Spell-thief (Completed)

https://www.fairytail-rp.com/t39447p925-job-sign-up-thread#399054

https://www.fairytail-rp.com/t35209-free-form-job


The young woman was in disguised, accompanied only by the suspiciously unusual black cat creature that perched beside her. The reality of the black cat wearing the witch's hat, was an Exceed, from the paw-gloves she wore to the exaggerated tail she had that swished back and forth. Unlike the cat, she was in her undercover attire-- dressed as the nerdy-looking Carly the Sorcerer Weekly journalist.

Of course, who she really was, was another matter entirely. The Elysian Mage had been laying low for a bit after a big heist and regaining strength after many things she had to do. But now she was determined to get back into the field. It was mid-morning as she leaned against one of the walls in the residential district. She was holding a book, reading, but in reality she was doing two things. One, scouting out a potential target she had been hired to rob. The second, to meet her partner in crime. He was a fellow member of Elysium and she was asked to go with him. If anything it would be a good way for her to get to know her fellow members. Still, the best partner she could have was the black cat by her side.

Still, the person they were suppose to meet was told who to expect. While she didn't intend to call him out, she made sure Elysian knew how to identify her in disguise. Her glasses was a key part, but also of Hex the Cat beside her as the cat sat patiently by her side, licking her paws and grooming herself elegantly.

Selina only could hope this person was dependable...

WC: 275

After finishing his patient checkup rounds that day, Faustein had been looking forward to a nice relaxing rest of the day wherein he could lounge around at home, being his usual lazy self. However, it seemed that fate had other plans in store for him. Shortly after he had returned home, he noticed a message from Elysium alerting him to a job he apparently needed to tend to as soon as possible. Furthermore, the notice had mentioned that he would be having a partner on this particular job, a fact that intrigued him since he was usually the solo mage type.

This should be rather intriguing...

He mused as he readied himself for the impending job at a brisk pace, freshening up with a shower, then proceeding to dress up in his usual work outfit, which was basically just his physician-scientist mage outfit, and then gathering the tools of his trade as well. Then, he had headed off and in short order, he had arrived at the specified rendezvous location. Currently, he was strolling around in search of his alleged partner so that they could perhaps have a pre-job strategy meeting. As he strolled around, his medium length, ivory with light green tipped, brush-like spiky hair as well as his long, pristine, physician-scientist's white lab coat fluttering gently about in the air behind him due to the speed of his stride. As he approached closer to the exact spot, his hauntingly effulgent crimson red eyes took in a lone woman leaning up against one of the walls of the residential district while reading a book. She had what seemed to be a black cat dressed in a witch's outfit beside her and the woman herself had the usual attire of a Sorcerer's Weekly reporter, but he knew that to be a disguise...or at least it had said as much in the job memo

Well, it would seem I have found my partner at last...

As he went closer with a leisurely stride, the corner of his thin, firm lips twitched upwards in his usual smirk and he gave her a friendly wave, intending to start things too of the right foot, as it were.

"Greetings, mademoiselle! I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long."

He called out thus to her in his rich, baritone but somehow mellifluous voice, and then stopped a few paces away since he did not know if she was the skittish type or not. He fell silent and observed her as he waited for her response, in whatever form it may come at him.

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OOC:

Italics: Faustein's silent thoughts/inner monologue

Bold w/ Quotes: Faustein's speech out loud

Regular Text: Faustein's actions

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Appearance:

Spoiler:

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WC: 430

Selina continued to read the book, looking at the work of magic she had kept hidden as a casual hand-book to pass the time. She was reading about natures of the souls as was an interesting thing to read, as a witch who kind of dabbled with many forms of magic. It also related to the tarot cards...

But before she got too into it, she heard a voice spoke in her direction. From behind her glasses, it was hard to read her reaction as she lifted her head like a flinch.

The one who had more attention was Hex the cat, who saw the man in the white lab coat approach them. The cat cocked her head, looking at the man with the spikey hair and immediately gave him a judgemental look. There was a moment of silence as it seemed Selina was busy with her read, so Hex was quicker to comment.

"Well, because you speak french you're a nice guy, huh? " Hex replied, always being snappish at men who approached Selina. She had seen too many guys come after Selina, trying to be flirtatious so it made the cat rather uptight when people approached. "Try looking somewhere else for a date, buddy." Hex retorted sassily.

Selina sighed as she closed her book and tucked it away. "Oh, you made it," she replied in a neutral tone. Again, her disguise made it hard to read her reaction. "YOu're... Faust, correct? Thanks for coming. Though I am wondering if you would do well with this kind of... mission? " she asked.

Looking at him, he clearly was a doctor. Not a thief, though it begged to wonder, did Faust know of her profession in the mission. She did have many faces, for cons and infiltration, after all.

WC: 300

Well, that was something he was not expecting...a talking black cat...though since this was Fiore, the kingdom of magic, he supposed that the existence of such curious entities was an eventuality. What surprised him more was that the snarky feline actually thought he was trying to ask its mistress out on a romantic venture. Naturally, this was so far from the truth that he could not help but utter a rumbling laugh before replying, first to the kitty

"A nice man? Whatever gave you that impression, o kleine schwarze katze? Furthermore, such frivolities as the one you are alluding to at present hold no interest for me, I assure you."

He retorted in an equally sassy tone and then smirked momentarily at the snarky kitty before turning to its mistress who had addressed him just then. After giving her a brief salute since she technically was his elder, at least guild wise, he replied

"Indeed I am, and you are...Carly, if I am not mistaken? Or is it...Selina? Now, regarding your doubt, I suppose we will have to see...only Father Time knows the answer to that...So, have you any further data about our target?"

As he spoke, his accent if studied closely could be discerned as a surreal, subtle mix of that of the denizens of Iceberg and that of the residents of Midi. However, since he had worked to minimize its expression over the years, it would take a fairly acute ear to pick it out.

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WC: 237

The long and fancy words, even in another language didn't really impress the cat as she just glared at him. Still, the cat was very snarky by personality and gave the man little to no respect in her response. "Me thinks thoust protest too much," she said with a soft meow to tease the doctor.

Selina had no ear for accents of his origin, which was hard for her to differentiate. Still, he got to the point by referring to her 'true' name, but in a sense, the name she truly identified most-- was luckily one he didn't use.

The name of her identity as the phantom thief witch-- known as "Temperance". He must have known as that was her true alias within the guild. She would have met him at her hideout, the Black Cat Lounge-- but then she would have to deal with Agil and Free there as well. For the time being, she felt it was best to meet her other guildmates outside of there and invite them later after she got to know them. While he did look a bit... odd as a scientist type, she could color him all kinds of shades, but actions spoke louder than looks. She should know, as appearances were never what she made them to be.

"Impressive, either is fine, but I am sure you'll know how to address me in the field when we are actually working," she said as she pointed down the street to a large mansion at the end of the path, marked by a few large towers-- a step below a castle. "The owner of that place, Duke Etrigan, has been a target I been meaning to target. While a home infiltration isn't what I call big fish--"

Hex's ears perked up at the mansion of fish. She gave a happy murr sound and swished her tail.

Selina sighed as she returned to what she was saying. "The goal is to acquire a rare document. A book in his collection. A record of trade he conducts. Not glamorous I know, but I need to get it. That and ... another matter i will see to personally. " she informed, her voice firm and to the facts, not seeming as timid or nerdy as she appeared. "Will you be able to handle breaking into an estate like this? "

Hex sighed, and as she sat there, she raised her paws in dismay. "Somehow I doubt he would be able to steal a lollipop from a baby he gave one already. " she replied.

Faust might be able to see the roll of Selina's eyes from behind her thick glasses.

WC: 444

He laughed briefly as he heard the cat's retort and with an even wider smirk, retorted in return

"Ah, a learned feline, eh?...and one that is rather quick on the draw with those repartees, you intrigue me very much."

He paused while looking at it quizzically and asked

"Oh? You think I am being disingenuous? Then, by all means, feel free to observe me until you are satisfied."

With that, he turned his attention to the cat's mistress, Carly or Selina, as she was also known and nodded while remarking

"Very well, Selina it shall be then. Duke Etrigan, eh? I see...and the target is this rare book you mentioned...glamorous though it may not be, business is still business, I suppose."

At that point, he fell silent while considering what few details about the security system he had gleaned from his earlier perusal of the flier and then continued

"Well, if the equations is limited to only those variables mentioned in the job flier, then it should be a straightforward task...but if any unforeseen variable should enter, then it may become a few degrees greater in complexity...We shall see, I guess."

He looked toward the mansion and then back at her, asking

"Alright then, shall we be off, Selina? The faster we complete this, the lesser the chances of us being detected by unwanted elements, after all."

He smirked as he saw the eye roll she did behind her glasses and then waited to see and hear what would happen next.

---

WC: 243

Of course... the flyer... right," Selina said, her tone only a hint of convincing-- her eyes giving away more truth than that. But that was a topic for later. Luckily he couldn't tell.

I gotta work on my poker face. I'm out of practice, she thought.

"Oh, don't flatter yourself, Doctor Dolittle!" Hex retorted, adding more sass to the party.

Regardless of the Exceed sassy personality, Selina knew better. To act now to break into the house was stupid. She looked to the west to see the sun, still an hour away from sunset. "No. We need to wait. if we strike too soon we will be seen, especially you in that lab coat," she pointed out, adding to Hex's heckling. "We will strike just before dark. Good news is, anything else of the value we are free to take, but that ledure is a priority. Did you get that Hex?" she asked, causing the cat to stop messing around.

"Mreow! You can count on me!" she said with a raise of her gloved paw.

For the moment, they just would need to kill time a bit longer. As they waited, Selina began to pass the time by something that would likely grasp Faust's attention. From seemingly nowhere, as many 'magicians' could do with ease, she produced a few cards and began to twirl them between her fingers. She did fast arcs and flips between her fingers, twirling what appeared to be an elaborate Tarot card with their guild crest marked on the back.

A hint of her magic right there.

WC: 262

He truly did find this black cat of Selina's fascinating, not only because it was a cat, but also because it was the first he had encountered which could match him blow for blow when it came to banter. Naturally, he felt inclined to counter its remark in kind while holding up one, two and then three fingers for the animals

"Ah but you see, the only animals I am good with are cats, foxes, and owls, so I am not quite as open-minded as he."


Then, he turned his attention to Selina who had rejected his proposed plan of attack and nodded in acquiescence

"Fair enough, then that's what we shall do instead."

He said simply and then fell silent since there was now some spare time on his hands. Meanwhile Selina had started to perform a series of card tricks with a stack of cards she had manifested seemingly out of nowhere

Card magic, eh? Well, well...how intriguing indeed...I wonder what other tricks this one has up her sleeves

He mused silently and then manifested one of the more basic spells in his arsenal in return, though with an impassive, almost bored look on his face despite the ghost of a smirk on his thin lips. This one was a simple claw growth spell which allowed him to transform his nails into long, razor sharp, curved and thick claws. He was able to manifest them on all his fingers and toes, but since he was merely playing around, he simply restricted it to his right index finger. Then, he leaned up against the wall opposite Selina nonchalantly and began examining the manifested claw with mild interest.

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OOC:

WC: 280

Appearance:

Spoiler:

Selina didn't pay much mind to the growing of the claw, as she saw freakier things as an Umbra Witch. She paid it little mind and continued to twirl her cards to pass the time.

Hex saw the claw and her eyes narrowed at him. "Overcompensating for something, are we?" she mewed, all the while close to Temperance, nudging against her leg like the adorable cat she was.

The hour passed soon enough, in terms of daylight now dimming. The moment the street lamps magically began to turn on and the sky was dark enough, it was then the time to strike. She flicked her wrist and unfolded a hand of cards. "Okay, we waited long enough," she said as she pushed herself off from the wall she had rested against. Hex had curled up next to her leg and soon stirred as she moved, stretching out in a very cat like manner and extending her claws-- the black witch's hat she wore obscuring her face a little.

"If anything, this job will show me what you are capable of," Selina said as she revealed more of her eyes, the lighting dim enough so the thick glasses obscured them less. "Hope you can keep up."

As Hex let out a soft chuckle at Faust's expense, she began to walk towards the house and with the cards in hand, flicked them forward. A small whirlwind blew the cards around her as she walked-- followed by a quick and subtle glow of light that encompassed her form.

At the very end, the cards disappeared, and so did her previous outfit. She now was in her 'true' persona-- a black robbed, elegantly dressed sorceress with accents of orange laced into her robes. Her hood was drawn back, revealing her long raven, black hair and her far more attractive face that was hidden behind the hideous glasses as a disguise. All the while, she still twirled the cards in her hand, and made her way towards the mansion and the gates.

The mansion only had a few lights on, but it was clear by the high walls and iron fence the man valued his security. Either that or he had something to hide... There were not even large windows with the exception of the upper floors.

"It's showtime," Temperance said as she flashed one of her Tarot Cards at Faust. "Do try to keep up."

In a flashy show, Temperance flicked the card and threw it right through the iron bars of the gates. Despite it being a seemingly flimsy card, it shot true as an arrow and lodged itself in the tiles of the rooftop of the mansion.

What was more impressive, was the next moment, she vanished in a flash. She soon reappeared, landing with a small fall to the surface on t he roof, as if she was always there and it was nothing more than a skip. She teleported to the general area where her card was, showing her skill with card magic to her fellow thief.

WC: 508

He had chuckled when Selina's cat had teased him about overcompensating, but since the hour of the operation was drawing ever nearer, he did not let himself slip into the banter he had earlier. Instead, he merely waited patiently for the time to come, and eventually it did just that. Selina had transformed, apparently into her true form as some sort of dark sorceress who was a card mage while her cat stretched and got ready for the work ahead. When Selina had remarked about his ability to keep up with her, he had reassured her

"No need to worry, Selina."

After that, he had fallen silent once more and watched as she put on a rather flashy display of her card magic complete with whirlwinds, card shuriken, and such feats. At the end of all that, she had disappeared and reappeared on the roof of the mansion she had pointed out earlier.

My my, talk about having a card up the sleeve...it would appear it is my turn now...

With that thought in mind, he began his own show of magic which though not quite as flashy as hers, woudl still suffice to get the job done. He raised his hands slowly and first made a rough diamond shape with them which he leveled at one of the loose tiles on the upper part of the roof of the mansion. After a second or so, he then lowered his left hand down to his side again while simultaneously making a slicing gesture toward the tile in question. Then, he briskly twisted his right hand towards himself with his index, middle and thumb fingers held up in a sort of triangle formation. The next instant, he disappeared from view momentarily, and just as Selina had earlier, he reappeared in the spot where the loose tile formerly lay on the mansion roof. He landed almost silently and then padded over to where he stood beside her.

Then, he flashed a smug smirk at her and with a slight tilt of the head, he asked

"Does that allay your doubts about my capacity?"

Then, he fell silent and waited to see what sort of response she would have to his actions and words.

---

OOC:

WC: 372

Spells Used:

Spoiler:

MP Remaining: 364/400

HP Remaining: 400/400

Temperance had thought that Faust didn't' have any teleportation magic of his own. She event thought that Hex would have to fly him over, which the cat wouldn't have had liked. But she was pleasantly surprised that he had a surprising form of magic. A combination of the arcane 'tuts' that magic had been practiced in long ages past and harder to master. However, using the tuts and aiming through it like lenses-- and in an instant, he reappeared beside her. From the ground, Hex looked confused, looking back and forth and startled where she stood. Her ears up in surprise.

Answering her question, she gave a somewhat teasing smirk of her own. It was like she was a totally different person now that she was in her truer attire and style. "Impressive... but when I'm in the field, I go by Temperance. Got it? What is the point of being a Phantom Thief if you use your real name, Doc." she said, giving him a playful code name.

"Heeeeey!" A meow called out to them. Hex had felt left behind and quickly sprouted her Aera wings-- which were black in color-- and flew towards them. "Wait for me!"

Selina, aka, Temperance smirked as she carefully skidded down the roof to the end-- and reached the darkened window of the mansion. Realizing the window was a simple hinge, Selina smirked and drew out one of her cards. Not one specifically but enough to slip between the slot between the window and the window sill. Carefully like moving a lock, she slipped the card through till she heard a click, lifting the latch on the inside. With that, she carefully pressed the window up and it opened without issue.

Hex gave a happy meow as she swung herself in and followed.

The inside was dark but from the vague lightning from the door and window-- they were inside what could only be the master bedroom. It wasn't an ideal point of entry, but it was empty. A large four-post bed was displayed with smaller furniture and a large dresser. They were far from their goal, but moving ahead well all the same.

"Okay, Doc. Your target is likely in the library here. I want you to take Hex with you to locate the documents. Hex will know what it is and when you found it. If it isn't in the library, it probably is somewhere close to him or well hidden. " Temperance said in a hushed tone.

A soft meow of complaint came from Hex as she adjusted her witch's hat. "Wait a second," she complained but kept as low a tone as possible, "You're leaving me alone with the amateur?"

Temperance knelt down and reached for Hex, lovingly reaching under her hat to lovingly stroke and stretch the spot below her ears where she loved. "Hex, there is no one else I would rather trust to keep an eye on a potential phantom thief than you," she said, caoxing her a bit before she withdrew her hand.

Hex gave a playful swat at her, but soon sighed. "Oh, fiiiine... I'll do it," the cat meowed.

WC: 527

Faustein had smirked even more as he saw how Selina's black cat partner was looking back and forth from the ground about 15 or so meters away from the mansion to his current position with a clearly confused expression on his face.

Struck you speechless and bewildered you, have I, kitty?

However, he did not have much time to muse on that note since Selina had corrected his mistake of using her real name by unveiling her codename which was Temperance. So, he had acknowledged that and then watched as she cracked open the window to the mansion before leaping inside the room attached to the window. Moments after, he too had swung into the room and once he had landed, his arms retracted sinuously back to their original size and length. Then, she gave him instructions to find their target for the night and also mentioned that her cat would lead him to said target.

"Sounds like a plan. Good hunting then, Temperance."

With that, he fell silent and waited as she bade goodbye to the black cat and then headed off after convincing it to lead him. Then, he looked at the cat and asked in hushed tones, albeit with a toothy playful smirk

"Shall we be off to hunt down our quarry, o great leader?"

---

WC: 217

Temperance smirked as she rose back up, now clear that Faust would join Hex in the task to regain the book they needed. Despite the agreement, Hex looked like a sour puss as her ears sulked. Temperance approached the door and made sure no one was there. With a careful peek out the door and listening for sounds of footsteps-- which there were none-- she opened the door to sneak out. She gave a small wink at both Faust and Hex before she left.

With her gone, Hex was left to direct Faust. "Okay, Frankenstein... listen up. I'm the sassy one on this team. Raise lip to me and I'll give you the whip, got it?" she warned, but soon realized it was time to get serious. "So here's the plan. If we guess right, the library should be on the upper floors so let's check it out and with any luck we will find it. " she suggested.

Checking too for the way clear, Hex urged him to follow.

The mansion itself was divided by two floors, the upper rooms marked by tiers elevated up by large staircase that connected the two floors. Careful as Selina left the hallway, she checked to be sure no one was there. The inside was lit now, but from what she could see, no one was present. Despite it looking easy, she kept her guard up. She could only imagine where her target was but her eyes soon searched the downstairs... finding another dark door that seemed to be what she thought led to a basement.

Temperance grinned as she suspected where to go. Without even using the stairs, she leaned up to the banister of the second floor-- and flipped over it. Like a gymnast and as if to defy gravity, she flipped in the air and descended to the floor. She landed perfectly in a crouch, she would soon address to to approach the door, suspecting the target she wanted would be somewhere not seen and heard.

Meanwhile, Hex led the way, sneaking around corners and crannies in the hallways, while Faustt would follow suit. The rooms they would check would be empty, either being other bed-chambers, bathrooms, or parlors. However, they soon would find a lit room, with a voice coming from it!

The duke was in the library!

"I told you before, these spells take time. ANd I can't be as open in my trade as you do. I know your impatient but you are just going to have to tell the buyers to wait," the man spoke.

Should Faust peek in, he would find a rather large, rugged man at a desk both beard and head of red hair. He looked like a gladiator in a suit, which destroyed the image of some rich Duke. Even more so for the fact he was in a library. Guess you couldn't judge a book by it's cover...

WC: 488

"Oh my...are you secretly a dominatrix, kitty?"

He asked with a amused smirk before falling silent and following Hex to the library while making sure to stay alert for any possible detection methods. Before long they were at the library and they heard the voice coming from within.

Well, this certainly complicates things greatly...and it's the owner of the mansion, no less...what a drag...

He mused after taking a quick peek inside to survey the interior and returned to Hex's side. Then, he asked it in hushed tones

"So, how should we proceed? There seems to be a rather irksome obstacle in the path to our goal."

He fell silent and wait to see if Hex had any solution to the problem at hand while trying to devise a solution of his own just in case. Meanwhile, he kept the other half of his attention on his surroundings so as to detect any incoming threats before they could come too close for comfort.

---

WC: 163

"What? No-- that's part of my magic and... prrr, its not the time for that!" the cat hissed, aggravated by the sarcastic doctor.

But more to the point, Hex had reached the other side of the door while the man was talking on what appeared to be his 'Ilac' , talking to someone who likely was buying stuff from him. Faust likely wouldn't know the details, but Hex had a hint of what was going down.

"It will be worse if he actually has the book on him," Hex replied to Faust. For the moment she waited.

"I may be able to send you some more of those accessories by the end of the month, but you must be patient. These things are not easy to produce, even with my spell on them." he said to the phone as he got down. He closed something on his desk, likely the book, but was worst was now he was approaching the door. "I am sure I can also get you some good... company as well with the delivery as well. But right now I need to get some supper before I do any more work."

Hex looked worried. "He's coming... hide!" she whispered harshly and quickly scurried under one of the hall's tables to obscure herself, but Faust wouldn't have that luck. There were however unused rooms and means he could hide, given he was sharp enough or had the magic to aid him to avoid running into the mansion's owner.

Meanwhile, Temperance had reached the door, marked also by two large suits of armor that appeared to be decorative in nature. As she went to get to the door, it was soon resistant-- locked. A frown showed on her face as she looked around, with no one appearing just yet. She soon drew another Tarot card, prepared to pick the lock ...

SHRIK!!

The glint of slashing metal made her jump back, leaving the card in the door as she saw spears come to cross her way. She gave a swift flip as she jumped back from the door, and soon saw that the spears belonged to the armors that were beside her. They slowly moved to bar her path and proceed towards her.

"Well that is playing dirty," she commented, but then grew a smirk as she flexed her fingers, bringing out more cards. "but you have given me a good hint I am getting warmer to my target."

Wordlessly, the armors charged, poised with their spears to skewer the thief.

WC: 423

Faustein had been enjoying watching Selina's black cat reply so defensively to his provocation, but unfortunately that was cut short by the owner who had started to move in their direction, though not because he noticed them.

"Understood."

He remarked and then, upon spying one of the unused rooms nearby, he quickly ducked inside and hid himself behind one of the large megalithic vases, making sure to remain absolutely still. It was then that his keen ears picked up the faint sounds of what seemed to be metallic clanging, as though large pieces of metal were clattering against each other. He also felt the vibrations from what seemed like footsteps, presumably from somewhere in the mansion that was below the room which he was hiding in at the moment. However, he could not do anything at present to deduce the origins of the sounds, so he simply focused on staying hidden from the mansion owner.

It will be truly irksome if that man happens to have the book on his person...o Skuld, Norn of the future, I humbly beseech thee...let not such a misfortune befall me...

He mused silently while ensuring to maintain tactical breathing and to stay absolutely still to avoid detection.

---

OOC:

WC: 204

Thanks to both of them, they had hidden well. Hex remained quiet as a cat burglar and Faust was not heard as the Duke left the library, no book in hand-- and continued to talk on his 'phone'. "Yeah, I understand. I'll get back to you." he said as he walked by the door Faust hid in.

As his footsteps faded, they could move again and at least breathe in relief. "WHew!" Hex meowed as she crawled out from the table, straightening out her witch's hat on her head. "Looks like the coast is clear for us to "

Able to move, they looked in the library. Hex didn't hesitate to hop up on the desk table where the Duke sat, and sure enough-- there was the book. A bound, leather journal tied by a simple leather rope attached to the cover.

Faust would be able to take it with ease, but what was inside, if he dared to look would be up to him.

***

The clash of metal made Temperance on edge, afraid she would be discovered-- but she knew her part of this would be more dangerous, and potentially flashier than anything else. Still, even she liked to play a little sloppy on a heist to make things more fun. With cards drawn, she threw them skillfully towards the armors. The cards were scattered but struck like arrows fired from a bow-- striking the ground and armors that stuck into them. The move was simple, but the guards still came after her. One lunged with their spear, and tried to skewer her--

-- but she was soon gone in a blink of arcane magic. She reappeared on the other side of them, by the door that was sealed. As the armored goons attempted to turn around to try again, the trap had already been laid out. "Amateurs," she replied and with a raise of her hand, she snapped her fingers.

It was then the cards that were on the ground and lodged into the armors soon flashed-- as the cards had the 'Suit of Swords' on them. Those cards released powerful arches of lightning that shocked between all the armors, hitting them all within a wide area of effect. They soon crumbled and hit the ground without any further resistance.

At first, Temperance thought they were guards but the armors soon fell-- and fell to pieces. There was nothing inside, a spell animating them.

She didn't even bat an eye as she returned to pick the lock from the door. "This is what you get for third-rate security," she said to herself and picked the lock on the door with her cards. The moment it was opened, she rushed inside, leaving the armor where they were.

WC: 460

It had seemed like the owner of the mansion was finally gone from the library, judging from what Faustein heard of the little black cat Hex's call. Then, after peeping around the corner of the room, he stepped out into the library almost soundlessly, like a cat.

"Indeed, well then, it is time to retrieve our target, O Great Leader."

He said with a smug, playful smirk to the little black cat Hex in that same facetious tone before making his way swiftly toward the table with the book on it. Once there he saw that it was a simple, bound leather covered journal with a slender leather clasp which was presumably there to lock the journal from prying eyes. After checking once more whether the coast was clear, he picked up the book and pocketed it after which he returned to the cat's side. Then, he smirked again in that smug, playful manner while reporting in

"Mission complete, O Great Leader. What are your next set of orders for this humble servant?"

He said in that same facetious tone while kneeling before her and showing her the book, all the while having his haunting crimson red eyes glinting with the light of extreme mirth.

---

OOC:

WC: 206

Hex watched as they confirmed it was the book they needed. What it was for or what Temperance intended for it, Hex didn't share at the moment. Least he had secured the book, as Temperance wanted.

The sarcasm from Faust made the cat make a sour-puss cat face as the cat leered at him. She then 'punished' him by hopping right up on top of him and perched herself upon his shoulders and head to to ride him. "The job isn't done, silly. This is HALF of the job. Likely Temperance is doing the other half, so we should make our way towards her. She is playing Decoy after all. "

That bit of news probably would be new to Faust, as she didn't mention it. Most Phantom Thieves kept hidden but sometimes they did like to make an entrance. In this case, the wake of her attack on the knights was a first step in her stylish heist.

"So let's go find her," Hex urged, riding on Faust like he was a mount.

As they had the book and would make their way out-- they wound run into something bad. One of the maids-- a servant had walked right up to them, having been silent up till then. What would they do? Faust might be put in a spot to do something, but Hex was still on his head, giving off a soft 'mew' in surprise.

All the while, the maid had a rather neutral, blank expression on her face...

Meanwhile, Temperance had unlocked the door, and made her way inside, tracing down the winding steps leading to a stone, dark dungeon setting. The decor made her frown as it had a very castle-like vibe. She shuddered to think what kind of things this dirtbag of a duke did in a 'dungeon' like this.

She shook the thoughts off, realizing her goal was near. She followed the hall to the end, finding a large room. While some armors remained-- they didn't animate while she made past them. She stood before a large, metallic door with a heavy duty lock built into it. It wasn't one that was about to be easily picked by a mere tarot card. It was one that was going to need more 'oomph' to break in. Slowly she approached the door. She was sure her goal was inside as she began to draw out cards, and began to layer them upon the handle and inner locks of the door-- the cards showing a red hue in their picture's colors.

While this happened, the duke had hung up and walked down the stairs-- but to his dismay he was greeted by the sight of the ruined armored sentries he had stationed before the door that Temperance had picked into. He looked around as alarm built up in him. "SHIT!!" he shouted and ran to get downstairs... meaning Temperance wouldn't have much time.

WC:487

"I see, well then, let us be..."

Faustein was about to say something dramatic as was his whim from time to time, but this time he was interrupted by the appearance of a maid who for some reason was not screaming bloody murder upon seeing unauthorized personnel in her master's mansion. Faustein raised one eyebrow quizzically and simply stared back at her with an equally impassive and neutral expression on his face.

I really should be more observant of my surroundings, I see. Regardless, this maid...I wonder if I can convince her not to alert her master somehow...

He mused silently whilst maintaining the staring contest with the maid with a slight tilt of his head. After a few minutes, however, he chanced a glance at Hex the black kitty that was riding atop his shoulders and asked with a mischievous smirk on his thin lips and his eyes glinting with mirth

"How should we deal with this one? I can tie her up so she will be unable to follow us...or I could simply knock her out, though there is the possibility that she would raise the alarm if we make any sudden moves."

---

OOC:

WC: 189

Things had gone so smoothly for them both up till now. With Hex's guidance, Faust would of been fine but now they were in front of the wandering maid who was faced against them. Hex was still too, her fur on edge but didn't voice her alarm or hostility. Still if Faust had laid a hand on her, he would feel her body rigid with alarm and hostility. It was then that Hex heard Faust talk about trying her up, knocking her out, or gagging her and subjecting her to strange things to keep her quiet... the last part she thought up herself just to harass the other mage.

Hex, now up on the man's shoulder, glared at him with a sour-puss stare with her hat hiding a hint of her detest. "You really are a pervy doctor, aren't you?" Hex growled softly, "I'm telling the whole guild that."

However, before they could do anything...

... the woman merely walked past them without a word. Her expression didn't change, nor did she address the two as she continued past them into the room. With a magic duster in hand, she had begun to proceed to clean the room, all the while completely ignoring the two thieves in her midst.

Hex blinked at this, and then looked to Faust, wondering if he did something to make her miss them. She certainly didn't. She merely walked around them as if they were part of the room.

"Well, that was... convenient?" she mewed, still unnerved.

At least they didn't have to worry about that one. Faust would be free to find Temperance.

***

Down in the dungeon floor of the mansion, Temperance had been trying to get the door open. It was heavily protected, between a heavy-duty metal lock and even magic. The magic wards were not something she was too worried about, as her cards could pierce magic defenses. Still, no way she could simply pick something built like a high-duty vault. The price was in sight.

"YOU! Stop that right now!!" A gruff voice shouted at her.

Temperance stopped, but didn't show any sign of fear or grief to be 'caught'. Behind her was the buff looking duke. He was huffing and puffing from running down so fast. Slowly she turned around, her hands idly at her sides to keep in view, the cards still plastered along the wall.

"A thief? Hmph... and a woman at that. You made a grave error to come down here! Now step away from that door!" he demanded.

She took a step forward, but a cocky grin on her face. "You must get a lot of kicks giving women orders, don't you? But I'm not one of your weak willed prizes," she said confidently.

A sneer appeared on the man's face. "I don't know what you're talking about..." he said.

"Please, spare me..." Temperance sighed, shaking her head. "I know all about your dirty little business. You're ... 'precious acquisitions' you call them? Think I wouldn't come knocking to claim something so precious?"

"Heh, big talk for a thief. Now be a good girl and put your hands up, or I will call the knights here," the duke warned.

Temperance glared at the man, hating to think he had the advantage over her. Having enough with the charade, she glared at him. "... I don't think so," she commented, as she raised her hands up--- and snapped her fingers.

It was then the cards she had placed on the vault door suddenly flashed-- sizzled with fire on the edges. The cards soon glowed bright red, causing the Duke's eyes to widen.

KA-BOOOM!!

A violent explosion rocked the room with the flashes of fire-- the fire magic of her cards blowing the locks off the door, and so loud that even Faust and Hex would hear it upstairs as they made their way down...

WC: 649

"Pervy? Why...whatever do you mean, petit chat noir?"

He had given her a blank, clueless expression as he wondered what exactly Selina's familiar was talking about when she accused him and asked her as much



However, before either of them could react, the maid had simply walked around them and carried on with her housekeeping duties. As she did, Faustein had started to muse aloud while turning about slowly to watch her in an absentminded way

"Perhaps it would be prudent to hire a professional maid...the lab and clinic do need daily maintenance after all..."

He was about to continue his spoken reverie when, without warning, a rather deafening explosion rocked the building and was loud enough that even Faustein had heard it, though in his case, it made his keen ears ring for several minutes afterward. Of course, since he was the inscrutable and impassive type, he did not let his any hint of his present discomfort show on his face or other body language.

---

OOC:

WC: 168

Hex glared at Faust with his response and reaction. While the Maid's behavior was odd, she felt Faust was even odder by association. Then again, the cat easily trolled most people she saw with the exception to Temperance. It was practically a cat's job to be sarcastic with her peers.

Even despite the explosive boom-- the maid still didn't respond. She continued to work... like she was in some sort of trance or hypnotic spell. Hex's ears went up with alert at the sound, though the jolt was not as bad. "Eh... looks like Tempy ran into some trouble, but then again she likes to cause it too..." the cat meowed as she remained perched on Faust's shoulders.

Likely they should go see where Temperance was, as she clearly got into a fight or something. That was up to Faust now unless there was more for him to do here. Either way, they had the book-- their goal and it was smart to regroup.

***

Downstairs, the room was filled with smoke as the Duke recovered from the explosive boom. Luckily, the blast was contained to where Temperance had laid out the cards. Even with that explosion-- the blast hadn't blown the door down. However, it did tear the lock apart, and the big, steel door was now ajar. Temperance remained calm, a small cough escaping her-- but her's wasn't the only one.

Other voices were behind the door...

As the smoke cleared, they could see through the crack of the now open door-- to reveal what the good Duke was hiding.

Inside, were young women, huddled in the room. They had their heads down up till now, stuck there in dirty, ragged clothing. At the sight of the open door, they looked up, scared looks on their face.

Temperance had glanced at them, able to tell they were relatively unharmed... then turned to the Duke with a cold, unhappy look on her face. "Seems like your in, what is it they say? Oh yeah... compromising situation here," she said, a hand on her hip as she addressed the duke, seeing the look of shock on his face.

It seemed the wealthy duke was involved in one of the worst kinds of crooked deals you could think of. "Human trafficking", which was a more modern-day term for the grossly used term of 'slavery'. Even among criminals, Temperance found such things disgusting, as was a good way to describe the expression on her face.

As the girls began to sense the situation outside their broken prison, The Duke looked with anger and shock. This woman had blown the lid off his scheme, literally. "You making a big mistake here... These women are--"

SHRIK!!

A single card slashed across the distance between them, grazing his cheek and leaving a papercut-- before it lodged into the door behind him. Temperance continued to glare at him crossly. "You pissed off the wrong thief, handsome," she said, part teasing, part angry. "I may be a criminal, but even I wouldn't steal lives. well... i suppose in this case, I am stealing THEM from YOU. " she added with a playful wink at him.

It was then all pretenses faded and the man grew angry as he glared at the witch. "You despicable b***h!!" he growled, and flexed his hand-- causing a glow of light. From there a great sword appeared. The man was a requipt user!

As he charged for her, Temperance kept still and welcomed the assault. She had to play this game for a bit... She hoped that Faust and Hex would show up, but not for her sake. She could handle this red hot-headed moron. However, she couldn't hold him off-- and help the captured women escaped.

At the moment the man charged, she tossed one of her cards forward, striking just short of where he was about to run-- "The Empress" card. The moment it hit the ground, a flash went off and from the card and ground-- tendrils of rose vines began to grow rapidly from it. The man looked in shock as the vines grew out of nowhere, blocking his advance and entwining around his body. The sting of the thorny vines pricked at him, as well as wind its way around his body, and sword-arm, making it hard to advance or cut through them.

"The hell?!" he shouted, which made Temperance smirk at his confusion. One of the benefits of card magic... it was unpredictable. Even as a child, she practices with her Witch's tarot and learned how to use it to its full abilities.

WC: 768

Faustein's keen ears picked up the sounds issuing from below and he smirked as he heard the conversations

"Oh my, your Mistress is most certainly a vociferous one. Well then, there is but one thing to do in this occasion, so I suggest you brace yourself."


With that, he performed the same spell from before, namely his "Diagnoscope" spell which created a high resolution 3D map of the targeted area for his perusal. He aimed this straight downward while holding his hands in that diamond shape as before and thus, the image of the prison cell with all the female captives therein was now displayed on the hard light targeting reticule hologram.

"This Duke seems to be a rather odd fellow indeed. Who in their right mind would want to hold THAT many captives in one cell? Furthermore, all of them happen to be women which makes the situation exponentially worse."

Faustein remarked calmly with that same impassive, almost bored expression and then cast his teleportation spell, "Xénosómectomy". He pointed straight down with three fingers in a triangle form and then turned them towards himself after making a slicing gesture with them. In response, he and Hex which was perched on his shoulder vanished from view and reappeared soundlessly in the prison cell. Once there, he did not waste any time analyzing the situation at hand. Once he finished doing a head count, he set about silencing the captives so they would not give away his location and began teleporting them one by one out of the mansion and into the safety of the outside world. All the while, he ensured that he was staying under the cover of the darkness in the prison cell to minimize the chances of detection. Hopefully, his part of the task would be completed smoothly, since Temperance/Selina was currently holding the Duke off.

---

OOC:

WC: 273

Stats:

• HP: 400/400
  
  
• MP: 356/392
  

Spells Used:

• Medical Art: Diagnoscope
  
  
• Medical Art: Xénosómectomy
  

Hex was surprised by his ability to map out and see things as she scanned the area. And mentioned the captives below. It was just what Hex and Temperance had suspected from the intel they got, but had not shared it with Faust up till now. " Congratulations, Doc. You are no longer the perviest person in this house, " she retorted. "Let's go and help Temperance before that brute tries to hit on her. Literally!"

It was then the two were teleported from the top of the house-- right into the dungeon level with the captives. Now that he was in on the inside, he was teleporting them out of the cell one by one.

"Mreow..." Hex said as she urged the girls to go free. "It's okay... you're all safe. You're free. Live. Love... just not professionally," she urged as each one teleported out.

Temperance saw Faust and Hex in there. How they got there so fast was a baffle for her, but one problem at a time as she now had the enemy bound in vines. Least for now he didn't notice. With a grunt, the man finally got enough momentum and swung his sword-- cutting the vines.

With a few more slashes, he tore the vines away, freeing himself. "Why you dumb bitch!!" he snarled, and charged-- this time conjuring a second sword to strike Temperance.

She crossed her arms and waited. Justt as he was about to bring down the swords-- she jumped high and overhead. In a dynamic flip overhead, one of her cards fluttered in the air next to her. Reaching over, she reached for the card and with one defiant gesture-- crushed it in her outstretched hand. Light danced over her-- causing her clothing to vanish in a flurry of cards-- followed by a flash of light.

Temperance landed on the other side of the man-- now clad in a whole different outfit. Dressed in a blue robe with white lines and arcane symbols. Both like a rogue at midnight and stylish design suited for her.  She also had in her hands a pair of cresent moon daggers, that glowed with an arcane energy.

"Don't blink. You just might miss something," she taunted, drawing the daggers before her, ready to charge.

Furious, the Duke charged again-- now Temperance returning to charge as well directly with a low sweep below him ...

WC: 401
TWC: (for both)8,974