{NOVELETTE} A Heist To Remember - Part 04

Alphonse slid down the ladder towards the storage room. Once down he removed it, making the trap door slam shut above him. He placed the ladder against some barrels, as he needn’t go up this way again. The less suspicion the better.

Some muffling sounds disturbed the previously comfortable silence, although Alphonse could not pinpoint what the actual sound was. Peeking through the keyhole did not help as it only showed the door opposite him. And he surely couldn’t exit this room, the frighteningly bright hallway would expose him immediately. Thus Alphonse concentrated only on the sound.

Voices. Yes, those were certainly voices. Distant, but steady. Were they in the hallway? Near the stairs?

The pattern of sound was consistent. Whoever was making it did not appear like they were going to leave this part of the house anytime soon. Alphonse saw no other option as he grabbed for his belt, the first potion on the left. A chameleon potion. He only had one of these but the situation seemed prudent enough to use it. The potion did not conceal him wholly, but combined with the help from his shadows, he was nearly invisible. Certainly enough to peak outside. He hoped.

Alphonse drank the potion, exalting in the warm and familiar feeling of power. As long as he felt that comforting warmth he knew the potion’s effects were active. Hands steady and feet sure he opened the door, if only a smidge, the slither of light a stark contrast to the dark storage room. He peaked into the bright hallway and saw two guards at the very end conversing.

Those bastards really blocked the stairway, what a nuisance.

Alphonse spotted the hanging clock from earlier – it was time to cause some commotion.

He crouched, moving slowly towards the clock hanging on the wall not three steps in front of him. His attention was dedicated fully on the two conversing buffoons. It seemed they were discussing a matter of great import – good – Saviors know; lax guards are a thief’s best friend.

Alphonse slowly opened the clock’s base and started to fiddle. He would never get used to the uneasy feeling he got when standing in the same room as trained guards. Furthermore, he could feel the potion’s power declining.

He found the small cog mechanism, all of these clocks seemed to have them, and rotated it at a precise angle of nighty degrees. He closed the clock and reached for his silencing potion, even though swigging down potions like this was not recommended. In fact, learned alchemists asserted it was quite dangerous, but Alphonse had little choice at the moment. He drank the potion in one gulp, and placed the empty flask in his pack.

Warmth returned to his stomach, his movement would produce no sounds. He horridly paced a few steps away, flinging himself to the wall, his body making no noise. The clock he just left behind started to chime. Load and out of rhythm.
Alphonse called to his shadows for concealment.

“What the – “ the two guards jumped at the sudden noise.

“It’s that King fearing clock over there.” One of them cursed as they started moving down the hall.

The two guards did not hear Alphonse’s heavy breathing as they passed him, the silencing potion still producing warmth in his stomach. As soon as they passed him, he turned and ran straight for the stairs. He had to be fast, if one of them turned right now they would undoubtedly see him.

Alphonse ran down the first flite of stairs, hitting the wall and standing still, shadows hiding him. There was no one on the bottom of the stairs and the clocks chiming had just stopped. He had to move, now.

Luckily, he knew he was already in the eastern side of the manor. He only had to navigate through the dining room ahead and find a small closet. Inside was a trap door that led to the basement. Memorizing the manor’s layout was a must when performing a heist of such importance.

Eyes and ears open, Alphonse sneaked down the stairs around some pillars and inside the massive dining room. He spotted two people eating at the grand table, and two guards stationed at the huge windows that faintly lit the room with moonlight. Alphonse was grateful that apart from that moonlight, and a small candle between the two people, the rest of the room was covered in dark spaces. This was most likely a romantic dinner.

The sight of the unexpected late meal almost made Alphonse forget about the predicament he was in, if just for a couple seconds. Some people eat ash out there, and these people languish in feasts and parties. He thought in spite. Where did that come from? He didn’t care about the nobles, sure, he hated them, but he never contemplated their lifestyle. Theo was rubbing off on him.

Alphonse reached the desired closet door. The warmth in his stomach was almost gone. He checked the occupants of the room before he –

A shape appeared in the dining room entrance, from where Alphonse had entered. It was… gone. He did not hear anything out of the ordinary, surely if it was a normal human he would have heard their footsteps. The potions. Alphonse thought. Drinking two consecutively was not the brightest idea. He entered the closet, silent as ever.

Alphonse exhaled, still feeling wary from the sight of the figure. I would have heard them, surely. If it were real, no, I must have heard them. The warmth in his stomach finally fading into nothing – the potion had ended. He quickly found the trap door in the small room. After examining his landing distance, he let himself fall through the small opening onto the hard, cold, stone floor.