First Cause

Polished — 11m25s — 2023/11/25

Humbert breathed deep as he moved through the dark of the south hall and considered his next obstacle: the lock on the door of the duke’s office. For years, he’d practiced his hands at picking any number of different locks, and although he had a fine touch, there were still certain styles that gave him trouble.

He looked down.

The duke employed a well renowned lock—and one that was admittedly difficult for most thieves—but Humbert was not one of them. With a grin and deft hands, the thief slid the tension bar and rake into the keyhole and shuffled the pins that held the lock secure.

The lock gave with an audible click.

Humbert cringed and looked about the hall to see if anyone may have heard the slight noise. Since the duke was away, there was only a skeleton crew of servants and guards on the grounds—few people in such a large house. Thankfully, he was alone.

Humbert pulled the door open and slipped inside. For several seconds, he stood silent as his eyes adjusted to the dark of the room. He dared not spark a light. The curtains were thin enough to let in light from the bloodless sky, which meant they were unlikely thick enough to block the light of a match. Anyone standing in the yard would know he was there immediately.

The red moon, Oblarra, was still below the horizon; but the children of Luna—a thousand tiny shards of the old broken moon—danced across the sky, brighter than stars by a hundred fold. Able to make out the shadows of the room, Humbert stepped behind the duke’s desk. He worked on the drawer locks and pulled them open one at a time.

In the first drawer, Humbert found a great deal of correspondence. He glanced at the names of the senders, but could not make out much of the thin scrawl in the room’s dim light. He wondered what secrets the documents might hold and figured the duke’s enemies would pay a minor fortune if he should nab the right letter. Yet, selling letters was a tricky business, and the duke employed a good number of spies to deter such behavior. Humbert felt he was just as likely to get his throat slit and have his body dumped in a shallow grave if he wasn’t careful about such things.

Not that he’d get much better treatment if he were simply caught in this office. Having already risked so much, he stuffed several envelopes into his shirt, in case he couldn’t find more immediate riches.

Humbert continued his search. In the top right drawer, he found what he was looking for, and it was a heavy purse indeed! Despite the dim light, he could see a healthy mix of silver and gold—though he’d hoped to see far less copper. There was still more than enough coin to see him north in search of the ancient mystic, Lasitus. Indeed, it was more coin than most men made in a lifetime!

Humbert fiddled with the lock on the last drawer and wondered if he wasn’t being greedy. The lock clicked. The drawer slid open in a smooth, quiet motion. Among several pens and ink wells, Humbert found an elegant dagger with a filigree handle . There was also a musket with a pearl hilt—pricey treasures for sure! With a grin, he stuffed the pistol under his belt and put the dagger in his bag.

With such fine weapons and so much coin, Humbert felt he ought not press his luck any further. Even if nobody else knew, he still had to consider the rube that he’d conned into letting him in—and so Humbert gently pushed the drawers closed and stepped around the edge of the desk. After all, he still had to make good his escape.

There, on the corner of the desk, sat a fine wooden box. Humbert stopped and considered it. For a long second, he stared at the fine pattern carved into the wood, and brushed his fingers across it. He felt bold with victories already won and couldn’t resist, so he held his breath and lifted the lid. Inside the box was a simple silver chain with a delicate silver locket. It was a sleek and elegant piece of jewelry, but made of silver, and therefore not particularly valuable—or so he assumed. With a grin and nary a second thought, Humbert lifted the necklace and slipped it over his head.

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