Reaching Antronal

For the most part, the rest of the journey was uneventful. Val would tease the others, especially Cosmo. Celeste started to pick up these habits as well, much to the group's dismay.

On arriving at Antronal, they stuck together until they reached the town square. Val was thankful for the company and the help, but it was time to part ways. Celeste was quite saddened by the news, but Val promised to meet up with her at the festival the following week. She now needed to focus on her goal, finding the Hecate earrings. They are valuable because of the rare and priceless gems, but moreso because of the rumors that one could use such gems to communicate with spirits. Val never believed in such things, but those with a lot of time and money tend to believe into whatever they heard.

She was able to track the earrings to Antronal when she set out from Hillcrest, but now she needed to continue investigating. She visited some pubs that were frequented by merchants. She followed any lead that she could, until she finally stuck gold! Or at least found a promising piece of information. There was going to be an auction at Baron Landry's estate.

It would appear that the Baron is quite well known as a broker of sorts for nobles who have fallen on hard times. He would host parties that were really just excuses to sell off precious items with dubious origin. Most nobles would die before they let it be known that they were down on their luck, so confidentiality was the of the utmost importance.

Since the earrings were in transit to this city, it would only make sense that they were also going to be sold off there. Now the trouble was locating them. She couldn't out right buy them, since she didn't have that kind of money on her. So, she will have to steal them before the auction can take place. An idea started to form in her mind. They might just be looking for some additional hands for the night of the party. Perhaps, she could enter as a maid? First, she needed to gather more information, then she can better plan her entry.

The Baron's estate was just outside of the city limits. Val did a quick inspection from afar. It didn't seem like they lacked much internal help, but she noticed the young men hauling goods looked more like temporary staff. This sparked an idea. Why be a maid that will probably have to spend a lot of time at the party, even she could dress as a delivery boy? If she hid her looks a bit, she could most likely pass a lanky boy. Then she would also have a decent excuse to be in the area where the auction items were kept.

Val noticed that no one was really checking on who was coming and going. As long as they were busy, no one spared them a second glance. This will work perfectly for her. The party will be in a couple of days. That will be enough time to gather a disguise. Feeling rather accomplished from her brilliant idea, Val headed back to her lodging to work on her new character. This will be fun, she rarely gets to play a boy.

On her way back, she made sure to get a new set of clothes, a hat, and some additional cloth. They were of rather poor quality to add to the look of a poor, young boy trying to help his family. She also made sure to gather up some dirt as well. She wanted to look like she came from a more rural area. Once she was back in her room, she bound her breasts, tied up her hair under the hat, and tried on her new outfit. Of course, her stance was still too feminine. And maybe if she hunched over a bit, it would more like an insecure youth? This was going to be harder than she thought. But it's fine, she still has a day to practice. She can still watch and observe the young men who are writing outside. She couldn't doubt herself now. She's come too far for that.

For the next day, Val worked on her act. She walked around the market to get some practice in while she could. She got a few stares, but overall, not a terrible result by the end of the day. She approached some of the young men she saw unloading good at Baron Landry's estate. They initially refused to let her join them, but she pulled on their heart strings by spinning a narrative about her ailing mother and her younger siblings who have no one else to rely on. So gullible.

The next day, bright and early, she joined the young men. She helped them gather the remaining goods for the party and auction. Thankfully, they weren't a talkative bunch, otherwise, she feared her voice might falter. Putting on an adolescent boy's voice was possibly the hardest part of the act. But still, it was so thrilling to now be in action. This is what she loved the most about her profession. She really didn't care much for money or precious things. She loved the fear of almost getting caught, and the rush of getting away!