Chapter 5: Walking Through Walls

The reports and gossip working its way through the city was about another theft. It was like all the other recent ones, the thief had entered a locked room and then left. There were no signs he had used doors, windows or other means to enter the rooms. All the thefts were in old noble manors or what had been old noble manors. Since it was noble manors I had no way to examine the sites.

It was a nice day and I was enjoying watching the women walk by. I was sitting at a small outside table on the edge of that part of the market that was mostly for women. I had a mug of warmed cider the waitress kept refilling. The richly dressed magister sat across from me and I glanced away from a pretty young maid. He smiled, “She is pretty.”

I grinned, “They are all pretty.”

He grinned and glanced into the marketplace before looking at me, “The king has asked that you look into the matter of these recent thefts.”

I sat back, “I would need to look at the rooms he broke into.”

He shook his head, “He did not break into them. It is like he walked through the walls.”

I smiled, “Still, I would need to see them.”

The magister nodded, “Done.”

I looked into the market place, “The items stolen have not been sold at any of the fences in the city.”

He looked at me and I grinned, “I have checked.”

He nodded, “Mostly it has been gold but also valuable family relics.”

I sipped my cider and then sighed and stood. I turned as the waitress approached and handed her a silver coin, “thank you.”

She grinned and kissed me before clutching the coin and rushing back into the small shop. I glanced at the magister who was smiling, “I will start with Duke Weist.”

He stood and gestured to a young page standing by a shop, “This is Samuel, my page. I would like it if he accompanied you.”

I glanced at him, “As long as he does not get in the way.”

I watched the magister walk away and glanced at the page, “Come along youngster.”

When I reached the large manor of the duke it took an hour before I was let in to see him. He barely glanced at me, “The king wants the thief found but I doubt we could hold him if he can walk through walls.”

I smiled, “May I see the room he took everything from?”

He gestured to a guard and I followed him through the old house. The room he unlocked had a guard beside the door. I walked into the room and stood in the center before slowly turning. I ignored the guards and the page and went to tap on the walls. I found what I was looking for beside the small fireplace. I began checking old fixtures and decorations.

A few minutes later I found the catch. There was a slight click and I used my fingers to open the hidden door. I glanced in and turned to pull a small lantern down. The duke appeared beside me as I started to enter, “I never knew this was here.”

I smiled as I moved into the passageway, “This is an old manor my lord and back then times were hard.”

He snorted and fell in behind me, the passageway turned and descended in steep stairs. We came to another wall and I reached for a small lever on the right. There was another click and I pushed the door open. We walked into the duke’s large kitchen where his servants backed away wide eyed.

I nodded and looked at the cook, “You had a helper that has not returned. What was his name and what did he look like?”

She looked at the duke, “Jessup lord.”

The duke snorted, “Figures. He is the bastard of Baron Tan.”