I part ways with Sylwia soon after. After finishing my beer in fact, for which I take a little longer than usual, as it isn't my first today. And I don't want to build a reputation as an irresponsible drunkard or even just drinker. I leave because I don't want to pick up any jobs for tonight.

My first order of business, once the sun sets for good, is a quick visit to the temple. A sacrifice of a few drops of blood may be personal and good enough to consecrate a little shrine out in the wilds of the frontier. It doesn't earn me any Karma though. I have the very certain impression that Fox wants to see cold hard coin, or at least other valuable items, in exchange for the Karma she gifts us to call upon her favors. And sacrifices like that are better made in town, where there is a proper offering box.

And afterwards I might just go exploring a bit. Or might go and have some fun. I have a little money now after all. Even better, Riverrun has the kind of nightlife where someone like me might just be able to walk away with more money then they came through the door with. I'll have to wait and see though. First things first.

The first stop in this case is the city wall. It's a well practiced routine by now. I wait a while to make sure I won't be noticed by one of the patrols. Then I scale the wall and move on to the first rooftop beyond it almost right away. I squeeze in between two chimneys to survey the rest of the city's rooftops in between me and the temple for a moment while obscuring my own presence.

Once I'm moderately certain that there will be no unwelcome surprises I'm off again. My run takes me from roof to roof, across one street or alley after the other. In the end I reach the temple without running into any problems. I'm pretty sure that none of the night watchmen making their rounds down at street level have noticed me either.

I'm quite satisfied with my performance. I'm satisfied with the progress of my skills too. My [Stealth] and [Perception] skills are the most important ones. I'm glad that my [Balance] skill keeps improving little by little too. My other skills, especially [Running] and [Jumping] take a little longer this time around, but in the end they too show a little growth. Possibly this is because this is getting too easy, especially without any competition or opposition?

Maybe I should look into setting up a competitive rooftop parkour? I'm pretty sure that I could talk at least a few others into joining in. Especially if there were a betting pool involved. In fact a betting pool might even make it popular beyond the thieves guild. That might be a little too much though. We don't want to draw too much attention. Oh well, I'll pose the idea to Jerzy and Wiktor once I have the chance. Let's see what they'll say.

First I visit Fox's hidden shrine at the temple though. I climb up and in the window that is the only access point. After dusting my self off briefly, I grab a handful of bronze pennies and drop them into the offering box at the feet of the fox statue here. The effect is immediate.

[*Ding!* Your Karma increased by 5!]

It's as expected. I earn a point of Karma for every penny worth of sacrifice. As the coins tingle in the offering box I can feel my [Sacrifice] skill improve too. Not enough though to earn me a level up. It's fine anyway. I'm not in a hurry after all. I just want to have a little reserve to fuel my healing skill, should I get the chance to train some.

Afterwards I sit down on one of the benches to address my divine sponsor. I do not do so in formal prayer though. Instead I decide to use a casual, more familiar tone.

"Well, Fox, we are back in town. The rat here and its dastardly plot, has been taken care off too as far as I can tell. Will still have to have words with Wiktor and Jerzy to be sure though."

There is no actual reply this time around, but its like I can hear a distant laugh. I have no clue how I can tell, but it somehow sounds encouraging. I take it as a good sign.

"Well, I'm off again. Will do some star gazing. Maybe I'll sniff out a nice secret too."

With a last wave towards the fox statue I'm off again, to do as I have said. The idea to do some star gazing was born of an observation I made on my way to the temple. The night sky is indeed very clear tonight after all and since it's a pretty warm night there is very little smoke from the chimneys of the city too. The moon doesn't outshine the stars either, since there is only a very narrow waning crescent moon up tonight. The conditions are thus pretty good for star gazing.

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The thought of stargazing is no idle fancy either. No, I entertain thoughts about it because I suspect, that I might just find someone else stargazing too. The young lord. That pale boy. And where he is I might find Justyna too. More importantly though, I might get a better look at a certain, mysterious head maid as well.

I have been warned, that she is dangerous. And considering who delivered these warnings I'm inclined to not disregard them. Yet, I'm certain that even a mysterious and dangerous woman like her has to be approachable somehow. Since Justyna already knows me that might just be my chance to get a little closer.

I have to at least try. Maybe I can persuade the head maid to teach me. Or maybe she can at least provide a hint on how exactly I could find admittance to these ominous Towers of Midnight where she supposedly studied.

The way from the temple to the keep is not far. In fact I just have to move around the big open place in between the temple and the keep, to get to a roof from where I'll have a good view of both the keep's walls and the top of the central tower.

I settle in next to one of the chimneys, like the last time I observed the place, and wait. And I do have to wait quite a while. I don't waste my time though. Once more I take careful note of the guards and the routine, to figure out the best way and timing to slip past them. And eventually the wait pays off. Not just because my [Stealth] skill improves some more either.

There he is, the pale young lord. Well, I assume he is a lord and not a lady, despite the fact that he is attended by female servants only. I wouldn't be surprised if this is due to ploy by his father the current lord of Riverrun to get him married to one of the ladies. Neither Justyna nor the mysterious head maid are just servants after all. It certainly isn't the worst way to get your heir to know his future bride. Not by far.

And of course he isn't alone tonight either. There is Justyna, not quite walking at the young boy's side, always just a step or maybe just a half behind him. The head maid, carrying a book follows the duo while keeping a little more distance.

Yes, the longer I look at it, the stronger the impression that I'm seeing the city's future ruling couple under the watchful eyes of a chaperone gets. Except, so far neither Justyna nor the young lord strike me as rulers. Not yet anyway.

I do my best to still my heart and sharpen my senses as I watch the trio atop the keep's tower. They are really stargazing. They are doing so with purpose though. My [Perception] skill improves by a fraction of a level as I strain my senses to catch as much of the conversation as possible. My efforts pay off. I manage to glean enough of the words exchanged to realize that what I'm spying on is a lesson on astronomy.

The head maid provides clues and the book is apparently a star chart of sorts. With her help the two youngsters are able to identify and track constellations and even a few individual stars as well as what I know to be planets. The lesson isn't just about the stars either though. They are learning to accurately identify the turn of the seasons by the appearance and course of the various constellations! Even better, the head maid teaches them to tell the direction according to some mostly fixed stars too!

As the realization strikes me I can feel my [Survival] skill improve a little. I quietly follow their lesson until they are done. At the same time I can't help but wonder if I could maybe get into their good grace by gifting them a telescope.

A simple, primitive telescope is not exactly a complex machine after all. Just a tube, wood or even some rolled up parchment might do, and two lenses. Except, it is of course not quite that simple. The glass for the lenses should be clear enough and they have to be carefully ground. And you can't exactly place them at a random distance either. Some numbers need to be crunched to get it assembled just right.

In the end I have to admit that right now creating even a simple telescope is probably beyond my abilities. I resolve to not just forget about it though. A telescope, especially a simple, lightweight and easy to handle one, has uses beyond stargazing after all. And even if I can't build one myself I should still look into the possibility of buying one. Once I have the necessary money of course. I doubt it'll be cheap.

I'm still lost in thought about telescopes when I get to experience something truly bone chilling. One moment I'm gazing up at the stars. The next I lock gazes with the head maid.

Her gaze is something else entirely! It's like its cutting straight to the bone, seeing through me like I#m an open book. There isn't the telltale tingle, or worse, signaling an identification skill being used on me, but at the same time I receive a notification that leaves no doubt that I'm on the receiving end of a skill like that.

[*Ding!* Your skill shrouded Soul has leveled up to level 3!]

This first notification is immediately followed by two more and the by now very familiar clatter of dice.

[*Ding!* Your class Masked Mediator leveled up to level 5!]

[*Clatter!* Your Health increased by 4!]

I'd rejoice at the easy level up, except right now I feel like I'm being watched by a very dangers predator. It's bad enough to make my [Danger Sense] progress a little towards its next level up too.

Every fiber in my body is screaming at me to get up and run. At the same time though none of my muscles want to obey me. Even the smallest of movements take considerable, conscious effort.

In the end I manage to not give in to the part of my mind that is scared beyond reason and run. With effort I get up and sketch a little silent bow, with my hands folded in a gesture of apology, in the direction of the head maid.

I'm pretty sure neither Justyna nor the young lord are aware of my presence even mow as I get up and leave, at a measured pace. At the same time I'm pretty certain that I can still feel that woman's gaze burning into my back. I think I get now why others think she is scare. The simple truth is, she is scary!

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