Wrong Side of Heaven, Righteous Side of Hell

Garrett slid the bolt in place over his door then turned the knob and forced his shoulder against the door to test its strength. Not that he expected anyone to come barreling in but luck certainly favors the prepared. The jam creaked a little but overall it held solid.

Garrett emptied his rucksack onto the bed and selected the unstrung bow he had disguised as a walking stick. He picked the bow string out of its hiding spot in one of the pockets. After a few minutes the bow was restrung and ready for use.

He turned the bow over in his hands, admiring the dark wood. It was the last thing Senior had left him. He ran his thumb over the worn spot where Senior’s hand, which was still slightly bigger than his own, used to rest. It would need to be retired soon, the wood was beginning to splinter in places but Garrett had felt it deserved just one more job. He blocked out any memories of Senior and forced himself to dress without thinking about his death.

He needed to focus on the work ahead. He couldn’t be clouded by negative emotions and pangs of the past.

When he had finished donning his black clothing and armor, he attached his quill and hooked the bow to his back. He then packed the rucksack back up and slipped it into the floorboards he had pried up earlier. He slid the boards in place and dropped the shabby carpet over them. It wouldn’t hold forever, and someone with a mind that worked like his might think to look there but at least it would give him some peace of mind while he was out and about.

He intended to be gone by tomorrow night anyway.

He tried the window and frowned when it refused to budge. He ran his fingers over the creases that had been painted over but he didn’t feel any nailheads or indents from a hammer. He pulled out a short pry bar and slashed it over the crease. It gave way easily and he stabbed the pry bar under the cill and used it to shimmy the window up. It took a bit of elbow grease but eventually the window was open enough for him to crawl through.

He was careful stepping out onto the ledge, as he wasn’t sure how long it would support his weight though it seemed sturdy enough. He slowly unfolded to his full height and latched onto the ledge of the window above him. There were a few more floors between him and the top of the building but with his training he was up the side of the building and on the roof without breaking a sweat.

He settled into a crouch and surveyed the buildings around him. The city before him was all at once familiar and foreign. He unfolded the map that had been provided for him. It wasn’t incredibly detailed but now that he was in Dunwall the buildings matched up well. His objective was relatively clear.

He had unintentionally picked his hideout well. It was almost smack dab in the middle between the job and the end goal. He was slightly uncomfortable with the instructions but for the payout but he wasn’t going to argue. Still, he prefered drop locations as opposed to actually meeting his clientele in person. Typically that was Basso’s area. But since his fence was stuck back in the City, Garrett was going to have to be his own liaison. And didn’t that make him uncomfortable.

Garrett didn’t deal with people well. He’d always been a quiet, sarcastic child and adults look down on that. Well... Senior thought he was funny, but he didn’t count. Senior wasn’t what people would call a “conventional” guardian. And honestly, Garrett wasn’t convinced the man had been human.

Thanks to Garrett’s upbringing, he had no filter.

He sighed and pulled out a rope arrow. He knew this job was going too smooth. He’d piss off his client, he was sure of it. Maybe it wouldn’t matter but then, you never knew with those “refined” types. They loved to smile at your face while sinking a knife into your back.

At least with poor folks you knew where you stood. They didn’t have time for all those ridiculous games.

Garrett tracked a fair path and loosed a rope arrow at a beam above him. He snatched the other end of the rope midair and tucked the bow back in place.

Whatever. He would handle some discomfort, after all, he was more than capable.

He lifted his weight onto the rope, when he was confidant it and the beam wouldn’t snap, he began his assent.

XXX

Garrett smiled at the bracelet perched on a royal blue velvet pillow, on a stand in the middle of the room. This was too easy. The guards had been minimal or unaware, there was no type of alarm system, no birds or dogs, the locks were easily cracked, and the trinket he had come for was out in the open.

Rich folks and their damn pride.

That would be their downfall.

Trouble was… As Garrett examined the pedestal a trickle of suspicion stilled his hands. There was something, right? There had to be some kind of alarm on the bracelet dripping with rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, inlaid with both silver and gold, polished to perfection.

But no… something felt… off.

Unless some careless servant put it up without activating anything? Could he be so lucky?

He made a sweep around the stand and saw nothing out of the ordinary. But then traps aren’t meant to be easy to see. He checked the pillow, being careful not to actually touch the thing. Nothing. He dropped to the floor, examining the breaks for abnormalities. No. He glared at the ceiling, then the walls, then the door frames. But everywhere he looked, there was nothing he could detect.

So why was he suddenly paranoid?

A sudden chill on his neck had him across the room and on top of a bookshelf within the span of a few heartbeats. His eyes scanned the room but it was empty.

Which was odd… his instincts were usually spot on.

And his instincts were telling him that someone was watching him, not only that but that someone had been in the room with him, even if they weren't currently. Someone had been in here… hadn't they?

He remained still as a statue, only moving to breathe. He shut his eyes and focused on the sounds in the room, the creaking of the floor outside where the guards were patrolling. An odd humming emerged from somewhere in the room and he turned his ear in that direction.

Was it some sort of machine or the heat tunneling in from the pipes? If it was, he was wasting time but he still couldn't make the nagging sensation in the back of his mind quiet, so he stayed put. He opened his eyes slowly and cocked his head to the side when he found the source of the noise.

A large circular charm was hung on the wall above the fireplace, it looked old and it had a design scribed on it. It resembled something similar to a bird's eye and it made Garrett very uncomfortable, which was crazy. It was just a trinket. Still something about it made Garrett feel ill at ease.

The door flung open and a guard marched in. He surveyed the room, though not thoroughly, thank god. And marched back out, grumbling as he went, “I put in an order for new boots the other day. What did I get instead? A sock. A single lousy sock!”

As the door whispered shut Garrett smiled, “well that's what you get for working for blue bloods.”

He dropped off the bookshelf and found himself over by that odd wall hanging. He wasn’t even sure why he was... Yes, drawn to it.

The thing seemed to thrum louder but that was crazy. It was just a trinket. Going against his better judgment but not able to stop himself he plucked the thing from the wall and turned it over in his hands. It looked ordinary enough but the more he held it the more antsy he felt. The unease rolled off the thing in waves and curiosity had Garrett pocketing it.

Whatever this was, he wanted it. Even though he still didn’t know why.

As he glanced up the room faded to a curious shade of grey. All the color leached out of the room slowly save for a symbol carved crudely into the pedestal. Garrett dropped to a crouch and waved a hand in front of his eyes, dread unfurling in his gut. He wouldn’t be able to cope with losing his vision. How had it happened so quickly?

Garrett forced himself to calm when he saw his vision hadn’t receded, it simply… changed? Everything was still crisp and clear, the color was just off.

He fished the trinket from his pouch and set it on the floor. Colors slowly came back.

He picked the trinket back up. His world went grey.

Garrett closed his eyes and shook his head at his own stupidity. The trinket was magic. Why he hadn’t figured it out before was anyone’s guess. Senior taught him a little about magic but since he had so little understanding of it himself, there really wasn’t much he could teach.

He snuck around to the front of the pedestal where the sketch glowed a brilliant shade of blue, set inside of a small square. To anyone, it looked like decorative carvings, but there were hundreds of small squares along the face of the pedestal. Playing a hunch, Garrett pressed the one marked and it sunk into the wood freely. The mark disappeared at the same time he heard a subtle click and the symbol transferred to a different square.

So this was the trick.

He plucked away at the tiles until a loud pop-hissssssss shook the pedestal and Garrett bolted back from it incase he had just activated a trap.

Nothing further came from the pedestal for a long moment and Garrett, not wanting to take chances, pulled his bow and a blunt arrow from his quiver. He zeroed in on the trinket and made sure to pull his bow back only half way, it would hit the thing but hopefully it wouldn't damage the bracelet. He backed into the corner and let the arrow fly. It hit the bracelet and sent the pillow flying as well.

The pillow skidded to the corner of the room and the arrow had caught the bracelet so that it tangled around the blunt head.

With more pride than he ought to have, he swept up both items and stashed them on his person.

Another job well done, if he did say so himself.

He slipped from the room, quiet as a soft breeze and ducked under a table as he heard a guard approach. The man whistled a tune as he passed, as though he didn’t have a care in the world.

Yeah well, enjoy it for now, moron. He thought to himself. Once your big boss man finds out that bracelet is missing you’ll be sacked.

A secret smile played on his lips at that happy little fact. He certainly had many perks to his job, didn’t he?

He crept out from under the table and came up to a nearby window. His first stop was his hiding place, to drop off his extra loot, and that was just in case the guy’s guards felt like being thorough and checking his pockets. He wasn’t going to share jack-shit with anyone but Basso, and even he was a stretch.

Then he was headed to Lord Who-gives-an-actual-damn to collect his earnings. For the rest of his life.