How did it go?” Jason asked.
“Surprisingly well,” Clive said, still registering the surprise. He nodded at all the papers. “What’s all that?”
“A copy of the contract of service between the Adventure Society and the City of Greenstone. If the Duke of Greenstone and the Adventure Society director are playing some kind of game with this thief as the central piece, I thought I should get a look at the board.”
“And?” Clive asked, sitting down.
“It’s possible this whole thing is about trying to get the Duke to violate the terms of the agreement. It gives local authorities a lot of influence in Adventure Society affairs. It would make sense, given that Elspeth Arella’s driving goal is to eliminate that influence. I’m inclined to think that isn’t it, though.”
“Why not?”
“The agreement is up for renegotiation in a couple of years, and the director doesn’t strike me as an impatient person. If she were to violate the terms herself, trying to provoke the Duke, he could appeal to the core branches of the Adventure Society, maybe even get Arella replaced. Given her proclivities are a direct threat to aristocratic power, having almost anyone else in her seat when the negotiations come up is a win for him. I don’t think she’s willing to take that risk when all she has to do is wait for her chance to renegotiate terms.”
“Then what is it all about?”
“I’m not sure,” Jason said. “There’s some third factor beyond the Duke and Arella’s basic agendas. Arella wants something, and she’s willing to push the boundaries to get it.”
“How does that affect us? We’re just trying to catch the thief.”
“It’s the knife you don’t see that stabs you, Clive.”
“What next, then?”
“We turn off the filter, pinch one off in the pool and see who comes to clean it up.”
“What?”
“We catch the thief, and see who tries to stop us.”
“What if they do stop us?”
“Have some self-confidence, man.”
Jason started gathering the scattered pages.
“There were a few interesting things in the agreement,” Jason said as he put them away in a leather folder. “The Adventure Society has quite a lot of say in civic affairs when it involves a society contract. Interestingly, it puts that power with the individual adventurers executing the contracts, rather than the society itself.”
“What does that matter?”
“The loosened adventurer standards have allowed more or less the entire aristocracy to be nominal members of the Adventure Society, so decentralising power is another means for the aristocracy to circumvent the authority of the Adventure Society’s higher officials. I’m starting to understand what Arella is up against, now. It’s something worth knowing, another trick to have up the sleeve.”
“What now, then?” Clive asked. “I know we won’t be randomly attending social events, hoping they get robbed. People have been trying that for months and it hasn’t worked.”
“Then what do you think should be the first step?”
“Figure out what they're doing, and how, right?”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Jason said. “We need to go talk to all the victims, learn as much about what was taken and the thief’s methodology as we can.”
“Are these people going to talk to us?”
Jason chuckled. “These are people used to having the power, not being the victim, and there isn’t anything they can do about it. Don’t underestimate how much that will eat at them. They know that the Adventure Society isn’t letting anyone other than iron-rankers in on this, so a three-star is the best they can hope for. Add in an assist from a Magic Society official and it will seem like a ray of hope. They’ll cooperate.”
“And if they don’t?”
“We’ll talk them into it.”
“You say that like it’s going to be easy.”
Jason and Clive left the townhouse of Lord Vordis and started heading towards the closest loop line transit station. Lord Vordis was a minor noble, but one known for making useful connections between the upper and lower echelons of society.
“Are you sure you should have done that?” Clive asked, glancing back nervously.
“Done what?” Jason asked innocently.
“Told him the Mercers sent you.”
“I didn’t do that.”
“I was there!”
“But were you really listening? I never said the Mercers sent me. Yes, the conversation happened to go in such a way that certain connections between myself and the Mercer family came to light. And I suppose I can see how that particular topic of conversation, in proximity to other topics, may have led some people to assume that the Mercers sent me, but I made no such assertion. I’m not responsible for other people’s assumptions, Clive.”
“It really seems like you are.”
“We got what we were after, and that’s the important thing.”
“I can’t believe he told you he was smuggling sump coil rods,” Clive said. “They’re restricted by the Adventure Society and the Magic Society, but he told an adventurer and a Magic Society official.”
“Lucky this town’s so corrupt,” Jason said. “He figured there wouldn’t be any major repercussions.”
“Because he thought the Mercer family sent you.”
“I told you that I’m not responsible for the assumptions of others. What are sump coil rods, anyway?”
“They’re used to create very small areas that are invisible to magical senses,” Clive said. “Auras, tracking abilities, seeking rituals. Nothing short of gold-rank ritual or ability stands a chance. Very small spaces, though. About the size of a laundry basket.”
“What are they used for?”
“The big things about them is they don’t trip warnings. A lot of detection magic, be that abilities, rituals or items, give back a negative reading if they hit a zone they can’t penetrate. Use sump coil rods the right way, and most things won’t even register the negative space.”
“You think maybe they took them to create a hideout they can't be traced to?” Jason asked. “Use a bunch of those rods to stack the spaces?”
“That wouldn’t be practical, and they didn’t take enough of the rods.”
“Well, we just keep collecting puzzle pieces,” Jason said. “Eventually we’ll have enough to figure out the picture.”
Jason and Clive were in Jason’s lodgings, poring over notes. Jason’s were scattered over the refreshments table in the lounge area, while Clive laid claim to the dining table. More than a week into their investigation, Jason’s lodgings were so deep in notes, maps, lists and magical tool design documents that Madam Landry refused to have her staff clean around it.
“You just tell me when your done and I'll send people in,” she had told Jason. “Just don't leave it too long, or I'll send people in anyway.”
In almost three months, the thief had done seventeen jobs. Every day Jason and Clive would go from victim to victim, scene to scene, gathering information.
“They’re basically doing two kinds of jobs,” Jason mused. “The first type is public, usually some kind of snatch-and-grab of valuables. These jobs are in open places with plenty of escape routes. The loot is frankly, not worth the risk. It tends to be highly specific, which would make fencing it tricky.”
“A lot of adventurers have been taking that angle,” Clive said. “The Magic Society has sold a lot of appraisal tools in the last few months.”
“The other type of job tends to be specialised magic equipment. Rare, valuable, sometimes restricted. They’ve taken much bigger risks for these jobs, as well. Every time they’ve come close to being caught it was on this type of job.”