Sif had found almost immediately upon moving into the castle town that other cats knew the lay of its land best, as they were ignored, let to go anywhere they wanted to go. Obviously they wouldn't be let in to menace chicken coops or such, but when it came to back alleys, abandoned buildings, and guard posts, no one would bat an eye at a cat going about. They kept the mice down, after all.

The fuss with the temple trying to catch him had not quite reached the town guard; he tested this by spending a few days around one of their storage buildings, snacking on mice that came to nibble at the grain. One of them even commended him when he walked by after a successful hunt.

So surely none would notice if he went onto the castle grounds?

He moved around a bit, day by day, bringing himself closer to the stone wall that separated the castle from the commoners. There was a grand entrance for guests of importance, which several guards stood vigilant watch of all day; and then to either side, much further down, there were smaller entrances for servants and deliveries. Some of these already had a few cats that lounged around; Sif could catch the scent of mice on the air, and thus assumed they were near the castle granaries.

He stayed for a few days to watch these, too, saw a few servants who would nudge the other cats aside with their feet when they tried to dart in. He considered trying to wait until another cat was in the way and then using the opportunity to sneak in, but since there were usually multiple people coming and going at once, he felt it likely he'd be stopped as well. This meant he'd have to find some way to go entirely unnoticed.

He made another few rounds of the castle wall after deciding this, trying to figure it out, and ultimately came to a conclusion.

He would steal into one of the horsecarts.


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