I completely lost track of time, almost forgetting why I even came here tonight.
Vera will have me hanged by the balls.
I take the stairs leading to the second floor where the sleeping quarters are. The halls are empty here, too.
Thankfully, with my head empty of lust, I can be extremely efficient.
Feet quiet, I check each door as I pass. Quickly, I scan the rooms that all reek of luxury and, in my opinion, poor taste.
Nobleman Uringi must be compensating for something really hard.
I can only guess what.
Finally, I approach the very last door at the end of the corridor. I open the sliding door to find a wall of large windows.
This is it.
Uringi’s bedroom.
Of course, as expected, this room is even more pompous than all the others.
The floors are black marble with white stitching, tall walls covered in heavy silk canvases that portray war.
I pause by one and snort. What does this gluttonous, grumpy noble know of war?
He even has a pair of elaborate Ezkai swords hanging on one of the walls together with a white-and-black mask.
I can’t help but chuckle.
I’m curious to snoop around to see what embarrassing secrets I can find, but there’s no time for indulgence.
I open a door on the right wall. It leads to a private washroom that’s almost as large as the bedroom.
Quickly, I cross the room to open the door on the left. It’s locked.
Jackpot.
I get on one knee.
It’s no regular lock, though. Instead of the handle, there’s a statue of a gold dragonbird. Its feathery wings are spread out, long thin body pressed to the door.
“Ah,” I sigh.
Kugi was wrong after all. Not all nobles are careless with how they store their artifacts.
This won’t be as easy as I hoped.
I look around the room. Considering Uringi shows little signs of intelligence, he probably hides the special key somewhere in his bedroom.
He strikes me as a man who’d be too lazy to go somewhere else to look for it.
I roam the room and check each box, drawer, book, statue, and other knickknacks, looking for a hiding spot.
Time’s ticking. Sweat drips down my spine.
The laughter, music, and chatter come from downstairs. I pause. The bedroom is just above the lounge where the party is taking place.
At first, I freeze. But then remember that no way they can hear steps through all that noise.
