After a vigorous swim upstream, Renae found herself drenched in the somewhat foul-smelling water from the river which flowed under Melchior castle’s drawbridge. Shivering, she wrung out her braid and soaked clothes. If that hadn’t been exhausting enough, she also had to scale the cliff to make her way to the castle window. Granted, she had practiced this route before to ensure its reliability, but it remained the most tedious part of the plan. Her calloused hands and feet ached, and her shivering worsened with every passing moment. As she approached the high window, she patted the ground underneath it carefully. She squinted as she quietly searched for the bag that she had planted here during her last visit. Feeling the rough material of the sack, she untied its drawstrings and grabbed the change of clothes.

“Can’t have them following wet footsteps now, can we?” she smirked.

She quietly began changing into dry clothes and then put on a cropped cloak. Renae reached for her trusty lockpicks from the pockets of her wet clothes and transferred them to her dry ones. She also grabbed the lockpicks which she had bought from Odel and concealed them in her damp braid. She took out the knives hidden within her sleeves and then sheathed them again, nodding in satisfaction. After shoving her damp clothes in the bag, she tied its drawstrings once again, and then threw it down the cliff.

Taking a deep breath, she carefully straightened her body and stood on the balls of her feet as she peeked through the window. She heard the clamoring and ambience of the servants from the dining area down the hall and felt a tinge of jealousy as she smelled the mouthwatering aromas of a meaty stew. To the left, the hall continued, and she saw several doors, noting that the first one in sight must be the door to the library that Sera mentioned prior. Noticing that there was no one in the hallway, because everyone was eating delicious food, Renae mustered up the strength in her tired arms and heaved herself up. As her feet hit the ground, her blood ran cold as she heard a bell ring.

“Already?!” she heard a voice complain, alongside several others as they steadily became louder.

Cussing under her breath, she immediately turned to open the door to the library, only to find the damned thing locked. Normally, she wouldn’t mind picking a lock if she had time to do so, but hearing grumbling guards steadily approaching, she realized she had to find a different solution fast. She rushed to the end of the hall and peeked around the corners, seeing chattering guards. Feeling cornered, she bit her lip in thought and rushed back to the window. She accidentally bumped into a side table, almost knocking over a glass vase which sat atop a wooden slab, covered by a large red cloth. She took a deep breath as she crouched down quickly and positioned herself under the table, her thoughts praising her tininess. Renae felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she heard the guards march past her hiding place, prattling on about their love lives and sexual fantasies. As the hallway quieted, Renae peeked out from under the cloth and crept out of her hiding place, noting that she could easily hide there again if needed.