ARIDEN SARETHOL IS A LIAR. Upon witnessing a hostile organization try to take control of a family heirloom, he must enact a dangerous plan that may get him and his friends thrown to prison, or worse, killed. As the veils of false peace slowly fall a...
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2412 Dalfa 16, Reshpe
Lufi brandished the gray disc as she freed it from the black satchel Ariden brought it in with. "Really?" she inclined her head at him. "Masks? What for?"
"It completes the look, doesn't it?" Ariden shrugged, burying his hand into the satchel before drawing one of his own. The twines dangled from each side, waiting for him to tie them around his head. "Besides, I've been dying to try one of these."
The twins took one for each other. Aeril sniffed, turning it in the light. Was he expecting it to glint like a jewel? "It isn't special gear?" he said, cocking an eyebrow at Ariden. His twin tried it on before peeling it off his face. "We can't even see through it."
Ariden snatched it from his hands and tapped it twice on the surface. "Try again," he handed it back to them. "Tell me if it's still faulty."
Aeril flashed him a skeptical look before propping it over his face. "Whoa—wait...I can see you, Cohnal," he said, raising his hands to wave at his twin. "And my face? Can you see my face?"
"Uh, no?" his twin answered, scrambling for his mask. Tapping it twice on the surface as Ariden did and lifting it to his face, he turned from side to side. "How about me? Can you see my face?"
"Not at all!" Aeril screamed back. If they get any louder, they'd alert the entire street of this new technology Ariden just loaned off the herbal shop. Odd place to find such an item, but that's because it's just a front.
Like the Cutlasses, the herbalists were a secret society of inventors and innovators dedicated to dispensing their goods to worthy individuals who deserved it. Ariden became their regular when he developed a mutual agreement with them to bring them part of his cut on the loot every caper. Ores were a valuable commodity to these people, so he was more than happy to oblige. He had no use for them anyway, and he hated stagnant things. Unlike Faw and the twins, he wasn't a hoarder.
Faw came by and perched on the table. She flipped a mask in her hand without Ariden seeing when and how she got herself one. "Anti-reflection masks?" she stuck a lip out. "Cool."
"When do we use this?" Lufi called from the opposite side of the table, a white disc occupying the spot where her face used to be. It's a sight to get used to, certainly. "I don't recall these to be in the plan."
"We'll change into our gear before we enter the gallery," Ariden replied. "I don't want any of our faces to be scanned. That is, if you're correct when you said they record every trail and form who passes between the statues."
As Lufi ran out of things to nitpick, Ariden beckoned the Cutlasses to the table. "Let's do a quick rundown of the plan, shall we?"
When they finished, Lufi stretched and let her shoulder blades click. "Let's do this," she said. "Everything will go right today, won't it, Ari?"
He chuckled despite the tightness in his throat. "Yeah," he said weakly. "It will."
If Lufi noticed his lack of enthusiasm, she didn't show it. Instead, she lumbered towards where Ralei and Tria dissipated and struck a conversation with them. Ariden left early, knowing he had to walk towards the tamus stable in the heart of this neighborhood. Travel to Jehnasson by foot was nigh impossible if they wanted to make it by noon. Waving the diamond in the middle of the night was a bad idea, so they had to complete the mission as early as possible.
