The day after the Inspector came by, Magnus made sure to get up bright and early. Today will be the day that he meets those four men about the lucrative job that they offered him. Before he left, Magnus made sure to tell the orphans to beg for coins instead of stealing them. Magnus just wouldn’t feel right to let them loose on their own, yet.

For a very long hour, Magnus spent his time trying to find this damn Tavern. Not that many people knew about the place, and later on, Magnus found out why. The tavern was located so deep in an alleyway, that you would have to go out of your way to even find it.

Finally, Magnus stood at the entrance of the tavern, the place was in a shadowed alleyway, filled with trash heaps, and cramped in between two buildings. The tavern had a dead fish with wavey lines coming out of it- Magnus took that as meaning, bad scents. The tavern stood at three stores tall, made out of wood that looked like it would crumb any second, with hinges that squeaking in the wind, and wooden crates littered throughout the entrance.

Magnus opened the door and walked in; the interior was just as bad as he imagined. The tavern had numerous old stains which Magnus hoped was not unwashed vomit, old rickety chairs and tables occupied most of the area, candelabra chandelier that looked like they would fall down any second hang around the place. Plus, there was that nasty scent with a fish ting to it, wafting throughout the whole place.

This must be why this place has this name; it smells like a nasty fish.

Three patrons who were dead drunk in their seats and another one was wide awake and still asking for more beer occupied the tavern.

Magnus tried his best to ignore the scent and walked up to the bartender, “Could I speak to the owner, sir?” Magnus asked, quickly cutting to the chase. The faster he got his business done, the faster he could get the hell out of this dump.

“I woul’d be the owner, what cou’ I do fer yea, boy,” the bartender asked. Magnus had to replay what the man said many times over in his mind to finally understand what he said. For the hundredth time over, Magnus thanked the Mothers and Matron for giving him and the orphans a good education.

“I was looking for Mr. Soykan,” Magnus answered back.

At Magnus’s response, the owner put down the pewter tankard he was cleaning and faced Magnus with a blank glare that gave nothing away. “Sor’ry but I do n’t know this, Mr. Soykan.”

Magnus could tell right away that he was lying, that blank expression he put on just gave him away.

“Woah, I am friendly, and I do not mean Mr. Soykan any harm. He is the one who told me to come here to find him. If you want to set your mind at ease, tell him that a kid he met the other day came by. I will be back in the afternoon for a meeting.”

With that statement, Magnus turned on his heel and started to walk out. However, it looked like Magnus did not have to wait long to meet Soykan.

From the stairwell that led to the rooms upstairs, Mr. Soykan and his crew came down. The man immediately noticed Magnus and cheerfully waved at the young mech builder and asked, “Ahh, are you here to take me up on my offer, kid?”

Magnus slowly nodded his head without saying a word, “Good, good.” Mr. Soykan said. Then he held his hand out to Mr. Taylan and the other man who Magnus never caught his name, but now noticed was an island folk. The white skin with a yellow pigment undertone gave him away.

The two men reached into the coin purse and grudgingly handed off a few gold lions to both Mr. Soykan and Mr. Bulut. Magnus knew what was going on; they had set up a bet if he would come back to take up the offer.

“Well, come on and sit down with us,” Soykan said as they all sat down on an empty table. Magnus followed them to the table and made himself comfortable.

The owner quickly came to their table and asked what would be choosing between last night’s chicken legs or this morning’s porridge. Magnus happy ordered both of the meals even though he had breakfast at the orphanage.

Nobody could fault Magnus for his enormous appetite, even though the orphanage does provide three meals a day, it is usually a small portion or watered down, and for a growing boy that wouldn’t do. So Magnus happy ate at his meals when they came down, and the food even tasted more scrumptious as it was free.

As the meal came to a close, Magnus set aside his now empty plates and turned to face Soykan. He and his crew looked at Magnus in shock and a bit of pity, Magnus blushed in embarrassment under their gaze. He must have looked like a stared wolf when he was eating his food.

“Do you eat much kid,” Taylan asked, voicing the question on everyone’s mind.

Magnus did not answer the redundant question but still gave a response, “As you saw yesterday, I have a big family, so there are a lot of mouths to feed and not much to go around.”

Then Magnus faced the leader a hard look and added, “Anyways, I haven’t come here for idle chatter or to give you my sap story, so could we please get down to business.”

“Alright, kiddo, we will get right down to business,” Soykan said as he raised his hands in mock surrender, then he signaled to the owner with his hand. The owner nodded his head then took a broom to the other patrons, essentially kicking them out of the tavern, and giving us our privacy.

Magnus did not say anything as he saw the owner, who he was starting to doubt was the actual owner, disappeared into the kitchen.

Soykan turned back to face Magnus and said, “Well, before we start, I want you to sign this parchment.” With that statement, he took out a parchment from his cloak and handed it over to Magnus.

Magnus took it without a word and read it. Basically, it was a confidentiality agreement that made him promise to be discreet with their secrets. Magnus saw no problem signing it. It wasn’t only him who he saw signed it; all four men’s names were on it as well. Nevertheless, deep down, he couldn’t help himself from having his opinion of these men dip quite a bit.

This world isn’t like Earth, where written promises are taken seriously and held up in the court of law. Magnus has seen so much lawlessness and cruelty in this world. He knew that these people would do anything to get by.

Magnus found it childish that these men believed that this written agreement would stop him from breaking it. If the day ever came that he break this contract to save his skin or make a quick buck, he would do it in a heartbeat.

Magnus’s experiences in this world have changed him; he isn’t like that young man back on earth who is sheltered from mostly all of the cruelty of the world. Some days he just can’t believe what he has become, but good character and honestly is a luxury he can not have.

Still, though, Magnus did not speak of the thoughts on his mind, he would sign their agreement and see what they have to offer. He would not disillusion himself from thinking that they are giving his job from the good of their hearts.

They want something, Magnus could feel it deep in his bones, and he is going to find out. If there is one thing that Magnus can not stand is an unsolved mystery.

Masking his thoughts and feelings, Magnus looked over at Soykan head-on then signed the parchment, suddenly something amazing and frightening happened. Right before his very eyes, the parchment that he signed dissolved into small motes of light.

Magnus turned to face Soykan with his eyes wide open in shock and his mouth gaping open, Soykan looked at Magnus with a wide grin. “It looks like you found out we are not so gullible as you have thought, huh?”

“What do you mean and what the hell just happened,” Magnus asked as a bit a fear crept into his mind, thanks to this perplexing situation he found himself.

“You know what I mean, kid. I do not think I have to clarify myself, but I could help you understand what happened.” Then right in the middle of his explanation, the man paused to take a swig of his drink, Magnus would have been greatly annoyed, but other more important things occupied him at that moment.

Magnus's eyes swiveled all over the tavern looking for an escape- when he came here, he only wanted to make some money not get into this mess. Yet right before him was the door that let out the mundane and into something else, something magical.

Back on Earth, he always wished that he had a gift so that he could go beyond the mundane. The very reason why chased after mechs were not only to follow in his role model’s footsteps but also to get closer to the extraordinary.

For that reason and that reason alone did Magnus sat in his chair and not already be running off into the distance.

Soykan must have seen that resolve and want in Magnus's eyes because he smiled and picked up where he left off, “You did not just sign any old agreement but a magical one, meaning you have to keep your word or else...”

Magnus couldn’t help it but incredulously shout, “Are you some fucking devil, you bastard?”

Soykan just laughed as he added, “We had to put in that safety measure, or some people would be breaking their words at the drop of a hat.”

Magnus knew who he was talking about, and didn’t say anything as he let him continue on talking.

“Anyways, this was very costly, hard to procure, and very rare, so we will not be having you sign any more magical contracts.”

“Fine,” Magnus said, suppressing his annoyance. What is done is done, the only person Magnus had to blame for falling into that trap was himself. Anyways he got off very lightly for that mistake he made, there has been no harm done, all he needs to do is keep their secrets and not betray them.

Also, if Magnus's memory was correct, the same was true for all of them as well. This agreement is truly magical; all of them have to take their secrets to their graves. Still, it is all the same; from now on, he needs to be careful with whatever he signs.

Now that they were companions in sworn to secrecy, Magnus couldn’t find a better time to have his questions answered. “This is good and all, but I still do not know what sort of job you are offering me. Also, I am not dumb, so why the hell are you giving me, a kid of nine seasons, this job?”

“Well, to answer your second question, it is simple, you are talented like I said before.”

When Magnus did not budge, Soykan elaborated, “I do not think you know how good you and your little crew are, huh? Let me put it into perspective for you. Not only are the gangs, whose territory you robed on, looking for you, the guards for once decided to get off their lazy asses. If reputation were ever to be equal to skill, then you, my boy, are up there with the best.”

Magnus tried his best to find any hint of falsehood or pretentiousness on the man’s face, but he couldn’t find it at all, then that meant one thing, he was telling the truth.

If he was being honest, then wow, Magnus spree of crime was far more reaching and weighty than he ever imagined. But what made Magnus almost weep tears of blood was that he only made a meager fucking amount.

“Also,” Soykan added, “We are new to town, and we need somebody to give us the lay of the land.” Magnus snorted inside; that must be wholly the reason why he was invited into this party.

“To answer your first question, we are like you, we steal from the rich and powerful, taking their wealth for ourselves.”

“So, you are not assassins?” Magnus asked, he just needed to ask that question to rid himself of his doubt that plagued.

“What,” Soykan asked, surprised, and a bit offended, ”No! We are thieves!”

The conversation finally came to a close, from the window Magnus could see that it was noontime, he would be expected back at the orphanage for lunch and his daily check-in. The Mother Selin never forget the stunt he pulled off, so he has to show up for lunch and dinner, no matter what.

“I guess that would be all for today, let’s meet back here tomorrow, and you should show us around. How does that sound?”

Magnus nodded his head in an affirmative, then go up from his seat and headed out. At the door, Soykan called out to Magnus and hurried over to the young mech builder.

“I almost forgot to give you the welcoming gift,” then Soykan handed Magnus a coin purse that weighed quite a big and produced a nice ‘clink’ noise, which was music to Magnus’s ears. The other item that Magnus got was a book, a rare commodity in this world. It was titled;

[Basic Breathing Technique: Gale Force]

Before Magnus could start asking questions, Soykan explained, "That is ten gold lions, for signing on with us." Magnus growled at the man for mentioning that again. He sure does know how to rub it in, though a ten gold was a nice recompense.

Soykan ignored him, and continued on, "This here is a technique, you have no idea how rare it is, people would actually kill for it, that is why nobody can ever know that you have it."

Magnus looked down at the book he was carrying, who knew that this small thing, which is nothing more than a booklet really, could do so much harm. Even so, Magnus interest in it grew by tenfold, even the coin purse was put to the side, something this desired and forbidden must be very extraordinary.

--------------

As Magnus walked back to the orphanage, the words that Soykan said played over and over in his mind.

Magnus asked Soykan one straightforward question, “What is this technique?”

Soykan simply answered by saying, “Something that would change your life.”

Magnus made sure to guard the book with absolute dedication as it was tucked away into his tunic right near his heart. Every time some kid even dared to come near him, Magnus gave them the harshest glare he could muster, which made them all scatter, that made Magnus quite pleased with himself and his effectiveness even if he did not know what did the trick.

Only much later would Codex point out that he had murder in his eyes whenever he gazed at anyone and everyone.

At the foot of the orphanage, Magnus meet up with the orphans that were his charge. It looked like they were waiting for him. Magnus leads them as they made their way together to the orphanage.

The news that he would have to break to them weighed heavy on Magnus’s mind from now on they would never be stealing, ever again. The lost income did not bother him if Mr. Soykan and his crew’s purses where any indicator, his new job would easily be able to cover that amount they made.

What bothered him the most was the loss of control that these kids would feel, they were finally able to make money on their own, damn it if it was stolen or not. No longer did they have to beg and scrape for meager amount, with their own two hands and wits they took control of their own fates.

These last moon turns, the kids have been happier and more alive than ever!

No men or children would want to go back to those dark days when they already found salvation.

Yet that is basically what Magnus has to do, and that killed him inside.

Magnus laid back on his bed, he did not know what did it, but this bed was his reflection area.

He thought back to the conversation he had with the kids, a lot of hopes and dreams were crushed, but it was necessary, or that is what Magnus told himself from not letting the emotions get to him.

Magnus just didn’t want news to come in one day, that one of the kids' hands have been cut off by the guards, or another has been beaten up by the gangs.

He even made sure to emphasize the point by begging out in the streets with them. His hands itched, telling him to rob from those heartless bastards that passed by him without a second glance, but he had to lead by example and needed to set a point — no more stealing.

Magnus set aside those thoughts, thinking about it all night will do no good and will get him nowhere. Finally, his thoughts drifted towards the technique; Magnus reached into his tunic and withdrew the booklet.

With the moon’s luminescence, Magnus opened the booklet and started to read.