Chapter 3

The problem of where to get the money to continue their revolt was really bothering Aelinor. Finally, she decided to go to the fount of all wisdom, Armor, how are we going to get the money to pay for our revolution? This is going to cost more than common people can afford.

There is a solution, but there is some risk associated with it. Back in the 20^th century, a common way for revolutionaries to pay for their activities was to steal the money from the people they were fighting. The Irish Republican Army was especially famous for this. Their specialty was robbing banks. I know that banks no longer exist, so you will have to look elsewhere for the hoard of money you can grab. I suggest that the home of the local ruler should have a supply that you can tap.

I have no idea where to look for the money after we break in. At this early stage in our operations, we don't want to attract too much attention. So we don't want to tear up the house looking for the money. I could knock the walls down with the fire balls, but that would be sure to attract notice. How can we find out where the money is hidden?

I suggest that you and Brad go into Newberry and try to find whoever has the job as housekeeper. She can certainly tell you where she is not allowed to go, even it she can't pinpoint the location of the money for you.

That's an excellent idea. I'll ask Stan and Joe if they happen to know where to find it. If they do, then the job just got easier, but, if they don't, I'll ask Brad to go into town with me, tomorrow.

"Stan, this is Aelinor. Can we talk, now?"

"Aelinor. Yes, I am in my kitchen, and there is no one else around. What can I do for you?"

"Armor has suggested that we pay for what we need for the revolution by stealing it from the Glaxoi. I want to raid the house of the ruler of Newberry; do you know where he keeps his treasure?"

"I heard that it was stored in the cellar, but I don't know anything else."

"OK, thank you. I'll ask Joe. I'll get back to you as soon as I have something to go on. Goodnight."

"Joe, this is Aelinor. Can we talk, now?"

"Aelinor, this is Joe. Sure, go ahead."

"Armor has suggested that we pay for what we need for the revolution by stealing it from the Glaxoi. I want to raid the house of the ruler of Newberry; do you know where he keeps his treasure?"

"I don't know for sure, but it is reliably rumored that he keeps it in a locked room in his cellar. If he is as stupid as you think, that would be the first place that I would look."

"Stan said the same thing. Are you confident enough of the rumor to stage a raid on the cellar to try to get some of the money?"

"Yes, I am. Actually, even if we don't get any money, I would feel like we had accomplished something just by breaking into his house. When can we go?"

"If Stan and Brad agree, we can go tomorrow night. I'll let you know in more detail as soon as I talk to them."

"Brad, this is Aelinor. Can we talk, now?"

"Aelinor, sure, go ahead."

"Armor suggested that we get the money we need for the revolution by stealing it from the Glaxoi. Stan and Joe think that the ruler of Newberry keeps his treasure in a room in his cellar. Are you willing to join in an attempt to steal as much as we can get away with tomorrow night?"

"That's a great idea! Count me in. What is your plan?

"We can meet tomorrow morning and walk to Newberry just like we did the last time. We can kill the rest of the day wandering around town and meet at Stan's house at 9:00 PM. The four of us can then sneak up to the ruler's house and break in. We'll play it by ear after that."

"That's a pretty skimpy plan, but it should work, considering the reputed stupidity of the Glaxoi. OK, I'll wait here for you to show up."

"Remember, I don't need much sleep, so I'll see you about daylight. Goodnight for now."

Aelinor called Stan and Joe back and got their agreement to the plan. Stan said that he could furnish the tools necessary to accomplish the breakin. Aelinor got her 2 hours of sleep and spent the rest of the time talking to Armor about what life was like before the arrival of the Glaxoi.

Aelinor had made up a carrying sack to simulate pregnancy, so she was able to carry Brad's lunch for him very conveniently by putting it there. She also used the sack as her purse. They walked to Newberry unmolested, though Aelinor had been eyed by some soldiers until they saw her faked pregnancy. They got into town with less difficulty, this time. Apparently, that officious officer of the guard had other things to do, so there was only a sergeant there, and he waved them through the gate without more that a nodded greeting.

They spent the day wandering around Newberry, getting to know the streets, especially those around the ruler's house. Fortunately, as contrasted to what they would have encountered at a castle, the soldiers and official guards were quartered 4 blocks away, practically on the other side of town. They could count on a delay in help arriving once their presence had been discovered.

Brad spotted a door that looked like it led directly to the cellar. That would be their point of attack. It was not guarded during the day, hopefully the same would hold true for the night. Two sentries walked a beat around the house, their paths crossed at front and back. The entrance they were interested in was in the side of the house, so they would never have more than one sentry to worry about at any one time, up until they were discovered, that is.

Nine o'clock came, and the raiding party left for the burglary, probably the most daring burglary in the last 1,000 years, if not longer. Being amateurs at the practice, they probably were much more furtive than they needed to be, since they did not see anyone else the whole trip between Stan's house and their target.

Brad had noticed that the lock hasp and hinges were held on by screws with the heads on the outside of the door. Another mark of the intelligence of the Glaxoi. They timed the passage of the sentries and found that they had 15-20 minutes to get the door open and to get inside before the next sentry came around. This was plenty of time, and they had the door open and were down the steps in only 12 minutes. They had closed the door, but there was no way to pull the hasp back into place from the inside; they just hoped that the lazy sentry would not examine the door when he passed by.

Naturally, it was very dark in the cellar at night, but they had brought torches along in anticipation of that. They lit a torch and started looking around, not knowing exactly what they would find. They were standing in a sort of hallway with doors which opened off to either side. The only thing to do was to open each door and see what was on the other side.

The first door they opened was to a room apparently used for storing potatoes (and rats). They tried the eight doors and found that only one of them was locked. All of the other rooms were used for storing various things, but none of them were the treasure that they were looking for. They were forced to conclude that the store room with the locked door was the one holding the treasure.

The door was locked with an internal bolt. They did not have a key, and none of them knew how to pick a lock. However, Armor came to the rescue by quickly teaching Aelinor the rudiments of lock picking. They fiddled around and were able to cobble up some lock-picking tools good enough to open the lock they were contending with. Aelinor had the lock picked in about 15 minutes, pretty good, considering that this was her first time.

They opened the door and there it was! There were 23 leather and canvas bags arranged on shelves. Stan squeezed through one of the bags and announced that there were, indeed, coins inside. They loaded up with all of the bags that they could carry and left the room, carefully closing the door. They were carrying 12 of the 23 bags.

When they got to the exterior door, Aelinor put down her bags and carefully peeked out of the door, looking for the sentry. While they waited for him to walk past, they discussed their options. They decided that this had been so easy that they would come back for the rest of the bags this same night. Finally, the sentry came by. When he had rounded the corner of the building, they made their way from the cellar and carried their load to Stan's house. They stacked their bags in a closet and went back for their final load.