With the suffocating atmosphere, Val was overwhelmed. She honestly started to believe that perhaps she awoke the dead with her actions. But slowly, feeling starting coming back to her extremities.
Once she turned around, the light of the crystal flickered, and she could see that there was a hooded man in the room with her. He stood there, observing her. Val straighted up quickly. Who was he? And when did he get there? She was sure that there was no one in the room when she entered.
"The earrings." The hooded man extended his hand, as he demanded Val to hand over the jewelry.
"Why should I?" Val retorted back with a strained choice.
"When an owl hoots, the night is near." The man said in response. Then something clicked. Val recalled that she was supposed to meet a representative in the city once she had obtained the earrings. She was given a code phrase that would let her know who was doing business with her. She just didn't expect this transaction to happen while she was still in the manor. But no bother, it just meant she will receive her reward sooner.
"Oh course." Val attempted to regain some of her composure. "I will hand over the Hecate earrings, once you've given me my money."
The man reached for a pouch on his belt, and threw it on the ground in front of her. It had a decent thud when it made contact with the floor. Seeing that, Val started to drop the earrings in the hooded man's hand, when he stopped her.
"Say it." The man growled.
"Oh, right." Val recalled her instructions of the hand off. "I, Valerie Greenfurt, give you the Hecate earrings of my own free will."
As soon as the words left her mouth, a blinding light filled the room. Val closed her eyes and released her grip on the earrings. It only lasted a moment, but now the man was gone, and her crystal returned to normal. She breathed out an anxious breath, and calmed down for a moment.
Suddenly, heavy and quick footsteps could be heard coming down the hall. Val didn't have a choice, she had to escape through the nearest window. She quickly grabbed the coin purse. Then she unlatched the window, and pushed the pane to the side. Since this was the opposite side of the manor, it was not as convenient to climb down. And it was closer to the front, which meant that she could be spotted, if not careful.
Val slowly slipped out of the window, and held onto the window ledge for dear life. She slowly closed the window, but was unable to latch it. She kept the crystal active, but lowered the intensity. With all of her finger strength, she began the descent on the uneven bricks. She screamed in her head hope she wished that she could at least have something more reliable to hold onto, but alas, this was the current state of things.
She had made a fair amount of progress, when suddenly, shouting could be heard coming from the room she just came from. They discovered the window, so there were orders to search the inventory. Val quickly deactivated her crystal light, and it fell to the ground. She didn't have much choice, and now, she had to make her way in complete darkness.
Val was just approaching a window on the first floor, when the widow was flung open, and an angry brute with a candle stick poked his head out. Feeling the anxiety and fatigue kick in, Val lost her grip, and fell the rest of the way. It was enough to gain a bit of attention from above, so she quickly rummaged for her crystal and limped away.
"Hey, I just saw someone trying to climb the way. Get him!" Roared the hired muscle from above. Val needed to get on one of the carriages, quick!
She really hurt her hip in that fall, so she couldn't move as fast as she would like. Though, only a minor wound, all things considered, it was still a hindrance in escaping. She scanned the front of the manor. There seemed to be a few people leaving early. Perhaps she could mooch a ride of them? But what would be the best option?
Suddenly, a familiar figure stood waiting for his carriage. He was tall, and looked rather sharp. He had his black hair combed to the side, like a gentleman. His clothes were luxurious, and hugged his torso well, with his sleeves puffed out. His pants also made his legs look longer. But one look at those golden eyes, she could tell it was Cosmo.
She took in the image before her for a moment. Normally, she really wasn't that interested in a man's appearance. Why was she so enamored now? At this critical moment!
She shook off these thoughts, and approached him. She noticed Terran was with him as a companion. She kept her head down, and limped with great speed.
"Funny meeting you here." Val quipped while looking around nervously.
Cosmo had seen her approach, but didn't take enough care to recognize who it was, until he heard her voice. His eyebrow raised, he gave her a sideways glance.
"And what can I do for you this evening?" Cosmo asked with the smallest amount of amusement. Terran also took a second glance, and a smile formed on his face.
"Look, I'll get down to the point." Val kept her eyes roaming around them. "I need to get out of here. Just pretend that I work for you."
Cosmo looked somewhat bothered by her statement. Suddenly some men ran out from the side of the manor, in search of some thief. Cosmo didn't want to get involved, but Terran seemed to be pleading him with his eyes.
"Fine." Cosmo's short declaration gave Val a sense of ease. The end is near!
"Oh, by the way, why are you here? And all dolled up at that?" Val questioned as they waited.
"I told you that we were looking for a rate item, so we came to retrieve it tonight." Terran answered.
"Ah, I see." Val nodded, and looked at the box in Terran's hands. A strange feel came over her. It wasn't from the current circumstance, but from the item they had collected. She was sure she had felt it somewhere before.
Before long, Corvus arrived, and Val helped him to ready the carriage. She sat in the front with him. Off they went, before any of those men could search them. Now, she can finally enjoy the rush of completing her first big job.