Without a moment’s hesitation, you nod, your thoughts swirling. A little breaking and entering should be simple enough, and with you there to keep watch and fight if necessary, it’ll be even easier for Silas to get what he’s after. But you already had a stake in helping the beggars in general; why would Ameronis choose to get involved? She barely knows them, and there’s a lot of risk.

She grins.

“Oh, you know me; I like a good gamble! Besides”, her expression becomes more serious as she begins counting on her fingers, “he bullied and threatened the vulnerable and homeless, trashed and stole their stuff, is falsely advertising and trying to sell stolen goods for exorbitant prices, and is a liar and overall nasty piece of work! Need I say more? The enforcers won’t help Silas, so he’ll just have to take things into his own hands. And I don’t mind lending my own for the cause.”

You shake your head. “For the cause”? Why does she always have to be so dramatic? Nevertheless, Silas laughs, looking a little bewildered, but pleased.

“And for that, I am most grateful!” He gives a respectful bow, then looks down the street back towards the store. “Alright. We should leave for now, but I shall return later for an investigation.”

---

You and the others return to the camp where you eventually rejoin Finnegan, but Melora is still absent. Silas updates Finnegan on your group’s planned antics, while Leif settles down in the entrance of his tent, with Rufle flopping down beside him.

“I certainly hope you two know what you’re doing…” says Leif. “You know you could just walk away and not get involved?”

“And miss out on this!? No!” says Ameronis. “I want to see how this plays out. Oh, and help, of course.”

You remind Leif that it’s no trouble, and that you’re determined to right this wrong. Silas turns back to you and Ameronis. “I won’t make any moves until the store closes, which should be around 6 pm. Until then, we have a lot of time to kill, so you should go about your business. But, if you really want to help me, meet me on Gleeck Street, near the entrance of the Jamboree at 8:30. I’ll let you know my plan then.”

---

With nothing else on your schedule, and in a restless state, you part ways with Ameronis at Slaryn house, and pass the time by idly wandering the areas surrounding it, looking for unexplored streets and interesting locales. However, you don’t quite pay as much attention to your surroundings as you had intended, what with so many thoughts on your mind. You do pay enough attention to avoid blundering into the side-street maze again though. You also wistfully pass by Stardust, to see what time it opens; 8pm. You’ll have to schedule your own investigation for after your meeting with Silas. Maybe everything will go well and you can all have a drink to celebrate.

If Silas gives the go-ahead, and you’re going to be breaking into the store, you definitely don’t want to be spotted. Your current white top would shine like a beacon in the night, so you should definitely wear something else. What are your options? Your evening-wear? Well, it is black, but it wouldn’t be your first choice. You could make up a suitable outfit from within your travel gear; it was all washed and ready to go now. Though, you were wanting to buy some replacements for a few items. Perhaps now’s a good time for it; then you can make sure you have some proper attire for this evening; not too bright or suspicious, flexible and durable, with nothing to easily rip or snag. If you need to run or fight, you can’t have your outfit causing trouble.

Afterwards, having acquired a new, suitably sneaky outfit of dark blue and deep gray, you rest and eat from your food stash in your room, and at 8:15 pm, you meet with Ameronis in the lobby, and make your way to Gleeck Street via a cab.

As before, the area is quite busy with people coming and going from the Jamboree, which is still in full swing. You both keep an eye out for Silas; he’s not immediately visible, but there are a lot of faces to scan. Just as you wonder if he might be keeping back the same way Finnegan did previously, Ameronis nudges you and gestures down the way.

“Is that Silas?” She subtly motions towards a man leaning against the fence a few metres away from the entrance of the Jamboree. He’s idly handling something small with one hand, and as you surreptitiously look at him, he looks at you suddenly. He gives the slightest of nods and begins his approach.

You take a moment to re-compose yourself and stop staring at him. When you saw him earlier, he looked like he had been through a wringer, with his battered old suit, mussed-up hair, and fine layer of grime on his skin, but now, he’s barely recognisable. His skin is clean, his hair is combed, and most notably, he is wearing an immaculate, well-fitted, and and quite fancy new outfit. It’s quite fashionable in Derna, apparently; you saw men wearing similar styles during your sight-seeing across the river yesterday. Where did this outfit come from?

He bows when he reaches you. “Madams”.

Ameronis grins, looking him up and down obviously. “Well, look at you! You clean up quite nicely! Those are some very fancy threads you got there.”

Silas chuckles, giving a brief spin. “Thank you. I figured a well-to-do looking gentleman would be much less suspicious lurking around the area than a beggar would. Come”, he says, as he motions towards the gate, “let’s walk and talk.”

You all head into the Jamboree, and begin to idly wander around.

“Where did you even get these clothes?” asks Ameronis. “I don’t suppose you…“acquired” them?”

Silas shakes his head. “No. I bought these recently with money I saved, and I keep them wrapped up and protected. For someone in my situation, you’ve no idea how many doors open up when you look presentable, so it comes in handy. Of course, this is a replacement outfit. Thanks to Soza…” He looks miffed for a moment, but the expression quickly fades.

“Ah. I see,” says Ameronis. “Damn that man…”

“Don’t worry about it,” says Silas. “I’ll get my compensation from him soon enough. I had a look at the store. Soza left at about 6:15, along with a young lad who I’m guessing is his assistant or cleaner, and I’m certain those thugs were not on the premises.”

Ameronis nods. “OK, sounds promising.”

Silas continues “A few minutes later, a night watchman showed up.”

“Ah, great,” says Ameronis, “I knew it was too good to be true. Still, if it’s just one…”

“Mm-hmm,” says Silas. “Just one, but he seems to take his work seriously. He didn’t just sit down and read or sleep; I could see him actively checking the rooms, and he periodically makes a sweep of the outside too. I’m not sure what Soza’s selling in there, but he certainly doesn’t want anyone getting their paws on any of it.”

“Well…” says Ameronis thoughtfully, “we could still create a distraction to keep him outside; the real question is, can you get in, and do you think you could be quick enough to grab your stuff and get out before he returns?”

“Yes”, says Silas. “Soza’s replaced the lock on the back door, but it’s the same type as the one that was previously on there. I can get in easily, and be in and out with the box before the watchman returns from his perimeter check. However, I want to do a proper search to see if he’s got any more of our stuff in there, I’d need a couple of minutes at least. Could you create a big enough distraction?”

Ameronis thinks for a moment. “I’m sure I could manage that…”

She looks at you. “You should go inside with Silas, keep watch, help him search, and be the first line of defence if things go wrong. I’ll keep watch for enforcers outside, will distract the watchman, and will warn you if he starts coming back by knocking on the front window. You’d better be quick getting out!”

You fold your arms, tapping your fingers against them, lost in thought, concern welling up. He can’t just break in and steal back his things. If he does that, when Soza realises the stuff is gone, he’ll immediately know who is responsible, and that’s when the real trouble begins. No, if Silas is going to get his stuff back, and not be found out immediately, he’d have to steal a whole bunch of other stuff too, to make it look like a real robbery. That way, there’d be no reason to pin it on the beggars, as the items Soza thought valuable enough to sell were then deemed valuable enough to steal alongside any other items.

“…True… ” says Ameronis. “Ah, crud… That would require an even bigger distraction. Not to mention the increased difficulty of trying to sneak out with sackfuls of stuff…” She glances at Silas. “I mean, I could try and keep him busy for a few minutes, but…”

Silas seems completely unperturbed by this concept. “It’s fine; I’ll just lock him out. The time he spends trying to figure it out will be plenty of time for us to grab some extra stuff and leave. You just need to distract him in the first place; the longer it is before he realises he can’t get in, the more time we’ll have.”

Ameronis seems a little hesitant at first, but shrugs, glancing between the two of you. “If you’re sure, I’ll do my best. The rest will be up to you”.