18 Entering the warehouse

As Finn followed the meat salesman out and down the street he was told the cause of the issue.

Two nights ago, giant rats had somehow broken into the basement of his warehouse near the harbor. Mortimer had been storing half his current stock of preserved meat in the warehouse, but now it had been overrun with giant rats.

Listening to the story, Finn found out that the unfortunate merchant had gone to the city guard first, but they had sent him to the mercenaries guild. They had enough on their plates just trying to maintain order and breaking up fights.

'Anyway, I need you to take care of all the rats so I can get the place cleaned up, repaired and fortified against future break-ins' Mortimer finished as they arrived at the warehouse.

The building was two stories high, with a basement underground. Like the surrounding buildings it was made of wood and had a pitched roof. Finn had heard on the way that the second floor only was on one side, and it was where the office was, the other side took up over two thirds of the space was just a large room with a high ceiling. The large room was the primary storage room where boxes of preserved meat were stacked and stored.

Finn noticed that the main entrance had been boarded up with a warning sign nailed to it. He would have to find another way in. The city guards wouldn't be happy if the door was opened and rats poured out into the street.

'Is there another way in?' asked Finn.

'There is a back door, but it probably open up right where the rats would be.' Looking apologetic, Mortimer continued, 'Apart from that, the office on the second floor has several windows, if you can reach them that might work.'

'Thanks, I'll figure something out.' Finn declared, trying to seem confident as he examined the building again. If he was one of those fully armored dwarves, covered head to toe in steel and wielding a battle axe, going in the back door would have been fine. As it was, Finn was only human and could hardly lift a battle axe, those things were heavy. No, he needed to enter from the second floor, having the high ground would definitely be the best.

Walking around the building, Finn noticed that one of the neighboring buildings was a small shed. He hadn't seen it from the main road because it was hidden behind the warehouse.

It was a single story structure, and it's roof was a bit lower than the office windows Finn needed to access.

'That might work,' thought Finn, as he walked over to hav a closer look.

Outside the shed was piles of broken crates and shelves. It seemed like this was where Mortimer's workers dumped anything in the warehouse that broke.

Finn started moving the trash and bits of wood up against the shed. Then standing on his improvised pile he reached the edge of the roof. Swinging a foot up, and scrambling a little when the pile suddenly shifted, Finn clambered up onto the shed's roof.

It was a feat completely lacking in grace or dignity, and Finn was thankful Mortimer had left earlier.

The roof wasn't as steeply slanted as some of the residential buildings nearby, and Finn managed to make it to its highest point.

Checking his equipment to make sure nothing had been dropped, he paused for a while to prepare for the next step.

Looking at the window he needed to get to, Finn got excited. Climbing was quite fun, he hadn't done it much since he was a kid climbing the trees near the market square.

The alley between the two buildings was only five feet wide. With Finn's hight it would be easy to just lean forward and catch himself on the wall on the other side. Being suspended between the two buildings wouldn't be that helpful though as he would need to either open or smash the window.

Taking a running jump, Finn launched himself at the window. Bringing a foot forward mid jump, he managed to land it on the windowsill. The rest of his momentum sent his upper body crashing against the top of the window frame.

Scrambling for something to hold onto before he would start falling, his hands gripped the window frame tightly.

Getting a good grip, Finn pulled himself in against the window and found a perch for his other foot. Finally feeling a little safer, he glanced down at the alley below. Falling wouldn't have killed him, but it would definitely be painful.

Carefully maintaining his grip, Finn swung one foot out before bringing it back in a kick at the glass.

This smashed a hole in the window which Finn awkwardly used to stick his foot through and lift the latch. Now unlocked, Finn maneuvered to the side carefully and hooked his foot to pull the window open. Swinging his body in through the open window, Finn had made it in.

The first thing Finn did was pull out a dagger as he scanned the room for enemies. Breathing a sigh of relief, it seemed the rats hadn't found the office yet.

The room was neatly organized. A desk was in the middle with a comfortable chair, some shelves on either side with financial records stacked neatly and labeled by month and year. There was a painted portrait of what Finn assumed was Mortimer's grandfather, painted to seem like he was looking sternly down at the viewer.

The desk had an open leather folder with a few sheets of paper covered in writing, an inkwell and some writing quills.

Putting away the dagger, Finn started winding up his crossbow. Selecting a broadhead bolt, he readied it carefully. When he was ready, he walked quietly towards the closed door.

As he passed the desk, Finn glanced at the papers and something caught his eye. Now Finn didn't consider himself a nosy person, but he couldn't help but pause for a moment with interest.