"They say the skilled of us are best left to our own devices whether it be fighting, research, thievery. Anything under the sun. There are those among us who are good at many things, but only a few who are great. Running into such individuals is rare, believe me."
-Xiobalzez the Unseen, Father of Shadows, Chronicles of Thievery and Assassination Book III
~~~(POV: Justin Xander)~~~
~~~(Location: Outside, Geonia, Aeternitatem Genesis)~~~
~~~(Day, Date, Time: Monday, April 15th, 9:55 PM PST)~~~
~~~(Current Age: 19 Years)~~~
The brilliantly star-filled sky about Geonia takes my eyes off my current target. Looking at a different night sky compared to Earth is something else. Here, there are galaxies within view—three of them—shining and lighting the night sky.
I could spend all night looking at the scene. But I have a quest to complete. Savior of Sisters is up next, and I'm looking at the Faredawn Estate from a taller building across the street. Unlike Eliza's property, it's not walled off or protected by obvious guards.
I'd be a fool to assume that the place is unprotected, considering what Garson gets up to in his alone time. Before I begin my plan to retrieve Felicity and capture Garson, I take a moment to look at the quest again. Just a once over before I start.
---[Quest: Savior of Sisters]---
[Difficulty: Hard] [Grade: Rare]
[Recommended Player Level: 50]
[Player Level EXP Reward: 15,000]
[Rewards: Massively increased Reputation with Celia Catherine and Felicity Faredawn. Greatly Increased Reputation with (Unknown) noble house. The ability to ask for help from Celia or Felicity with no questions asked.]
[Step 1: Find the Faredawn Estate.] [Completed]
[Step 2: Locate Felicity Faredawn.]
[Step 3: Free Felicity from the control and capture of Garson Faredawn.]
[Step 4: Return Felicity to Celia.]
[Step 5: Kill Garson Faredawn. (Optional)]
[Completion of the Bonus Step will result in better rewards.]
[Bonus Step: Bring Garson Faredawn to Celia alive. (Optional)]
I've already completed the first step of the quest. Now, this is where things get challenging. Locating Felicity in particular. It's not like the mansion sized estate is small and easy to navigate.
The way I see it, I can do this in a few ways. After getting inside, I can slaughter anyone I encounter who isn't Felicity or Garson. It's bloody and increases the risk of outside help coming in by more than I'm comfortable working with.
That should be the fallback plan.
What I should be trying is sneaking into the estate and getting around that way. The problem with that is I don't have a single Skill related to stealth or making a stealthy approach possible. However, it's better than the fallback plan.
I'm also not considering that the recommended level for this quest is 50. Meaning, the enemies inside will be stronger than those shitty ass bandits I took care of.
Greater risks, but the rewards for the quest are equivalent to the difficulty. At least they are to me. The highest quest grade I've seen since I've arrived other than (Mythical) is (Hard.) At this point, this will be the quest I have the most trouble in.
If the difficulty is anything to go by, that is.
It hasn't been considered that my stats are that of a 1st tier existence. The other problem is survivors seeing my face and escaping. Sure, they won't know my name. But knowing what a person looks like is just as effective if you know what you're doing.
Who knows what kinds of magics exist to help people identify criminals based on another testimony...
"Going in quietly and getting out the same way poses the least amount of risk to me. But just how feasible is it..."
Am I really trying a stealth approach when I've got nothing to help me with it? There are probably layers and layers of security. Doors with (Alarm) spells and other such traps for people who aren't authorized to use them.
Someone of Garson's ilk would be paranoid that the outside world would become aware of what he does.
"The people that would come to help outside the Faredawn estate would know what he's done and his preferences. Allies, for lack of a better word."
I've really found myself in a conundrum. My impatience has come back to bite me in the ass. That gamer in me wants the results and rewards as quickly as possible. To keep progressing at a commensurate rate.
I need to take a breath and slow down.
Go over what I know.
First, it's highly unlikely that anyone there has a powerful enough Inspect-type skill to see anything about me. It's rare, but only among players. These are NPCs. The bandits had no Inspect-type Skills except for their leader, but this is a different beast.
I need to pay attention to system notifications about people using Inspect-type skills on me.
Second, hiding my face from view is essential.
Bingo!
I opened my inventory and pulled out one of the sacks of Griffin food. The food poured out of the sack, leaving me with a near-perfect way to hide my face. I spent a couple of seconds cutting out some holes to see if it was a good fit.
[Makeshift Hood Added to Inventory!]
After a moment of careful cutting and a notification from the system, I've got a way to hide my face if things go loud, and stealth isn't an option anymore.
"Back up plan ready, way to hide my face, and all I need now is a place to enter the mansion."
Looking at the large building, there isn't an obvious way inside. There is a front door, but I'd run into trouble immediately upon entry. My eyes glide up the building to the roof. The problem getting inside through one of the top floor windows is sound.
People will be able to hear me walking on the roof. While walking on a higher floor won't bring much suspicion, someone walking on the roof is an obvious red flag.
Knowing that I can't get all the information I need here, I stand up and spend a little over a minute jumping from house to house and getting a view of the other side. To my surprise, there isn't a back door to the mansion.
I spend a few minutes seeing if there is a possible basement and any windows that lead into it. Sadly, there isn't anything on the surface level. I'm sure there is a secret entrance somewhere into this building. Since it's not outside, that only leaves one option.
Underground.
Someone like Garson would obviously have a secret place to come and go from the mansion. If he did what he likes to do here by going through the front door, people would catch on quickly.
I've seen no manhole covers around Geonia. Suggesting they don't have a sewer system.
"Magic. That's the only other explanation. I'm not finding a way in through a secret underground passage."
Since there isn't a way for me to find the secret entrance that leaves only one option, while it's not the most graceful or strategic entrance into the mansion, it'll still get me inside without anyone noticing that I'm in.
Standing back up, I jump to another house as close as possible to the mansion. After getting a little bit of a run, I leap across the street and land on one of the protruding edges of the mansion. The design makes it easier to grab hold.
I stand still and listen for any movement that I might've been discovered. After not hearing anything, I shimmy across the ledge to the nearest window.
I've chosen the top-floor windows as my entry point. That way, I can make my way down the building as I search for Felicity and Garson.
Before I attempt to open the window, I use (EoC) to check for any (Alarm) spells or traps. Luckily, all I get is some basic information about the glass and how it was produced. The window is even unlocked.
I lift the window open and enter the mansion—the Faredawn estate. I'm finally inside and just a bit closer to locating Felicity.
In truth, I don't have to do the steps in order. I can find Garson first, knock him out, and then find Felicity. I'm only doing the quest in the order it's given me since it's already laid out in the easy way to complete it.
"Alright, now where are you, Felicity? Your sister is worried sick about you..."
Being controlled by a man like Garson must be a special kind of hell. It's likely not all that different from what Celia has been through, I had to guess. Thinking about this has sparked another issue I hadn't even considered.
What if Felicity is with child just like Celia? That would make her removal of this place far more difficult.
Worse case... She's already got a baby, which means I've gotta bring her, the child, and Garson out of here...
If this turns out to be the case, I'll have to reconsider my ability to remain patient; it's obviously not working.
"Please, don't be the worst case..."
Time to start searching in this unnecessarily big house.