Chapter 44

We traveled whole day according to the map and late in the afternoon, we finally managed to arrive at the village . I was a bit nervous when it came to Sh.e.l.ly . I didn't want anyone to see it because people then can recognise me . I had to either smuggle Sh.e.l.ly somehow inside or make it wait outside . The later was much more simple than the former .

I said to Sh.e.l.ly "You will have to wait 2 or 3 days for me . It's too hard to smuggle you into the village without anyone noticing" . Sh.e.l.ly was not happy about that and pulled on my trousers . I said "There is no way around that . I will return for you, I promise" . Sh.e.l.ly seemed to be reluctant to let go but after struggling a bit, it managed to calm down and agreed to that .

Before I parted ways with Sh.e.l.ly, I said "Hide somewhere near but make sure that hunters cannot find you . If someone tries to attack you, just run . I will be back in couple of days and we shall meet in this area" . Sh.e.l.ly nodded its head and I left towards the Gra.s.shill Village .

At the entrance to the village I noticed couple of guards . The people were coming in and going out of the village constantly . I looked at the behaviours of different people and noticed some paters . Usually wealthy people were not stopped and pheasants or poor people were stopped once in a while . The guard asked these type of people some questions which I could only a.s.sume were about reason for entry and so on .

The entrance was too far from my location to be able to hear the actual questions but due to situation and the people that were stopped, I could kind of guess what type of questions they would ask . After watching people going in and out for about 30 minutes, I decided to copy a behaviour of a miner . Miner was not wealthy but as a worker that contributed for the village they were rarely searched or questioned .

I didn't have a pickaxe but not every miner that walked through the gate had . It was the air and look of a miner I was after . I used some soil to make my hands as well as my face dirty . Then I copied the airs of a miner . It wasn't very difficult after all the training I did and the most important aspects were tiredness but also st.u.r.diness . Not in a sense of a lot of muscles but in a sense that each step taken was not shaky even if the miner was tired .

With that set up, I went forward to cross the gate . At the gate, one of the guards looked at me but then averted his sight . He believed that I was a miner and therefore gave me a break . I was now inside the village and had one thing I had to do . Find the place where this so called young master lived at .

With that set up, I went forward to cross the gate . At the gate, one of the guards looked at me but then averted his sight . He believed that I was a miner and therefore gave me a break . I was now inside the village and had one thing I had to do . Find the place where this so called young master lived at .

I didn't believe it would be difficult, after all the whole village knew about this cerebration . After searching for a while, I found the place where Senty and her future husband lived . I didn't immediately infiltrate it . I wanted to spend some time to learn the movements of guards and gain better understanding of the surroundings .

I watched the guards that were patrolling the mansion and noticed a pattern after about an hour . The guards would do one or two circles around the mansion and then stop in front of the main gate to speak with the guards on duty there .

I could use this to sneak in . If I had to deal with 2 guards instead of 4, it would be much more simple . I also couldn't eliminate the other guards because the ones at the main entrance would suspect something . I would have to sneak in while only 2 guards were at the main entrance and also when the other patrolling guards were behind the mansion .

I suspected that there might be some people with similar skills to that of the guy I killed that used to monitor me in the Horseplain Village . I would just have to watch out for them . The first thing was to infiltrate the mansion and find out the layout as well as location of several people . I needed to know where the so called young master's bedroom was and where was Senty's bedroom . It would also help to know where was the chief's bedroom as well as other rooms that I would like to avoid .

I suspected that there might be some people with similar skills to that of the guy I killed that used to monitor me in the Horseplain Village . I would just have to watch out for them . The first thing was to infiltrate the mansion and find out the layout as well as location of several people . I needed to know where the so called young master's bedroom was and where was Senty's bedroom . It would also help to know where was the chief's bedroom as well as other rooms that I would like to avoid .

Knowing the layout would also help me with my escape route, I wouldn't have to run aimlessly in case I was found out . When I saw the guards leave, I waited for couple of minutes and then used speak as well as some trees to jump over the tall fence that surrounded the mansion .

I was going the opposite direction to that of the patrolling guards . That meant I would encounter them sooner or later . I needed to hide or at least find a place before they can spot me . I searched the area near me and found a small orchard not far away from the fence that I jumped over .

I hid in the trees of the orchard and waited for the patrol to pa.s.s me . It took about 10 minutes for them to get there and it would take another 5 to get to the main entrance, where they would converse with the other two guards a bit .

After they left, I moved towards the mansion . There were other stationary guards that guarded other entrances to the mansion . The security was quite good here but I guessed that this was the case due to the people living in this mansion . There was no easy entry to the mansion, so I would need to take care of one guard . I circled the mansion and saw couple of doors protected by guards . The problem was that the patro would be able to spot the missing guard if I took care of him, doesn't matter which door he guarded .

I hid in the trees of the orchard and waited for the patrol to pa.s.s me . It took about 10 minutes for them to get there and it would take another 5 to get to the main entrance, where they would converse with the other two guards a bit .

After they left, I moved towards the mansion . There were other stationary guards that guarded other entrances to the mansion . The security was quite good here but I guessed that this was the case due to the people living in this mansion . There was no easy entry to the mansion, so I would need to take care of one guard . I circled the mansion and saw couple of doors protected by guards . The problem was that the patro would be able to spot the missing guard if I took care of him, doesn't matter which door he guarded .

I would have to bypa.s.s the guards which if I could meld into the shadows would be very easy or find another way in . There were some windows at the ground floor of the mansion, but all of them were closed, I had no equipment to climb to the 2nd or 3rd floor where some windows were opened .

My options were very limited here . I a.s.sumed that during the day, a lot of windows would be open but at the same time, loads of people would be around . If they had so many guards which was 8 and that was only outside the mansion . I had no way of knowing how many guards were there inside .

The next day, Rand and others would arrive and my timeframe would get even shorter . I just needed to do the poison and that was that . I decided to rest for now and return very early in the morning . I would watch the mansion and decide my course of action .

I knew that Rand and others would not arrive in the morning, so I still had loads of time . If worse comes to worst, I still had time during the wedding ceremony which would be held in couple of days . For now I need to rest and be ready tomorrow . If I can't find a way to get inside or it's too risky, I will need to do something at the ceremony otherwise my plans would go to waste .

We traveled whole day according to the map and late in the afternoon, we finally managed to arrive at the village . I was a bit nervous when it came to Sh.e.l.ly . I didnt want anyone to see it because people then can recognise me . I had to either smuggle Sh.e.l.ly somehow inside or make it wait outside . The later was much more simple than the former . I said to Sh.e.l.ly You will have to wait 2 or 3 days for me . Its too hard to smuggle you into the village without anyone noticing . Sh.e.l.ly was not happy about that and pulled on my trousers . I said There is no way around that . I will return for you, I promise . Sh.e.l.ly seemed to be reluctant to let go but after struggling a bit, it managed to calm down and agreed to that . Before I parted ways with Sh.e.l.ly, I said Hide somewhere near but make sure that hunters cannot find you . If someone tries to attack you, just run . I will be back in couple of days and we shall meet in this area . Sh.e.l.ly nodded its head and I left towards the Gra.s.shill Village . At the entrance to the village I noticed couple of guards . The people were coming in and going out of the village constantly . I looked at the behaviours of different people and noticed some paters . Usually wealthy people were not stopped and pheasants or poor people were stopped once in a while . The guard asked these type of people some questions which I could only a.s.sume were about reason for entry and so on . The entrance was too far from my location to be able to hear the actual questions but due to situation and the people that were stopped, I could kind of guess what type of questions they would ask . After watching people going in and out for about 30 minutes, I decided to copy a behaviour of a miner . Miner was not wealthy but as a worker that contributed for the village they were rarely searched or questioned . I didnt have a pickaxe but not every miner that walked through the gate had . It was the air and look of a miner I was after . I used some soil to make my hands as well as my face dirty . Then I copied the airs of a miner . It wasnt very difficult after all the training I did and the most important aspects were tiredness but also st.u.r.diness . Not in a sense of a lot of muscles but in a sense that each step taken was not shaky even if the miner was tired . With that set up, I went forward to cross the gate . At the gate, one of the guards looked at me but then averted his sight . He believed that I was a miner and therefore gave me a break . I was now inside the village and had one thing I had to do . Find the place where this so called young master lived at . I didnt believe it would be difficult, after all the whole village knew about this cerebration . After searching for a while, I found the place where Senty and her future husband lived . I didnt immediately infiltrate it . I wanted to spend some time to learn the movements of guards and gain better understanding of the surroundings . I watched the guards that were patrolling the mansion and noticed a pattern after about an hour . The guards would do one or two circles around the mansion and then stop in front of the main gate to speak with the guards on duty there . I could use this to sneak in . If I had to deal with 2 guards instead of 4, it would be much more simple . I also couldnt eliminate the other guards because the ones at the main entrance would suspect something . I would have to sneak in while only 2 guards were at the main entrance and also when the other patrolling guards were behind the mansion . I suspected that there might be some people with similar skills to that of the guy I killed that used to monitor me in the Horseplain Village . I would just have to watch out for them . The first thing was to infiltrate the mansion and find out the layout as well as location of several people . I needed to know where the so called young masters bedroom was and where was Sentys bedroom . It would also help to know where was the chiefs bedroom as well as other rooms that I would like to avoid . Knowing the layout would also help me with my escape route, I wouldnt have to run aimlessly in case I was found out . When I saw the guards leave, I waited for couple of minutes and then used speak as well as some trees to jump over the tall fence that surrounded the mansion . I was going the opposite direction to that of the patrolling guards . That meant I would encounter them sooner or later . I needed to hide or at least find a place before they can spot me . I searched the area near me and found a small orchard not far away from the fence that I jumped over . I hid in the trees of the orchard and waited for the patrol to pa.s.s me . It took about 10 minutes for them to get there and it would take another 5 to get to the main entrance, where they would converse with the other two guards a bit . After they left, I moved towards the mansion . There were other stationary guards that guarded other entrances to the mansion . The security was quite good here but I guessed that this was the case due to the people living in this mansion . There was no easy entry to the mansion, so I would need to take care of one guard . I circled the mansion and saw couple of doors protected by guards . The problem was that the patro would be able to spot the missing guard if I took care of him, doesnt matter which door he guarded . I would have to bypa.s.s the guards which if I could meld into the shadows would be very easy or find another way in . There were some windows at the ground floor of the mansion, but all of them were closed, I had no equipment to climb to the 2nd or 3rd floor where some windows were opened . My options were very limited here . I a.s.sumed that during the day, a lot of windows would be open but at the same time, loads of people would be around . If they had so many guards which was 8 and that was only outside the mansion . I had no way of knowing how many guards were there inside . The next day, Rand and others would arrive and my timeframe would get even shorter . I just needed to do the poison and that was that . I decided to rest for now and return very early in the morning . I would watch the mansion and decide my course of action . I knew that Rand and others would not arrive in the morning, so I still had loads of time . If worse comes to worst, I still had time during the wedding ceremony which would be held in couple of days . For now I need to rest and be ready tomorrow . If I cant find a way to get inside or its too risky, I will need to do something at the ceremony otherwise my plans would go to waste .