The silence only applied to our lack of words because everything was actually incredibly noisy. Dillon had gone from fiddling with the tablecloth to tapping against the surface, Morgana was humming a tune to herself, and the chugging of the train was loud enough to wake the dead. Given all the other casual luxuries, I was surprised the crown didn't have some enchantments to make everything quieter.
I'd heard that a lot of the wealthy had them in their homes so they could keep their business a secret so they couldn't have been that hard to get. Although I'd never come across one on our side of town.
"Okay, I think it's been enough time," I said, partly to stop Dillons knuckles wrapping against the window.
Morgana gave me a slightly nervous look before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. When she opened them again her face was set.
Dillon on the other hand jumped to his feet and paced back and forth. I honestly couldn't remember a time I'd seen him this nervous. The guy looked like his head would fall off.
"It's alright Dil," I comforted him, putting my arms on his shoulders. "Just take a deep breath. We'll be in and out, and before you know it, we'll be rich."
I gave him my biggest grin, squeezed his shoulders, and set off into the next carriage.
The layout of this one was the same as the one we'd just been in. A corridor in the middle was bordered by three private rooms on either side, before tailing off into a solo table near the exit to the next carriage. There were small windows on each of the rooms so that you could see if they were taken - which is what we would use to find Rolando.
"Marky's intel indicates he'll be a few carriages towards the middle from where we are now. Apparently he always sits on the left side," I recapped for the two of them. Not that it was needed really because I knew they had it memorised as well.
We moved through the first carriage quickly, not bothering to stop at any of the windows as it was unlikely our target would be in any of them. There were a couple of stodgy looking guys at the end table but they were too engrossed in their game of Kings and the Mob to spare us more than a glance.
"Okay, he's probably not in any of these but from here we might as well check. Morgana, you're on watch duty, Dillon you check the right side, and I'll take the left."
The first window I checked contained three couples kissing and one boy that looked like he was seventh wheeling. Poor guy.
The next one over had a group of girls reading some hefty, ancient looking books. 'Is that what they had to read for homework in this place?' I muttered to myself.
The final room on my side had six boys that must have been close to graduating based on the size of them. Each of them were around my height, and a couple were a lot wider. I swiftly moved on before they took notice of me. Not looking to get into a confrontation with anyone that size this early.
The lone table at the end was populated by a group of four this time - three boys and a girl. Again no words were spoken, just a few polite smiles from either side but this group also had an athletic build. It was strange to me because I thought the rich kids were all just layabouts that spent all day spending their parents money. Perhaps these were the oathsworn? They likely had to do some exercise for the roles.
The next carriage had the same layout but was a lot fancier. The carpets were plush underfoot, thick enough to sink my heels into. A faint scent of lavender? Maybe mixed with something sweet? Like a pastry? I wasn't sure what exactly it was but it smelled nice as it wafted from the rooms. It wasn't the sort of thing I would expect on my side of town anyway.
The trimmings were finer, each finished with a care that spoke of an artisan's touch. When I looked into my first window, the rooms were also a marked step up.
Sure, the previous carriages had been luxurious—at least compared to anything I'd ever known—but here, the cushions were plump and inviting, the blankets looked like woven clouds, and the polished tables offered trays piled high with fine pastries and crystal decanters filled with amber drinks. The occupants glittered with jewellery, flaunting enough gold and gemstones to tempt me into abandoning our mission right then and there and simply robbing them blind.
I reigned in my troublesome thoughts though and took a step back, looking at Dillon as I did. The gleam in his eyes made me think he was going through a similar struggle and we both shook our heads, moving to the next one.
This room had the curtain drawn over the outside window with the occupants bathed in the light from the chandelier. A strange choice considering it was light outside and the exorbitant cost of mana.
Magic wasn't common in Radan but it did exist. It was rare that we'd come across anything that contained it - which is a big reason why Dillon wanted to sell the training dummies, and I wanted to keep them. There were magic items that you could buy, however the more useful they were, the more likely it would be that they required a mana battery to fuel. The issue was that those relied on actual mages to fuel them up.
You could hire mages to fill the batteries for you of course but the costs were so eye wateringly expensive that it wasn't even worth thinking about. I suppose that didn't apply to the occupants of this train but it was still a shocking display of wealth.
It's not even that I knew any mages I could ask to do it as favour either. As far as I knew, there hadn't been a mage born outside of the upper echelons for generations and even then they were rare. It was rumoured the Houses all had some as either contractors or permanent members, and the king was definitely one, but none of them would be around to fill up a mana battery for the likes of me.
There were three people inside this carriage, two boys and one of the most beautiful girls I had ever laid eyes on. Her hair was platinum blonde and she had pale white skin. Both of which served to accentuate her piercing blue eyes. I knew the colour because they were looking right at me. She tilted her head like she was looking at a curiosity and I struggled to remove my eyes for a moment before moving on to the next room.
"These people have so much money," Dillon whispered. "I just saw a dagger made of Mendirian Steel. Do you know how much those things cost?"
"No, and I don't want to. At least not until we've completed the main objective," I replied. "The ones in here had mana lamps active."
"What?! In the daytime?!" Morgana gasped, hew jaw dropping. "Just how rich are these kids."
I gave them all a knowing look. Avoiding temptation was getting harder and harder. Looting any of these groups would be the biggest payday we'd ever had but I had to hold faith that Rolando Mykov was holding onto similar items, or at the very least that I'd be able to get back to these rooms on the way out.
The final room on my side again featured a group of kids displaying goods so expensive it made my head spin but I had to be good and move on because none of them matched the description we had for Rolando.
There was nobody sitting at the lone table this time so I felt free to make sure Morgana and Dillon were prepared.
"Okay he's very likely to be in the next carriage. Are you two ready?"
Both of them nodded to indicate they were, and we went into the next carriage. The most likely location for our target.
There were no noticeable differences between this carriage and the last, with the trimmings seeming just as exquisite. It was a bit of a relief to me because I was concerned I wouldn't be able to hold back if they got even more excessive.
Though the first room I got to showed that these occupants were just as wealthy as the last. One of them was going through a bag, holding up fine silk clothing for the others to inspect. Going by the gushing looks his fellow occupants were given him, I figured they were both expensive and fashionable. Not that I'd know. I always favoured practicality over anything else.
The second room had just one person inside. A pudgy boy that must have been around my own age. He was wearing what looked like a velvet blazer and the tightest pants I had ever seen. There were no books or any other kinds of entertainment around him, and he was just staring out the window. It was disappointing that he wasn't surrounded by riches but at least it would be easy.
"Found him," I told my friends.
"What really?" Morgana asked as she ran over to me.
"Look for yourself. There's a boy about our age who's a little fat and likes tight trousers. It has to be Rolando Mykov."
She looked in the window and then came back with wide eyes and a wider smile. "He's on his own."
"He's on his own." I grinned. "Dillon, how's it looking on that side?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary. I mean, they're all ridiculously wealthy but none of them seemed like they were on guard."
"Okay great. Lets storm in there, I rough him up, you pilfer his belongings, and Morgana keeps watch at the window. Sound good?"
They signalled their agreement and after a count of three, we burst through the door.
Rolando turned to us as we disrupted his solitude, surprise written on his face. Before he could get a handle on the situation, I crossed the cabin and punched him in the jaw.
"Don't say a word and this will be all over soon," I threatened, my hand around his throat. I was aiming for menacing but my voice broke halfway through which I think lessened the effect. Fortunately he was clearly too shocked at the goings on because he didn't try to fight back.
"He's got a trunk and it's locked," came Dillon's voice from behind me.
Looking his way, I saw he was pulling a massive chest from underneath the opposite sofa. It was locked with a padlock and I had no doubts Dillon would be able to crack it but why waste time with that when Rolando had the key?
I confirmed Morgana was standing in front of the door, blocking anyone from looking in and turned back to our target to continue menacing him.
"Where's the key?" I growled, emphasising my words with a slight squeeze and a shove towards the window.
"Ach-" he choked out before I released some pressure. "It-it's in…" he was fumbling with his hand towards his right pocket.
Taking the hint, knocked his hand out of the way os that he couldn't pull out any surprises, and moved my own to get in there. I was actually quite proud of how nimble my fingers were on a day-to-day basis. After years of hard work, I believed myself to be capable of pickpocketing anyone I came up against. There wasn't a time in recent memory that I failed. That was until I tried to get my hands in this guy's pockets.
"Why are you wearing such tight pants man?!" I cried out, withdrawing my hand and pushing him further into the window in frustration. "Dillon it's in his right pocket but they're too tight for my fingers."
"Could Morgana get them?" He asked.
I shook my head. "Probably not. They're practically painted on. I think we'll need to cut them."
Rolando began vigorously shaking his head "No, please! I'll get it! Don't stab me!"
I gave him a look of disdain as tears started pooling in his eyes. "We're not going to stab you. We're experts. But fine, you get it. Don't even think of trying anything though."
I gave him another quick squeeze to show I was serious and then let him go.
He took some relieved breaths until he met my glare, then he hurriedly began trying to force his hand into his pocket. It was honestly pitiful. I couldn't understand why he would wear his pants so tight nor why he would keep things in his pockets.
It must have taken him a minute to actually get his sausage looking fingers into them and when he finally pulled out an iron key, his fingers were red raw. I quickly snatched it from him and threw it to Dillon so he could begin getting the loot.
"Now Rolando, this is going to hurt but unfortunately it must be done." I was gearing up to give him another punch. He was really quite pathetic and I was starting to feel bad about what we were doing so I was hoping to give him one good hit. Something that would leave a mark, and then we could be done with it. That should be enough to appease Marky and we'd also be able to target another cabin or two before we got to our exit point. We'd be so rich!
The boy looked at me with confusion. "Rolando?" He asked. "I'm not Rolando, I'm Hugo."
That stopped us all dead. "What do you mean you're Hugo?" Morgana asked.
"Don't try to play games with us, it'll only make it worse," I growled.
He cringed back, "I'm not! I promise! My name's hugo. My school documents are in there", he said nodding towards the trunk.
Dillon quickly rifled through all the clothes and pulled back some sheets of paper. One by one he threw them to the floor, each time he did so his eyes grew heavier.
"This book belongs to Hugo… Report card of Hugo… Letter addressed to… Hugo."
By the time the last one was done, he gave me a grim look and a shake of his head.
"No!" I shouted as I kicked the sofa. "Why are you wearing such tight pants! 'Rolando is a tubby boy with black hair who wears tight pants. He sits in a cabin in this section of the train and is probably wearing a velvet blazer'. That's what we were given and you match it. You have to be him!" I practically shouted, getting right in his face.
"I'm Hugo! I promise, I'm Hugo." He cried, leaning further into the window. "Rolando's my cousin. I'm not him. We just look alike and have the same nanny that picks our clothes."
I lifted my head and closed my eyes. This was a mess. "Where's Rolando?"
"He's…" Hugo stuttered, looking at each of us and then the door.
"Spit it out."
"...It would be a betrayal if I told you…" he said, trying to shrink his body.
I slapped him on the side of the head. Not too hard but enough that he felt it.
"Tell us or I'm going to get angry. Trust me, you won't like it if that happens."
"Okay! Okay! Just please don't hurt me, I bruise easily," he mewed pathetically as his tears poured.
This was starting to make me feel really bad. I didn't expect him to start crying. I thought they'd all be defiant and uppity. I was meant to be punching up. Taking from the rich to give to the poor. This just felt like bullying.
"Look," I sighed, "we're only after Rolando. Just tell us where he is and we'll leave you alone. We're not even going to do much to him."
He sniffled "He's next door."
I let out a groan, throwing my hands up in the air and backing away. "I can't believe you were trying to hold out on that. It would have been the first place we checked!"
"Does he have anyone else with him?" Dillon asked.
"Yes, he has three oathsworn in there." That wasn't good but I still fancied my chances against them. Especially after Hugo. I was just crossing my fingers that they wouldn't break into tears after a couple of hits. I could handle a fair fight nor problem but beating on someone that was whimpering just made me feel bad.
"Why aren't you in there with them?" Morgana asked, a hint of sympathy in her voice.
"Rolando says I have to get used to being on my own or I'll never be strong." He sat up straighter as he said it, like he'd been reminded of a personal goal.
"Give me some of those clothes Dillon."
He knew what I intended and threw over some pieces I could use to bind Hugo in place.
"No! Don't! You don't have to kill me."
"I'm not killing you, you idiot. I'm just tying you up." After a second I added. "And gagging you." There wasn't any point risking him making noise after all.
His face relaxed after realising I wasn't going to kill him but it was still a pain trussing him up. I ended up putting him on his belly, gagged, with his hands and legs tied together behind his back. It wasn't a comfortable position but it should stop him from doing anything stupid.
"Right, so this was a problem," I said as I got to my feet. "Please tell me he had something good to make up for it?"
Dillon held up a purse "We've got thirty coins here. A quill that has a small enchantment on it, and this nice hat."
The hat was blood red and honestly did look quite nice. Hopefully we could sell it because I was getting envious looking at Dillon wearing it.
"Thirty coins is a result and I suppose we haven't spent too long here." I thought for a moment.
"We should still be on schedule so let's go next door. If it turns out Hugo's lied, we can come back and get the truth out of him."
Hugo began furiously shaking his head and let out a small whimper. Making me feel worse because of how desperate he looked.
"Come on. They might have heard something so I'll just rush in and start bashing heads."
"Four of them could be too many, Brandon." Morgana said.
"What? Four Hugos?" I scoffed. "I'll be fine. If I'm not and any of them prove to be a handful, you two do what you can to help out. Worse comes to worse and we'll just get a hit off on Rolando and run. Sound good?"
They gave me halfhearted nods and we exited the room. Going over to the window of the third cabin, I uncovered our next hiccupy.
"Oh no."
"What?" Dillon asked, coming over. "Brandon, you idiot!"
"You two are freaking me ou-" She groaned, seeing what we saw. "Oh no."