Kashvi watched the manor for several long minutes without speaking. Dark eyes cataloging every detail. The place was a fortress and no mistake. The cleared ground around the manor making any kind of approach almost impossible. Given enough time it might have been possible to have themselves smuggled in, but Joe Shipwreck had made it clear that time was not a luxury they enjoyed. An idea kindled in Kashvi's mind and it brought a low grin to her face, her teeth flashing in the moonlight.

"If you can get us out Mr Galt, I think I have a way in..."


_______________________

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Galt said the following evening as the two thieves reconvened at the old watchtower. Kashvi passed the second bundle to Galt even as she slipped her arms into the leather loops that held the bamboo to her arms.

"Is this even safe?" he demanded as Kashvi pulled the leather straps tight. She was dressed in her working clothes, dark black leathers festooned with pouches and equipment. All of the pouches had been tied securely as had the sheath which held her various blades. The preperations for this had taken her most of the day, but she was confident that they would be sufficient.

"It's not very safe," she admitted. She was pretty confident they would be sufficient. Without waiting for further discussion she leaped off the tower. Wind rushed past Kashvi as she plunged downwards, but before a few heartbeats had passed she spread her arms. There was a jarring shock as the thin membranes of fabric which stretched from the bamboo to her belt opened and caught the wind. She soared upwards over the darkened city like a bat, her smile widening she flew through the night sky. Ordinarily the fabric would never have taken her weight, but she had spent hours meticulously inking them with arcane glyphs designed to slow a fall. It wasn't true flight, that would be magic on an order much higher than Kashvi could manage, but the effect was impressive none the less. She leaned forward controlling the glide as she angled herself towards the distant manor, the sound of rushing wind loud in her ears. The glyphs were already starting to burn away, their potency rapidly being expended. She hoped that Galt would be able to manage the feat, but it wasn't as though she had time or they money to let them practice. The manicured woods rushed past below her and the manor loomed up, its spires and steeples seeming to grow up out of the ground. At the last moment she pulled her arms back, flaring herself up to slow her approach. It had to be fast, because there was no concealment other than darkness and the tendency of men on guard not to look up at the sky, but darkness was usually all the concealment she needed.  She hit the roof harder than she had intended, the glyphs failing at the last moment and driving her knees against the slate. She skidded over the tiles and only just managed to snag a weather vein to prevent herself from plummeting down into the courtyard, a fall which would have broken bones and possibly her neck, an embarrassing situation for the few moments it would take for a guard to deliver the coup degas. No matter she was down. She unhooked the bamboo splints and hung them from the weather vein, turning to see how Galt was handling the unorthodox approach.