Guillan - Upper District: Mansion, After Midnight
Lautrec
With Willow to light his way, Lautrec looked around the room he was currently in. From the furniture and the stacks of documents on the desk he concluded that he was currently at the Study. A quick rummage through the drawers got him a leather satchel jingling with a few silver bits and papers describing incoming shipments, expenditures and future endeavor plans. While those could certainly be sold to the right buyer, he was not interested. He did pocket the satchel though.
Creeping to the door he opened it ever so slightly, the well kept condition keeping it from creaking unlike its dry and unoiled counterparts. His vision didn’t focus on anything, as he was more interested in catching movement in his sight. Not noticing anything alarming, he looked back to the Study one last time, taking everything in. His gaze got caught by a painting that was being illuminated by Willow nearby. It was a portrait.
He slowly made his way back to the portrait and took it off the wall, leaning it face-first against it. This was the only effective method of preventing the bad luck that the prying eyes could cause without ruining the painting. He went back to the door and entered the corridor leading from the Study. It was long and narrow, with a couple doors connecting to further rooms. Not an ideal setup in case he bumped into someone, but thieves’ couldn’t be choosers.
Under Willow's guidance, he quickly understood how badly he had chosen when he picked this particular mansion. It seemed the owner was a learned and worldly man, and utilized stationary sentries on his walls. They were just as effective as normal guards after all, and were much cheaper to employ. However Lautrec was not the type of person to shy away from a challenge. After careful consideration, he decided to leave no witnesses.
A considerable time later he finally moved on from the corridor, sweat adorning his brow from the effort he had to expend. Thankfully the rest of the mansion seemed much less closely watched, with only a guard or two looking about half-heartedly. It was clear they expected an intrusion to be loud and chaotic, and coming at them head on. That suited Lautrec just fine, so upon this silent but mutual agreement, they avoided conflict by staying out of each other's way.
He checked every room, avoiding those that were slept in, as he knew he wasn’t quiet enough to attempt stealing from right under their noses. He did, however, manage to collect a nice assortment of trinkets from a few golden candelabras to various gems and jewelry. This all went into the leather bag he had prepared just for this occasion. Just as he was considering whether his bag could hold anything more, he heard the thumping of running feet and excitement in the guards’ voices.
In a moment of decisiveness, he slipped into the bathing room nearby and curled up inside the tub that was off to the side in its own little chamber. He then dismissed Willow, as she’d only give away his location now that the people of the house were alert. Sure enough, it seemed the guards were checking under beds and inside closets, but nobody thought to check the tub. Typical negligence.
He was contemplating whether to charge extra for them being sloppy when he overheard two muffled voices. The door soon opened admitting two sets of footsteps, and he could finally make out their words clearly.
“.. the clever bastard. Must have gotten a tip about the hidden compartment behind the painting,” said one of them, as they walked in and checked something. Lautrec could hear something creaking.
“Maybe so, but at least they didn’t know which painting. Seems to me, they were trying to guess which one was the lucky find.”
As the second man spoke in a thoughtful manner, the creaking sound accompanied his words, followed by a click. The footsteps were now heading back the way they came as a third voice joined in from outside the room.
“Ha, you call that guessing? I’ve never seen the wall so bare before. Almost like…” the voices became muffled once again as the door closed, but they did not fade. It seemed like they decided the best place to have their conversation would be in front of the door.
Lautrec’s interest piqued after the mention of hidden compartments inside of paintings, so he got out of the tub and cautiously looked around the main chamber. Sure enough, there was a large painting of the sea with boats in the distance on the far wall. He looked at the door, then at the painting, and then shrugged. Might as well, since they've been kind enough. After listening intently on what was going on outside, he concluded that one of the guards had stayed behind to stand watch in front of the door. Good, he probably won’t be interrupted then.
Ever so carefully, attempting to make the least amount of noise possible, Lautrec felt around the edges of the painting with his hands. As he did so, he felt a bump with his finger on the bottom of the frame, and after pressing it, the work of art gave way like a door. He made sure to move it incredibly slowly, as he wanted to avoid alerting the guard outside. As the hidden compartment came into view, he clasped his hands together in a motion of gratitude toward the door, then leaned in closer to examine its contents.
Member
