Pulling A Job

"Hit me," Mousvin replied with enthusiasm still quite drunk from the cup of ale in the tavern below. Tancred poured a few drops of the wine into a thimble he plucked off the night stand and handed it to Mousvin, who took a swig. Mousvin burped a tiny burp. "We ought to wait until well after dark. Once the innkeeper has gone to sleep." Mousvin said taking another drink of wine. Tancred nodded and took another long drink from the wine bottle. Mousvin swayed drunkenly on his bed. "I need to sleep this off a bit before we get to work anyways." He fell back onto the bed.

The blankets and sheets had a musty dirt smell, but Mousvin didn't mind. It reminded him of nights in the forest. The room was spinning around him and for a moment he thought he might be sick, but the feeling passed quickly. The bed that had been rented for Mousvin was like laying in a field for him. Within just a few minutes he dozed off and was sleeping comfortably.

Mousvin awoke a few hours later. He looked over and saw Tancred laying on his bed, awake and sipping another bottle of wine. Mousvin stretched and yawned, his head throbbed with a dull ache. He was hungover. "Ugh," He groaned groggily.

"Hullo," Tancred set a cup of water on the nightstand between their beds. Mousvin climbed onto the table sleepily and walked over to the water. He dunked his head in and took a long drink. "Better," Mousvin gasped pulling his head from water. The pair sat for a few minutes before Mousvin spoke again. "Ready to go to work?"

The sky was a dark inky black dotted with bright stars. Tancred and Mousvin collected their things and slipped into the hall, it was lit only by the silver light of the moon shining through a small square window at the end of the long hallway. The pair tiptoed silently down to the stairs. Mousvin climbed into Tancreds palm, who lowered him down to the first step to look into the tavern. Mousvin scanned the tavern. It was empty, the fire had dwindled down to a few burning embers in the grate.

"Clear." Mousvin looked up at Tancred who nodded and the pair began to descend the stairs. When they arrived down in the Tavern, Tancred put Mousvin down on the floor. "Tancred," Mousvin waved at him to bend down and listen. "Get behind the bar and get a few bottles," he then pointed to the door down at the far end of bar. "That's the innkeepers room. I'm gonna slip under the door and get the lockbox key." Tancred didn't have to be told twice. He'd had hopped the bar and was checking vintages while Mousvin ran off towards the innkeepers room.

Mousvin slipped under the door easily, there was a large gap. Inside the room it was very dark. It took Mousvin's eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. Mousvin could tell the innkeeper and his wife were sleeping in the bed at the back of the room. A large cabinet rose up beside Mousvin. In front of him another table held a few plates and glasses. Other than that the room was bare. Mousvin assumed the keys must be in the cabinet. He strolled to the centre of the room and turned to examine the cabinet. It was locked tightly. Mousvin knew he would never be able to pull the door open to get inside.

Mousvin stood stumped for a minute. Tancred was in the next room looking for things of no real value, so he knew he couldn't go back empty handed. Mousvin really wanted to prove his value to his new friend. Then he had an idea. He ran over to the table with plates and glasses, and thanks to the intricate design carved into the tables legs he was able to climb easily up to the tables top.

Mousvin looked around the table. The dishes that were scattered about contained to the remnants of the innkeeper and his wife's dinner. Using all the weight of his body, Mousvin pushed his shoulder against one of the glasses and began to push it towards the edge of the table. It slid across the wood easily, and fell to the ground with a loud smash.

The Innkeeper shot up in the bed, his wife mumbling something sleepily. Mousvin dove behind the second glass on the table hiding. He watched the innkeeper who climbed out of bed and began to look around the room suspiciously. The innkeeper took a few tentative steps towards the end of the bed. "Who's there?" he said quietly into the room.

Mousvin held perfectly still. The innkeeper walked over to the cabinet and checked it was still locked. He shook the handle of the cabinet which didn't open. The innkeeper reached into his pocket and pulled a thin silver key out. He opened the cabinet. Mousvin could see the inside of the door, which held the extra keys to every room in the tavern. At the top off all the room keys was a gold key. That was the lockbox key.

The innkeeper began to close the cabinet satisfied nothing was missing. Mousvin couldn't let him close the door. Without thinking he shoved sending the second glass off the table to break on the floor. Mousvin scrambled over the edge of the table climbing down the leg as quickly as possible. The innkeeper stepped over to the smashed glasses on the floor. "What the..."

Mousvin dashed along the wall to get near the cabinet. The innkeeper was now picking up the glass and didn't see Mousvin getting to the cabinet. "What's going on?" his wife asked groggily from the bed. "Glasses smashed somehow." The innkeeper answered. "I told you this place is haunted."

Mousvin had to stifle a laugh when he heard this. Mousvin climbed into the cabinet and began to climb up the key racks, using the pegs the keys hung on as foot and hand holds. It only took him a moment to reach the gold key at the top. Mousvin unhooked the key and slipped it down the back of his shirt as if he was sheathing a sword. Mousvin climbed down quickly and just as he dropped off the cabinet door, the innkeeper pushed it closed. Mousvin hit the floor with a soft thud. Instinctively he rolled under the cabinet immediately. He looked out from under the cabinet at the innkeepers feet. The innkeeper stood there for a moment. Clearly he had heard something fall, but it seemed he hadn't seen Mousvin. He walked back to the bed muttering "haunted" under his breath.

Mousvin breathed a sigh of relief. When the innkeeper was back in bed, Mousvin dashed out from under the cabinet and wiggled under the door back into the Tavern.
He found Tancred behind the bar going through the stores of wine and mead. Mousvin held the gold key above his head beaming. "Got it!" he announced in triumph. "Let's get paid!"