Nate found himself a stull, dusted it with the bottom part of his cloak -useful little thing it turned out to be, and scuttled near the window just in time to see Zoly arriving at the alley below.

  The kid expertly placed his fingers between the bricks. For most people this would had provided poor leverage but with her Bronze skill [Climb] at level four - just a level away from capping out, she was the equivalent of an earth’s Olympic rock climber with the physical weight of a child. This meant Zoly rocketed up the wall with the ease of a gecko.

  “He has a sixth sense and can stick to walls? What is he? Spiderman?”

  Zoly reached the window and in a quick but not so smooth maneuver, let go a hand off the wall to throw a noosed rope around an iron casted bracket beside.

  Nate winced when the boy almost fell in pulling that off.

  “Come on brat, don’t scare me like that!”

  The kid transferred his body to the rope and then, holding himself up with just one hand, started fiddling with the window sill, quickly getting it open it by exploding some hidden quirk in its construction. He put one arm inside and them jimmied in the rest of the way.

  “Well, I suppose that’s the worst of it.” Nate sighed from his stull, “Now I just need to watch for… uh oh…”

  Nate opened his window and begun to whistle as loud as he could… Or tried to… He mostly just ended up spitting everywhere.

  “Dammit! Why can’t I… HEY! HEY! Someone is coming…” but Nate’s shouts were partially snuffed by the grandfather clock chiming for three in the morning.

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  Zoly, who was crawling from under a divan with a golden locket in her hand and a huge smile on her face, barely registered Nate’s fifth call, when someone opened the door, blinding her with the light of an oil lamp.

  “Zolydane? Is that you?!”

  “Brother…I…” whatever else Zoly was about to say got crushed as well in her brother’s fierce hug.

  “You idiot! What are you doing here?! Didn’t I tell you how dangerous would be if that man finds you?!”

  “I-I…” Zoly tried to tell him about her mothers’ locket, but instead ended up breaking into tiers, again a little girl in his big brother’s arms, “How is her?” she sobbed.

  “Your sister is…” Ordzag swallow, “holding on, for now. But you need not worry about that. In a couple months I’ll take our family back from the claws of that monster, then you will be able to come back to us, but you can’t be here now…”

  His words were interrupted by the ring of a bell, this one louder and much more urgent than the grandfather’s clock.

  “Are those… alarm bells?”

  “Something is happening.” Her brother nodded, “You must leave! Now!”

  “Bur brother I…!”

  “Take hart, little sister, I’ll take care of everything… Now go! Every minute you stay near this house is dangerous! We can’t risk him getting another pawn for his sick games.” they gave each other one last hug, and then they separated.

  Ordzag couldn’t holt a tiny smile as his little monkey of a sister swung down through a rope at their father’s study’s window. He could almost make out her mother’s voice yelling at them to stop before they hurt themselves and his father laughing beside her. Shame those happy days were far gone.

  Only when he saw her safely on the ground below did he allow himself to closed the window. The gods might be looking out for him. He slept close by and had been the only one to notice and recognize the noises his little sister made while climbing. Ordzag couldn’t bare to think what could have happened if…

  No, he would have time to reflect on his fears later. Distant alarm bells rang echoing far and wide through the town of Harpsburg. As the heir to a patrician house, chances where he had another crisis on his hands.

  Still, he couldn’t help worrying for Zolydane. It would be disastrous if anyone discovered her true identity…

  *DING*

  - [EVESDROPING] LEVEL UP! –

  - [EVESDROPING] LEVEL UP! –

  - [EVESDROPING] is level 3-

  “Hold up! The brat is a tomboy?!”