The next day, the weather was beautiful. People were strolling through the streets, under the warm sunlight. Arsh wasn't sure that there will be storm that night. He also wasn't sure how a storm would be helpful them at all. Although the others told that moving in such weather would make things easier, Arsh wasn't familiar with rainy weathers. At this point, all he could do was trust in the experience of Bera and the others.
In the late afternoon, the warm, sunny weather began to give way to cool winds. Arsh saw dark rain clouds approaching over the sea.
Jones and the other members of the team returned late in the afternoon. Preparations were complete. As darkness began to fall, they headed out. When they got close to the General's house, Jones show them a narrow path to go on a old, half collapsed barrack.
"The rain's about to start," Matt said after everyone come inside
"We'll wait here until the rain begins... Put these on," Jones added, handing out black, slick cloaks from a bag. They had already stashed a few necessary supplies in the barrack beforehand.
They didn't have to wait long. The clouds coming in from the sea swept over the entire town, bringing a heavy downpour accompanied by thunder and lightning.
They got out of the barrack left Matt and Rose behind. The vineyard wasn't far away. When they get close to it, they could see the light of the light of the lanterns of the patrols in distance under the heavy rain. For now they were far away to spot them in the darkness.
As they approached the fences, Arsh saw Jones's ability for the first time. Vines stretched out from the nearby vineyard and wrapped around the barbed wire fence, covering it completely. While Arsh watched in amazement, Bera and Walter were already using the thick vines to climb over the fence.
After Jones signaled for him to follow, Arsh crossed the fences with Gilda. As soon as they were in the garden, the vines withered away under the heavy rain and disappeared into the mud.
Jones took the lead again and they began to move ahead. They approached the building through the vineyard. Although they got close to the patrols along the way, the rain and their black cloaks kept them hidden from view.
"Is that the window you told about?" Bera asked once they had reached the back of the building.
"Yes. Now, the four of you head over there. Do you see that tree in front? I'll help you climb the window with that quickly. After that, I'll wait here," Jones said.
"Wait, let me check the window first," Walter said as he vanished from sight. Before long, a branch grew from the tree toward the window, which wasn't very high up. After the window shook slightly, its panes swung open to both sides.
"Let's go," Bera said without wasting a second.
Getting inside had been even easier than they had planned.
...
The dark clouds blocked out the moonlight, leaving the corridors dimly lit by only a few oil lamps here and there, making it difficult to see.
"From here on, we split up. But first, let's see what Arsh can find," Bera said.
Arsh closed his eyes and concentrated. Unfortunately, what he had to focus on this time was a bit vague.Back then, it had been easy to picture where Belowich's money might be hidden. But finding documents without even knowing what was written in them was far more difficult.
Because of that, he had spent the past week making lists of things he could focus on and practicing with Mes in the library, trying to find books based on topics Mes chose. He was sure that he had improved a little. Still, they had come here knowing there was a chance he might fail to find the documents—or end up finding the wrong ones.
But he seemed to be lucky. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the golden threads started to emerge from his hand.
"There are three options," he said, when he opened his eyes.
"Okay. We'll go wherever you choose," Bera said. But none of the golden threads were giving him a clear sign. They were all faint, all uncertain.
"One is on the first floor, toward the second wing... The other two are on the second floor; one in the second wing and the other in the first."
"We'll head to the first floor of the second wing first. You and Walter go toward the first wing," Bera said. "If you finds something, head straight back to us. If we find it, we'll come toward the first wing."
"Alright, be careful," Arsh said. Then, the two groups split up. As he and Walter moved toward the stairs, Bera and Gilda turned the corner and vanished.
According to the rough floor plan Jones had drawn, theere were studies and library on the first wing. When two soldiers appeared in the corridor a moment later, Walter grabbed Arsh by the arm, and they passed them silently.
Fortunately, security wasn't as tight as they had expected. Even without an invisibility ability, it wouldn't have been too difficult to slip inside.
After moving a bit further, Arsh stopped in front of a door. Walter gave a nod and went inside to check if anyone was there. Then, he slowly opened the door from inside.
"There is no one here," he whispered.
"I got it."
He went into the room and closed the door behind him. It was a study. While Walter went straight to the desk, Arsh followed the golden threads. They led him toward the coffee table in the corner of the room.
"Walter, come here," he said, pushing the table aside.
"What is it?"
After pulling back the rug on the floor, Arsh looked at the floorboards. He had no idea how to open the floor safe. He fiddled with it for a moment but couldn't figure out the mechanism.
"Can you get the documents from inside?"
"Of course," Walter said as his hands vanished. He sat on the floor and moved his arms around for a moment. Then, turning to Arsh with a smile, a few files appeared in his hands.
They quickly spread the documents out on the floor and started going through them. They needed to make sure they had the right ones.
+++
"I don't think these are the ones we're looking for. These look like some agreements with the Colonial Ministry, but there doesn't seem to be anything special," Arsh said.
"You're right, but let's take them anyway. I hope Bera finds something useful."
"I hope so... Let's go to the second wing," Arsh added.
However, just as they were leaving the room, they heard a loud noise
"Gunshot!" Walter said. "They know we're inside! Let's find Bera and get out of here right now!"
Before long, the gunshots were followed by the sound of shouting from both outside and inside the house. Arsh had made the wrong choice the first time, and now they had very little time. He wasn't sure if Bera had found the evidence.
"Arsh, focus! We don't have much time, we need to get out," Walter shouted.
"No. There's one more place we have to check," Arsh replied.
"Arsh... Ah, whatever. Show the way and never let go of my arm, okay? We're going to pass through the walls now," Walter said.
"To the right… the Second Wing. Do you remember where we came from? It's just past the stairs."
"That's far... You're planning to drain all my strength, aren't you? When we get back, you're going to help Madam Hilda with the chores I'm supposed to do for the next two weeks," Walter said.
"Why... no, hey!"
The last thing Arsh saw was the mischievous grin on Walter's face.
Then, he felt a strange sensation of weightlessness for a second, Walter pull him he gain his focus again. They passed through walls one after another. However, as they got close to the stairs, the noise died down. When they reached the hall to move toward the other wing, this time Arsh pulled Walter to stop.
There were a couple of soldiier lying down on the first floor on the enrtrance. Gilda and Bera were looked like they were trying to open the entrance door.
"Dammit, this one won't open either!" Bera shouted, kicking the door in frustration.
"What is going on?" Arsh yelled from above. Both of them looked up.
"The doors, the windows... all the exits are closed. They won't open or break. We're trapped in here," Gilda said, the panic obvious on her face.